Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Romans 4:18

Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

18. against hope in hope ] Lit. beyond hope upon hope. Here perhaps the first is subjective hope, the second objective. Abraham was asked to believe in a way which went beyond all mere impressions of probability; but he rested upon the “hope set before him” by the Divine promise, and believed.

that he might become ] with a view to becoming. Not that this was the radical motive of his trust; knowledge of God was that motive. But this great “joy set before him” was strongly present in his believing soul.

So shall thy seed be ] Gen 15:5. This is interesting, as an example of allusive quotation. St Paul takes it for granted that the reader knows the context, and thus understands the force of the “so.” Cp. Heb 6:13-14, where the very point of the quotation lies in the unquoted context. But that passage, addressed to Jewish disciples, is less remarkable than this, addressed to a mixed, and chiefly Gentile, Church. We have here a significant note of the Apostle’s encouragement of minute study of the O. T. among his Gentile converts. No doubt allusive quotation was much used by the Rabbis; but St Paul would not have used it with Gentiles had he not felt it to be in place. Notice that the words here quoted immediately precede (in Genesis 15) the words “Abraham believed God, &c.”

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Who against hope – Who against all apparent or usual ground of hope. He refers here to the prospect of a posterity; see Rom 4:19-21.

Believed in hope – Believed in what was promised to excite his hope. Hope here is put for the object of his hope – what was promised.

According to what was spoken – Gen 15:5.

So shall thy seed be – That is, as the stars in heaven for multitude. Thy posterity shall be very numerous.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 18. Who against hope believed in hope] The faith of Abraham bore an exact correspondence to the power and never-failing faithfulness of God; for though, in the ordinary course of things, he had not the best foundation of hope, yet he believed that he should be the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken; namely, that his posterity should be like the stars of heaven for multitude, and like the dust of the earth.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Here the apostle digresseth a little from his principal argument, and falls into a commendation of Abrahams faith.

Who against hope believed in hope: Abraham, when he had no natural or rational grounds of hope, either in respect of himself or Sarah his wife, did yet believe and hope he should have a son; and so be a root or stock, from whence many nations should spring: and this faith and hope of his was grounded upon the power and faithfulness of God.

So shall thy seed be; so as the stars of heaven for multitude, which must be supplied out of the promise, in Gen 15:5.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

18-22. Who against hopewhenno ground for hope appeared.

believed in hopethatis, cherished the believing expectation.

that he might become thefather of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shallthy seed bethat is, Such “as the stars of heaven,”Ge 15:5.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Who against hope believed in hope,…. Abraham believed the promise of God,

that he might become the father of many nations, being assisted by a supernatural aid: “in hope”; of the fulfilment of it by the grace and power of God: “against hope”: against all visible, rational grounds of hope; Sarah’s womb and his own body being dead, but inasmuch as God had said it, he believed:

according to that which is spoken, so shall thy seed be; his faith rested upon the word of God, which showed the nature of it, and that it was of the right kind.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

The Case of Abraham.

A. D. 58.

      17b — Before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.   18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.   19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb:   20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;   21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.   22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

      Having observed when Abraham was justified by faith, and why, for the honour of Abraham and for example to us who call him father, the apostle here describes and commends the faith of Abraham, where observe,

