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The God who created the universe is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Bible tells us that those who believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are not only heirs to the Promise God made to Abram, LKA Abraham, as stated in Galatians 3:29, they become part of God’s Heritage. Not a bad club to belong to, some might say.
Before Jesus appeared to us, only those who directly descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and those who associated with them, were aware of God’s Promise and His Heritage. Then Jesus opened the eyes of anyone who listened to him and his disciples, making them realize that they too can benefit from God, even though they are not of a direct lineage or association with same.
How does one know this? In fact, how does one know, even, that they are under a threat of condemnation if they DON”T accept that they can be heirs to the Promise God made to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3, and they can be members of God’s Heritage as described in Deuteronomy 32:9? Because Jesus, in Mark 16:15-16 says to his disciples, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but WHOEVER DOES NOT BELIEVE WILL BE CONDEMNED...”
Even if Jesus didn’t appear among us to save us, we would still know that those who were not descended from Abraham can be his heirs according to God’s Promise. God in Genesis 12:2-3 says to Abraham, “...I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS YOU...” And, to the extent that God permits us to reason as he does in Isaiah 1:18, we could safely presume that whoever God blesses would be part of His Heritage, since, after all, would it be reasonable for God to deny that they are part of His Heritage if they are so blessed?
And so, we come to Ephesians 1: 13-14 where Paul says, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
Until we acquire possession of it? Question: Is acquiring such possession a matter of faith or of works? Think about it.
Before Jesus appeared to us, only those who directly descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and those who associated with them, were aware of God’s Promise and His Heritage. Then Jesus opened the eyes of anyone who listened to him and his disciples, making them realize that they too can benefit from God, even though they are not of a direct lineage or association with same.
How does one know this? In fact, how does one know, even, that they are under a threat of condemnation if they DON”T accept that they can be heirs to the Promise God made to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3, and they can be members of God’s Heritage as described in Deuteronomy 32:9? Because Jesus, in Mark 16:15-16 says to his disciples, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but WHOEVER DOES NOT BELIEVE WILL BE CONDEMNED...”
Even if Jesus didn’t appear among us to save us, we would still know that those who were not descended from Abraham can be his heirs according to God’s Promise. God in Genesis 12:2-3 says to Abraham, “...I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS YOU...” And, to the extent that God permits us to reason as he does in Isaiah 1:18, we could safely presume that whoever God blesses would be part of His Heritage, since, after all, would it be reasonable for God to deny that they are part of His Heritage if they are so blessed?
And so, we come to Ephesians 1: 13-14 where Paul says, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
Until we acquire possession of it? Question: Is acquiring such possession a matter of faith or of works? Think about it.