and turn back to the book of
Genesis chapter 17. Genesis 17. Remember that the Lord revealed
himself to Abram as the mighty God, El Shaddai. And he commanded Abram, walk
before me and be thou perfect and I will make my covenant between
me and thee and will multiply thee exceedingly. And with those
words that surely caused Abram to behold his own inability,
but also caused him to behold the love and grace and mercy
of God toward him. Abram was moved, the scripture
says, falling, verse 3, on his face, fell on his face. And God
talked with him, saying, now, it's right here that I want us
to pick up. where we left off last time and
I want us to see what the Lord had to say to this servant, Abram. Now before I begin, I want us
to notice as we read these verses, and I won't read all the verses
right now, but I'll take them as I come to them. But I want
you to notice that everything that God is going to deal with
in these verses is going to be concerning the covenant that
God made with the Lord Jesus Christ for the people. of God's choosing. He's going to tell Abram, and
he tells Abram, I made this with you. But I made this with you,
and all of the requirements for the fulfillment of this covenant
is made by my Son. So when we hear this, let's realize
it's the Lord. It's the Lord that says, I will. I shall, and you shout. This is the covenant of God's
grace. It's the revelation of God's
goodwill and counsel and power to show mercy and compassion
to whomsoever he will. Now, here's the words spoken
by the Lord, surely for Abram, without a doubt, but also these
words were spoken for and to every child of God's promise,
every vessel of His love. These words are for us who believe. These are for God's people, the
ones that the Lord's chosen to call out of the darkness of sin
and unbelief, granting them faith to walk before Him and be perfect
in Christ. in Christ. So being found in
this precious Son, robed in His righteousness, we are perfect,
perfect in Him. Now let's look at this covenant.
The first thing I want us to notice, I've got four things
I want to say about this covenant. First of all, it is the covenant
of God. Man has no part in this covenant
save being the recipient of the mercy of God. Nothing that man
can do, nothing that he would do or could do. This is the covenant
of God. Look in verse 2. And I will make
my covenant between me and thee. Verse four, as for me, behold,
my covenant is with thee. Look at verse 7, and I will establish
my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their
generations for an everlasting covenant to be a God unto thee
and to thy seed forever. Look at verse 9, and God said
unto Abraham, thy shall keep my covenant therefore. Look at
verse 10, this is my covenant which ye shall keep. Look at
verse 13, he that is born in thy house, he that is bought
with thy money must need be circumcised, and my covenant shall be in your
flesh for an everlasting covenant. Verse 14, and the uncircumcised
man, child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised,
that soul shall be cut off from his people he hath broken. My
covenant. So this is the covenant of God. The covenant of the Lord. It
is established by God. Everlastingly, it is for the
Lord's glory and all of the provisions according to His holiness have
been taken care of, established, and fulfilled in the person of
the Lord Jesus Christ. God Almighty, the Father elected
a people, Christ redeemed those people, and in the process of
time, the Spirit of God shall surely bring them out of the
darkness of sin and unbelief. in regenerating and keeping and
delivering grace. So it is the covenant of God. Secondly, it is a covenant made
for many, but made totally between the persons of the Godhead on
the behalf of the many. It's made for many. Again, verse
2, I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply
thee exceedingly. He told Abraham that the covenant
was between himself and Abram. And as I said just a moment ago,
we are the body of Christ. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
the head of the body. And what's said about him, I
said that this covenant was made with the Godhead. electing, redeeming, regenerating
God on the behalf of a people. But what's said to the head,
with us being the body, is said to the body. Whenever the Lord
Jesus Christ was walking and He was being in the press, and
a woman with the issue of blood saw Him and said, if I can touch
but the hem of His garment, I shall be made whole. She came and she
touched his garment, and what happened? The Lord stopped. He
said, who touched me? Ask a question. Who touched me?
