«　WEEK 8　DAY 4　»

　　Gal. 3:13 Christ has redeemed us out of the curse of the law, having become a curse on our behalf; because it is written, “Cursed is everyone hanging on a tree.”

　　29 And if you are of Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise.

　　In Galatians 3:1-22 Christ is unveiled as the seed of Abraham. According to Genesis 22:17-18a the Lord promised Abraham, “I will surely bless you and will greatly multiply your seed….And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.” In this prophecy we have the promise that Abraham’s seed would be a great blessing to all mankind, for all nations would be blessed through his seed. This prophecy was repeated to Isaac in Genesis 26:4 and again to Jacob in Genesis 28:14. These three verses are not three prophecies but one prophecy of Christ as the seed of Abraham. The fulfillment of this prophetic word is not only in Matthew 1:1, which says that Christ is the son of Abraham, but also in Galatians 3:16, which says, “To Abraham were the promises spoken and to his seed. He does not say, And to the seeds, as concerning many, but as concerning one: And to your seed,’ who is Christ.” Christ was born as a descendant of Abraham, born of the chosen race. Therefore, He was the seed of Abraham. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 3285)

　　As the seed of Abraham, Christ in His humanity blesses all the nations with the gospel of Christ (Gal. 3:8-12, 16). He has brought God to us and us to God for our enjoyment of God’s blessing. He brings blessings to the nations. Whether Jews or Gentiles, all will be blessed in Him (Gen. 22:18a)….Galatians 3:14 indicates that the blessing is the Spirit as the consummation of the Triune God. When we receive the Spirit, we receive the Triune God as eternal life to be our blessing. Through faith in Christ, we have received the Spirit. The Spirit is also called the Spirit of grace (Heb. 10:29). When the blessing that God gave to Abraham comes to us, it is grace; this grace is the seed of Abraham. Since Christ is now the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17), He is not only the seed who inherits the promises but also the blessing of the promises to be inherited by us.

　　According to Galatians 3:16, Christ is the seed of Abraham, the Heir who inherits the promises. Here Christ is the unique seed who inherits the promises. Hence, in order to inherit the promised blessing, we must be one with Christ. Outside of Him we cannot inherit the promises given by God to Abraham. In God’s eyes Abraham has only one seed, Christ. We must be in Him that we may participate in the promises given to Abraham. According to Galatians 3:14, the promise given to Abraham was that God Himself would come to be the seed of Abraham, and this seed would be a blessing to all the nations by becoming the all-inclusive Spirit for mankind to receive (1 Cor. 15:45b). God’s blessing of Abraham eventually issued in Christ as the unique seed in whom all the nations of the earth are blessed (Acts 3:25-26; Gal. 3:16). All the believers in Christ, as members of the corporate Christ (1 Cor. 12:12), are included in this seed as the heirs of God’s promised blessing (Gal. 3:7, 29).

　　The blessing of the gospel promised to Abraham is the all-inclusive Spirit, the Spirit compounded with Christ’s divinity, His humanity, His human living, His all-inclusive death with its effectiveness, His powerful resurrection with its life power, and His ascension. This compound Spirit is the Spirit spoken of in John 7:39….The Holy Spirit was there, but the all-inclusive, compound Spirit was not yet, because by that time, when Jesus spoke those words, He had not yet been glorified; that is, He had not yet been crucified and resurrected (Luke 24:26). It was through His crucifixion and resurrection that Christ became a life-giving Spirit, the compound Spirit, who is the consummation of the processed Triune God. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3285-3286, 3290-3291)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Galatians, msgs. 12-13, 15; Truth Lessons—Level Four, vol. 1, lsn. 2