Matthew 1:2 says, “Abraham begot Isaac.” What is the outstanding point here concerning Isaac? It is that Isaac was born by promise (Gal. 4:22-26, 28-31; Rom. 9:7-9). He was the only heir (Gen. 21:10, 12; 22:2a, 12b, 16-18), and he inherited the promise of Christ (Gen. 26:3-4).
God had promised Abraham a son. Sarah, wanting to help God fulfill his promise, made a proposal to Abraham. Sarah seemed to say, “Look, Abraham, God promised to give you a seed, an heir to inherit this good land. But look at yourself—you are nearly ninety years of age! And look at me—I’m too old! It is impossible for me to bring forth a child. We must do something to help God fulfill His purpose. I have a maid named Hagar. She is quite good. Surely you could have a son by her” (Gen. 16:1-2). This is the natural concept, and it is quite tempting. Many times our natural concept has some proposal to get us out of the spirit. Often our natural concept says, “Here is a good source. Do it this way.” But such a proposal will surely keep us from God’s promise!
Abraham took Sarah’s proposal (Gen. 16:2-4), and the result was Ishmael (Gen. 16:15). This terrible Ishmael is still here today! Acting on Sarah’s proposal did not help God; rather, it frustrated Abraham from fulfilling God’s purpose. This is not a small matter.
The lesson we derive from this is that, as the called race, whatever we do on our own results in an Ishmael. Whatever we do on our own in the church life, even in the preaching of the gospel, will only produce an Ishmael. Do not produce Ishmaels! Terminate yourself! Did you not cross over that great river, the Euphrates? When you were called out of Babel, you crossed that great river and you were buried there. You were terminated there. Do not live by yourself or do anything by yourself. Instead, you should say, “Lord, I am nothing. Without You, I can do nothing. Lord, if You don’t do anything, then I won’t do anything. If You rest, I rest. Lord, I put my trust in You.” This is easy to say, but difficult to practice in our daily life.
Remember what an Abraham is: an Abraham is a called one who does nothing by himself. God had to wait until Abraham and Sarah were through (Gen. 17:17; see Rom. 4:19). He waited until their natural energy had died out, until they had come to realize it was impossible for them to bring forth a child.
Abraham wanted to keep Ishmael and rely on him, but God rejected Ishmael (Gen. 17:18-19). We also like to keep our own work and rely on it, but God does not accept it. Eventually, God asked Abraham to cast out Ishmael and his mother (Gen. 21:10-12). This was difficult for Abraham to do. But he had to learn the lesson of not living by himself, the lesson of giving up his own effort and not doing anything by himself. He had a son, but he had to give him up. This is the lesson of Abraham and the lesson in the book of Galatians.
Participating in Christ requires that we never rely on our own effort nor on anything we are able to do. Just as Ishmael was a frustration to Isaac’s inheriting of God’s promise, so our own effort or work will always frustrate our participation in Christ. We must forsake all that we are and all that we have in order to trust God’s promise. We must renounce everything of our natural life; otherwise we cannot enjoy Christ. After our natural strength has been exhausted, the promise of God comes. After Ishmael was cast out, Isaac had the full position to participate in the blessing of God’s promise. The termination of our natural effort, the forsaking of what we can do or have done, is “Isaac,” the inheriting of God’s promised blessing, which is Christ. We have been baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:27, Gk.). Having been terminated in Christ, we are now His, and we have Him as our portion. Thus, we are Abraham’s seed, God’s called race, and heirs according to God’s promise (Gal. 3:29).
What is Isaac? Isaac is the issue of the life and walk by faith. This is Christ. Isaac was a full type of Christ inheriting all the riches of the Father. We all must experience Christ in such a way; not by our doing, striving, or endeavoring, but simply by trusting in Him. Our trust in Him will issue in Isaac. Only Isaac is the real element of the generation of Christ. Not all the children of Abraham of the flesh are the children of God; only in Isaac will God have His children (Rom. 9:7-8). Therefore, God considered Isaac as Abraham’s only son (Gen. 21:10, 12; 22:2a, 12b, 16-18), the only one to inherit the promise concerning Christ (Gen. 26:3-4).
Although we are the race of Abraham today, are we walking in the way of Ishmael, or are we living in the way of Isaac? The way of Ishmael is to fulfill God’s purpose by our own energy and work. The way of Isaac is to put ourselves into God, trusting Him to do everything to fulfill His purpose for us. What a great difference between these two ways! Ishmael has nothing to do with Christ. Whatever we do, whatever we try to accomplish, has nothing to do with Christ. We must have Isaac. If we would have Isaac, we must cast out Ishmael, stop our work, and place ourselves into the very working of God. If we let Him fulfill His promise for us, then we shall have Isaac.