Abraham is one of the best-known people of the Bible. Hes a key figure in the history of both the Jewish and Arab people. He was the great-grandfather of Judah, whose descendants became known as the Jews, and he was also the father of Ishmael, from whom many of the Arab people are descended. Abraham was a Hebrew, and although the ancestor of both, Abraham himself was neither Jew nor Arab. There is no doubt that Judaism, Christianity and Islam have significant differences in practice and belief. They have their own holy books (though they agree on much of what is in the Torah or Old Testament), their own prophets (though many of the prophets cross religious lines) and their own values and the reason why they disagree so much is because they share a common ancestor but not a common God. - Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucres sake.... Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. Titus 1:9-14 “And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land...” (Genesis 12:7) The Seed of Abraham is Christ and His elect.Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. Galatians 3:16 New Testament, Paul shows that the promises to Abraham focus upon a single person, Christ. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. [Galatians 3:16] Yes Paul says all the promises of God were fulfilled to Jesus Christ. For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. [2 Corinthians 1:20] For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christs, then are ye Abrahams seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:27-29 What about the promise of the land? And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell. And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child. Acts 7:3-5 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.... These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed .. But what about Jerusalem? For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. Galatians 4:25-26 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Hebrews 11:10 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, Hebrews 12:22 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. Also “I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the Synagogue of Satan.” (Revelation 2:9) For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. Romans 2:28-29 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. Romans 9:6-8 Israel is a spiritual nation of elect Jews and Gentiles...Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. Acts 15:14-18 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. I Peter 2:9-10 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. Galatians 3:8 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. Acts 3:25-26 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the fir1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.st old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. the true Israel of God consists not in Abrahams seed after the flesh: For these are not the children of God (Rom 9:8), but consists in the children of the promise given to Abraham through the true Seed who is Christ. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen [Gentiles] through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham...Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed which is Christ...therefore there is neither Jew nor Greek [Gentile], there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus, and if ye be Christs, then are ye Abrahams seed, and heirs according to the promise (Gal 3:7-9, 16, 28, 29). Hebrews 8:13 For the people God now only loves and blesses are His elect in Jesus Christ... The land promises to Abraham were about obtaining eternal life, which Jesus has power to give. Abraham did not inherit the land during his lifetime, but he died in hope of receiving them. That is what the gospel is about. It is not about Jews taking possession of a piece of land in the Middle East, and ruling over their neighbours! Those who think it is, have a seriously distorted view of the gospel. Following Christ is the way to life! Jesus already possesses the land, and gives it to whom he will. For the earth is the Lords, and the fulness thereof. [1 Corinthians 10:26] Also When did God give Abraham these promises that the nations of the earth would be blessed through him, that his spiritual seed would be Christ and that those who by faith in Him would be heirs with Him of the same promises? When we read the Scriptural account of the life of Abraham we find that there were four promises made to him by God Himself. They were: (1) the promise to make the descendants of Abraham into a great nation, (2) the promise of a great posterity, (3) the promise that Abrahams descendants would inherit the land of Canaan and (4) above all, the promise of the Messiah.... were all fullfillled too A. The Promise of a Great Nation Was God faithful to perform that which He had spoken? Yes, some 400 years after His covenant with Abraham this promise was fulfilled. God had shown Abraham in Genesis 15:13 and 14 that there would be a 400 year delay, but the time came when it was fulfilled. Also, the Lord confirmed the promise to Jacob, Abrahams grandson: He said, I am God, the God of thy father; fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation (Gen 46:3).This great promise was fulfilled under the leadership of Moses as the Israelites came forth out of bondage in Egypt, and under Joshua as they achieved their mighty victories in the land of Canaan. In Deuteronomy 2:25, we read that Moses testified that God caused the other nations to respect the greatness of Israel. In exhorting the Israelites to obedience to the God of Abraham, Moses said: Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for (Deut 4:6, 7). What one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be his own people, to make thee a name of greatness and terribleness, by driving out nations from before thy people? (1Ch 17:21) We see then that this first promise to Abraham was fulfilled, B. The Promise of a Great Posterity The second promise made to Abraham was the promise of a great posterity, that his descendants would be too numerous to count: God said,And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered (Gen 13:16). Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, so shall thy seed be (15:5). As the sand which is upon the sea shore so shall thy seed be (22:17). We know that without the shadow of a doubt God fulfilled this promise as His Word confirms. Listen to king Solomon praying: O LORD God, let thy promise unto David my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude (2Ch 1:9) Moses said to Israel: The LORD your God hath multiplied you, and behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude (Deut 1:10). And the writer of Hebrews agreed that the promise had been fulfilled: Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude (Heb 11:12). And then finally we read that during the reign of Solomon: Judah and Israel were as many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude (1Ki 4:20); and Hebrews affirms there sprang from Abraham descendants as innumerable as the sand which is by the sea shore (11:12).So we see then that this promise was also fulfilled, for God surely made the physical seed of Abraham as the dust of the earth, as the sand of the sea, and as the stars of heaven for multitude. C. The Promise of Inheritance Now the third thing promised to Abraham was that his descendants would inherit the land of Canaan. God repeated this promise many times: Unto thy seed will I give this land (Gen 12:7); Lift up thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever (Gen 13:14, 15); I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it...to thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates (Gen 15:7, 18); I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession (Gen 17:8). Was God faithful to perform that which He had spoken? Yes, hundreds of years later the descendants of Abraham went on to possess in peace all the land which the Lord had promised to them: And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein, and the Lord gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass (Jos 21:43-45). Did the land they ruled really reach all the way from Egypt to the river Euphrates as promised by God in Genesis 15:18? Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt (1Ki 4:21). Was that river the Euphrates? Solomon had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah (1Ki 4:24). Tiphsah was located on the Euphrates in Mesopotamia... God has kept His Word. D. The Promise of the Messiah Now the fourth promise made to Abraham was the promise of the Messiah. In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (Gen 22:18; 26:4; 28:14). And the apostle Paul was shown by divine revelation the identity of the Seed in whom all the nations of the earth were to be blessed: Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ (Gal 3:16). This is the greatest of all the promises, that Abraham would bless the nations through his seed, Christ. Has that promise been fulfilled? When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons (Gal 4:4); For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Yes, Christ came to redeem His people from their sins. He came as the seed of David according to the flesh (Rom 1:3), and in Him all the promises of God are yea, and in him amen, unto the glory of God (2Co 1:20). These promises are all spiritual promises made to Abrahams seed, Christ, and to us; and we are therefore heirs of these promises, and rightly called: the true Israel of God. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen [Gentile] through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham (Gal 3:8, 9). We find here then that the only way of blessing is to be a spiritual seed of Abraham and not a physical seed, for the blessing came through Christ only by the gospel; and this is the promise which God has given to us. The only way in which we can be partakers of the promises is by the new birth: or as one puts it, Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (2Pe 1:4). We must be born into the spiritual kingdom of God. This work is accomplished only by the Holy Spirit who plants in our hearts the incorruptible seed of the Word of God and makes us new creatures in Christ. This He does by calling us from the grave of sin (Eph 2:1-3), convicting us of the awful sin of unbelief (John 16:7-11), bringing us by the law to shut our mouths and to stand guilty before God (Rom 3:19, 20), to cry: God be merciful to me, the sinner (Luke 18:13), to work in our hearts that godly sorrow which worketh repentance to salvation (2Co 7:10), to shut us up to the faith-way of salvation in Christ (Gal 3:24) and to reveal Christ in us (Gal 1:16) so that we may say: I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me (Gal 2:20). Having brought us to Christ, shown us our guilty, lost condition before God, and caused us to look away to Christ forever from every false hope, and this by faith, the Holy Spirit brings us by His Word into the realization that we are now heirs of God, joint-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17) and have been made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:6). Therefore we rule and reign with Him upon the earth as a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people, that we should show forth the praises of him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvellous light (1Pe 2:9). Halleluia! Praise His holy and righteous name for His marvellous grace that has made us kings and priests unto God (Rev 1:6; 20:6) and therefore called Blessed by God Himself. tcc.customer.sentex.ca/Shelton/LRS-index.php?page=Israel7
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 02:27:20 +0000