so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. [galatians 3:14]
so that we might receive the promised Spirit …
our God declared many promises to his people in the old testament that were not meant for you and i. for example – he promised abraham a child in his old age. that is not a direct promise for you. could happen but God is not breaking a promise if you don’t. God promised land to the israelites as they came out of egypt, often he promised defeat of their enemies, and often he promised he would protect them if they trusted in him. rarely were these promises mean for you. they are not directly yours.
bad teachers and false teachers often take the promises of God out of context and “promise” you that if you have enough faith – God will come through for you in the same way.
in the new testament, there are many promises God makes but we must understand them.
Jesus promises he will heal – but not every time. there will be a day you die, promise.
Jesus promises he will provide – but a job loss or lack of riches does not mean he is breaking his promise.
Jesus promises he will answer the prayers of those that are his – but he didn’t say he would say yes to every prayer. he often says no, not now, or wait.
God never breaks his promise, but we must understand them – fully.
back to our passage.
so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
most of the promises God made to abraham are not ours to claim. but there is one promise, THEE Promise – that is the point of why God made so many promises to abraham. that one main promise – was God restoring his presence to our lives through Jesus. every promise made to abraham was given so Jesus the “promised one” could come to this earth. and, in his life, death, and resurrection, he would provide a way for God’s presence to be restored into our lives. the point of being made right with God is so we can be with God. THEE promise – the Spirit – would restore God’s presence to you and i by faith in Jesus.
question – what if the only thing God gave you fully and forever – was himself? would he be enough.
some people live in absolute poverty, wrecked by war, persecuted by horrible ungodly leaders, without much hope to better their life. this is most of the believers in third world countries. our brothers and sisters in southern sudan live in persecution and poverty – yet they declare the glory of God in story after story because he has rescued them from sin and put his presence into their lives. in the midst of the chaos and tribulation, God is with them, in them. he is enough.
is God enough?
this is THEE promise – God is with you, he will never leave you, forever!
he is with you now, by Christ’s work. call out to him, confess your sin of always looking for more than him to “be enough”, and enjoy his presence!
~ john ryan