“"Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."”
For generations, mankind has experienced the grace of God to restore what once was broken or ruined. Long before God called Abraham (and eventually Israel as a nation), He said in His heart after the flood, "I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done" (Gen 8:21 NKJV). Although God knew man would always do evil after the imagination of his heart, He promised never to "curse the ground for man’s sake".
That decision was so precious and weighty: He purposed to allow His blessing to overtake man where a curse should justifiably have prevailed. Mankind would receive God's lovingkindness and tender mercies, based on His grace alone. The question that comes to mind is: would God ignore the evil imaginations of man's heart? No; He had a grand plan in place, part of which He revealed to Ezekiel. The LORD said, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh" (Eze 36:26 NKJV). Hallelujah!
In Christ Jesus, God fully executed His grand plan for dealing with the evil imaginations of man's heart. On the Cross of Calvary, Christ became "a curse for us", as our reference Scripture declares. In so doing, God intended that "the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith". Hallelujah! Because of what Christ has done, not only do we receive "the BLESSING of Abraham", but, according to Jesus, it is also now possible to "love the LORD your God with all your HEART" (Mat 22:37 NKJV). In Christ we find the blessing and a new, God-honouring heart. Hallelujah!
Pst. Emmanuel