Disciples Global Network

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 . The New Testament links the “ Promise of the Spirit ” to the “ Blessings of Abraham ,” the promise that God will bless the nations through the Great Patriarch. The Spirit is the gift believers receive “ through the hearing of faith .” It is part of the Covenant promised to Abraham, and the Apostle Peter connects this gift to “ the blessings ” for the nations, the Gentiles, in his sermon preached on the Day of Pentecost.

With the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the blessings for all nations promised to Abraham commenced . The Bible describes the Gift of the Spirit as “ the Promise of the Father ” and links it to the Abrahamic covenant. The promises to Abraham and “ his Seed ” find their fulfillment in the New Covenant inaugurated by the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, and the Spirit bestowed on us is “ the earnest ” of that inheritance.

The national sins of Israel caused her expulsion from the Land of Canaan. God, however, foresaw her failures and determined to institute a new covenant, one energized and characterized by His Spirit . It would include the salvation of the nations and culminate in the resurrection of the dead and the “ New Heavens and the New Earth .” With the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the time of the New Covenant commenced.

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 . The New Testament links the “ Promise of the Spirit ” to the “ Blessings of Abraham ,” the promise that God would bless the nations through the Great Patriarch. The Spirit is the gift believers receive “ through the hearing of faith .” It is one of the promises made to Abraham, and Peter connects this gift to “ the blessings ” for the nations in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost.

Jesus inaugurated the superior New Covenant through his Death and Resurrection, rendering the old covenant obsolete  – Hebrews 8:6-13. The definitive “ Word ” that God has spoken “ in the Son ” surpasses all past revelations made in “ the prophets ,” including Moses, the Great Lawgiver. Only Jesus “ achieved the purification of sins ,” therefore, he “ sat down ” at the right hand of God as our Great High Priest and instituted the long-promised “ New Covenant .”

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 Apostle Paul refers to “ the Promise of the Spirit ” in his Letter to the Galatians, and he equates the Gift of the Spirit with “ the Blessing of Abraham. ” Jesus subjected himself to the “ curse ” of the Law to redeem believers so that “ the Blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the Promise of the Spirit through faith .”

God has spoken His decisive and superior “ word ” in His son, and He did so “ upon the last of these days .” This refers to the end of the period epitomized by the Levitical code with its priesthood and repeated animal sacrifices, a system of worship centered in the Tabernacle and the later Jerusalem Temple. With the appointment of Jesus as the High Priest “ after the order of Melchizedek ,” a new and final era of salvation commenced.

The Gift of the Spirit is one of the Covenant promises to bless the nations of the Earth through Abraham and his Seed, Jesus of Nazareth . When Matthew’s Gospel declares that Jesus is “ the Son of Abraham ,” it links the Man from Nazareth to the Abrahamic Covenant. The New Testament is filled with scriptural citations, stories, and apostolic teachings demonstrating that Jesus came to fulfill the Covenant. He is the expected “ seed of Abraham ” and the heir of all the promises of the Covenant.

The Gift of the Spirit is clear evidence that a person has been justified by God and made a part of His covenant people. In Galatia, “ false brethren ” were preaching “ another gospel ,” one that claimed Gentiles must be circumcised to “ complete ” their faith. Paul would have none of it, and he appealed to the presence of the Spirit among uncircumcised Gentiles as proof positive of their justification and acceptance by God.

The Apostle Paul calls the Gift of the Spirit the “ Promise of the Father ” which he links to the Abrahamic covenant. The promises to Abraham and “ his Seed ” find their fulfillment in the New Covenant inaugurated by the death and resurrection of Jesus. The bestowal of the Spirit on his Assembly marked the start of the age of fulfillment, and Gentile believers now become heirs of the Patriarch and coheirs with Jesus along with believing Jews.

The definitive “ Word ” that God now speaks “ in the Son ” surpasses all the past revelations made in “ the prophets ,” including Moses, the Great Lawgiver. Jesus of Nazareth went beyond all his predecessors. He alone “ achieved the purification of sins .” Consequently, he “ sat down ” at the right hand of God and inherited “ all things .” Among other things, his exaltation signaled the commencement of the promised “ New Covenant .”

The  Letter to the Hebrews  is built on a series of comparisons that demonstrate the superiority of the word that God has “ spoken in ” His “ Son ” over every past revelation “ spoken in the prophets .” The former prophetic “ words ” were true but partial and preparatory. But now, “ upon the last of these days ,” God has unveiled His definitive “ word ” in one who is a “ Son .” That “ word ” is complete and superior to all others since Jesus alone “ achieved the purification of sins ” that is so vital to His people.

The eighth chapter of  Hebrews  highlights the incomparable benefits believers receive under the New Covenant inaugurated by the death of Jesus. If the fulfillment of the promises arrived in him, especially in his Death and Resurrection, returning to the incomplete revelations of the past means embracing the glimpses and “ shadows ” of the “ coming good things ” rather than the substance provided by the Son of God.