Thank you for the theological question, “Why is Biblical God above any promise?”
If one thinks or believes that the Biblical God is above any promises, then one may give the following reasons:
A. He is the Supreme Being so he can make any promises he wants.
B. He is the Supreme Being so he can change any promises he wants.
C. He is the Supreme Being so who is going to enforce any promises.
In other words, God is capricious and callous, fickle and unfaithful. If that is the case why would anyone believe in the God of the Bible.
As I read the Scriptures, God is holy and righteous, faithful and just. Thus the promises that he makes, he obligates himself to fulfill it. One may say that he is a man of his word.
In Genesis 15, the LORD God makes a covenant with Abram. One of the customs in making a covenant in that culture between two parties was that animals were cut in half and both parties would walk in between them. The person who violates the covenant would be like the dead animals. In Genesis 15, God is the only person who walks through the divided animals. God makes a covenant with Abram that his descendants will inherit the land and that they will be in a foreign land for 400 years before he will deliver them. God obligated himself to fulfill his promise to Abram. The Scriptures declares that all the promises are yes in Christ Jesus. It is not yes and no.
II Corinthians 1 says, “But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” 20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God” (NIV).
James1 says this, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created” (NIV).
The nature of God is that he is unchangeable. He can’t improve his character or his deposition. It may appear that God has changed or is not faithful to his promises. In claiming a promise of God, one must remember not all the promises of the Old Testament are applicable to Christians nor promises made to one person is applicable to everyone.
For example, the promise of Joshua 1:7–8 is directed to Joshua that he will be successful and prosperous wherever he goes. That promise is given to him to assure him that he will lead the people into the Promised Land and began to conquer it. Today readers tend to think/believe that the promise given to Joshua is also given to them that they will be successful and prosperous. That is not the case. Thus for a person to state that God hasn’t kept his promise to them is false for he didn’t make that promise to them but to Joshua.
The promise of salvation is offered to everyone for whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. There is no restriction for it applies to men, women, adult or child, Jew or non-Jew, rich or poor, etc. Is it believable?
I John 5 says this, “We accept man’s testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10 Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about him. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (NIV).
SUMMARY: God is truthful. He doesn’t lie nor will he break his promises.
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