Redemption by Editor

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · May 8, 1884

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 18.

Redemption.

By Editor

(Continued.)

By many it is supposed that all the promises of the possession of the land were fulfilled to the natural descendants of Abraham who dwelt in the land of Canaan. We have given to us in the Scriptures several lines of proof showing that the possession of the land of Canaan did not fulfill the promise; that that land, in the condition in which they received it, was not the true inheritance of Abraham's seed, but only typical of it.

1. The dwelling of the children of Israel in the land of Canaan was not a fulfillment of the promise that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob should possess it. It was not said merely that their children should inherit it, but that they and their seed should receive it for an everlasting possession. Stephen said that Abraham had no inheritance in it, no not so much as to set his foot on. This is proved to be literally true, in that he had to buy of the inhabitants of the land a place to bury Sarah, his wife, in Hebron. 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.

2. According to Paul's testimony in Gal. 3: 16, Christ was the seed to whom the promise was made; and he, as Abraham, was a sojourner in the same land. He had "not where to lay his head." He was the world's Maker, destined to be the world's Redeemer, and yet spent a life of toil and suffering in the world without a resting-place or home upon the earth. He purchased the redemption of the earth by bearing in his person the curse of the earth, even as he will redeem man because he bore the curse of man. When the ground was cursed the Lord said it should bring forth thorns because of man's transgression; these he would never have produced if sin had not entered. And Jesus, when he was made an offering for sin; when he was placed in the hands of the powers of earth, was crowned with thorns. The old purple robe and the crown of thorns were a mockery of his right as king, but they became a part of the means of his final triumph—a means of vindicating the justice of God before men and angels in the Judgment. He was "the heir" whom the men of the vineyard cast out and slew. But he will come again to claim his own, and they will be destroyed. Matt. 21: 33-42.

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. 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. 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 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 earth. To inherit is to possess by heirship; but our heirship is solely of Abraham our father.

Two objections raised against this view we will notice. 1. That the righteous, the meek, do now possess the earth; that all the blessings and enjoyments of this world really belong to the people of God. 2. That the Israelites are said to have had all the promises made to their fathers fulfilled to them in their possessing the land of Canaan.

The first objection is readily disposed of; indeed it seems strange that any one with the New Testament in his hands should urge that the meek now inherit the earth; that the promises are now being fulfilled to them. But some eminent theological scholars have urged this view. It is disproved by most explicit declarations of the Scriptures.

(1) The poor of this world, the rich in faith, are only "heirs of the kingdom which God hath promised to them that love him;" the kingdom prepared "from the foundation of the world."

(2) When the meek inherit the earth "they shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Ps. 37: 11. This is not the case at present, as we all know by observation and experience; the following words of our Saviour settle it:—

(3) "In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." John 16: 33. The enjoyment or blessing of the Christian is not from or of the world, but from what Jesus has done for us to overcome the world. So far from the meek having "abundance of peace" in this world, they have persecutions and afflictions; their life is only a warfare, in which they are speedily overcome if they lay aside their armor.

(4) The wicked inherit more of this present world than the righteous do, the latter being "the poor of this world," while a woe is pronounced upon the rich. But the scripture says: "Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman." Gen. 21: 10; Gal. 4: 30. If the inheritance is of this present world, the son of the bondwoman has the largest share.

(5) Abraham dwelt in the land, but he did not inherit it. He with others, heirs with him of the same promise, dwelt in the land of promise as in a strange country. And so the apostle said his brethren were "strangers and pilgrims." 2 Peter 2: 11. Abraham had to

buy a place to bury his dead in the land which was promised to him for an everlasting possession; even so now, the children of Abraham have an abiding-place in the earth only by paying tribute to earthly powers. But of this we do not complain. The time for us to inherit the earth has not yet come.

(6) That the Spirit is an "earnest of our inheritance" is proof on this point. The earnest looks to the fulfillment of a promise in the future. When God promised the land to Abraham he gave him circumcision as a token, an assurance of his promise. So now we have the circumcision of the Spirit, "which is the earnest of our inheritance." How long do we need the earnest or token? Until we take possession of the inheritance. And how long is that in the future? "Until the redemption of the purchased possession." The meek will not inherit the earth before it is redeemed, for in its present state they can only possess it in common with the children of the bondwoman, and they cannot "delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Jesus purchased the earth with the right to redeem it from the curse. And he will surely claim his right, and his people shall receive their reward. The expectation of the poor shall not perish. "The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heavens, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High." Dan. 7: 27.

EDITOR.

(To be continued.)