The Abrahamic Covenant Fulfilled

“Now the LORD had said to 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: 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: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curseth thee: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3) Thus begins the implementation of God’s plan to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10). This has always been God’s plan (1 Peter 1:18-21). However, any talk of a fix must inevitably begin with the fall.

Adam and Eve had it made, literally. Made in the image of God and placed in the Garden of Eden, which God had made for them. They only had to keep one rule. Do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As it happens, this is where it all went pear shaped. Genesis 3-11 is the story of man’s disobedience and descent into depravity. The story from Noah, a man who found grace in the eyes of the Lord, and Abraham is not one of spiritual revival. It is a story of unrestrained sin and selfishness (Genesis 11).

It is then that God chose “a regular idol worshiping man form [sic] the Mesopotamian region”[1] God appeared to Abram and said the he would bless him; provide him a land, and a seed. All families of the earth would be blessed through him (Genesis 12:1-7).  This is an extraordinary promise that God made to Abram. God clearly states to Abram what He wants to do with his life and his family. The only problem was that Abram had no children. In the process Abram “had to survive famine and temporary exile in Egypt (Gn. 12), a dispute with his nephew (Gn. 13), and a regional war (Gn. 14). But God intervened to remind Abram of the original promises and to assure him of ultimate success (Gn. 15).”[2] Is it any wonder that Abram was a wee bit concerned about God’s promises being kept? However, God isn’t in the promise breaking business.

A covenant is a promise, but it isn’t any promise. A covenant is a pledged relationship involving both promise and obligation. God makes a promise and obligates Himself to keep it. Abram must obligate himself to honour an obey God by faith. God comes to Abram in a vision and covenants with Abram to provide a blessing, a son, and to give him the land from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates. To seal this covenant animals were slaughtered and divided.  The burning lamp passing between the pieces represents the Divine, comforting presence of God. Notice if you will that Abram did not pass between the pieces. “God is saying to Abram, ‘if I fail to keep my covenant with you…then let me be slaughtered before you.”[3] God is pledging Himself to Abram in a wonderful relationship that would bring a Saviour into the world.

This covenant is important for several reasons. It has priority historically and logically. Genesis 15:6 demonstrates for us that we are to live by faith if we are to have a right relationship with God. Genesis 17:7 reveals the goal of all the covenants. It is an everlasting covenant with a worldwide posterity for Abraham. “This covenant is the foundation of all covenants Jehovah made with his people.”[4]

Luke records the words of the Apostle Peter, “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” (Acts 3:25).  Peter is proclaiming the gospel of Christ. In doing so he is revealing that salvation was of the Jews, that Jesus is the seed promised to Abraham so many years before. The Apostle Paul picks up the theme for the gentile when he said, “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, in thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham” (Galatians 3:6-9). Paul is making it quite clear that the promised seed, Jesus Christ, was not sent for the Jew only, but for the gentile as well.

God made a promise, covenant, with Abraham. Abraham accepted by faith. “Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions” (Galatians 3:19) “and the need we stood in of the mercy of God. The law is the right line, the straight edge, that determines the obliquity of our conduct.”[5] Abraham was a faithful man, but he was not a perfect man. He was given to telling lies when it suited him and he was rather impatient with God at a critical moment in time as it concerned the promise of a son. “It was not Abraham’s great faith that explains all the good things that happened in Abraham’s life, but God’s faithfulness to His covenant with Abraham. I believe it helps Christians to realize that there are no super heroes in the Bible, except for One, our Lord Himself.”[6] We would do well to remember that God has not provided the promised seed, Jesus Christ, for perfect people, but for faithful people. (Galatians 3:22) If we had to keep the law in order to obtain salvation then the promise would be of none effect. Remember, the covenant was sealed 430 years before the giving of the law. Remember also that the manner in which the covenant was sealed. God passed through the pieces not Abram. “In refusing to make Abram walk through the passage of the covenant curse God was saying this, ‘if I fail I will die, but Abram if you fail I die for you.”[7]

Thus the promise must be received by faith. We accept by faith that God is able to bring about our salvation by the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ. “When you put your faith in Christ who is the seed of Abraham, in fact that's what it says in the genealogy in Matthew 1, son of David, son of Abraham. If you put your faith in the son of Abraham, in the seed of Abraham then you become a child of faith and in that sense spiritually a son of Abraham who is the model of faith for all the world.”[8] Jesus Christ is all man and all God. He came to be a sacrifice for mankind. He is also the very incarnation of the promise. Salvation is what God did for us and how we respond to it determines if we may receive it. The work of salvation was completed on the cross of Christ Jesus. He does not allow us to do any of the work of salvation like His heavenly Father before Him in Genesis 15. Salvation has always been by grace through faith. This has been the plan from the very beginning. God does not have a plan B.

Everything in the Old Testament is pointing invariably toward the Lord Jesus Christ. God desires to be our God. He desires that we be His people. This is a promise that can only be fulfilled by the person of Jesus Christ.

“The Abrahamic Covenant is a missionary text par excellence, and it sets the stage for the missionary character of the entire Bible…our God is a missionary God, and His missionary purposes do not change with time.”[9] God started with a man, a family, and then a nation. His goal was to draw all families of the earth to Him in faith. Jesus Christ came in the fullness of time in order to fulfill the promise God made to Abraham. We Christians now have the awesome responsibility of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ in order that all families of the earth will be drawn to Christ Jesus. We must proclaim the promise of salvation to so that all may have an opportunity to experience the fulfillment of this most precious promise of God.

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[1] Murphy, Kenneth, “God and Gentiles in the OT Discussion Overview”, Welch College Online. Web. 15 Nov. 2014

[2] Arnold, Bill T., and Bryan Beyer. "The Patriarchs: Ancestors of Israel's Faith." Encountering the Old Testament: A Christian Survey. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2008. 93. Print.

[3] Karoon, David. "The Abrahamic Covenant." Sunday AM. Stornoway Reformed Presbyterian Church, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland. 7 Apr. 2013. Sermon.

[4] Beals, Paul A. "The Bible: A Missionary Book-The Old Testament." A People for His Name: A Church Based Missions Strategy. Rev. ed. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 1995. 39.

[5] Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on Galatians 3:19". "The Adam Clarke Commentary". http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/view.cgi?bk=47&ch=3. 1832.

[6] Deffinbaugh, Robert. "5. Abraham's Call and God's Covenant (Genesis 11:26-17:27)." Bible.org. 16 Feb. 2007. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. <https://bible.org/seriespage/5-abrahams-call-and-gods-covenant-genesis-1126-1727>.

[7] Karoon, David. "The Abrahamic Covenant." Sunday AM. Stornoway Reformed Presbyterian Church, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland. 7 Apr. 2013. Sermon.

[8] MacArthur, John. "Grace To You." Abraham--Justified by Grace, Part 2. 25 July 1982. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. <http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/45-38/abrahamjustified-by-grace-part-2>.

[9] Beals, Paul A. "The Bible: A Missionary Book-The Old Testament." A People for His Name: A Church Based Missions Strategy. Rev. ed. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 1995. 39-40. Print.