Genesis 15, verse six is crucially important for understanding the nature of the Christian faith and life. Both the apostles Paul and James quote this text in explaining the way of salvation and the Christian life. When we understand that this is not the first time that God's word has come to Abram, nor the first time that Abram has demonstrated faith in God, we realize that we are being told something of vital importance at the beginning of Genesis 15. After all, it is the first time that the phrase "the word of the Lord" is used in Scripture and it is used twice at the beginning of the chapter. But it is also the first time that we are told Abram believed God. This belief in God is credited to Abram as righteousness. The faith in God that justifies is present in Abram and every sinner who believes in God because of the word of the Lord resurrecting the spiritually dead. Not simply faith, but faith in God and His word is what results in a sinner counted as righteous by God.

The way of salvation is clarified for us in Genesis 15. At the very beginning of the chapter, God's word comes to Abram, and tells Abram not to fear, because God is Abram's shield and very great reward. It is God's word that removes Abram's fear and ours, and it does this through God's sovereign mercy, through victory over sin, through correcting our interpretation of our circumstances, and through confirmation to our senses. Through it all we see the supremacy of God's word for our salvation.