Great and Precious (2)

Therefore it is of faith that it might beaccording to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all… Romans 4.16

Precious and very great       
Human beings are made to live by promises. Our focus on promises determines the choices we make in every area of our lives. Living by promises is part of what sets us apart from the animals as image-bearers of God. We live our lives toward the hopes and expectations we hold out for ourselves – the promises we believe our actions will achieve.

But very often, because our worldview is faulty or compromised, those promises can elude or disappoint us, leaving us flat and unfulfilled, and looking for more and better promises. Jesus, the Scriptures tell us, offers better promises to those who trust in Him, who live within the framework of God’s covenant and a Biblical worldview, and who hope in the glory of God.

Peter describes the promises of Jesus as “exceedingly great and precious,” and says that, as we lay hold on these promises, we actually participate in the very life of God (2 Pet. 1.4). Living toward the promises means living toward the knowledge of God and life in His presence.

Now that’s an amazing promise!

Since God has in Himself all life, power, beauty, goodness, truth, joy, pleasure, and fulfillment, there can be no higher promise than that which enables us to partake of Him. This is what Jesus offers – life with God, immersed in His glory, every day, all day, in every aspect of our lives, forever and ever. No set of promises drawn from the most imaginative human thinking can even begin to compare with this!

And, as we shall see, that promise comes with a written guarantee.

Seeds of life
But surely we need more details? How can we understand this promise, and how can we begin living toward it? The Apostle Paul shows us where to look to understand and grasp the exceedingly great and precious promises of God. In the promises God made to Abraham are the seeds and outline of the full and abundant life everyone seeks, and for which everyone conjures up promises they hope will satisfy their deepest longings.

The better promises of Jesus, first offered to Abraham, do not come from our own imaginations; they are held out to us by grace, and we lay hold of them by faith. The better we understand the life which Jesus offers, the more we will rejoice in the grace of God so magnanimously provided, and the more we will desire those precious and very great promises as our own.

The Bible is full of promises. For many years in my Bible reading I would underline all the promises of God with a green pen. I was truly surprised, after several years of doing this, to see how much of the Bible is offered to us in the form of promises. God wants what’s best for us, and He knows better than we, of what that consists.

Further, He is able to provide what He offers because His power to make good on His promises is not constrained by the limits of human imagination or might. God offers us exceedingly great and precious promises – promises powerful enough to enable us to partake of His own being and life. He shows us the way to make those promises our own. And He guarantees that, if we will pursue them above all other promises, we will know Him and enjoy and partake of Him in His Kingdom and glory.

The promises to Abraham
Look to Abraham, in the first instance, for with him the promises of God are reduced to their simplest form – three sets of two promises, six promises over all. We read these promises in Genesis 12.1-3: Now the LORD had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

These promises provided a powerful incentive for Abraham to leave his former life behind, journey to the land where the promises would be realized, and devote the rest of his days to seeking and following the Lord. And as we see from the Apostle Paul, those same promises are held out to us as well.

But we must pursue them in faith – with understanding, patience, and complete faithfulness.
Get these promises, set your heart and strength to attain them day by day, and you will begin to know the fullness of the good, happy, fruitful, and peaceable life that only the Biblical worldview can provide.

For reflection
1.  Meditate on 2 Peter 1.4. Peter mentions a precondition for living toward the promises of God. What is it? What does this mean, and how should we practice this in our daily lives?

2.  The land of promise was to be the staging-ground for Israel to live toward the promises of God. This was Israel’s Personal Mission Field. Have you identified your Personal Mission Field?

3.  What does it mean to be blessed of God? What does it mean to be a blessing to others?

Next steps – Preparation: Read Genesis 12.1-3. How would you summarize the promises God made to Abram (Abraham)? Are any of these promises part of the promises you seek each day? Share your thoughts on this with a leader in your church, and ask him or her to pray for you as you work through the rest of this series.

T. M. Moore

This is part 2 of a 5-part series, Living toward the Promises. You can download this week’s study as a free PDF, suitable for personal or group use, by clicking here. You can learn more about living toward the promises of God by ordering a copy of the book, I Will Be Your God, from our online store (click here).

We invite you to register for the free online course, One in Twelve: Introduction to Christian Worldview. In this course T. M. Moore provides a sweeping panorama of how life in the Kingdom of God unfolds in an age in flight from God such as ours. Set your own schedule and study at your own pace. Learn more, and register for One in Twelve, by clicking here.

The Lord uses your prayers and gifts to help us in this ministry. Add us to your regular prayer list, and seek the Lord concerning whether He would have you share with us. You can contribute to The Fellowship of Ailbe by using the contribute button at the website, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.