God bless you, brethren. We'll take a text from Psalm 89:1-37. It speaks of the Royal Seed of Abraham, the coming Son of David, the Royal Grant, and adoption.
"I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known Thy faithfulness to all generations. For I have said, 'Mercy shall be built up for ever: Thy faithfulness shall you establish in the very heavens'.
'I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn unto David My servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah'.
'The heavens shall praise Your wonders, O LORD: Your faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. (That's you and I).
For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the Sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD? God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about Him.
O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like You? and faithful at all times? You rule the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou still them.
You have broken Egypt in pieces, as one that is slain; You have scattered Your enemies with Your strong arm. The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours: as for the world and all that is in it, You have founded them. The north and the south you created: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in Your Name. You have a mighty arm: strong is Your hand, and high is Your right hand. Justice and judgment are the foundation of Your throne: mercy and truth go before Your face.
Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the Light of Your countenance. In Your Name shall they rejoice all the day: and in Your righteousness they are exalted. For You're the glory of their strength: and by Your favor our strength shall be exalted. For the LORD is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our King.
You spoke in vision to Your Holy One, and said, "I have endowed one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people. I have found David My servant; with My holy oil have I anointed him: With whom My hand shall be established: Mine arm also shall strengthen him.
(King David was a type of Christ so this is a compound prophecy and speaks of both men. More particularly, Jesus Christ).
The enemy shall not exact upon Him; or the wicked afflict him. And I will beat down his foes before His face, and plague them that hate him. My faithfulness and mercy shall be with him: and in My Name shall his power be exalted.
I will set his hand in control over the Mediterranean Sea, and His right hand on The Euphrates. He shall cry unto Me, "You are My Father, My God, and the Rock of my salvation". (That's an adoption formula).
Also I will make Him My firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. (The beginning of the new creation, and the first begotten of many sons from among the dead). My mercy will I keep for Him for evermore, and My covenant shall stand fast with Him.
His seed also will I make to endure for ever, (eternal Life to His saints) and His throne as the days of heaven. If his children forsake My law, and walk not in My judgments; If they break My statutes, and keep not My commandments; Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.
Nevertheless My lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer My faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of My lips.
Once and for all have I sworn by My holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established for ever as the moon, the faithful witness in heaven. Selah'."
May the Lord add His blessings to the reading of His Word.
A distinction must be made between a "treaty" and a "grant". While the "grant" is mainly a promise by the donor to the recipient, presupposing his loyalty, it constitutes an obligation upon the master to his servant (as long as he maintains his service. The moment he betrays his master and follows another, he forfeits the gift).
On the other hand, the "treaty," constitutes an obligation of the servant or vassal to his master, and presupposes his sovereign's promise to protect his country and property.
The Covenants with Abraham and David, belongs to the "grant" type. In the "grant", the curse is directed towards the one who violates the rights of the king's servant. Genesis 12:3, "And I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses you: and in you shall ALL Adam's race be blessed" (Jew and Gentile). In the story of the unjust Judge, Jesus said, "Shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bears long with them" (Luke 18:7)?
The Bride of Christ is the elect of God, the Seed of both Abraham and David. Through the invisible marriage union or new birth, they are one with God through Christ, and to curse them is to curse God as they are the Word (God), manifest in flesh. "Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matthew 18:6). Paul said, "It is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble us".
Our covenant is a "grant". Woe betide any who come against us.
In the "treaty", the curse is directed towards he who violates the right of the king. The Mosaic Law is such an example (Deuteronomy 28:15-68).
The "grant" serves mainly to protect the right of the servant. The is "treaty" to protect the right of the master. While the "grant" is a reward for loyalty and good deeds already performed - in our case, by God's grace and the virtue of being foreknown in Christ.
Genesis 12:1-3, "Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house, unto a land that I will show you: And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses you: and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed".
Genesis 17:1-9, "When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared, and said unto him, "I am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be perfect. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly".
(There's God's grace. "Walk before Me and be perfect". His grace is sufficient if we take Him at His Word. He weighs our motives and objectives, not our accomplishments. His Word in us if rightly divided, will manifest in us what It spoke).
