Abraham—Called by God: The Significance of God's Calling

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THE SIGNIFICANCE OF GOD’S CALLING

Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Genesis 12:1-3

The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles out of faith, announced the gospel beforehand to Abraham: “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”

Galatians 3:8

INTRODUCTION

In this chapter we come to the most wonderful section of the book of Genesis, the section on God’s calling (11:10—50:26). Genesis, a book of fifty chapters, is divided into three sections. The first section (1:1—2:25) covers God’s creation, the second (3:1—11:9) covers the serpent’s corruption of mankind, and the third covers Jehovah’s calling. Each of these sections begins with a special phrase. The first section begins with the words, “In the beginning God.” The second section begins with the phrase, “Now the serpent.” The third section begins with the words, “Now Jehovah” (12:1, Heb.). In these three sections we see three titles—God, the serpent, and Jehovah. These titles mean a great deal to us. After God created, the serpent crept in to corrupt, and then Jehovah came in to call. So the book of Genesis mainly relates these three major things.

According to the revelation of the Bible, Elohim, the Hebrew word for God in 1:1, is a title that mainly relates to God’s creation. The title of Jehovah, however, is especially concerned with God’s relationship to man in the matter of life. Jehovah is part, a main element, of the wonderful name of Jesus, for Jesus means “Jehovah the Saviour.” Since the name Jesus includes Jehovah, we may say that Jesus is the New Testament Jehovah and that Jehovah was the Old Testament Jesus.

In these three sections of Genesis we see that God created, the serpent, Satan, corrupted, and Jehovah called. Thus, in these sections we have creation, corruption, and calling. Which of these do you love the most? I love God’s calling. We are not only the created ones but also the called ones.

GOD’S CREATION, REVEALING GOD’S PURPOSE AND PROCEDURE • God’s creation unveils His eternal purpose. God’s eternal purpose is that man express Him with His image and represent Him with His dominion. We, the human race, are destined to express and represent God. This is clearly revealed in the first chapter of Genesis. In the second chapter we see God’s procedure to fulfill this divine purpose. His procedure is by the divine life. God must work Himself into us as our life that we might be able to fulfill His eternal purpose. Thus, in chapter one we see God’s purpose and in chapter two God’s procedure for the fulfillment of this purpose.

THE SERPENT’S CORRUPTION, CAUSING MAN’S FALL • In the second section (3:1—11:9) we see that the serpent, Satan, crept in to cause man’s fall. The serpent corrupted man and caused him to fall to the uttermost. Man fell lower and lower until it was impossible for him to fall any further. At that time Satan was happy and could celebrate his success. The whole human race was in rebellion against God. In a sense, God had been driven out from the earth.

THE LORD’S (JEHOVAH’S) CALLING, FULFILLING GOD’S PURPOSE BY GOD’S PROCEDURE • Although Satan, working through fallen man, had apparently driven God out from the earth, God is sovereign and cannot be defeated or frustrated by any kind of attack. All of Satan’s work simply affords Him an excellent opportunity to display His wisdom. Although sometimes I was sorry that I was a fallen person, most of the time I rejoiced, because I had been redeemed, regenerated, and regained. Because of the fall, our relationship with God the Father is sweeter and more meaningful than it would have been without the fall. If you will spend some time to review your life, I believe you will weep, not in sorrow, but in sweet remembrance of God’s wise and gracious work. When we enter into eternity, we shall exercise our spirit and recall our time on earth, and the memory of that time will be sweet, tasteful, and meaningful. God is wise. He allowed the serpent to come in. God watched the serpent and seemed to say, “Little serpent, what are you doing? Go ahead and do more. The more you do, the more opportunity I have to manifest My wisdom. Little serpent, do your best. Go on until you are satisfied and can do nothing more.” Eventually, Satan had to say, “I have done all that I can do. I have exhausted myself in causing mankind to fall lower and lower. I cannot make him fall any further. This is all I can do. I am finished.” When this point was reached, God came in, not as Elohim, but as Jehovah, the seed that was promised in 3:15. Nothing can frustrate God, defeat Him, or force Him to forsake His eternal purpose. He will complete what He has determined to perform. Nothing can change Him. Any interruption simply affords Him the opportunity to express more of His wise counsel.

