Blessed with Every Spiritual Blessing – The Extraordinary Covenant
Pastor Tan Thai · Jul 14, 2018
This sermon explores the deep theological significance of God's covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15, where God himself walked between the divided animal carcasses instead of Abraham. In the light of the New Testament, the smoking furnace and flaming torch point to Jesus Christ's death on the cross, through which all who are in him receive every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places by faith alone.
The sermon opens with the foundation of Ephesians 1:3, emphasizing that those who are in Christ are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. The pastor notes that the apostle Paul repeats the phrase 'in Christ' at least twelve times in Ephesians 1, reflecting Jesus's own teaching in John 15:4 about abiding in him to bear fruit. These spiritual blessings include being chosen for sanctification, adoption as children, redemption, forgiveness of sins, grace, wisdom, and being sealed by the Holy Spirit.
The central section of the sermon analyzes the covenant narrative in Genesis 15. Abraham had waited nearly twenty-five years for God's promises of offspring and land to be fulfilled without answer, leading to his questions of doubt and longing. The pastor explains the ancient covenant-making practice through Jeremiah 34:18-20: both parties would cut animals in two and the one making the covenant would walk between the divided carcasses, signifying that if they broke the covenant, their own body would be cut apart like those animals. This was the most solemn and fearful form of oath-swearing in the ancient world.
What is theologically extraordinary is that in Genesis 15:17, it was not Abraham but God himself—appearing as a smoking furnace and a flaming torch—who passed between the divided carcasses. This meant God placed himself in the position of the subordinate party, committing that if the covenant were ever broken, whether by himself or by Abraham's descendants, he himself would die and be cut off. This was a completely one-sided and unconditional covenant, resting entirely on God's love and grace.
The fulfillment of this covenant is presented through the death of Jesus Christ. Because Abraham's descendants failed to keep the covenant, the Second Person of the Trinity suffered death on the cross. The darkness that covered the land in Mark 15:33-34 and the cry 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' mirror the terrifying darkness of Genesis 15:12. Isaiah 53:8 had prophesied that the Servant would be cut off from the land of the living for the transgression of God's people. This substitutionary death fulfilled the extraordinary covenant made thousands of years earlier.
The sermon concludes with a call to live by faith. Just as Abraham did nothing to receive a son, land, or descendants as numerous as the stars except trust God's promise, those who are in Jesus Christ have no merit or ability of their own to receive the spiritual blessings of heaven. Everything is by faith alone and by grace alone, so that no one may boast. Hebrews 11:6 reminds us that without faith it is impossible to please God.