God the Father’s Covenant of Salvation AND His Covenant to Make Abram a Father of Many Nations.
God the Father commanded Abram to be perfect (without sin) and He would make His covenant with Him.
Genesis 17:1-5
“And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be thou perfect. And I will make My covenant between Me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for Me, behold, My covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.”
We know that Abram sinned because we know that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”. So how was God expecting Abram to be perfect? The answer is found in knowing and understanding God’s covenant of salvation. Even though Abram had sinned before, he also knew and kept God’s covenant of salvation that was given to mankind since the first sin with Adam and Eve.
The covenant of salvation is that when we sin, we are to confess that past sin, repent of it by sincerely turning away from it and being committed in our hearts not to do that anymore and we are to in faith toward God ask for His forgiveness.
Under the Old Testament God required them to bring an animal sacrifice and offer that blood as a symbolic placeholder representing the future sacrifice of Jesus and His blood offering for all sins, including theirs. That knowledge was passed down from generation to generation even to Abram.
Abram was required by God to keep His covenant of salvation in order to receive the blessing of that covenant and enter into the one God was going to make in addition to that one.
Genesis 26:5
“Because that Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
God’s testimony about Abraham:
Genesis 18:19
“For I know him,
that he will command his children
and his household after him,
and they shall keep the way of the LORD,
to do justice and judgment;
THAT THE LORD MAY BRING UPON Abraham
that which He hath spoken of him.”
Today under the New Covenant we are also required by God to keep His ways (His laws) and to do justice and judgement that we may inherit all the promises of God’s covenant of salvation with us:
Revelation 22:12-16
“And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Blessed are they that do His commandments, THAT THEY MAY HAVE RIGHT to the tree of life, AND MAY ENTER IN through the gates into the city.
For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
I Jesus have sent Mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.”
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The way Abram could walk before God and be perfect is that when he sinned, he then followed and kept God’s covenant of salvation. It was by His faith in God that he confessed, repented and received the forgiveness of his past sins as they were committed.
Abram was then made sinless, clean, righteous, blameless, without spot or blemish, spiritually speaking, by keeping God’s covenant of salvation. This is what it looked like for Abram to walk before God without sin and perfect because he was continually cleansed by God of those past sins as Abram took care of them according to the terms and conditions of God’s everlasting covenant under the Old Covenant administration.
Under the New Testament administration we are also commanded to “be perfect” as our Father in heaven is perfect (without sin). Just like Abram we also accomplish this by keeping God’s everlasting covenant yet under the New Testament administration by “the new and living way”, instead of with animal’s blood. There are lots of scriptures that prove this is true for us today.
1John 2:1-6
“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are IN Him. He that saith he abideth IN Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.”
1John 1:8-9
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not IN us.
If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and TO CLEANSE us FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
JESUS SAID:
Matthew 5:48
“BE ye therefore PERFECT, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”
Matthew 19:21
“Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt BE PERFECT, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”
Luke 6:40
“The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is PERFECT shall be as his master.”
This last scripture is a snapshot of abiding IN God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
When we keep God’s commandments which also includes the heavenly sanctuary laws; that when we sin – we through faith confess, repent and are forgiven, then Jesus Christ is abiding IN us and so is God the Father because the Father’s Holy Spirit is IN Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ prayer to God the Father:
John 17:23
“I in them,
and Thou in Me,
that they may BE MADE PERFECT in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.”
Being perfect according to God’s definition doesn’t mean that we have never sinned or won’t ever sin again. It means when we do sin we get rid of it by doing what God commanded us to do to get cleansed again.
We are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb according to the Everlasting Covenant. Jesus Christ’s blood is called “the blood of the everlasting covenant”, He is also called the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
According to God’s covenant, our cleansing comes through our faith in God the Father and His sinless Son. Our cleansing comes through keeping the heavenly sanctuary laws of confession, repentance and asking for forgiveness. These and more are all done and kept according to the terms and conditions of God the Father’s covenant of salvation, the everlasting covenant. This is how we can “be perfect” and be without sin because we have been cleansed from our past sins every time we get forgiveness for them and we are also walking after the Spirit by loving and obeying God, trusting in His right judgement and acknowledging God knows best.