“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2–3)
This promise from God was made to a man named Abraham 4 millennia ago, as recorded in the Old Testament of the Bible. It accompanied God’s call to Abraham to leave his country, his kindred and his father’s household, to go to a land that God would show him. Abraham was 75 years old when he set out for the promised land. A quarter century after that, God spoke to Abraham again and made a covenant with him:
“I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.” (Genesis 17:6–7)
Two millennia later, in the New Testament, Christ’s apostle Paul writes in a letter to the churches in Galatia:
He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. (Galatians 3:14)
So in Christ Jesus 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)
The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ. (Galatians 3:16)
Piecing the above together, it can be understood that all who believe in Jesus Christ inherit the promises that God made to Abraham. From the beginning, God’s covenant with Abraham was made not only with Abraham but also with all of Abraham’s descendants. Regardless of whether one is Jew or Gentile, all become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the seed of Abraham, and we are reckoned as Abraham’s seed on account of belonging to Christ. We become heirs of God’s promises to Abraham because the promises were made to Abraham and his seed.
God’s promised blessings are for all the families on the earth, but the promises need to be appropriated (taken hold of). God’s blessings are inherited by everyone who believes in Jesus. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and his followers are called Christians and are adopted as children of God.
Becoming a Christian is a personal decision that can be made only by the individual. God is a Father to people of every generation — He is never a “Grandfather” to anyone. Even if one is born of Christian parents, he or she needs to have a personal faith in Jesus to be a child of God, a Christian. Put another way, God has only children, and no grandchildren.
God’s promises of blessing are for all who would accept God as Father, and Jesus as Lord. The invitation to blessings is written in Scripture (the Bible), and is for all time. It is extended to all who hear of it. Reading this, you have now heard of it, and you are welcome to the promises and the blessings in Christ.