“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.” (Galatians 3:16–17, ESV)
On our lives we make many promises. The unfortunate part about these is that we often violate the promises we make. There are certain promises or covenants that we make in life that are legally binding and to break them would legal and criminal liability.
Years ago, a company called me as an expert in my field to investigate a problem that they had with a printing machine that they purchased. I will not go into the details regarding he machine. However, in short, it would not print the product for which it was designed and sold by the manufacturer. I went and examined the machine and discovered a design flaw in the equipment.
Sometime after presenting the facts to the company that hired me, I received a call from their lawyers. They needed me to serve as an expert witness in a legal suit against the manufacturer of the printing press for breach of contract. The contract was ratified by both parties as evidenced by official signatures. Then money was transferred and the machine delivered.
Per the lawyers’ request, I put a detailed report together with all the engineering details. Ultimately, the law suit was settled out of court.
The point is this. A legal contract is in fact a covenant agreement between two parties. Neither has the right to change the contract once ratified. This is the point that Paul made regarding the Abrahamic covenant.
Paul indicated that God made with Abraham 430 years before he gave the law to Moses. It was separate from the Abrahamic covenant and the law which came later could not nullify the covenant. If the law would have nullified the promise, this would mean that God would function in a capricious, that is in a suddenly changeable and unpredictable manner. It would mean that we could never have any certainty regarding the way God deals with us.
Yet this is not the way it is with God. He is immutable, that is He does not ever change and always keeps His promises. He is not like us. This is clearly seen in the Scriptures.
“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (Numbers 23:19, ESV)
Paul also indicated a vital truth. The covenant that God made with Abraham was not to be fulfilled in his offspring (plural) but in his offspring (singular). It was not in all the Jewish people, but in one Jewish person, Jesus Christ. He was the seed of Abraham through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed.
Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the covenant and in Him we who believe have become heirs. We are now in the Advent Season. As we consider the birth of Jesus, we rejoice as we see how miraculously God fulfills every promise. He promised that through the seed of Abraham all the nations would be blessed and this has been accomplished.
God is faithful. He is not like men. As He has promised He will fulfill. We can count on every promise that He has made to us. We can stand assured of our blessing, our inheritance, and our glorious future.
Renewing the Heart 