Albert Barnes Commentary James 2:23

"and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God." — James 2:23 (ASV)

And the Scripture was fulfilled which says. That is, the fair and full meaning of the language of Scripture was expressed by this act, showing in the highest sense that his faith was genuine; or the declaration that he truly believed was confirmed or established by this act.

His faith was shown to be genuine; and the fair meaning of the declaration that he believed God was carried out in the subsequent act. The passage referred to here occurs in Genesis 15:6.

What Abraham is said to have believed, or in what he believed God, was this: This shall not be your heir (namely, Eliezer of Damascus), but he who shall come forth from your own bowels shall be your heir. And again: Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if you are able to number them. And he said to him, So shall your seed be (Genesis 15:3–5).

The act of confiding in these promises was that act of which it is said that he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. The act of offering his son on the altar, by which James says the Scripture was fulfilled, occurred some twenty years afterwards.

That act confirmed or fulfilled the declaration. It showed that his faith was genuine, and that the declaration that he believed in God was true; for what could do more to confirm that than a readiness to offer his own son at the command of God?

It cannot be supposed that James meant to say that Abraham was justified by works without respect to faith, or to deny that the primary ground of his justification in the sight of God was faith, for the very passage he quotes shows that faith was the primary consideration: Abraham believed God, and it was imputed, etc.

The meaning, therefore, can only be that this declaration received its fair and full expression when Abraham, by an act of obedience of the most striking character, long after he first exercised that faith by which he was accepted by God, showed that his faith was genuine. If he had not thus obeyed, his faith would have been inoperative and of no value. As it was, his act showed that the declaration of the Scripture that he believed was well founded.

Abraham believed God, and it was imputed, etc. (see Barnes on Romans 4:3 for a full explanation of this passage).

And he was called the Friend of God. In virtue of his strong faith and obedience. See 2 Chronicles 20:7: Are you not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and gave it to the seed of Abraham your friend forever? And Isaiah 41:8: But you, Israel, are my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. This was a most honourable appellation; but it is one which, in all cases, will result from true faith and obedience.