John 6:37-40: ”All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”“
John 3:16-18: ”For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.“
This week we are going to be looking together at the Promises of Jesus.
What is a promise?
Oxford Languages dictionary online describes a promise as “a declaration or assurance that one will do a particular thing or that a particular thing will happen.“ I believe that is as good a definition to start with as any from a human perspective.
But what does it mean to have a promise from God?
”For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.“. 2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV
As you may know the word “Amen” in the biblical Greek language means “so be it”. The verse above is saying that life, death and resurrection of Jesus is the affirmation of what God has said. Therefore, the promises of Jesus for us are the confirmation of the historic and eternal promises of God to all people.
To have a promise from a person is time bound to that person’s life and/ or influence or resources. As we know, even the most well intentioned, powerful and influential people among us share the limits of humanity.
The promises of God are not limited by time or resources and Jesus is the affirmation that His promises are for us as much as they were for all of those who came before us or are to come after us. For this reason Jesus is the focal point of time for all of us that believe.
His promises are for all people – and so it’s fitting to start this week by considering God’s promise of Salvation through His son Jesus.
Do you believe that God sent Jesus to save the world? Do you really believe Jesus wants to be in relationship with you?
These are good things to contemplate, otherwise the promises in the Bible are just words to us.
The promises I’ve made will fade as I close my eyes for the last time. The promises of Jesus will last forever.
PRAY: Spend some time in prayer meditating on Jesus’ Promise of Salvation.