The disciple said, well, everybody's touching you. No, he said, no. Virtue, virtue has gone out of
me. He turned and he saw the woman,
and what did he say? Thy faith hath made thee whole. Where'd
she get it? He gave it to her. But it's hers. The Lord said, I'm making this
covenant between me and you as you are the objects of my mercy
and favor, as you are found in my Son, as you are the body of
the precious Savior, as you are the bride, as you are the church. This is between me and you. I
will multiply thee exceedingly. He told him in verse 4, he said,
As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt
be a father of many nations. So as a blessing according to
God's covenant, Abram would be one in whose seed, through the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ in the bloodline, would be a
great nation, exceedingly great. And the Lord promised Abraham,
in this covenant, that he being the recipient of God's mercy,
and we read this out of Isaiah 53. He said, I'm going
to make it with you. But what is the foundation? What
is the foundation of that? I'm just going to read a couple
of verses out of Isaiah we just read. What is the foundation
and the establishing fact of the surety of this foundation. This is what I'm going to do
for you. I'm going to show mercy to you. I'm going to show grace
and compassion to you. Why? Isaiah 53, verse 4 and 5. Here it is. Surely he hath borne
our griefs and carried our sorrows. What does that mean? He took
them. He took them and made them his own. 2 Corinthians 5, 21. For he hath made him sin. What did he make him? What did
he make him? Sin. Sin. That's that's not play
like. You know, we used to play play
like. Let's play like. Let's play. This is not play like.
This is this is reality. This is a fact. This is justice
is right. He has made him sin. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. Surely, surely, surely He hath
borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, and we did esteem
Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded
for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities,
the chastisement of our peace. was upon him and with his stripes
were healed. Why was he wounded? Why was he
bruised? Why was the chastisement upon
him? He bore our sins. He carried
our sorrows. He was made what we are. What
is the foundation of the covenant of grace? Why does God show mercy
to a people of his choosing? Because justice has been satisfied. I'm a just God. I'm a just God
and a Savior. So God Almighty has said, this
covenant is between me and you. And He put away our sins in the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And as a blessing according to
God's covenant, Abram was going to receive a new name. I'm going
to make a covenant with you. I'm going to enter into a covenant,
and I'm going to give you a new name. You know, we see that. Whenever a man and a woman become
married, what happens? Somebody's going to get a new
name. Who is it? The bride. The bride. She gets
a new name. Glenda and I got married one
day. And on that day, when Brother Scott, who performed the ceremony,
when he said, I pronounce you husband and wife, her name changed. She became a stoniker. That was
her name. She had a new name. Abraham,
now here's the picture. Abraham is a picture. of all
that God has entered into covenant in the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ. I'm going to give you a new name.
You're going to get a new name. I speak of, you know, the great
mystery, the Apostle Paul says, but I speak concerning Christ
and His bride. I'm talking about man, wife. I'm going to give
you a new name. Now look, that's a look. Look
at verse 5 and 6. Neither shall thy name any more
be called Abram, name shall be Abraham, father
of a great multitude. For a father of many nations
have I made thee, and I will make thee exceeding fruitful. And I'll make nations of thee,
and kings shall come out of thee." Now, here's a new blessing. You're
going to have a new name. I love to read the passages that
deals with the new names that the Lord has bestowed on His
people for the sake of Christ. Let's look at a couple of them
here. Isaiah 62. Look at these new names. Isaiah
chapter 62, verse 3 and 4. Now this one, when we see this,
we talk about marriages and the woman taking on a new name and
stuff like that. All of this is pictures and types of the
covenant. There's a remainder, there's
a remaining token picture type of the covenant of God's grace.
