“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son” (Hebrews 11:17).
The Greek word prosphero is used twice in this verse. Both times it is accurately translated as “offered up”. What is challenging to translate is the two different tenses the verb is written in and the subtle, yet powerful, pictures found therein.
“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac…” uses prosphero in the perfect tense. In Greek, this tense is used to communicate an abiding result from a series of previous actions. This subtly informs us of Abraham’s mental state. Long before he and Isaac arrived at Mount Moriah, the offering of his son of promise had already occurred. It was a done deal. Abraham believed without presuming that God would raise Isaac from the dead after he had offered him up (Hebrews 11:19).
“and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son” uses prosphero in the imperfect tense. In Greek, this tense is used to communicate a continuous state of action in the past. This reflects the physical facts of this event. As Abraham was in the process of offering Isaac as a sacrifice—after they had climbed the mount, Isaac had been bound and placed on the altar, and Abraham had raised the knife to plunge it into Isaac’s heart—he was physically interrupted and did not complete the process.
When an obedient faith permeates how you think, it results in an obedient faith in your life.
Therefore, to be an acceptable living sacrifice (Romans 12:1) you must transform the thinking of your mind (Romans 12:2).
