Abraham was the same as we are, and we are the same as he was. When Abraham understood that he needed a seed, he counted on Eliezer (15:2-4). Abraham seemed to say, "Now I realize that I must have a seed for God to have a people. Since I am old and my wife is nearly out of function, the seed must be what I already have." But God will never use for the fulfillment of His purpose the things that we already have. Whatever we have is altogether no good for this. Do not think that what you have is good for the fulfillment of God's purpose. What you have is just an Eliezer. Nothing that you have is counted. Nothing that we have is useful for the fulfilling of God's purpose. At best, whatever we have is not of God but is something of Damascus.
The seed that was needed for the fulfillment of God's purpose had to be what God promised to work out through Abraham. It had to be something that God worked into him so that he might bring it forth (15:4-5). What then is the seed? If you pray and read Genesis 15 and Galatians 3, you will see that the seed is Christ Himself. Nothing that we have could ever bring forth Christ. Our education, attainments, skills, etc. mean nothing. All of these things are just Eliezers, things which are not what the Lord has wrought into us to bring forth Christ, the seed. None of them are subjective but altogether objective in our environment. Your Eliezer might be your college education. Perhaps even in the church life you might still be trusting in this Eliezer, meaning that you still trust in your college education. All of us have passed through some Damascus, picking up at least one Eliezer. That could never be the seed that God wants. The seed must be something that God works into us, not something that we have picked up. Whatever we picked up from our Damascus can never bring forth Christ. Only that which God works into our being can bring forth Christ as the seed.
In order to fulfill God's purpose we must have Christ wrought into us. This is why Paul told us that Christ was revealed into him (Gal. 1:15-16), that Christ lived in him (Gal. 2:20), that Christ was formed in him (Gal. 4:19), and that for him to live was Christ (Phil. 1:21). Paul lived Christ. When he was Saul of Tarsus, he passed through a Jewish Damascus, gaining many things. All that he acquired during that time was just an Eliezer. The Lord told Paul that he had to forget all of those things—they were dung, garbage, dog food—and to cast them aside. None of the things that Paul had could bring forth Christ. Only that which God worked into his being could bring forth Christ. The Lord seemed to tell Paul, "The things that you had from your religious background can never bring forth Christ. Only what I am working into you will bring forth Christ. What I am working into you is My grace." Eventually, Paul could say, "By the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace unto me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me" (1 Cor. 15:10).
At this point, I need to say a word about the difference between grace and blessing. What most Christians consider to be grace is actually blessing. What is blessing? Blessing is prosperity, benefit, and bounty. Many Christians, using the adjective form of the word grace, are fond of saying, "Oh, how gracious God is to us." But this is far short of the meaning of the real grace. The Hebrew word for gracious in Numbers 6:25 means to bend or to stoop oneself in order to be kind to an inferior person. For example, in kindness, a king may stoop to give something to a beggar. That is what it means to be gracious. However, in the Bible, grace is nothing less than God Himself. In the Bible grace is simply God Himself coming into us to be our enjoyment. John 1:17 says, "For the law was given through Moses; grace and reality came through Jesus Christ." John 1:14 says that "the Word became flesh..full of grace and reality," and John 1:16 tells us that "of His fullness we all received, and grace upon grace."
Blessings are for our existence, but grace is for the fulfillment of God's purpose. We do need God's blessing for our existence. If God did not bless us, we would lose our jobs, health, and perhaps even our physical lives. I have no doubt that, for my existence, I am fully under God's blessing.
Merely to exist, however, is vanity of vanities. What are we doing here in this country? Are we just here to make a living for our existence? If this is the case, it is vanity of vanities. All the cars, houses, degrees, and jobs are vanities. Some people may say, "Praise the Lord, we have three sons and two daughters. The sons are medical doctors and the daughters are professors. What a blessing this is!" This is a blessing for you and your family to exist in the vanity of vanities, if your existence is not for the fulfillment of God's purpose. Others may say, "Five years ago I was only making $5,000 a year, but this last year I made $25,000. What a blessing this is!" This also is a blessing for people to exist in the vanity of vanities, if they are not for God's eternal purpose.
Recently, the Lord awoke me early one morning and pointed out to me that not one of the New Testament books ends with the words, "Blessing be with you" or "Blessing be with your spirit." However, nearly all the Epistles end with the words, "Grace be with you" (Gal. 6:18; Eph. 6:24; Phil. 4:23; Col. 4:18). To say, "Blessing be with you," means that you will be prospered with material things. But our Bible never says anything like that. The Gospel of John does not say that the Word became flesh full of blessing, or that blessing came with Christ. No book ends by saying, "Blessing be with you."
In the Old Testament we mainly have blessings, but in the New Testament the physical blessings immediately are replaced by spiritual blessings. Ephesians 1:3 says that God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ, and the last verse of the same book says, "Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ." The last verse of the whole Bible also speaks of grace. Revelation 22:21 does not say, "The blessing of the Most High God, the Possessor of heaven and earth, be with you all." No, it says, "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints." Do you remember the blessing that the priests used to give the children of Israel in Numbers 6:24-26? It went like this: "The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." Paul's blessing in 2 Corinthians 13:14, on the contrary, is in another category: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." I repeat, blessings are for our existence, and grace is for the fulfillment of God's purpose.