Nineteen aspects of God's manifestation in Abraham's life – similarity (those with similar natures are grouped together)

 

 

Nineteen aspects of God's manifestation in Abraham's life – similarity (those with similar natures are grouped together) 

Acts 7:2 Stephen said, “Listen, brothers and elders, when our father Abraham was still in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran, the glorious God appeared to him.

Genesis 12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘This land I will give to your offspring.’ So Abram built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.”

Sameness (aspects of the same nature, grouped)

Common nature	Aspects in this group	What they share
Promise and blessing	2, 3, 5, 17	All concern the seed, the land, and the blessing of the nations, and the promise is repeated again and again
Secret protection of His friend and his household	4, 12, 13	All are rescues. In 4 and 13 Sarah is delivered from a foreign king (Pharaoh, Abimelech), and in 12 Lot is delivered
Supply and protection after battle	6, 7	Both come after the defeat of the four kings: one supplies bread and wine, the other is shield and reward
Covenant and unchanging faithfulness	7, 8, 10, 14	In each God confirms His own word: justification, covenant, the covenant of circumcision, and recognizing only Isaac
Dealing with the flesh, affirming grace	9, 10, 14	All center on the contrast between Ishmael (flesh) and Isaac (grace, resurrection)
Human friendship	11, 12, 13, 18 (19 as summation)	God treats Abraham as a friend on the human level
Offering, substitution, and blessing	15, 16, 17	One event in Genesis 22, in three stages
Types and appearings of Christ	3, 6, 10, 16, 17	The seed, Melchizedek, Isaac, the ram, and the Angel of Jehovah all point to Christ

 

*Please refer to the 2026 Autumn Training for Elders and Responsible Brothers, General Topic: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Chapter Two: The God of Abraham as Seen in His Treatment of Abraham.

Nineteen aspects of God's manifestation in Abraham's life – reciprocity (mutual response, moving towards the same goal)

 

Nineteen aspects of God's manifestation in Abraham's life – reciprocity (mutual response, moving towards the same goal) 

Acts 7:2 Stephen said, “Listen, brothers and elders, when our father Abraham was still in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran, the glorious God appeared to him.

Genesis 12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘This land I will give to your offspring.’ So Abram built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.”

Mutual Correspondence (calling and answering toward one goal)

Type of correspondence	Beginning	Response	What corresponds
Opening and closing	The God of blessing (second calling)	The blessing Triune God (last speaking)	At the start the promise is that others will be blessed; at the end God swears that all nations will be blessed in the seed
Starting point and goal	The God of glory  (draws him out)	The God for the eternal economy	It begins with the drawing of glory and ends with the seed, Christ, accomplishing the economy
Promise, repetition, covenant	The God of the land, then The God of comfort and encouragement	The faithful God	The promise of the land is repeated and finally guaranteed by covenant
Supply and security after battle	The Most High God (present supply)	The shield and great reward (future protection and reward)	One relieves present weariness; the other relieves fear of retaliation
Foretelling and fulfillment	The all-sufficient God (announces Isaac, Gen. 17:19)	The unchanging God (recognizes Isaac, Gen. 21)	What God said, God Himself fulfills
Fulfillment and continuation	The unchanging God (Isaac as the only son)	The God of friendship on the human level  (a wife for Isaac)	The seed is able to continue
Visiting and remembering	The God of human friendship  (visits His friend)	The God of friendship in humanity (remembers and rescues Lot)	God talks with him in the visit, then acts
Demand and provision	The testing God (asks for the offering)	The providing Triune God (provides the ram as substitute)	What God demands, God Himself provides

 

*Please refer to the 2026 Autumn Training for Elders and Responsible Brothers, General Topic: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Chapter Two: The God of Abraham as Seen in His Treatment of Abraham.

Nineteen aspects of God's manifestation in Abraham's life – proportionality (the proportion of God's manifestation to Abraham's circumstances)

 

Nineteen aspects of God's manifestation in Abraham's life – proportionality (the proportion of God's manifestation to Abraham's circumstances) 

Acts 7:2 Stephen said, “Listen, brothers and elders, when our father Abraham was still in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran, the glorious God appeared to him.

Genesis 12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘This land I will give to your offspring.’ So Abram built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.”

