November 22: Christ the King Sunday
And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he [Abram] believed the LORD, and he [the LORD] counted it to him [Abram] as righteousness –Genesis 15:4-6
The Covenant God tells Abram that the heir is coming, and he believes God. It is as though Abram is proclaiming, “I believe you have the power to do what you’ve promised, and I believe you have the character, the righteousness, to follow through.”
But we might want to know what is the “it” in verse 6? Many of us make the mistake of believing that the antecedent of “it” (of what “it” is referring back to) is Abram’s act of believing. But that’s not right: you have to go back one extra step to find that “it” is the promise of the heir. So if we filled in the pronouns, the verse might read, “Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord credited the promise of the heir to Abram as righteousness.” The blessing of the heir was credited to Abram, and God credited it to him as righteousness. And we know that the heir is Jesus, the true son of blessing. Thus Jesus’ words in John 8:56, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad.”
And that’s the gospel. Come hear it preached and enacted in the supper with Christ the King (it is Christ the King Sunday, the final Sunday of the church year–Advent begins next week).
The related hymns we’ll sing are:
Rejoice, the Lord is King
Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart
Crown Him with Many Crowns
Sunday school for children (in Genesis) and adults (on Reformed Treasures) is up and running! Coffee and other treats are served at 9:15, teaching begins at 9:30, and we break to get ready for worship at 10:15.
Visitors are always welcome!