And in marriage, you see, but look at this, Isaiah 62, verse
three and four. Thou shalt also be a crown of
glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand
of thy God. Thou shalt no more be termed
forsaken, neither shall thy land any more be termed desolate,
but thou shalt be called Hephzibah. That is, my delight is in her,
and thy land, Beulah, married. For the Lord delighteth in thee,
and thy land shall be married." Whenever Barnabas, in the book
of Acts, turn over to Acts chapter 11, whenever Barnabas was come
to Antioch, Acts chapter 11, he'd come to Antioch and he was
looking for Paul the apostle. And the scripture says, while
he was in Antioch, he saw the grace of God, he beheld. That
verse of scripture has so impressed me, I've related to many instances. of things that I've experienced
myself, and I know somebody else is going through it, and I don't
know how the Lord's going to work it out, but I know He's
going to do it. He's going to do whatever pleases Him, and
I'd tell them. I said, listen, from experience,
I can tell you that, like from the Scriptures, and Barnabas,
he saw the grace of God. You see it. I mean, you behold,
you look in a congregation like this, and you see people. Some
of you have been here since you were kids. I just grew up here. What am I doing? I'm seeing the
grace of God. I behold the grace of God in
this. Well, Barnabas saw the grace
of God. He was in Antioch looking for
the apostle Paul. And the scripture says in verse
26, and when he had found him, He brought him unto Antioch,
and it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves
with the church and taught many people, much people. And the
disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. They had a
name, but they started calling them Christ followers, started
calling them Christians first in Antioch. And then to look
at Revelation 2, verse 17, Revelation chapter 2. Revelation 2.17, the
scripture in one of the letters written to one of the churches,
Revelation 2.17, the scripture says, He that hath an ear, let
him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him that
overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will
give him a white stone, And in the stone, a new name written,
which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it. And what
is that name? Well, look over in Revelation
chapter 3 and verse 12. Here it says, him that overcometh
will I make a pillar. in the temple of my God, and
he shall go no more out. And I will write upon him the
name of my God and the name of the city of my God." And here
it is. What's the new name? Which is?
New Jerusalem. Which cometh down out of heaven
from my God. I will write upon him my new
name. What's the name of God's people? Here's their name. New
Jerusalem. Heavenly Jerusalem. Christians. The bride. Married. My delight is with her. So here's
Abram back in Genesis chapter 17. The Lord said, you're not
going to be called Abram anymore. Your name's going to be Abraham.
That's going to be your name. Father of a great multitude.
Again, establishing the truth that Abraham is a picture and
a type of all those found in Christ who would be Abraham being
the father of many nations, not meaning merely that he'd be a
natural or physical father, though he was. There was a lot of descendants. You know, the Jews, they all
claimed heritage to Abraham. We're sons of Abraham. I don't
know who you are, but I tell you who we are. We're sons of
Abraham. Abraham's our father. The Lord says if Abraham was
your father, spiritually speaking, you'd love me. Abraham saw my
day, and he rejoiced. He was glad. It means that he
was a father of many nations, not just physically, but spiritual
father. Abraham was a picture and a type
of those that God had chosen to show mercy. God revealed to
Abraham that his covenant blessing in Christ would be found in all
four corners of the earth. You're going to be a father of
many nations. What is he saying? In my Son,
you as the recipient of my mercy and grace through my Son, in
my Son, and all like you, You're going to be scattered all over
the place. You're going to be found in all places of the world. They're going to be strangers
from Pontus and Galatia and Cappadocia and Asia and Bithynia and all,
like all of those that were in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. They were all parts of the region
surrounding Jerusalem. God has a people everywhere,
everywhere. That's why the Lord told us to
go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Tell them all. Tell them all.
I'll say, I'll mention, you know, invite somebody. Invite somebody
to come. They won't come. They might.
