Jesus - A Divine After Thought?
Galatians 3:6-25 NIV
About four thousand years ago, God made a promise to Abraham. Around five hundred years later, He gave the Law to Israel through Moses. About fifteen hundred years after that, God sent His Son to redeem the world. Was Jesus a Divine afterthought? Did God finally "throw in the towel" after realizing that man could never live up to the requirements of the Law? After watching Israel fail again and again, not to mention the individual failures of all the people, did God finally say, "Okay, I have to do something to help these people. I guess I'll have to send my Son, since nothing else has worked."
No! From the moment the world was formed, the plan for the redemption of our souls was laid in place. It's revealed time and again in scripture, beginning in Genesis 3:15, when God cursed the serpent. And here, in this part of his letter to the Galatians, Paul addresses another time when God spoke His promise of a Redeemer - this time to Abraham.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The Jews believed that they were the promised "seed" of Abraham (Genesis 12:7; 13:15; 24:7). However, here, in verse 16, Paul shows the Galatians that God said "seed", not "seeds". ONE "seed". Jesus would be the One who would bless the world - "all nations", not just the Jews.
God also promised Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky (Genesis 15:5), but there aren't that many Jews, are there? Again, God was not referring just to Israel, or just to the Jews. God was speaking of "the children of the promise" - every person whose "faith is accredited as righteousness". every person whose faith lies in Jesus Christ alone for salvation is a "child of the promise" - a descendant of Abraham.
So, was Jesus a "divine afterthought"? No! His redemptive sacrifice was the very means by which Abraham was saved two thousand years before Jesus was born! Abraham KNEW that a Redeemer would come (John 8:56). God told Abraham that there would be a Redeemer, and Abraham believed God - and his faith in Jesus' sacrifice two thousand years in his future saved him.
The point? God didn't make a "big bang" and throw the world into motion, then sit back and "roll with the punches", doing what He had to do in reaction to the things that mankind did. Rather, He set His plan in motion with the very first part of creation that He spoke into existence. He made the promise to Abraham - a promise that includes all who believe in Jesus. He gave the Law to Moses, to show the world what sin is, and to reveal to each of us how impossible it is for us to achieve perfection. Then He sent His Son to be the final sacrifice - pouring out His grace on us. we who are incapable of keeping the whole Law. so that we might have our imperfection covered by His perfect shed blood and spend eternity with Him.
Used with Permission