If God had not been so wise, the book of Genesis would have been very short. But for God to display His wisdom, it has fifty chapters. The last thirty-nine and a half chapters are an abstract of the whole New Testament. Do you know how the New Testament begins? It begins with the words, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ Son of David, Son of Abraham” (Matt. 1:1). According to the genealogy in Matthew, the gospel begins with Abraham. The New Testament begins with the genealogy of Abraham. This corresponds with Genesis 12. Nearly everything found in the New Testament is sown as a seed in Genesis. So the thirty-nine and a half chapters that compose the third section of Genesis are a brief of the entire New Testament.

As we have pointed out on other occasions, the New Testament begins with the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom. When Jehovah came in to call Abraham in Genesis 12, He gave him a promise, and that promise was the preaching of the gospel. Galatians 3:8 proves this: “The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the nations by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham: In you all the nations shall be blessed.” The first preaching of the gospel is not in Matthew but in Genesis 12. In the preaching of the gospel to Abraham, the main item is the nation. The nation is the kingdom. In the next message we shall see that God promised to make Abraham a great nation and that this nation is the kingdom of God including Israel as God’s kingdom in the Old Testament, the church as God’s kingdom in the New Testament, the millennial kingdom in the coming age, and also the new heaven and the new earth. This is the kingdom and this is the gospel of the kingdom.

Galatians 3:14 speaks of the blessing of Abraham: “That the blessing of Abraham might come to the nations in Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” What is the blessing? It is the Spirit. Who is the Spirit? The Spirit is Jesus (2 Cor. 3:17). The Spirit is Jesus, Jesus is Jehovah, and Jehovah is God. Therefore, this blessing is just God Himself. In God’s preaching of His gospel to Abraham, He promised the called ones that He would give Himself to them as a blessing. This blessing is Jehovah Himself. Jehovah is Jesus, and Jesus is the Spirit whom we have received through faith in Christ. This is the gospel. Remember, Genesis is a book giving us an abstract of the whole New Testament. How we must worship God for His sovereign wisdom!

This long section of Genesis covers the lives of only three persons—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When God revealed Himself to Moses, 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). As we shall see later on, this is clearly related to the Triune God. The New Testament is simply an autobiography of the Triune God—of the Father in Abraham, the Son in Isaac, and the Spirit in Jacob. Perhaps some will wonder about Joseph. As we shall see, Joseph does not stand alone; he is a part of Jacob. The entire story of the called ones in the book of Genesis is a story of these three persons, and the whole New Testament is a record of the divine Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, experienced by all the New Testament believers.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF GOD’S CALLING

THE NEW BEGINNING OF GOD • Now we need to consider the significance, the meaning, of God’s calling. Firstly, God’s calling was a new beginning. When God created man, there was a beginning. But that man was corrupted and spoiled. The man whom God created for Himself fell and forsook Him. So God came in to call man that He might have a new beginning with the fallen man. Even with us, God’s calling was a new beginning. We all have had a new beginning. I thank God that after living over nineteen years in the old creation, I received a new beginning before I was twenty. God’s calling is a new beginning made by God Himself. God would not give up man. Rather, He came in to call man that He might have a new beginning.

The man whom God called was Abraham. When God created Adam, He did not create a single man but a corporate man. When God called Abraham, in a sense He called a corporate man, but, in another sense, He called a single person. Although all of the descendants of Adam were created in Adam, we cannot say that all the descendants of Abraham were called in Abraham. Although it appears so outwardly, actually this is not the case, for Romans 9:7-8 says that not all the seed of Abraham are the children of God. Simply because a person is a Jew by birth does not mean that he has had a new beginning with God. Even those who are Jews by birth need a new beginning. Whether we are Jews or Gentiles, as long as we have had a new beginning by faith in Christ, we are Abraham’s seed (Gal. 3:7). Most of us are not Jewish, but we are all the seed of Abraham through faith in Christ. We are the seed of Abraham because we have had a new beginning. At the time of His calling of Abraham, God began to have a new beginning, and now we all have entered into this new beginning through faith. Whenever you speak about God’s calling, you must realize that His calling means a new beginning. I can never forget that afternoon in 1925 when I was called by God. Immediately I had a new beginning and my whole life, being, and concepts were changed. This is God’s calling.

