Get the appBeginnings: A Study In GenesisSample
What does it say?
God gave new names to Abraham and Sarah, enlarged His promises, and established the sign of the covenant—circumcision.
What does it mean?
Changing Abram and Sarai’s names to Abraham (“father of many”) and Sarah (“princess”), reinforced the fact that God would keep his long-awaited promise of a family. Their new names symbolized a new identity in Him and a future that rested in God’s hands. Circumcision would be the sign of God’s covenant with Abraham and Isaac, the son of promise, setting apart God’s chosen people from the others in the land. Abraham demonstrated his faith in all God told him by immediately and fully obeying.
How should I respond?
As a believer, you also have a new identity – “child of God.” That identity gives you a new future in Christ and entitles you to the promises God has made to all who call Him, “Father” (Galatians 3:14). God’s promises in the New Testament are His new covenant with you through Jesus Christ. That covenant is sealed through the circumcision of your heart – symbolic of the change made in your life by accepting Jesus as Lord (2 Cor. 5:17). How is your identity in Christ evident to those around you? Your obedience to God’s Word demonstrates your faith in His promises.
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About this Plan
As its name implies, Genesis is a book of beginnings. The beginning of the world, the beginning of the line of Abraham, and the beginning of God's covenantal relationship with his people are all recorded in Genesis. Although filled with the sin, rebellion, and the chronic unfaithfulness of His people, God consistently demonstrates his covenantal faithfulness to bring about salvation and redemption for all who have faith in Him.
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