In this chapter we want to see the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In Exodus 3:15 this divine title was spoken by God Himself when He told Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial from generation to generation” (cf. vv. 6, 16; Matt. 22:31-32).

JEHOVAH ELOHIM

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is Jehovah Elohim (Gen. 2:4-22; Exo. 3:15). Genesis 1 uses only the title Elohim for “God,” not Jehovah. In Genesis 2 God’s title becomes Jehovah Elohim. Elohim means “the faithful mighty One.” God is faithful and mighty. Jehovah means “He who was, who is, and who is to be.” Genesis 2:4-22 repeatedly mentions Jehovah Elohim, a divine title indicating God’s relationship with His elect.

The Self-existing and Ever-existing Triune God

Jehovah as the great I Am is the self-existing and ever-existing Triune God (Exo. 3:13-14). He is self-existing, without beginning, and ever-existing, without ending. The beginning and ending in the whole universe is God. God is the beginning, the Alpha, and He is the ending, the Omega (Rev. 22:13).

The Triune God Who Was, Who Is, and Who Is to Be

Revelation 1:4 speaks of “Him who is and who was and who is coming.” In the past He was, in the present He is, and in the future He is to be. From eternity to eternity Jehovah is the One who exists, so He is the One who was, who is, and who is to be.

The Great Eternal I Am, the I Am Who I Am

Jehovah Elohim, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is the great eternal I Am, the I Am Who I Am (Exo. 3:14; John 8:24, 28, 58). As the I Am, He is eternal. In John 8 the Lord Jesus mentioned three times that He is the I Am. In John 8:24 He said, “Unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.” In verse 28 He said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am.” Finally, in verse 58 He said, “Before Abraham came into being, I am.” Strictly speaking, the English grammar in verse 58 is wrong. To keep the correct grammar, the Lord should have said, “Before Abraham came into being, I was,” but the Greek text uses the present tense. Christ is the great I Am who, as the eternal, ever-existing God, was before Abraham. He is the eternal I Am, the I Am Who I Am.

CHAPTER TEN

GOD’S HISTORY IN TIME
(FROM THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE
TO THE FINAL JUDGMENT
AT THE GREAT WHITE THRONE—
GENESIS 1:1—REVELATION 20:15)

(9)

WORKING ON HIS ELECT
FROM ABRAHAM TO JOSEPH

(5)

THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB

Scripture Reading: Exo. 3:13-15; Rev. 1:4-5; John 8:24, 28, 58; Mal. 1:2; Rom. 9:10-13; 8:28-29; Eph. 3:17-19; Rev. 21:1-23; Gen. 12:8; 13:18; 18:1; 26:17, 25; 33:18; 35:21; Heb. 11:9-10

OUTLINE

1. Jehovah Elohim (Gen. 2:4-22)—Exo. 3:15:
   1. The self-existing and ever-existing Triune God—vv. 13-14.
   2. The Triune God who was, who is, and who is to be—Rev. 1:4-5.
   3. The great eternal I Am, the I Am Who I Am—Exo. 3:14; John 8:24, 28, 58.
   4. The complete Triune God of the three sections of the life of a corporate person:
      1. God the Father who loves man and chooses man, in the section of Jacob—Mal. 1:2; Rom. 9:10-13.
      2. God the Father who calls man, justifies man, and equips man to live by faith and live in fellowship with Him, in the section of Abraham—Gen. 12:1; 15:6; chs. 17—18; 19:29; 21:1-13; 22:1-18.
      3. God the Son who blesses man with the inheritance of all His riches, with a life of the enjoyment of His abundance, and with a life in peace, in the section of Isaac—25:5; 26:3-4, 12-33.
      4. God the Spirit who works in all things for the good of His lovers, transforms man, and makes man mature in the divine life so that man may be able to bless all the people, to rule over all the earth, and to satisfy all the people with God the Son as the life supply, in the section of Jacob with Joseph—27:41; 28:1—35:10; chs. 37, 39—49; Rom. 8:28-29.
2. The Triune God’s preparation for the carrying out of His eternal economy:
   1. Initiating it in a man (Adam)—Gen. 1:1—11:26.
   2. Issuing in three persons—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—v. 27—50:26.
   3. Resulting in one people—Israel—Exo.—Mal.
   4. To bring forth Christ the God-man, the complete God mingled with the perfect man—Matt. 1.
   5. For the producing of the Body of Christ—Eph. 1—4.
   6. As the organism of the processed and consummated Triune God—3:17-19.
   7. Consummating in the New Jerusalem—Rev. 21:1-23:
      1. The eternal enlargement (cf. John 3:30) of Christ the God-man.
      2. The eternal mingling of the Triune God with the tripartite man.
      3. The mutual dwelling of God and man:
         1. The redeemed to be the tabernacle for the dwelling of God—Rev. 21:3.
         2. The redeeming God to be the temple for the dwelling of the redeemed—v. 22.
      4. To express the processed and consummated Triune God in His nature and glory—vv. 18b, 21b, 10-11, 23.
      5. In the redeemed, regenerated, transformed, and glorified tripartite man for eternity—vv. 12-21a.
3. The God of the tabernacle:
   1. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob:
      1. All of them living in a tent—Gen. 12:8; 13:18; 18:1; 26:17, 25; 33:18; 35:21; Heb. 11:9.
      2. Eagerly waiting for the eternal tabernacle of God, the city of New Jerusalem—Heb. 11:10; Rev. 21:2-3.
   2. The Triune God embodied in the Son being incarnated to be His tabernacle on the earth:
      1. As the individual God-man Jesus—Matt. 1:21-23.
      2. Consummating in the corporate New Jerusalem:
         1. As the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles in the millennium—Lev. 23:34, 39-43; Rev. 2:7b.
         2. As the full enjoyment of the processed and consummated Triune God in eternity—Rev. 22:14, 19.