The Story of God’s Word

Whether we’ve been Christians for years, discovered faith in Jesus recently, or are still wondering what it’s all about, we share similar questions about why and how to live out our faith. We wonder: What are we made for? What does it look like to know God deeply? Why are we called to reflect his light to those around us—and how do we do that? We have been examining foundational truths for becoming mature disciples of Christ.

I want to keep reminding us about what we have been talking about as each week builds on the last.

1: You are made to enjoy God and all His glory and exult God to all the nations

2: God has put his spirit to make us more like Jesus and empower us to be more like Him from the inside out

3: God’s Spirit Empowers us to make more disciples of Jesus: Share, Show Teach his word and serve the world

4: of all nations: Because the gospel is good news for everyone, we must go beyond our immediate circles to make disciples among people who have never heard of Christ.

5: To fulfill the Great Commission, we must help to take the gospel across the world to those who have never heard of Christ.

This week:

6: To act on our conviction that God wants the world for himself by talking to others about Jesus, praying for the lost, and learning about God’s heart for the nations.

Some of you might be ready to check out because over the last few weeks we have been looking at being missionaries to all the world. You might be thinking that that is not you.

But I want to show you how God’s Word, which is the foundation of our Faith, is one over arching story about how God is spreading His love and glory among all the nations.

We are going to look at the over arching story and then we are going to zoom in on one section in Galatians

Genesis 12:1–3 “Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””

God said the same thing to Issac and Jacob in Genesis 26:3-5, 28:13-15

God would bless them so they would bless all the nations

Exodus 14:4 “And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.”

Psalm 106:7–8 “Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea. Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make known his mighty power.”

All the stories of the Bible have the same purpose

Daniel 3:26-30 Firely furnace so a pagen King praises God

Daniel 6 Daniel and the lions den

Temple in the OT so all the Nations can behold the Glory of God in 1 Kings 8

Psalm 67:1–2 “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.”

Enjoy God in all his Glory and exhult God to all the nations

Isa 56 and Eze 36 Jonah 1 (forign nation)

Matt 28 and Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.””

Luke 24:46–47 (ESV)

and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

This is the big picture story of the Gospel and how we are alive for that purpose.

there is a category of people who are passionate about seeing God among all the nations that doesn't become a missionary. It’s called being a Christian.

Galatians 3:6–14 “just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 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.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. 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.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 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”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the prom…”

God has always desired people from every nation to love and trust him. He commissioned the nation of Israel to make God’s name great among all people. Then he sent Jesus to save all who believe in him. But, as we read in Paul’s letter to the Galatian church, some new believers thought Israel’s laws were also necessary for salvation. They painted the path to salvation as exclusive to those who upheld certain laws. Paul explained that faith alone was required, and how the faith of Abraham, forefather of Israel, remained the standard for salvation for all people. Paul argues in Galatians 3:6–14 that, even as far back as Abraham, God planned for Jesus to bring salvation not just to Israel but to all people.

Read Galatians 3:6–9. In verse 6, Paul references Genesis 15:6, where an old and barren Abraham believed God’s promise that he would become father of a great nation. Abraham had faith in God and his promises.

In verses 7–9, Paul clarifies that Gentiles (non-Jews) who believe in Christ are considered “Abraham’s sons”—able to inherit the blessings he was promised. Just like Abraham, those who trust God are saved through their faith in him.

No other acts of goodness or obedience are necessary to earn or deserve God’s grace.

Paul explains that God blessed the nations through Abraham’s family in two ways: First, Jesus was born through Abraham’s biological line. Second, even though Jesus was born Jewish, anyone from any nation who trusts God like Abraham did and believes in his descendant Jesus is considered “Abraham’s son.” God intended from the beginning that his family would include all those who trust him.

The word translated “Gentiles” is ethne in Greek, from which we derive our word ethnic. It means nation or people. It’s the same word used to describe the crowd that will one day gather in victory at God’s throne in Revelation 7:9: “. . . there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.”

Quoting Deuteronomy, Paul now reminds his readers that the Law was never meant to save them. Read Galatians 3:10–14. Because no one can keep it perfectly, the law reinforces the original truth we see in verse 11 that “the righteous will live by faith.” We may not be living under the Old Testament Law, but we often add our own extra requirements to faith.

Through his death on the cross, Jesus took the penalty for our sin and brought salvation to all who would believe in him. That salvation is the blessing that God said Abraham’s family would bring to the nations. Gentiles are not afterthoughts in God’s plan for his eternal family.

Throughout this section in Galatians 3, Paul traced God’s strategy to bring people to himself, from Abraham’s day all the way to Jesus. Israel was meant to showcase God’s grace and welcome any non-Israelite who believed in God. And the cross makes salvation possible for anyone of any nation because it’s always been about faith.

So What?

I know some of you are hearing this and you are walking through some hard things in life right now. I get it. Think about going through hard things every day without the Gospel, without the hope that you are going to make it through.

We talk about taking the gospel to the nations because we want people in a world of pain and sin, to know that there is a bigger story. there is a story of a King who as conquered all of it. He made a way for us to have joy and peace and eternal life.

Consider: what would it look like to align your entire life with this big picture story. To see all of God’s blessing in your life as a part of His desire to spread his bless to others.

How does that change the way you spend money? The way you live?

What would it look like if our student ministry had a passion to see all people know the love of Jesus the way we do?

There is no place we can’t take the gospel now, if only we make it a priority. Let’s continue to participate in God’s big story, sharing his love with our families, neighbors, and those in the far reaches of the world.