Galatians 3:8
And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.”
Truth to Learn
God’s blessing on our lives comes by faith.
Behind the Words
When we read the first part of this verse we have to ask ourselves, “How can the Scripture foresee anything.” Of course, since the Scripture is not a person, it is impossible. However, the Jewish Rabbis used this as a way of citing passages of Scripture. They would say, “What does the Scripture foresee?” or “What does the law foresee?” We understand, then, that this is a personification of Scripture. That is, the reference to the Scripture is really a reference to the true author, God Himself. This is what the Rabbis intended in their teaching so we believe that this is also what Paul intended here.
So, we could paraphrase the opening part of this verse as, “And God, foreseeing that He would justify the Gentiles by faith …”
As another indication that “the Scripture” is a personification of God, Paul goes on to say that the Scripture, “preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, …” The word translated “preached the gospel beforehand” is “proeuēngelidzomai” which simply means “to announce the good news ahead of time.” This is not a reference to what we call “the gospel of Christ,” that Christ died on the cross to pay for our sins, was buried, and rose again. Rather it is a reference to the good news given ahead of time to Abraham that “in you all the nations shall be blessed.” This good news was given to Abraham directly by God while Abram was still in Ur of the Chaldeans and is recorded for us in:
I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (Genesis 12:3)
Meaning Explained
As Paul will make clearer in the following verse, those of us who are saved by faith in Christ are the ones who are blessed along with Abraham, simply because we believe God’s word, not because we keep the requirements of the law. We do not have to become Jews and become circumcised, we simply have to believe! And in doing so, we Gentiles are blessed in Abraham.
God, knowing that Gentiles would believe the good news of Jesus Christ, and knowing that he would declare us as righteous because of that belief, told Abraham that in him (that is in his seed, Jesus Christ) all nations of the world would be blessed. And now we know that there are Christian believers in all nations who believe God’s promises.
Application
You too can be free from sin guilt and know eternal salvation:
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ( Romans 10:9)
Want God’s blessing? That says it all!
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2007 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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