And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised. For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. Romans 4:11-25
God twice made a promise to Abraham and He commanded Abraham to be circumcised. Yet here in Romans chapter 4 it says of this matter that “he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised.” It was when Abraham was uncircumcised and believed that his faith was accounted to him as righteousness, and God provided a sign through circumcision. This was the evidence.
Before Abraham was circumcised, when he had no children, God made a promise to him and Abraham believed that promise. What does this signify?
Now let’s turn to Genesis chapter 16 and read from verse 1.
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes. . . . So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. verses 1-4, 15
The content of this passage is quite peculiar. There was God’s promise, but before the sign of the promise was given, a son by the name of Ishmael was born to Abraham.
The events that occurred within Abraham’s family provide us with a condensed version of the long history of events that extends throughout the Bible. This also has a tremendous significance for us. The schedule that was predetermined for the nation by the name of Israel was different from that which was predetermined for the Church before time began. History of Israel was predetermined in order that through that nation the fate of man, who had sinned, might be reversed.
When Adam sinned by eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God had a plan in His heart to do away with the sin in this world. That plan is expressed first when “they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8). God’s rest that He had taken when He had completed the creation of the heavens and the earth was broken and God came looking for Adam in the garden, saying, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9).
Then God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15). Then when the fullness of the time has come, God the Son came to this world through the body of Mary as the Bible says, “when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law” (Galatians 4:4). Now the Bible remains to provide clear evidence that the plan that was in God’s heart was accomplished through the actions of God the Son. We refer to this as the cross.
Following a similar sequence of events, God promised Abraham that he would definitely have a son. When Abraham believed this promise, God set His seal on it once more and as evidence of this promise, He commanded Abraham to be circumcised. In the meantime, however, Abraham had a son through Hagar, an Egyptian woman, and he called that son Ishmael. Ishmael is a shadow of Israel, in other words, a shadow of the law. Similarly, God had His original plan according to His will, and He was intending to carry out His will through God the Son who came in the flesh, but in the meantime, there was what is referred to as the law. The history of that law is the history of Israel, and it was through this history that Jesus was born. The Bible tells us that this Jesus is the Son of God.
The reason I am saying all this is in order to give you a better understanding of Israel. In Genesis chapter 12, we read that Abraham went down to Egypt in order to escape a famine and then he came back to Canaan. When he came back he brought with him a woman who was to be Sarah’s maidservant. Abraham had received the promise from God but his wife Sarah was not able to bear a child herself so she told Abraham to sleep with her maidservant and have a son by her. The Bible says that at this time “Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.” This does not mean that Abraham sinned by listening to the voice of his wife, but God had clearly promised Abraham that “one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” This was God’s original intention and will.
Before the creation of the world, God predestined the Church. It was not the Jews who were first predestined. The Jews came after the creation and are related to this earth.
God told Abraham about his original intention, and Abraham believed this. Nevertheless, Abraham li
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