Father Abraham Had Many Sons

Excerpt from book, New Creation Spirituality:

The gospel is ultimately about the restoration and reunification of God’s children. Our commonality is a lavish experience of God’s Holy Spirit. God’s children have been “born again” into a new kind of existence characterized and empowered by His presence. We bond together when we fix our eyes on this unseen reality, not outward appearances that distract us from unity and singularity of purpose.  

The idea of spiritual family is a core component of the new creation that is woefully under-emphasized in the modern American church. We like our gospel packed up like a school lunch: quick to eat, easy to digest, no mess. We live in a digital age of sound bytes and Instagram likes. This makes it easy for us to suppress and ignore our call to live in intimate community with each other.

There is an easy-to-miss verse nestled in the middle of Galatians that has the power to shatter our current paradigms about the gospel:

“Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’ So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” Galatians 3:7-8 (NIV)  

What does it mean here that God announced the gospel in advance to Abraham? We see here no mention of heaven, hell, or the salvation of the human soul! What does it mean to rely on faith in order to be blessed along with Abraham? What does this have to do with the gospel?

We need some quick context. The book of Galatians was written to address the religionism that had seeped into the first-century church. Jewish believers in the Jesus movement were demanding that non-Jews become circumcised in order to truly be included in God’s new creation family. This was a flagrant error, as God’s new humanity is not to be denoted by religious observances or physical characteristics, but by the presence of the Holy Spirit. This allowed non-Jews the same access to the one true God of the Jews.

The gospel is related to Abraham because he was the father of the Jewish and Christian faith. Initially, Abraham was a “nobody,” just a random joe-schmo who lived in Mesopotamia thousands of years before the incarnation of Christ. God appeared to Abraham and promised him that he would be the father of many nations and that He would lavishly bless him and his descendants. The scriptures tell us that Abraham trusted God, and God in turn “credited” this trust as righteousness (right-standing): 

“So also Abraham ‘believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ Understand, then that those who have faith are children of Abraham.” Galatians 3:6-7 (NIV) 

The main point is that, through faith and the Holy Spirit, we are all children of Abraham. Centuries later, God fulfilled His promise to Abraham. He is indeed the father of many nations because his faith is now our faith! When we believe God, God gives us right-standing (righteousness) with Himself. This gives us access to the prosperity and blessings promised to Abraham by God. The Body of Christ is now one global family that is defined by simple trust in the living God and God’s lavish promises to Abraham.

The “gospel,” therefore, is less about our post-earth destiny and more about the restoration and unity of mankind. God’s “good news” is that the giving of the Holy Spirit has restored humanity’s access to heaven (God’s reality) and allows us to pursue this reality in empowered fellowship with one another. Not only this, but God has given all of His sons and daughters access to the covenant blessings of Abraham and his descendants. What matters now is not political, physical, religious, racial, and social divisions, but the “Israel of God”: 

“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world (the old creation order) has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision (outward, physical religious acts) nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation (denoted by the renewing presence of the Holy Spirit). Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule and to the Israel of God (the new creation humanity).” Galatians 6:14-16 (NIV), parenthetical annotations mine 

“So in Jesus Christ you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:26-29 (NIV) 

God’s children do not retain the thinking patterns of the old creation order that is currently in the process of passing away. The Holy Spirit empowers us to think and act like Christ as individuals and communities. As we do, the kingdom of heaven is made manifest. The sons of God do not behave like Christ because they have to, but because they love to. The new creation reality empowers us to think and behave differently. God trusts us with the responsibility of stewarding the divine presence that is in us and others. This new humanity is responsible for shining the true light of Christ into a dark and unbelieving world. How can we manifest the kingdom if there remain worldly thinking patterns and sinful divisions in our midst?   

We must view no one according to the flesh, according to the old order’s way of thinking. We must consider ourselves and others as children of God who are working together in unity to achieve God’s purposes on planet earth. We are the children of Abraham, a family of faith that spans the globe. This reality must dominate our thinking. We must look not only to our own interests but to the interests of others. 

“Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you have a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:11-14 (NIV)