The Finished Word

The gift of the Spirit is one of the blessings of Abraham that God promised to bestow on His people through His Messiah . Paul refers to the “ promise of the Spirit ” in his letter to the Galatians. He equates this gift with the blessing of Abraham. Jesus came under the curse of the Law to redeem us, so that now, “ the blessing of Abraham might come on the nations through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith ” – (Galatians 3:13-14).

The gift of the Spirit is part of the covenant promises made to Abraham, including blessing the nations of the Earth . The Gospel of Matthew declares that Jesus is the son of Abraham. Thus, this gospel account connects the Nazarene to the Abrahamic Covenant, for the Messiah of Israel came to complete the covenant and all its promises.

With the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the blessings for all nations promised to Abraham commenced . The gift of the Holy Spirit is described as “the promise of the Father” in the New Testament, which connects this gift to the Abrahamic covenant. The promises to Abraham and his seed are fulfilled in the New Covenant inaugurated by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the gift of the Spirit is the guarantee that we will inherit all that God has promised.

The jurisdiction of the Mosaic regulations over the covenant community reached its limit with the arrival of Jesus, the Seed of Abraham . Responding to claims that Gentiles must be circumcised, Paul appealed to the common experience of the Spirit received by the Galatians. Did they receive the Gift through a “ hearing of faith ” or “ from the works of the Law ”? Having begun in the Spirit, why did they seek the “ completion ” of their faith based on “ flesh ” rather than the Spirit by submitting to circumcision? In Jesus, believers have reached the end of the Law  “ for righteousness ”  - (Romans 10:4).

Paul presents the points of agreement and disagreement with his Judaizing opponents in Galatia – Galatians 2:15-21. What identifies the people of God and determines membership in His covenant community is Christ, especially the Messiah who has been revealed on the Cross. Jews and Gentiles are justified through Jesus and his death, and nothing else !

The gift of the Spirit is essential to the identity, mission, and life of the Church. It is foundational to the New Covenant . Jesus commanded his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received “ the promise of the Father .” The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost inaugurated the Church and the last days and equipped the followers of Christ to take his Good News to the nations – (Luk 24:46-49, Acts 1:7-8, 2:1-21).

The Gift of the Spirit is one of God’s promises to Abraham to bless the nations in the Patriarch’s Seed, Jesus Christ . Peter and John prayed for a man who was “ lame from his mother’s womb ” as he was begging for alms near the Jerusalem Temple. Rather than money, the apostles commanded the man to walk “ in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth .” Immediately, he stood up and began to walk. Afterward, he was seen and heard by many “ leaping and praising God .”