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NASB | Luke 1:73 The oath which He swore to Abraham our father, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 1:73 The oath which He swore to Abraham our father, |
Subject: The Covenant with Father Abraham |
Bible Note: "Although the Church existed from the beginning, it was, before the calling of Abraham, for the most part in a state of dispersion. Too little is recorded of it, prior to that event, to give us definite knowledge of its nature and requirements. Our written constitution, so to speak, dates from the father of the faithful. God made a covenant with Abraham. By covenant is meant, a contract between two or more parties, in which there are mutual stipulations and promises. The transaction with Abraham was of this kind. God promised certain blessings to the patriarch, and he promised faith and obedience to God. Not only, therefore, in the Old Testament is this transaction called a covenant, but in the New Testament the same designation is applied to it. And, further than this, the New Testament writers, referring to the transaction with Abraham, not only call it a covenant, but they argue from its nature as such, to show that its original stipulations can be neither annulled nor altered. Romans 4:13, 14; Galatians 3:15–18. 'The covenant,' says the apostle, 'that was confirmed before (to Abraham) of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul.' It is of importance, therefore, that this word [covenant] should be retained, not only because it is scriptural, but because the idea which it expresses is essential to a proper understanding of the case. Many modern theological writers discard the word entirely, and stigmatize the system of the Reformers as the federal theology. In discarding the word, the truth which it was intended to convey is almost always discarded with it. If we would retain the truth, we must retain the forms in which God has seen fit to reveal it. God then formed a covenant with Abraham. The question is, What was that covenant, and who were the parties to it? We answer, in common with all Christendom, the covenant was the covenant of grace, and the parties were Abraham and those whom Abraham represented. Of course this does not mean that the covenant of grace originated in this transaction, or that none are included in it but Abraham and those whom Abraham represented. Nor does it mean that all represented by Abraham were savingly interested in its benefits. It only means that the covenant in question was a reenactment or renewed revelation of the covenant of grace in relation to Abraham, and that those represented by him were to be regarded and treated as included in it." --Charles Hodge (1797-1878) |
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