Bible Basics 3.1 The Promises of God: Introduction

3.1 The Promises of God: IntroductionAt this point in our studies we have reached a broad understanding of who God is and how He works. In doing so we have cleared up a number of common misunderstandings about these things. Now we want to look more positively at the things which God has “promised to them that love him” (James 1:12; 2:5) by keeping His commandments (Jn. 14:15). If we open the New Testament, the first book we read is a transcript of the Gospel message as preached by Matthew. He starts off in the very first verse by introducing Jesus Christ as the son of David and the son of Abraham, and then gives a genealogy to prove this (Luke does similarly). This may seem odd at first reading. The point is, these early believers recognised that the fulfilment of the promises to Abraham and David through Jesus Christ is the basis of the Christian message. Paul preached likewise- the Gospel is centred in the promises (Gal. 3:8). Paul taught “the good tidings [Gospel] of the promise made unto the [Jewish] fathers” (Acts 13:32 RV).The promises of God in the Old Testament comprise the true Christian hope. When on trial for his life, Paul spoke of the future reward for which he was prepared to lose all things. “Now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers...the hope of Israel…for which hope’s sake...I am accused” (Acts 26:6,7). He had spent much of his life preaching “glad tidings (the Gospel), how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God has fulfilled...in that he has raised up Jesus”(Acts 13:32,33). Paul explained that belief in those promises gave hope of resurrection from the dead (Acts 26:6-8 cf. 23:8), a knowledge of the second coming of Jesus in judgment and of the coming Kingdom of God (Acts 24:25; 28:20,31). It must be understood at the outset that the true Christian hope is “the hope of Israel”. God sent His Son to save the Jews first and foremost (Gal. 4:4,5); yet God is not willing that any should perish and by His grace the Gentiles may share in the promise of salvation also.All this sinks the myth that the Old Testament is merely a rambling history of Israel which does not speak of eternal life. To understand the promises of salvation explained there is to understand the Christian Gospel. God did not suddenly decide 2,000 years ago that He would offer us eternal life through Jesus. That purpose was with Him from the beginning.“(The) hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; but has in due times manifested his word (concerning it) through preaching” (Tit. 1:2,3).“That eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us” (1 Jn. 1:2).