The Apostle Paul clearly tells us that the gospel of justification by faith was "preached beforehand" in the covenant God made with Abraham. (1) In a series of revelations (Gen. 12-17) God promises three distinct blessings to Abraham: a royal heir, a great nation as his offspring, and a promised land. While the carrying out of this covenant includes stipulations-including Abraham's departure from his homeland and obedient reception of the covenant sign of circumcision-the fundamental principle informing this covenant is grace. Abraham is justified by faith, not on the basis of his obedience (Gen. 15:6, Rom. 4).
The graciousness of this covenant is emphasized by the ratification ceremony recorded in Genesis 15:9ff. Here it is God himself who is bound by oath to fulfill his word. God's faithfulness, not Abraham's, will secure the promised blessings. (2) Indeed, in Genesis, Abraham and his kin are characterized by their unfaithfulness, while God continues to fulfill his promises despite them.
Finally, it is essential to realize that each of these promises is fulfilled in two distinct stages, first according to type and finally according to fulfillment. Thus, the history of the nation of Israel fulfills the first stage of God's promises to Abraham; the king, great nation, and promised land are all attained for a limited time. Yet this very same history points forward to a greater consummation in Christ. Paul tells us that only the children of Abraham by faith are the "true" Israel, and Hebrews 11 informs us that Abraham all along was seeking a heavenly country. (3)
2 [ Back ] The covenant ratification recorded in Genesis parallels a common oath-taking ceremony in the literature of the day. In passing between the two halves of severed animals, the oath-taker swore that this very fate would befall him were he to break the covenant. For our purposes, it is important to note that God himself, represented by the smoking oven and flaming torch, passes through the midst of the slain animals. This particular ratification ceremony also indicates what lengths God would have to go to fulfill this oath, his own Son taking on the curse of the severed animals on behalf of covenant-breaking men. See Meredith Kline's Kingdom Prologue for a full treatment of this oath ceremony.
3 [ Back ] Geerhardus Vos's Biblical Theology is particularly helpful in describing this twofold fulfillment. While David was the first stage fulfillment of royalty, it is Christ who reigns eternally as the "Son of David, Son of Abraham" (Matt 1:1). While the nation of Israel under Solomon is numbered "like the sand on the seashore" (2 Sam. 17:11), the New Testament clearly distinguishes Abraham's "children of promise" from his children of flesh, telling us that it is "those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham" (Rom. 9:7, Gal. 3:7ff.). Finally, though Israel possesses all the land promised to Abraham (Josh. 21:43-45), the New Testament throughout recognizes the Abrahamic promise terminating in a heavenly country (Heb. 11:10, 16). The second stage of fulfillment is not a mere "spiritualizing" of the promises in opposition to a literal reading, as proponents of Dispensationalism claim. The heavenly country that Abraham desired is a real, physical land, occupied by actual resurrected saints.
