1 John 2:25
Big Idea: God spoke, and it will certainly come to pass. The reason the incarnation is so important is because God’s integrity is at stake.
1 John 2:25 (ESV) — 25 And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.
What is a Biblical Promise?
There is in the Heb. OT no special term for the concept or act of promising. Where our English translations say that someone promised something, the Hebrew simply states that someone said or spoke (’āmar, dāḇar) some word with future reference. In the NT the technical term, epangelia, appears chiefly in Acts, Galatians, Romans and Hebrews.
A promise is a word that goes forth into unfilled time. It reaches ahead of its speaker and its recipient, to mark an appointment between them in the future.
A promise is a __________ ____________ by someone about their intentions to bring about some future reality.
John 6:47 (ESV) — 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
God is absolutely trustworthy because God never ______________.
Numbers 23:19 (ESV) — 19 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?
God is absolutely trustworthy because he does not _____________.
Psalm 110:4 (ESV) — 4 The Lord has sworn (notice that promise language again) and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
God is absolutely trustworthy because he is absolutely ________________.
Isaiah 14:27 (ESV) — 27 For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?
Psalm 33
Questions to Consider
What is a promise? Why are God’s promises so secure?
How does it assure your heart that God does not lie, does not change, and is sovereign over all things?
How do we see these attributes of God played out in the Christmas story?
How is Jesus at the center of God’s promises? In what ways is God calling you to trust in him and his promises?
