Christ and the Covenant with Abraham
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Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4 Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5 Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
6 Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 7 Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8 The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Introduction
Introduction
This evening we will be continuing our study entitled “Christ through the Covenants”. And we will be turning our attention this evening to how it is that Christ actually brings to fulfilment, or provides the fulfilment of the covenants that we’ve been looking at from the Old Testament.
Now, let me say from the outset that there are various methods of interpreting the Scriptures as a whole. People try to understand the broader implications of Scripture, how Scripture fits together, how themes unite across Scripture in different ways. And I’ve been outlining these various covenants to you because I believe that the Covenants form the backbone for the proper interpretation of Scripture.
This evening I would like to us to consider particularly the Covenant made with Abraham, and how the promises made to Abraham come to fulfilment in and through Jesus Christ.
The Covenant with Abraham was a very important and central covenant early on in the Old Testament. The later covenants to some extent or another build on the covenant with Abraham.
In the covenant with Abraham, we have laid down the foundation of the entire redemptive purposes of God.
But just to remind you, when I preached on the covenant with Abraham, there were essential three broad promises that were made to Abraham by God in Genesis 12, 13, 15, 17, 22.
The first promise was the promise of land.
The second promise was the promise of a seed (offspring)...
And the third promise was that of blessing - a general blessing to Abraham, his offspring, and even to the world ultimately.
By way of reminder, consider these promises outlined in Genesis 12:1-3...
1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
All of those promises were further elaborated on and detailed in the subsequent chapters of Genesis (we looked at these at the time).
With that in mind, I’d like to turn our attention to each one of these promises and consider their fulfilment in Jesus Christ. To what extent are they / have they been fulfilled. Are we still waiting for fulfilment?
How does the fulfilment look?
These are important questions, and I do hope that we’re encouraged as we consider these things together.
1. The Land Promise
1. The Land Promise
In terms of the promise that was given, we see firstly that this promise included an extent of land that would extend from the River of Egypt to the Euphrates. To some extent at least, God was promising a particular portion of land, and it was defined physically. This was the land of Canaan.
15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—
In the above, we need to take note of the contextual clues in terms of the promises that God gives. In verse 16, God says to Abraham that the promise will happen in the fourth generation of Abraham. In that sense, there was also a time frame that was given, at least for the initial fulfilment of the promise of land.
But that leads us to consider an important point. In terms of fulfilment, we need to see that there were various stages or degrees of fulfilment, and there were also different dimensions of fulfilment.
Initially, the land promises that God made to Israel were fulfilled in the near future when Joshua led the descendants of Abraham into the Promised land. As the book of Joshua records...
43 So the Lord gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it.
Just a little further on in the book of Joshua, we find that Joshua reminded the Israelites of how God had kept his promises.
14 “Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed.
Now, we must immediately see that this was (again, at least in some sense, or to some extent) the fulfilment of God’s promises to Abraham, and it’s clearly outlined as this in SCripture.
However, we also need to recognise that the Scriptures speak about these things in broader terms, and detail a far greater fulfilment than the initial fulfilment for Israel.
In the NT, much of what is spoken of in the OT as physical realities are shown to have been pointing to greater spiritual realities.
As such, what we find is that the land promises were fulfilled in the far future through Jesus, who provides true Israel with permanent rest from what we could term “their wanderings in sin.”
As the Israelites wandered in the Wilderness in anticipation of settling in the promises land, so people were wandering in sin and darkness, awaiting the time that they would be brought into a spiritual place of rest in Christ.
How is this brought across to us in the Scriptures? In a couple of ways.
One of the places that we see this is in the book of Hebrews. The writer to the Hebrews made it clear that the rest that the descendants of Abraham experienced when they entered the land was but a type of the rest we experience when we enter an eternal relationship with the Lord.
The land provided temporal rest for the physical descendants of Abraham, but the Lord provides eternal rest for his spiritual descendants.
Let us consider this a little further.
The land promise then, ultimately, is not limited to a particular piece of land. The immediate fulfilment was, but the greater reality, the superior fulfilment if you like, was far broader than that.
We see this even in the New Testament when we consider some of the New Testament allusions to the Old Testament.
We see this when we see the Old Covenant Promises being changed in terms of their language and application.
For example, in the Law, we find that the command to children to honour their parents is given in Exodus 20:12...
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
Now, we would understand that the reference over there is to the land of Canaan that God would give the Israelites.
