From
yesterday-
'And Paul
said that Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise,
died without receiving it, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims
on the earth.
This alone
would be sufficient to prove that the promise remains to be fulfilled'
Continued…
'3. There
is an argument from analogy on this subject which is very conclusive, besides
the direct declarations of the Scriptures, showing that the whole earth was
contemplated in the original promise.
This
argument must be admitted by all who claim to be the seed of Abraham, and
recognize as valid the covenant made with him. In this covenant we find three
prominent points, namely, 1. The land of promise. 2. The seed to whom the
promise was made. 3. The token of the covenant, which is circumcision. All that
will be here claimed on points 2 and 3 will be readily accepted by all New
Testament believers.
The seed.
The reader
of the Old Testament might easily conclude that “the seed” to whom the promises
were made included only the literal descendants of Abraham. But the term was
soon restricted, and was shown to refer, not to all who descended from Abraham,
but to those descending from him through one of his sons, Isaac. And in the New
Testament it is shown that the term refers primarily to Christ, the real child
of promise, and secondarily to all who are Christ’s by faith. Thus it is said:—
“He is not a Jew which is one outwardly; . . But he is a Jew which is one
inwardly.” Rom. 2:28, 29. And again: “For they are not all Israel, which are of
Israel; neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children;
but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of
the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise
are counted for the seed.” Rom. 9:6-8. Therefore the true heirs of the promise
are not counted by natural descent, but are of all nationalities, as the
apostle says:— “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free,
there is neither male nor female; for
ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
The
Atonement - 208
And if ye
be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Gal. 3:28, 29. “Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the
flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision
in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were without Christ, being
aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of
promise, having no hope, and without God in the world; but now, in Christ
Jesus, ye who sometime were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” Eph.
2:11-13. The Gentiles were “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and
strangers from the covenants of promise;” but the gospel of Christ is the means
of their naturalization, so that now they belong to the true Israel of God if
they are of faith, and are “fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers
of his promise in Christ by the gospel.” Eph. 3:6.
The token.
When the
covenant was made with Abraham a sign, or token, was given to him. The Lord
said to him: “Every man-child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall
circumcise the flesh of your foreskin;
and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.” Gen. 17:10, 11.
This more
than any other one thing was a mark of separation between the Jews and the
Gentiles. And this, from its terms, was confined to the male portion of the
children of Abraham, “Every man-child among you.” But in the New Testament
everything on this subject is different, both in substance and manner. As we
have seen that he is not a Jew, or child of Abraham, who is one outwardly, so
“neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh. . . . Circumcision
is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not
of men, but of God.” Rom. 2:28, 29. “In whom also ye are circumcised with the
circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the
flesh by the circumcision of Christ.” Col. 2:11.
Circumcision
was called “a token of the covenant;” in the New Testament it is called a sign
and a seal; Rom. 4:11.
Rom
4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the
righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might
be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that
righteousness might be imputed unto them also
And the
seal, or circumcision, of the New Testament is further explained as follows:
“In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy
- 209 - J.
H. Waggoner
Spirit of
promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance.” Eph. 1:13, 14. The earnest
is the same as the seal or token. Again it is written:— “Grieve not the Holy
Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Eph. 4:30.
“Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” 2
Cor. 1:22.
This is
the circumcision of the heart, in the spirit; the true token or sign of our
heirship. And as it was said to Abraham that the uncircumcised man-child should
be cut off—he had no part in the covenant; so it is now said, “If any man have
not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his.” Rom. 8:9.
He has not
the seal or token of the covenant, and has no part in the covenant.
Now mark
the analogy. All Christians believe that the seed or children of Abraham, and
circumcision, have a place in the gospel; that they are brought over into this
dispensation; only they are enlarged in their terms, and made to apply to those
and that to which they did not seem to apply when first the covenant was made.
Now an enlargement of them is the very opposite of nullifying them, or having
them expire by limitation. But if they to whom a certain promise is made, and
the token or assurance of that promise, are brought into the New Testament, why
not also the promise itself? And if the terms of the other are enlarged, it is
only reasonable to expect that of this they would be also. And thus we find it
written: “For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to
Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of
faith.” Rom. 4:13. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
Matt. 5:5.
We fully
believe, as before remarked, that God’s original purpose in the creation of the
earth will be fulfilled; that the restoration of the earth from the curse, from
thorns and thistles, and from everything that could annoy its inhabitants, was
included in the promise that the seed of the woman should bruise the head of
the serpent; or, in the words of the New Testament, that Christ should destroy
the works of the devil. The “first dominion” given to man shall be returned to
him, but the promise of restoration was made to and through Abraham and his
seed, and we receive it as his heirs. The meek shall inherit the
The
Atonement - 210
earth. To
inherit is to possess by heirship; but our heirship is solely of Abraham our
father.
(To be
continued)
(Excerpt
from-) THE ATONEMENT PART SECOND:
THE
ATONEMENT AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE
(1884)
BY ELDER J. H. WAGGONER
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