Topical Studies
Promises, Spiritual
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Genesis 12:1-3 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
God made a twofold promise to Abraham. The first was a material promise that he would be the father of many nations and that kings would descend from him. God promised him that his progeny would inherit the land of Canaan, an expanse that He defined as stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates rivers. The second, but more important, promise was spiritual. God promised Abraham that in his Seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. This promise encompasses the life and work of Abraham's best known and most revered descendant, Jesus Christ. This promise was later extended to include the inheritance of the whole world (Romans 4:13). Abraham's physical descendants, the nation of Israel, inherited the land of Canaan. This was a type of Abraham's spiritual descendants inheriting the earth.
Earl L. Henn (1934-1997)
Basic Doctrines: The Reward of the Saved
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Genesis 12:1 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
God called Abram, as his name was then, out of the land of Babylon where he lived—surely symbolic of the spiritual Babylon in which we live, today—just as, today, God calls you and me out of this world—this Babylon! Abraham did not quibble or argue. The verse says: "So Abram departed." He went to a certain land, where God led him—the land we call Israel today! Abraham obeyed God. "So Abram departed," it is written! That is why he was made the father of the precious promises on which your eternal salvation rests! He obeyed-immediately he departed! Yes, just as you must obey, if you, with Abraham, are to inherit that promise! Men today have no conception of what is really in store for the one who is really saved. The inheritance that awaits you—if you surrender to God; if you obey as Abraham obeyed; if you rely, not on your faith, but on the very faith of Christ; if you are really born again—that very inheritance so surpasses anything you have ever conceived so far, that you have not the slightest conception of your true potential destiny! As we read in I Corinthians 2:9, ". . . Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." The inheritance which God has prepared for you cannot even be conceived by the natural mind of man—but God does reveal it to us "by His Spirit" (I Corinthians 2:10). Now what did God promise Abraham? The answer is found in Genesis 12:6-7: "And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land. . . ." So the promise was the inheritance of the land of Israel.
Herbert W. Armstrong (1892-1986)
What Is the Reward of the Saved?
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Genesis 13:14-15 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
The lands where Abram lived is the land of Canaan, called Israel today. That, then, is the Promised Land—and that is why it is called the Promised Land. But for how long? Forever! The inheritance is to be an eternal inheritance, which of necessity involves and includes everlasting life. If one inherits a piece of land, the deed must describe the exact boundaries of the property. Is such a description given in this deed of the land we may hope to inherit? The answer is found in Genesis 15:18, "In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates." From the Nile River in Egypt to the Euphrates in the Near East! We have all seen enough maps to know where that is, and I am sure we all know it is not up in heaven somewhere, but right here on this earth. "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:29); and the promise—the promise of eternal inheritance—is the land of Israel, from the Nile clear to the Euphrates, here on this earth! God help us to put our trust in the sure Word of God, not in the fables of men! Other scriptures show that the territory of Christ's Kingdom is to expand and spread until ultimately it shall include the whole earth. See Romans 4:13.
Herbert W. Armstrong (1892-1986)
What Is the Reward of the Saved?
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Romans 11:33 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Most successful televangelists preach what is called "the Prosperity Gospel." Using select Scriptures, they teach that if one gives his life to Jesus, and if he follows certain biblical principles, God is obligated to fulfill His promises of wealth, health, and well-being. In the end, God becomes little more than a genie-in-a-bottle, granting wishes out of sheer compulsion. To these preachers, this is the abundant life God promises, and hundreds of thousands of people agree with them. It is true that the Bible is full of promises. It is also true that Jesus tells us several times in John 14-16, "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it" (John 14:14; see also 14:13; 15:7, 16; 16:23-24, 26). Psalm 37:4 pledges, "Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." These sound like absolute promises, and if God is to be true to His Word, He must fulfill them, right? This is what the televangelists have concluded, but in the end, it is a facile conclusion. Very few of God's promises in the Bible are absolute in nature; they are, instead, conditional promises, governed not only by our responses to God, fulfilling certain requirements, but also by the perfect judgment of God. As James 1:17 says, He gives only good and perfect gifts; He will never give one of His children a "blessing" that would ultimately derail His purpose for him or that would be too much for him to handle. It works similarly among mere mortals. A human parent would not send his son to vocational school if he really wanted him to be a doctor, even though tuition to the vocational school would be a "good thing." Likewise, the same parent would not entrust his child with thousands of dollars in cash at Toys 'R Us, despite the fact that such sums of money would be considered a wonderful gift. If human parents have enough wisdom to give goal- and maturity-dependent gifts to their children, how much more does God (Romans 11:33)? The faithful Abraham and Sarah are good examples of this aspect of God's promises. In Genesis 12:2, God tells Abraham, age 75 at the time (verse 4), that He would make of him "a great nation," implying that he would have children. God makes this promise again in verse 7: "The LORD appeared to Abram and said, 'To your descendants I will give this land.'" Yet, He does not give Abraham the promised child when he is 76 or 78 or 80! After his rescue of Lot from the confederation of kings, Abraham pleads with God in Genesis 15:2-3—he is now 80 years old—for an heir. God repeats the promise, and Abraham believes Him (verses 4-6), yet Sarah does not become pregnant any time soon. Later, after Ishmael is born of Hagar when Abraham is 86 years old (Genesis 16:16), the patriarch wonders if this is the promised seed, but when the boy is thirteen—Abraham is now 99!—God reiterates, "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son" (Genesis 17:19). Finally, . . . the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. . . . Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. (Genesis 21:1-2, 5) Evidently, a great deal had to happen in the lives of Abraham and Sarah—predominantly in terms of spiritual maturity—before God felt the right time had come to give them their promised baby boy. Twenty-five years passed before God fulfilled His promise. Notice that Scripture itself informs us that God performed the miracle to allow Sarah to conceive "at the set time." There was one perfect time for this promise to be fulfilled, and God fulfilled it when all the conditions were right. And we can thank Him profusely for doing the same for us (II Corinthians 4:15).
