How to Receive the Blessing of Abraham and Be Sure You Have It

The blessing of Abraham is sadly misunderstood by many believers. This lesson gives the biblical definition of the blessing and shows how you can have it today.

In This Article:

1. Introduction
2. What is the Blessing of Abraham?
3. How You Can Receive the Blessing Today

Introduction

The blessing of Abraham is one of the most popular topics among some believers. But many of them have no idea what it means, let alone how to receive it. My goal is to make it plain and simple in this study. You can receive the blessing, free of charge, even today.

First, I will clarify the meaning of the blessing of Abraham by briefly covering the events that led to the promise. And then I will show exactly what the Bible says concerning how to receive the blessing. For more on this topic, please see MSEP01 – What is the Blessing of Abraham?

What is the Blessing of Abraham?

To answer this question, we need to go back in history to see what happened before Abraham. This will help us better understand what God was saying to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3.

The World of Wickedness

God created Adam and Even with a perfect nature (Genesis 2). But it didn’t take long before they sinned and fell. The couple were expelled from Eden to continue their existence under the curse of their disobedience (Genesis 3). Everyone is born into this curse, which is why we all need redemption (Romans 5:12).

Following the fall of Adam and Eve, sin quickly grew worse. Cain, the first child of the couple, murdered his younger brother Abel. And the whole world (with the exception of Noah) became corrupt, evil, violent, and wicked.

Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Genesis 6:11-12 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

The Reset

Due to the corruption and wickedness of the people, God decided to destroy them all, including all other living creatures (Genesis 6:7). This was accomplished with the flood. Only Noah, his immediate family members, and a few animals, survived the flood.

A new generation started with the three sons of Noah (Shem, Ham, and Japheth) and their wives. But just like the first time, it didn’t take long for the grand- and great-grandchildren of Noah to become corrupt, evil, violent, and wicked again.

In Genesis 11, they started to build an idolatrous system to go farther into apostasy. But God interrupted the whole plan by confusing their language. The people therefore scattered all over the whole land, taking their idolatrous hearts with them. They all walked away from God.

This was what necessitated the promise of justification that would come through the seed of Abraham. The seed was the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who was sacrificed for the sins of the world.

The Call of Abraham

After all the events enumerated about took place, God chose one man, through whom the whole world will be redeemed. Let’s take a look at God’s message to Abraham from which we got the concept of the blessing of Abraham. In Genesis 12, God called Abram (who would later be renamed Abraham in Genesis 17:5) and said to him:

Genesis 12:1-3 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

The above passage narrates God’s covenant with Abraham. The third verse is very specific to Christ, but this is the part that many people missed.

God did not call Abraham to make him or the families of the world wealthy or rich in earthly possessions. Remember, there were wealthy people, though ungodly, among “all families of the earth” at the time. Abraham was called primarily so that redemption may come to the world through his seed.

Abraham’s Blessing – the Interpretation

We see the interpretation of the blessing of Abraham in the New Testament Epistle. Galatians 3 clarifies the passage as follows:

Galatians 3:8-9 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. 9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

By now, you would have begun to see the connection between the gospel and the this promised blessing of Abraham. Fast forward in the same chapter, and you will see this:

Galatians 3:13-14 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

The above says that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. This is the curse stated in verse 10 of this chapter:

Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

All men are under this curse because we all, without exception, failed to perfectly keep the laws of God. But Christ has come to redeem the whole world from the curse by becoming accursed for us. And everyone who put their faith in the completed work of Christ will be redeemed. This is the point of Genesis 12:3.

Galatians 3:9 tells us that those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ are “blessed.” The blessing here is obviously the justification and baptism of the Holy Spirit that the believers received when they trusted in Jesus Christ. In other world, the blessing of Abraham is salvation. 

The Blessing of Abraham is Not Material Possession

When thinking about this topic, a lot of people focus too much on the life and possessions of Abraham. It is true that Abraham was physically rich, the Bible is clear about that (Genesis 12:2; 24:35). But as you can see from the above, Abraham’s blessing is not about material possessions.

However, this is not to say that the believers in Christ cannot be rich and materially wealthy. But it doesn’t happen simply because you believe in Jesus Christ. You will have to work your way to the increase (Ephesians 4:28; 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12; 2 Thessalonians 3:10-13). 

How You Can Receive the Blessing Today

The blessing of Abraham is the greatest thing you need, and the greatest you can have. It comes through Jesus Christ, the seed (Genesis 22:18) of Abraham. It gets even better, you can receive this blessing today at no cost to you because Christ has paid the full price.

Admit Your Sins and Repent

Receiving this blessing begins with you humbling yourself before God and admit your sins and rebellions against Him. Just like the world before and after Abraham, we have all sinned and rebelled against God.

At this point, you must forget about whether you’re a good person or not. No one is good enough to earn perfect righteousness. One sin is all it takes to be condemned and sentenced to death. We have all committed more than one sin and are found guilty before God.

Romans 3:10-12 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

“Death” is the penalty of sin. In this case, it is a spiritual, eternal death, just like the “life” in the verse is eternal for those who have trusted in Christ. This death is the condemnation from which Christ redeemed us. Do not justify your sins or consider yourself a good person. You need someone to speak for you before the Throne of God. Jesus Christ is that Someone.

Trust in Christ Alone for Your Salvation

Believe with all your heart in the work that Jesus Christ did on your behalf. He died for your sins, He was buried and He rose again for your justification. Believe in this and transfer all your trust from other sources to the completed atoning work of Christ. It is only through Christ’s sacrifice that anyone can be redeemed.

So, if you have never trusted in Christ, you can do it now. The Bible says “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).

God is Always Listening

You can speak to God in faith now. Repent and confess your sins to God. Tell Him you believe that Jesus died for your sins and rose again for your justification. If you believe it with all your heart, your sins will be forgiven and you will be saved. That is exactly why Jesus Christ, the seed of Abraham suffered, died, and rose again.

If you faithfully took the above step, you will be granted the blessing of Abraham. That is, justification and the seal of the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 3:13-14 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Ephesians 1:13-14 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

The Source of the Assurance

As stated earlier, the blessing of Abraham is salvation. The Bible clearly teaches that we can be saved and know for sure. In John 5, Jesus promises eternal life to those who believe in Him:

John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

In fact, the Apostle John states that his entire Gospel is written for you to believe that Jesus Christ is the Saviour, and thereby have life – eternal life – through His name.

John 20:30-31 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

You Can Know for Sure

The Epistle of John reassures us that those who have Christ have eternal life and that they can know that for sure.

1 John 5:11-13 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

So, if the Bible, the Word of God, says you have eternal life, you just need to believe it. Act like God is telling the truth. Trust in His Words, that was how you got saved after all. Taking God’s Word for it is the greatest source of the assurance of salvation.

Don’t Pray the Wrong Prayer

Many people pray and ask God for the blessing of Abraham when in fact they mean material blessings. It is not wrong to ask God for provisions and increase, but that is not the blessing of Abraham. If you are saved today, you already have this blessing (Galatians 3:9).

But if you are not saved, or you think that you might be saved but you are not sure, then you seriously need the blessing of Abraham. You can receive that free gift today before it is too late. Please refer to the above section on how to get this blessing.

Thank you for reading!