Please do turn back to Genesis 17. We'll be looking at verses 9 to 27.
So we've come to the end of this short series in Genesis.
I'll jump back into Genesis at some point in the future,
but Sam Tunnicliffe's going to be preaching next Sunday evening.
We're looking at Genesis 17, verses 9 to 27.
And this chapter has lots of unusual things, doesn't it?
There's a covenant, promises about nations and kings, new names, and circumcision.
Lots of things that seem very distant from our lives.
But this chapter is doing something very important for us.
God is laying out the blueprint for the church.
God has promised his plan of salvation to restore this world.
It is to make a people for himself.
That is the big promise we saw last week.
I will be your God and you will be my people.
That is, God has chosen a people, made a contract, a covenant with that people,
and bound himself to them in that covenant.
Bound himself to be their God and fulfill these promises.
That is what the church is.
We are God's people bound to him.
And here in this passage, God is showing us what this covenant looks like.
What his people will look like.
How God relates to them.
Who they are.
How they function.
How God's promises and salvation comes to that people.
And how we are to hold on to them.
It's a blueprint.
A blueprint.
Of having their own unique relationship with God.
And people can speak of it very much on our own terms.
They might say, you know, I like to think of my relationship with God like this.
This is who I think God is.
And this is how I connect with him.
And it's true, we do have a relationship with him.
But it's not on our terms.
No, God is saying this is what the relationship is to look like.
It's this covenant.
In short, this is the blueprint for what the church is to look like.
This is like the architect's design for God's people.
Because remember, look back to verse 7.
This is an eternal covenant running right up to now, into the future, running throughout our lives.
And in the church today.
We, the church, we are God's people in this covenant.
And this is God telling us, okay, now you are my people.
This is my blueprint.
This is my design for how this covenant will play out.
Which is why, in verse 9, do you see, God begins with, as for you.
Up until now, God has been saying, as for me, what God will do.
As for me, I am God Almighty.
I have made you.
I will be to you.
I will bless you.
That's what God will do.
But now, Abraham, as for you, this is what happens on your side of the contract.
This is what my people will look like.
And how you keep this covenant and stay in it.
These are the blueprints.
Now, follow them.
But remember, this is still gracious.
This is all grace.
This is God providing the plans.
And he's doing this for a doubt-filled and fear-filled Abraham.
For those who are fearful of the future, filled with doubts about, can God really bring any blessing to my life?
And for those just feeling small and weak in a cursed world, well, God says, here are my designs for the church.
For you to be safe in and reassured in and to find real blessing.
And so I want us to look at these blueprints today.
And I want us to see how God's covenant works in our lives.
And the first and very important thing to see is God's covenant has a sign.
God's covenant has a sign.
Look at verse 10.
This is my covenant, which you shall keep between me and you and your offspring after you.
Every male among you shall be circumcised.
You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins.
And it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.
So God makes a covenant, a binding contract with Abraham to be his God and to bless him and to make nations come from Abraham and save the world through him.
To finally bring the savior serpent crusher.
But these promises, they don't just stay verbal.
No, God also gives a physical sign to confirm these promises.
This sign is like God's official stamp that God stamps onto Abraham to say,
This promise really is for you.
So you know when you get a stamp in your passport that says you are officially, truly allowed into this country.
Well, this sign is like God saying you are officially, truly my people.
It's like in word God says, I will be your God.
But when someone has this sign, God is saying, I will be your God.
Abraham, if you have any fears about anything that I'm doing in this world for you, here is a sign showing you.
So this sign, it's not just an extra visual aid.
No, it is inseparably tied to the covenant.
In fact, it is so tied that it is called the covenant.
Verse 10.
This is my covenant.
The sign.
To have this sign is to be in the covenant.
Officially stamping it on Abraham.
And so this sign is key to understanding what God is doing among his people.
How this covenant works.
And what is the sign?
Let's get the awkwardness out of the way, shall we?
The sign is circumcision.
And let's get more awkwardness out of the way.
If you don't know what circumcision is,
circumcision is when you cut off some of the flesh,
some of the unclean skin,
from the end of a male's reproductive part.
And usually a knife or a sharp stone was used to do that.
And it was to be done to every baby boy in this covenant,
eight days old.
Do you see that in verse 12?
That's what circumcision is.
It's the cutting off of flesh.
And there's a reason I wanted to preach Genesis in the evening service.
Because in the morning,
preachers have to make a kid's sheet for sermons.
And I don't want to make that.
And no one wants to color that in.
But with that out of the way,
it is worth asking,
why this sign of everything?
