“When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, I am God Almighty. Live in My presence and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you greatly” (Genesis 17:1-2, ESV).

Thirteen years after Ishmael’s birth, God again appeared to Abram, whom He renamed as Abraham during this appearance. In these verses God calls Himself “El Shaddai,” for which the meaning is unknown, but its translation as “God Almighty” is based on a tradition going back more than two thousand years.

El Shaddai, God Almighty, made an offer to Abraham to live as one who fulfills His plans and purposes on Earth. If Abraham does so, then God promises to bless him by giving him descendants that will become many nations and by giving him all the land of Canaan as a permanent dwelling for his descendants. What a deal! That’s an offer you can’t refuse!

Of course, the promise to Abraham was also a Messianic promise that would find its eventual and greatest fulfillment through Christ.

So the covenant God made with Abraham is a covenant He wants to make with us today. In Christ, we can live as people who fulfill God’s plans and purposes through our lives on Earth. And God will bless us and empowers us to live for Him!

Christ baptizes us with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33), Whom He gives us as a guarantee of God’s covenant with His people. Just as circumcision was a sign of God’s covenant with Abraham, the indwelling Spirit Who circumcises our hearts, makes us claimants to all God’s promises and blessings today!

Jesus not only enables us to be blameless before God by His sacrificial death, He empowers us to live in a covenantal relationship with God, which brings the immediacy of God’s presence and enabling power into our lives through the indwelling Spirit.

Almighty God wants to establish His covenant with you. Just believe in Jesus and receive His Spirit. That’s an offer you shouldn’t refuse!

When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. He is the down payment of our inheritance, for the redemption of the possession, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:13-15, ESV).