JESUS FULFILLED A COVENANT PROMISE TO ABRAHAM

The account of the Hebrew patriarch Abraham fascinates readers on many levels. Here is a guy who married his half sister (not as weird in his culture) and reached an old age without having had any kids. God singled him out to give him a calling and a covenant. Genesis 12:1 says, "Now the LORD had said to Abram: 'Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you.'" This is the calling. How would Abraham (then named Abram) respond? Genesis 12:4 tells us, "So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him." 
In Genesis 12:2-3, God makes several promises to Abraham, and these promises become the DNA of the Abrahamic Covenant formally given in Genesis 15. Among these promises is this one: "And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." As amazing as it would be for aged Abraham to become father of a great nation, it would also amaze everyone for all the peoples of the earth to be blessed in Abraham - that little old Abram would have a global impact enduring many generations.
As a church, we have been journeying through the Old Testament together paying particular attention to what it teaches about Christ. In John 5:39, referring to the Old Testament, Jesus said, "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me." When the risen Lord encountered the men traveling to Emmaus, "Beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." (Luke 24:27) Since the Old Testament truly is the Drumroll to Christ, what insights to Christ Jesus do we find in the covenant promises God made to Abraham?
In Galatians 3, the Apostle Paul is reminding the Galatians about the basics of the Gospel, how a person comes to be saved. He reminds them of how he clearly portrayed before them Christ crucified and of how their faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross is what saved them (Galatians 3:1-7). He further explains that "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, (for it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree)." (Galatians 3:13) In this context, in fact, between these verses, Paul cites the Abrahamic Covenant, "in you all the nations of the earth shall be blessed" (Galatians 3:8). He establishes that the Old Testament Scripture foresaw that God would justify Gentiles by faith and cites this promise as proof. The substitutionary death of Christ on the cross for Jews and Gentiles is the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham that in him all nations of the earth would be blessed. Indeed, Jesus Christ is "the Son of David, the Son of Abraham" (Matthew 1:1), fulfilling also the promise to Eve that one offspring of a woman would come and defeat the Tempter through suffering Himself. 
So here's what this means for you and me in 2022. No matter what your ethnicity, your geographical background, your socioeconomic status, Jesus Christ is the One whom God set forth to atone for your sin (Romans 3:24). In dying on the cross, He paid the price for your sin and mine. He gave His life on our behalf (Romans 5:8). He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father but through Him (John 14:6). For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). The moment you believe these truths about Jesus, you pass from death unto life. You enter into the blessing of a relationship with God by faith in Jesus Christ. Your eternity is secure in Him. And this goes for literally anyone on planet earth who believes. He is the Savior offered up for every person. Have you ever trusted Christ as your personal Savior? Have you ever believed these truths about Him? If you have not, or if you are believing as a result of reading this blog, would you use the Digital Connection Card at https://GraceFay.org/online to get in touch? We want to follow up with you and give you some helps to get started on your new journey with Christ. Glory to God that Jesus Christ His Son fulfilled this covenant promise made to Abraham ages ago.