“And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;/Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.“
The Spirit does not record God ever giving Abraham laws in the sense God gave the Decalogue. What he refers to Isaac is ‘my voice, and kept my charge’ which is faith with works. We see step by step how God brought Abraham after ‘our image and after our likeness” which explains the total sanctification.
At the age of 75 we read the call came to Abraham ” So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him.”(12:4). He surrendered his body to do His will. He would not even spare his only son when God ‘tested’ him. ” And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.”(Ge.22:12-13) The son and and the ram are evidence of the role of Abraham ‘after his likeness’ . God changed the name of Abraham attesting to the soul. It is like the new name that Christ has promised the church.”and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.:(Re.2:17)
With regards to the sacrifice God specified we have the evidence of his transformation in his spirit. ” And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.” (15:12). God received Abraham’s sacrifice is the outward evidence that their spirit was in accord. “behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces./In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram,”(vv.17-18). What is indirect is in the death of the former self. The Spirit uses the same term ‘deep sleep’ to indicate it. Abraham was a new creation, for in his body, spirit and soul he was to do his will. Faith with works where one is a living sacrifice . Fifty fifty is for hypocrites.
GuidetohisWord 