Genesis, Message 13: God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob

My Great Delight in God's Word

Crystallization-Study of Genesis, Message 13

Knowing and Experiencing the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob to Become the Israel of God

Principle of God's work in the Old Testament (OT) and the New Testament (NT) is the same. And God in the OT is the same God that we have today. Therefore the experiences of our forefathers as recorded in the OT are such a pattern for us to follow and helpful for us to know God better.
In the OT, one of the titles that God used to identify Himself is "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." God introduced Himself to Moses using this title.

I am the God of your father --- the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. (Exodus 3:6 NKJV)

The title was also quoted by Jesus in the NT (Matthew 22:32; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37). Furthermore, Jesus mentioned the names of these 3 gentlemen in one of His promising prophecies that, through faith in the Lord, many the people all around the world throughout the history will come to enjoy the feasting with them in the heavenly kingdom.

And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 8:11 NKJV)

Why are these people so important that the Lord exclusively mentioned their names in these particular teachings? Because they are the group of people chosen by God to be under His name and to be His people. According to their experiences, God revealed Himself to them and dealt with them in 3 different ways. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, these experiences have been purposefully recorded in the book of Genesis so that we can learn more about their God, and gain the total experiences of the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. The 3 experiences are different yet interrelated, and to become an Israel of God, we need to have all the spiritual experiences of the God as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did.

God of Abraham: God the Father

Until he was given the name Abraham (father of multitude; Genesis 17:5), he had been called Abram (exalted father). Both names come from the same root word, Abra, which means father. And the experience of God in his life describes the experience of God as the Father.
God called him out from the other side of the Euphrates River (Genesis 12:1-5) to a promised place he did not know (Hebrew 11:8). God was the One who first came to him and called him out. God was the Initiator in His marvelous plan for him.
Later in his life, he had another experience of God. At his old age, he still did not have a child with his beloved wife Sarah, because she was barren. God came to visit him, foretelling that he was going to miraculously have a child with Sarah, and this child was obviously a gift from God, since both of them were too told to have a child. They did not initiate this plan. God the Initiator did.
Altogether, the experience of Abraham teaches us that to know God as the Father is to acknowledge Him as the great Creator and Initiator from whom everything originates, and have faith in Him. He is the Source of everything.

God of Isaac: God the Son

Isaac was the promised son of Abraham and Sarah (Galatians 4:23). His life seemed quite ordinary, having relatively short record when compared to Abraham and Jacob. Unlike Abraham his father and Jacob his son, he did not face so many challenges and did not have to struggle much. His experience was mainly about enjoying his father's inheritance, giving us the picture of God the Son, who is full of grace. It portrays God as the great Giver, and us as the great receivers.
Therefore to experience God of Isaac, we need to acknowledge that our God is the God of grace. All the spiritual blessings, including salvation, victory, justification, sanctification, forgiveness, freedom and peace, are not what we can earn. They all are received by God's grace through the faith in Jesus Christ. To have these blessings, all we need to do is receive from Him. The experience of Isaac shows us the principle of receiving.

God of Jacob: God the Spirit

Jacob was a cleaver ambitious deceiver. He tried to achieve everything he wanted, including the birthright and the blessings from his father, using his own schemes. He seemed to live a toilsome and hard life. However, we can clearly see that his life was gradually transformed after each encounter with God. And the greatest encounter, which was probably the best night of his life, was when he wrestled with God. After then, his life could never be the same. The life of Jacob clearly demonstrates the discipline of the Holy Spirit, leading to life transformation.
God of Jacob is the God who transforms us from inside out. He loves us too much to let us be the same. To perfect us, He needs to deal with our natural life by breaking it apart. As a result, we will know how lame and weak we are, and come to realisation that we can do nothing apart from God. The experience of Jacob informs us that we need to have our natural life dealt with, by allowing the Holy Spirit to work within our life.

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: Crystallization-Study of Genesis, week 13.

• Collected Works of Watchman Nee, The (Set 2) Vol. 35: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, chapter 1.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)