“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
— Galatians 6:9
Faith is not optimism—it is a state of being. It is the invisible certainty that defines and directs every visible outcome. In the biblical story of manifestation, Abraham stands as the first 'man" to fully embody this principle. His life personifies the birth of faith as active assumption. Neville Goddard often taught that manifestation begins in the unseen, and Abraham shows us how to stand unwavering in that invisible conviction.
The First Stirring of Faith
Abraham’s journey begins in Genesis 12, where he receives the promise without evidence, plan, or support:
“Now the Lord said to Abram, Go out of your country, and away from your family and your father’s house, into a land which I will show you: And I will make of you a great nation, blessing you and making your name great; and you will be a blessing.”
— Genesis 12:1–2
This promise is not supported by outward logic. Abraham is an old mindset. Sarah as loving imagination is barren. But faith is never about what can be seen. It is the inward "yes" to what the senses deny. For Neville, this is the Law of Assumption—the ability to dwell in the feeling of the wish fulfilled, even while appearances suggest otherwise.
Faith as Inner Certainty
The New Testament summarises Abraham’s confidence in God’s promise with stunning clarity:
“And not being feeble in faith though his body seemed to be dead (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s body; Still, he did not give up faith in the undertaking of God, but was made strong by faith, giving glory to God, And being certain that God was able to keep his word.”
— Romans 4:19–21
Abraham’s aged mindset said no. The world said no. Logic said no. But Abraham said yes. He persisted in the assumption that what was promised was already true. This is what Neville meant when he taught that faith is “loyalty to the unseen reality.”
Isaac: The Inner Laughter and Joy of Fulfilment
The child of promise, Isaac, meaning "he laughs", represents the initial emotional confirmation of faith—joy, delight, and the “click” of fulfilment that arises when the unseen is assumed and embraced. He is psychological and internal, the first state of fulfilment born from Abraham’s union with imagination (Sarah).
This joy is deeply tied to the cleaving principle in Genesis 2:24:
“For this cause will a man go away from his father and his mother and be joined to his wife; and they will be one flesh.”
— Genesis 2:24
The “joining” symbolises the mental union where conscious desire (Abraham) fuses with subconscious assumption (Sarah). Isaac is the product of this union—a living, internal manifestation of faith made joyful. Abraham must hold Isaac firmly in consciousness, bringing joy to every inner “command” or test from God, maintaining unwavering faith.
The Offering of Isaac — Offering Without Separation
In Genesis 22, Abraham is asked to sacrifice Isaac:
“And he said, Take your son, your only son, whom you love, even Isaac, and go into the land of Moriah, and give him as a burned offering on one of the mountains of which I will give you knowledge.”
— Genesis 22:2
This is not a demand for death—it is a call to offer and fix the inner joy-state fully. Abraham’s willingness demonstrates that true faith is detached from external form; he knows that the state of fulfilment remains in imagination, regardless of appearances. This act is a preliminary psychological crucifixion, practicing the consecration and immovability of the Isaac-state—prefiguring God’s ultimate offering of His only Son in the New Testament.
How to Manifest Like Abraham
Abraham’s life reveals the formula:
- Receive the promise (a desire awakens)
- Leave behind the familiar (detach from old beliefs)
- Cleave to the promise (fuse consciousness and assumption)
- Offer and fix the state (preliminary crucifixion—hold the inner joy in immovable faith)
Neville calls this process “living in the end.” Abraham did not hope—he believed. He did not look to the world—he looked within.
Final Reflection: Fixing Joy in Consciousness
Abraham’s faith is radical persistence in the unseen. Isaac is the inner laughter and joy of fulfilment, continually held and offered to every inner command. The preliminary crucifixion of Isaac prepares the way for the ultimate crucifixion in Christ, where the inner state is fully fixed and made unshakable in consciousness.
To live like Abraham is to treat your inner world as real, your assumptions as law, and your imagination as God.
Abraham Series | Genesis 2:24 Series | The Four: Fathers of the Law