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KEY TEXTS:
“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.”
2Corinthians 1:20
“Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
2Corinthians 7:1
Promises form an essential part of God’s plan of redemption. The mercies of God, His compassion and faithfulness are often mediated through promises given beforehand to His people. When God promises, God is making a prophetic statement, a word that shall come to pass. Some of His promises are conditional upon our obedience and faith, a lot of His promises contain no conditions at all: God will fulfill them irrespective of the constraints of time, space or human action. (See Deuteronomy 28:1-3; Isaiah 37:28-29; 33-36) What then is a promise? A promise is a vow, a pledge, an oath taken by someone to express their determination that they will carry out a pre-stated action. In most situations, the pre-stated action is usually beneficial to the recipient. If the person making the promise is trust-worthy, and their word is their bond, then their promise is a very strong, almost indissoluble guarantee that they will act in the way they have stated, according to the prescribed conditions of their promise. In this way, a promise is more than a declaration of intent. It is actually a contract.
When God makes a promise, God is entering into a kind of covenant or contract to those for whom the promise is intended. God takes the initiative, God makes the directive, and God oversees the fulfilment of the promise. (See Genesis 12:1-3; Genesis 17:1-7; Genesis 28:12-15)
Why does God make promises?
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To demonstrate the awesomeness of God. (Genesis 28:16-18; 2Peter 1:3-4).
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To demonstrate that He is the Executive One - He is a Living God, not an idol. He is able to will and to do of His good pleasure. And, He knows the ending from the beginning!
Philippians 2:13 - “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”;
Isaiah 46:10 - “Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, 'My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,”…
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To establish and confirm a relationship of love and trust, to command our obedience and repentance (Malachi 3:16-17)
Do all promises in the Bible apply to us?
Yes, if we have a personal relationship with Him, and we find ourselves in a similar situation, and we are willing to acknowledge God in our ways.
(2Corinthians 1:20)
What is the nature of God’s promises?
With much reverence, one can say that when God makes a promise, God is bound to carry it out. He cannot just change His mind by moving the goal post and giving you new conditions that He did not state beforehand.
God’s promises are consistent with the nature of God. God is faithful and true, gentle and gracious, but He is also holy and just.
OUR OWN ABC
For God’s promises to be effective in our lives:
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We have to walk in accordance with His word.
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We have to believe that He is able to perform His promises
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We have to co-operate with Him.
God’s promises cover all aspects of life. There is a promise for every problem, a promise for every prospect that you may desire, a promise for every person, especially, now that we are joined to Christ Jesus.
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Romans 4:21 "and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.”
Hebrews 6:13 “For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself …”
Isaiah 55:11 "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
Luke 1:20 “But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”
Psalm 138:2 "I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name."
1Kings 6:12 "Concerning this temple which you are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My word with you, which I spoke to your father David."
Jeremiah 29:10 "For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place."
Jeremiah 33:14 "'Behold, the days are coming,' says the LORD, 'that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah…”
Exodus 34:7 "keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation."
Titus 1:2 "in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began…”
Hebrews 11:11 "By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.”
Isaiah 19: "If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land…"
Micah 2:7 "You who are named the house of Jacob: "Is the Spirit of the LORD restricted? Are these His doings? Do not My words do good To him who walks uprightly?"
Psalm 84:11 "For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly.”
John 15:7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you."
Romans 15:8 "Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers…"
Hebrews 6:12 "that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."
Hebrews 10:23 "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."
Acts 2:39 "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."
Hebrews 9:15 "And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance."
Hebrews 10:36 "For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:"
1John 2:25 "And this is the promise that He has promised us - eternal life."
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