Blessing of Abraham

The Gift of the Spirit is one of the Covenant promises for blessing the Nations of the Earth through Abraham and his “Seed,” Jesus Christ.

When Matthew’s Gospel declares Jesus to be the “Son of Abraham,” it links the man from Nazareth to the Abrahamic Covenant. The New Testament is filled with scriptural citations and apostolic teachings demonstrating that Jesus came to fulfill the Covenant. He is the promised “Seed of Abraham” and the true Heir of all the promises, including to “bless all the Nations” in the Patriarch.

[Photo by Štefan Štefančík on Unsplash]

For example, Peter and John prayed for a man who was “lame from his mother’s womb” as he was begging for alms near the Temple. Rather than money, they commanded him to stand and walk “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.” Immediately, the lame man began to walk, and afterward, he was seen and heard “leaping and praising God.”

Many Jews observed this incident as they entered and left the Temple, filling them with “wonder and amazement,” providing Peter an excellent opportunity to preach the Gospel – (Acts 3:1-11).

The outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost was one of the Covenant Promises secured for God’s people by Jesus Christ. Through the Nazarene, the Covenant with its many blessings was being fulfilled, beginning with the granting of the Gift of the Spirit to the Church of Jerusalem, the “Promise of the Father.”

Thus, Peter attributed the healing of the lame man to the “God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob,” and to faith in the name of Jesus, the “Servant of Yahweh” whom the Father raised from the dead:

• “The things that God foreshowed by all the prophets, that his Messiah should suffer, he thus fulfilled <...> therefore, men everywhere ought to repent so their sins may be blotted out.”

The theme of fulfillment is pronounced in this healing story. The Jews present that day were the “sons of the prophets” and Heirs of the Covenant with Abraham, the Patriarch in whom “all the families of the Earth would be blessed.” Peter thus linked the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus and the outpouring of the Spirit to the Covenant, including the promise to “bless” all the Nations - (Genesis 12:1-3, Deuteronomy 18:15-18, Isaiah 42:1, Acts 2:17-38).

• (Acts 3:24-26) – “Yea and all the prophets from Samuel and them that followed after, as many as have spoken, they also told of these days. You are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, and in your seed will all the clans of the earth be blessed. Unto you first, God, having raised up his Servant, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your sins.”

The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts allude to this same “Promise of the Father” and the mission of the Church to announce the “Good News” to the Nations:

• (Luke 24:44-49) – “Thus, it is written, that the Messiah should suffer and rise again from the dead on the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”

• (Acts 1:4-8) – “He charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father <…> For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days hence <…> But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the Earth.”

• (Acts 2:39) – “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you will receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit, for to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to him.”

Luke identified this “Promise of the Father” with the Gift of the Holy Spirit. The bestowal of the Spirit on the Assembly of Jesus Christ demonstrated that the Age of Fulfillment commenced with the Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Israel’s Messiah.

THE GIFT OF THE SPIRIT

Similarly, the Apostle Paul identified the “Promise of the Spirit” with the “Blessing of Abraham.” The Covenant always envisaged the inclusion of the Gentiles in the One People of God. Jesus is the promised “Seed of Abraham,” and all men who belong to him become “Children of Abraham” and “Heirs according to Promise” - (Galatians 3:13-14, Ephesians 1:13-14).

The promises are fulfilled through Jesus of Nazareth, beginning with the Gift of the Spirit, the “Promise of the Father” given to Gentile and Jewish believers alike:

• “If then God gave to them the like gift as he did also to us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I, that I could withstand God? And when they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then to the Gentiles also has God granted repentance unto life” - (Acts 11:17).

Including “Gentiles” in the Covenant was never an afterthought or ad hoc program. By granting the Spirit to everyone who believes, God is implementing the “Blessing of Abraham” as the Gospel of His Kingdom is proclaimed to the Nations of the Earth, starting with Jerusalem and Judea, but certainly not ending there.

The long-awaited Gift was being poured out on the followers of Jesus with all its inherent blessings. The Book of Acts documents the first decades of this process as the Church announced the Gospel in much of the Roman Empire under the direction and power of the Holy Spirit.

The declaration of the Good News of God’s Kingdom commenced in Jerusalem, but only after the disciples were “endued with power from on high” as they received the “Promise of the Father” and the “Blessing of Abraham.” The Body of Christ is thus equipped and motivated to take the Message of Salvation and the Kingdom to the “uttermost parts of the Earth.”

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SEE ALSO:

• The Faith of Abraham - (The faith of uncircumcised Abraham provides an example for Jewish and Gentile believers who live from the faith of Jesus – Romans 4:11-17)

• The Gospel of God - (Paul presents his Gospel in Romans from humanity's plight due to sin to the resurrection of the dead and the New Creation)

• Both Jews and Gentiles - (The equality of Jews and Gentiles before an impartial and just God is pivotal to Paul’s Gospel. They stand or fall before Him on the same basis)

• Bénis les Nations - (Le Don de l'Esprit est l'une des promesses de l'Alliance de bénir les nations de la Terre par Abraham et sa Postérité)