Jesus: The Promised Seed!

God promised Abraham that through his (Abraham’s) “seed,” or descendants, all nations of the world would be blessed (Genesis 22:18; Galatians 3:14-16).

Through faith in God and His name, people of all nations have access to God’s mercy, forgiveness and reconciliation with God the Father. God does not show favoritism (Acts 10:34). Indeed, His plan of redemption includes all people of all races, of all national and ethnic groups. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:28-29).

The key word here is heirs . Through Christ, believers become sons of God (Romans 8:14). “And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ …” (Romans 8:17).

Under the Old Covenant, God chose a physical people, Israel, to set the example for other nations (Deuteronomy 4:5-8). Israel, being unconverted and subject to the frailties of humanity, failed. But the Israelites were forerunners of a converted, spiritual Israel, which includes believers of every ethnicity and nationality (Galatians 3:27-29; Galatians 6:15-16; Romans 2:28-29).

Jesus had to be born to provide the promised spiritual fulfillment of the Seed of Israel. Jesus, quite appropriately, was a literal, physical descendant of Abraham. He was Abraham’s Seed, through whom all nations of the world would be blessed.