ABRAHAM’S SEED. “Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ” (Gal. 3:16). The promise God made was to Abraham and his seed. The seed of Abraham is specifically identified as Christ. Paul pointedly affirmed that the original term “seed” was in the singular, not plural. The reference was not to the people of Israel, but to Christ who entered the human family through the lineage of Abraham, through Judah, through David, and finally through the virgin Mary, who brought the Savior into the world.

“And the angel of Jehovah called unto Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith Jehovah, because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

If the promise had used the plural seeds, the Jews could have appropriated the term to themselves, and claimed that the promise found its ultimate fulfillment in them. They would have placed themselves as the fountain of God’s blessings to all humanity. But the singular seed deprives them of such a haughty claim. God’s blessings would flow through Christ, not through the Jews. God’s promises to Abraham could not be fulfilled until the Promised Seed came into the world. He must complete his earthly mission before the blessings could flow to lost mankind.

“But we behold him who hath been made a little lower than the angels, even Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings” (Heb. 2:9-10).

ADVOCATE. “My little children, these things write I unto you that ye may not sin. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 Jn. 2:1). If a child of God commits sin, John reminds us that we have an Advocate who is with the Father. The term “advocate” is a word for lawyer (attorney), who represents another in court. The word “have” is in the present tense, which means we have an ever-present Advocate.

“But he, because he abideth for ever, hath his priesthood unchangeable. Wherefore also he is able to save to the uttermost them that draw near unto God through him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such a high priest became us, holy, guileless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who needeth not daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people: for this he did once for all, when he offered up himself. For the law appointeth men high priests, having infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was after the law, appointeth a Son, perfected for evermore” (Heb. 7:24-28).

This Advocate is “with” the Father; he is always present to offer us proper and constant representation. He is never in need of intercession for himself or else he could not influence the Father favorably in our behalf. He himself is a sinless Advocate: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:l5).

The word Advocate is the same in the Greek as Comforter. Christ is presently doing his work in Heaven in our behalf as he acts as mediator between mankind and God. The Holy Spirit did his work on earth as he revealed, confirmed, and recorded the inspired word.

Tom Moore
http://www.fromthepreacherspc.org
http://www.harrisandmoore.org
http://www.parkheightscoc.com

“A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and sings it back to you when you have forgotten how it goes.”