“In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” ( Genesis 12:3 3 and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. )

You who hope in Christ and follow him in the obedience of faith are Abraham’s descendants and heirs of his covenant promises.

God said to Abraham in Genesis 17:4 4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be the father of a multitude of nations. , “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.” But Genesis makes plain that Abraham did not father a multitude of nations in a physical or political sense. Therefore the meaning of God’s promise was probably that a multitude of nations would somehow enjoy the blessings of sonship even though physically unrelated to Abraham.

That’s no doubt what God meant in Genesis 12:3 3 and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. when he said to Abraham, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” From the very beginning, God had in view that Jesus Christ would be the descendant of Abraham and that everyone who trusts in Christ would become an heir of Abraham’s promise.

So it says in Galatians 3:29 29 And if ye are Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise. , “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.”

So when God said to Abraham 4,000 years ago, “Behold, my covenant is with you and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations,” he opened the way for any one of us, no matter what nation we belong to, to become a child of Abraham and an heir of God’s promises. All we have to do is share the faith of Abraham — that is, bank our hope on God’s promises, so much so that if obedience requires it, we could give up our dearest possession like Abraham gave up Isaac.

We don’t become heirs of Abraham’s promises by working for God but by being confident that God works for us. “[Abraham] grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised” ( Romans 4:20 20 yet, looking unto the promise of God, he wavered not through unbelief, but waxed strong through faith, giving glory to God, –21). That’s why Abraham could obey God even when obedience looked like a dead-end street. He trusted God to do the impossible.

Faith in God’s promises — or today we would say, faith in Christ, who is the confirmation of God’s promises — is the way to become a child of Abraham; obedience is the evidence that faith is genuine ( Genesis 22:12 12 And he said, Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him. For now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me. –19). Therefore Jesus says in John 8:39 39 They answered and said unto him, Our father is Abraham. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. , “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did.”

Children of Abraham are people of all nations who put their hope in Christ and, like Abraham on Mount Moriah, therefore don’t let their most precious earthly possession stop their obedience.

You who hope in Jesus Christ and follow him in the obedience of faith are the descendants of Abraham and heirs of his covenant promises.