Abraham—Called by God: THE BACKGROUND OF GOD’S CALLING—BABEL

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THE BACKGROUND AND ORIGIN OF GOD’S CALLING AND THE EXPERIENCE OF THE CALLED

And Joshua said to all the people, Thus says Jehovah, the God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt across the River long ago, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor; and they served other gods.

Joshua 24:2

Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

Exodus 3:6

Although Genesis is a long book, it has only three sections: God’s creation (1:1—2:25), the serpent’s corruption (3:1—11:9), and Jehovah’s calling (11:10—50:26). In the last message we saw the significance of God’s calling. God’s calling means the new beginning of God, the transfer of race, and the transfer of life. On our side, God’s calling is a transfer of race and life, but on God’s side it is a new beginning. God had a new beginning in His creation of man, but that man became corrupted. So God came in to have another beginning when He called Abraham. This new beginning is actually the transfer from the race of Adam to the race of Abraham, a transfer from the created race to the called race. God’s calling means that we are called out of the original, created race into the present, called race. This transfer of race is not merely positional but also dispositional, for it is actually a transfer of life.

Abraham experienced both a positional and dispositional transfer. He was transferred from the old land of Chaldea to the good land of Canaan. That was a positional transfer. However, God worked upon him inwardly as well as outwardly. At a certain time, God came in and told him that his name had to be changed (17:5). According to the Bible, the changing of name always indicates the changing in life. When Abraham’s name was changed, it meant that his disposition, his life, was being changed. It seems that God was telling Abraham, “You are still in your old man. You are too much in your natural life. Although you have been called out of the old race, the nature and life of the old race still remain in you, and you still live by that life. It is necessary for Me to deal with you. I must cut off that life.” This cutting off of the old life was signified by circumcision. Abraham’s circumcision transpired at the same time that God changed his name. Outwardly, his name was changed, and inwardly, his disposition, his nature, and his life were dealt with. After the strength of Abraham’s natural life had been cut off, Isaac was born at “the time of life.” In a very real sense, Isaac was not born of Abraham’s natural strength; he was born of God’s coming, for God had said, “At the time appointed I will return unto thee, at the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son” (18:14, Heb.). The coming of the Lord was the birth of Isaac. This means that Isaac was not produced out of Abraham’s natural strength but out of a life dealt with by God. We see by this that Abraham was not only transferred positionally but also dispositionally.

Apparently Isaac did not need a transfer of life. Nevertheless, Esau, the first of the twins born to Isaac and Rebekah, was very natural. God will never accept anything that is natural. Since the first of Isaac’s sons was so natural, God chose the second. The firstborn signifies the natural life. For this reason, God destroyed the lives of all the firstborn in Egypt during the night of the Passover. The second, on the contrary, signifies the transferred life. Because Jacob was the second, he was chosen.

Although Jacob had been chosen, his nature was not transferred. So, at a certain time, God came in and touched Jacob’s natural strength. At that time his name was changed from Jacob, a supplanter, to Israel, a prince of God. From then on, Jacob was lame. His lameness was a sign that he had been touched by God, that his natural strength had been dealt with, and that he had become a prince of God. This is the true meaning of God’s calling.

Have you been called? If you say that you have been called, then you must come out of Chaldea, Babel, the old race, and your natural life. You must get out of your natural life and get your natural life out of you. In God’s calling there is the need of the new beginning, the transfer of race, and the transfer of life. We all need to be transferred. In all the years that I have been here with the saints, I have been watching the process of this transfer. I have been happy to see so many saints undergoing the transfer of life. Although at times the process of this transfer is not pleasant, after a while you can see in the saints the real transfer of life. This is the meaning of God’s calling.

THE BACKGROUND OF GOD’S CALLING—BABEL

FORSAKING GOD • Now in this message we need to see the experience of the called ones. But before we come to this, we need to consider the background and origin of God’s calling.

When God appeared to Abraham, he was in the darkest background. His background was exceedingly strong. The first aspect of this background was that man had forsaken God. Man’s forsaking of God was signified by his building a city. We saw this in the case of Cain in chapter four. Man built a city because he had lost God as his protection. Since man no longer had God as his safeguard, he built a city to protect himself. So the building of the city was the sign that man had forsaken God. Man seemed to be saying, “Let God go. I will build a city to protect myself.” The building of the city was the declaration that man had forsaken God.

