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The Promise
The Promise We Will Inherit If We Belong To Christ
By Loren M. Chamberlain
“If you belong to Christ, then you
are Abraham’s seed, and heirs
according to the Promise.”
(Galatians 3: 29)
What a wonderful statement this is and believe it or not, there are many who do not understand it. This was written primarily for the Gentile-born converts in Galatia: By giving Christians this “Promise” God has made a formal pledge indicating we are heirs.
While we are not yet possessors of our reward, we are heirs and what we shall inherit is the promise made to Abraham. Therefore, whatever the reward of the saved and wherever the saved spend eternity is a definite and specific promise of God. This revelation should be exciting news to all Christians knowing their eternal future is secure and in the loving hands of our savior Jesus Christ. This statement we read in the book of Galatians sums up the whole of the Gospel because it is an abbreviated statement of the very purpose and plan of God for mankind.
Our hope of salvation and eternal life could not be put in better hands than that of Jesus Christ and God our Father.
The Promise Confirmed By Jesus
Jesus, by bringing a new message, the “Gospel,” validated and confirmed the promises made to the Fathers. Who are the Fathers the promise was given to, and what are the promises made to them? In Acts 3: 13 we read the following, “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus.” We know assuredly then that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are the fathers referred to and the Promise, whatever that Promise is, has now been confirmed by Jesus. If we belong to Christ, then we are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to this promise Jesus confirmed.
The Promise Made to Abraham
The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 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” (Genesis 12: 1-2). So Abram moved out in faith from Ur to Haran and finally to Canaan. In a symbolic manner we are called out of the spiritual Babylon of this world. “So Abraham left, as the Lord had told him” (verse 4). Abraham did not argue, bicker or make trivial objections, he simply departed immediately and went to a certain land where God led him, the land we call Israel today. We must also obey God and come out of this world immediately if we desire to inherit the promises made to Abraham.
It is difficult for us to comprehend the great inheritance that awaits us provided we surrender ourselves to God and obey as Abraham did, relying on the faith of Jesus and not our own faith. This inheritance is so magnificent it is like trying to comprehend the incomprehensible. As we read in 1 Corinthians 2: 9, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him but God has revealed it to us by His spirit.”
Just what did God promise Abraham? We will find the answer in Genesis 12: 6-7, “Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. The Canaanites were then in the land, but the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” The promise was the inheritance of the Land of Israel.
The Promised Land
The land where Abram was, the land of Canaan is called Israel today. That then is the “Promised Land.” The question is, for how long? The answer is, forever. The inheritance is to be an eternal inheritance, which of necessity involves and includes everlasting life!
To inherit a piece of land the boundaries must be described. 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” (Genesis 15: 18). We know these boundaries relate to land on earth not up in heaven. We must put our trust in the sure word of God, not in what people may think.
Other scriptures show the territory of Christ’s Kingdom is to expand and spread ultimately to include the whole earth. “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” (Romans 4: 13). Notice also in Romans 4: 16, how it is confirmed again that it is by faith that we inherit. “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.”
Obedience Before Inheritance
In making this Promise to Abram, God conditioned it on obedience. Abraham did obey. First, he left his native land, his friends, and relatives, his old way of life. He forsook all, and followed where God led. Abraham was commanded to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. Abraham did not stop to reason it out or make excuses or rebel he simply obeyed. God did not take Abraham’s son as a sacrifice He simply wanted to test Abraham’s willingness to obey, in Faith.
After Abraham passed this most difficult test, were there any further conditions to the promise? “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore” (Genesis 22: 15-17). Now the Promise was unconditional. Abraham had performed his part of the covenant, this agreement.
Today people from every nation may come and take of the waters of life freely because God has kept His Promise and the Promised seed, Christ, has come.
Heirs To The Promise
How are all nations blessed through these promises? Paul said to the Gentile-born Galatians, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3: 29). The original covenant with Abraham was intended for the whole world, not just for his descendants. All believers partake of this covenant and are blessed as children of Abraham.
To the Ephesians Paul wrote, “Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called ‘uncircumcised’ by those who call themselves ‘circumcision’ (that done in the body by the hands of men)—remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2: 11-13). The Ephesians were Gentiles before they became Israelites through Christ and they were strangers from the covenants; and promises without any hope and without God. Now by the blood of Christ they have been made near.
When Do We Inherit?
Imagine Abraham has never yet received the promised inheritance though God’s promise was made unconditional because Abraham obeyed God. “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” (Hebrews 11: 8). Christians like Abraham are heirs that have not yet inherited. The message Christ delivered was the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. It follows that the land of this earth, the land of the promise Jesus came to confirm, is the territory occupied and governed by the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God is not of this world, but we can know assuredly that it is near when we begin to see the following signs. “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21: 25-28).
While these disasters cast gloom upon the world, ultimately it is cause not for us to worry but for great joy. When we see these events happening we will know that the return our Savior and Messiah is near, and we can look forward to His reign of justice and peace. We can wait with confidence upon Christ’s return to bring justice and restoration to all the children of God.
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