      I. Whom he believed: God who quickeneth. It is God himself that faith fastens upon: other foundation can no man lay. Now observe what in God Abraham’s faith had an eye to–to that, certainly, which would be most likely to confirm his faith concerning the things promised:– 1. God who quickeneth the dead. It was promised that he should be the father of many nations, when he and his wife were now as good as dead (Heb 11:11; Heb 11:12), and therefore he looks upon God as a God that could breathe life into dry bones. He that quickeneth the dead can do any thing, can give a child to Abraham when he is old, can bring the Gentiles, who are dead in trespasses and sins, to a divine and spiritual life, Eph. ii. 1. Compare Eph 1:19; Eph 1:20. 2. Who calleth things which are not as though they were; that is, creates all things by the word of his power, as in the beginning, Gen 1:3; 2Co 4:6. The justification and salvation of sinners, the espousing of the Gentiles that had not been a people, were a gracious calling of things which are not as though they were, giving being to things that were not. This expresses the sovereignty of God and his absolute power and dominion, a mighty stay to faith when all other props sink and totter. It is the holy wisdom and policy of faith to fasten particularly on that in God which is accommodated to the difficulties wherewith it is to wrestle, and will most effectually answer the objections. It is faith indeed to build upon the all-sufficiency of God for the accomplishment of that which is impossible to anything but that all-sufficiency. Thus Abraham became the father of many nations before him whom he believed, that is, in the eye and account of God; or like him whom he believed; as God was a common Father, so was Abraham. It is by faith in God that we become accepted of him, and conformable to him.

      II. How he believed. He here greatly magnifies the strength of Abraham’s faith, in several expressions. 1. Against hope, he believed in hope, v. 18. There was a hope against him, a natural hope. All the arguments of sense, and reason, and experience, which in such cases usually beget and support hope, were against him; no second causes smiled upon him, nor in the least favoured his hope. But, against all those inducements to the contrary, he believed; for he had a hope for him: He believed in hope, which arose, as his faith did, from the consideration of God’s all-sufficiency. That he might become the father of many nations. Therefore God, by his almighty grace, enabled him thus to believe against hope, that he might pass for a pattern of great and strong faith to all generations. It was fit that he who was to be the father of the faithful should have something more than ordinary in his faith–that in him faith should be set in its highest elevation, and so the endeavours of all succeeding believers be directed, raised, and quickened. Or this is mentioned as the matter of the promise that he believed; and he refers to Gen. xv. 5, So shall thy seed be, as the stars of heaven, so innumerable, so illustrious. This was that which he believed, when it was counted to him for righteousness, v. 6. And it is observable that this particular instance of his faith was against hope, against the surmises and suggestions of his unbelief. He had just before been concluding hardly that he should go childless, that one born in his house was his heir (Rom 4:2; Rom 4:3); and this unbelief was a foil to his faith, and bespeaks it a believing against hope. 2. Being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body, v. 19. Observe, His own body was now dead–become utterly unlikely to beget a child, though the new life and vigour that God gave him continued after Sarah was dead, witness his children by Keturah. When God intends some special blessing, some child of promise, for his people, he commonly puts a sentence of death upon the blessing itself, and upon all the ways that lead to it. Joseph must be enslaved and imprisoned before he be advanced. But Abraham did not consider this, ou katenoese—he did not dwell in his thoughts upon it. He said indeed, Shall a child be born to him that is a hundred years old? Gen. xvii. 17. But that was the language of his admiration and his desire to be further satisfied, not of his doubting and distrust; his faith passed by that consideration, and thought of nothing but the faithfulness of the promise, with the contemplation whereof he was swallowed up, and this kept up his faith. Being not weak in faith, he considered not. It is mere weakness of faith that makes a man lie poring upon the difficulties and seeming impossibilities that lie in the way of a promise. Though it may seem to be the wisdom and policy of carnal reason, yet it is the weakness of faith, to look into the bottom of all the difficulties that arise against the promise. 3. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief (v. 20), and he therefore staggered not because he considered not the frowns and discouragements of second causes; ou diekrithe—he disputed not; he did not hold any self-consultation about it, did not take time to consider whether he should close with it or no, did not hesitate nor stumble at it, but by a resolute and peremptory act of his soul, with a holy boldness, ventured all upon the promise. He took it not for a point that would admit of argument or debate, but presently determined it as a ruled case, did not at all hang in suspense about it: he staggered not through unbelief. Unbelief is at the bottom of all our staggerings at God’s promises. It is not the promise that fails, but our faith that fails when we stagger. 4. He was strong in faith, giving glory to God, enedynamothe—he was strengthened in faith, his faith got ground by exercise–crescit eundo. Though weak faith shall not be rejected, the bruised reed not broken, the smoking flax not quenched, yet strong faith shall be commended and honoured. The strength of his faith appeared in the victory it won over his fears. And hereby he gave glory to God; for, as unbelief dishonours God by making him a liar ( 1 John v. 10), so faith honours God by setting to its seal that he is true, John iii. 33. Abraham’s faith gave God the glory of his wisdom, power, holiness, goodness, and especially of his faithfulness, resting upon the word that he had spoken. Among men we say, “He that trusts another, gives him credit, and honours him by taking his word;” thus Abraham gave glory to God by trusting him. We never hear our Lord Jesus commending any thing so much as great faith (Mat 8:10; Mat 15:28): therefore God gives honour to faith, great faith, because faith, great faith, gives honour to God. 5. He was fully persuaded that what God had promised he was able to perform, plerophoretheis—was carried on with the greatest confidence and assurance; it is a metaphor taken from ships that come into the harbour with full sail. Abraham saw the storms of doubts, and fears, and temptations likely to rise against the promise, upon which many a one would have shrunk back, and lain by for fairer days, and waited a smiling gale of sense and reason. But Abraham, having taken God for his pilot, and the promise for his card and compass, resolves to weather his point, and like a bold adventurer sets up all his sails, breaks through all the difficulties, regards neither winds nor clouds, but trusts to the strength of his bottom and the wisdom and faithfulness of his pilot, and bravely makes to the harbour, and comes home an unspeakable gainer. Such was his full persuasion, and it was built on the omnipotence of God: He was able. Our waverings rise mainly from our distrust of the divine power; and therefore to fix us it is requisite we believe not only that he is faithful, but that he is able, that hath promised. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness, v. 22. Because with such a confidence he ventured his all in the divine promise, God graciously accepted him, and not only answered, but out-did, his expectation. This way of glorifying God by a firm reliance on his bare promise was so very agreeable to God’s design, and so very conducive to his honour, that he graciously accepted it as a righteousness, and justified him, though there was not that in the thing itself which could merit such an acceptance. This shows why faith is chosen to be the prime condition of our justification, because it is a grace that of all others gives glory to God.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

