A NEW NAME Genesis 17

...The Lord said to Abram, “From the place where you are standing, look up and gaze to the north, south, east, and west, because all the land that you see I give you and your descendants forever. I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth. If someone could count the bits of dust on the earth, then they could also count your descendants.  GGGenesis: 13:14-16

Abram was very wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold Abram was very wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold. Abram traveled, making and breaking camp, from the arid southern plain to Bethel and to the sacred place there, where he had first pitched his tent between Bethel and Ai, that is, to the place at which he had earlier built the altar.  Genesis 13:2-4 Genesis 13: 2-4

When Abram heard that his relative had been captured, he took all of the loyal men born in his household, three hundred eighteen, and went after them as far as Dan. During the night, he and his servants divided themselves up against them, attacked, and chased them to Hobah, north of Damascus.  He brought back all of the looted property, together with his relative Lot and Lot’s property, wives, and people. Genesis 14:4-16

When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Walk with me and be trustworthy. I will make a covenant between us and I will give you many, many descendants.” Abram fell on his face, and God said to him,  “But me, my covenant is with you; you will be the ancestor of many nations.  And because I have made you the ancestor of many nations, your name will no longer be Abram but Abraham. Genesis 17:1-5

I will make you very fertile I will make you very fertile. I will produce nations from you, and kings will come from you. I will set up my covenant with you and your descendants after you in every generation as an enduring covenant. I will be your God and your descendants’ God after you. I will give you and your descendants the land in which you are immigrants, the whole land of Canaan, as an enduring possession. And I will be their God.” Genesis 17:6-8

 But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you possibly give me, since I still have no children? The head of my household is Eliezer, a man from Damascus.”He continued, “Since you haven’t given me any children, the head of my household will be my heir.” Genesis 15:2-3

Abram said to Sarai, “Since she’s your servant, do whatever you wish to her.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and she ran away from Sarai. Genesis 16:6

When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Walk with me and be trustworthy. I will make a covenant between us and I will give you many, many descendants.” Abram fell on his face, and God said to him,  “But me, my covenant is with you; you will be the ancestor of many nations.  And because I have made you the ancestor of many nations, your name will no longer be Abram but Abraham. Genesis 17:1-5

I will make you very fertile I will make you very fertile. I will produce nations from you, and kings will come from you. I will set up my covenant with you and your descendants after you in every generation as an enduring covenant. I will be your God and your descendants’ God after you. I will give you and your descendants the land in which you are immigrants, the whole land of Canaan, as an enduring possession. And I will be their God.” Genesis 17:6-8

So then, from this point on we won’t recognize people by human standards. Even though we used to know Christ by human standards, that isn’t how we know him now.  So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!  All of these new things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and who gave us the ministry of reconciliation. 2 Cor. 5:16-19