They might, per adventure. God, if they're one of the Lord,
they're coming. They'll come. They'll come. Ask
them. You know the worst thing can
happen? Well, humanly speaking, is that they say no. I'll tell
you the worst thing will happen. If they die without Christ, they'll
leave this world, separated from God. Invite them. Tell them, come. Say, won't you
come? So truly, the Lord has, according
to his word, he has a people. He's established this covenant
with many. But the many, the many are the
beneficiaries of his covenant that has been received on the
account of the Lord Jesus Christ. That was that covenant. This is what was spoken of through
the Spirit of God in Ephesians chapter 1 verses 3 to 7, a passage
that we've read so many times, I'll just tell you. The blessing,
being blessed in Christ with all spiritual blessings. What are those spiritual blessings? Now listen to this. chosen in
Him before the foundation of the world. That we should be
holy and without blame before in love. Not by works of righteousness
that we've done. What are we going to do? To be
found holy and without blame before God. God has made, this
is my covenant. I will make you. I shall. I will. You shout. So chosen in Christ,
predestinated unto the adoption of children in him. Again, when a child is adopted,
who chooses? The child or the parent? The parent. The parent. The child is the recipient of
the adoption. redeemed through His blood and
forgiven of all our sins according to His riches in grace. All according to His will. Not
our works, not our works. So the covenant of God is God's
covenant. A covenant made with many who
have been everlastingly found in Christ. This is God's covenant
made with many. Thirdly, it's an everlasting
covenant of grace with an immutable promise of inheritance. Unchanging promise of inheritance. Look at verses 7 and 8. And I
will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after
thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant. To be a God unto thee and to
thy seed after thee, and I will give unto thee and to thy seed
after thee the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land
of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their
God. concerning God's covenant of
grace. The Lord revealed in verse 19,
of which the Lord will and will look at next time, but I want
to read it right here. God said, Sarah, thy wife shall
bear thee a son indeed, and thy shall call his name Isaac. And
I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant,
and with his seed after him." Now, what did God just say? He just said that my covenant
is a covenant of grace, not of works. Acceptance with God is
never based upon man's will, man's work, man's counsel. If that were so, then Ishmael
would have been a fit and proper picture of acceptance with God. Ishmael was a child of God's
work. Again, he's that picture of that
allegory. Sinai works keeping the law or
trying to keep the law. It's that covenant of works,
a covenant made that man cannot keep. That revelation that shows
that man's bondage to sin is ever there because man is a failure
from the beginning unable to keep God's law while Isaac, the
child of promise, revealed the result of God's grace and mercy. Now knowing that when he said
what he said to Abraham about his wife, he said, now this is
my covenant. This is my covenant right here.
I'll read it again. Verse 19, Sarah thy wife, not
her handmaid, not the one of your choosing, Not the one of
her choosing. Sarah thy wife shall bear thee
a son indeed. Not Hagar. Sarah thy wife shall
bear. Thy shall call his name Isaac.
Not Ishmael. That's not the one I chose. Here's
my covenant. Thou shalt call his name Isaac,
I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant
and with his seed after him. So the covenant of God's grace
was established upon his counsel and God's counsel shall stand. Isaiah 40, 16, My counsel shall
stand, I will do all my pleasure. The security of God's people
is based upon God's Word, because God's Word is firm, powerful,
true, everlasting to everlasting. It doesn't return void unto Him. So God's covenant is a covenant
of promise. And here it's with exceeding
great promises. Verse 7, I will establish my
covenant between me and thee to be a God unto thee and thy
seed forever. What could a man need? What can a man want or
desire more than for peace and comfort and happiness be established
before God? with God's accomplishment, with
God's covenant, God's counsel. God is my God, a my redeemer,
wisdom, God, counselor, protector, priest, king, savior. What more
could we need? My God should supply all your
need according to his pleasure in Christ Jesus. And being the
objects of his covenant, we have an everlasting possession God
has established a promise to Abraham that he was going to
have a land back in 1518. Here's what the scripture says,
in the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram saying
unto thy seed have I given this land from the river of Egypt
unto the great river, the river Euphrates. But now here we're
talking about an eternal possession that is going to be given to
Abraham and all like him, a possession of heaven. Heaven was that country, that
city that Abraham looked for. It had foundations. God had told
him, I said, I'm going to give you an everlasting possession. And heaven was that better country
which Abraham had an eye toward, that land of Canaan was secured. It was secured to Abraham according
to the flesh. But heaven, that was the picture
that Canaan set forth. Canaan is a picture of Christ. I'm going to give you this land
forever. Abraham looked for a better country, better than Canaan. a possession that's truly everlasting. I mean, think about this. I'm
going to give this possession to you for an everlasting possession. You think Canaan is going to
be that everlasting possession, that piece of ground? No. He
looked for a city, a sustaining city. Here, Canaan is that land
in which Abraham was a stranger. He was a stranger in that land,
but the heavenly, that heavenly Canaan, that's a land that we
look for, but you know as truthfully, right now, we're strangers. We're strangers. We look for
that. We look for heaven. We believe by faith we're gonna
be there. But I'm gonna tell you something. There's some things
that we don't know just yet. Why? Because we hadn't been there.
