THROUGH the renewal and development of the original promise of the Seed, as set forth in the promises to Abraham, we have found that the complete gospel of the resurrection from the dead, and the possession of the new earth as an eternal inheritance, was taught in the first assurance of a Seed who would bruise the head of the serpent. And in this experience of Abraham there was given an object lesson of the faith which takes God at his word and builds upon his promises. “For not through the law was the promise to Abraham or to his seed that he should be heir of the world, but through the righteousness of faith.” The basis of this experience is found in these words: “Looking unto the promise of God, he wavered not through unbelief, but waxed strong through faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what he had promised, he was able also to perform. Wherefore also it was reckoned unto him for righteousness.” Thus the hope of righteousness by faith rests upon an unwavering confidence in the ability of God to fulfil his promises. But such faith as this means implicit obedience to the commands of God, that obedience which always appears as the result of a genuine faith. And so we read: “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out into a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he became a sojourner in the land of promise, . . . dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.” It was through such obedience of faith that the way was opened for the fulfilment of all that the Lord had promised. This is shown by the Lord’s own statement concerning the course which Abraham would pursue: “Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Jehovah, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that Jehovah may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” The Lord promised; Abraham believed the promise. That he really believed the promise is shown by the fact that he acted upon it; his attitude of obedience made such a connection between himself and the Lord’s purpose that he became one with that purpose, and the fulfilment of that purpose consequently was manifested in his experience. This is the genuine experience of righteousness by faith. Faith unites us with God; faith unites us with the purpose of God as revealed in his Word; thus through4the obedience of faith the plan of God is worked out in human experience. It is plain that the faith of Abraham took hold upon the great truth of the resurrection. This is brought out in the final test of his faith in the promise of the coming of the Seed. “By faith Abraham, being tried, offered up Isaac: yea, he that had gladly received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; even he to whom it was said, In Isaac shall thy seed be called: accounting that God is able to raise up, even from the dead; from whence he did also in a figure receive him back.” Of course this faith was based upon the resurrection of Christ from the dead, through which faith alone comes the assurance of the forgiveness of sin. For “if Christ hath not been raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.” It is further evident that when our faith takes hold upon the same vital truth upon which Abraham’s faith rested, the resurrection from the dead, we shall share in the same experience of righteousness by faith. “Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it [righteousness] was reckoned unto him; but for our sake also, unto whom it shall be reckoned, who believe on him that raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up for our trespasses, and was raised for our justification.” Righteousness by faith, whether in Abraham’s day or in our day, rests upon the resurrection of Christ. It is a risen, living Christ who dwells in our hearts by faith. But the risen Saviour is the coming Saviour, and the same faith which accepts the risen Saviour for justification includes the coming of the Saviour, and looks forward to that event as the consummation of all the hope of the inheritance. We can thus readily see that when the time of the promise draws nigh, that is, when the coming of Christ is near at hand, those who are truly righteous by faith will not be in darkness that that day should overtake them as a thief. The faith which builds upon God’s word gives understanding of God’s word. The true children of Abraham, following the example of Abraham, believe that what God has promised he is able to perform and will perform, and this faith reveals itself in obedience to the commandments of God. It is thus that a people is prepared to receive the reward of the inheritance, prepared to hail with joy the returning Lord. There is thus an inseparable connection between righteousness by faith and the coming of the Seed. That faith which is reckoned for righteousness lays hold upon the risen Saviour, and accepts in him all that was promised to the Seed, but waits in hope until the coming of the Seed for the full possession of the inheritance of righteousness—the earth made new. And so the message of righteousness by faith will prepare the way for the coming of the Seed, and when the Seed comes “to whom the promise was made,” the righteous by faith of all ages will enter upon the full possession and enjoyment of all that was involved in the original promise of the coming of the Seed.