Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 152:606 (Apr 1995)
Article: The “Seed,” the Spirit, and the Blessing of Abraham
Author: Robert A. Pyne

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The “Seed,” the Spirit, and the Blessing of Abraham

Robert A. Pyne

[Robert A. Pyne is Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology, Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, Texas.]

One of the most foundational elements of Paul’s theology is that the blessing of God is found in Christ, not in the sphere of the Law. This has been the focus of renewed attention recently as dispensationalists have discussed the nature and application of the New Covenant in the New Testament.1 This article seeks to contribute to those discussions by considering further Paul’s use of the Abrahamic “seed” imagery and the role of the Holy Spirit in the inauguration of the New Covenant.

The Heirs of the Abrahamic Blessing

By appealing to the example of Abraham in Romans 4 and Galatians 3, Paul argued that the true sons of Abraham are those who are justified by faith as the patriarch was. This seems to have been a common style of argument for the apostle as he discussed faith in Christ as a fulfillment of the Old Testament expectation. In other words Paul defended his message as being more in harmony with Old Testament theology than that of his opponents.

Of particular importance in this line of thinking is Paul’s treatment of the Abrahamic promise of blessing. If the promise is extended to Abraham’s “seed,” whom does it include? Does the

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promise remain valid if those who are under the Law (unbelieving Jews) are “on the wrong side”?

The Promise and the “Seed”

God told Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen 12:1–3).

This promise was repeated a number of times (Gen 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14), but the content of the “blessing” was never specified. That may be one reason why some commentators have favored a reflexive meaning of the verb (i.e., “shall bless themselves”), an interpretation that seems unnecessary in light of the Septuagint translation and a number of rabbinic commentators, who ...