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Are You Living the Abundant Life?
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Galatians 3:16 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
It is evident that a specific descendent was implied: that one of Abraham's "seed" had the same promise made. The promises entailed so much more than justification by faith. If that were the main or only promise, it had already been given to multiple characters throughout the Old Testament (Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, the prophets, etc.). Even Noah, living before Abraham, "became an heir of the righteousness which is by faith" (Hebrews 11:7)—yet none of these received the promises (Hebrews 11:13)! The promises made to Abraham cannot be limited to justification because all of these "men of faith" mentioned in Hebrews 11 did receive that. The promises entail eternal life, inheritance of the earth (Matthew 5:5, not heaven), and being born into the Family of God. These promises were made to Abraham and Christ. Abraham died without receiving them (Hebrews 11:13), which means he must live again in order for the promises to be fulfilled. Christ came to earth to confirm that those promises were still in existence and to set in process a means by which true Christians could inherit them. This will be fulfilled at the first resurrection, when the firstfruits are changed into immortal beings, given a full measure of God's Spirit, and begin reigning on the earth with Christ (Revelation 5:10; 20:4-6).
David C. Grabbe
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Galatians 3:16 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
The Christian is not yet a possessor of his reward—he is now only an "heir." What Christians shall inherit, if "saved"—whatever shall be the "reward of the saved"—wherever they shall spend eternity—is a definite, specific promise of God. And that promise was made to Abraham, called, in this same book of Galatians written for Gentile converts, the "father" of the faithful (Galatians 3:7). If one is converted, regardless of race or color or sex; if one is "Christ's"—a Christian—then he becomes one of Abraham's children, and an "heir" of the promise made to Abraham. What he is to inherit, then, is whatever was promised to Abraham (see Genesis 12:2-7; 13:14-15; 15:18; 13:15; 4:13). There is not one word about "heaven" here!
Will You Go to Heaven?
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Galatians 3:16 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
The Christian is not yet a possessor of his reward"he is an heir"and what he shall inherit, if saved, is the promise made to Abraham. Whatever shall be the reward of the saved, wherever we shall spend eternity if saved, is a definite, specific promise of God. That promise was made to Abraham, who is called, in this same book of Galatians which was written for Gentile converts, the father of the faithful. If one is converted, whether Jew or Gentile"regardless of race or color or sex"if one is Christ's, then he becomes one of Abraham's children, and an heir of the promise made to Abraham. What he is to inherit is whatever was promised to Abraham.
Herbert W. Armstrong (1892-1986)
What Is the Reward of the Saved?
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Galatians 3:26 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
This statement would have been a bombshell—and high heresy—to the average Jew of Paul's time, who would have had it in his mind that the people of Israel were the only children of God. Paul here is beginning to explain that physical lineage is not relevant where God's calling is concerned, because under the New Covenant only God can give the summons (John 6:44), and if He summons a Gentile, it is just as valid as if He gave it to an Israelite. The faith of Jesus Christ is the important factor rather than heredity. This faith is also a part of what God gives (Ephesians 2:8)—again, only to those whom He chooses. But if God has given this living faith (James 2:20) to a man, that man is then a begotten—but not yet born—child of God. God is the real father, rather than Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob.
David C. Grabbe
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Galatians 3:26 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
We become children of Abraham once we are justified by faith in Christ's sacrifice. The Abrahamic Covenant and the promises God made, then, are still in effect. He is going to fulfill those promises. Abraham will have multiple billions of descendants. Now we see the real purpose of the covenant: Abraham's children actually, under God's spiritual purpose, also become God's children.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 27)
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Galatians 3:28-29 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
The Bible plainly reveal that a real Christian is one who has become a spiritual Israelite—one of Abraham's "seed" through Jesus Christ. God made the special Sabbath covenant with Abraham's physical descendants. It was to be obeyed throughout their generations. Today, all Spirit-begotten Christians have become Abraham's spiritual descendants and therefore keep the Sabbath! The Sabbath is a reminder of our Creator, who not only created the universe, but who is also creating His holy, righteous character in Spirit-begotten Christians—character that will endure forever when they are born into His divine Family! Thus the Sabbath reminds us every week of the Creator God and His wonderful purpose for mankind.
Why Christians Should Keep God's Holy Days
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Hebrews 1:1-4 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Christ, by inheritance, has obtained the promises. Are we not co-heirs with Christ? Will we inherit the same things that He did? Verse 4 says, ". . . by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they [angels]." Is He greater than angels? There is no comparison between what He is now and an angel! He is their great Creator. The writer of Hebrews is tracing the inheritance of the promises from the standpoint of Jesus, the Man, dying, being resurrected from the dead, and ascending to heaven. He is the inheritor of the promises that came to Him as the result of meeting the terms of the covenant given to Abraham. He became the heir, and what was His inheritance? This passage says that His inheritance was to become God.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 13)
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