The Promise of the Father
The “Promise of the Father” is the Gift of the Spirit, and in his letters, the Apostle Paul links it to the Abrahamic covenant in his letters. The covenant promises to the Patriarch find their fulfillment in the New Covenant inaugurated by Jesus as confirmed by the bestowal of the Spirit on the Assembly in Jerusalem. The events on the Day of Pentecost marked the commencement of the age of fulfillment. “In Christ,” Gentile believers become full heirs of Abraham along with believing Jews.
Moreover, Paul
equates the “Promise of the Spirit” with the “blessings of Abraham.”
The original covenant always envisioned the inclusion of the nations, a point he
uses when contending for the acceptance of Gentile believers in the covenant
community without the rite of circumcision.
 |
| [Photo by Julia Caesar on Unsplash] |
All men and women who belong to Jesus become “Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise,” and the old distinctions between “Jew and Gentile” no longer apply. The inclusion of the Gentiles was not an afterthought; it was always integral to the Covenant, and the Gift of the Spirit is received from faith, not biological descent - (Genesis 12:1-3, Galatians 3:1-14, 3:29):
- “In whom, you also are hearing the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also believing, were sealed with the Spirit of the promise, which is an earnest of our inheritance, for the redemption of the acquisition, for his glorious praise” - (Ephesians 1:13-14).
The Spirit
is the “earnest,” the “down payment” that guarantees the
disciple’s participation in the inheritance. The references in Ephesians
to “inheritance” and “acquisition” allude to the territory originally
promised by God to Abraham - “I will give to you and your seed all the land
of Canaan for an everlasting possession”
- (Genesis 17:8).
In this way, Paul connects the Gift
of the Spirit to the Abrahamic Covenant, including its promise of territory. Likewise,
Jesus labeled the Gift the “Promise of the Father.” Before his
ascension, he commanded his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received
the Spirit, then they would become his “witnesses to the uttermost parts of
the earth” - (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4).
PROMISES FULFILLED
In his sermon
delivered on the Day of Pentecost, Peter declared that the outpouring of the
Spirit was according to the prophecy in the Book of Joel - “In
the last days, God will
pour out His Spirit on all flesh.”
The presence of the Spirit demonstrated that the “Last Days” were
underway, an era that would continue until the return of Jesus at the end of
the age - (Genesis 17:7-10, Joel 2:28-32, Acts 2:38-39).
The Gift of the Spirit is how men and women receive the “blessings of Abraham,” the “Promise of the Father.” By the Spirit, men from every nation find themselves blessed with faithful Abraham, and therefore heirs of the promises and members of the covenant community - (Genesis 12:3, Acts 3:25, Romans 4:13).
The
actualization of the promises began with the outpouring of the Spirit on
Pentecost. Since then, every man and woman who receives the Gift becomes a “child
of Abraham,” and therefore, the old boundaries that divided Jew from
Gentile are wholly inappropriate in the new community formed by Jesus -
(Galatians 3:27-29).
The Mosaic
legislation itself anticipated the need for something beyond the Law. The Torah could
not complete what God began with Abraham, and later, revealed in more detail
through Moses at Mount Sinai. Inevitably, the nation of Israel disobeyed and
violated the Covenant.
However,
after chastisement and repentance, the nation would “return to Yahweh and
obey His voice,” and He would gather His people from all nations and “circumcise
their hearts to love Him” - (Deuteronomy
30:1-6).
The themes
of renewal and the circumcision of the heart were taken up centuries
later by the prophet Jeremiah. God fully intended to “make a New Covenant
with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,” but not like the covenant
at Sinai.
With the bestowal
of the Spirit, God began to write His laws on the hearts of His people, and the
promised circumcision of the heart was and is being actualized in the Body
of Christ - (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Hebrews 8:6-13).
The Book
of Ezekiel added the aspect of the Spirit to the promised “New Covenant.”
When Yahweh gathered the children of Israel, He would put “a new spirit”
in them, and thereby He would “cause them to walk in His statutes.”
Moreover,
the passage in Ezekiel combines the promises of the Spirit, the circumcised
heart, and the New Covenant. The covenant promises are linked to and dependent
on the receipt of the Spirit - (Ezekiel
36:16-28, 37:25-28, 2
Corinthians 3:1-6).
Consistently, the New Testament applies the promises made to Abraham to the Gift of the Spirit that is now granted freely to Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus, and it is labeled the “Promise of the Father” and the “blessing of Abraham.”
Men are now set right before God and receive the promised Gift of
His Spirit freely through repentance and faith (“Repent and be
baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your
sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” – Acts
2:38).
The Gift
of the Holy Spirit is the identifying mark of the people of God, and the Spirit
provides them with the power to walk in the New Covenant, fulfill the “righteous
requirements of the Law,” and proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom “to
the uttermost parts of the Earth.”
RELATED POSTS:
Comments
Post a Comment