The Promise by Faith

Genesis 12: 

1 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 

3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 

Scripture tells us that these three well-known and well- quoted verses are pointing - not to Abraham’s present time - but ahead of time; to the Salvation that will come through Abraham’s descendant Jesus Christ, through Abraham’s simple faith and obedience to the Lord: first to the Jew; then to everyone!  This is the first of many promises like this, that the Lord will give to Abraham, over the course of his sojourning.

vs.2 “I will make of you a great nation.”What is this “great nation”? 

1Peter 2: 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Peter is speaking here, not to the literal nation of Israel - many of whom were persecuting the Church at this point - but to those Jews who have come out from the nations of the world to follow Jesus the Messiah! 

See also Galatians 3:26-28 

He - like his ancestor Abraham - speaks not of a literal kingdom, but a spiritual one! As Hebrews 11:9 clearly shows us: “By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.”

vs.3 “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse,”

...for if we do not believe in this promise of God, through Abraham (which we now know to be Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ) we remain under God’s curse (the punishment for sin that has neither been atoned for or repented of) 

Read Romans Ch.4 and

Galatians 3: 

6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”

7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 

8 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.” 

9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

10 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.” 

11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 

12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 

13 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”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.” 

This is what vs.3 is referring to.

See also Hebrews 11:8-12

vs.3(b)“and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

We know this blessing to be salvation; but what will this look like in the end? 

Read Revelation 7

And then Revelation 21-22

This is the power of the cross:

1Corinthians 1: 

22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 

23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 

24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 

Some scripture on the literal nation of Israel in the time still to come:

Isaiah 40

Ezekiel 37 - 39

Daniel Ch.11 & 12

Joel 3:2

Zechariah Ch.12 & 14

Matthew 24

Revelation 12:1-17