Why not cut off anything else?
Well, although it is a bit awkward,
this sign is actually really appropriate to the covenant.
This sign gives clarity to how exactly God is making a people,
bringing blessing,
how he is saving this world.
So just think of how a sign points to a reality.
So you know when you're on the motorway
and you see a sign,
a blue sign on the motorway,
and it's got a picture on it,
and you see a knife and a fork symbol.
That's a sign saying,
service station one mile ahead.
And that is an appropriate sign
because that knife and fork
accurately tells you
about the reality up ahead.
There is food and rest
and knives and forks up ahead,
one mile.
A picture of a deer on that road sign
wouldn't tell you that.
No, the sign tells you about the reality.
Well, this sign, circumcision,
tells you about the deeper reality
of God's promise in the covenant.
But what is circumcision telling us?
Why has God given this sign of all things?
Well, I want us to see a few things.
First, circumcision physically marks out
who God's people are.
That's why verse 14,
God says anyone who does not have this sign
will be cut off from God's people.
This is how God marks out the boundary
of his people,
like the stamp in the passport.
Those aren't my people over there,
but you, with this sign,
you are my people.
So I don't treat you like
I treat everyone else out there.
No, my covenant and blessing
and all the benefits are with you.
And likewise, as for you,
you mustn't act like everyone else out there,
like the nations out there.
No, you have special obligations to me now.
You are to walk before me
and believe these promises.
This sign physically marks out
God's people as separate
and holy to the Lord.
And also, circumcision,
it not only shows who God's people are,
but how God's people are made right with God.
By cutting off the flesh,
God is showing that salvation
will not happen by your flesh.
It's not your strength.
It's not from you,
but salvation will only come from God.
That's partly why it happens at eight days old.
It's not about the child
earning righteousness before God.
It's just graciously given to the helpless,
which says something about how covenant signs work.
They are not primarily about us
declaring our faith to God.
They are God declaring his faithfulness to us.
And there's another significance in circumcision.
There's a reason it's in that place,
because that is where the promise of offspring and nations will come from.
God is saying to Abraham,
the future of your family
and the future of the world,
it is all under my control.
And the Savior will arrive.
But it won't happen through Hagar.
It will happen through 89-year-old Sarai,
which is why in verse 15,
Sarai is renamed Sarah.
Sarai literally means my princess.
But now she is being renamed Sarah,
which just means princess.
So she was princess to King Abraham,
but now she's going to be princess
to another greater king,
a king who will come from her womb.
So they don't realize it,
but this is God's sign saying,
I am going to bring Christ,
even if it takes a miracle birth.
This sign is about guaranteeing the impossible.
But circumcision shows something else,
something spiritual.
Because circumcision cuts off the unclean parts of the body,
this shows what God will do to his people's hearts.
He will cut off the unclean and the sinful,
circumcise our hearts,
and make them new.
So just like in surgery,
you cut off the infected bits,
and you save the patient, don't you?
Well, God is saving his people
by circumcising our hearts,
which is why boys were to be circumcised
on the eighth day of all days.
Creation happened in how many days?
Seven.
But what does day eight signify?
New creation.
God is marking out his people
and saying,
you are my new creation with new hearts.
And so circumcision is not a random sign.
No, it is really appropriate.
God is saying,
the great reality of this sign,
being my people,
being righteous,
not because of your flesh,
but because of me,
the promise of offspring,
and a saviour,
and circumcised hearts,
that promise really is for you.
It belongs to you.
You are in this covenant,
and I am bound to you.
But there is one other thing circumcision shows.
This sign is very appropriate
because it shows
all this will happen
through judgment,
by flesh being cut off,
and by blood being shed.
This is a sign
pointing to the greater reality
of the crucifixion.
In fact,
Colossians 2
even calls
the death of Christ
the circumcision of Christ.
Because how is the uncleanness
of our hearts taken away?
by our sin
being placed on one man
and him
being cut off
in his flesh.
And how is the curse
of this world undone?
By the curse
falling on one man.
And how does God
create a new people,
a new creation,
cleansed and made right with God?
It is by blood
being shed.
flesh
torn apart.
Nails
driven
through flesh.
It is through
judgment.
And from that,
blessing
gets poured out
into the world.
This is how God
claims a people
and claims
nations for himself.
We are seeing here
the blueprint
for how the church
is made.
Christ
claims his church
through his flesh
being cut off.
And so as the church,
we,
we have a remarkable
privilege.
God has separated us
from the world
and he says to us,
I treat you differently
to how I treat
anyone else.
You are mine.
You are my covenant
people.
