Friday: Further Thought ~ An Everlasting Covenant
Further Thought:
Read Ellen G. White, “The Call of Abraham,” pages 125-131, in Patriarchs and Prophets; “Jew and Gentile,” pages 188-200, in The Acts of the Apostles.
The rainbow is a sign of God’s covenant with Noah.
Image @ Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
Read Genesis 17:10 to discover what the sign of God’s covenant was with Abraham. Circumcision “was destined: (1) to distinguish the seed of Abraham from the Gentiles (Eph: 2:11), (2) to perpetuate the memory of Jehovah’s covenant (Gen: 17:11), (3) to foster the cultivation of moral purity (Deut: 10:16), (4) to represent righteousness by faith (Rom: 4:11), (5) to symbolize circumcision of the heart (Rom: 2:29), and (6) to foreshadow the Christian rite of baptism (Col: 2:11-12).” — The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 1, pages 322, 323.
The rainbow will remain as a sign of God’s promise until the end of the world, but the sign of circumcision will not. According to the apostle Paul, circumcision was received by Abraham as a token of the righteousness he had received by faith in God (Rom: 4:11). However, through the centuries, circumcision came to signify salvation by obedience to the law. By New Testament times, circumcision had lost its significance. Instead, the essential element is faith in Jesus Christ, which leads to an obedient, transformed life. Read Galatians 5:6; Galatians 6:15; and 1 Corinthians 7:18-19.
Discussion Questions:
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Summary:
God called Abraham into a special relationship with Him, one that would reveal the plan of salvation to the world.
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It is interesting to look at the summary of Abraham's faith found in Hebrews 11:
Even though he lived in the promised land he continued to look for a city whose builder and maker is God. This is not talking so much about a future kingdom in Heaven or the New Earth, but about a spiritual kingdom in the present. The covenants are just as much about the present as they future. We may be strangers and pilgrims on earth but that does not mean that all the fulfilment is the future. The Kindom of God is about the now.
Thank you brother Maurice for bringing up that point of 'The Kingdom of God is about the now'. Many preachers and church members miss that point. Many say I don't need this or that because I will get it when I get to heaven. But the Kingdom is now. According to the bible, when Christ comes to receive his people who loves him the only two changes he will make is; from corruption to incorruption and mortal to immortality. Everything else will already be change in us. The living will have the Holy Spirit living in them and changing them daily into the image of Christ. His character will be in us. The dead will die in Christ. See Corinthians and Thessalonians.
Discuss the relationship between faith and works. Can there be one without the other? If not, why not?
Paul writes: “for whatever is not of faith is sin”(Rom 14:23). What righteousness can any sinner display apart from the power of God working in them(Ps 18:32)? Jesus taught that a man must be “born again” of “of water and of the Spirit”(John 3:3,5, see also Zech 4:6), or he will not see the kingdom of heaven. There can be no righteous works apart from faith, and genuine faith will result in works of righteousness. James 2 and Hebrews 11 both address this fundamental question.
The Word of God is clear about being separate from sinners in our close associations and partnerships. Plenty of examples showing the folly of associating with sinners throughout scripture and history, perhaps including our own lives. The greater question is: Do we follow the Lamb of God, or friends/family/career? See John 21:20-22.
Just to broaden your truthful essay: through faith we receive the grace of God; but faith is not our Saviour. It earns nothing. It is the hand by which we lay hold upon Christ, and appropriate His merits, the remedy for sin. And we cannot even repent without the aid of the Spirit of God.
We need to mingle as our Saviour did while He was on earth. If we don't provide ourselves friendly to and be friends to the sinner, and atheist as with Christians,how is Christ going to answer our prayer to let the rich current of His love flow through us to others, 'Jew' as well as Gentile, sinner as well as Christian? Yes, be not conformed to the world, but don't refrain from making friends with sinners. Like Christ, if you are going to be friendly with the world to let some of His merits rub off. We must keep our hand on Christ daily with prayer, reading the Word, and listening.
Exactly John, if we follow the Lamb, who "went about doing good", we will do the same.
Robert's words triggered this idea: Is the focus of the Lord’s prayer me or is it others, even my enemies? A rhetorical question.
Is it just me who has God as my Father? Or
Is it everyone who calls on the name of the Lord that is part of his family, maybe even the people I do not like?
Who am I honouring by my association with God? Me? Or
Do my words and actions cause God’s name to be honoured among those with whom I interact?
Is God’s kingdom for the religious elite to whom I belong? Or
How are the people with whom I associate during my day impacted by the reality of God’s kingdom in my life?
Is the focus of God’s will me? Or
Is God’s will worked out each day by how I relate to those in my sphere of influence?
Is the kingdom of heaven about what I get? Or
Is it about how I provide for the needs of those that God puts into my life?
Is the evidence of my relationship with God seen in the way I treat those that irritate or slight me the most?
Is my propensity to sin God’s fault? Or
Is it because I have chosen to believe the lies of the evil one about God and my brothers and sisters? (And who are my brothers and sisters, anyway?)
Just some thoughts.
After this week's study I have learned that it is more important to understand why God made His Covenants with man, than that He made them and the related factual information. I also understand and recognized how important it is to consider why He instituted circumcision for Abraham's children rather than just accepting them in the form they were born.
Trusting and following God’s directives always holds dual blessings – the physical and the spiritual. I appreciate how ‘Further Thought’ highlights clearly the spiritual implications of the ‘Everlasting Covenant’. Yes, underlying the Father's relationship with man is spiritual Truth to be found and understood by those who look to learn it.
I think the Covenants’ physically observed obligations for the children of Israel were really meant to grow them spiritually, and all of us benefit from their lessons. On the surface, they are all easily distinguishable laws, easily recognized and judged by those who wish or need to do so. Known to God but unbeknownst to man, doing what the laws required held a dual blessing for His people – accomplishing their spiritual growth, as well as establishing physical blessings to show them as a prosperous people - , so making this growth easily recognizable by them and their neighbor nations.
I believe all Covenants are, at their core, of a spiritual nature. Eph.2:8-19KJV - Paul speaks to the *oneness* which was achieved in Christ Jesus, the fulfillment and satisfaction of the obligations of all Covenants. Eph.2:13-15 ”But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace.”
God started with one man, Noah, promoting His spiritually based statues and laws, and concluding His efforts by sending His Son in the form of the Son of man and so manifest Himself to all humanity in order for them to relate to Him as their Creator Father who has come to rescue the living soul from certain destruction.
Before circumcision, there was only uncircumcision; both are now used to distinguish the underlying spiritual condition of man’s heart. I think that, since the Beginning, God engaged in the process of establishing His spiritual *law of oneness*, the oneness of the family of human kind, as well as His spiritual Oneness with the children of man who chose Him as their heavenly Father. He had to start somewhere, choose someone – and He chose Noah and Abram to rebuild His relationship with humanity.
I see the Father’s Covenants with man as the framework to establish His relationship with those who are willing to follow His guidance by faith. Without this frame, we would not know Him or that we are lost without Him. I learned who my heavenly Father is, what His Will is and what He expects of me; this is how I understand our relationship is framed.
Yes, the Father gives His faith-children a work to do in their lives - to seek first to establish living our life after the guidelines governing His kingdom; living in it will give us the right perspective regarding anything we encountered in life.
It is a happy, joyful work-assignment of discovery as we learn to live in God’s heavenly kingdom, soon finding that we would not want to live anywhere else!
No matter the creed, color, ethnicity, place of birth, young or old, sick or healthy, rich or poor, influencial or humble - everyone is welcomed to live in this spiritual kingdom of our heavenly Father here on earth.