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It is impossible to avoid the fact that these covenants, old and new, made with the
fathers, sealed with circumcision, and made at Sinai with Moses as the mediator, belong
to Israel (Rom. 9: 4). Gentiles could become partakers of New Covenant blessings while
the New Covenant people continued as a people before God, and this is recognized in the
two epistles to the Corinthians. The true fulfillment of the New Covenant yet awaits the
day of the Lord, but the earnest of its blessings was enjoyed during the period that came
to an end with the setting aside of Israel at Acts 28:
The only reference to a covenant in the five prison epistles is a negative one, namely,
where the Apostle emphasizes in Ephesians the utterly bankrupt condition of the Gentile
world.
"Gentiles in the flesh . . . . . aliens . . . . . strangers from the covenants of promise . . ."
(Eph. 2: 11, 12).
Let us now acquaint ourselves with the `promises' that are found in the N.T., seeing
that the Apostle has linked covenants and promises together in this one reference in
Ephesians.
The Greek word is epaggelia which occurs 53 times in the N.T. Once it is translated
`message' (I John 1: 5), the remaining 52 occurrences being consistently translated
`promise'. Here the wayfaring man though a fool (Isa. 35: 8) need not err. The whole
story lies open on the face of the A.V. First of all we give the occurrences of the word
`promise' in those Scriptures outside the Prison epistles.
Acts.
Five references, to promises made to the fathers or to their children (2: 29;
7: 17; 13: 23, 32; 26: 6). Two references to the promise of the Spirit
(1: 4; 2: 33).
Luke. (24: 49) "The promise of the Father" is repeated in the Acts.
Romans. Eight references to promises made to Abraham, to Israel, and to the
fathers (4: 13, 14, 16, 20; 9: 4, 8, 9; 15: 8).
II Corinthians. "All the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen" (i.20).
"Having therefore these promises" (7: 1).
Galatians. Nine references to promises made to Abraham (3: 16, 17, 18, 21, 22,
29; 4: 23, 28). One reference to the promise of the Spirit, but directly
connected with Abraham (3: 14).
Hebrews. Fourteen references, referring mainly to the promise made to Abraham,
and to those of like faith, [one passage, 11: 33 refers to some individual
promise made to those who suffered martyrdom] (4: 1; 6: 12, 15, 17;
7: 6; 8: 6; 9: 15; 10: 36; 11: 9, 13, 17, 39).
II Peter. Two references, to promises of the Lord's Second Coming (3: 4, 9).
I John. One reference, the promise of eternal life (2: 25)
The reader is urged to acquaint himself with these references, observing in each case
what the promise is and to whom it was made. He will find no promise that can
legitimately be taken by a Gentile believer in the absence of Israel today. We turn from
this negative aspect of the case to the epistles written by Paul since Acts 28: 28, for it