In making the New Covenant—once we have proceeded through the process of repentance and baptism, and have received God's Spirit—which baptizes us into Christ—we are then Abraham's children. That is, we are Abraham's descendants regardless of our race, regardless of our national origin. We are therefore part of that one Family into which God is drawing all of mankind, and we are made heirs of the promises made to Abraham as part of the Abrahamic Covenant. All the Old Covenant did was bridge the gap from the time Israel was released from their bondage until the promised Seed came.
Abraham was concerned that he had no children. In this section, God promised him that he would have countless children. Into this comes faith. Abraham believed Him. It is that simple. When it says that Abraham believed, we can understand from other portions of the Bible that his belief was such that it motivated him to submit—to obey God.
The word can also be translated "mature." It can also be translated "complete." It sounds to me like it is very similar to what God said to Abraham. What is Jesus beginning to do? He is beginning to introduce concepts that are part and parcel of both the Abrahamic Covenant and will also be part and parcel of the New Covenant.
Now, Abraham is very plainly called "the father of the faithful." It is as though he is the head of the family. It is as though as the head of that family, he, of all who have ever lived, with the exception of Jesus Christ, is the model after which we are to mold ourselves.
We also saw (back in Galatians 3) that, if you are Christ's, you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Things are beginning to come together here within God's purpose, and they are coming together within the church.
Now we see that Abraham passed the test. What did he do? Abraham upheld his end of the covenant. Because that Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.
I have kind of gone way around the pole, you might say, in order to impress upon you the fact that under the New Covenant the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant are valid and that Abraham is our spiritual father, as it were. He is the model of the family. And the model of the family, with whom God first made the covenant, obeyed God's voice. He kept God's charge. He kept the commandments and he kept the laws and Abraham's children are going to do the same thing! Otherwise, they will not show the characteristics of Abraham; and they will not really be his children.
Paul is not doing away with laws in the book of Galatians! He is simply saying law keeping cannot justify us. It is that simple. Sometimes we have to go way around the pole in order to get to the root of things. We see here, by God's own witness that Abraham lived up to the terms of the covenant. And because he did, it was being passed on to Isaac for him to do as his father, Abraham, had done.
But the problem of transgressions to the terms of the Old Covenant was not resolved until the promised Seed, Christ, came. When He came, He lived perfectly. He qualified to be the payment for sin and, at the same time, He confirmed the promises that were made unto Abraham—and they were made absolutely, eternally binding. God then proposed the New Covenant that He had previously prophesied of (in Jeremiah 31), which ties everything into one neat package. And He has presented it to all of mankind—not just Abraham's physical descendants.
It is not circumcision which makes one a part of this covenant. That was the sign that was given to Abraham and his physical descendants. Rather, it is circumcision of the heart! It is repentance and faith in the sacrifice of the promised Seed (Jesus Christ) that is the sign; and the receipt of the Holy Spirit is the seal. It authenticates what has occurred. It completes the making of the New Covenant with the individuals that God is calling.
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The word "heir" in the New King James Version is "steward" in the King James Version. But, the New King James has it correct. This word does not mean steward—one who has charge over—but it means heir—one who shall possess. Turn to chapter 24 and we will see that Eliezer was at the time, his heir, the one to whom the possessions of Abraham would go if he had no other natural heir.
And they went through this certain ritual. Eliezer was indeed Abraham's steward, one who rules over another's goods. We have seen in past sermons where Eliezer went and brought back a bride for Isaac. That was a tremendous responsibility that Abraham sent Eliezer to accomplish. Abraham had no control over what Eliezer was going to do. He told him, and gave him his parameters for the mission, but after that it was in God's and Eliezer's hands.
We can see if we had read all this that he discharged his duties with great skill and faith. And that was his most laudable and memorable quality—that he asked God to help him, and God did, He followed through. So this man, Eliezer, the oldest servant in Abram's house is a good example of a steward who is faithful and dedicated to the one he serves.
Just think about what he was doing—here he was, the heir of all that Abraham had, which according to Genesis 13 was exceedingly more than Abraham needed for his own life. Abraham was very rich in gold and silver, and livestock; and as a faithful steward, here Eliezer was in his duties making possible for Isaac himself to have an heir, totally freezing himself out of an inheritance. He was a very selfless man, because he was faithful to the one he served.
The chapter begins with Abraham being very concerned that he doesn't have anyone that is of his own family, of his own body, to inherit the promises that God had given to him. And, in verse 2, Abraham asks God about it.
Then God took him outside and made him look in every direction. Then God promised Abram that he would inherit it. But Abram wanted a little bit of proof. And so he says, "God, how will I know that I'm going to inherit it?" And so then God enters into a covenant with him. We find that described, beginning in verse 9; but we'll pick it up beginning in verse 13.
It's interesting to notice something here—and that is God's foresight. And, I might add here, also His plan. Remember that Abraham didn't have a child yet. But already God is planning a discipline that He is going to put the descendants of Abraham [through], in which they would be subject to others. But also planned was their release from that subjugation, the destruction of the Amorites under Joshua, and the inheritance of the Land. What God is showing is that the events of the exodus were part of a much larger plan, which God inaugurated through Abraham and then continued through Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses. So let's go to chapter 17, where the real covenant was made with Abram.
