TUESDAY-THURSDAY BIBLE STUDY
by Dr. Lloyd T. Anderson Pastor, Bethany Baptist Church, West Covina, California
Claiming the Promises
ham had patiently endured, he ob tained the promise (6:15). In other words, the promise here was made operative only through the obedience of the patriarch in fulfilling the con dition. The Promise Made to Christ’s Seed (8:6 ): the covenant mentioned by Jeremiah became operative with the appearance of Christ in history. He was the Mediator of this better cove nant which rested upon better prom ises (8:6). As God sent Him into the world, so did He send His seed into the world. (John 20:21.) They were not promised ijnmunity from trials (John 15:18), but were assured that he would be with them through them (Matt. 28:19). This is equivalent to the promise to Abraham that God would bless those who blessed His peo ple and would curse those who cursed them—to the end that in them the whole world would be blessed (Gen. 12:3). Those who blessed or cursed the people of God did so to God Him self. Hence God was identified with His people (cf. Acts 9:4). The promise of Christ’s abiding presence was fulfilled with the com ing of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16). Thus we see the better promise of the new covenant. As God promised His presence with Israel in carrying out her mission, so did Christ promise His presence to Christians. But it was a better promise inasmuch as God’s presence was typified by the taber nacle, where as Christ’s presence was realized in the personal presence of God in the Spirit. Whithersoever the Israelites went they had to take their symbol of God’s presence with them; but under the covenant written upon the heart the Christian people- have the Presence within. To this end, therefore, they have also the greater responsibility even as God Himself is greater than His tabernacle. Only in the keeping of their obligation can 30
AVING COMPLETED THE ARGUMENT of the epistle, our author now pro ceeds to apply its truth to the prac tical aspects of Christian living. It is not enough to have a greater High Priest who saves to the uttermost. Spiritual possession cannot be said to be real until it evolves itself into a better manner of life. Grace to be ap propriated must be shared. With that in mind we are brought face to face with the fact that under the new and better covenant we have a better promise as to its relationship to the immediate problem at hand—that of transforming principle into perform ance. T he P romise of the C ovenant The basic covenant upon which the theme of the epistle rests is the one which God made with Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3; cf. Heb. 6:13f.). This is the definite beginning of the implement ing of God’s plan of redemption. Heretofore God’s co v en an ts with Adam and Noah had been of a gen eral nature. But when we come to Abraham, we find that God has chos en a line through which his redemp tive purpose is to run. The future covenants are but outgrowths of this purpose. In making this covenant, God gave to Abraham and his seed a definite promise conditioned upon their accept ance of a particular responsibility: “And I will make of thee a great na tion, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing” (Gen. 12:2). Here God made a threefold promise. He will make of Abraham’s seed a great nation; He will bless that nation; He will make its name great. All these things God swore by Himself to perform (Heb. 6:13f.). But to that promise God at tached a condition—“and thou shalt be a blessing.” Our author quotes only the promise, but he implies the con dition when he says that after Abra
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