EVERY PROMISE IN THE WORD IS MINE
Sakkie Parsons
Translated from Afrikaans
Translator: Robin Barker
Someone wrote to me and asked:
“If it is at all possible I would like to know how many promises made by God are documented in the Bible.”
I want to begin by saying that I have no idea as to how many promises are in the Word but I have this glorious knowledge; there are a great many wonderful promises in the Word from our Lord! These promises are extremely valuable to us and are steadfast and trustworthy. Our Lord gives us His forgiveness and salvation, His grace and love, His goodness and faithfulness and the all-embracing promise of eternal life with Him.
REV 21:3-5
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
Our Lord’s promises give us faith, hope and an exciting expectation in our hearts!
How can we get hold of these promises of God?
All of God’s promises are fulfilled in and through Jesus Christ and through repentance and faith in Him, we become children of the most High God and inheritors of His promises:
GAL 4:28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
While we are on the subject of promises in the Word, I want to speak to you about another aspect in this regard:
We need to be careful, so to say, not to tell our Lord here and now how His promises must be fulfil in our lives according to our own will or to be impatient if we have to wait. Our attitude must be one of great humbleness and gratitude towards Him for His wonderful promises and His love for us that He shown on the Cross.
Notice that God answered Habakkuk on his question that he has to wait patiently for God’s promise to come to past:
HAB 2:3 For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end–it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.
As I understand we mainly have two different kind of promises in the Word. Some promises are directed to specific people and others in general. Here are two examples of promises to all people:
JOHN 3:16-18
16 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.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
18 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.1 JOH 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
1 JOH 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Are these not two of the most wonderful things to know during these uncertain times?
Also note that many promises are linked with a condition or assignment and responsibility on our part. Here are just a few examples:
JOH 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
REV 3:5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.
ROM 10:9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
ROM 10:10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.JOH 10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
Then there are the specific promises:
GEN 18:10-14
10 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him.
11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.
12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’
14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
Today I see the millions of Jews spread throughout the world and I remember the promise made to Abraham and Sarah and I say:
”Our Lord made a promise and the rest is history.”
Then also:
EXO 33:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’
Today I remember all the hardships that the Jews had to endure over thousands of years and I look at the country Israel and I remember the promise made by our Lord, and I say:
”Our Lord promised and the rest is history.”
Do you know what is so gloriously wonderful for me about our Lord’s promises in His Word, ‘specific’ or ‘general’?
Our Lord will and also completes it. He will take any amount of the tremendous promises, ‘specific’ or ‘general’ and will make it applicable to you and me when and how He wants to. I use and example of a ‘specific’ promise, what our Lord made applicable to someone else.
In Isaiah 49:6 we read.
ISA 49:6 “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. Will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
This section applies actually to our Messiah but our Lord’s Holy Spirit placed it in Paul’s heart, directly to him, and made it applicable directly to Paul.
ACTS 13:47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “‘I have made you[a] a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.”
How true did it not become in my great hero Paul’s life!
How absolutely wonderful!
How absolutely glorious!
We can take the Word and hold it against our heart and loudly sing the following lovely chorus:
All the promises in the Word are mine, – Elke belofte in die Woord is myn,
Every chapter, every verse, every line, – Elke hoofstuk, elke vers, elke lyn.
All are blessings through His love divine (pure), – Almal seën uit Sy liefde rein,
Every promise in the Word is mine. – Elke belofte in die Woord is myn.
Greetings,
Sakkie