Gtcotr/ss062115
Romans 4
1 What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according
to the flesh?
3 For what does the Scripture
say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for
righteousness."
10 How then was it accounted?
While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while
uncircumcised.
13 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.
Abraham
was both a Father of Faith and a Faithful Father
Genesis 17
1 ¶ When Abram was
ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am
Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.
2 "And I will make My
covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly."
3 Then Abram fell on his
face, and God talked with him, saying:
4 ¶ "As for Me, behold,
My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.
5 "No longer shall your
name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a
father of many nations.
6 "I will make you
exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from
you.
7 ¶ "And I will
establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in
their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your
descendants after you.
8 "Also I give to you
and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the
land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."
9 And God said to Abraham:
"As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after
you throughout their generations.
10 "This is My
covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after
you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised;
11 "and you shall be
circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the
covenant between Me and you.
Why
did God choose circumcision as a sign of the covenant in those days?
·
Reproduction is the most spiritual thing humans can do
·
And humans can reproduce with or without God
·
God chose to withhold from man the power to reproduce eternal life
·
However, God was willing to give a father the ability to pass the
covenant life on to every member of his family
·
No descendent of Abraham was intended to be born outside of the
covenant - thus circumcision - each one passed through the covenant
·
Circumcision was both the sign of a man to whom this covenant had
been passed and a covering of this covenant over the man’s family.
·
When the father is in covenant with God the whole family is covered.
It
was never about the circumcision itself but about the covenant it represented.
Genesis 17:11 “… and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.”
This covenant was between God and a father concerning his family and their
future and was in place to insure covenant to future generations.
It is the primary duty of the father to reproduce covenant within
his family.
The
circumcision God was always looking toward is a circumcision spoken of in
Deuteronomy and Jeremiah and again in Romans chapter 2 – it is circumcision of
our hearts unto God. The true sign of a man in covenant with God is found in
the heart. Instead of an outward sign of trust in and relationship with God,
the Holy Spirit now looks to the inward man and covenant is a matter of the
heart … a heart in right relationship with Jesus.
It’s a Faithful
Father’s responsibility to insure that his family is:
1.
Covered by the Covenant
2.
Connected to the Covenant
3.
Counseled within the Covenant
4.
Corrected through the Covenant
