[Stvvv1611]

Originally Posted by Stvvv1611

Next post Jerry… I’ll tie the uncircumcision origin to Abraham, in the context of Romans, and show exact distinction to how righteousness was to be imputed to these Gentiles as to how righteousness was imputed to Abraham (Gen 12) and the circumcision.

The bone of contention underlying these posts Jerry is over your position that the events in the lives of Abraham and David, as recorded by Paul in Romans 4, are typical of all OT saints, from Adam through Israel, for righteousness. Paul is proving just the opposite that these events in the lives of these two OT saints as exceptions to the rule… not the rule, and as illustration to how God was now providing righteousness!

Last post I proved Abraham as the father of the circumcision ‘by faith’ pointing to Gen 12 and showed the relationship between the gospel of the circumcision and Gentile during the Acts period. I’m now turning the corner in this post in tracing the Gentile’s lineage to Abraham as to when and how. I’m going to begin doing so by showing terms of contrast between righteousness through law and righteousness which is of faith found in Romans and Galatians that are very pertinent to this subject:

Romans 3:27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

Romans 4:13 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.

Romans 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

Romans 9:30 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.

Romans 10:6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above)

Romans 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

Romans 16:26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

Galatians 3:2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Galatians 3:5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Galatians 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

Galatians 3:9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

Galatians 3:12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

Galatians 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Now… the following observations are made from above passages:

1. Law of works is held in contrast to the ‘law of faith’ (Rom 4:13, Gal 3:2, 3:5, 3:12)

2. That Abraham should be heir of the world (Gen 18:18; 22:18) was through the righteousness ‘of faith’ (Rom 4:13)

3. All the seed includes not only that which is of the law but also which is of the faith of Abraham… father of us all (circumcision & uncircumcision); (Rom 4:16)

4. ‘Of faith’ is associated with both ‘by grace’ and the ‘faith of Abraham’ for a certain segment of the seed (Rom 4:16; Gal 3:7, 9); hmmm… wonder which segment Jerry?

5. Gentiles who were neither under or followed the law for righteousness have now attained to righteousness… a righteousness which is ‘of faith’ (Rom 9:30)

6. The righteousness which is ‘of faith’ is expressed through confession and believing (Rom 10:6-10)

7. Obedience ‘of faith’ was now being made known to all nations as manifested by the scriptures of the prophets in accordance to the commandment of God (Rom 1:5; 16:26). This ‘now’ is in view of Paul’s gospel (**my gospel)… and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, (Rom 16:25). **Not Peter’s Gospel Jerry!!

Now… we’ll look at a few of these ‘of faith’ expressions in context beginning in Galatians:

Galatians 3:1-19 1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.
5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.
16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

Deductions:

1. The receiving the Spirit, in context, was via the hearing of faith as contrasted to the doeth aspect of the works of the law (vv 2, 5, 10, 12)

2. The reference to Abraham believing God and being accounted righteous points to Gen 15… not Gen 12! (v 6).

I already established the fact that Abraham was righteous prior to Gen 12 walking ‘by faith’ (Heb 11:8-9; Gen 11:27 – 12:3). A land for inheritance was promised to Abraham and ‘thy seed’… heirs of same promise (Gen 12:1, 7; Heb 11:9; Isaac & Jacob).

3. ‘Of faith’ and they associated with ‘of faith’ are same as the children of Abraham (vv 7, 9)

4. The Scripture foresaw something… that God was going to justify the heathen (nations / Gentiles / uncircumcision) someday ‘through faith’ (v 8; Rom 3:30; Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.). Jerry... we are now coming full circle!

5. ‘Through faith’ falls under the category of ‘of faith’ (vv 8-9)

6. This ‘gospel’ preached before unto Abraham, saying “in thee shall all nations be blessed.” (Gen 18:18; 22:18) is the ‘gospel of the uncircumcision’ (Gal 2:7) ‘through faith’ (Rom 3:30; Gal 3:8; Eph 2:8-9) which is ‘of faith’, the faith of Abraham pointing back to Gen 15… again, not Gen 12! No Jerry… God did not preach unto Abraham the death, burial and resurrection for justification; stick with the context!

Woven back and forth through Genesis is reference to a physical seed ‘by faith’ (works) which is the circumcision with a land inheritance (Gen 12:1, 7) and a future spiritual seed ‘through faith’ (through Christ) with a heavenly inheritance! One turns out to be a subject of prophecy revealed since the foundation of the world… while the other hid in prophecy later to be revealed… by Paul.

7. In driving home the point that justification today is now without works Paul quotes Hab 2:4 (v 11), but leaves out ‘his’ which takes the emphasis off of man and puts it elsewhere; hmmm… perhaps on Christ (vv 10-13; Rom 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe)?

8. Verse 14 can’t be any clearer Jerry and is self explanatory in the context! “That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Gentiles receive the promise of the Spirit through the seed of vv 16 & 19 (Christ), ‘through faith’… not ‘by faith’ as did Israel (Ac 2:38)!