You are holy
to me
and I've
bound myself
to you
through the blood
of Christ
and I will
bless you
in my son.
And so this sign,
it isn't just a
helpful illustration
for Abraham.
No,
this sign
is God
declaring
centuries
before the reality,
Abraham,
the saviour
is coming
and he's
already yours
now.
Which goes
to show
this is how
believers were
saved in the
Old Testament.
Although Christ
wasn't born yet
to this point,
they still
had faith
in him
because they
had faith
in the promise
that he will
come.
You can think
of the story
of the Bible
like a tapestry
and from Genesis
onwards,
we see
the tapestry
slowly unfolding.
We are
seeing it
unfold
bit by
bit.
In a way,
it's already
written,
it's already
been made,
God's written
it,
but we're
just seeing
it unfold.
And when we
get to the
New Testament,
it unfolds
finally in all
its glory
to reveal
Jesus Christ.
all the
threads of
the tapestry
that they
all lead
up to him
and are
connected to
him.
And so if
you hold
on to one
thread in
the Old
Testament,
you are
actually
holding on
to Christ.
Well,
that is what's
going on here.
The promise
and covenant
and sign
that this is
the thread
Abraham is
holding on
to.
He's to hold
on to it
and to believe
it.
We look
back to
Christ and
Abraham looks
forward,
but it's
all the same
saviour,
the same
reality.
So we are
looking at
the early
blueprints
of the
church and
how this
covenant
works.
God's
covenant
has a
sign.
But we
also see,
it's my
second point,
God's
covenant
is with
families.
God's
covenant
is with
families.
So if
God marks
out his
people with
this sign,
who does
he mark
out?
Verse 12,
Abraham is
to be
circumcised
and every
boy,
eight days
old in
his household,
his children.
And that
is because
who is
this covenant
with?
Who is
God making
these promises
to?
It's to
Abraham
and his
offspring.
God's
covenant
is with
families.
God
says,
I will
be your
God and
you will
be my
people to
believers
and their
children.
This is
how the
covenant
works.
God
works
through
families,
which is
why the
sign is
to be
for the
males
of the
household.
So men
are the
heads and
the
representatives
of their
families.
And so
when God
stamps his
promise on
them,
God is
claiming that
person and
their families.
Which is
also why even
servants were
included.
Did you see
that in
verse 12?
Every male
throughout your
generations,
whether born
in your
house or
bought with
your money
from any
foreigner who
is not of
your
offspring.
And this
goes against
our modern
individualistic
instincts,
doesn't it?
We can be
quick to
think,
well,
salvation is
just about
me and
God and
that's it.
And yes,
of course,
we relate to
God personally
and God
saves
individuals.
But as we
see these
blueprints,
God's plan
for his
people,
it's far
bigger than
that.
God saves
in covenant
and that
covenant is
with families
and that
includes
children.
even before
they could
talk or
even
understand
these
promises,
yet God
sees the
children of
believers
differently.
There is
something
different for
those children
than the
children of
the pagan
families in
Canaan.
God says to
that eight-day-old
newborn,
these promises
are for you,
little child,
and I am
marking you
out as
mine.
Now,
that doesn't
mean they are
magically instantly
saved as
soon as the
blade hit the
flesh.
No, it
still requires
faith.
It requires
God's people
to believe
this sign
and trust
the promises
God has
made.
It still
requires
surrender and
holding on to
that tapestry
thread for
adults and
children.
Yet God
graciously says
this covenant
is with you
and your
family.
the promises
are for
all of you.
You're born
into this
covenant and
now by
faith never
leave it.
And so it
is possible
to break
this covenant
with unbelief.
That's why
verse 14
speaks of
people being
cut off from
the covenant.
We see that
with Esau,
we see that
with rebellious
Israel.
Ishmael.
We even see
it here with
Ishmael.
Look at verse
25.
Ishmael is
circumcised.
He's in the
covenant.
Yet, look back
to verse 21.
But I will
establish my
covenant with
Isaac.
It is possible
to be in the
covenant but not
actually of the
covenant.
You can be
circumcised in
the flesh but
not in the
heart.
And so we
see in this
blueprint what
the church is
like.
The church is
going to be a
mix of Ishmael's
and Isaac's.
God's people,
it's never
purely only
belief this
side of heaven.
No, it's
mixed.
Some won't
believe the
promises given
to them.
And sadly,
we've seen that,
haven't we?
People walking
away from the
faith.
both adults
and children.
It's a painful
breaking of the
covenant.
But that isn't
because God's
promises have
failed.
It's because they
haven't been
believed.
