God’s promises to Abraham
There is a tendency to consider the Old Testament something that is only part of history, something that has been completely superseded by the New Testament. However, that is not true.
While the New Testament does say the law given to Moses is passing away, it does not say the entire Old Testament is passing away. That means we need to understand the covenants of the Old Testament and recognize what is temporary and what is permanent. One of the most important of these covenants is the covenant made with Abraham, because the Bible presents it as both a permanent covenant and an unconditional covenant. In fact, Paul uses this covenant as the entire basis of the gospel. While the gospel teaches that the law of Moses is passing away, it clearly teaches that the covenant with Abraham is not passing away at all but, instead, is the foundation of the gospel.
The Abrahamic covenant is the source of righteousness by faith as it is written in Genesis 15:6 that Abraham believed God and He “counted it to him as righteousness” (see also Romans 4:3). It is the very foundation of the promise of redemption, for the apostle Paul said,
Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. (Galatians 3:16–18)
And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. (v. 29)
Jesus is the means by which the promises to Abraham are fulfilled. While the law must pass away, Abraham’s promises must not pass away because they are the very basis of the gospel, and Jesus remains committed to fulfilling them. Therefore, to understand the work of Jesus and ultimately His kingdom, we must understand these promises because Jesus has been made King in order to fulfill them.
These promises undergird the entire story of redemption in this age and create a great tension throughout the biblical narrative as prophets predict their fulfillment and, at the same time, wonder how God will ever bring them to fulfillment. The first step to understanding what Jesus will do as King is understanding these promises and what the Bible says about God’s commitment to fulfilling them.