THE TRANSFER OF RACE • In His calling, God’s new beginning with man is a transfer of race. God’s calling of Abraham meant that He had given up the race of Adam and had chosen Abraham with his descendants as the new race to be His people for the fulfilling of His eternal purpose. This was a transfer of race, a transfer from the created Adamic race to the called Abrahamic race (12:2-3; Gal. 3:7-9, 14; Rom. 4:16-17). When we say that God’s calling is a new beginning, we must understand that this new beginning is a transfer of race. We all have been transferred from the old created race to the new called race. Although we were born in a particular race, at the time of our calling we were transferred into another race, the new race of the called ones.

THE TRANSFER OF LIFE • The transfer of race in God’s calling is actually the transfer of life. Although you can boldly declare that you have undergone the transfer of race, can you say that you have experienced the transfer of life? Although we have had the transfer of race, we are still in the process of the transfer of life. I dare not say that I have had a full transfer of life. Neither can I say that I have had no transfer of life. I have had some transfer of life, but this process has not yet been completed. We all are in the process of the transfer of life.

We need an inner transfer of life. Even though we have had the transfer of race, the life within us must be transferred. If we do not have this inner transfer of life, we shall remain the same as the fallen race. If we are simply removed from one position to another, we actually remain the same in life. The mere transfer of position cannot fulfill God’s purpose in His calling of us. There must also be a transfer of life.

Since the transfer of life is from the life of Adam to the life of Christ, it is a transfer from the life of the old creation to the life of the new creation. Due to the fall of man, all of God’s original creation became old and is no longer able to fulfill God’s purpose. So God needs a new creation, a creation with a life stronger and much better than the created life of Adam. This stronger life is the uncreated life of God, the life of Christ. The transfer of life in God’s calling is from the fallen life of the old creation to this stronger and better life of the new creation.

AS SEEN IN THE CALLED ONES • The significance of God’s calling is clearly seen in God’s called ones. In Abraham, in Isaac, in Jacob, and in the New Testament believers we can see the new beginning of God, the transfer of race, and the transfer of life. Their lives can be considered as clear pictures of the significance of God’s calling.

IN ABRAHAM

The picture that is portrayed in Abraham is very clear. He had the new beginning, the transfer of race, and the transfer of life, which was a great problem to both him and God. Although the new beginning and the transfer of race in him transpired immediately at the time that he was called, the transfer of life in him took many years. It took several decades for him to have the transfer of life, and even then it was not fully completed.

FIRSTLY RELYING UPON ELIEZER • When God called Abraham out of the corrupted land, Abraham had no sons, no successors. God was sovereign. Before Abraham had undergone the transfer of race, God did not allow him to have a son. Because Abraham was childless, he relied upon Eliezer, his household servant, to be the possessor of his house, saying to the Lord, “Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the son of possession of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, a son of my house is mine heir” (15:2-3, Heb.). Abraham called Eliezer the son of possession of his house and thought that he would be his heir. Abraham was very natural, just as we are today. Although he received the promise, he interpreted it in a natural way. God rejected Eliezer, saying to Abraham, “This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir” (15:4). God was telling Abraham that Eliezer would not be the one to inherit the promise that He had given to him. A seed out of Abraham himself, born of Sarah, would be Abraham’s heir.

THEN BEGETTING ISHMAEL BY THE STRENGTH OF HIS FLESH • After God had rejected Eliezer as the heir, Abraham, at the suggestion of Sarah that he have a son by Hagar, exercised the strength of his flesh to fulfill God’s promise. He brought forth Ishmael. The wife was the one who made the proposal and eventually she was the one who was troubled by the result of her proposal. It was sovereign that Sarah was troubled in this way. On the one hand, Sarah’s proposal that Abraham have a son by Hagar was of the flesh. On the other hand, her command that Ishmael be driven out was according to God’s sovereignty. She told Abraham that he had to drive out Ishmael, the one who was born of the bondwoman (21:9-10). This command was very grievous to Abraham; he was deeply troubled by it. Then God intervened and said to Abraham, “Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah has said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called” (21:12). This meant that God told Abraham to let Ishmael go, for he was not the one who was to inherit the promise that God had given Abraham. Isaac was to be his heir. We all must realize that in God’s calling nothing of our natural life can be prevailing. To only have the transfer of race is not adequate. We need a complete transfer of life.

