"Blessed to be a blessing". (Study 1)
We asked how it was that we could claim the promise of Abraham for ourselves, far removed from him in time and space. Romans 4:11-17 tells us that we are Abraham's children if we display the same faith he had unto salvation. We also are saved by God's promise to Abraham because it was from the Jewish people that the Christ was born (c.f. Ro 9:5). So the blessings to "all the families of the earth" through Abraham come to us both physically (in Christ's human descent) and spiritually. The connection between this promise to Abraham and the Great Commission in Matt 28:18-20 is simply that it is through the making of disciples (one-off baptism and continuous 'teaching to observe' Jesus' commands) that the blessings to the world are realized. We Christians therefore are not merely the recipients and end-products of the promised blessing - we are the vehicles - the means by which the blessing to the world is put in effect. We pass on what we have receive...