EXALTING MAN • Not only did man forsake God, but he built a tower to exalt himself. The tower was a sign of man’s self-exaltation. When man forsakes God, automatically he exalts himself. Whenever man builds a city he will also build a tower to make a name for himself.

DENYING THE RIGHT OF GOD • Furthermore, at Babel man also denied God’s right over His creation. Both man and the earth were God’s creation. Nevertheless, man would not recognize God’s right but instead established the nations. The establishing of nations signified that man had denied God’s right and authority. As we have seen, after the flood God gave man the authority to rule others, but Satan caused man to abuse this God-given authority to form nations that man may have his own dominion, denying God’s right and authority over man.

SERVING IDOLS • Finally, Joshua 24:2 shows us that at Babel man turned from God to idols, to other gods. Behind all the idols are demons. Whenever a man worships an idol, he worships demons. Apparently he is worshipping idols; actually he is worshipping demons.

As the background of God’s calling we have the city, the tower, the nations, and the demons. Man had forsaken God, had exalted himself, had denied God’s right and authority, and had turned from God to serve idols. Do you believe that the situation is any better today? I do not believe it. It is as bad today as it was then. The situation is exactly the same.

THE ORIGIN OF GOD’S CALLING—GOD

Who originated this calling? Abraham did not originate it. Although he was the father of the called race, the calling was not initiated by him. I believe that Abraham was the same as we are today. He never dreamed of being called by God. Suddenly, while he and his relatives were there in Chaldea worshipping other gods (Josh. 24:2), God appeared to him. God was the originator of this calling.

THE APPEARING OF GOD • Although God’s calling is carried out in time, something prior to that—God’s selection—took place in eternity past. God selected Abraham in eternity past. After that, also in eternity past, God predestinated, premarked, Abraham. Before Abraham was born, even before the foundation of the world when nothing but God Himself was in existence, God chose Abraham and predestinated him. One day, in time, while Abraham was worshipping other gods, having no forethought that he was to be called by God, God visited him. God just came in as the very God of glory. Abraham was surprised. The God of glory not only came to Abraham, but He appeared to him.

Because Abraham’s background was so dark, God had to appear to him in a strong way. Many of us have also experienced such a strong calling of God. I can testify that one day, when I was an ambitious young man, God came to me in a strong way. That was God’s visitation to me. I cannot deny it. Many of us have experienced the same thing. We were deeply fallen, and light and loose preaching would never have worked in our case. We needed the living God, the God of glory, to pay us a visit. I have heard many testimonies regarding this.

God appeared to Abraham twice. The first time was in Ur of the Chaldees (Acts 7:2; Gen. 11:31). If we study the Bible carefully, we shall see that, in Ur of the Chaldees, God did not appear to Abraham’s father but to Abraham. Abraham, however, did not accept that calling immediately, and God sovereignly caused his father, Terah, to bring the family from Ur to Haran. They stayed there until Terah died. Abraham’s staggering in answering God’s calling brought about his father’s death. God took his father away. Then, at Haran, God appeared to Abraham the second time (12:1). We can see by this that God has a specific purpose in dealing with people. I do not believe that any of you reading this message would respond immediately if God were to visit you. We all are the children of Abraham, and children are always like their fathers. Because Abraham hesitated in following God, God had to appear to him the second time.

THE CALLING OF GOD • God not only appeared to Abraham twice, but He called him twice. The first calling of God was when Abraham was at Ur (Acts 7:2-4). According to Acts 7, God called Abraham out of his country and out of his kindred. But, in the second calling at Haran, God called Abraham out of his country, his kindred, and also out of his father’s house (12:1). So God appeared to Abraham twice and called him twice. The first time God called him out of his country and kindred, mentioning nothing of the father’s house. So the father’s family also came out of Ur. At the time of God’s second calling, however, He told him not only to leave his country and kindred but also his father’s house. Abraham had two appearings of God and two callings of God. These appearings and callings of God show that God was the origin of God’s calling.

