Covenant Heirs
The “Promise of the Father” is the Gift of the Spirit, and Paul links it to the Abrahamic covenant in his letters. The promises made to the Patriarch find their fulfillment in the New Covenant inaugurated by Jesus of Nazareth. The bestowal of the Spirit on his Assembly marks the commencement of the “Last Days,” the time of fulfillment. Because of his death and resurrection, Gentile believers are full heirs of the Abrahamic Covenant along with believing Jews.
The
Apostle Paul identifies 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 Assembly
without the rite of circumcision.
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| [Photo by Drini Teta on Unsplash] |
All men and women who belong to Jesus become “Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise.” The old distinctions between “Jew and Gentile” no longer apply. The inclusion of the Gentiles was not an afterthought but was always integral to the Abrahamic Covenant, and the Gift of the Spirit is received from faith - (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
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).
Thus, Paul connects the Gift of
the Spirit to the original covenant, including its promise of territory. Likewise,
Jesus labeled the Gift of the Spirit the “Promise of the Father,” and before
his ascension, he commanded his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they
received the Spirit. Thereafter, they would become his “witnesses to the
uttermost parts of the Earth” – To all the nations of the world - (Luke
24:49, Acts 1:4).
In his sermon
on the Day of Pentecost, Peter declared that the outpouring of the Spirit was in
fulfillment of 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, 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 Body of Christ - (Galatians 3:27-29).
THE NEW COVENANT
The Mosaic
Legislation itself anticipated the need for something beyond the Law. The Torah could
not complete what God began with Abraham. 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 one
legislated at Mount Sinai.
With the
outpouring 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 adds 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
Book of Ezekiel combines the promises of the Spirit, the circumcised
heart, and the New Covenant. Thus, the covenant promises are linked to and dependent
on the receipt of the Spirit by the people of God - (Ezekiel 36:16-28, 37:25-28, 2 Corinthians 3:1-6).
Consistently,
the New Testament applies the promises to Abraham to the Gift of the Spirit
that is now granted freely to Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus, and the
Bible labels it the “Promise of the Father” and the “blessing of
Abraham.”
Since the
death and resurrection of Jesus, the Gift of the Holy Spirit has become the
identifying mark of the one people of God rather than circumcision or physical
descent from Abraham. Moreover, the Spirit provides believers with the power to
walk in the New Covenant, the means to fulfill the “righteous requirements
of the Law,” and the power to proclaim the Gospel to the “uttermost
parts of the Earth.”
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