- 8. Land for the Seed
Genesis 13:15, 17 For all the land which thou seeest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever…Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and it the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
The Lord promises to give to Abraham all the land that he can see and walk through. The land is the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is also given to the seed of Abraham. The seed of Abraham includes all the believers in Jesus Christ, for they all have the same faith in the Promise of God that Abraham has; we are the spiritual seed connected to God through faith in Christ. We have the same spiritual DNA, as it were. This promise is ours. We, through Christ, are the inheritors of the promise of “land.” This inheritance is held for us in heaven. This “heavenly land” we hold and enjoy in our hearts today by faith, unseen, yet more real than physical land.
Everything, heaven and earth, everything physical that we see and feel today will pass away; thus the “land” is not physical, as it will pass away. The Promised Land is forever. It will not pass away. The unseen things of God are eternal. Jesus says, “My words will never pass away.” Our focus is upon the unseen, spiritual promises and blessings in God’s Word. This land is the inward man, which sees the invisible and eternal kingdom that lasts forever. Since everything else will pass away we do not focus our thoughts and hopes on anything material, physical and earthly. Faith sees the unseen.
God gave this land to us. He also gives us the faith to believe it, through the hearing of the Gospel of Christ. Believing is seeing and possessing. Like Joshua, we go into the land (actually the land comes to us) to possess what God gave. We still need to possess the promise that God gave for free. This pictures the relationship of Grace and Faith. By grace God gives the faith to possess the Promise. The promise (the land) is earned for us by Christ on the cross and the tomb and given to us by grace through faith. Hear the Gospel. See the Land. Possess it by faith. Enjoy!