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Galatians 3:1-8
“Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham” (Gal. 3:7).
For the past year, we have been looking at the unity of Scripture, examining how the truths depicted in the Old Testament find their fulfillment in the events, people, and teachings of the New Testament. As such, any of the themes we have traced throughout the Bible, including the sacrificial system, feast days, the prophetic office, the Ten Commandments, the attributes of God, and all of the others, are key truths of God’s Word. If they are important enough to be mentioned in both the Old Testament and New Testament canons, then they are certainly important enough for us to know and apply to our lives today. We pray that this study has been helpful to you in demonstrating how the Bible fits together.
Still, it is helpful to focus on one theme that ties the complementary perspectives of all the biblical writers together, and this theme, as we saw months ago, is the kingdom of God. Originally, we were made to exercise righteous dominion over the earth in obedience to Him — we were called to make it glorify the Lord so that we could enjoy His blessed kingdom presence forever (Gen. 1:28; 2:15–17). Unfortunately, we decided to go our own way in Adam and we rejected His righteous rule. But being a merciful God, our Creator determined to heal the breach that separated His blessed presence from creation, promising to restore the kingdom we once enjoyed (chap. 3).
The rest of the Bible tells the story of the advance and arrival of this kingdom, and this story is, essentially, the gospel message. Based on our studies this week, the gospel tells us that God has intervened in history in the person of Christ Jesus to restore His kingdom of life to creation. Jesus has inaugurated this kingdom in the present and will consummate it in the future, and He has made it possible for fallen people to become citizens of this kingdom through faith in Christ. Those who bow the knee to Christ through faith will experience a foretaste of kingdom blessings now and their fullness in the age to come (Gen. 3:15; Isa. 25:1–9; Hab. 2:4; Rom. 1:16–17).
In other words, the gospel announces that, through faith alone, we are declared righteous members of Abraham’s family, that family of believers who will enjoy God’s kingdom forever (Gal. 3:1–8). May we rejoice in our kingdom citizenship and proclaim to all the earth the good news that anyone can likewise join this kingdom by faith.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Even though the Bible is filled with a variety of voices and was written over the span of nearly two thousand years, its inspiration by God the Holy Spirit has given it a unity that transcends its variety. There is one gospel of the kingdom proclaimed in Scripture, and we must receive it by faith if we would enjoy fellowship with our Creator forever. May we persevere in this faith as we await the full privileges of our heavenly citizenship to arrive.
For Further Study
- Exodus 15:18
- 1 Corinthians 15:20–28
Related Scripture
- Galatians 3
- Galatians