Now… let’s take a trip back to Genesis 15 to observe the conversation between the LORD and Abraham:

Genesis 15:1-6 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. 2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Reading between the lines, the conversation may have gone something like this; or maybe not

LORD: Abram… I am thy shield and exceeding great reward!
Abram: good to hear from You again LORD! About that side journey into Egypt and those half-truths concerning Sarai my wife… well, good thing we didn’t have any kids yet; right? LORD… speaking of children…?
LORD: Look up and tell the number of the starts… so shall thy seed be.
Abram: Oh thanks LORD for another chance… what do You want me to do?
LORD: That’s it Abram!
Abram: What’s it LORD?
LORD: Look up and tell the number of the starts… so shall thy seed be.
Abram: That’s it???? That’s it… Ooooh…that’s it!!

Ya know what the Lord did then Jerry? He took a rock stamp with the word ‘righteousness’ engraved underside, tapped a blood stained goat’s skin and slapped Abram right on the forehead with it and thus… He counted it to him for righteousness! Okay… so I have a wild imagination!

I believe Jerry that Abraham was as justified and as righteous between Gen 12 – 15 as at that moment… the whole difference being that this time imputation was based on believing God for something and not on obedience to God to get something!

Romans 4:18-25 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: 20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

You see Jerry… Abraham being justified in simply believing what God said was the exception to the rule and not the rule itself.

Romans 4:1-5 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? 2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. 3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

‘Our father’ (v 1) points to those in Paul’s salutation and benediction who are now of the obedience of faith among the nations (Rom 1:1-6), according to prophecy (of faith/Abraham Gen 15) and in particular in accordance to mystery… via Paul’s gospel (Rom 16:25-27); Paul being the apostle to the Gentiles/uncircumcision (Rom 11:13; Gal 2:7). All of this is in view of Israel’s fall (Rom 11:11-12), the mystery of Israel’s blindness in part (Rom 11:25) and the grafting in of the Gentiles (Rom 11:17).

And that’s not all! The focus here has been regarding the nations, but something else is going down under Paul’s ministry with such grandeur significance to the Jew themselves that necessitates Paul’s focus on Abraham in Romans 4. A remnant of Israel was now being saved through faith without works (Rom 11:1-10)!

Romans 11:5-6 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

See it Jerry?! And if by grace…then is it no more of works! If it be of works, then is it no more grace…otherwise work is no more work! How can this distinction be made any clearer! Just as God reserved a remnant unto Himself (1Kings 18) that didn’t bow the knee to Baal, so God was now saving a remnant of Israel by grace through faith via believing and it is to this end that Paul demonstrates Abraham to the Jew so that the Jew would know exactly what believing for justification would look like! Can you imagine Paul trying to convince any Jew of such justification if Paul couldn’t demonstrate, by way of example, of God having already done so!?

Jerry… here’s a perfect example demonstrating what’s going down during this time period of transition. Apollos was a Jewish convert of John the Baptist, meaning that Apollos believed on him that was to follow John… Christ Jesus (Ac 19:3-4) and justified God being baptized with the baptism of John (Lk 7:29-30). Notice carefully Jerry what transpired after Apollos bumped into Aquila & Priscilla, disciples of Paul (Ac 18:24-28):

Acts 18:26-27 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. 27 And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace:

Isn’t this great Jerry! Apollos, a Jewish convert of the circumcision justified ‘by faith’ in believing on Christ Jesus via John’s kingdom message of baptism of repentance for remission of sins turns around and helps them much in Achaia which had believed through grace… Paul’s message of the finished work of Christ without works! I love my KJV!

Jerry… here’s the point one must not miss! Apollos was just as righteous as those folks in Achaia which had believed through grace via Paul’s gospel, the difference being how God imputed each, ‘by faith’ and ‘through faith’ (Rom 3:30)!

Before ending this post I believe it is important to touch on the elements of ‘believing’, ‘through faith’ and the ‘Spirit’ as down payment for our inheritance, as just presented in context of Romans & Galatians, as also supported by two familiar passages in Ephesians:

Ephes. 1:13-14 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Ephes. 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

3 points are made concerning these Ephesians Gentiles from above passages:

A. They ‘believed’ the word of truth, the gospel of their salvation which was Paul’s gospel (3:6-7). B. They were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise which is a subject of Gal 3:14 regarding receiving the promise of the Spirit ‘through faith’. C. ‘Through faith’, which points to the faithfulness/trustworthiness of Christ, is held in contrast to ‘by faith’ as seen in ‘and that not of yourselves… not of works, lest any man should boast’.

Jerry… ‘through faith’ is not a reference to our ‘believing’; Paul puts believing in proper perspective and sequence in Eph 1:13-14 after hearing the word of truth the gospel of our salvation (Rom 10:8-10)!

Abraham is only half the equation of what justification without works would look like to the Jew; David is the other half and we’ll look at him in our next post.

Stvvv1611
2 Timothy 2:15