THE EXPERIENCE OF THE CALLED

THREE BEING ONE • As you read the book of Genesis, you will notice that the records of Adam, Abel, Enoch, and Noah are quite distinct one from another. The records of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, however, overlap. Genesis, speaking of them, considers them as one corporate man. Isaac’s life story began in chapter twenty-one, and Abraham’s life story ended in chapter twenty-five. Jacob’s life story began in chapter twenty-five, and Isaac’s life story ended in chapter thirty-five. Jacob’s life story, supplemented by that of Joseph, ended in chapter fifty. The significance of this overlapping is that, according to the experience of life, these three persons are one man, a corporate man. When God created mankind, He created man in a corporate way, for Adam was a corporate man (5:2). It is not a small thing to see this. Do not think that, as a called one, you are complete as an individual. None of us is a complete individual unit. We all need one another. You need me and I need you. In like manner, Abraham needed Isaac and Jacob, Isaac needed Abraham and Jacob, and Jacob needed Abraham, Isaac, and Joseph. All of them needed the others in order to have the completion of God’s calling.

When some read this, they may ask, “Don’t you believe that Abraham was an individual person?” Of course I believe it, just as I believe that you are an individual person. But the Bible tells us that we are members (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:27). A member can never be a separate and complete individual unit. When a member becomes individually complete, that means death. My thumb, for example, is a member of my body. It is not separately complete or individual, for, if it were, that would mean death.

The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob being one God • The God who came to call this corporate person and who dealt with this corporate man was the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. When God spoke to Moses out of the burning bush, He said, “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exo. 3:6). In Exodus 3 we see that Moses was called by the angel of the Lord, that the angel of the Lord was the Lord Himself, and that the Lord Himself was the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (vv. 2, 4, 6). God did not say, “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses.” No, He said that He was the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. This God, who is the Lord, is also the angel of the Lord. Can you figure this out? If you read Exodus 3, you will find that verse 2 speaks of the angel of the Lord and verse 4 of the Lord. Then in verse 6, this angel of the Lord, who is the Lord Himself, told Moses, “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Do you believe that these are three gods? Here there are three plus two others, the angel of the Lord and the Lord. Are these five individuals, five gods? The angel of the Lord and the Lord surely are two. Can we say that the angel of the Lord is just the Lord Himself? We can, because the Bible tells us so. No one can exhaust the study of Exodus 3. Eventually, in Exodus 3:14, God said to Moses, “I am that I am.” God seemed to be saying, “I am the angel of the Lord. I am the Lord. I am the God of Abraham. I am the God of Isaac. I am the God of Jacob. I am that I am. I don’t care whether you understand this or not—I am that I am. I don’t care whether you agree with this or not—I am that I am.” This is our God, the God who worked upon the corporate man. This God was the angel of the Lord, the Lord Himself, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the great I Am.

The God of Abraham—the Father • God’s calling to Abraham was the work of God the Father. Abraham’s original name was Abram which means “an exalted father,” and the name Abraham, that replaced this name, means “the father of a great multitude.” Both of these names have the basic thought of the father. The first in the Triune God is the Father, and Abraham was the first of the called ones. Abraham was the father of the called ones, and the first of the Triune God is also the Father. The Father is the source of life. He is also the source of plan and purpose. God the Father had a plan, a purpose. Because He had a purpose, He selected and predestinated in eternity past. Eventually, in time, the Father came in to call, justify, accept, and care for the called ones. God the Father’s work is to select, predestinate, call, justify, accept, and take care of the called ones. Both selection and predestination precede the matter of calling. If you read Romans 9:11, you will see that these two items are found with Jacob. Nevertheless, in Abraham we see nearly all of the experiences that are related to God the Father. This is very meaningful.

The God of Isaac—the Son • Isaac was the son. It is very interesting to see that the second of the Triune God is also the Son. What is a son? A son is one who comes out of the father, who inherits all that the father is and has, and who accomplishes all that the father desires. If you look at Isaac’s history, you will find that he was just like this. He was out of the father, he inherited everything of the father, and he worked to accomplish his father’s purpose. This is the experience of Isaac, the experience which fits the second of the Triune God, God the Son. The Lord Jesus, as the Son of God, came out of the Father (John 16:28), inherited all that the Father is and has (John 16:15), and accomplished all the Father’s will (John 6:38). Isaac’s life corresponds to His.

The God of Jacob—the Spirit • Now we come to Jacob. Jacob, a subtle supplanter, needed more than just the experience of the calling and the inheritance. He mainly needed the dealings to transform him from a man in the flesh to a man in the Spirit. So, it is very meaningful that the third of the Triune God is the Spirit who worked upon the subtle, supplanting Jacob to discipline and transform him into a prince of God. Here, in Jacob, we see regeneration, discipline, transformation, and the growth and maturity in life. All of this is the work of the Spirit. So the God of Jacob should be God the Spirit.

