In Genesis 12 we read of the call of Abraham. God had a great future in store for Abraham, but before He could use him, God had to separate him from his idolatrous surroundings (Joshua 24:2). So God said to Abraham “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee” (Genesis 12:1). By faith, Abraham stepped out on the promise of God and left home (Hebrews 11:8). The promise God made to Abraham was threefold. Two were physical in nature (give him [his descendants] a land; make him a great nation). The third part of the promise was spiritual. God said, “…and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” This was a promise of the justification that would come through the Messiah. It would involve sinful man being reconciled to God as a result of having sins blotted out. The third part of the promise, then, is by far the most significant and would touch more people than the physical aspects of the promise.
Listen to God as He reiterates this promise to Abraham in another place: “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice” (Genesis 22:18). This is the same promise stated in different words. “All the nations of the earth” is equivalent to “all families of the earth,” indicating that families out of every nation would be blessed with justification, regardless of language, upbringing, or the color of one’s skin. Both Jews and Gentiles would be blessed with salvation. “In thy seed” is equivalent to “in thee,” pointing to the fact that the remission of sins would come by way of the one who came from the loins of Abraham.
The question is, “who is the one that would come from Abraham and would become the Savior of the world? Who is this seed under consideration in the promise given by God to Abraham? The answer really isn’t too hard to determine since we are plainly told by Paul. In Galatians 3:16 Paul said, “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.”
There are at least three things worth considering about this promise regarding Abraham’s seed.
The gospel message of salvation is an old one
The core of the gospel is the message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Jesus is the solution to the problem of sin. If anyone is going to be saved, Jesus is the One who is going to save him. As Peter once said, Jesus has the words of eternal life (John 6:68), and there is salvation in no other name other than His (Acts 4:12). Now, since Jesus is the theme of the gospel message, and since He is the seed God was referring to in the promise He made to Abraham concerning blessedness, God actually preached the gospel to Abraham (Galatians 3:8). The gospel is not a new plan set forth by God. Salvation through the seed of Abraham has always been the plan.
Salvation is in Christ
The promise of salvation was to be found in Abraham’s seed. God did not say to Abraham “and by thy seed” or “near thy seed,” but he said, “…in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed.” The seed is Christ; thus, salvation is in Christ. Not everyone in the world is going to be blessed. Only those who get into Christ will experience the justification and reconciliation to God offered by Jesus. How does one get into Christ? He does so simply by obeying the gospel, a part of which is being baptized for the remission of sins (Galatians 3:27). If you have not been baptized, you are not in Abraham’s seed, i.e., you are not in Christ, and you do not presently share in the blessedness God promises through Abraham’s seed.
There is an intimate connection between the church and Christ
Christ is Abraham’s seed, but those who become members of the church are also referred to as such. “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29). Is it strange that Paul clearly says that Christ is the seed of Abraham and then turns around and calls those in the church Abraham’s seed? No, because the church is intimately connected with Christ. We are a part of Christ. He is the head, and we are the body. The head and the body cannot be separated without death being the result. Thus, the church is the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 1:23). Salvation comes by, through, and in Christ. There is no salvation without Him. But also, one (who is accountable before God) cannot be saved without being a member of the church that is the body of Christ. There must be a connection, don’t you think?