I wonder... #20
I wonder...
"Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness'—and he was called a friend of God."James 2:21-23
What does James mean when he says, that Abraham's "faith was completed by his works"?
The Greek word for "was completed" (τελειόω, 'to make whole, perfect, complete') is from the τελ- word group, which "can mean both moral integrity and the unblemished wholeness of a sacrifice offered in the Temple" (Bauckham). This "cultic resonance" comes from its use in the Septuagint to describe sacrifices that meet Mosaic purity laws...How might the use of this word serve to clarify the discussion of faith and works in James by placing it in the context of his broader theme of wholehearted devotion to God (a theme brought up also 2:23b by referring to Abraham as "a friend of God"--contrast with 4:4)?
Also, what does James mean by saying that Abraham's faith was "active along with his works"? The Greek word for "active along with" is actually the etymological root for the English word synergy. What does he mean by "active along with"? Is this different from saying that Abraham's words supplemented his faith?
Finally, how is "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness" fulfilled? Is James treating this declaration in the same way we treat prophecy? Is this declaration anticipating Gen 22? Or is James drawing an antithetical parallel to his hypothetical interlocutor in 2:18 who "says" that he has faith even without works? Is James' point, "God's word is not a void declaration, because Abraham's works fulfill (or complete) God's declaration that Abraham is righteous" (contrasting what God "says" with what his opponent "says")? Or is James drawing a connection to what he has said early in the same chapter concerning fulfilling the royal law (2:8)?
"Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness'—and he was called a friend of God."James 2:21-23
What does James mean when he says, that Abraham's "faith was completed by his works"?
The Greek word for "was completed" (τελειόω, 'to make whole, perfect, complete') is from the τελ- word group, which "can mean both moral integrity and the unblemished wholeness of a sacrifice offered in the Temple" (Bauckham). This "cultic resonance" comes from its use in the Septuagint to describe sacrifices that meet Mosaic purity laws...How might the use of this word serve to clarify the discussion of faith and works in James by placing it in the context of his broader theme of wholehearted devotion to God (a theme brought up also 2:23b by referring to Abraham as "a friend of God"--contrast with 4:4)?
Also, what does James mean by saying that Abraham's faith was "active along with his works"? The Greek word for "active along with" is actually the etymological root for the English word synergy. What does he mean by "active along with"? Is this different from saying that Abraham's words supplemented his faith?
Finally, how is "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness" fulfilled? Is James treating this declaration in the same way we treat prophecy? Is this declaration anticipating Gen 22? Or is James drawing an antithetical parallel to his hypothetical interlocutor in 2:18 who "says" that he has faith even without works? Is James' point, "God's word is not a void declaration, because Abraham's works fulfill (or complete) God's declaration that Abraham is righteous" (contrasting what God "says" with what his opponent "says")? Or is James drawing a connection to what he has said early in the same chapter concerning fulfilling the royal law (2:8)?
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