“Even as Abraham believed God and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness. Know therefore that they that are of faith, the same are sons of Abraham. And the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. So then they that are of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham” (Gal. 3:6-9). Paul’s “even as Abraham believed God” is a tieback to the preceding thoughts. The Galatians had received the Spirit by the hearing of faith, not the works of the law. He who supplied to them the Spirit and worked miracles among them had done so by the hearing of faith. It was recorded that “Abraham believed God and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness” (Gen. 15:6). And, the promise that “in Abraham’s seed all nations of the earth would be blessed,” mandates that that blessing come through some channel other than through the physical seed of Abraham (Gen. 12:3). Paul’s efforts, in this chapter, is to show that those who were truly Abraham’s children, were those who walked in the steps of his faith.
Jews in Jesus’ and John’s day gloried in that they descended from Abraham. Stern warnings were given them not to trust such kinship. John said, “Think not to say within yourselves, we have Abraham to our father for I say unto you that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham” (Mat. 3:9). When Jesus promised freedom to those who came to know the truth because they abode in his words, the proud Jews said, “We are Abraham’s seed and have never been in bondage to any man” (Jn. 8:31-33). While Jesus acknowledged their kinship to Abraham (Jn. 8:37, 56), He said their kinship stopped there. “If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham” (Jn. 8:39). This was precisely what Paul wrote when he said, “So then, they that are of faith, the same are sons of Abraham” (Gal. 3:7). Not all are physical descendants of Abraham therefore the blessings upon all through his seed comes because of the sacrifice of that Seed AND of men who walk by faith as Abraham walked. Paul’s Roman epistle deals extensively with this issue. He showed that “they are not all Israel, that are of Israel, either, because they are Abraham’s seed, are they children” (Rom. 9:6f). Ishmael was Abraham’s seed, his son; but he was not the son God promised him (Gen. 21:12). Esau was Isaac’s son, but he was not part of God’s plans (Gen. 25:23). Isaac was Abraham’s seed; more importantly, he was the child of promise. Christians also are children of promise: “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;” and while not all are physically Abraham’s seed, they are his true children if they walk in the steps of his faith. Thus Paul wrote: “For ye are all sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus, for as many of you as were baptized into Christ, did put on Christ … and if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:26, 27, 29). NEXT: The Curse Of The Law.
Jim McDonald
