THE PROMISE TO ABRAHAM

It’s hard to fathom how Adam and Eve’s sinful nature has been imputed to all of humanity and how the curse of sin has affected the human genome and all of creation. It’s equally difficult to grasp the promise of how God’s redemption of humanity and reclaiming creation would begin by the “faith” of one idolatrous Chaldean man, Abraham, and culminate in the sacrifice of one Jewish God-man, Jesus Christ. God shared with Abraham the good news promise of how He would justify all people groups and remove the curse of sin and the law through faith in Christ.

Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? 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.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. —Galatians 3:6-16 (ESV)

Amazingly, God favored a single man, Abraham, for his “faith” and promised that his “offspring” would be a blessing for the world. The promise to Abraham’s offspring is specifically about Jesus and anyone who has “faith” in Jesus. So God's relation to Abraham and Israel is important for Christian believers today only as it relates to Jesus and not for religious or genetic reasons.