But this isn't
to fill us with
doubt or to
make us worry
about our
children.
No, this is
here to help us
understand the
nature of the
church and make
us realize what
we need to do.
God has given
us promises and
we must believe
them.
As the church,
we are in this
covenant.
We have the
promises and now
we must never,
ever leave.
Because the
blessing is only
found here.
This is the
only place we
can be sure God
is my God and
I am cleansed by
the blood of
Jesus.
us.
And like
Abraham, we
need to recognize
the sign God
has given us
and believe it.
But what is the
sign for us?
If this is the
blueprint of the
church, if this
is the same
eternal covenant
we're in now,
what is the sign
we have?
Well, it's no
longer circumcision.
God's covenant
sign is now
baptism.
That's my third
and final point
today.
God's covenant
sign is now
baptism.
Listen to these
words from
Colossians 2.
In Christ
also you
were circumcised
with a
circumcision
made without
hands by
putting off
the body of
the flesh
by the
circumcision of
Christ,
having been
buried with
him in
baptism.
If Christ's
death is the
true circumcision,
the reality
Abraham's
circumcision was
pointing forward
to, well
baptism is now
the new sign
that points
back to that
same reality.
And it works
with the same
blueprints.
It is in
baptism that
God marks out
his people.
It is his
covenant sign
to separate his
holy people from
the world.
God's sign
pointing us
back to the
deeper spiritual
reality.
In baptism
God declares
to us
you are
washed by the
blood of
Christ.
You have
died with
him and
now you
have my
promised
spirit poured
out on you.
And so
baptism is
fundamentally
not about
us declaring
our faith to
God or to
the world.
No, baptism
is God
declaring his
faithfulness to
us.
I am your
God.
It is his
official stamp
on us
showing these
promises really
are for you.
Now always
trust me and
don't go
anywhere else.
God knows
we have
doubts.
And so
God says
look to your
baptism.
if you
have doubts
and fears
and you
feel wobbly
in the
faith and
you wonder
is this
really for
me?
And it
is very
easy to
look into
ourselves and
see our
sin and
our weakness
and to
doubt
everything.
Well if
that's you
that's exactly
what Abraham
went through.
But God
says when you
have those
doubts don't
look in
look out.
Look at
the sign
God has
given you.
in your
baptism
God says
I am
your
God
and with
me you
may have
wobbles
but I
will never
let you
fall.
But let's
also address
the question
that may be
on your
mind.
If this
is how the
covenant
works and
this is how
God deals
with his
people and
this is the
blueprint for
the church
then that
means this
eternal
covenant is
still for
us and
for our
children.
God is
still working
through families
today.
That is why
at Pentecost
Peter preaches
the promises
for you
and for
your children
and all
who are
far off.
It's why
Paul says
in 1
Corinthians
when a
believing
parent has
a child
that child
is holy.
Our
children
belong to
the covenant
they are
born into
it and
God says
they are
not like
other
children to
me.
No,
they are
mine and
my promises
belong to
them.
And if
this covenant
is for
them,
so is the
sign.
The covenant
and the
sign go
together.
And that
is why we
baptise
children.
That is
why we
raise them
saying,
you belong
to God.
You are
not your
own,
little one,
but you
have been
bought with
a price.
You can
pray,
our
heavenly
father,
my love,
he is
your
heavenly
father.
You really
can sing,
Jesus died
to take
my sin
away.
Jesus
loves me,
this I
know,
for the
Bible
tells me
so,
and my
baptism
tells me
so.
God is
even more
gracious than
we realise.
His grace
is for
you and
your
children.
Through
every trial,
his grace
surrounds your
whole family.
And so
children,
if you have
been baptised,
please know
that.
God has
given you a
sign,
baptism.
And that
sign is
God saying
to you,
you belong
to me.
You are
already in
this covenant,
which means
you are to
believe the
promises God
has given
you.
Like Ishmael,
growing up in
a Christian
home, it
doesn't
automatically
save you,
but it does
mean you are
in this
covenant.
And God
has given
you promises,
promises to
love you and
bless you and
save you through
Jesus.
Those promises
are yours,
you must
believe them.
And that
goes for
every adult
as well.
Now we
are in this
covenant,
we mustn't
go anywhere
else.
Because this
is where we
have God and
this is the
only way to
find blessing,
to find true
happiness and
eternal life.
God has
given us
this gracious
sign, so
let's not
ignore it.
Let's not
forget it.
but let's
believe it.
He has
marked us
out, his
promises are
for us, and
as his church
incredibly we
can say he
is our God
and we are
his people.
Let's pray.