Before the Abrahamic Covenant…

[Benjamin]

…OT people were saved by faith. Back to Genesis 3:15 we see the beginning of the promise/covenant of redemption in the death of Christ.

The Abrahamic covenant is part of the same promise, but would seem to be a focal point where the revelation of inclusion by faith comes from as the promise/covenant is said to be to Abraham and his seeds, by faith.

Yet we know much earlier Abel was saved by faith not being of Abraham’s seed, but if anything visa-versa. Abel was accounted as righteous because he obtained witness by God for his gifts. Abel gave his gifts in faith and of course I would not conclude that he was saved by his works…

So what about Abel and the rest of the people before the happenings of Abraham being tried? Abraham had received a promise and believed God that, “in Isaac thy seed will be called” and figured then that God was able to raise him up; no questions asked Abraham obeyed what he was told in faith and it was accounted as righteousness, but Abraham was not the first to do this… (obey in faith and be accounted righteous)

Question: Is there any other important significance to the Abrahamic covenant I might be missing, since people had already been accounted righteous by faith, other than to reveal that it was by faith that Abraham was accounted righteous and by a very noble deed is proclaimed the father of faith? Other than the picture of God rising up His Son in the AC righteousness has already been seen in the obedience of Abel by faith. (Hebrews 11)

For one, I believe the Abrahamic covenant was obviously never meant to exclude others by natural pedigree, (but rather to include others by teaching the truth of righteousness by faith to all with faith by definition-in the seeds) and this covenant was still part of the same promise started in Gen 3:15 only being disclosed more fully as the progressively revealed Gospel plan of redemption by faith, which just as planned from the very beginning was ultimately ratified by the death of Christ and Him becoming the propitiation to “all” who would believe/have faith and hope to become children of God by adoption.

Also: Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the beginning, but it was them who received the first mention of the promise/covenant because of God’s grace but this along with receiving the consequences and being made an example of. I was wondering what others thought about whether Adam and Eve showed faith? Later they were fruitful and multiplied, but that’s about the only obedience I see as evidence, not that I think our first parents were not saved.

Any input?

 

[Humblesmith]

Hello Ben. Back with another jewel, eh?

I'm not sure I have a whole solution to your questions, but here's some things to consider.

The Abrahamic covenant, at least in one sense, was unilateral and unconditional. For God put ol Abe to sleep, and passed through the animals by himself. This meant that God made the promise to keep the covenant by himself, regardless of whether Abe and his decendants obeyed or believed anything.

It is true, as you pointed out, that Abraham believed God, and this faith brought him righteousness. But that's not the whole story of the AC.

Remember, the covenant was about Abe's heirs, yes, but it was about heirs inheriting the land. It specifically spells out more than once in Genesis that based on the AC, they were to inherit the land forever, and spelled out the land between the Nile and the Euphrates.

So at least one sense of the AC is about God unilaterally promising to give the physical decendants of Abraham the inheritance of the physical land, and they were to have it forever.

There may very well be other implications and applications to the AC.....sure. But don't forget about the land.

 

[Benjamin]

Thanks Humble.

I wrote the above as a side note while spending about 6 hours on a related subject while I should have been sleeping.:laugh:

I’m going to have to study into this in more depth. Leaning toward CT and admitting to being eschatologically challenged I see some issues here because of thinking the same “one” promise of Good News from the beginning to extend in revelation on to Israel and later to the Gentiles. I’m fairly studied in my thoughts about the meanings of spiritual Israel and they would tend to support my beliefs, but I need to see how it coincides to the AC and what the AC is actually therefore or what it might add or subtract in my journey to see if I can fugure this stuff out.