"And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. "
I love the way that the gospel is presented here: "In thee shall all nations be blessed. "
The surrounding scriptures speak about this being a matter of belief and of faith. Do people consider belief and faith to be the same or different in some way?
It’s meant to hearken you back to Abraham’s story
The very first thing we know God said to Abraham
“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and
in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
Genesis 12:1-3 KJV
later he promises Abraham a son but Abraham’s too old and his wife is barren Abraham believes Gods promise
“And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but
he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
And he
brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him,
So shall thy seed be. And
he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.”
Genesis 15:4-6 KJV
Later he says when Isaac is offered and saved
“And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said,
By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
that in blessing
I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven,
and as the sand which is upon the sea shore;
and
thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”
Genesis 22:15-18
it’s reletively Important in the nt
“Even
as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that
they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
And the scripture,
foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. that
the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Now
to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And
to thy seed, which is Christ.
….For ye are all
the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for
ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Galatians 3:6-9, 14, 16, 26-29 KJV
to Isaac also
“and I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries;
and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;”
Genesis 26:4 KJV
and Jacob and his children ( israel)
“And he dreamed, and
behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And,
behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and
thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”
Genesis 28:12-14 KJV
eventually in the nt epistles like Galatians 3 we find out
the true seed is Christ and he was being promised all along through prophetic figures like Isaac and jacobs children then David’s son ect
“to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And
to thy seed, which is Christ.”
there was always a promise of Christ the seed of Abraham’s promised blessing for all nations
“The beginning of
the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;”
Mark 1:1 KJV
“The book of the generation of
Jesus Christ, the son of David,
the son of Abraham.”
Matthew 1:1
“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
Mark 16:15-16 KJV
The seed of Abraham sacrificed and risen, the son of God
“And
Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Matthew 28:18-20 KJV