The respective experiences of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob being three aspects of a complete oneFAs the transfer of race began with Abraham, passed through Isaac, and was completed with Jacob, so their experiences should be considered as one complete experience. It is implied that the three were one. The Triune God considered them as members of a corporate man for His dealings and for Him to be their God in this way. The last thirty-nine and a half chapters of Genesis are a biography of a corporate person composed of three plus one. If we add together all the different aspects of the experiences of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob including Joseph, we see a clear picture of the complete experience of the called ones.

Abraham’s Experience • Abraham had a good beginning with being called, but there is no record of his being chosen or of his reaching an ultimate and matured end. For his completion, Abraham had the need of Jacob’s being chosen and of Jacob’s matured end. Do you believe that, according to the record of Genesis, Abraham attained to the highest and consummate maturity of life? We cannot find such a record. Abraham’s offering Isaac on the altar was the climax of his spiritual life (ch. 22). However, he did not reach maturity. In chapter twenty-four we see that he did something marvelous in obtaining a wife for his son, Isaac. But, after that, he took another wife (25:1). This shows us that Abraham was not matured. Where, then, is Abraham’s maturity? His maturity is in Jacob’s maturity.

Let us use as an illustration of this the visits that Abraham and Jacob made to Egypt. Abraham’s trip to Egypt was shameful, for he told a lie about his wife (12:10-20). But Jacob had a glorious visit (47:7). He did not go to Egypt in order to take advantage of others. He went there with a blessing hand, even blessing Pharaoh, the greatest king on earth at the time (47:10). This reveals that the maturity of life is with Jacob and not with Abraham. According to the Bible, the greater always blesses the lesser (Heb. 7:7). No young one can bless an older one. In order to bless people you need the maturity of life. Does the Bible ever say that Abraham blessed someone? No. Jacob, on the contrary, was so mature in life that he could bestow blessings on others. When he blessed his grandchildren, he did it clearly, not blindly as did Isaac. When Joseph tried to change the position of his hands, Jacob refused and said, “I know it, my son, I know it” (48:19). Jacob was fully matured. Although Abraham was high in the life of faith, we do not see in him the maturity of life that we see in Jacob. For the maturity of life, Abraham had to rely upon Jacob. Although Abraham was the grandfather, he still needed his grandson for his completion. By this we can see that, according to experience, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are not individuals but three members of the whole Body. Likewise, we are members one of another (Rom. 12:5) and, in certain aspects of life, we need to depend on each other.

Isaac’s Experience • Isaac is another illustration of this. Isaac’s experience was without beginning or end. He was never called and he never matured. Although he blessed his sons, he did it blindly (27:18-29), not so clearly as Jacob did with his grandsons. Isaac needed the beginning of both Abraham’s and Jacob’s experiences and the end of Jacob’s experience for his completion. Isaac was in the middle. He was never dealt with. Although his father and son were dealt with, he did not need any dealings. He was fully covered by the two ends in the matter of God’s dealings. Many times it is good for us to stay in the midst of other members of the Body, for those ahead of us and those behind us become our completion. This is the coordination among the members of the Body.

Jacob’s Experience • In his experience, Jacob had the best, highest, and most matured end. Although he began as a subtle supplanter, after being dealt with by God, he matured to the uttermost. Although there are so many good ones, such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham, in the book of Genesis, no one is as mature as Jacob. After he matured, his supplanting hands became blessing hands. Whenever someone came under his hands, there was no condemnation, only blessing. He not only blessed the descendants of faith but even the worldly people. He was so high and so mature.

Although Jacob was matured in life, he had neither the experience of being called nor of the life of faith. Neither did he have the experience of the inheriting of grace. For his completion, Jacob needed to have Abraham’s being called and Abraham’s experience in the life of faith as well as Isaac’s experience in the inheriting of grace. Jacob was poor in faith. He did not know how to believe; he only knew how to supplant. After Abraham had been blessed by Melchisedec following the slaughter of kings, he met the king of Sodom. The king of Sodom encouraged Abraham, who had gained the victory for him, to take the spoil for himself. But Abraham refused to take even one thread, believing in the sufficiency of the Almighty God (14:19-23). Abraham had received the blessing from Melchisedec and did not need help from the king of Sodom. That was Abraham’s experience of faith. But Jacob’s experience was very different. Wherever he went, he was the first to supplant. In the midst of his supplanting life, Jacob even made a deal with God. When God appeared to him in a dream at Bethel, Jacob said upon waking, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on…then shall the Lord be my God…and of all that thou shall give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee” (28:20-22). Jacob made a deal with God. If God would take care of his needs, Jacob would give Him ten percent in return. Jacob seemed to be saying, “O God, if You will take care of my food, clothing, and all my needs, then I will give You a ten percent commission.” According to that arrangement, Jacob received ninety percent and God only ten percent. We see by this that Jacob did not have Abraham’s faith.

