And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God.
Parallel translations
- WEB and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness”; and he was called the friend of God.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.
- NASB and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God.
- NLT And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Scripture's word that Abraham believed God and was counted righteous was fulfilled, and he was called God's friend. His later obedience confirmed the faith long before credited to him.
Overview
James quotes Genesis 15:6—the same text Paul uses for justification by faith—showing that Abraham's faith was reckoned as righteousness before his works. The offering of Isaac "fulfilled" or fleshed out that declared righteousness. James and Paul are complementary: faith alone justifies before God, and works prove that faith is alive, marking Abraham as God's friend.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Gen 15:6Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
- Isa 41:8“But you, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend—
- 2 Chr 20:7Our God, did You not drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham Your friend?
- Gal 3:6So also, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
- Rom 4:22–24This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”
- Exod 33:11Thus the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young assistant Joshua son of Nun would not leave the tent.
- Rom 4:3–6For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
- John 15:13–15Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
- Rom 11:2God did not reject His people, whom He foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel:
- Gal 3:22But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.
- Gal 3:8–10The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
- Job 16:21Oh, that a man might plead with God as he pleads with his neighbor!
- Rom 4:10–11In what context was it credited? Was it after his circumcision, or before? It was not after, but before.
- Rom 9:17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”
- Luke 4:21and He began by saying, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
- Mark 15:27Along with Jesus, they crucified two robbers, one on His right and one on His left.
- Mark 12:10Have you never read this Scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
- 1 Pet 2:6For it stands in Scripture: “See, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
- 2 Tim 3:16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
- Acts 1:16“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit foretold through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus.
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Christ at the center
The wisdom from above and the royal law of love are the life of those who belong to 'our glorious Lord Jesus Christ' — faith in him made visible in works.
How James 2:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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