Our Spiritual Identity and Mission

Galatians 3:26-29

Hallelujah! May the grace and peace of the Lord be with you all. We exist not merely by human bloodlines, but as beings endowed with a unique spiritual identity given by God. This spiritual identity can be summarized in three aspects:

Descendants of Abraham: Those who inherit God’s promise and blessing.

Descendants of David: Those who share in God’s guidance and the glory of kingship.

The Temple of God: Each of us as the holy dwelling of God, reflecting His presence and glory.

If we rightly understand these three aspects through the Bible, we can experience true joy and peace, and enjoy a deep fellowship with God.

First, we are descendants of Abraham. The evidence for this is as follows. We possess two natures: a physical and a spiritual one.

Physical Aspect: Our body is passed down through the bloodline of our parents, as evidenced by our genealogy and genetic makeup. This constitutes being a child by lineage.

Spiritual Aspect: Our spirit is not based on our parents’ bloodline but on God’s promise. In other words, according to what God has promised, we are called descendants of Abraham and David.

Although in appearance or genetic traits we may not be children of a Jewish lineage, God has called us “children of promise.” The Bible records that God’s children are not those born by the flesh, but those whom God has adopted.
Abraham believed God, and God reckoned his faith as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). God made a covenant with Abraham, promising, “Through your seed all nations shall be blessed” (Genesis 22:18). Here, the word “seed” is used in the singular; in Galatians 3:16 it is explained that this “seed” refers to Jesus Christ.
In other words, God’s covenant is not applicable merely to all of Abraham’s physical descendants, but is a promise fulfilled through Jesus Christ. Therefore, because we belong to Jesus Christ, we are indeed descendants of Abraham and heirs to the promise (Galatians 3:29).

Galatians 3:29 (ESV) “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” In the above, “Christ’s” means that Jesus bought us with His own blood and became our Master. In the past, sin ruled over us, but now Jesus is our Master. Furthermore, the basis for Jesus buying us with His blood is found in the Bible (Galatians 3:13), which tells us that He redeemed us by taking upon Himself the curse of the Law. Through this faith, we become children of God in Christ Jesus, thereby affirming that we are descendants of Abraham.

Second, we are descendants of David. The evidence for this is as follows.

It is evident in the covenant with David. God made a covenant with David, promising, “Your throne will be established forever.” This promise foretells that the Messiah—our Savior—would come through David’s lineage. Moreover, the purpose of this covenant is not merely to preserve David’s bloodline, but to establish God’s eternal kingdom.

This is also shown in the Psalms. In Psalm 89:3-4, it is written, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: ‘I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.'” This record demonstrates that David’s descendants play a crucial role in fulfilling God’s promise, beyond just a matter of physical lineage.

We also see this through the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant and our participation in it.
Jesus came as a descendant of David to establish God’s eternal kingdom (Luke 1:32-33). And we, as citizens of that kingdom, share in the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant (Ephesians 2:19). In other words, being descendants of David means that we participate in God’s promise by being united with Jesus Christ.

Finally, our identity as David’s descendants is also shown in our calling as royal priests.
Revelation 5:10 states, “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” This indicates that we, together with Jesus, are called to reign as royal priests in God’s kingdom.

Third, we are the Temple of God. The evidence for this is as follows:

We must first understand David’s sin and God’s judgment.
Satan tempted David to conduct a census of the people, an act that revealed a lack of trust in God—because the outcome of war does not depend on the number of people.
In response, God, through the prophet Gad, instructed David to choose one of three judgments: a three-year famine, three months of enemy attacks, or a three-day plague. David chose the plague, and as a result, about 70,000 people died from it.

We must also understand Ornan’s threshing floor and Mount Moriah.
After this event, David saw an angel with a sword standing on Ornan’s threshing floor. At that very spot, the prophet Gad commanded David to offer burnt and peace offerings to God. David purchased Ornan’s threshing floor (i.e., Mount Moriah) and worshiped God, and at that moment the disaster ceased. This event signifies that on Mount Moriah—when Jesus took upon Himself our sins and transgressions by dying on the cross—the curse we deserved was lifted.

We must also grasp the historical significance of Mount Moriah and the temple.
Mount Moriah is the sacred place where God originally commanded Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering. Solomon built the temple on Mount Moriah (2 Chronicles 3:1). However, Solomon’s temple was destroyed during the Babylonian invasion, and later the people returning from the Babylonian exile rebuilt it under the guidance of Haggai and Zechariah. It was destroyed again during the Hellenistic period and, though rebuilt by King Herod, as Jesus prophesied (“Not one stone here will be left upon another” [Matthew 24:2]), it was completely destroyed by the Roman army in AD 70—with only part of the wall, known as the Wailing Wall, remaining.

We must also understand Jesus and the eternal Temple of God.
Jesus said of Herod’s temple, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:19); this statement refers to His own body and foreshadows His resurrection (John 2:21).
God promised David, “From your descendants I will raise up a son to be my temple, and his kingdom will be everlasting.” This promise was fulfilled when Jesus died on Mount Moriah and was resurrected.
Now, the Church, which is the body of the resurrected Jesus, is the Temple of God. As God’s temple—where His Spirit dwells—we must pray for the Holy Spirit to live in our hearts.

We have received a special spiritual identity through Jesus Christ. This identity is found in three important promises.
We are descendants of Abraham. By believing in Jesus, we share in the promise, blessing, and inheritance given to Abraham (Galatians 3:29).
We are descendants of David. Because Jesus came as a descendant of David and established an eternal kingdom, we become citizens of that kingdom (Luke 1:32–33; Revelation 5:10).
We are the Temple of God. Jesus established the Temple of God through the Church, which is His body. The Temple of God is a holy place filled with God’s Spirit, justice and righteousness, His Word and worship, and overflowing with thanksgiving and praise.

Therefore, as children of God who follow the lineage of Jesus Christ—descended from Abraham and David—we must demonstrate this identity to the world through faith and obedience. We hope that, filled with the Holy Spirit and receiving God’s promises, we will live out our mission to build the Kingdom of God together with Jesus.