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Abraham’s Promise Is Our Promise

December 18, 2005

 

Jesus came to confirm the promises
Romans 15:8 Now I say that Jesus Christwas a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm  the promises made unto the fathers.
 
Thy fathers: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Acts 7:32 Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.
 
Our father David
Mark 11:10 Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.
 
Jesus was also sent to proclaim the promises
Luke 4:43 but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."
 
The kingdom of God = the promises given to the fathers
1 Corinthians 15:50 “…flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God…”
 
Hebrews 6:11-12 And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: 12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
 
James 2:5 Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?(NIV)
 
The Promises given to the fathers
 
Abraham
Genesis 12:1-7
1Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
 
 Genesis 13:12, 14-17
12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan,
14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward (on the earth):
15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
 
Genesis 15:1-7
1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am a shield to thee, thy reward is exceeding great
2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
7 And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
 
Genesis 17:1-9
1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 
2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 
5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 
6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings (rulers) shall come out of thee.
7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. 
9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
 
Genesis 22:17-18
17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand, which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 
18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Isaac
Genesis 17:19
19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
 
Genesis 26:2-4
2 And the LORD appeared unto him (Isaac), and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:
3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
 
Jacob
Genesis 28:1,3-4
1 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
3 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; 
4 And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the landwherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.
 
Genesis 28:13-15
13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou (Jacob)  liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed
15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
 
Genesis 50:24 And Joseph said unto his brethren (the twelve tribes), I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
 
David
2 Samuel 7:4,5,12-14,16 “…the word of the LORD came unto Nathan, saying, 5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD…12 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou (David) shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: 16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
 
Psalm 132:11 The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne.  
 
Isaiah 9:6-7 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
 
Jeremiah 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
 
Luke 1:31-33 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 
 
All the fathers died in faith – received not the promises
Hebrews 11:13 These all (the fathers) died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen [or perceived] them (the promises) afar off (the final realization of the promises were in the distant future), and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth (or on the land v.9). 
 
The promises pertain to the future
Hebrews 11:8-10 By faith (eye’s on “things hoped for” and “things not seen”)  Abraham, when he was called to go out (from Ur) into a place (Canaan, the land of promise) which he should after receive [or later receive, or destined to receive] for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise (Isaac in Gen 26:3 and Jacob in Gen 28:13) 10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
 
The patriarchal promise remains unfulfilled
Acts 7:4-5  "Then he (Abraham) came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell. 5 "And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants [or seed] after him.
 
When shall these promises be fulfilled?
Matthew 8:11 And I (Jesus) say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west (“and from the north, and from the south,” in Luke 13:29 – on the earth), and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob shall be raised from the dead
Matthew 22:31-32 31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
 
At Christ’s second coming
2 Timothy 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the living and the dead (by resurrection) at His appearing and His kingdom.
 
Only Christ can fulfill the promises
Galatians 3:16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ.
 
The Christ, the seed of Abraham, shall rule the earth
Genesis 22:17-18 That in blessing I will bless thee, …thy seed (Christ) shall possess the gate of his enemies;  18 And in thy seed (Christ) shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
 
All the nations shall be blessed by the Messiah
Acts 3:25-26 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. 26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.
 
Abraham understood concerning HIS SEED, the Messiah
John 8:56 "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day (the day of the Lord), and he saw (or understood) it and was glad."
 
The gospel unto Abraham
Galatians 3:8-9 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations (of the earth) be blessed.  9 So then they which be of faith (Jew or Gentile) areblessed with faithful Abraham.
The blessing of Abraham
Genesis 28:1,3-4 Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him and charged him, and said unto him,    3 And God Almighty bless thee…4 And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.
 
To inherit the land = To inherit the world
Romans 4:13 The promise to Abraham and his descendants (or seed), that they should  inherit the world, did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith (RSV). 
 
To inherit the land = To inherit the kingdom
 Matthew 25:31 When the Son of man shall come (to the earth) in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory (on the earth in Jerusalem 1Chron.17:12; Isa.9:7; Lk.1:32-33): 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world
 
To inherit the land = To inherit the earth =
The kingdom of heaven
Matthew 5:3,5 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.          5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth .
 
To inherit the land = To inherit eternal life (age-lasting life)
Matthew 19:29 "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 
 
To inherit the land = To inherit the blessing
Hebrews 12:17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears
 
To inherit the land = To inherit the promises
Hebrews 6:12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises
 
Gentiles have been promised “the same” blessing
Galatians 3:14,18 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 18 For if the inheritancebe of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.  
 
The blessed are raised to reign a thousand years
Revelation 20:6Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
 
The Blessed hope
Titus 2:13 Looking for the blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.
 
To reign on the earth and not in the heavens
Revelation 5:10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign *on the earth.”
 
* The Greek preposition Epi has the basic root meaning “upon” and implies contact with its object rather than resting above or over.
 
His promise of a new world
2 Peter 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
 
A heavenly land and a heavenly city on this earth
Hebrews 11:16 But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city (“which is to come,” 13:14). 
 
The hope of the promise made to the
fathers has not changed
Acts 26:6-7 And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers. 7 To this promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain. For this hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews. 8 Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?
 
Abraham’s promise is our promise
Hebrews 11:39-40And these all (in the OT scriptures), having obtained a good report through faith (faithful saints), received not the promise (it waits the second coming of Christ):     40  For God had provided (or having foreseen) something better for us (all the seed of faith), so that we would be made perfect together (this is my translation from the Greek text).