HIS NAME BEING CHANGED AND HIS FLESH BEING CIRCUMCISED • Firstly, God promised Abraham that he would have seed to inherit the promised land (12:7; 13:15-16). Later, when God told Abraham that Eliezer would not be his heir and that only the one born of himself would be his heir, God strongly confirmed His promise that Abraham would have seed of himself (15:2-5). After this, Abraham attempted to fulfill God’s promise by using his fleshly strength to produce Ishmael. As a result, God came in, saying, “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect” (17:1). God seemed to be saying to Abraham, “What you have done in begetting Ishmael is not perfect before Me. Now I must transform you. Your name shall be changed from Abram, which means an exalted father, to Abraham, which means the father of a great multitude (17:5). For this, you must be circumcised (17:10-14) that your fleshly strength may be cut off, that I may come to fulfill My promise, and that you may be exceeding fruitful.” Here God promised Abraham to make him a great father, the father of a great multitude. This indicated that Abraham would be the father not only of his descendants according to the flesh, but also of the New Testament believers according to faith (Rom. 4:16-17). We Christians have all become Abraham’s seed by faith in Christ. Although we were born of the Adamic race, we have been reborn into the Abrahamic race.

BRINGING FORTH ISAAC BY THE STRENGTH OF GOD’S GRACE • At the time when God changed Abraham’s name and commanded him to be circumcised, God said to him in 17:21,…Isaac, which Sarah shall bare unto thee at this set time in the next year.” Here we see that God made an appointment, setting up a time when Isaac would be born. This is referred to in 18:14 when the Lord said, “At the time appointed I will return unto thee, at the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son” (Heb.). The appointed time, the time set for the birth of Isaac was “the time of life.” This term, “the time of life,” is very meaningful. The word life in this phrase is the same Hebrew word that is used for the tree of life in 2:9. The time when Isaac would be born was “the time of life.” This happened after Abraham was circumcised. This indicates that “the time of life” when Christ will be life to us will come after our natural strength has been dealt with.

After the death of the strength of his fleshFBefore Isaac was born, Abraham and Sarah were completely deadened. Sarah’s womb was deadened, and Abraham’s body was considered dead (Rom. 4:18-19). What he had—Eliezer—and what he intended to keep—Ishmael—were all rejected, and his natural ability was terminated. Then what could he do? Perhaps Abraham and Sarah had some unhappy fellowship. Abraham might have said to his wife, “Dear, look at yourself. Your function has been deadened.” Sarah might have said to Abraham, “Dear, look at yourself. How old!” Both of them were in a deadened condition. Sarah might have said, “Eliezer is good, but God has rejected him.” Abraham might have replied, “Ishmael is better, but God would not accept him either. Since Eliezer has been eliminated and Ishmael has been rejected, that leaves you and me in such a poor situation. What shall we do?” But when “the time of life” came, Isaac was born of these two dead ones, as if it was by the power of resurrection. The time of that birth was “the time of life.” Spiritually speaking, the birth of Isaac was a birth of life.

By Jehovah’s visitationFThe birth of Isaac was by Jehovah’s visitation, by the Lord’s coming (18:14). Isaac’s birth was not merely a human birth. In that birth there was the coming of Jehovah, for the Lord had said that at the appointed time, He would return and Isaac would be born and that that time would be “the time of life.” When Abraham’s natural strength was ended, Jehovah came to bring in Isaac’s birth at “the time of life.” That was the transfer of life. Everything of the natural life must go. Even the ability to beget a son must be terminated. Nothing of our natural life or of our self has any share in God’s economy. Everything natural must be terminated until we are finished, dead, and have become nothing. Then, when we have come to the end, Jehovah will come in. This coming in of Jehovah means life. This is “Isaac.” Hence, the birth of Isaac is the coming of Jehovah. This is life, this is the new beginning, and this is the transfer of life. This is the significance of God’s calling.

It is very good to realize that we all have been called and have had a new beginning and the transfer of race. But we should all agree that we are still in the process of the transfer of life. Probably, some of us still cling to Eliezer, some want to hold on to Ishmael, and some have been fully disappointed. However, others among us have come to “the time of life.” In their case, “Isaac” has been born. Jehovah’s coming, Jehovah’s visit, has transpired with some of us. This is the transfer of life. We all need such a transfer.

We need to forget the superficial and natural teachings, such as improving and behaving ourselves. It is not a matter of behavior but of a life transfer. We all must be transferred not only in race but also in life.

