THE Abrahamic Covenant was our anchor point at the last week presentation. We now continue with a further anatomy of this Covenant. This Covenant is God’s final joker to the devil, and His rescue key for the lost humanity to become accepted back to Him.

Pastor JK Akinola

The Principle of Faith for Divine Acceptance

In the previous covenant terms God had with man, the principle of doing right and walking right with Him were strictly adhered to and man was found wanting before God. God will however not change His standards because of man’s inability, but He had now proved to humanity that he cannot meet up with His terms all by his own power. This now makes God to move on to the new and higher principle of Faith for Divine Acceptance. This approach, rather than lowering God’s Standard, had raised man’s ability to meet up with God’s standard, and hence become accepted by Him.

God’s Covenant is however not without it’s responsibility by man. No such open-ended covenant ever or will ever exist. The responsibility of man now is just to have faith in God, that is, only believe! In this new responsibility, man is to cease from his works and efforts in trying to please God. This upgrades God’s Covenant to one of Divine Benevolence. In this way, God is opening the door of His Covenant to the entire humanity in His creation. The previous covenant terms precluded certain people because of their inherent inability to meet up with it. In fact, Noah complicated this further by restricting God’s special people to the Shemites tribe, thus precluding other races and tribes. God swiftly struck out this preclusion and replaced it with an endless inclusion through the Abrahamic Covenant. God said, “ …and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Gen 12:3b). God later re-enacted this discourse in Gen 15:1-6, where Abram first complained to God about having no child, and yet God was talking of making descendants out of him to bless all the families of the earth! God then restated His Covenant by showing Abram the stars of the sky, if he could count them, then he would count the number of his descendants. No wonder God later changed his name from Abram (exalted father) to Abraham (father of multitudes of nations). (Gen 17:8). This was to underscore God’s desire for a universal and everlasting inclusiveness into His Covenant – the weak, the strong, the poor, the rich, the gentile and the Jew! What a benevolent God.

God’s covenant of peace, blessing 2

Abraham’s Response and Divine Acceptance for Righteousness.

Consequent upon God’s charge to Abraham in Gen 15, despite not yet having a child, talk less of becoming a father of multitude of nations, he believed God. This action of Abraham was acceptable to God who justifies the unjustifiable and qualifies the unqualified. God therefore accounted it to him for righteousness. This is the new principle of God for divine acceptance. Apostle Paul gave further insight into this new order in Rom 4:17-22. It is a higher realm of covenant relationship. It is also a surer realm, because it depends on the infallibility of God, who can never fail!  (Heb 6:18).

Welcome to Your Season of Grace

Abraham’s obedience to God has opened for all of us, red, yellow, black and white, weak and strong of all races the route for divine acceptance, based on God’s benevolence and integrity. All that God now requires of us is to believe Him to make us righteous. I will close this session with the following Scriptures. “ Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of all” (Rom 4:16).

This is your season of Grace. God has generously provided for us all that we need for life and godliness through the unparalleled Gift of His dear Son to humanity. You are right on His mind when He sent Jesus Christ. Believe this and enter into divine acceptance. God will justify you and wash you clean in the Blood of Jesus and you become a new creation. If you have already done this, I say congratulations and await your testimonies.

Next episode, we shall go into how this Gift was demonstrated in Abraham’s life. No wonder Jesus said, “Abraham rejoiced to see my Day, and was glad…” (John 8:56). God bless you.

J.K. Akinola. (Senior Pastor)

The Gospel Faith Mission International (GOFAMINT), Living Word Cathedral, Oluyole Estate, beside Total Petrol Station, off Ring Road, Ibadan. (Telephone : 08033376660, 08055405095)

PASTOR (DR) E.O. ABINA –  THE GOFAMINT GENERAL OVERSEER, WORLDWIDE.