“…so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.” (Gal. 3:14)

This verse blends two wonderful things together that are a result of the true gospel Paul is preaching. First, there is the blessing of Abraham and second, there is the promise of the Holy Spirit. These two things are a result of the activation of the gospel plan and the coming of the Messiah.

The blessing of Abraham was covered to some extent by Paul in Romans 4 where he insisted that the promise made to Abraham and all his descendants was made on the basis of faith rather than law. He also points out that the promise rested on grace to all who shared his faith. This promise, Paul declares was made before circumcision. The circumcision was a sign of Abraham’s righteousness which came by faith. The blessing of Abraham included the coming of the promised one and that was fulfilled in Jesus the Christ.

The Spirit was promised by the prophets, especially Joel. Peter explains the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost by quoting the prophet and making application to the resurrection of Jesus and his being exalted at God’s right hand. Jesus then poured out the Spirit on His followers showing that the one they had crucified was made Lord and Christ.

The key idea of course, as it has been for several verses now, is that the blessing of Abraham and the receiving of the Holy Spirit were both the result of faith. Not law but faith. Paul is hammering that point, making sure that the Jewish brothers understand that their retreat to the law is a waste of time; for neither the blessing of Abraham which they held in such high regard not the outpouring of the Spirit which they had witnessed for themselves could be obtained by keeping the law, including circumcision.

Task for Today: Think about what it means to be a recipient of Abraham’s blessing. All that God covenanted with Abraham is passed on to you. All spiritual blessings are in Christ Jesus our Lord. You are a joint heir with Christ to the glories of heaven. Think about what it means to be indwelled by the Holy Spirit, given as a reminder that you are God’s child and that He will keep you close to Him until He sends Jesus for you. These two thoughts should make for a happy and blessed day.