What was Abraham's Experience? Romans 4:1

Sir, why is the Hebrew word "believed" in Gen 15:6 a hiphil?

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[May 6, 2025, 4:03 PM]

I have no idea at all. I'm hardly proficient in biblical Hebrew. I use language tools to aid me. I will just stick to the translation by competent linguists, logicians, and god-fearing men.

Gen 15
4 ¶And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
6 ¶And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Verses 4-5 are a two-verse paragraph.
Verse 6 is a one-verse paragraph.

The LORD made a momentous promise to Abraham, "he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir... So shall thy seed be."  Out of this SEED (singular - referring to Christ), all nations shall be blessed, and Abraham's spiritual descendants shall be as numerous as the stars in space.

Galatians 3:16 KJT — "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ."

Abraham believed in the Promised Seed. His faith was counted to him for righteousness - THAT IS, the LORD blessed Abraham's act of believing to experience the blessedness of his righteous standing before the LORD. This is practical/experiential/evidential justification.

Romans 4
1 ¶What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? [i.e. what was Abraham's experience?]
2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. [i.e works of ceremonial laws]
3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. [i.e. faith in Christ  versus the observation of ceremonial laws in experiential justification.]

Apostle Paul demonstrated that Abraham experienced the blessedness of his justified state through faith in Jesus Christ and NOT through the observation of some ceremonial laws as the perverse Judaizers insisted.

Too many  - both Calvinists, Arminians, and Carminians - mindlessly read v6 as the time when the righteousness of Christ was accounted to Abraham for his justification because he believed.

They see v6 as the specific time Abraham was justified by the LORD; and He justified Abraham because Abraham believed in the promised Seed.

This stupid (lacking common sense) idea NECESSARILY IMPLIES that before Gen 15:6, Abraham was still an unjustified man before God. An unjustified man is a man STILL in his native state, under condemnation and death.

Justification by Christ's righteousness is the justification of life, Romans 5:18. What do you read in Gen 12-14 - what kind of a man was Abraham?

The LORD had freely justified Abram when he was still in the Ur of the Chaldeans. That's why he could obey the Lord when he was called to leave his homeland, etc.

Genesis 12:1 KJV — Now the LORD HAD said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee.

Note  the word "HAD."

I hope this helps. 

Begetting and Parenting

Begetting and Parenting;
Sonship and Discipleship.
They are distinct!

Sonship: a condemned, dead, alien sinner being justified, regenerated and adopted into the family of God - is by God's free grace alone, completely monergistic; it is God's work alone, man being dead in trespasses and sins, is completely passive. It is God's free and sovereign activities of producing His children.

John 1
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Discipleship is by the deliberate choice of God's children in rendering obedience to God's will in Jesus Christ, in response to God's grace working in them. It is synergistic; God's children are actively involved. Their carelessness and negligence can lead to the shipwreck of their faith; God's children can fall from faith, and they can end up barren.

Phl 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Plagiarism and the word of God

I noticed this lovely cup with its unique meme.

There is no fear of plagiarism if you quote and repeat the word of God. Just be careful that you don't add to or subtract from it for the all-knowing Author may show His displeasure upon you; misrepresenting Him and misleading His children are no small evils.

Rightly divide the word of truth, and you shall be commended as good and faithful; otherwise, your fault in twisting and perverting the word of truth should shame you.

1 Cor 4
1 So let a man think of us as the Lord's servants, and stewards of God's mysteries. 2 Here, moreover, it is required of stewards, that they be found faithful.

2 Tim 2
15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Job 42
7 And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.
8 Therefore, take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.

"... ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job." Bearing false witness of the LORD God is a grievous sin.

We look for new heavens and a new earth

 2Pet 3:13
Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

Some questions to assist you to rightly divide the word of truth:

1. What does the adverb 'nevertheless' refer back to?
- what has been set before them?

2. Who does the pronoun 'we' refer to?

3. Concerning the promise:
- Who made the promise?
- To whom was the promise made?
- Where is the promise recorded?

4. What is 'the new heavens and a new earth' that were promised?
- Why is it 'the new heavens and a new earth' to the recipients?
- What were the old heavens and old earth?
- What happened to the old, and when?

5 What does 'look for' imply?
- Are they still looking for it?
- Or what was looked for has since arrived?

6. Why is the new said to be indwelt with righteousness?

7. What was the old indwelt with?
- How and when was it particularly manifested?

8. Why was this promise so relevant to those who looked for it?
- Why was Apostle Peter reminding themselves of this promise?

9. Now read Apostle Paul reminding the Hebrews believers of the same promise: Hebrews 12
25 ¶See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

What is Apostle Paul reminding the Jewish believers of? (Now check 2Pet 3:16).

Let me hear your thoughts if you can keep to the questions.

Thank you most kindly.
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Take a look here:
https://things-new-and-old.blogspot.com/2009/11/we-look-for-new-heavens-and-new-earth.html

"... were baptized... and were added..."

Matthew 28 KJT
18 ¶And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Some observations:
1. The Apostles were authorized to baptize in the blessed name of the Triune God.

2. They were ALSO authorized to teach those baptized by them all things whatsoever Christ has commanded them.

3. Those baptized are brought under the authority of Christ; they are subject to all the things Christ has commanded.

4. Teaching the baptized all things whatsoever Christ has commanded necessarily requires the baptized to be members of local churches, to be brought under Christ's authority vested in the local churches.

This is what the Apostles did on the day of Pentecost - giving the apostolic example and setting the apostolic precedent for the NT practice.

Acts 2
40 ¶And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Those baptized were added to the church even though most of them were residents of distant cities scattered throughout the vast Roman Empire.

What puzzles me no end is why some good men would reject such an obvious and simple matter, i.e. baptism and membership with a local church belong together, by Christ's authority. Maybe they are disgusted by some churches baptizing young children who are unable to shoulder the responsibilities of membership. Why? Is membership only for the strong and able? Some even insist that being learned and grounded in the faith are prerequisites for membership, too!

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Bill
Amen, Bro. Sing! Baptism and membership in a local assembly are inextricably tied together.

Mark
It seems to me that the crux of the issues herein contained are the issues of whether Scripture is correctly interpreted to support a singular line of authority to baptize and thereby provide a singular line of membership or whether the line of authority exists without a singular such line. Please note that I have not said that the singular line can be historically proved all along the line. I simply am stating that these are the two lines of thought professed and that this is the crux of this issue.