The Promise to Bless the Whole World

In You All the Families

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God's promise to Abram ended with these words: “And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). That one promise runs all the way through the Bible to Jesus.

After Babel. At Babel, God scattered the families of the earth. Soon afterward, He promised to bless all of them through Abram. God's judgment was not His last word.

Said again. God repeated the promise: “all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him” (Genesis 18:18).

Through his seed. After Abraham offered Isaac, God said, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 22:18).

To Isaac and Jacob. God gave the same promise to Isaac (26:4) and to Jacob: “in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (28:14).

The gospel ahead of time. Paul wrote that the Scripture “preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed’” (Galatians 3:8).

One Seed. “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made… who is Christ” (Galatians 3:16). The promise pointed to one special descendant.

Son of Abraham. The New Testament begins by calling Jesus the son of David and the son of Abraham (Matthew 1:1).

Abraham saw it. Jesus said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56).

Peter preached it. After Jesus rose, Peter told a crowd in Jerusalem that God had sent Jesus to bless them by turning each of them away from their sins (Acts 3:25-26).

The blessing. What is the blessing? Peter said it is being turned away from sin. Paul says it is being made right with God by faith (Galatians 3:8-9).

Every spiritual blessing. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).

Through the cross. Paul explains how the blessing reaches us: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us… that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:13-14).

Yes in Jesus. “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Every promise God made to Abram finds its yes in Jesus.

What we learn. God keeps His promises, even when they take thousands of years. The blessing He promised Abram is found in Jesus.

What to do. Thank God for one blessing you have because of Jesus: forgiveness, a family in Christ or the promise of heaven.

Genesis 12:3 is one of the great promises of Scripture. It answers Babel, shapes Israel's whole history and points straight to Christ.

Blessing after curse. Before Abram, Genesis tells of curse after curse: on the serpent (3:14), on the ground (3:17) and on Cain (4:11). In 12:1-3 God speaks blessing over and over. His answer to the curse is a promise of blessing for the whole world.

Nivrekhu (12:3). The verb nivrekhu (say: niv-reh-KHOO), shall be blessed, says the families receive blessing in or through Abram. Abram is the channel; God is the source.

Repeated to the fathers. The promise returns to Abraham (18:18; 22:18), to Isaac (26:4) and to Jacob (28:14). In 22:18 it is tied to Abraham's seed after the offering of Isaac on Mount Moriah.

Galatians 3:8. Paul says the Scripture, “foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand.” Justify means declare right with God. The promise was always about righteousness by faith for every nation.

Galatians 3:16. Paul stresses that God said Seed, not seeds: “He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ.”

Matthew 1:1. The first verse of the New Testament names Jesus the son of David and the son of Abraham. The family line from Abram leads to Him.

Acts 3:25-26. Peter quotes the promise to Abraham and explains the blessing: God raised up His Servant Jesus and sent Him to bless the people by turning each one from their sins.

Galatians 3:13-14. The curse falls on Christ: He redeemed us from the curse of the law, “having become a curse for us,” so “that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus.” At the cross, curse and blessing traded places.

Romans 4:16-17. Abraham is the father of all who believe, Jew and Gentile, because the promise rests on grace through faith. God gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.

2 Corinthians 1:20. “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen.” The promise to Abram finds its Yes in Jesus.

Application. If you belong to Christ, you are an heir of the promise God made to Abram. Read Galatians 3 this week and mark every place Abraham is named.

Blessed to Be a Blessing

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God told Abram, “And you shall be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2). God never blesses His people just so they can keep it to themselves. His blessing flows through them to others.

Blessed first. Before God asked Abram to bless anyone, He promised, “I will bless you” (12:2). We can bless others only because God blessed us first.

A blessing to family. Abram took his nephew Lot with him (12:4), and later he rescued Lot when enemy kings captured him (Genesis 14).

A praying blessing. Abraham prayed for the city of Sodom and asked God to spare it (18:23-32). Praying for others is one of the best ways to bless them.

Made for good works. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

Light for others. Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

Gifts to share. “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another” (1 Peter 4:10). Minister means serve.

Carrying burdens. “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). A burden is something heavy or hard.

Blessing the least. Jesus said, “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40).

Blessing enemies. Jesus said, “love your enemies, bless those who curse you” (Matthew 5:44).

The best blessing to give. The greatest blessing we can share is the good news of Jesus. God called us “that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

Small things count. A cup of water, a kind word or a prayer can all be blessings when they are given in Jesus' name. Paul says to do good to everyone, especially to the family of believers (Galatians 6:10).

Do not give up. “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Galatians 6:9).

What we learn. God blessed Abram so that the whole world could be blessed. God blesses you in Jesus so that others can see Him in you.

What to do. Choose one person this week. Pray for them, help them and, if you can, tell them about Jesus.

The last line of Genesis 12:2, “And you shall be a blessing,” turns Abram's blessing outward. God's people are blessed so that they can bless others.

A command. In Hebrew, vehyeh berakhah (say: veh-YEH beh-rah-KHAH) is a command: be a blessing! Abram's calling was to carry God's goodness to others.

The order. “I will bless you” comes before “And you shall be a blessing.” Grace comes first, and service flows out of it. We do not earn blessing by blessing others; we bless others because we have been blessed.

Abraham the intercessor. An intercessor is someone who prays for others. Abraham pleaded for Sodom (18:23-32), and later God says Abraham will pray for Abimelech (20:7). Prayer for others is part of being a blessing.

Jonah's lesson. Israel sometimes wanted God's blessing only for itself. Jonah ran from God's call to Nineveh because he knew God was “a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger” (Jonah 4:2). God taught him that His mercy reaches the nations.

The church's calling. “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). The purpose of being chosen is outward.

Ephesians 2:10. We are saved by grace, not by works (2:8-9), and yet “created in Christ Jesus for good works.” Good works are the fruit of salvation, not its root.

Galatians 6:9-10. “Let us not grow weary while doing good.” Paul goes on to tell believers to do good to all people, especially to the family of faith.

Matthew 25:40. Serving the least is serving Christ Himself. A blessing given in His name is never wasted.

Blessing those who curse. Genesis 12:3 promised that God would curse those who cursed Abram. Jesus calls His followers to go further: “bless those who curse you” (Matthew 5:44).

The greatest blessing. Jesus is the Seed through whom the nations are blessed. We bless the nations best by pointing them to Him. That is why the church sends missionaries and why every Christian shares the gospel.

Application. Think of three circles: your family, your friends and your neighborhood. Pick one way to be a blessing in each this week, and pray for one person who does not yet know Jesus.

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