The Faith Of Abraham, God’s Friend.
The Father of the Faithful...
This is the Fourth Post in the serialization of Chapter 1, of the book Friends With God
As we have seen in the First Post God expects us to demonstrate our faith in him by showing love to other people in doing good works to them. But what kind of works do we do in order to please God?
Going beyond the basic requirements of the story of the Good Samaritan, discussed in posts Two and Three, we will now explore the real-life example of Abraham, who was called the Friend of God. (2Chron 20:7, James 2:23, Heb 11:8-10)
It may seem surprising to those Christians who ignore the Old Testament, that the Apostles point to Abraham’s example of faith as being what we are required to follow, in order that we too can be called God’s Friends, as Abraham was:
Know you therefore that they which are of faith, (those who have faith in God) the same are the children of Abraham. (by believing in God we become spiritual children of Abraham) And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the gentiles (non-Jews) through faith, preached before (in time past) the gospel (good news) unto Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the gentiles be blessed.” So then they which be of faith (be they Israelite or gentile) are blessed with faithful Abraham. (Gal 3:7-9)
By having the same faith that Abraham had, all gentiles and Israelites will know the good news of how to gain eternal life.
John the Baptist said the same thing, from a slightly different perspective, to the crowds who came to be baptised by him. Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance; and do not think to say within yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. … Therefore every tree which does not bring forth good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire. (Matt 3:7-10)
It’s simply not good enough to just be one of Abraham’s physical descendants, you need to go beyond this and be his spiritual descendant.
Jesus also told the disciples the same thing, again with a slightly different emphasis. While he was addressing a crowd of people, his brothers and Mother came to see him. To emphasise to the people that one’s lineage was not important, he said: Who is My mother, or My brothers? And He looked around on those who sat about Him, and said, Behold My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God, the same is My brother and My sister and My mother. (Mark 3:31-35)
Doing God’s will is the critical point in our relationship with God, not whom we are related to.
Abraham is seen as setting the example for us all, and is thus the spiritual father of those who have faith in God. (Rom 4:16-25) Both Jew and gentile (non-Jew) are now to be blessed with the gift of eternal life, for the simple reason that if they have the faith of Abraham, then they are spiritual children of Abraham.
In order to have the faith of Abraham, we need to do the will of God as shown in the good works that he did. James tells us that it was Abraham’s faith and works complementing each other, that enabled Abraham to be called God’s friend:
Do you see how (Abraham’s) faith worked with his works, and from the works (his) faith was made complete? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness, and he was called “the friend of God." You see then how a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. … For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (James 2:22-26)
Believing in God is not just an intellectual exercise, but must entail doing good toward God and our fellow human beings. In this way, our faith is complemented and completed, by our works. And we have this commandment from Him, that he who loves God should love his brother also. (1John 4:21)
Our actions towards others demonstrate our motivations, understanding of, and love towards God.
The Levite and the Priest, in the story of the Good Samaritan, served God in the temple out of obligation, not out of love, which is evident from how they treated the wounded man. They followed the letter of the law, thinking that that was what God wanted.
However, the commandment from Jesus is that he who loves God, should love his brother also. (John 13:34, 15:12) And therefore, by their walking away from the wounded man, they demonstrated that they did not love God.
So, while faith without works is dead, works without love are also dead.
God loved Abraham as his friend, and he was God’s friend because he believed, trusted, and loved God. God told him to leave his home, and go to a new place, and Abraham did so. (Heb 11:8-10)
He then later blessed Abraham by granting his descendants not only the land of Israel, but also the exalted role, and accompanying responsibility, of representing God himself to all the nations on the Earth:
But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, My friend; … You (Israel) are My servant; I have chosen you, and not cast you away. (Isa 41:8-9)
So, when Jesus said to the Apostles that they were no longer his servants, but his friends, he was clarifying the role of all Israelites, who, for the sake of Abraham, were given the honour of being the servants of God, and to have the knowledge of God revealed to them. (John 15:15)
Indeed, if any person has the faith of Abraham, be they Israelite or gentile, then they are raised to the level of friends with God: There is neither Jew nor Greek (gentile), there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you are Christ’s (if you believe in Christ), then you are Abraham’s (spiritual) offspring and heirs according to promise. (Gal 3:26-29)
Because we are Abraham’s spiritual offspring, we are also God’s friends and will receive the promise of eternal life.
Modern day disciples of Christ (with the same living faith that Abraham had) demonstrate their friendship with Christ in how they relate to others. We, like Abraham, are rewarded according to our works. (Matt 25:31-46) And in doing these works we fulfil the commission to be a light to the world, thus fulfilling our role as spiritual Israel, who spiritually follow Abraham’s example. (Matt 5:16)
Abraham is the first person in scripture to actually be called the friend of God. His example is therefore the ideal human example, for those who have faith in God, to aspire toward.
Abraham, Sarah And Isaac
We have fun with our friends, and God certainly has a sense of humour. One of the most endearing examples of God’s fun and playfulness is seen in the birth and naming of Abraham’s son, Isaac.
Despite the fact that God said that only Abraham’s heirs would inherit the promises, by the time he was 100 years old Abraham had no child by his wife Sarai, who was 90. Both were well beyond ever thinking they would produce children.
What do you think would be the response if a married couple of such a great age were told that they would have a child? They would obviously burst out laughing, as such a thing is just ridiculous. And that’s exactly what happened.
When God told Abraham that Sarai was to give birth to his child, he rolled on the floor laughing! God seemed to think that that was a great response; so he commanded Abraham to name his son Isaac, which means “laughter”!
And God said to Abraham, as for Sarai your wife, you shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. (Sarah means “mother of a nation”, whereas Sarai means “mother of a family”) And I will bless her, and give you a son also of her: yes, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be from her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed (laugh is the root word of Isaac), 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 (a child)? And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael (the son of Abraham by a servant, not his wife) might live before you! And God said, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son indeed; and you shalt call his name Isaac (meaning laughter): and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed (children) after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly;…. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto you at this set time in the next year. (Gen 17:15-21)
Abraham could laugh at God’s pronouncement, and God didn’t swat him, but happily took it in a good-natured way.
God not only saw the funny side of it, but added to the joke by naming the child “laughter”. This would naturally remind Abraham of the miraculous gift his son was, whenever he called his name for the next seventy five years of his life. It was also a reflection of the great humour and joy that was within the special friendship Abraham and God shared.
In the next post in this series, we will examine the friendship that Sarah also had with God, and how she developed the faith to conceive a child when 90 years old!