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.

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.

Gentiles are no longer “separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and estranged from the covenants of the promise.” Through his shed blood, Christ has dismantled the “wall of partition” that once separated Jews and Gentiles – (Ephesians 2:11-22).

The outpouring of the Spirit signaled that the age of fulfillment is now underway, and this gift transforms Gentile believers into the heirs of the Patriarch - “the children of Abraham.” We are now coheirs with Jesus and members of God’s one covenant people, along with believing Jews – (Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:10-11).

• “For you received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear, but you received the spirit of adoption by which we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ” – (Romans 8:15-17).

[Photo by Marc Zimmer on Unsplash]

The gift of the Spirit is an essential part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God, through His Son, has provided the means to reconcile men to Himself and one another, and the Spirit empowers us to walk in this new life - (Romans 8:2, 2 Corinthians 3:6).

Paul identifies the promise of the Spirit with “the blessing of Abraham.” The original covenant always anticipated the inclusion of the nations. Paul uses this point when he argues that Gentile believers must be accepted into the Church without circumcision or the other deeds and rituals required by the law of Moses.

Every man and woman who belongs to Jesus becomes an heir of Abraham, “according to promise.” The old distinctions between Jews and Gentiles no longer apply in the Body of Christ, and the inclusion of the Gentiles was never an afterthought or a later adjustment to the Abrahamic covenant - (Genesis 12:1-3, 3:29):

• “Know, therefore, that those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles from faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, IN YOU ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED. <…> Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, CURSED IS EVERY MAN 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 3:8-14. See Genesis 12:3, Deuteronomy 27:26).

The gift of the Spirit is the “down payment,” so to speak, that confirms and guarantees our participation in the inheritance, which we will receive when Jesus returns, and this will include our bodily resurrection and everlasting life in the New Creation:

• “In whom, you also are hearing the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also believing, you 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 references 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.” Thus, Paul connects the Gift of the Spirit to the Abrahamic Covenant, including the promise of territory - (Genesis 17:8).

Similarly, Jesus called the gift “the Promise of the Father.” Before his ascension, he commanded his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received the Spirit. Only then would they become his witnesses and bring the Gospel to the nations of the Earth under the guidance and the power of the Spirit.

• “And he said to them, Thus, it is written, that the Messiah should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. YOU ARE WITNESSES of these things. And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you. But wait in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” – (Luke 24:46-49. See Isaiah 43:10 and 52:10).

• “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and YOU WILL BE MY WITNESSES in Jerusalem and in all Judaea and Samaria, AND TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH” – (Acts 1:8. Note the allusions to Psalm 2:8, Isaiah 43:10 and 52:10).

THE PROMISES KEPT

The Apostle Peter declared that the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost was according to the prophecy of the Book of Joel. The final period of the present age, the last days, is underway, and this reality must continue from Pentecost until the Day of the Lord:

• “This is that which has been spoken through the prophet Joel: AND IT WILL COME TO PASS IN THE LAST DAYS, SAYS GOD, I WILL POUR OUT OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL FLESH. <…> AND I WILL SHOW WONDERS IN THE HEAVEN ABOVE, AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BENEATH, BLOOD AND FIRE AND SMOKE. THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD BEFORE THE GREAT AND NOTABLE DAY OF THE LORD COMES. AND IT WILL BE THAT WHOEVER CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED” – (Acts 2:16-21, quoting Joel 2:28-32).

• “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, EVEN AS MANY AS THE LORD OUR GOD WILL SUMMON” – (Acts 2:38. See Joel 2:32).

We begin to participate in the blessings of Abraham when we receive the gift of the Spirit. Through this gift, men from every nation are blessed, and they become heirs of the promises and equal members of the covenant community, Jews and Gentiles alike:

• “And in you will all the families of the earth be blessed” – (Genesis 12:3).

• “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 every one of you from your sins” – (Acts 3:24-26).

• “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are of Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise” – (Galatians 3:28).

The implementation of the promises began with the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. Since then, everyone who receives this gift becomes a child of Abraham, and therefore, the old barriers between Jews and Gentiles are completely inappropriate in the one people of God.

The Mosaic Legislation anticipated the need for something beyond the Law. The Torah could not complete what God had begun through Abraham. Inevitably, the nation of Israel violated the covenant. However, after chastisement and repentance, Israel would “return to the Lord and obey His voice,” and God 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 expanded many years later by the prophet Jeremiah. God intended to “make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,” and not like the covenant He made at Mount Sinai. With the arrival of the Spirit, God began to write His laws on the hearts of His people - (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Hebrews 8:6-13).

The Book of Ezekiel adds the aspect of the Spirit to this new covenant. When God gathers the children of Israel, He will put “a new spirit” in them, “and I will cause them to walk in my statutes.” Ezekiel combines the promises of the Spirit, the circumcised heart, and the new covenant, making the fulfillment of the promises dependent on the Spirit of God - (Ezekiel 36:16-28, 37:25-28. See 2 Corinthians 3:1-26, 3:17-18).

And so, the authors of the New Testament link the promise to bless all the nations of the Earth to the gift of the Spirit, which is granted freely to Jewish and Gentile disciples of Jesus, and Christ calls this gift “the Promise of the Father.”

The presence and activity of the Holy Spirit in our lives identify us as members of the people of God. The Spirit empowers us to walk in the new covenant, to fulfill the “righteous requirements of the Law,” to proclaim the Gospel to the nations, and to do so until the moment when Jesus arrives to gather his people on the Day of the Lord.

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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:

• Coheirs with Jesus - (The covenant with Abraham is fulfilled in Jesus, the Heir of the Patriarch and his Seed, including the possession of the Earth – Romans 8:1-23)

• The Spirit of Promise - (The Gift of the Spirit is one of the blessings of Abraham, promised by God for the nations and the children of the Patriarch)

• The Circumcised Heart - (The promise of the Spirit is vital to the redemption of humanity and the Covenant of God with His people, the Church of Jesus Christ)

• La Promesse du Père - (Avec l'effusion de l'Esprit le jour de la Pentecôte, les bénédictions promises à Abraham pour toutes les nations ont commencé)