However, as we look to the New Testament, when Paul repeats that command in Ephesians 6 in the context of the church, he changes the wording to refer not to the promised land of Israel, but rather to the entire earth.
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
This is an example of the universalizing of the promises made to Abraham. In a sense this ties in with the promise not only to bless the descendants of Abraham, but to bless all people through Abraham.. Repeatedly found in the New Testament.
Notice also how Paul conveys this in his letter to the Romans…
13 It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.
The descendants of Abraham would be heir of the world… global. This was not a local land, but rather worldwide.
The initial promises are greatly expanded and include the whole world, rather than simply the land of Israel.
Taking this a step further, let us consider what the writer to the Hebrews writes:
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
But notice what is said later on…
16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
What is this city that is being referred to? Ultimately, it is the kingdom of Christ. The entire book of Hebrews links the Old Covenant promises with beautiful fulfilment in Christ for those who are in Him. Notice what the writer to the Hebrews says just later on…
22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly,
And then a little further on…
14 For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.
All of these references and pictures point forward to Christ being the fulfilment, and a heavenly reality that is to be found in Christ. Nonetheless, the link is made back to the promises made to Abraham.
But we see also that this link is to an eternal kingdom as well. And so, while there is fulfilment in Christ, there is still an ultimate fulfilment to come in Christ.
Now, let’s turn our attention with regards to the land to the book of Galatians.
Galatians 4:21ff refers to the Jerusalem above.
24 These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.
What Paul is doing over here is that he’s creating a link for the Christians between the Old Covenant, which represented types and shadows, and served a particular purpose for a particular period of time, and He’s demonstrating to the Christians that for them to remain in the Old Covenant types and shadows is really to live in bondage, rather than to be in freedom in Christ.
The writers of the New Testament take the physical promises and apply them to a spiritual reality - something far greater. And this is to be found in Christ.
Let me give you just one more example of this as we try to understand these things. Compare these following Scripture references where the parallels are quite clearly seen.
34 “Then the Lord heard the sound of your words, and He was angry and took an oath, saying,
35 ‘Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land which I swore to give your fathers,
11 “Therefore I swore in My anger,
Truly they shall not enter into My rest.”
3 For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said,
“As I swore in My wrath,
They shall not enter My rest,”
although His works were finished from the foundation of the world.
The clear connection there is that the promised rest, the land promised to Abraham, was withheld from particular people through disbelief. But that was a type and shadow that would point forward to a spiritual reality that would be applicable to all people throughout the world.
2. The Seed Promise
2. The Seed Promise
There is a very similar pattern to be found in the seed promise that was made to Abraham.
Again, we find that there was a partial fulfilment at least even in the Old Testament days.
The very immediate fulfilment of the seed promise must be seen to be Isaac himself. This was the child that was born to Abraham, even when this was an impossibility.
But the seed promise, you will recall, was given in such a way that it would include a great multitude. Abraham was told that his descendants would be similar in number to the stars in the sky. His descendants would be like the sand on the seashore.
Now, beyond Isaac, we see this coming to fulfilment in the days of the Israelites.
For example, in 1 Kings 4 we read these words…
20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy.
There can be no doubt that this in itself was a wonderful fulfilment of the promise that was made to Abraham. God brought this to pass. Israel became a great nation - a wonderful fulfilment of this promise
But we should not stop there and think that the ultimate fulfilment was in these people Israel and Judah. God had a much bigger and broader fulfilment that he desired to bring about - and that was that Abraham would be the father of nations!
As we look to the New Testament, we find once again that the nation Israel was in fact a shadow of the greater fulfilment that was to come in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is very important.
When we come to the New Testament, the writers convey the reality that the true descendants of Abraham, the spiritual descendants of Abraham are not the Jews, but rather, those who are of faith. Those who have a faith like Abraham had are the children of Abraham.
This is what the text that we read earlier highlights for us.
6 Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.
7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.
Paul is quoting Genesis 15:6… God had said to look at the heavens / skies, so shall your offspring be. Abraham believed what God had said, and it was this faith that was reckoned as righteousness.
6 Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
A little bit further on in the book of Galatians, Paul writes these words…
29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.
Paul is saying here that the promise that God made to Abraham were coming to fulfilment, not primarily in the physical seed, although there was a partial fulfilment.
Rather, the promises were pointing to a greater spiritual reality once again. And the heirs of those promises would be so through faith.
