GENESIS 17:3-8
In Genesis 17 when God changed Abram's name to Abraham, the reason is given: "For
a father of many nations have I made thee" (v. 5). Notice the expression "have I made
thee." At this time no child has been born to Abraham and Sarah, yet God says He has
made Abraham "a father of many nations." What God has promised, He is able to
perform. What He has begun, He is able to finish. When God says it, it is as good as
done.
This same principle is seen in Romans 8:30: "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." We have not yet been glorified, but God speaks of it as a finished
work. Why? Because what He begins, He finishes. When it is His undertaking, He sees
it through. The time element is in His hands.
We need to realize that Abraham's God is our God. The promises made to Abraham
were promises that almighty grace alone could utter and that almighty power alone could
fulfill. When the almighty, all-sufficient God displays Himself, man's self must be
excluded.
Abraham is set aside in the account at this point. He only listens. Sarah is not
mentioned. The bondwoman and her son are, for the moment, not in view. Nothing is
seen but the Almighty God in the fullness of His grace and sovereign power.
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever (Heb. 13:8).
Theodore Epp
www.backtothebible.in