Genesis 12:3 is the second recorded Gospel sermon.
It is the second piece in God’s spiritual puzzle of redemption. It looks backward to man’s problem in Genesis 3:6 and forward to God’s remedy in Calvary. It looks backward to man’s separation from God in Genesis 3:6 and forward to man’s reconciliation to God in Christ and the cross. It looks backward to man’s despair in Genesis 3:6 and forward to man’s hope in the blood of God’s Son. It looks backward to the beginning of sin in Genesis 3:6 and forward to the closing of Christ’s work for sin in John 19:30.
God preached the Gospel to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 just as surely as Peter preached the Gospel on Pentecost in Acts 2. The only difference is that Genesis 12:3 looks forward to an event to be accomplished, and Acts 2 looks backward on the accomplishment of the event. Genesis 12:3 is the gospel in promise, and Acts 2 is the gospel in fact.-KneeMail, Frank Chesser, Montgomery, Alabama (Mike Benson, editor)