Eventually, however, Jacob was fully matured. He reached such a high level of maturity that Joseph, a part of Jacob, was reigning over the whole world. At that time, the world was under the hand of Pharaoh, and Pharaoh’s authority was altogether with Joseph. In a very real sense, Joseph did not reign for Pharaoh but for Jacob. Here we see the kingdom. The New Testament ends with the kingdom. After the called ones have completed their experiences with the Triune God, the period of reigning will come. That will be the millennium. Joseph only reigned for a period of years, but in the kingdom we shall reign for a thousand years.

If we add together the experiences of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we have a clear portrait of the complete experience of the called one. As a help in doing this, let us consider the chart that is printed on page 31. As God’s called ones, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were chosen in eternity past. Then, in time, after their birth, they were called. Many years after Abraham was called, he was circumcised and his name was changed. This is indicated by the curve. This is one line, or one aspect, of the experience of the called ones. We see from this chart that Isaac’s experience is a straight line. It resembles a tasteless glass of plain water. We see another curve when we come to Jacob’s experience. After this supplanting one was touched and dealt with, he became a prince of God. Eventually, all three of the called ones became a straight line. They will all be there in eternity future. We see from this chart that Jacob, or Israel, includes Joseph. The reason for this is, as we have seen, that Joseph was the reigning part of Jacob. While Jacob was a prince of God, Joseph was the one who reigned over the world, reigning over all the earth for Jacob. Joseph was the reigning son and Jacob was the reigning father.

The experiences of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are the complete experience of the corporate called one. If we see this, we shall bow down and say, “O God the Father, we need You. We need Your plan, purpose, selection, predestination, calling, justification, acceptance, and care. O God the Son, we need You. We need You to redeem us that we might have the inheritance. We need You to accomplish all that the Father planned, all that the Father intended to do. O God the Spirit, we need You. We need You to regenerate us, to discipline us, to transform us, and to make us grow that we might mature in life. We need You to make us the real Israels. We need You to make all that the Father has planned and all that the Son has accomplished real to us. Our Triune God, how we bow to You, worship You, praise You, and thank You for all that You have done to us and in us!”

After seeing such a thing, we shall be humbled and realize that the whole experience of the corporate called one is too much for us to have individually. I cannot be Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with Joseph. Since I can only be one of these three, I must learn to rely upon my brothers for the remainder. Even if I were as mature as Israel, I would still need someone to be my Abraham and my Isaac. We all must realize that, at the most, we are only a member of the Body. We need all the other members. According to our traditional background, everyone ranks Abraham at the top, thinking that he exceeds everybody else. But he did not exceed everyone. Although he exceeded others in the matter of faith, he did not surpass them in maturity. As we have seen, Jacob was the most mature.

At present we are all in the process of this experience of God’s called ones. Some of us are Abrahams, some are Isaacs, and others are Jacobs. Now we are enjoying the Triune God in our experience, not in theology. We do not have Him as a doctrinal concept but as an experiential enjoyment. We are enjoying God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. How good it is to enjoy the Father’s calling, justifying, accepting, and caring for us. How wonderful it is to realize the Son’s redeeming, saving, bringing us into the inheritance, and accomplishing of God’s eternal purpose. How excellent it is to experience the Spirit’s regenerating, disciplining, transforming, and causing us to grow and mature. We are not merely discussing the Triune God. We are experiencing Him; we are participating in the Father, Son, and Spirit. The Triune God is with us experientially. In the church life, we are Abrahams, Isaacs, and Jacobs including Josephs experiencing the Triune God. We are enjoying the selection, predestination, calling, justification, acceptance, care, redemption, inheritance, accomplishment of God’s purpose, regeneration, discipline, transformation, growth, maturity, and eventually the reigning. Praise the Lord! This is the Triune God with the corporate called one.