God’s Supreme Revelation
Hebrews 1: 1 “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”
Throughout biblical history, beginning with the Book of Genesis, God has expressed His divine will and purpose to mankind. As we see in Hebrews 1: 1 He spoke to and through the fathers and prophets of old. I don’t want to overlook Adam and all of the events that led up to the flood, however, they are not pertinent to this particular study. Our study must begin with Abraham, The Father of the faithful:
Galatians 3:1 “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.”
In Genesis 12: 1 we are told “Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.” At the time his name was Abram (exalted father). God called out to him saying, leave your country, your family, and your father’s house. It seems toward the end of chapter 11 of this book, Abram’s father Terah made the decision to take his family to the land of Canaan. However, Abram’s call is told from his father’s perspective. When reading the latter part of Genesis 11 it appears as though God called Terah. But in Genesis 15:1-7 we read:
“After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” 2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!” 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” 5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. 7 Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”
Even though it may appear as if Terah decided to leave his country, taking his Kin with him, behind the scenes it was God calling Abram. Note that God did not speak to Terah, He spoke to Abram. In Acts 7: 2-4 Stephen addressed his would-be murderers saying:
“And he said, “Brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.’ 4 Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell.”
True believers in The LORD Jesus Christ never just picked themselves up one day and decided to become a Christian, God The Father drew you to Jesus. Even though there are many people sitting in church pews every Sunday, very few are actually called. Some people go to church because they want to escape hell. Escaping hell should and is not the motivation behind becoming a Christian. It is the work of The Holy Spirit who reveals to us our sin-sick sinful nature. Fetuses that are aborted in utero are already covered by the Grace of God. Babies are also covered by God’s Grace until they reach an age of accountability. Simply put, when they know the difference between right and wrong. When they reach that point, Jesus said in Matthew 19:14 “But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Let the little children make a conscious decision to come to him. God draws children onto Himself just like He draws us. We see our need for Him, and so can a child. We do not choose for them or anyone else. That’s why The LORD said, “let them come.” The disciples made the mistake of not allowing children to approach Jesus when that was what they wanted to do.
In many cases, children are baptized before they can even speak. Their parents make them unwitting participants in rituals they aren’t even conscious of. God if anything is consistent. The Word says God has spoken to us through His Son Jesus in these last days. And why would Jesus need to speak to us? Well, just like Abraham (father of a multitude), the father of the faithful. God calls us out of this world of sin and degradation, and we respond by making a conscious decision to say yes to the call and follow. We see things in the scripture like “he was saved, and his entire household”, and read into the text doctrine that does not exist. Scripture cannot be interpreted accurately based on our traditions and assumptions:
Romans 10:8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” In these last days, God is speaking through Christ Jesus. He is drawing us unto Himself. Thank God He has given adults and children an ear to hear His call.
Romans 4:1 “What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. 5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.” Abraham is a biblical Type of The New Testament Believer. To be continued…
