Galatians 3:8 Commentary and Bible Study

Paul shows by expounding Genesis that he is not guilty of revising or adding to the terms of the gospel, for the inclusion of the Gentiles was part of the original terms preached to Abraham. Though the Jews may have missed it, God always intended to bless the Gentiles under the terms of the promises made to Abraham. To the Jewish mind this seemed impossible for they saw the Abrahamic covenant as an ethnic covenant which by definition excluded all those not physically descended from him. The only hope for those outside Israel was that they in effect become Jews as proselytes, and even then they would be somewhat inferior to the real thing. Yet Genesis said otherwise and left room for God’s subsequent call of the heathen through faith.Scripture is personified and made to encompass all the thinking of God on the matter. At the time the promise was given, Israel did not yet exist and the call of the Gentiles lay far in the future, awaiting the coming Messiah. Were such distant events considered so long ago? Yes, say Paul. God knows all things in advance, and in his mind the call of the Gentiles was something of such significance that right from the start it could not remain hidden, but was preached to Abraham. There would be a great harvest from among the Jews as many followed the faith of Abraham, but there would be a much greater harvest when the gospel was sent into all the world. The reason why Gentiles could be saved is that the promise to Abraham said nothing about physical descent being a condition of justification, but only faith. If all those of faith are the children of Abraham, then what is to prevent even the Gentiles being included among his children? In fact that is what the Scripture has said all along: ‘In thee shall all nations be blessed’ – people called to trust in Christ from every nation without exception.