Galatians 3:7-8 (ESV) -- Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”

Most Christians today are not of Jewish ethnicity. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are not our blood heritage as they were Israelites. However, the promise of Genesis 12 to Abraham, about a people as numerous as the stars, is fulfilled through Christ. All who are in Jesus are children of Abraham. This is a profound truth taught in the New Testament, even in the Old Testament. God grafts a people into Abraham through faith in Jesus. 

Our passage today teaches this very point. Paul writes to the church in Galatia, “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’”

Faith in Jesus makes us sons of Abraham, even if we’re not of Jewish descent. The Scriptures foretold this all along. This is Paul’s argument. The Gentiles would be justified by faith, just as Abraham was justified by faith. Paul even points to the promise that all nations of the world will be blessed in Abraham. This means that the gospel was the plan of God from the beginning. When God was instituting the covenant with Abraham, the covenant through Christ was already in mind.

Christians today are children of Abraham by faith. We trust the finished work of Jesus on the cross, and His resurrection, and are saved. Christ makes us the covenant people. This was the plan before the ages began, communicated to Abraham (though he couldn’t understand it), and revealed through the gospel. Praise God for His infinite wisdom! And praise Him for the grace of Christ that makes us covenant children!

Photo Credit: IMB

Reflection & Journal:
- How are Christians connected to the promise to Abraham in Genesis 12?
- What is the connection between Abraham’s faith and trust in God’s Word and Christian faith?
- Why does this truth matter to us today as believers? 

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