In hope believed against hope (‘ ‘ ). “Past hope in (upon) hope he trusted.” Graphic picture.

To the end that he might become ( ). Purpose clause again with to and the infinitive as in verses 11-16.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

1) “Who against hope,” (hos gar elpida) “Who beyond hope,” beyond the natural age one could hope for children to be born to them (Abraham and Sara),

2) “Believed in hope,” (ep’ elpidi episteusen) “Upon hope believed;” Hope is a product of faith –faith in God and faith in one’s fellowman. Literally “in hope,” having already been saved, before the renewed promise of Isaac, he kept on believing God till Isaac was born, Gen 21:12; Gal 4:23; Heb 11:18.

3) “That he might become the father f many nations,” (eis to genesthai auton pater pollon ethnon) “So that he might become a father of many nations,” of many heathen, races, nation, and peoples, who should believe the gospel of redemption to the righteousness of God, thru faith in Jesus Christ, Gen 17:5; Rom 4:6.

4) “According to that which was spoken,” (kata to eiremenon) “According to the thing having been spoken;” that which was spoken in promise to him and Sara, Gen 12:1-3; Gen 15:3-6; Gen 15:18; Gen 17:5-8; Gen 17:15-19; Gen 18:10-14; Gen 21:2-3.

5) “So shall thy seed be,” (houtos estai to sperma soul “So shall thy seed exist;” What God promises, he performs. Men must believe the gospel (the good news of Salvation) as Abraham did to be saved, to be accounted as Spiritual seed of Abraham, Gal 3:8; Act 10:43; Rom 9:8.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

18. Who against hope, etc. If we thus read, the sense is, that when there was no probable reason, yea, when all things were against him, he yet continued to believe. And, doubtless, there is nothing more injurious to faith than to fasten our minds to our eyes, that we may from what we see, seek a reason for our hope. We may also read, “above hope,” and perhaps more suitably; as though he had said that by his faith he far surpassed all that he could conceive; for except faith flies upward on celestial wings so as to look down on all the perceptions of the flesh as on things far below, it will stick fast in the mud of the world. But Paul uses the word hope twice in this verse: in the first instance, he means a probable evidence for hoping, such as can be derived from nature and carnal reason; in the second he refers to faith given by God; (145) for when he had no ground for hoping he yet in hope relied on the promise of God; and he thought it a sufficient reason for hoping, that the Lord had promised, however incredible the thing was in itself.

According to what had been said, etc. So have I preferred to render it, that it may be applied to the time of Abraham; for Paul meant to say, that Abraham, when many temptations were drawing him to despair, that he might not fail, turned his thoughts to what had been promised to him, “Thy seed shall equal the stars of heaven and the sands of the sea;” but he resignedly adduced this quotation incomplete, in order to stimulate us to read the Scriptures. The Apostles, indeed, at all times, in quoting the Scriptures, took a scrupulous care to rouse us to a more diligent reading of them.

(145) This is a striking instance of the latitude of meaning which some words have in Scripture. Here hope, in the first instance, means the ground of hope; and in the second, the object of hope. So faith, in Rom 4:5, and in other places, must be considered as including its object, the gracious promise of God; for otherwise it will be a meritorious act, the very thing which the Apostle throughout repudiates with regard to man’s justification. Faith, as it lays hold on God’s promise of free acceptance and forgiveness, can alone, in the very nature of things, be imputed for righteousness: it is not indispensably necessary that the way, or medium, or the meritorious cause of acceptance and forgiveness, should be clearly known and distinctly seen; the gracious promise of God is enough, so that faith may become a justifying faith.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

CRITICAL NOTES

Rom. 4:18.Against hope as man; but upon hope in God (Severian).

Rom. 4:19.In this passage Abraham is represented as placed between two opposite forcesthat of sight and that of faith. The look of faith fixed on the promises prevented every look cast on the external circumstances.

Rom. 4:24. If we believe on Him, etcImplies purpose, certainty, and continuance.

Rom. 4:25.Christians assured by Christs resurrection of the removal of their guilt. In the same way that the death and resurrection of Christ form an intimate unity, so also in man the death of the old and the rising up of the new cannot be conceived as existing without each other (Olshausen).

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Rom. 4:18-25

Not for his sake alone.It is a glorious sight, a good man struggling with adversity and endeavouring to bear patiently the ills of lifemore glorious still a good man rejoicing in adversity and making difficulties minister to highest delights. Travel back many centuries to the olden time. See a good man believing, hoping, rejoicing, though the sphere of sense did not furnish ground for such mighty faith. Abraham was not a materialist. Matter, with sceptical materialism for our guide, crushes faith. Matter is mighty, but mind is mightier. We know not the omnipotent energy of the infinite Mind. Abraham did not believe that man is a mere creature of circumstances except in so far as they are directed by God. Man divinely strengthened is superior to circumstances. Abraham defied time. What are a hundred years to Him whose existence is not measured on human dial-plates! Abraham believed in a knowable Godone whose promise was equalled by His performance. Promise and performance are coequal with God. If they were not, God would be untrue to His nature, and that He can never be. Abraham had a noble ambition. He believed in hope to the intent that he might become the father of many nations. Spiritual fatherhood is the highest and the noblest. The patriarch looked forward to a glorious and ever-increasing family. His sons and daughters are numerous. Abraham lived, believed, hoped, and prayed not for himself alone: he lived in his God and in the thought of our ennobled race. Not for his sake alone is inscribed on his monumental pillar. How beautifully Abraham seeks to settle the dispute between his herdmen and Lots! Abrahams kindly considerateness shows that he spoke not for his sake alone. