What does God promise us?

The promises of God

Galatians 3

O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 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. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Promises.

What comes to mind when you read or hear the word promise? What is a promise? The definition of the word promise according to the American Heritage Dictionary is "a declaration assuring that one will or will not do something". Is that your intention when you make a promise someone? Does it depend on who you make the promise to? Are there ever conditions to your promises? Are there ways out of the promises that you make?

Look for answers in the Bible

Some of the most important promises ever made are what God has promised in the Bible. Reading the Bible is very important. One can learn much more when reading God's words only, as opposed to reading somebody's mere opinion about what God said. It is important to make sure everything we believe is from the Bible. The promises God made to us are very important to know and understand. The Bible tells us what action we must take to ensure our part in those promises. I will be quoting Scripture to back up everything in this lecture with Bible verses. It is not my opinion but the facts straight from the Bible.

When God makes a Promise.

For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee. Isa 54:10

When God makes a promise it is as good as done. Mountains will crumble before God does not keep His promises. They will not fail, although be aware that the timetable is His, not ours. It might take longer than we would want. If a person we know promises something to us, we want it in our lifetime. What God promises may very well not be in our lifetime.

Start at the Beginning

Let's begin in the Garden of Eden after God created Adam and Eve. They were created and told to take care of the garden. The man and woman were allowed to eat from all the trees except one; the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.Genesis 2:16-17

What a wonderful plan God started with! Man and woman in the Garden of Eden were able to take care of it for God. They had everything at their disposal except the one tree. That tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was "off limits" to them for food. They were not to eat of it or touch it. Everything else was good for food for them. On the surface, it seemed a very simple setup. Yet they did not obey the one simple command and listened to the serpent's reasoning instead of God's law. So they were cursed by God as He had said: "In the day that thou eateth thereof thou shalt surely die". They took on the dying nature.

Once they had eaten of the tree they knew they were naked. Their eyes were opened and they did have more knowledge. When the Elohim (Hebrew word for God - or "mighty ones") were walking in the garden Adam and Eve hid themselves because they realized they were naked. They made the clothing from the fig tree but were still naked before the Elohim. They knew they had sinned. The punishment was mortal nature because they ate fruit from the tree that was forbidden to them. They then became dying flesh. They were banished from the garden of Eden and forced to toil in the sweat of the brow. God made them new garments to cover themselves with since fig leaves do not provide a suitable covering.

There is a reason that fig leaves were not an good covering. They had sinned. There was no shedding of blood. Without bloodshed, no sins can be forgiven. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. Hebrews 9:22. God establishes this throughout the Bible. It is a very important thing, central to God's promises.

God spoke to the man who then blamed the woman. She then then blamed the serpent. The serpent was then cursed and became the figurehead for the wicked line of people termed in Scripture: the seed of the serpent. Eve became the mother of a righteous line of people called "the seed of the woman".

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Genesis 3:15

This is one of God's key promises. God promised that the seed of the woman, or righteous people, would have victory over the serpent, or over wickedness and over the wicked people. Only a part of this promoise has been fulfilled, and therefore the world today is filled with wickedness. We look forward to the time when this promise of no more sin will be fulfilled. We all hope for that time unless of course, we are having too much fun in the wickedness of this world.

We only have to flip a few more chapters in Genesis to see the time of Noah and how the people were living merely for the moment and taking part in all kinds of sins. God looked at the earth and only saw wickedness and violence constantly. That is the people filled their lives with at the time of God's worldwide judgment.

Observe today's world. You will see people looking for easy ways out. They are looking for get rich quick schemes, things like drugs or casual and promiscous sex. Their lives consist only of worldly pleasures that only last a brief moment. They are eating, drinking, abusing drugs, having adultery, and doing violence. They leave no time for God, and no place in their mind for God.

Just like in the time of Noah.

