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Ambassador Baptist Church
1926 Babcock Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15209
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   You Are Here: Bridge / Galley / Pastor's Pen / Pathways through Paul, Vol 2
Pathways through Paul, Vol 2 Daily Devotional
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Pathways Through Paul, Vol 2
Daily Devotional

January 26
Click on verses for Full Scripture
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Today's Pathway:


 Galatians 3:14-16
  1. That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
  2. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.
  3. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

His Majesty's Service

 Yesterday we saw that in order to redeem mankind from the curse of the law, Christ Himself was made a curse for us. In verse 14 Paul gives two reasons why that happened. The first is so that "the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ". The blessing of Abraham would be justification by faith. This is evident from Paul's previous statement in verse 8:

"And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed."
The second is that those who have trusted God by faith would receive the Holy Spirit. The deliverance from the curse results not only in offering to the Gentiles the blessing promised to Abraham, but in the giving of the Spirit to both Jews and Gentiles through faith. The giving of the Spirit was promised to believing Israel in several Old Testament passages (Isaiah 44:3; Ezekiel 36:27; Joel 2:28-29), and was promised to all believers by Christ (John 14:16, 26; Acts 1:4,8). Had Jesus nor allowed Himself to be cursed, these blessings would never have taken place. And how does an individual get to receive these blessings? By faith!

 In verse 15 Paul begins to discuss the importance of the Abrahamic Covenant. He opens by writing that men understand that once a covenant has been agreed to, it can't be changed or added to. Note that there are two types of covenants in the Bible: conditional and unconditional. "Conditional" means that in order for God to fulfill His part, humanity must fulfill its part. "Unconditional" covenants are those that God fulfills regardless of what man might do. For example, in Genesis 9:9-11, God established a covenant with Noah, and with all living creatures, that He would never destroy the earth by a flood again. This was an unconditional covenant: God promised not to do it and man had no responsibility to do anything in order for God to keep His promise. God's covenant with Israel at Mt Sinai was conditional, for Exodus 19:5 says,

"Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people".
God would only fulfill His part of the covenant if Israel fulfilled its part of the covenant. The Abrahamic Covenant was an unconditional covenant. Genesis 12:1-3 contains no requirements from Abraham nor anyone else in order to keep the covenant in effect. God made a promise, and God was obligated to keep His promise regardless of man's behavior. It is interesting to note what takes place in Genesis 15:7-18. There God reaffirms His covenant with Abraham, and He instructs Abraham to kill some animals and cut them in half. This was known as "cutting a covenant". The parties involved in the covenant would then walk between the divided animals to signify their responsibility to keep their part of the covenant. In Genesis 15:17 we see that only God passes between the animals. This is because the Abrahamic Covenant was unconditional, and the promises made to Abraham could not be broken or changed for any reason.

 In verse 16 Paul points out that the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant were made to Abraham and his "seed", and not to his "seeds". Before we get to the importance of the word "seed", this is also a very important statement concerning Paul's belief in the authority of Scripture, and in its inspiration and preservation. Paul's entire argument is going to rest on one letter. The difference between the noun being singular or plural is going to make the difference. Charles Spurgeon wrote,

"We may believe in the absolute plenary inspiration of that sacred book, because the apostle founds an argument upon the singular of a noun ("seed") having been used rather than the plural. Notice how important a single letter of the Scriptures may be. A vital doctrine may depend upon the use of a singular or plural noun. Therefore, let us jealously guard the smallest jot or tittle of the inspired word of God."
We will look at the importance of the word "seed" tomorrow.

Pastor Mark J Montgomery

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His Majesty's Service
Home of Ambassador Baptist Church
1926 Babcock Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15209
(412)477-3210
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