Bringing Forth Christ – Part 3 – Isaac

Isaac was the child of promise. He was the long awaited child of Abraham and Sarah who was born only after God’s miraculous enabling of a 100 year old man and 90 year old woman to have a child (Gen. 17:17). Ishmael was the product of the flesh, but Isaac was a product of the power of God. In the same way if we are born again we are children of the Spirit, not children of the flesh. Those who receive Christ and believe in Him receive power to become sons of God. It is impossible for the natural man to produce truly Christ-like behavior. Perhaps the natural man can mimic a few small features, but he produces only a caricatured Christ, not the Christ found in the Gospels and throughout the Bible. However through becoming a partaker of the divine nature, a believer can begin to grow in that nature and manifest the true character of Christ.
Besides his birth Isaac also shows us something in his meekness. In Genesis 26:18-25, Isaac moved away rather than fight over wells which his men had dug. In this he showed a small portion of the nature of the One who would leave the splendors of heaven for the sorrows of earth. He was rewarded for his twice leaving by obtaining at last a well that was not fought over and room on every side. Like Christ he did not fight but committed his cause to the Just Judge of All. The significance of these actions can be seen in that it was shortly after them that the Lord appeared to him and confirmed the covenant of Abraham with him (v.24-25). Meekness is an essential quality for us to have if we want to bring forth the character of Christ in our lives. May God grant that we all obtain it. Amen.