And the object of this faith is Jesus Christ.
In fact, Jesus himself is the seed to whom the promises pointed. Look at how Paul points this out in Galatians 3… This is very important…
16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ.
In other words, there were promises made to Abraham and to his seed. In the immediate context, it would have been thought and anticipated that this seed that was referred to was Isaac and his descendants. But Paul argues differently. He says here that the seed was actually pointing to Jesus Christ. And the promises given are actually given for Jesus.
Consequently, those who are in Christ, are heirs of the promises.
Now, we’re not looking into many other dimensions of Paul’s teaching in Galatians, particularly relating to the Law and how Christ fulfils aspects relating to the law.
My point is simply to note that the fulfilment of the seed promise is ultimately in Christ, and those who are in Christ.
One further place that I’d like to see this borne out is in Romans 4.
13 It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14 For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, 15 because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.
16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.
Once again, the clear emphasis is that it is those who are of faith in Christ who are the descendants of Abraham.
3. The Blessing Promise
3. The Blessing Promise
What then of the blessing promise?
In one sense, the blessing promise came to fulfilment through Israel entering into the promised Land, experiencing the presence of God with them, and God giving them rest from their enemies.
For Israel, part of that blessed involved the fact that they were the nation chosen by God to be His people.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he chose for his inheritance.
Alborating on this somewhat, notice the words of Psalm 144…
12 Then our sons in their youth
will be like well-nurtured plants,
and our daughters will be like pillars
carved to adorn a palace.
13 Our barns will be filled
with every kind of provision.
Our sheep will increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields;
14 our oxen will draw heavy loads.
There will be no breaching of walls,
no going into captivity,
no cry of distress in our streets.
15 Blessed are the people of whom this is true;
blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.
There is this general sense of blessing upon this people because God’s merciful and favourable hand is upon them. God’s presence is with them. And they are blessed in this sense with a general peace and joy and sense of wellbeing.
Therefore, we see once again the fulfilment of that promise in Israel as a people. But we certainly see the expansion of that through the Scriptures.
Once again, the intention of the promises was never to be limited to Abraham’s physical descendants, but rather it was intended to expand to all nations.
In fact, the true blessing is spiritual in nature. Look at Galatians 3...
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—
14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Ultimately, the blessing was salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Think about this. The promise to Abraham was that through him all the nations would be blessed. But again, what was the nature of the blessing?
Ultimately, the blessing was salvation.
We see this in Galatians 3:8-9...
8 The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Very clearly from this verse, the blessing promised was a Gospel blessing that came to fulfilment in Jesus Christ.
Elsewhere in Scripture, we find this idea of blessing is most certainly fully found in Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
He then goes on to outline the nature of those blessings, and they all relate to the joys and privileges of being found in Christ...
4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—
Application / Conclusion
Application / Conclusion
How should this be of encouragement to us?
Sometimes I think we miss the significance of these things. But as you think about the context of the promises given to Abraham, and the fact that it was out of the midst of a world racked by sin and rebellion that God chose a particular man and set his love upon this man, and gave these glorious promises, it should immediately move us to a sense of gratitude when we realise that we are somehow participants in these promises.
Imagine for a moment you were Abraham. God appeared to you in Genesis 12, and gave these promises to you… promise of a land… promise of becoming a great nation… promise of being a blessing to multitudes… Would you not think to yourself, what an honour. What a blessing indeed.
Now you are not Abraham, but you as children of God are the recipients of the great fulfilment of these promises in Jesus Christ.
If you’re in Christ, you are part of the seed of Abraham, and thus participate in all the blessing that were promised to him and his seed.
If you’re in Christ, then you have received (at least in some measure) a place of rest in Christ. In a sense you inherit not a piece of land, but the whole earth, and will rule with Christ in the New heavens and new earth.
If you’re in Christ, then the promise of God’s blessing to Abraham is a blessing that is bestowed upon you in Christ. The greatest blessings that you could imagine!
Now, there is a time coming where the final fulfilment will come about. In other words, while these are already ours in Christ, the full realisation of these things will be brought to pass at the return of Christ.
Nonetheless, they are as certainly ours as they ever can be.
Friends, this is a great reason for rejoicing and celebration. Let us be encouraged. God’s goodness and grace and mercy towards us is profound, and should lead us to rejoicing and thanksgiving.