The Circumcised Heart

The gift of the Spirit is vital to the redemption of humanity and God’s covenant with His people, the Church of Jesus Christ.

The New Testament links the gift of the Holy Spirit to the “blessings of Abraham,” the promise that God will bless the nations through the Patriarch. The outpouring of the Spirit on the Church is one of God’s promises to Israel, and the Scriptures confirm this.

Heirs of the Covenant

Christians become heirs of Abraham through Christ, and the gift of the Spirit is our assurance of participating in the full salvation to come.

The possession of Canaan by Israel was an early stage in God’s redemptive plan, which always envisioned something larger than Israel and the small territory of Palestine. With the arrival of Jesus, “the seed of Abraham,” and the outpouring of the Spirit, the fulfillment of the covenant promises began.

The Time of the Spirit

The gift of the Spirit is foundational to the New Covenant. It is the beginning of the New Creation and the gathering of the nations.

The history of Israel includes descriptions of the sins that caused the expulsion of the nation from the Land of Canaan. God foresaw the failures of Israel, and therefore, He determined to make a new covenant, one that is energized and characterized by the Holy Spirit.