A postscript. Your quotation from Paul mentions Christ being the seed of Abraham. Perhaps you can solve an old mystery for me. Matthew begins with a detailed genealogy, tracing the line from Abraham through David to "Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ". However, Joseph was not Jesus's father, so why did Matthew bother with this genealogy, and how could Jesus be regarded as being the seed of Abraham and a direct descendant of David? It's not something that keeps me awake at night, but it would be nice to know the answer!