13
the readers to believe in the message of salvation which God brought about through his Son Jesus
Christ.
6:1320. In this passage the idea of Jesus being the object of faith is depicted in terms of the
word of God. In this passage the author relates God's oath to fulfill his promises to believers'
steadfastness to hold on to the promise of God. In 6:12 the author exhorts the readers not to
become dull but become imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
In order to demonstrate the persevering aspect of faith, the author of Hebrews employs
Abraham's example of steadfastness in verses 1315 to show that Abraham obtained the promise
of God by waiting for it patiently (makroqumhv
sa"
). Then what was Abraham's object of faith?
The context indicates that it was his faith in God's promise. The notion of God swearing by
himself signifies that he is bound to his word by his character and provides the guarantee that
excludes doubt and affirms the abiding validity of the promise.
41
Thus Abraham's belief was in
the God who was able to fulfill what he had promised, specifically, what he had promised him
(i.e., to Abraham). In other words, Abraham's behavior of steadfastness itself is an indicator of a
responsiveness to God and to his word.
42
In this sense, it can be said that the promise of God and
his faithfulness to keep his word were the very object of Abraham's faith (cf. Rom 4:2021).
Putting it another way, Abraham's faith was faith in God himself.
Here in this passage faith is expressed in terms of believing in God's promise and his ability
to fulfill it. Does this expression necessarily warrant that faith in Hebrews is removed from Christ
and his work? In what ways is it related to the Christological aspect of faith?
The context of Hebrews 5:116:8 give a clue to this question. This passage plainly indicates
that the description of faith in terms of "faith in God" or "God's promise" is none other than faith
in Christ himself. The phrase "the beginning principles about the oracles of God" (5:12) is
41 Lane, Hebrews 18, 151.
42 G. R. Hughes, Hebrews and Hermeneutics, 79.