And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. Neither shall your name any more be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made you. And I will make you exceeding fruitful, and will make nations of you, (the Gentiles), and kings shall come out of you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you in their days (or dispensation) for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto you, and to your seed after you. And I will give unto you, and to your seed after you, the land wherein you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God". (He was not Cain's God).
And God said unto Abraham, "You shall keep My covenant therefore, you, and your seed after you in their day (or dispensation)".
Don't worry about how you're going to do it, Abraham. You shall keep My Covenant, and so shall your seed. It's not done by mirrors - My grace is sufficient through your faith.
Romans 8:27-39, "He that searches the hearts (God's Word - Hebrews 4:12), knows the mind of the Spirit, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will (or Word) of God. And we know that ALL things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are 'the called' according to His purpose (or Word).
For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, (the Word) that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Oh, Jesus isn't the only Son. He's the first born of many in the new creation).
Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified. (As Jesus cried from the Cross, "It is finished".) What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him (as joint-heirs) also freely give us all things? Who shall bring an accusation against God's elect? It is God that declared us righteous.
Who is he that condemns? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, Who is even at the right hand of God, Who also makes intercession for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, "For Your sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter".
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord".
"For God's gifts and His call are irrevocable" as He told David (Romans 11:29). So, "grieve not the Spirit of God whereby you are sealed unto the day of your redemption" (Ephesians 4:30).
The "grant" is of grace. It's what Christ has already accomplished for us. He did all the work. The "treaty", on the other hand, is an inducement to future loyalty contingent upon our future works.
Genesis 22:16-18, "By Myself have I sworn", saith the LORD, "for because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son: in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because you have obeyed my voice".
Abraham's Seed is Christ, and us through Christ. The promise of lands and progeny to Abraham is unconditional, and comes as reward for his faithfulness (Genesis 22:16,18.) Likewise the promise of a "house" to David is unconditional. II Samuel 7:15-16, "My mercy shall not depart away from David, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: your throne shall be established for ever". It comes as a reward for his loyalty I Kings 3:6, "And Solomon said, 'You have shown unto your servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before You in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; and You have kept for him this great kindness, that you have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day" (I Kings 11:4,6; 14:8).
In the Orient it was customary for the parties to an agreement to divide a beast, and standing between the two halves, declare, "My body be as this beast if I fail to honor my word".
In the battle against Nebuchadnezzar's invasion of Judah, Jeremiah made Hebrews observe the seven-year release of Hebrew bondservants (Leviticus 25). They covenanted with God and then failed to honor their word.
Jeremiah 34:17-20, "Thus saith the LORD; 'You have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. And I will give the men that have transgressed My covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before Me, when they cut the calf in two, and passed between the parts thereof, The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf; I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth'."
In Genesis 15, God takes an oath to Abram, passing between the pieces of a bisected creature, as though He would invoke the curse upon Himself.
Genesis 15:1-21, "After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, 'Fear not, Abram: I am your shield, and exceeding great reward'.
And Abram said, 'Lord GOD, what evidence will You give me, that you will make me the father of many nations seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? To me you have given no seed: and one born in my house is mine heir'.
And, behold, the Word of the LORD came to him, saying, 'This shall not be your heir; but he that shall come forth out of your own body shall be your heir'.
And he brought him outside, and said, 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if you're able to number them': and He said unto him, So shall thy seed be'. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it.
And he said, 'Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it'?
And He said unto him, 'Take Me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
And he took unto Him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
(The divided animals type the body of our Lord Jesus broken for us on Calvary, symbolized by the bread in the Lord's Supper. Now there was a difference between the faith of the Old Testament and New Testament blood sacrifices or atonements. One was of Law or "treaty", and the other was by Promise or "grant". Healing was unchanged, as symbolized by the birds which were not divided. This was always available without any covenant to those with faith - Isaiah 53:5).
And when the fowls came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away. (Representing the elect, keeping denominational demons from the faith).
And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him (Death). And He said unto Abram, 'Know for sure that your seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
And you will go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full'.
And it came to pass, that when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, (hell, where every sinner ought to go), and a burning lamp (typing the Holy Spirit confirming the two part covenant which unites God and man), passed between those pieces.
