F.E. Marsh :: 2. A Blessing to All Nations

GENESIS 18:17-21

SEEING that Christ is of the “Seed of Abraham” (Matt. 1:1), the promise to Abraham is specially fulfilled in Him, for He is the channel of all blessing.

I purpose giving an acrostic on the word Blessing, as illustrating how we are a blessing to others, or the class of people that are a blessing to others.

B. Blessed Ones.

“I have known,” or “chosen him” (Genesis 18:19). We cannot possibly be a blessing without first being blessed. We must receive to give, as when the disciples received the bread and fish from the hands of Christ, and then gave them to the multitude. We must know, to make known, as when the apostles had seen Christ, the Risen One, then they were able to witness of Jesus and the Resurrection; and those who have met with Christ are able to invite others to meet with Him, as the woman of Samaria, who invited the Samaritans to come and see Christ, with whom she had conversed.

L. Living Ones.

Abraham was one who was in touch with the Living God, therefore he had life from Him, even as the branch of the tree owes its being and well-being to the tree. It is those who have life from Christ (John 5:24), life in Christ (Romans 8:2), life with Christ (Gal. 2:20), and Christ as their Life, that are able to “hold forth the Word of Life” to others (Phil. 2:16), to their quickening and blessing (James 1:18), even as exemplified in Peter on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit ministered through him.

E. Empowered Ones.

In Matthew 28:18-20, we are told that Christ has “all power,” and “therefore” He bade His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. All authority is vested in Christ, therefore He has authority to bid His disciples to act according to His instructions. His servants only have authority as they are under His authority. The centurion said he was “a man under authority,” therefore he said to one, “Come,” and he came, and to another “Go,” and he went (Matthew 8:9). It was because the centurion was under authority that he had authority. In like manner, as we are in the line of the Divine power by obedience to Christ, and as Christ the Power of God thus lives in us, we have power over others, even as the electric wire communicates the electricity because of its connection with the dynamo.

S. Sent Ones.

The word of the Lord Jesus to His disciples was “Go.” When the Lord bids us go on any errand, there should be prompt and persistent obedience (John 20:21).

S. Sanctified Ones.

The disciples were to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The spiritual meaning of baptism into the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the entering into all they are. Into the Father, into His grace and love, to make us loving and gracious; into the Son, that is, into His life and liberty, that His liberty may free us, and that His life may energize us; and into the Holy Spirit, that His holiness and power may touch every part of our life. The immersion in water was but an illustration of the deeper truth of immersion into the blessings of the grace of the Gospel. Therefore it presupposes that those who were sent to baptize, knew the spiritual meaning and practical outcome of the ordinance they enjoined upon others.

I. Initiated Ones

(Genesis 18:17-18). Those who fear the Lord are sure to be in the secrets of the Lord (Psalm 25:14). The Lord delights to make known His ways to us if we are in touch with Himself, even as He did to Moses (Psalm 103:7). It was to Daniel that God revealed the king’s dream and the interpretation. The wise men of Babylon were baffled, but Daniel, the man of God, made known the forgotten dream (Daniel 2). Again, Joseph was the one who interpreted Pharaoh’s dream. There are many illustrations in Holy Writ, to prove that it is only to God’s own people, and those of them who are in fellowship with Him, that God makes known the mysteries of the kingdom and of His Word (Matthew 13:11; 1 Cor. 2:9-14), that they may proclaim them to others (1 John 1:1-3).

N. Nothings.

Abraham confessed he was “dust and ashes” in the sight of the Lord (Genesis 18:27). It is easy to say we are “nothing,“ but to know it in reality is to be like Christ, who “made Himself of no reputation.“ Notice Paul’s growth in grace.

• “Least of the apostles“ (1 Cor. 15:9).
• “Less than the least of all saints“ (Eph. 3:8).
• “Chief of sinners“ (1 Tim. 1:15),
• “Nothing” (2 Cor. 12:11).

G. Godly Ones.

Those who know the God of blessing, by walking in fellowship with Him, as Enoch did, shall surely be a blessing from God to others. To be in touch with the God of Holiness, by union with Himself, must result in the holiness of God being transmitted in the presence of others, even as the atmosphere transmits the light. Those who know the God of Love by acting like Him, have the love of God. When a lady put a number of cakes into the dirty, ragged frock of a poor shoeless, hatless, hungry lassie, she was so filled with astonishment that she exclaimed, “Be you God’s wife, ma’am?” She knew God loved her, and she therefore thought that the God-like action of the lady indicated a near relative of His. It is not what we say, but how we serve, that shows our sanctity.