When Abraham was called out of the corrupted land, he had no son. He became old and still did not have a son. Therefore, he put his trust in Eliezer, the son of possession. God rejected Eliezer. Then Abraham exercised the strength of his flesh to produce Ishmael. Abraham loved Ishmael and wanted to keep him, but God would not accept him. The promised son had to be born of Jehovah’s coming in, of the strength of God’s grace at the appointed time. When the appointed time arrived, Jehovah came to Sarah and Isaac came forth. In a sense, Jehovah came into Sarah and Isaac came out of her. That was “the time of life.” It was altogether a transfer of life.

IN ISAAC

In a sense, in Isaac the transfer of life was accomplished but it was not fully completed. We know this by the fact that Isaac still begat Esau whom God hated (Rom. 9:13). This means that within Isaac the natural life still remained. Thus, we may say that in Isaac the transfer of life was not completed thoroughly. It was completed in Jacob.

IN JACOB

FIRSTLY BEING THE SUPPLANTER JACOB • At first, Jacob was a supplanter. His name means a supplanter. To supplant means to take the place of another, or to get something, through subtle means. Jacob was one who stole in a secret way. For instance, he stole from his uncle, Laban. Laban thought that Jacob was helping him with his flocks, but while Jacob was helping Laban, he made a flock for himself. This is an example of Jacob’s supplanting. At the first, Jacob certainly did not have the transfer of life.

TRANSFORMED INTO ISRAEL, THE PRINCE OF GOD • God had a way to deal with Jacob. He transformed Jacob, the supplanter, into a prince of God. Although it took God a long time to accomplish this, at a certain time He told Jacob that his name was being changed from Jacob to Israel (32:27-28). Thereafter, he was called Israel. God did the same thing to Jacob that He had done to Abraham: He changed his name and his strength. When God came in to deal with Jacob, Jacob was truly a supplanter. He even wrestled with God. He was so strong in a natural way that even God found it difficult to subdue him. We should not laugh at Jacob. We are the same as he was. We are so strong that even God finds it difficult to subdue us. When God comes to deal with us, we wrestle with Him. Although it is difficult for God to subdue us, eventually we shall be subdued by Him. Jacob’s wrestling forced God to touch his thigh, to touch the strongest part of his being. After that happened, he was lame. From that day onward, his supplanting was over. The supplanter had become a prince of God. Throughout the remainder of his days he did not steal again. His supplanting hands became blessing hands. He no longer supplanted; he only blessed. He stretched out his hands to bless whomever came to him. He even blessed Pharaoh, the greatest king on earth at that time (47:7, 10). The supplanter became a blesser. This is the prince of God. Here we have the full transfer of race with the complete transfer of life. This is God’s calling. God’s calling began at Genesis 12:1 and will continue until the coming of the New Jerusalem. All the supplanters will be terminated and become the princes of God. The New Jerusalem will come in, not only as a transfer of race, but also as a transfer of life.

IN THE BELIEVERS

BEGINNING WITH REGENERATION • In principle, the experience is the same with the believers today. With the believers, this transfer of life begins with regeneration (John 3:3, 5). After being regenerated, we are in the process of the transfer of life.

ACCOMPLISHED BY THE EXPERIENCE OF SPIRITUAL CIRCUMCISION • With the believers, the transfer of life is accomplished by the experience of circumcision, by the putting off of the flesh (Col. 2:11; Gal. 5:24). Today God is circumcising us, and this circumcision lasts quite a long time. I believe that many among us are still under God’s circumcising hand. You may still cling to your fleshly strength or to your natural man. This requires God to come in and cut, or circumcise, that part of you. Hence, we all are in the process of being circumcised. In other words, we are in the process of transformation.

COMPLETED AT THE REDEMPTION AND TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR BODY • The transfer of life will be fully completed at the time of the Lord’s coming back. At that time our body will be fully redeemed and transfigured (Rom. 8:23; Phil. 3:21). Then we shall be the called ones, not only in the transfer of race, but also in the complete transfer of life. At that time we shall enjoy all of the blessings that God promised to our father Abraham. This is God’s calling. God’s calling is not for Abraham’s natural descendants. God’s calling is for the people who follow Abraham to exercise the obtained faith, to live by and in God, and to experience the transfer of life by the working of God. As a result of this process, we shall be altogether another people, a people of God’s calling. Then we shall enjoy all the blessings of God’s promise. All that God promised to Abraham will be the blessings of the New Testament gospel in which we all shall participate through faith in Christ.