Throughout the books of the Bible, many promises are made. Some are specific to individuals or to one nation, yet many hint at redemption, salvation and blessing for all who trust in God. Once you start examining these promises, it is fascinating to realize which of these promises began as kernels in early Scripture, grew in significance as scriptural themes, and were fully realized in Christ and the Church. Many of God’s promises intertwine across books of the Bible in remarkable ways. This weaves key themes together through the Old and New Testament, and links the promises of the Bible to the present day and into to the future, as the Church carries forward with Christ’s Satan-defeating, redemptive work.
In a recent interview, D.A. Carson delves into the intricacies of the promises made by God:
…This notion of promise drives Scripture forward. It means that our view of history is not that it goes around and around and around and around as in a lot of Hindu thought where you jump on and jump off by reincarnation with history not necessarily going anywhere… But the biblical view is really quite different.
…the notion of the promises of God is tied to our very understanding of history. God fulfills his promises across the trajectory, the axis, of redemptive history.
Carson goes on to develop his point with some of the more well-known examples from the Old Testament. He starts with the first promise of the Bible, which we see in Genesis Chapter 3:
No sooner has the human race fallen into sin and rebellion where there should be only death, you would think, yet instead we find in Genesis 3:15 what is sometimes called the protoengellion; that is, the first gospel or the first announcement of the gospel, where God says, “I will put enmity between you and the woman” — speaking now to the Serpent — and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise [or crush] your head, and you shall bruise [or strike] his heel.”
This line is finds fulfillment in the New Testament, when Christ crushes Satan through His Death on the cross and His Resurrection. In Romans 16:20, this promise is carried out into the future as Christ’s church continues to carry out His Will on earth.
Next Carson addresses the Abrahamic covenant:
The Abrahamic covenant is often referred to as the covenant of promise, since in this covenant, Genesis 12, 15, 17, alluded to in Genesis 22, all of which we looked at last time, he promises amongst other things that through Abraham’s seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed and it is not filled out much more than that except in the context.
There is the anticipation not only of a direct line from Abraham, which is fulfilled in the birth of Isaac and then Isaac’s sons and eventually the patriarchs and then the entire nation until ultimately you come down to Jesus, who is born in the promised line of Abraham as the very first verse of the New Testament makes clear.
And that, of course, is picked up in the New Testament to demonstrate that Abraham becomes, as it were, the prototype, the anticipatory pattern of those who are saved by their faith.
Last but not least, Carson studies the Davidic kingship and David’s covenant with God:
But God promises in 2 Samuel 7 that the dynasty will last and will be perpetual. And that theme is then taken up throughout the rest of the Old Testament and all the way to the New Testament. There is an expectation of a Davidic King. Now, we will pursue that one a little more when we look at the theme of kingship in a later recording, but what is remarkable is that you turn to the very first page of the New Testament and you read the origin of Jesus Christ: the son of Abraham, the son of David. And the genealogy then takes you back to David (Matthew 1:1).
In addition to these more well-known promises of the Bible, there are many, many more. Throughout the Bible, you can see how the covenants which God makes with His people in the Old Testament are fulfilled in the New Testament. Without fail, all these promises are fulfilled and made whole in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.
…all of the intervening history between Genesis 1–3 on the one hand and Revelation 20–22 on the other is the unfolding of history under the sovereignty of God to bring about his purposes in line with the promises of God.
Today, as Christians, we are able to live in the fullness of the promises of God because of the unification of all covenants in the redemptive suffering of Christ. God’s promises are not relics of the past – they are today’s proof of His Love and Faithfulness to us.
