Disciples Global Network

Redemption includes our resurrection and the new creation, and the Spirit is the guarantee of the future inheritance . Paul presents Abraham as the model of faith. God justified him apart from the works of the Mosaic Law because of his faith in the promises of God. Likewise, we are acquitted by God “ through the faith of Jesus Christ ,” his faithful obedience unto death, and through him, we become heirs of the covenant promises– (Romans 3:21-24, 4:10-13, Galatians 2:15-21, 3:5-9).

John baptized men and women in water, but the Messiah of Israel will baptize in spirit and fire - Matthew 3:11-12. The Gospel of Mark begins by applying key prophecies to the ministry of John the Baptist. He is the forerunner who prepares the hearts and minds of Israel for the Messiah, and John does so by calling the Jewish nation to repent and baptizing the people “ for the remission of sins ” - (Isaiah 40:3-5, Mark 1:1-3).

John the Baptist prepared the way for the Messiah, the herald of the Kingdom of God and the one who baptizes in the Spirit – Mark 1:4-8. John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah of Israel, in fulfillment of the Scriptures. He was the Voice in the Wilderness, and the Elijah who was to come and restore all things before the Day of the Lord - (Malachi 4:5, Matthew 11:14).

The gift of the Spirit is vital to the redemption of humanity and God’s covenant with His people, the Church of Jesus Christ . The New Testament links the gift of the Holy Spirit to the “ blessings of Abraham ,” the prom ise that God will bless the nations through the Patriarch. The outpouring of the Spirit on the Church is one of God’s promises to Israel, and the Scriptures confirm this.

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.

Peter summoned his audience in Jerusalem to repent and be baptized “ in the name of Jesus Christ .” He concluded his sermon on a note of fulfillment and with a foretaste of things to come . Peter began with a citation from the Book of Joel , and he finished his message with a clause from the same passage, thus neatly bracketing his sermon.

Christians become heirs of Abraham through Christ, and the gift of the Spirit is our assurance of participating in the full salvation to come . The possession of Canaan by Israel was an early stage in God’s redemptive plan, which always envisioned something larger than Israel and the small territory of Palestine. With the arrival of Jesus, “ the seed of Abraham ,” and the outpouring of the Spirit, the fulfillment of the covenant promises began.

The gift of the Spirit is one of the blessings of Abraham that God promised to bestow on His people through His Messiah . Paul refers to the “ promise of the Spirit ” in his letter to the Galatians. He equates this gift with the blessing of Abraham. Jesus came under the curse of the Law to redeem us, so that now, “ the blessing of Abraham might come on the nations through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith ” – (Galatians 3:13-14).

The gift of the Spirit demonstrates beyond question who belongs to the covenant community of Christ, and who does not . “ False brethren ” were preaching “ another gospel ” in the churches of Galatia, a “gospel” that requires Gentile believers to adopt circumcision and otherwise conform to the regulations of the Mosaic Law. Paul repudiated this false teaching in his letter to the Galatians and explained why circumcision is unnecessary for Gentiles.

Jesus is the herald who announces the Good News and inaugurates the Kingdom, the process that will culminate in the final harvest . Jesus proclaimed the imminence of God’s Kingdom and called men and women to repent and turn away from unrighteousness in response to this new reality. He is the Messiah who inaugurates the redemptive act of God, and this will conclude with the great harvest of souls when Christ returns “ on the clouds of heaven .”

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.

By his Death and Resurrection, Jesus formed one covenant community - One New Man - based on faith in him  – Ephesians 2:11-22. The Apostle Paul is adamant. There no longer can be “ Jew or Gentile ” for disciples of Jesus. The old distinctions are inappropriate among the One People of God. By his shed blood, he “ dismantled  the middle wall of partition ” that separated Jews and Gentiles so “ he   might reconcile them both in one body for God through the Cross .” God is building both into one building,  one habitation of God in the Spirit founded on Jesus .

The covenant with Abraham is fulfilled in Jesus, the heir of the Patriarch, including the possession of the Earth – Romans 8:1-30. In his Epistle to the Romans , Paul presents Abraham as the great exemplar of faith. God counted the Patriarch’s faith as righteousness while he was still uncircumcised, which means that the Patriarch was declared righteous without the deeds and rituals required by the Torah .