Disciples Digital Library

The biblical faith is forward-looking and foundational to its doctrine of salvation is the future resurrection of the righteous dead. That event will also mark the arrival of the New Creation. The New Testament links this to two events. First, the past Resurrection of Jesus. Second, his future arrival at the end of the age. Our salvation remains incomplete without our resurrection.

In the Book of Genesis , God implemented His plan to redeem humanity by establishing His covenant with Abraham, beginning with the summons for the Patriarch to leave his homeland and journey to the “ land I will show you .” Yahweh would produce a “ great nation ” from him, and the covenant would bless all the “ Tribes of the Earth .” From the start, the promise of territory was central to the Abrahamic Covenant.

The definitive “Word” that God has spoken “ in the Son ” surpasses all past revelations made in “ the prophets ,” including Moses, the Great Lawgiver. Jesus of Nazareth exceeded every one of his predecessors. He alone “ achieved the purification of sins ,” therefore, he “ sat down ” at the right hand of God and inherited “ all things .” Moreover, his exaltation signaled the commencement of the “ New Covenant .”

The covenant of Abraham is foundational to the biblical concept of redemption, including the promise that “ all the nations of the Earth would be blessed in Abraham .” The Patriarch would have innumerable descendants, but how and when would the covenant bless the nations? Who are his descendants, and who is the “Seed of Abraham” destined to inherit the promises?

God foresaw the sins and downfall of Israel, therefore, He determined from the beginning to institute a New Covenant energized and characterized by His Spirit. It would include the salvation of the Nations and culminate in the “ New Heavens and the New Earth .” With the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, that Time of Fulfillment commenced.