The Certainty of God’s Promise

¹³ When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,^{(A) 14} saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”^{[a](B) 15} And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.^(C)

¹⁶ People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.^{(D) 17} Because God wanted to make the unchanging^(E) nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised,^(F) he confirmed it with an oath. ¹⁸ God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie,^(G) we who have fled to take hold of the hope^(H) set before us may be greatly encouraged.

⁴² I will remember my covenant with Jacob^(A) and my covenant with Isaac^(B) and my covenant with Abraham,^(C) and I will remember the land.

²⁸ As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies^(A) for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs,^(B)

⁶⁰ Yet I will remember the covenant^(A) I made with you in the days of your youth,^(B) and I will establish an everlasting covenant^(C) with you.

The Law and the Promise

¹⁵ Brothers and sisters,^(A) let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. ¹⁶ The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed.^(B) Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,”^[a](C) meaning one person, who is Christ. ¹⁷ What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years^(D) later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise.