Children of the Promise

Through Jesus, we become heirs of Abraham and the promises, and the gift of the Spirit is the guarantee of our participation in the inheritance.  God’s plan of redemption always envisioned something larger than the nation of Israel and the land of Canaan. With the arrival of Christ, “the seed of Abraham,” and the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the fulfillment of the promises began.

The promises of God come to fruition in Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit is the solemn pledge and guarantee of God that we will receive the full inheritance on the Last Day. Because of the faithful obedience of Jesus unto death and our faith in him, we become the heirs, the children of promise:

• “For however many are the promises of God, in Christ is the yea; wherefore also, through him is the Amen, for the glory of God through us” - (2 Corinthians 1:20).

• “And if you are of Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise” - (Galatians 3:29).

• “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise” - (Galatians 4:28. Compare Romans 9:8).

• “And I will give unto you, and to your seed after you, the land of your journeying, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession” - (Genesis 17:8).

[Iceland - Photo by Luke Sheveland on Unsplash]

In the New Testament, terms such as ‘inheritance’, ‘heir’, and ‘possession’ are applied to the Church of Jesus Christ. We become the children of Abraham and the heirs who are destined to receive the covenant promises, and this is because of the death and resurrection of Jesus. He is the true seed of Abraham – (Galatians 3:16).

The gift of the Spirit is the “earnest,” the down payment that guarantees the fulfillment of the promises, and the Scriptures confirm this. For example:

• “Now, HE WHO ESTABISHES US with you in Christ, and anointed us, is God, who also sealed us and gave us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts” - (2 Corinthians 1:21-22. Note the verbal allusion to Psalm 89:4 [“I will establish your seed for ever”]).

• “In whom (Christ) you also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is an earnest of our inheritance, for the redemption of God's own possession, for the praise of his glory” - (Ephesians 1:13-14. Compare Ephesians 4:30, Romans 8:17, Colossians 1:12).

In Ephesians 1:13-14, Paul uses an analogy from the world of commerce. A written agreement was not complete until a wax seal was affixed to it. The analogy means that the gift of the Spirit is “the seal” that confirms the fulfillment of the “agreement” at the appointed time.

The gift of the Spirit is the “earnest payment,” the ‘arrabôn’. This Greek term refers to a down payment that guarantees the completion of the original purchase contract. Thus, the gift of the Spirit is both the seal and the pledge that secures the promise, in this case, the complete redemption of believers.

Jesus is the seed of Abraham, and through him, we become “heirs according to promise,” “coheirs” with Christ, and heirs of Abraham. Membership in God’s one covenant community is based on the faith of Jesus, his faithful obedience unto death, and not on anyone’s ethnicity. Our acceptance into the Body of Christ is confirmed by the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit in our lives:

• “Now, to Abraham the promises were spoken, and to his seed. He does not say, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, AND TO YOUR SEED, which is Christ” – (Galatians 3:16. Compare Genesis 12:3-7).

• “And because you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. So that you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God” – (Galatians 4:6-7).

The gift of the Spirit is the guarantee of our future possession of the covenant promises. This gift is part of the “blessings of Abraham” promised by God for the nations. Because he believed the word of God, Abraham’s faith was “reckoned to him for righteousness,” and we who are of the same faith as the Patriarch are his children and heirs - (See Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:4-9).

RESURRECTION AND TERRITORY

If the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead “dwells in us,” we are assured that God will also resurrect us from the dead and grant us immortal bodies. The gift of the Spirit is the “first fruits” of this final harvest, including our resurrection and the transformation of our bodies:

• “For we know that the whole creation is groaning and travailing in pain together until now. And not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for our adoption, the redemption of our body” – (Romans 8:21-23. See also 1 Corinthians 15:20, 2 Corinthians 5:5).

• “Behold, I tell you a mystery! We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed! In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” – (1 Corinthians 15:51-53).

On the last day, Jesus will raise us from the dead and declare, “Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” - (Matthew 25:34).

The promises given to Abraham are not limited to Israel, and Jesus has not abandoned the original covenant. Instead, Christ universalized the promises, making the Abrahamic Covenant a blessing to all the nations of the Earth.

Rather than the small territory of Canaan, we will inherit the Cosmos. As Paul declares, the Patriarch is the heir of the “world” or ‘kosmos’. This promise will be actualized in all its fullness in the New Creation when the saints inherit all things - (Romans 4:13).

The future resurrection and the arrival of the New Creation will be the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant, and our possession of the Spirit is the foretaste and guarantee of the promised inheritance.

• “And Peter said to them, 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. For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, AS MANY AS THE LORD OUR GOD WILL CALL” – (Acts 2:38-39. Note the allusion to Joel 2:32, and compare Acts 2:16-21).

• “Wherefore remember, that once you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called Circumcision in the flesh, made by hands; that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now, in Christ Jesus, YOU WHO WERE ONCE FAR OFF BECAME NEAR by the blood of Christ” – (Ephesians 2:11-13. Note the allusion to Isaiah 57:19).

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[Citations of Old Testament passages in this article are based on the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint (see the links here and here). Text printed in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS represents quotations and verbal allusions from the Old Testament. The Septuagint is represented by the Roman numeral for ‘seventy’ or LXX based on the Latin name of the translation, ‘Interpretatio septuaginta virorum’]

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SEE ALSO:

• The Promise of the Father - (With the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the blessings for all nations promised to Abraham commenced)

• The Circumcised Heart - (The promise of the Spirit is vital to the redemption of humanity and the Covenant of God with His people, the Church of Jesus Christ)

• The Blessing of Abraham - (The gift of the Spirit is part of the covenant promises made to Abraham, including blessing the nations of the Earth)

• Enfants de la Promesse - (Par Jésus, nous devenons héritiers d'Abraham et des promesses, et le don de l'Esprit est la garantie de notre participation à l'héritage)