Abraham – A Man of Faith
Abraham is the father of our faith.
Genesis Chapter 12:1-3 NIV The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
The writer of Hebrews holds this view of Abraham;
Hebrews 11:8-11 NIV “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
Through Faith God’s Promise is Established
Genesis 22:7-8 NIV And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, “My father”, and he said, “Here am I, my son.” And he said, “Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.”
Genesis 22:15-18 NIV “The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
Because of the Life Abraham lived through Faith before God and Man, the Lord God of Abraham fulfills his Oath through Israel. Abrahams descendants were chosen through Abraham, long before Moses and the Law.
Jesus, the Offspring in which all Nations are Blessed
Paul give us these Words in His letter to the gentile churches in Galatia;
Gal 3:16-19 NIV – The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed.”
Meaning one person, who is Christ. What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come.
Through Faith, the Promise (Jesus) is Available to Everyone
Paul also teaches that the true descendants of Abraham are not physical, but those who have a heart like Abraham’s:
Romans 4:16-17 NIV “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring — not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.”
Romans 4:9-12 NIV “Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.”
All are Justified by Faith
I want to pose a question here? Was there anyone justified before the Lord while abiding under the under the authority of the Law? (Sinai Covenant-Law of Moses) Look carefully what the Holy Spirit says through Paul here;
Romans 3:30-31 NIV “Since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.”
The circumcised Paul refers to here are the Israelites that our Father had justified. But it was not because of the Law they had ever been justified, it was because they honored the terms of the Sinai Covenant through Faith. It was those who, through a spirit of unbelief, brought forth the curse of death upon Israel. Yet in the coming of our Lord, we will see many in Israel sitting with Christ at Abraham’s table, even as Christ our Lord said.
The Promise was Always Intended for Everyone
Paul once again addresses the gentile church in Ephesians:
Ephesians 1:3-14 NIV “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment — to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession — to the praise of his glory.”
Note: The gentiles in Ephesians were chosen in Christ before the creation of the World, even as the Nation of Israel had been chosen in Abraham before they were born. Why? For Israel is was because of the Life Abraham lived before God. Is not the same reason Our Father adopted us not because of our Life, but because of the Life Christ lived? Had not Paul revealed that those who had lived under the authority of the Law, and walked in the same kind of Faith Abraham had were Justified? You and I who call upon the Name of the Lord, are we not called to cloth ourselves with the faith like that of Our Lord Jesus Christ?
Living the Promise
This was Paul personal testimony that gives us insight in to how we as believers should also live:
Gal 2:19-21 NIV “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
The Promise is Forever
Our Fathers Oath through Abraham stands forever throughout human history, and will become a physical reality at the second coming of our Lord Jesus.
Matthew 8:11-12 NIV “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”