In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, 'Unto your seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river Euphrates: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, And the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, the Amorites, and the Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites'."
We saw there is a difference between faith in the atonement under the Law or "treaty", and the New Testament Atonement of Promise or "grant". Galatians 3:17-20, "The Law, which began four hundred and thirty years after the covenant with Abraham and His seed, who is Messiah, cannot annul the previous Promise of God.
For if the inheritance of the Promise is dependent upon observing the Law, it is no more of Promise: but God gave it to Abraham as a free Gift of grace by virtue of His Promise.
To what purpose then was the Law? It was added after the Promise to expose the sinfulness of sin; and was intended to be in effect only until the Seed should come to Whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by the hand of the messenger, Moses, who was a go- between, or mediator between God and man.
A mediator implies two parties. And the Law was a contract between God and Israel. Being a "treaty" form of agreement, its validity was dependent on both parties. But the Promise, being a "grant", is of one party only. God is the sole person responsible for the Promise".
The oath or pledge of God to keep His promises is often expressed by deliberate recall of loyalty of character. Thus the ancestor is described as one who "kept My charge," who "walked before Me," whose "heart is perfect." (Noah - Genesis 6:9; 9:1-7; Abraham - Genesis 22:16,18; 26:5; Caleb - Numbers 14:24; Deuteronomy 1:36; Joshua 14:9, 13-14; Phineas - Numbers 25:12-13; David - I Kings 3:6; 9:4; 15:3, etc).
The "grant" is a covenant in which the fidelity of the ancestor secures the claim of his descendants, despite their failings. In other words, the "grant" is a dynastic covenant in which each generation is not obliged by stipulations, but benefits from the devotedness of the first generation, which becomes the basis for a pool of grace to all sinners of his line. (As with Israel's wave offering, the acceptance of which conferred a joint blessing upon the whole harvest, representing Jesus and His children unto God).
Now let's consider some Scriptures that speak of adoption which is the placing or recognition of sons as worthy or responsible.
Romans 8:14-23, "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Being born of the Word of God). For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, 'Abba (Father), Father'.
The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
(We're identified with the first fruits of them that slept, as the wheat harvest was identified with the firstripe sheaf waved before God). For the earnest expectation of the creature waits for the manifestation (unveiling or apokalupsis) of the sons of God. (All creatures are waiting to see the Holy Ghost waved in Christ's end-time Bride after the end of the Gentile dispensation. All creation is waiting for the Pentecostal Jubilee which heralds their release from death. For in the Millennium the wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like a bullock).
For all creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but by reason of Him who has subjected the same in hope, that creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now. And not only they, but we also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we groan within ourselves, waiting for the FULL adoption, which is, the redemption of our (glorified) body".
Romans 9:4, 8, "Israelites; to whom pertains the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the Law, and the service of God, and the promises; ... That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the Promise are counted for the Seed" (or heirs of Abraham, David, and Jesus Christ).
Galatians 4:4-6, "When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the Law, To redeem them that were under the Law, that WE might receive the adoption or placing and recognition of sons. (Remember Ruth? Her near kinsman, Boaz, who typed Christ, had to redeem her mother-in-law, Naomi, who typed Israel, before he could marry his Gentile bride). And because you are sons (in His foreknowledge), God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father".
Ephesians 1:5, "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to God, according to the good pleasure of God's will", (which is His Word).
The "grant" is hereditary, "... for your descendants forever..." Those "after your own kind with your seed in them". Sons of Adam, reborn into the image of the Word. The serpent's seed which is not the seed of Adam, and has been driven from the face of the earth, because they have no part in Adam's inheritance, God having placed enmity between them and Adam's Kinsman Redeemer, and driven them from His Presence, have no right to the "grant" or new birth which is "hereditary". Not through the natural, but Spiritual birth. As we read in our text, the Promise is only to Christ's Seed (Genesis 1:11; 4:14; Psalm 89:29, 36; Isaiah 53:10; 65:23).
Hence we are joint-heirs with Christ. His Spiritual Seed, born of His Word.
Hebrews 1:5-9, "To which Old Testament prophet or messenger did God ever say, 'You are My Son, this day have I begotten you'? 'I will be to you a Father, and you shall be to Me a Son'? (This is an adoption formula. And the answer is, NONE).
