# Was Abraham already justified in Genesis 15:6?



## JTB.SDG (Mar 19, 2017)

Guys,

I think most people understand Abraham's conversion to have happened with Genesis 12, but the verse that is so important for understanding justification doesn't come until later, in Genesis 15:6, "Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness." Had he not believed in the Lord a good bit before this? Does anyone know the main ways that this has been explained in the past? Many thanks,

JB


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## timfost (Mar 19, 2017)

Calvin:



> We must now notice the circumstance of time. Abram was justified by faith many years after he had been called by God; after he had left his country a voluntary exile, rendering himself a remarkable example of patience and of continence; after he had entirely dedicated himself to sanctity and after he had, by exercising himself in the spiritual and external service of God, aspired to a life almost angelical. It therefore follows, that even to the end of life, we are led towards the eternal kingdom of God by the righteousness of faith. On which point many are too grossly deceived. For they grant, indeed, that the righteousness which is freely bestowed upon sinners and offered to the unworthy is received by faith alone; but they restrict this to a moment of time, so that he who at the first obtained justification by faith, may afterwards be justified by good works. By this method, faith is nothing else than the beginning of righteousness, whereas righteousness itself consists in a continual course of works. But they who thus trifle must be altogether insane. For if the angelical uprightness of Abram faithfully cultivated through so many years, in one uniform course, did not prevent him from fleeing to faith, for the sake of obtaining righteousness; where upon earth besides will such perfection be found, as may stand in God's sight? Therefore, by a consideration of the time in which this was said to Abram, we certainly gather, that the righteousness of works is not to be substituted for the righteousness of faith, in any such way, that one should perfect what the other has begun; but that holy men are only justified by faith, as long as they live in the world. If any one object, that Abram previously believed God, when he followed Him at His call, and committed himself to His direction and guardianship, the solution is ready; that we are not here told when Abram first began to be justified, or to believe in God; but that in this one place it is declared, or related, how he had been justified through his whole life. For if Moses had spoken thus immediately on Abram's first vocation, the cavil of which I have spoken would have been more specious; namely, that the righteousness of faith was only initial (so to speak) and not perpetual. But now since after such great progress, he is still said to be justified by faith, it thence easily appears that the saints are justified freely even unto death. I confess, indeed, that after the faithful are born again by the Spirit of God, the method of justifying differs, in some respect, from the former. For God reconciles to himself those who are born only of the flesh, and who are destitute of all good; and since he finds nothing in them except a dreadful mass of evils, he counts them just, by imputation. But those to whom he has imparted the Spirit of holiness and righteousness, he embraces with his gifts. Nevertheless, in order that their good works may please God, it is necessary that these works themselves should be justified by gratuitous imputation; but some evil is always inherent in them. Meanwhile, however, this is a settled point, that men are justified before God by believing not by working; while they obtain grace by faith, because they are unable to deserve a reward by works.

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## MW (Mar 19, 2017)

What was made explicit in chap. 15 is implicit in chap. 12. In Gal. 3, the apostle draws in the fact of Gentile justification from the promise made to Abraham in Gen. 12. The promise of chap. 15 gives a further clarification to the promise made in chap. 12, so faith and justification must have been present in the earlier call. It seems appropriate that his justification should be made explicit at the specific time when he believed in the clear revelation of Christ as his seed (accepting the natural interpretation of the apostle's words in Gal. 3:16).

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## Ed Walsh (Mar 19, 2017)

JTB.SDG said:


> Guys,
> 
> I think most people understand Abraham's conversion to have happened with Genesis 12, but the verse that is so important for understanding justification doesn't come until later, in Genesis 15:6, "Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness." Had he not believed in the Lord a good bit before this? Does anyone know the main ways that this has been explained in the past?



I didn't check how this "has been explained in the past," but I have this in favor of a Genesis 12 conversion (justification).

In Hebrews 11, the faith chapter, Abraham is considered faithful in Genesis chapter 12:

Hebrews 11:8-10
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Paul quotes (paraphrases) Genesis 12:3 in Galatians 3:8
8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.

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## KeithW (Mar 19, 2017)

The word "_in_" in the phrase "believed in the Lord" (KJV Gen. 15:6) can cause us to be mislead. This can sound like believing that the Lord exists. Other translations like NIV and ESV render this "believed the Lord". The New Testament KJV quotes Gen. 15:6 in this manner.

