Book of Galatians - Ch. 3, Vs. 15 (06/04/2017)

Okay, what we did, what we just did is summed up where we were yesterday with, I'm just going to go ahead and reread

Hebrews 11 again. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out to a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed.

And he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in a land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles, or tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.

For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is

God. And what we talked about is this. The significance of the comment, by faith and living in tents, going from living in a safe and secure place with permanent homes among family and friends, to going out into a place and not even know where you're going.

And Hebrews talks about that as a significant faith. He uproots everything to go to a strange place.

A place he'll be told about after he leaves. Now we're at Galatians 3 verse 15.

Brethren, I speak after the matter of men. Though it be a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth or addeth thereunto.

Now here's the problem. Paul anticipated the possible objection to his use of Abraham to prove the doctrine of justification by faith.

Not only did he anticipate it, but he refuteates it. He said, what they're going to say is the giving of the law at Sinai to Moses.

After Abraham brought about a change and a better method of salvation.

That was going to be the argument that the Judaizers or the law followers were going to say.

Yes, okay, we had the Abrahamic covenant, but this covenant came later. This covenant supersedes, improves the original and it is better.

And of course that's incorrect. The law did come after the covenant with Moses. That only makes it more recent.

That doesn't make it better. The apostle dismissed that argument by showing the superiority of the

Abrahamic covenant. He'll do that in verses 15 through 18. And that's the passage we're going to really deal with this morning.

And the inferiority of the law. And we'll deal with that next time, God willing. So again, brethren,

I speak after the matter of men, though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disanulleth or added thereunto.

Even human covenants, even covenants with men among men are considered irrevocable and unchangeable.

Ron, if you and I agree to something and we form a covenant relationship, I can't change it.

And you can't change it. We have to renegotiate a whole new covenant if we're going to change it.

It's not something one party can change. Even human covenants are considered irrevocable and unchangeable.

And how much more so a covenant made between man and an unchanging God. See, God doesn't change at all.

You might change your mind, but He won't change His. As Brother August used to say,

God never made up His mind about anything. God never decided to do anything. He always knew what

He was going to do. So the covenant that He made with Abraham was always the covenant

He had in mind. And the covenant He made with Moses was always the covenant

He had in mind. There was never a change in His mind. James put it this way.

James 1 .16, What does that mean?

That it is an unchanging God that we're talking about. It is an all -powerful, unchanging

God that we're in a covenant relationship with. Verse 16,

I really misspoke that one bad. I'm going to redo it.

Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made.

He saith not to seeds as of many, but as of one, and to thy seed which is

Christ. Now here's the thing. Sometimes the singular form of the

Hebrew word for seed, that's sperma, like its English and Greek counterparts can be used in the collective sense.

Like if you have a bushel of wheat seed. That's more than one seed. But not here.

Paul's point is that in some Old Testament passages referring to Abraham's descendants, seed speaks of a multitude of descendants.

But sometimes only to the greatest of his descendants. And who is that?

Jesus Christ. And we can only tell by context. Except, I guess here too.

I started to say except here. But here too the context tells us clearly. In this passage,

Paul makes the determination much easier. We don't have to try to figure out whether it's one or many. He tells us it only refers to Jesus Christ.

He is the father to all of the biological descendants of Abraham.

That would be the Arabic descendants from Ishmael, as well as the

Israeli descendants through Isaac.

He is the biological father to all of those. He is the spiritual father to some of those.

And to some more that he referred to as sheep not in this flock. Other sheep have

I. And we'll get into that this morning also. That answers lots of questions.

And this I say. That the covenant that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was 430 years after, cannot disannul.

That it should make the promise of none effect. So nothing in the law can make the promise to Abraham of no effect.

We talked about this a little couple of weeks ago. The land that was granted to the Israelis.

Was that an Abrahamic promise or was that a promise of the law? That was an

Abrahamic promise. That was unconditional. That belongs to them. And it will always belong to them.

Now there's another promise concerning the land. You remember what that was? That's probably not fair.

To prosper in the land. To prosper in the land depends upon what you do.

That is conditional to how you perform.

And that's something else that can be carried over into us today. It's my belief.

And I'm going to go ahead and say this right up front. That this is my belief and I may be totally wrong. And if Brother David stands up on the back pew and yells at me,

I am totally wrong. But I think the Lord knew who he was going to select from before time began.

And when it came time to select us, we were selected. And we were notified that we were his.

And it was no surprise to him. I don't think we have any question there.

But it also says that the selection was a gift of God.

Not of works lest any man should boast. And then it goes on to say in Ephesians, But I was created unto good works that were ordained for me to do.

Now that part has to do with prospering in the land. Not the salvation itself.

But prospering in your salvation. You can be saved and not prosper in your salvation.

You can rebel like, I want to say

Job, but it's not Job. No, the one that was swallowed up.

Jonah. Like Jonah. Jonah ran away from his command.

And was thrown overboard. And was swallowed by the great fish.

And was spit up on dry land and wound up going to where he was running away from. Doing what he was assigned to do.

Accomplishing the task that he was assigned to do. The city of Nineveh repented like God wanted them to.

And Jonah pouted. The greatest revival of all times.

The whole city repents. Jonah is totally successful and he pouts. He had no joy in that part of his life.

No joy. And I say that, that the covenant that was confirmed by God.