There's some that have been in our midst that are there. I'm
convinced. I don't know. I'd have to go back
and look. But I want to say that I've preached pretty close to 15 funerals
since I've been here. And there are many of them, not
all, but many of them. I'm convinced, based on the confession
that was made in the person of Lord Jesus Christ. I believe
that most of them, I think they're there. I believe they are. They're
not strangers anymore. Now for us right now, here's
what I know. The scripture says, I have not
seen, ear has not heard, neither hath
entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared
for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto
us by His Spirit." We know, we see with the eye of faith. And
what we see by the eye of faith, we hadn't touched it. We hadn't
touched it. The scripture says, for now we
see through a glass darkly, What does that mean? We see in a dim,
blurred reflection of reality. It's reality. You that believe,
you believe it. I believe it. I believe it. But
here's what it means. If we see through a glass, comma,
darkly, this is how we see. It's a blurred reflection of
reality in a riddle. It's a riddle. But then, face
to face, the apostle said, now, I know in part, that is, I know
imperfectly. I just, I don't know. I don't know. What I know, I
know it imperfectly. What I know, I just see it in
a blurred, dimmed vision, a riddle. But then I shall know. What does that mean? Then I shall
understand fully and clearly and know Him as the redeeming
Savior, the one I know only now darkly and dimly. Now think about
this. What do we know concerning the
Lord Jesus Christ? What do we know? What we know
is so dim is so blurred, we know him, we know him, but
we see through a glass darkly. Then I shall know, even as also
I am known. That is, known to him as the
one he's everlastingly known and loved. Now, what I know now,
what I know now, I know in part. But then I'm gonna know. I'm
gonna clearly see him as the Redeemer. And then I'm gonna
know, even as I'm known, the way he knows his people right
now. Now I can read a scripture and
it says, that which is born of God sinneth not. Now we've read
that before. That which is born of God sinneth
not. Now he knows exactly what that means. And he sees us exactly
like that. Do we? No, I'll tell you what I see
of me. And it's not that. I don't see that. But in that
day, at this point right here, this
heavenly place of heaven, the place that
Canaan pictured, Abraham was a stranger there. And we're strangers.
We're strangers. I know, I believe that's our
possession. I believe that. But what I know about it is dimly. Lastly, it's a covenant with
a token. Here's the last part. I'm just
going to, I'm going to read, I'm going to read verses 9 to
14, then I'm going to start. I'm just going to read them and
I'm going to make a couple of comments in the end. God said
unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant, therefore, thou
and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant,
which you shall keep between me and you and thy seed after
thee. Every man child among you shall
be circumcised. And you shall circumcise the
skin of your foreskin, the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall
be a token of the covenant between me and you. He that is eight
days old shall be circumcised among you, every man, child in
your generations. He that is born in the house
or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed, he
that is born in thy house, he that is bought with thy money,
must needs be circumcised, and my covenant shall be in your
flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man, child,
whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall
be cut off from his people. He hath broken my covenant."
Now circumcision was given to Abraham and his seed as an outward
sign of God's covenant of grace. It was a token. It was a token given by God,
which pointed to the redemption of God's people by Christ, the
Christ who would come. I've made a covenant with you.
