by A.B. Simpson
First – God gives Abraham the promise of future blessing. “I will make My covenant between thee and Me.” Abraham meets this promise and goes down upon his face before God to claim it. Then follows secondly the next tense of faith, which is the present tense. “As for Me behold My covenant is with thee.” The thing that God would do He now does. The thing that Abraham expected he now accepts and takes as a present fact. The future becomes the present tense and faith becomes action. But there is still a third tense and a third step of faith. “Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, for thy name shall be Abraham for a father of many nations have I made thee.” It is now the perfect tense.” The thing that was promised was done and is now finished.
Action has become transaction and has passed even beyond the present tense, and therefore Abraham must take the position of one who has passed through all these stages and has actually received his yet unseen blessing. He must change his name and stand before the public and be laughed at and called a fool, an old man in his dotage, a dreamer; as his neighbors ask him the reason of the strange difference in his name, and he tells them that God has made him the father of many nations. Faith must be sealed by testimony and testimony must be steeped in trial, shame and many a waiting hour of trusting in the dark.
But at length there comes the day of vindication, when the laugh is turned upon them and little Isaac is called the name of “Laughter” because God has made him to laugh instead of them in the glorious vindication of His believing child. Full Article and also read the article The Tenses of Salvation and the Meaning of Faith – John Drury