Mystery of the Faith Lesson 2
The Faith
To understand what the
"mystery is, first you must know what "the faith" is. God
promised Abraham that from his seed he would have a great nation that would
rule the world. Abraham had faith that the population of this nation
would be as many as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand in all of the
world as God had promised. This promise of a great nation to rule the
world was made to Abraham and his seed that was to come. God would use
the word seed instead of seeds in reference to a large nation.
Abraham did not understand
this, but just had faith that God knew what he was doing. Abraham did not
understand that the word seed was in reference to the Son of God, but just had
faith in what God said. Abraham had faith that God would keep his word
even though Abraham, seventy five years old, and Sara, sixty five years old,
did not have any children at the time.
God promised Abraham that this
nation would rule the world from the land located between the river of Egypt
and the great river Euphrates. The capital providence of the land would
be the land of Canaan, later known as Palestine. This providence would be
also known as the promised land and later Israel.
1. Who is the "father of the faith"?
(Romans 4:9-12 Cometh this blessedness
then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we
say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.
10 How was it then reckoned? when he was in
circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.
11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a
seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being
uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though
they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:
12 And the father of circumcision to them who
are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith
of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.)
to question 1.
2. God promised Abraham that he should be the of
the .
(Romans
4:13 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.)
to question 2.
3. God promised that He would make of Abraham a great .
(Genesis
12:1-2 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 shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee,
and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:)
to question 3.
4. God promised that He would make Abraham's as the of the earth.
(Genesis 13:16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that
if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be
numbered.)
to question 4.
5. God promised that He would make Abraham's as
the number of the .
(Genesis 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward
heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto
him, So shall thy seed be.)
to question 5.
6. God promised Abraham and his that
the land from the river of unto the
great river, the river .
(Genesis
15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant
with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of
Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:)
to question 6.
7. God promisedAbraham "That in blessing I will bless thee, and in
multiplying I will multiply thy as
the of the heaven,
and as the which
is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall
the gate of his
enemies;"
(Genesis
22:17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and
in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the
sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of
his enemies;)
to question 7.
8. In the above questions and scriptures was the word "seeds" (as of
many) or the word "seed" (as of one) used?
to question 8.
9. In
(Galatians 4:22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a
bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.) the Bible refers to two sons of Abraham, one born of a , the other
born of a .
to question 9.
10. The son that was born of the bondwoman was considered born after the .
(Galatians 4:23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the
flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.)
to question 10.
11. The son that was born of the freewoman was considered born
by .
(Galatians 4:23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the
flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.)
to question 11.
12. Who is Abraham's son that was born of the bondwoman?
(Genesis
16:15-16 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram
called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.
16 And Abram was fourscore and six years
old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.)
to question 12.
13. Was the promise made to Abraham to be fulfilled in the son
of the bondwoman?
(Genesis 17:17-21 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in
his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old?
and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael
might live before thee!
19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee
a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my
covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after
him.
20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee:
Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him
exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac,
which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.)
(
Genesis 21:12-13And God said unto Abraham, Let
it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy
bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for
in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I
make a nation, because he is thy seed.)
to question 13.
14. God promised the bondwoman that her son would multiply
, that
it could not be numbered.
(Genesis 16:10 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy
seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.)
to question 14.
15. God promised the bondwoman that her son would dwell in the
of all his .
(Genesis 16:11-12 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art
with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD
hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will
be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell
in the presence of all his brethren.)
to question 15.
16. God promised the bondwoman that her son would have princes
and he will be a great .
(Genesis 17:20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have
blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly;
twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.)
to question 16.
17. Who is Abraham's son that was born of the freewoman?
(Genesis
21:1-5 And the LORD visited Sarah as he had
said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son
in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
3 And Abraham called the name of his son that
was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being
eight days old, as God had commanded him.
5 And Abraham was an hundred years old, when
his son Isaac was born unto him.)
to question 17.
18. Was the promise made to Abraham to be fulfilled in the son
of the freewoman?
(Genesis 17:18-21 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before
thee!
19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee
a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my
covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after
him.
20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee:
Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him
exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac,
which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.)
to question 18.
19. Abraham was to have another son born of a virgin,
who is he?
(Matthew 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of
David, the son of Abraham.) (Matthew 1:18-25 Now the birth of Jesus
Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before
they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man,
and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away
privily.
20 But while he thought on these things,
behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph,
thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is
conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou
shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
22 Now all this was done, that it might be
fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and
shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being
interpreted is, God with us.
24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as
the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
25 And knew her not till she had brought forth
her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.)
to question 19.
20. The promise of a great nation to rule the world was made to two individuals at the same time. One of them was Abraham and the
other was his seed.
Who is this seed?
(Galatians 3:16-17 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith
not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
17 And this I say, that the covenant,
that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and
thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none
effect.)
to question 20.
21. In
(Matthew 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of
David, the son of Abraham.) the genealogy of Christ is traced back to two
people.
They are and .
to question 21..
22. Jesus is to reign on the of
.
(Isaiah 9:6-7 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the
government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and
peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his
kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from
henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.)
(Luke 1:31-33 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring
forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the
Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his
father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob
for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.)
to question 22.
23. In
(Galatians
4:22-23 For it is written, that Abraham had two
sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
23 But he who was of the bondwoman was
born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.) we see that Abraham had two sons:
Ishmael, the son of the bondwomand which is of the flesh, and Isaac the
son to the freewoman which is of the promise. In Matthew 1:1,
Jesus is identified as the son of Abraham which is of grace. All three
are to have a great nation and:
A. Ishmael is to have 12 .
(Genesis 17:20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have
blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly;
twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.)
to question 23A.
B. Isaac is to have 12 .
(Revelation 21:12 And 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:)
to question 23B.
C. Jesus is to have 12 .
(Revelation 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them
the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.)
to question 23C.
24. When Jesus takes over the throne of David, who is he to reign over?
(Matthew 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the
least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that
shall rule my people Israel.)
(Luke 1:31-33 And, behold, thou shalt conceive
in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the
Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his
father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his
kingdom there shall be no end.)
The faith then is that Abraham would have a great nation, Israel, that would
rule the world with Jesus as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
to question 24.
Copyright (c) 2013 by Jerry L. Wells
