Ⅱ
Abraham's faith did not originate with himself; rather, his believing in God was a reaction to the God of glory appearing to him and to the transfusing and infusing of God's element into his being—Acts 7:2; cf. John 14:21; Mark 11:22:
A
Faith is our reaction to God, produced by His transfusion, infusion, and saturation—Rev. 5:6; 2 Cor. 2:10; Heb. 12:2; Gal. 2:20; cf. Mark 11:22.
B
We may have the concept that Abraham was a giant in faith, but if we consider Abraham's history, we will realize that the only giant of faith is God Himself; Abraham's faith did not come from his natural ability; by God's appearing to Abraham, he was transfused with God as his believing element to be his faith, which was his appreciation of God as a reaction to God's attraction.
C
Through His repeated appearings to Abraham, God transfused Himself into him, causing him to experience a spiritual infusion with a spiritual infiltration of God's essence into his being—Gen. 12:1-3, 7-8; 13:14-17; 15:1-7; Rom. 4:3; Gen. 18:17-19; cf. Acts 26:16; 22:14-15.
D
The Lord Jesus appeared to Abraham as the great I Am, the God of glory, to transfuse Himself into Abraham—John 8:56-58; Exo. 3:14-15; Acts 7:2.
E
We need to come again and again to the Lord and beseech Him: “Appear to me again and again, and speak to me again and again”; we need to have a continuous seeing, an eternal seeing, of what the goal of God is—John 14:21; Acts 26:16; 2 Tim. 4:8.
F
God's appearing to us and His transfusing Himself into us issue in our living by faith for His perfect will to build up the church as the Body of Christ, consummating in the New Jerusalem—Gen. 12:7-8; 13:3-4, 18; Rom. 1:17; 4:16-17; Heb. 12:1-2a; Matt. 16:18; Rom. 12:1-2; Rev. 21:2.
G
“By faith Abraham, being called, obeyed to go out unto a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Heb. 11:8); this afforded Abraham constant opportunity to exercise his faith to trust in God for His instant leading, taking God's presence as the map for his traveling (Exo. 33:14-16).
Morning Nourishment
Acts 7:2 And he said, Men, brothers and fathers, listen. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was in Mesopotamia…John 14:21 … He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him.
God appeared to Abraham again and again. Many of us have held the wrong concept about Abraham, the concept that he was a giant in faith… As I considered the history of Abraham, I realized that he was not the giant of faith. The only giant of faith is God Himself. God, as the giant of faith, transfused Himself into him. After Abraham had spent time in God’s presence, he could not help believing in Him, because he had been transfused with God. Thus, Abraham was attracted to God and reacted to Him in believing. His reaction was his believing… Who actually appeared to Abraham? The God of glory. Abraham’s faith did not come from his natural ability and it did not originate with himself. His believing in God was a reaction to the heavenly radium, a response to the divine infusion… Genuine faith is the working of God within us. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 93-94)
Today’s Reading
Faith is not our natural ability or virtue. Faith is our reaction toward God, which results from God’s transfusing Himself into us and infusing His divine elements into our being. When God’s elements permeate our being, we react to Him, and this reaction is faith… Once we have such a faith, we can never lose it… Although we may try not to believe, we can never succeed. This is what the Bible means by believing in God. Faith is our reaction to God produced by His transfusion, infusion, and saturation.God came to Abraham by appearing to him. If we study Genesis 11 through 24, including the record in Acts 7, we find that God appeared to Abraham several times… It is sure that Abraham was attracted by the appearing of the God of glory (v. 2). To be attracted simply means that God transfused Himself into Abraham without his realizing it or being conscious of it. This is similar to the radium treatment practiced in modern medicine. The patient is placed under the X-ray, unconscious of the beams that are penetrating him. God is the strongest radium. If we sit under Him for an hour, He will transfuse Himself into us. This transfusion will cause infusion, saturation, and permeation. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 90-91)
After Abraham arrived in Canaan, Genesis 12:7 says, “And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.” This is the second time God appeared to Abraham and the third time He spoke to him.
It is easy for us to lose the vision of God’s calling. Even if we are consciously trying to be a proper Christian, it is still possible for us to lose our vision. We can lose our vision even while we are working diligently day after day. Do not think that only mundane things can blur our vision; even spiritual things can blur our vision. If we do not live continuously in God’s appearing, it will be easy for us to lose the vision of our calling. The calling that the church has received is the same as the calling that Abraham received. But many people have not seen the hope of this calling. Therefore, Paul prayed, “That you may know what is the hope of His calling” (Eph. 1:18). “Hope” indicates the content of this calling, the things included in God’s calling… How easy it is for us to forget what God wants to do! Many times, when we have too much to do and the work becomes a little more hectic, we lose sight of our spiritual calling. We need to come again and again to the Lord and beseech Him: “Appear to me again and again, and speak to me again and again!” We need to have a continuous seeing, an eternal seeing; we need to see God’s goal and what God is doing. (CWWN, vol. 35, “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” pp. 29-30)
Further Reading: Life-study of Galatians, msg. 20; Life-study of Romans, msgs. 7-8