Old Testament: Genesis 12:1-9
New Testament: Romans 9:1-33
God Has Spoken
“The Progress of Redemption – # 2”
Genesis 12:1-9
Biblical history reveals the conflict between the goal of God and the goal of man for this world.
- God’s purpose for creation was to one day see the whole earth full of His glory – Numbers 14:21
- God’s purpose for the creation of man was to “call out” from among them, a people unto Himself, who would fill the earth and glorify Him forever – Ephesians 1:5, Matthew 27:36-40.
- Man’s purpose, regardless of the age he lives in, is to achieve his own acceptance with God through his own self-righteousness, or to prove he doesn’t need God at all – in essence to glorify himself, rather than God – Isaiah 53, Romans 3:23
The only hope we have of salvaging our children from the corrupted culture and the deliberate deception of our society is to prove to them that GOD HAS SPOKEN into history, and therefore into our lives.
- If God has not spoken – we are, of all people, to be pitied, for we have believed in vain.
- If God has spoken – we are, of all people, to rejoice, and give God the glory, for we know this life is not all there is, and therefore we have hope.
The fundamental purpose of the Bible is God’s own revelation of Himself to man – the only source of truth regarding the existence of God.
- Since one’s knowledge of God is the essence of eternal life, (John 17:3) it is vitally important that we know Him as He is, and not the caricature the world has made of Him – Isaiah 55:8
The central theme of the Bible is God’s plan for man’s redemption – how He plans to fill the earth with those who will glorify Him forever!
- The first evidence of that plan is revealed in Genesis 1:1ff, as “God Speaks” – a similar phrase is used over 20 times just in the Book of Genesis.
- The next evidence of that plan is revealed in Genesis 11:5,8ff, as “God Works” – He takes some kind of action in the events of human history.
- While God has finished “speaking”, (Hebrews 1:1) He has not finished “working”, and that includes His activity in the lives of those He is calling to Himself.
- Every event in biblical history is God’s Voice to those who have ears to hear, as He reveals more of Himself through His Word.
- God is still “working” toward the accomplishment of His eternal plan to see the world filled with His glory!
1. The Promise of Redemption – Genesis 3:14-19-Vs 15 – “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
In the “Age of Innocence” Adam and Eve were perfect and without sin. They lived in constant fellowship with God, with His full protection and provision. But when Adam and Eve sinned, God did three things:
- He expelled them from the Garden – severing their relationship and fellowship – the wages of sin.
- He sacrificed an animal to make a covering for their bodies – the price of the remission of sin.
- He promised a Savior whose shed blood would cover for their sins.
- That promise was given as “curse” upon Satan – that there would always be enmity between his seed and the seed of the woman – but in the end, her seed would crush his head.
- That “seed” was the Lord, Jesus Christ, who defeated Satan by His sacrificial death.
The hope of that “savior” began in the heart of Adam and Eve in the birth of their children:
- “Cain” – became the first murderer
- “Abel” – became the first martyr
- “Seth” – “God has appointed me another ‘seed’!”
As the descendants of Adam and Eve increased, so did their propensity toward sin, and new ways of expressing it.
- When God saw that the thoughts and imaginations of man were “only evil”, he determined to remove man from the earth – the wages of sin.
- But Noah found “grace” in the eyes of the Lord, obeyed God by building the Ark, saving himself, his family and the “seed” of the Savior, through Shem.
2. The Progress of Redemption – Genesis 12:1-3-Vs 3 – “And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed!”
Genesis 12:1-3 is the “seed-bed” for our faith in God – there is no “new theology” beyond what is recorded here.
- Just as Genesis 3:15 is the “first gospel”, Genesis 12:1-3 is the “first theology”; the “first doctrine”, and the “first step” in God’s plan for man’s redemption, as He “called out” Abraham to forsake all and follow Him.
God told Abraham:
- His descendants would possess the land of Canaan, which is now called Israel – Genesis 12:7
- While the Hebrews have “lived” on the land for several periods of history, this promise will be fulfilled after the resurrection, when all of Abraham’s descendants will possess Canaan forever – Matthew 8:11.
- His descendants would become a great nation.
- While this promise is being fulfilled by those who are of the “blood” of Abraham, when Jesus returns again, those who are of the “faith” of Abraham will also become citizens of that nation – a multitude which no man can number; people of all kindred and tongues – Revelation 7:9
- Through Abraham’s descendants, all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
- Today the nations of the earth are perplexed, and human beings live in fear, because they have turned from the knowledge of God’s Word.
- But as the gospel of Jesus Christ is being preached, the Holy Spirit is “calling out” a people unto God!
- Soon, the world will see the Son of Man – the pre-eminent “seed” of Abraham, coming in the clouds with great power, and on that day, the whole world will be filled with God’s glory!
