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.

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.

The New Testament presents the Son of God as the one in whom all God’s promises find their fulfilment, and this includes the promises made to the Patriarch Abraham. This reality is described in several ways. For example, in his letter to the Galatians, Paul connects the gift of the Spirit with the promise to bless all nations in Abraham. Christ is the seed of Abraham and the heir of the covenant – (Genesis 22:18, 2 Corinthians 1:20, Galatians 3:1-14).

[Photo by Štefan Štefančík (Prague) on Unsplash]

In Jerusalem, Peter and John prayed for a man who was “lame from his mother’s womb,” who was begging for alms near the Temple. They commanded him to stand and walk “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.” Immediately, the man began to walk, and he was seen and heard “leaping and praising God.”

Many Jews observed this incident as they entered and departed from the Temple, filling them with amazement. This provided Peter with an excellent opportunity to preach the Gospel – (Acts 3:1-11).

The outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost was one of the promises secured for God’s people by the death and resurrection of Jesus. Through the risen Christ, the fulfilment of the covenant commenced, beginning with the gift of the Spirit:

• “And behold, I send forth the promise of my Father upon you. But wait in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” – (Luke 24:49).

• “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. AND YOU WILL BE MY WITNESSES both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, AND UNTO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH” – (Acts 1:8. Note the allusions to Isaiah 43:10 and 52:10).

And so, Peter attributed the healing of the lame man to the God of Abraham, and to faith in the name of Jesus, the servant of the Lord whom the Father raised from the dead, the same man who now bestows the gift of the Spirit to his Church, “the promise of the Father,” in fulfilment of the Divine promises:

• “The things that God foreshowed by all the prophets, that his Messiah should suffer, he thus fulfilled. <...> Therefore, men everywhere ought to repent, SO THEIR SINS MAY BE BLOTTED OUT” - (Acts 3:19. See Isaiah 44:22).

The idea of ancient promises being fulfilled in Jesus is pronounced in the story from Acts. The Jews are “the sons of the prophets” and heirs of the Abrahamic covenant. The Patriarch is the one in whom “all the families of the earth will be blessed.” Peter links the resurrection and ascension of Jesus and the outpouring of the Spirit to this very same covenant, including the promise to bless all nations - (Deuteronomy 18:15-18, Isaiah 42:1, Acts 2:17-38).

• “Yes, and all the prophets from Samuel and those who followed later, as many as have spoken, they also told of these days. You are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, AND IN YOUR SEED ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH WILL BE BLESSED. Unto you first, God, having raised up his Servant, sent him to bless you, in turning away each of you from your sins” - (Acts 3:24-26. See Genesis 12:3).

The Gospel of Luke identifies the promise of the Father as the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the outpouring of the Spirit on the Church demonstrated that the time of fulfillment began with the death, resurrection, and enthronement of the Messiah.

From now on, men and women from every nation, including, but by no means limited to, the Jewish nation, are summoned to repent, be baptized, and receive the gift of the Spirit - (Luke 24:44-49, Acts 1:4-8, 2:36-39):

• “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 2:16-21, Acts 2:39. Compare Joel 2:32).

THE GIFT OF THE SPIRIT

As stated above, Paul connects the promise of the Spirit with the blessing of Abraham. The covenant always foresaw the inclusion of the nations. Jesus is the promised seed, and all men who belong to him also become heirs of the Abrahamic covenant:

• “He therefore who supplies the Spirit to you works miracles among you, from the works of the law or from the hearing of faith? Even as Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS ACCOUNTED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Know therefore that they who are from faith, they are sons of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles from faith, preached the gospel beforehand unto Abraham, saying, IN YOU ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH WILL BE BLESSED. So then, they who are of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham. <…> Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, CURSED IS EVERY ONE WHO IS HANGED ON A TREE. That upon the Gentiles might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” - (Galatians 3:5-14. See Genesis 12:3, 15:6, 22:18, Deuteronomy 21:23).

• “There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither slave nor free, there can be no male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise” - (Galatians 3:28-29).

The promises are fulfilled through Jesus Christ, beginning with the gift of the Spirit. This gift is bestowed on Gentile and Jewish believers alike, and on the same basis for all:

• “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, even as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, John indeed baptized with water; but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. If then God gave to them the like gift as he did also to us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I, that I could withstand God? And when they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then to the Gentiles also has God granted repentance unto life” - (Acts 11:15-18).

The inclusion of the nations in the Abrahamic Covenant was never an afterthought or a later adjustment to the Divine Plan.

God is implementing the blessing of Abraham to the nations as the Gospel is proclaimed throughout the Earth, starting with Jerusalem and Judea, but certainly not ending there. The Church brings the Abrahamic blessing to men and women of all nations whenever and wherever she faithfully preaches the Good News of God’s Kingdom.

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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 Faith of Abraham - (The faith of uncircumcised Abraham provides an example for Jewish and Gentile believers who live from the faith of Jesus – Romans 4:11-17)

• 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)

• Both Jews and Gentiles - (The equality of Jews and Gentiles before an impartial and just God is pivotal to Paul’s Gospel. They stand or fall before Him on the same basis)

• La Bénédiction d'Abraham - (Le don de l'Esprit fait partie des promesses d'alliance faites à Abraham, y compris la bénédiction des nations de la Terre)