He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,
Truth to Learn
While waiting for God to fulfill His promise, Abraham’s faith got stronger, and he gave glory to God.
Behind the Words
The Greek word translated “waver” is diakrinō. This word is made up of dia, meaning “through,” though it is occasionally used to indicate “separation” and krinō, meaning “to distinguish, to judge, or to decide.” So, diakrinō in the passive voice, as it is used in this verse, implies being separated from oneself or to be in conflict with oneself. Hence it is often translated as “to doubt, to hesitate, or to waver.” This is the sense in which this word is used in today’s verse.
“Unbelief” is translated from apistia, which is made up of the privative a, meaning “not” or “without” and a form of pistis, meaning “a conviction or belief in a truth.” Hence, apistia refers to “the lack of faith or lack of belief.”
The word “strengthened” is from the Greek word endunamoō, which is made up of en, meaning “in” and dunamoō (from which we get our English word dynamite), meaning “to strengthen or to empower.” Therefore, endunamoō means “to make strong or vigorous” or “to strengthen.”
“Glory” is translated from the Greek word doxan, which primarily means “thought or opinion, especially favorable human opinion,” and thus in a secondary sense it means reputation, praise, honor.
Meaning Explained
This verse simply summarizes what has been said about Abraham in the previous few verses. In spite of his having to wait 20 years, Abraham did not stagger in his faith. The Greek actually says that “he did not waver in unbelief regarding God’s promise.” His faith was so sure and so strong that his faith did not weaken over time, and he apparently never doubted God once he accepted and believed the promise God made to him regarding his descendants.
I find the next phrase quite interesting. Paul says, “but (he) was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God.” If we look at Abraham’s life we see that he had many direct interactions with God. In each case he learned a little bit more about God, and each situation served to reaffirm his belief in God and in His promise to Abraham. So, instead of Abraham’s faith getting weaker over the course of time as he waited for God to fulfill His promise, his faith was unwavering and it actually was strengthened. As a result of his strengthening faith, Abraham gave glory to God. Do you see what that says? Abraham’s strong, unwavering faith actually enabled him to give glory to God while he waited. In a similar way, when we believe God’s promise and act on faith, we give honor to God. Also, as we learn to depend on God’s promises, which we must accept by faith alone, we become a testimony to his greatness.
Application
Are you going through a time of testing? Does God seem to be ignoring your prayers? If you remain firm in your faith and wait patiently for God, your faith will be strengthened and in time you will be able to praise God and give Him glory. Time won’t make your faith weaker, it will make it stronger!
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved
(618) 614-3070