Gen 15:4-6 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Gen 15:4-6: 15:4-6 God affirmed that the promise was for Abram’s own offspring and showed him the stars as a promise of the vast number of descendants that he would have (22:17 ; 26:4 ). Paul quotes this promise in Rom 4:18 to underscore the strength of Abram’s faith.

a15:4-6►

b22:17►

c26:4►

dRom 4:18►

e15:6►

fHeb 11:8-10►

gRom 4:3►

hGal 3:6►

iJas 2:23►

jRom 4:22-23►

‏ Genesis 15:4-6

Summary for Gen 15:4-6: 15:4-6 ^a God affirmed that the promise was for Abram’s own offspring and showed him the stars as a promise of the vast number of descendants that he would have (22:17 ^b; 26:4 ^c). Paul quotes this promise in Rom 4:18 ^d to underscore the strength of Abram’s faith.
15:6 ^e And Abram believed: God made his covenant with a believer; the statement does not indicate when Abram came to faith. The Hebrew text does not link Abram’s belief with the promise of the stars; it just says parenthetically that Abram believed God. Abram already had faith; his departure from Ur was his first great act that demonstrated it (see Heb 11:8-10 ^f).

• God counted him as righteous because of his faith: This central statement about Abram’s saving faith is quoted three times in the New Testament (Rom 4:3 ^g; Gal 3:6 ^h; Jas 2:23 ⁱ) to support the doctrine of righteousness before God by faith (see also Rom 4:22-23 ^j).