In his passionate letter to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul issues a stern and urgent warning. He marvels, with a tone of shocked disbelief, that the believers are “turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel” (Galatians 1:6). He is so adamant about the purity of the message that he declares a curse, an anathema, on anyone—even an angel from heaven—who would dare to preach a gospel contrary to the one they had received (Galatians 1:8-9).
This raises a critical question: what is this singular, unchangeable gospel that Paul defends so fiercely? Many of us might immediately think of the four books that bear its name—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. While these are the inspired accounts of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, the core message of the gospel did not begin in the first century. Paul’s argument in Galatians reveals a profound truth: the good news of salvation by faith in Christ is an ancient melody, with its first notes played long before the Law was given at Mount Sinai. The gospel’s true beginning is found in the promises of God Himself.
The Gospel Preached to Abraham
Centuries before the birth of Jesus, the gospel was already being proclaimed. Paul makes this astonishing claim in Galatians 3:8: “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed.’”
Let’s unpack this remarkable verse. The word for “foreseeing” here is the Greek proorao, which means to see an event clearly before it occurs. God, in His omniscience, saw the entire arc of redemption. The phrase “preached the gospel beforehand” comes from a single Greek word, proevangelizomai, which literally means to announce the good news in advance.
What was this good news announced to Abraham? It was the promise: “In you all the nations shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3, 18:18). This promise was focused on a future descendant, his “seed” (Genesis 22:18), through whom this universal blessing would flow. This means that the gospel preceded the Law of Moses by over 400 years, and from its very inception, it included the Gentiles. You and I, as non-Jewish believers, were never an afterthought; we were always part of God’s magnificent plan of redemption.
The Gospel as Divine Promise
The earliest “form” of the gospel, therefore, was not a set of laws or rituals, but a series of divine promises. A promise is a sacred verbal commitment, and when the one making the promise is God, it is an unbreakable covenant. These promises, woven throughout the Old Testament, were not random blessings; they were specific, interconnected, and all pointed toward one central figure.
These promises are fundamentally Christocentric. They revolve around the person and work of Jesus Christ. When God spoke of Abraham’s “seed,” He was looking ahead to the ultimate Seed, Jesus. The promises were also given by divine revelation. God spoke directly to Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and David, unveiling His plan piece by piece. Finally, these promises relate to the whole counsel of God. They are not isolated incidents but integral parts of a single, grand narrative of redemption that spans from Genesis to Revelation.
Promises Before the Law
The very first whisper of the gospel appears in the shadow of humanity’s fall. In Genesis 3:15, God speaks to the serpent: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” Here, in the Bible’s opening pages, is the promise of a Savior. The “seed of the woman,” Jesus Christ, would one day deliver a fatal blow to the serpent’s head—crushing the power of sin and death at the cross, even as He Himself was “bruised” in the process.
Later, as Jacob is blessing his sons, he prophesies over Judah in Genesis 49:10: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people.” “Shiloh” means “he to whom it belongs.” This was a promise of a rightful king who would emerge from the tribe of Judah, a king to whom all authority and obedience are due: King Jesus.
Promises After the Law
Even after the Law was given, God continued to reveal the gospel through promises. In Deuteronomy 18:15-18, Moses tells the people that God will raise up a “Prophet like me from your midst.” This Prophet would not merely repeat the Law; He would speak the very words of God, and all would be required to listen to Him. In the New Testament, Peter explicitly identifies this promised Prophet as Jesus Christ (Acts 3:22-24), the one who speaks God’s Word in person.
Even a non-Israelite prophet, Balaam, was compelled to prophesy this truth. In Numbers 24:17, he declares, “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel.” This Star would be a guiding light, and the Scepter would be a ruler with dominion—both pointing to the Messiah who would be both Savior and King.
Finally, God made a covenant with King David in 2 Samuel 7:12-14, promising to establish the throne of his “seed” forever. While Solomon was the immediate fulfillment—building a physical temple—he was only a prefiguration of the ultimate Son of David. It is Jesus who builds the true house of God (the Church), who will sit on David’s throne forever, and who is, in the most profound sense, the very Son of God.
What This Means for You
So, what does this journey through the Old Testament mean for us today? It means that the promises of God belong to you! Galatians 3:9 says, “So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.” When you place your faith in Jesus Christ, you become a spiritual heir of Abraham, and every promise of blessing made to him extends to you.
These are not empty words. The purpose of these promises is staggering. As Peter writes, through them we may “be partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). God’s promises are the means by which He transforms us from the inside out.
These promises are not just historical artifacts; they are an inheritance waiting to be claimed by faith. The author of Hebrews exhorts us to “not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:12). Abraham waited patiently and “obtained the promise” (Hebrews 6:15).
Therefore, do not throw away your confidence. The gospel you believe is not a new invention but an ancient, unshakable truth. It is a story of promise made and promise kept, woven through all of history by a faithful God. He who promised is faithful to complete His work in you. Hold fast, for your inheritance is great and your reward is sure (Hebrews 10:35-39).
