O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?
7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
One of my favorite movies is Hunt for Red October. It’s based on a Tom Clancy novel by the same name, and features Sean Connery as a Russian submarine captain and Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan a US spy. Ryan figures out what Connery’s character is up to. But he has a problem. How will he convince the captain of a US submarine that he knows what the Russian is trying to do? He has a sudden idea while shaving: “Russians don’t … without a plan,” he recalls a senior officer saying. He convinces the captain that he knows the plan and of course he’s right and…well, if you haven’t seen the movie go watch it and you’ll see how it works out.
Speaking of plans, imagine the Creator of the Universe going to work and speaking worlds into existence and doing so without a grand plan. Imagine God creating man and woman and placing them in the Garden of Eden without a plan. Imagine the Almighty King of Creation not having a plan to redeem sinners and renew a broken creation – knowing that Adam and Eve would sin and the paradise would be subjected to sin and brokenness.
God had a plan from the beginning. It started with Adam and Eve. It continued through the call of Abraham. It was fully revealed in Jesus’ death and resurrection. It will be consummated at the Great Last Day when Christ returns.
God is working out his plan throughout all of history. It is tied to the original “it was very good” of Genesis 1:31. It is made more clear in God’s commendation of Abraham’s faith. “Abraham believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6). Now, Paul says, God’s plan to include the Gentiles was working itself out.
God’s word to Abraham, “In you all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,” is coming true even today. God is working out his plan in we who believe in Jesus. Through faith like that of Abraham we are counted righteous. God is working out his plan to bless all nations as he calls them to faith.
Faith is realizing that God is good, faithful, just, holy, and gracious. Faith is believing that Jesus is God’s Son and our Savior. Faith is trusting in God’s promises. Faith is simple and profound all at once. The smallest child can have faith, and the wisest believer can fathom faith’s depths and never reach it’s ending.
Wherever you or I may be on that continuum we can be sure that God honors faith, and that we are part of God’s plan for the redemption of lost people and a broken creation.
David Bahn - Reflections 
Leave a comment