KJV Rom. 4:3 For what saith the scripture? *Abraham believed God*, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

KJV Gal. 3:6 Even as *Abraham believed God*, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

KJV James 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, *Abraham believed God*, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.​
In Gen. 15:6, what is the context of what Abraham believed? It is contained in the immediately preceding verses. It has to do with the promises God just stated. (As others point out, God originally made this promise in Gen. 12.) The Bible provides us help to understand what we are to make of this statement about Abraham in the form of inspired commentary in Romans 4. Consider what is being said when you finally get to verse 21 -- Abraham was fully persuaded that what God had promised He was also able to perform.

There are two elements here. God has the power to perform what He has promised, and God is faithful to keep His promises. The latter is covered extensively in other parts of the Bible. So Abraham was fully persuaded about _what_, and _this_ was counted to him for righteousness.

(edit: It is really helpful to read the complete life story of Abraham in Genesis, and all of the New Testament passages on Abraham, to see how Gen. 15:6 fits.)

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## JTB.SDG (Mar 19, 2017)

Thanks for the replies fellas. Tim, I really love that Calvin quote, thank you. 

Rev. Winzer, thank you for the comments about clarifying in Genesis 15 what was less clear in chapter 12; that is helpful as well. In your last sentence, you said that Genesis 15:6 was when Abraham believes in the clear revelation of Christ as his seed, paralleling that to Galatians 3:16. Is there a verse in Genesis 15 before verse 6 that alludes to Christ as the single seed? I know different folks have different views on what Paul was referring to in Galatians 3:16 (for instance, the single seed in Genesis 22:17-18), but I wasn't aware that one possibility was earlier in Genesis 15. Would that be verse 4 (near fulfillment Isaac but far fulfillment in Christ)? It would seem verse 5 refers to the wider, plural type of seed, right? Thanks again.


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## MW (Mar 19, 2017)

JTB.SDG said:


> Would that be verse 4 (near fulfillment Isaac but far fulfillment in Christ)? It would seem verse 5 refers to the wider, plural type of seed, right? Thanks again.



Yes; out of his bowels, from his inward parts, proceeding from his own body, is the same as would later be made to David, and very significant in connection with the opening of Matthew's gospel.

The tension-point after the opening revelation is the fact that there is "no seed" as an heir. Verse 4 relieves that tension and then verse 5 expands upon it. My understanding is that "seed" carries within it a singular or plural possibility. As you note, verse 5 is looking at a plurality.


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## timfost (Mar 20, 2017)

JTB.SDG said:


> I really love that Calvin quote, thank you.



Yes, me too. One thing that I think is especially helpful in that quote is that by placing this verse years after Abraham's conversion, it is emphasized that he was not _only _justified by the means of faith (past tense), but he was _continually_ (perpetually) justified by faith. This counters the idea that once we are justified we maintain our salvation by good works. Rather, we _continually_ benefit from the outpouring of Christ's righteousness by the means of faith throughout our sanctification. Because of this, we should never think of ourselves as more worthy of the kingdom of God, since our good works are *not* making us _more justified_. In no way does this contradict how a believer grows in their sanctification and becomes more conformed to Christ's image, but we should always be on our guard lest we think our righteousness is worthy to stand before God apart from Christ's righteousness continually received by faith.

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## JTB.SDG (Mar 20, 2017)

timfost said:


> Yes, me too. One thing that I think is especially helpful in that quote is that by placing this verse years after Abraham's conversion, it is emphasized that he was not _only _justified by the means of faith (past tense), but he was _continually_ (perpetually) justified by faith. This counters the idea that once we are justified we maintain our salvation by good works. Rather, we _continually_ benefit from the outpouring of Christ's righteousness by the means of faith throughout our sanctification. Because of this, we should never think of ourselves as more worthy of the kingdom of God, since our good works are *not* making us _more justified_. In no way does this contradict how a believer grows in their sanctification and becomes more conformed to Christ's image, but we should always be on our guard lest we think our righteousness is worthy to stand before God apart from Christ's righteousness continually received by faith.



Yes, that's what stood out to my as I read it. It made me think also of when Paul quotes in Romans 1 and Galatians 3 the verse from Habakkuk, "the righteous shall live [IE, be justified] by faith." I think this verse emphasizes the same truth. I was meditating on it recently, trying to discern the significance of the fact that Scripture says in Romans 4 that the UNRIGHTEOUS are justified by faith on the one hand, but also that the RIGHTEOUS shall live by faith, and this is more or less how I came to view it; that its not only ungodly sinners that are justified, but even the "righteous" (in the best sense of the word; IE, Christians) shall live by faith. Just because we start becoming a "righteous" person (sanctification, etc), that doesn't mean that we're now justified BECAUSE we've started becoming a righteous person. Love that truth. We're not just justified despite all our sin, we also continue to be justified completely apart from any and all "Christian righteousness."

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