For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Matthew 24:38-39

By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. Hebrews 11:7

God also made a promise that we all can recall after a rainstorm. God declared the rainbow a sign to Noah to reassure He would never again destroy the earth with a flood. God came to Noah and told him what to do. God explained to Noah a procedure he would need to follow to be saved from the oncoming deluge. Noah did not have a free ride. God did not say to him, "you are living a good life so I'm going to save you." He commanded Noah to build the ark. Imagine if it were us. Imagine being suddelnly told to build a gigantic ship in our backyard. Would we put it off until we could make more time or would we make time for the more important thing, God's work? Building the ark was a major undertaking involving tremendous amounts of labor. Why did God make Noah do all that work? God offers a way out but it is not easy. He requires us to work hard for Him. If Noah didn't listen to God and delayed building it, he would not have been saved. We must work out our salvation with all of God's Promises in our mind. We can understand why there is work involved. It involves making sure that we really want it. He is going to make us do as much as we possibly can then God will help us with the rest. God told Adam that he would have to sweat working out their salvation. God makes us work in order to participate in His promises.

"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13

God is not going to trick us to make us fail. He is only going to make sure we truly want to serve Him, and are not just doing it because it is convenient. He proves this is what we are truly striving for.

Noah showed faith by building the ark, which provided a way of escape for him and his family. Although the water destroyed all air breathing life on the planet, the same water lifted up the ark and saved Noah and his family. That water saved them. In that same way, the water of baptism can save us. After the flood they were in the ark until the waters went down and the ark landed at Mount Ararat. Once they got out of the ark Noah made a sacrifice to God.

"And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done."Genesis 8:20

The sacrifice showed again the shedding of blood was necessary to cover their sins and gain a fresh start after the flood. It was just like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They were grateful to God that they were spared, and realized that they had to repopulate the earth.

And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth. Genesis 9:12-17

God will not destroy the world that same way again. He will show mercy to us. God made a promise to Noah that he would not again destroy the earth with a flood.

Abraham

Abram, like Noah, was called out from the wickedness that was in the world. Abram was told to leave Ur of the Chaldees, where he was living. What would we do if someone told us to sell our house, quit our job and then they would show us a nice new house we could live in someday? Would we not want to see it first? Would we just be able to go on faith? God again required work on Abram's part to show that he had faith and was willing to follow him. Abraham left everything behind obeyed God. The same level of committment is required of us today.

"Now the LORD had said unto 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 him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Genesis 12:1-3

He did not know were he was going yet he had faith and obeyed God and left everything that he had.

We might think they didn't have to leave much behind. But that would show us to be ignrant. Archeologists found the city of Ur and were surprised by how modern they were. The banking system and the organization of the way the city was run were quite like today. So it was not as if Abram was a nomad already wandering around. Or that he just moved from one area to another. Instead, Abram had to give up everything he had and move to a place that he knew nothing about and had never seen. This demonstrated Abram's faith in God.

Although Abram had never seen the place he was heading to, just like Noah had never seen a flood before, he believed what God told him and took the steps necessary to take part in the promises that God was holding out to them if they listened to what God said and obeyed.

What was Abraham actually promised? A nice new house or a bigger lot to live on? Nothing so mundane. He and his family were told to journey into a strange land and when they arrived there, God gave him the promises.

What was Abram Promised?

'And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. Gen 13:5-9

When Abraham and Lot get to where they are going, there is not enough land for the two of them to stay at so they are forced to split up. Imagine going all that way to a great place and finding that you have to separate from your family and there is not enough land for the flocks.

For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, God could swear by no greater, so he swore by himself. Hebrews 6:13

Did God fail Abraham by not giving him any land? No, of course not. God cannot lie and Abraham did not lose faith through this trial. He believed in God's promises and he acted. He did not lose faith, instead Abraham told Lot to pick where he wanted to go and he said he would go the opposite way. That was where God explained to him what the promise would include.

And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.Genesis 13:14-18

Abram was told to look northward, southward, eastward, and westward. He was never told to look upward. This is very important, as the land that he would inherit forever would be land that he was told to walk through. This would have to be a literal land, not something in heaven, as heaven is never mentioned in his promise. Yet the land he was promised never was received by Abraham. He went to his grave never inheriting any of it, he only bought a small piece of it.