Fittingness (God’s aspect fits Abraham’s situation)

#	Aspect of God	Abraham’s situation or need at the time	Why it fits
1	The God of glory	In a land of idol worship	Idols are empty; only an appearing of glory could draw him out
2	The God of blessing	Leaving his country and kindred	God gives him a name and a blessing to make up for what he left
3	The God of the land	A sojourner in Canaan with no land of his own	The Owner of all the earth gives the land to his friend’s seed
4	The God who secretly cares for His chosen ones	Sarah taken by Pharaoh, and he could not rescue her	God acted in secret to deliver her
5	The God of comfort and encouragement	His father dead and Lot gone, so he was alone	In his loneliness God gave promise and comfort
6	The Most High God	Weary after battle	Bread and wine refreshed him
7	The God who is the shield and exceedingly great reward	Afraid of retaliation by the four kings, yet having rescued Lot	God shielded him and rewarded his merit
8	The faithful God	The promise not yet fulfilled, so he needed assurance	God made a covenant as a guarantee
9	The silent God	Took Hagar by the flesh	The silence made him stop and see the outcome of the flesh
10	The all-sufficient God	The natural man needed to be terminated, and he still would not give up Ishmael	In His all-sufficiency God ended the old man by circumcision and brought forth the new man in resurrection
11	The God of human friendship	In harmony with God after the covenant of circumcision	God walked and talked with him as a friend
12	The God of friendship in humanity	His nephew Lot was in Sodom	Remembering His friend, God delivered Lot and his family
13	The Almighty God	Sarah fell into Abimelech’s hands	God restored her with His great power
14	The unchanging God	After Isaac’s birth, the issue of Ishmael remained	God held to the principle of grace and kept His word
15	The testing God	His beloved only son, Isaac	God tested whether he loved God more than the one he loved
16	The providing Triune God	Isaac was about to be offered, with no substitute	God Himself provided the ram as a substitute
17	The blessing Triune God	After complete obedience	God answered his obedience by swearing to bless
18	The God of friendship on the human level	Isaac needed a wife, and Abraham was old	God guided the old servant to accomplish it
19	The God for the eternal economy	The sum of his whole life	God brought every aspect together in the seed, Christ

 

*Please refer to the 2026 Autumn Training for Elders and Responsible Brothers, General Topic: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Chapter Two: The God of Abraham as Seen in His Treatment of Abraham.

 

Nineteen aspects of God's manifestation in Abraham's life - opposites (contrast)

 

Nineteen aspects of God's manifestation in Abraham's life - opposites (contrast) 

Acts 7:2 Stephen said, “Listen, brothers and elders, when our father Abraham was still in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran, the glorious God appeared to him.

Genesis 12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘This land I will give to your offspring.’ So Abram built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.” 

Contrast	Aspect A	Aspect B	Point of contrast
Speaking and silence	The faithful God (speaks, makes covenant)	The silent God	One speaks and assures repeatedly; the other is silent for thirteen years
Distance and nearness	The silent God	The God of human friendship	After thirteen years of silence, God from then on walks and talks with him as a friend
Hidden and manifested	The God who secretly cares (works in secret)	The God of glory  (His appearing is glory)	Lee says that if God hides Himself there is no glory, and when He appears that is glory
Splendor and lowliness	The God of glory  (brilliant, shining)	The God of human friendship (human form, eating, foot-washing)	One is the shining of glory; the other is God coming down to the human level
Earthly and heavenly	The God of comfort and encouragement  (seed like the dust)	The God who is the shield and great reward (seed like the stars of heaven)	The earthly seed, according to human nature, versus the heavenly seed, according to divine nature
Flesh and grace	The silent God (Ishmael born of the flesh)	The unchanging God  (Isaac born of grace)	One comes from man’s doing, the other from God’s grace
Asking and giving	The testing God  (asks for the only son)	The blessing Triune God (swears to bless greatly)	First he is asked to offer up, then he is given a greater blessing
Might and gentleness	The Almighty God (closes the wombs of Abimelech’s house)	The God of friendship in humanity (remembers and rescues)	They look opposite on the surface, but both serve the care of His friend

 

*Please refer to the 2026 Autumn Training for Elders and Responsible Brothers, General Topic: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Chapter Two: The God of Abraham as Seen in His Treatment of Abraham.