Messianic Perspectives

Liz Aiello: There are many contrasts between the old and new covenants. One concept that is unique to the new covenant is that of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Join us as Dr. Gary Hedrick discusses the subject, Christ in us, today, right here on Messianic Perspectives.

Shalom, and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinct first-century Jewish point of view. This is Liz Aiello. Our Bible teacher is Dr. Gary Hedrick, and his subject today is Christ in us. I'll be back a little later with information about a special offer, so have your pencil and paper ready. And now, with today's installment, here is Gary Hedrick.

Dr. Gary Hedrick: Thank you, and welcome, listening friend, to another edition of the program. It's good to have you with us today as we continue our series of studies dealing with the subject Christ in Us. And what we've been talking about is that under the old covenant, God was around man, over man, with man, by man, upon man, and he even worked through man. But under the new covenant, God is all of those things plus something else. He is in man.

So what we're doing is contrasting the old and new covenants, focusing on the uniqueness of the New Testament indwelling. Now, as we continue making our way through the Old Testament, we come now to Genesis chapter 12. This is the story of a man named Abram from Ur of the Chaldees. Chaldea was ancient Babylon. By the way, have you ever heard anyone refer to Abraham as the first Jew? He wasn't Jewish. Abraham didn't even know what a Jew was. There were no Jews in those days. There was no such thing as Israel or an Israelite.

Abraham was a Gentile from Chaldea. His father, Terah, was an idol worshiper from Haran. Abraham was a Gentile. So the father of the Jewish nation was a Gentile. Now, isn't that interesting? Remember we were talking last time about Christians who wish they were Jewish? And I understand the sentiment behind that. Many Christians have an emotional bond with Israel and with the Jewish people, and I think that's good.

But let me tell you something. You don't have to apologize to anybody for being a Gentile. If you're a Messianic Gentile who believes in Jesus, and that's what a Messianic Gentile is, you can be just as proud of your heritage as a Messianic Jew. Because even Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, was a Gentile. The one the rabbis call Avraham Avinu, Abraham our father, was a Gentile.

You say, well, I'm intrigued by the fact that the Jewish heritage and traditions are so ancient. They go so far back. But wait a minute, my friend. Your Gentile heritage actually goes farther back than the Jewish heritage does. Look at that genealogy of the patriarchs in Genesis chapter 5. They're all Gentiles.

Adam, the first man, was a Gentile. Seth, who began the Messianic line, was a Gentile. Enoch, the first prophet recorded in the Bible, and the first man to be taken physically up to heaven, was a Gentile. Noah, who was used of the Lord to build an ark and to save the entire human race, was a Gentile.

And here in Genesis chapter 12, Abraham was a Gentile. And it says here in verse 1, "Now the Lord had said unto Abram, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee." Now let's stop there for a moment because the beginning of this chapter marks a change of direction in the Bible. Up until the end of chapter 11, God has been dealing with the human race as a whole.

But here at the beginning of chapter 12, God begins the process of setting aside one specific bloodline and dealing with the descendants of that genealogical line in a particular way. Not because they're better than anyone else, but simply because he has a special purpose, a special plan for that line. And here's the purpose in verse 2: "And I will make of thee a great nation," he says in Genesis 12:2, "and I will bless thee, and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing."

In other words, God set apart the seed of Abraham for one purpose: to be a blessing to the rest of the world. In the Hebrew, God is giving a command. He's not just predicting Abraham, you're going to be a blessing. It's a command. Abraham, you be a blessing. Bless the world. That's your calling.

But there's more to this blessing than most people realize. What's the opposite of a blessing? A curse. A blessing cancels out a curse. Listen, the ultimate purpose of the Abrahamic blessing is to cancel out the Adamic curse. Let me say that again. The ultimate purpose of the Abrahamic blessing, which is first stated here in Genesis chapter 12, is to cancel out the effects of the Adamic curse.

You see, this whole world is under a curse. Romans chapter 8 says the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. It says the creation is under the bondage of corruption or death. It's all part of the curse that was placed on this world in the Garden of Eden because of sin.

In Genesis 3:17, what did God say? He said, "Cursed is the ground for thy sake. In sorrow," or toil, "thou shalt eat of it. Cursed is the ground for thy sake. In toil thou shalt eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground. For out of it wast thou taken, for dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt return." That's the curse.

And when Noah was born in Genesis chapter 5, his father Lamech thought that Noah would be the Messiah. They knew that the promise had been given that the seed of the woman would someday come and crush the serpent's head. So they were looking for that deliverer. And when Lamech had a son, he named him Noah, which means comfort.