Yet Abraham was sure the promises would be fulfilled through his son. Abraham was willing to act on that belief when God told him to sacrifice Isaac. He would have gone through with it because he knew God would raise Isaac up to live again and keep his promise.

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. Hebrews 11:17-19

Abraham was so confident that God was going to give him the promises through his son that even if he died he knew he would be raised, therefore proving that Abraham believed in the resurrection from the dead. Abraham never received the promises from God. Did that make God a liar? Or rather do the promises involve Abraham's belief in the resurrection of the dead?

And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child. Acts 7:5

And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. Hebrews 11:39-40

Summary so Far

So far we see that God had promised Eve that He would bruise sin in the head, a fatal wound, and promised Abraham that he and his seed would inherit the land in peace forever. But look around, we still have sin in the world; Israel does not have all the land and certainly does not live in peace, and Abraham is not alive to possess it. What kind of promises has God made anyway? Let's look at the more promises.

The Promises to David

David wanted to build a literal house for God, but God had another house David would build.

Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime, And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee an house. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever. According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David. 2 Samuel 7:10-17

Six parts of the promises to David.

Israel is to live in the land without fear of the nations around them. Has this been fulfilled? Do we see Israel living in peace now? No.
This promised seed to be David's. Note, currently there is no king in Israel.
His seed would build a house at Christ's return. They will set up the temple where Christ will rule from. There will be a lineage that will be kings ruling God's people Israel. The temple spoken of by Ezekiel has not been established yet.
The seed is to be the son of David and the son of God. The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Matthew 1:1
God will not give up on the lineage of David no matter how wicked they are. He will correct them with a rod but he will not give up on them. The kingdom of the future be set up through David's line. Israel has outlasted superpower nations which have come and gone but little Israel is still around no matter how many times people tried to run them into the sea or kill them. God says that they will always be here.
David's throne to last forever. We know that if God said it we can expect it.

All of the promises are speaking of the same hope. They all require Christ's return to the earth. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. Galatians 3:16

Abraham's seed will be blessed in Christ.

And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:29

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. Galatians 3:8

The gospel was preached two thousand years before Christ was even born! The true gospel message is the promises to Abraham. The hope of Abraham is the hope of all true Christians. If we are baptized into Christ we become Abraham's seed and heirs of those promises.

What is the Kingdom of God?

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. Matthew 4:23

Preaching about the kingdom. Jesus was not preaching about going to heaven, he was preaching about a kingdom. The kingdom at the end will destroy the seed of the serpent as promised to Eve. The kingdom is to last forever and never to destroy the earth as promised to Noah. There will be a great seed, controlling all other nations as promised to Abraham. Christ is to be king, the seed of David as promised to David, fulfilling that promise. And lastly will be Abraham there to possess his land: so Abraham must be raised back to life. To have David there to see Christ reign on his throne, he must be raised back to life. And to have Christ there he must have been raised as well. The resurrection of the dead is the key to all these promises.

Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 1 Corinthians 15:12-14

Resurrection and Christ's Return to the Earth.

One of the most often quoted verses in the Bible says that there will be a kingdom on earth plain and simple. That was one of the things Christ was praying for and teaching his disciples to pray for. Millions pray for this each day.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10

What must we do?

So what does God promise us? After Christ reigns on the earth for 1000 years, sin will finally be destroyed. The final thing that will be destroyed will be the fulfillment of the very first promise made the Garden of Eden. The serpent was bruised on the head when Christ was crucified without sin. Sin will finally be destroyed as there will be no more mortal people, only faithful, righteous people. How can we take part in the promises God has made?

For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:26-29

We can become heirs of these promises through studying and understanding the Bible, baptism and devoting our life to the will of our Father just as Noah did in building the ark. Abraham did it by leaving Ur, and David and Christ also did it by putting God first no matter how hard the trial was. By putting God first and having faith in the promises He made throughout the Bible and keeping up our end, by working hard doing what God asks of us. By reading the Bible to make sure we are on that right path that God wants us on. We will never have to worry about God forgetting his promises. We can all take part the promises given by God through the ages. We can obtain everlasting life ruling with Christ on earth.

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