Articles
The Promises of God
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For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. (2 Cor. 1:20)
. . . By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Pet. 1:4)
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The Bible is not a collection of random stories about heroes and villains. There are plenty of those, of course, but the real story centers on God's role as a promise-maker. Consider how God's promises have shaped the Biblical narrative:
- In the Garden of Eden, His first promise was to Eve, whose descendant would "bruise Satan's head" for his role in corrupting God's creation (Gen. 3:15).
- God's promises to Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3) provide an outline of the rest of the entire Bible. The "great nation" that would descend from the patriarch (v. 2) was fulfilled in the Old Testament's history of Israel; and the blessing that would come upon all the families of the earth through those descendants (v. 3) was fulfilled in the New Testament and the coming of Christ.
- To the Israelites fleeing bondage in Egypt, God promised safe passage and a new home in a land "flowing with milk and honey" (Ex. 3:16-17). The first generation turned their backs on that promise, but their children and grandchildren saw God make good on His word.
- God gave a remarkable promise to David regarding his descendants (2 Sam. 7:12-16), a Messianic promise that served as a beacon of hope to the Jews throughout their long and tortuous history.
All these promises (and many others) reached their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, whose life, death, and resurrection satisfied every objective in God's master plan for humanity.
But His plan is not yet finished. God has given promises to us as well, "exceedingly great and precious promises":
- Full pardon of all our sins and imperfections (Eph. 1:7-8)
- Strength and comfort in times of hardship (2 Cor. 12:9)
- Power to overcome temptation and sin (Eph. 6:10-17)
- Our own resurrection from the dead, followed by an eternity of peaceful bliss (1 Cor. 15)
The Bible is the story of a God who makes promises and delivers on them. He will not fail us now. Trust Him, and live accordingly.
--David
