According to Genesis 15:6, Abraham believed God’s word about his seed being as the stars of heaven, and God reckoned Abraham’s faith as righteousness. Although Abraham received God’s righteousness at that time, he did not realize very much about it. That righteousness was abstract, not solid or concrete. It might have been little more than a term to Abraham.
In Genesis 16 we find the birth of Ishmael. Although God had reckoned righteousness to Abraham, Abraham had nothing concrete. Thus, Sarah proposed that he have a child by Hagar, and Abraham used his own strength to produce Ishmael. Positionally speaking, Abraham had the righteousness of God; dispositionally speaking, he did not have it. He only had an Ishmael. Therefore, God intervened and seemed to say, “Abraham, you must be complete. I am a complete God. You must believe My word and trust in Me. I reckoned your faith as righteousness to you. You should not act by yourself to produce an Ishmael to fulfill My purpose. This is not what I have reckoned to you. Ishmael is not the righteousness that I have reckoned to you. You must stop your doing. As a reminder to you, I want you to be circumcised.” Circumcision came in simply because Abraham acted on his own to fulfill God’s righteousness. Galatians 4 tells us that Hagar typifies the law. Producing an Ishmael by Hagar means to have the works of the law, works that are not the righteousness of God. Abraham had to learn to terminate himself, to cease from his own energy, and to be circumcised.
In Genesis 17 God speaks about Isaac, promising to make His covenant with him. In typology, Isaac typifies Christ as the righteousness of God reckoned to the believing ones by faith. In Genesis 15 Abraham had the righteousness of God positionally. When Isaac was born, he had the righteousness of God dispositionally. He had a real experience of God’s righteousness.
The understanding of many Christians is quite superficial. They say, “We are sinful. Christ died for us. If we believe in Him, under His blood God will give us His righteousness and justify us.” According to this concept, righteousness is merely positional and objective. However, from our experiences we can realize that the very righteousness that was reckoned to us at the time we believed was Christ. Isaac was a type of Christ. Since Isaac typifies Christ, we may say that Isaac was our righteousness. Eventually, the righteousness of God is not an abstract term, but a person, the resurrected Christ. This resurrected Christ becomes our present Isaac. Although we received the righteousness of God on the day we believed, we did not realize that this righteousness was actually Christ, the Son of God.
Immediately after receiving Christ, we determined to do good deeds for God. This means that we married Hagar and produced an Ishmael. Remember that Ishmael typifies the work of the law. Although we did a good work, God would say, “Cast Ishmael out. I don’t want that. You must be dealt with and put on the cross. You must be terminated. You must be cut. You must be circumcised. You need My Son as the living righteousness of God to be born in you and to come forth out of you.” In this way, we have a genuine experience of the righteousness of God and are justified dispositionally as well as positionally.
After Abraham received his Isaac, he was completely satisfied with him. Likewise, when we have an experience of Christ individually, we are very satisfied with Him saying, “A few years ago I only knew the righteousness of God. I never experienced that the righteousness of God is Christ Himself. Now I experience and enjoy Christ as the righteousness of God.” However, as you are enjoying your individual Christ, God appears, as He did to Abraham, saying, “Offer your Isaac to Me.” Perhaps the Lord will tell you to go to the church. This troubles you. You reply, “I don’t care for the church. As long as I have my experience of Christ, isn’t that enough?” This kind of response proves that you are unwilling to present your Isaac on the altar. However, if you offer your individual Isaac to God, God will react to you once again, and thousands of Isaacs will return to you. Abraham offered one Isaac, but he received thousands of descendants in return. These descendants formed the kingdom, the nation of Israel, for the purpose of exercising God’s dominion. This is why Paul said that Abraham and his heirs will inherit the earth.
The Body life is implied here. In chapter 12 we find the Body: “We who are many are one body in Christ.” In chapter 14 Paul interprets the Body as being the kingdom of God, telling us that we must receive all the brothers for the sake of God’s kingdom. Romans 14:17 says that the kingdom is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The body life is the kingdom of God for the fulfillment of God’s purpose.
One day the God of glory came to us through the preaching of the gospel. We were attracted, convinced, and began to appreciate Him. During that time, the God of glory transfused some element of His divine being into us, and we believed in Him spontaneously. Then we said, “O God, I am a sinner. I thank You that Your Son Jesus Christ died on the cross for me.” We were able to say this because the living Christ had worked within us to be our believing ability. After that, if someone would have advised us against believing in Christ, we would have found it impossible not to believe in Him. Nothing can take this belief out of us because it is actually the living Christ working in us and reacting to God. Immediately after we reacted to God in this way, He reacted to us, justifying us. Then we had the sense that we were forgiven and justified by God. We had peace and joy. Following this, we all determined to do good—to behave ourselves, to love our wives, and to submit to our husbands. All we produced was Ishmael. Then we realized that we needed to be terminated, to be circumcised that God might work in us to produce the present Isaac, who is Christ, the reality of the righteousness of God. Once we have this Christ, we must offer Him to God that we may receive Him back in resurrection. The result of this is the kingdom, the church life. This is the Body of Christ.
Paul wrote Romans 4 because he wanted to show that God’s justification is for the fulfillment of His purpose. God’s purpose is to have the one Body, which is the kingdom, to express Him and to exercise His dominion on the earth. Therefore, Romans 4 lays the foundation for Romans 12—16, where we see the practical Body life, church life, and kingdom life.