And Lamech said, "This same shall comfort us concerning our work and what? Toil of our hands because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed." Genesis 5:29. You see, Lamech was expressing his hope and his prayer and the yearning of his heart that this little boy, Noah, would grow up to be the Messiah, the one who would cancel out the Adamic curse and restore the world to the way it was originally designed to be.

However, Noah wasn't the one. He was a deliverer, certainly, because it was through his obedience in building the ark that mankind was saved in the days of the flood. But he was not the Messiah. He was not the one through whom the Adamic curse would be lifted.

Now let's go back to Genesis 12 and look at the next verse, verse 3. God is speaking to Abraham, and he says, "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." There's the blessing again. In thee shall all mishpachah of the earth be blessed. All the families, all the nations, all the clans, all the people of the earth shall be blessed through you, Abraham.

In other words, Abraham, you are the one through whom I will send the Messiah, the great deliverer, who will one day cancel out the curse of Adam's sin and re-establish the rule of God on this earth. He will be your descendant.

So Abram departed, it says in verse 4, as the Lord had spoken unto him. And Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. God's call comes when he's in Ur of the Chaldees, and he goes back through Haran where his family was from on his way to the promised land.

So this is where everything changed right here in Genesis chapter 12. Up to the end of chapter 11, God is dealing with humanity in general. But at the beginning of chapter 12, he begins to deal with one particular bloodline in a very unique way. Because these are God's chosen people, the ones through whom the Messianic promises will be fulfilled, the ones through whom the deliverer will come and cancel out the Adamic curse.

And it all starts with one man, Abram, whose name was later changed to Abraham or Avraham, a man of faith and obedience. That's why he's such a good example of God being over a man. Remember we said in the Garden of Eden, God was around a man. Now in the story of Abraham, we see God over a man. And when we come to Moses, we'll see God with a man.

But before we finish up with Abraham, I want us to go to Hebrews chapter 11. And let's look at what the writer of the book of Hebrews says about Abraham. He says in verse 8, "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out not knowing whither he went."

In other words, he obeyed God and went out from Ur of the Chaldees and from Haran without even knowing where he was going. Could you do it, my friend? If God told you to pack up everything and leave your home, leave your loved ones, your job, your friends, your neighbors, everything, and he didn't even tell you where you were going, could you do it? Would you do it?

It says Abraham did. Look at the next verse, verse 9. "By faith Abraham sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he what? He looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God."

Now what city is that? It's the New Jerusalem. In Revelation chapter 21, the Apostle John describes this heavenly city. He says in verse 10 that one of the angels carried him away in the spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me, he says, that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.

Verse 11, having the glory of God. That's the Shekinah, the glorious presence of God that dwelt over the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle in the temple. So it says having the glory of God, and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.

Verse 12, and it says the city had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. Now watch this, verse 13. On the east of the city, the New Jerusalem, there were three gates. On the north, three gates, and on the south, three gates, and on the west, three gates.

Verse 14, and the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. So you've got the 12 tribes representing Israel, and the 12 apostles representing the church. Those two tracks of prophecy that have run along side by side throughout scripture finally converge here at the end of the millennium.

God's purpose has been accomplished. Sin has been eradicated. The devil has been destroyed. The effects of Adam's curse have been canceled out. And God dwells with his people forever and ever. Mission accomplished.

And that's the city Abraham was looking for. "For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Hebrews chapter 11, verse 10. Well, that's Abraham, God over a man. Next time we'll look at Moses who stands for God being with a man. Until then, this is Gary Hedrick saying God bless you. Take care. Bye-bye.

Liz Aiello: Thank you, Gary. And thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. If you found today's program especially helpful and insightful, you'll be glad to know that we have placed the entire series of programs on compact disc. The title is Christ in Us by our Bible teacher, Dr. Gary Hedrick. It's available for your gift of just $6 or more to help us keep this program here on your station.

Just visit our secure online store at MessianicSpecialties.com to place your order. If you would prefer to order by mail, just address your request to Messianic Perspectives, PO Box 345, San Antonio, Texas, 78292. To order by phone, use our toll-free order line. The number is 1-800-926-5397.

And as always, when you're in touch with us, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that, too. I'm Liz Aiello. Join us next time, won't you, as Dr. Gary Hedrick continues our series of studies on Christ in us, right here on Messianic Perspectives.