But when He resurrected the firstbegotten into the world, He said, 'Let all the prophets and messengers of God worship Him'. And of His messengers He said, 'I make My angels like winds, and My servants like a flame of fire'. (In other words ephemeral).
But unto the Son He said, 'Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of Your kingdom one of absolute righteousness. You have loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even Your God, has anointed You with the oil of joy above Your fellow-messengers', (the prophets or angels)."
Hebrews 2:9-13, "But we see Jesus who was humiliated more than any of the prophets in His suffering and death, now crowned with glory and honour; because by the grace of God He tasted death for every one of them, and for all in Adam's race.
For it became God, for Whom are all things, and by Whom are all things, in bringing many Sons unto glory to prepare the forerunner of their salvation mature by personal experience to qualify as our High Priest, (having overcome the hard way, by every Word of God and prayer. Not by might, nor by power, but by God's Spirit).
For both He that sanctifies men, and those who are holy, all have one Father: for this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brethren, Saying, 'I will declare God's Name unto My brethren, in the midst of the worshipers will I sing praises unto You'. And Jesus says, 'I will put my trust in Him'. And again, 'Behold here I am, and the children God has given Me'."
That's Isaiah 8:17-18. You should read what It says. But what has Paul been teaching us in these Scriptures? That we are joint-heirs with Christ. His Spiritual Seed, born of God's Word.
Now we come to the "good stuff". In Romans 3 and 4, Paul separates the covenant of "grant" and unconditional grace, from the covenant of "treaty" or works. He proves that Abraham, the father of faith, who lived before the Law, was justified by grace through faith before God honored His faith by the covenant of Promise and sealed It by the sign of natural circumcision, typing circumcision of the Spirit, which is the baptism of the Holy Ghost, adoption, or new birth to we Christians as it signified Abraham's adoption.
Romans 4:1-8, "Not Abraham's works, but his faith was reckoned to him for righteousness. For to him that works the reward is not reckoned of grace, but of debt. To him that was not working under the Law, but believes on Him that justifies the ungodly, faith is credited as righteousness.
Thus David also pronounces a blessing upon he to whom God credits righteousness apart his works, Saying, 'Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not reckon sin'."
The "grant" is of promise, and therefore unconditional. So if we are Abraham's children (or Seed) by Jesus Christ, we are his heirs and also heirs of David's dynasty.
Romans 4:9-12, "Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision (Israelites) only, or upon the uncircumcision (Gentiles) also? for we say that faith was credited to Abraham for righteousness. How was it then reckoned? was it before or after circumcision? It was not after, but before circumcision. And he received the sign of circumcision, as a token, evidence or seal of the righteousness of the faith he had while he was yet uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though uncircumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: making Abraham the father of circumcision (or total separation from the world) to all who also walk in the way of that faith which of our father Abraham had before he was circumcised".
We are joint-heirs of the world with Christ, the Royal Seed.
Romans 4:13-18, "For the Promise to Abraham and his seed, that he should be the heir of the world, was not through the works of the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if by the Law men are to be heirs, faith is made void, and the Promise of no effect: Because the Law brings the wrath of God as no man can keep It: but where there is no Law there is no transgression of it.
Therefore inheriting the Promise is wholly of faith, that it might be by grace; to guarantee It to all of Abraham's seed; not only to those of the Law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham; who is thereby the father of us all, (As it is written, 'I've made you the father of many nations') before God, who quickens the dead, and calls those things which are not as though they were. For Abraham, who was childless, believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations according to the Promise, 'Your seed shall be without number' (Genesis 15:5)."
Abraham's Seed, have the faith of Abraham and earnestly anticipate the manifestation of the Sons of God (Romans 8:17). We are joint heirs of the world with Christ, his Seed.
As Son of Man, His Bride is joint heir to the world. As Son of Abraham, She is heir to the Royal Grant - the Promised Land. As Son of David, His Queen shares His Throne, and as Son of God His Wife is joint heir to all things.
God Bless you Brethren. Note these four dispensation claims and when you have the revelation proved in your Bible, be sure to FAX, e-mail, fellowship and pass It on. bb970917.htm