Abel's Faith and the Eternal Gospel: The Testimony of Christ from the Beginning
Orientation
We can mistakenly think that God's acceptance is based on our effort or the quality of our religious works, leading to confusion and rivalry.
- Cain's hatred for Abel reveals the flesh's reaction to righteousness by faith.
- The story is not about two equal offerings, but about two different grounds of approach to God.
- God's acceptance has never been based on human merit or ritual observance.
Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. (1 John 3:12)
— 1 John 3:12
Clarification
Abel's righteousness came from faith in God's testimony concerning the promised Seed and the efficacy of blood, not from his own deeds.
- Abel's offering was accepted because it rested on faith in the coming Redeemer.
- God publicly declared His acceptance by sending fire to consume Abel's sacrifice.
- Abel is called the first prophet because he believed the gospel message of Christ prefigured in the promise.
By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. (Hebrews 11:4)
— Hebrews 11:4
Structure
From the beginning, the everlasting covenant and the gospel were centered on Christ as the singular Seed who is both the promise-maker and the promise-fulfiller.
- The living Word, Christ, personally communicated God's promises to Abraham.
- The covenant promises were made to Abraham and his Seed, which is Christ alone.
- All blessing flows through this one Seed, not through the works of the flesh.
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. (Galatians 3:16)
— Galatians 3:16
Weight-Bearing Prose
The theological structure is clear: justification has always been by faith in the testimony of Christ. Abel’s righteous deeds were the fruit of his faith in the promised Seed and the efficacy of blood—the prefigured gospel. This is not a later Pauline innovation but the foundational pattern. The ‘way of the flesh’—exemplified by Cain—trusts in human effort and finds no acceptance. Paul’s revelation in Galatians 3 anchors this in covenant theology: the everlasting covenant was established with Christ as the singular Seed. Christ is both the agent of the promise (the living Word who spoke to Abraham) and its inheritor. The gospel was thus ‘preached beforehand’ (Galatians 3:8). Righteousness is never received by works but only by believing God’s testimony concerning His Son. This places Abel, Abraham, and the believer today on the same ground: faith in Christ.
Integration
Your acceptance before God rests on the same ground as Abel’s: faith in the testimony of Christ. There is no pressure to advance to a different ground or to add your works. Christ is the Seed, the Word, the Blood, and the Righteousness. The covenant is secure in Him. Your assurance is anchored in His finished work, proclaimed from the beginning. You are accepted in the Beloved, not because your offering is better, but because His sacrifice is perfect. Rest here. This is the landing place of the gospel.