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| 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. In Gen 11, Abraham was already exercising faith. |
#byfaithAbraham
Hebrews 11:8 sheds much light on Gen 15:6.
May the Lord give you understanding. Amen.
Hebrews
11 - KJT
8
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.
Genesis
12 KJT
1
Now the LORD had said [past perfect - i.e. said to him way back in Gen 11] unto
Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's
house, unto a land that I will shew thee...
4
So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and
Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
Abram
was ALREADY a man of faith and obedience when he was called by the LORD to
leave his father's house in the Ur of the Chaldees. Earlier, the LORD had
effectually called him out of his native state of sin and death to that of grace
and salvation in the promised Messiah.
To
call an elect out of his native state of sin and death to that state of grace
and salvation in Jesus Christ, these divine activities must take place, in this
number and logical order:
-
justification by God's grace to deal with condemnation; justification
reverses the condemnation due to sins;
-
regeneration by the Spirit of God to deal with the spiritual deadness due to
sins; and
-
adoption by the Father into the divine family deals with the alienation due
to sins.
Adoption is always accompanied by the bestowal of the Spirit to
dwell in the adopted.
These
divine activities - three in number, and in that logical number - are necessary
to bring an elect out of his native state of sin and death to that state of
grace and salvation in Jesus Christ.
Abraham's
faith and obedience when called to leave the Ur of the Chaldees is concrete evidence that he has been effectually
called - justified, regenerated, adopted, and bestowed with the Spirit of
adoption to dwell in him.
If
this is true, then what about the passage in Genesis 15?. What about it? Let's
take a look.
Genesis
15 KJT
4
And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be
thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine
heir.
5
And he brought him forth abroad, and said, 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.
6
And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
Abraham
believed in the LORD concerning His words on the promised seed; this promised
seed is none other than Christ. (Galatians 3:16 KJT — 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.)
Abraham's
faith, his act of believing the LORD's promise, was counted to him for
righteousness, i.e. to experience the blessedness of his justified state by the
free grace of God.
NOTE
CAREFULLY, there is no accounting of Christ's righteousness to Abraham;
therefore there is no justification in this passage. Abraham's justification by the LORD had taken place way back in the Ur of the Chaldeans.
What
happened here Gen 15:6 is Abraham experiencing the blessedness of his justified state,
by the LORD's free grace, through believing/faith in the promised seed.
Apostle
Paul marshalled Abraham as proof to repudiate the Judaizers' insistence that
ceremonial laws must be observed. Abraham experienced that blessedness WITHOUT
observing any ceremonial laws. PERIOD. Romans 4:1-5.
Dr. John Gill