And this is going to be a token that I'm going to give you. It's
going to be called circumcision. It was the light of circumcision
was a picture and type that God, by His sovereign grace, circumcised
the heart of His people in regenerating grace, circumcision that was
made without hands. Romans chapter 2. Romans chapter
2 verse 28-29. It was a picture. It was a token. This is going
to be a token to you. I'm giving this to you, Abraham,
to your people, all like you. Romans 2, 28, 29. For he is a Jew, which is one. No, I'm sorry. He is not a Jew,
which is one outwardly. Neither is that circumcision,
which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew, which is one
inwardly. And circumcision is that of the
heart, in the spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not
of men, but of God. Circumcision in the flesh was
to Abraham and to all like him as a token. This is a sign. It
meant that God had taken these people to himself in covenant
mercy. Abraham's family, all like him.
They would be circumcised. Now, after the Lord came, that
was of the law. That was the law. And the Lord
Jesus Christ was circumcised. Eighth day. Eighth day. He fulfilled
the law. All the law was fulfilled in
Christ. Now, we have a token today. It's not circumcision.
Not circumcision. The token that's given to God's
people It's given for those who, by faith, believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ. It is a token. It is a token. Circumcision did not save anybody. If circumcision saved somebody,
then every male child that was circumcised was automatically
saved. Just saved them. Just circumcise
them. Just save them. It was a sign to God's people.
Many were circumcised who didn't know God, didn't believe, didn't
have faith, wasn't coupled with faith. But we have a sign, a
token today. What do you think it is? Baptism. Baptism. Peter preached on the
day of Pentecost. Now, like I said, did circumcision
save anybody? No. Acts chapter 2 verse 37-38. On the day of Pentecost, Peter
preached. Spirit of God fell. Many of them heard the gospel
preached in their own tongues, native languages. God granted
3,000 people plus faith to believe, and they believed. They believed
God. They believed it. Now listen to what Peter, when
they came to Peter, verse 37, when they heard this, they were
pricked in their heart, they said unto Peter, to the rest of the
apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said
unto them, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name
of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost. They were baptized. Not for salvation. But because
of it, it was a token. Believers' baptism is a token. It's a sign. It's an ordinance. We have the Lord's Supper once
a month. We have the Lord's Supper. Do
you think that there's any efficacy, any saving power in that little
piece of bread or in that little cup of wine? There are elements, elements
of the Lord's choosing elements that God, the Lord Jesus Christ
did. Will that save you? No. What
are they? It's a picture. It's a token
of his broken body and shed blood. Believer's baptism is a token. Paul said, for we're the circumcision,
we worship God in the spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and
have no confidence in the flesh. It's a token. Token on this last
verse, listen to these words. Colossians chapter two, verse
10 to 15. And ye are complete in him which
is the head of all principality and power. You're complete. In whom also you were circumcised
with a circumcision made without hands. in putting off the body
of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. Not of
the circumcision made with hands, not of the flesh, no. You were
circumcised, made without hands, in putting off the body of sin,
buried with Him in baptism. wherein also ye are risen with
him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised
him from the dead, And you being dead in your sins, and the uncircumcision
to your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven
you all trespasses, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances
that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out
of the way, nailing it to his cross, and having spoiled principalities
and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over
them in it." Now, let me ask you this. When the Lord is pleased
to save someone, Call them out of darkness. What is the token? What's the token? What's the
ordinance? That we believe God. We're baptized. We're baptized. We're baptized
for salvation? No. No. You're complete in Him. But believing that Almighty God
has put away our guilt. When He died on that cross, He
died for me. When He was buried, He was buried
for me. I was buried with Him, Paul said. I was crucified with
Him, buried, risen with Him. When He came out, I believe He
came out with me and for me, for my justification. That's
what I believe. And here's the token that I believe
in. I confess Him in baptism. This is the covenant of God. A covenant made for many. A covenant. that has promises, it's a covenant
of grace that's had exceeding great promises. And it's a covenant
that has a token that comes with it. We confess him, we confess
him in the heart. I pray God bless this to our
heart, his glory.