The Promise Depends on the Seed
“And by your Seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."
GENESIS 22:18 (according to Luther's translation)
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The Promise Depends on the Seed
The Hebrew way of expressing itself in the case of the verb "to bless" should be carefully noted and pondered: “All nations will bless themselves.” For it denotes that full assurance and nature of faith that I must maintain with certainty and without any doubt that I am blessed and declare myself truly alive, saved, righteous, and blessed. Otherwise I do wrong to the Seed of Abraham, namely, to Christ, the Author of life and salvation. For the promise does not depend on my merits or works; it depends on the Seed of Abraham. By Him I am blessed when I apprehend Him in faith; and the blessing clings to me in turn and permeates my entire body and soul, so that even the body itself is made alive and saved through the same Seed. And that begins in this life through faith when the soul, weighed down by death and sin, is buoyed up and receives the comfort of life and salvation. At some later time, in the resurrection of the dead, the body will follow the soul without any hindrance—not instrumentally but effectively and, as it were, formally—to the point that our lowly body will be changed "to be like the glorious body of Christ" (Philippians 3:21).
GENESIS 22:18 (according to Luther's translation)
+
The Promise Depends on the Seed
The Hebrew way of expressing itself in the case of the verb "to bless" should be carefully noted and pondered: “All nations will bless themselves.” For it denotes that full assurance and nature of faith that I must maintain with certainty and without any doubt that I am blessed and declare myself truly alive, saved, righteous, and blessed. Otherwise I do wrong to the Seed of Abraham, namely, to Christ, the Author of life and salvation. For the promise does not depend on my merits or works; it depends on the Seed of Abraham. By Him I am blessed when I apprehend Him in faith; and the blessing clings to me in turn and permeates my entire body and soul, so that even the body itself is made alive and saved through the same Seed. And that begins in this life through faith when the soul, weighed down by death and sin, is buoyed up and receives the comfort of life and salvation. At some later time, in the resurrection of the dead, the body will follow the soul without any hindrance—not instrumentally but effectively and, as it were, formally—to the point that our lowly body will be changed "to be like the glorious body of Christ" (Philippians 3:21).
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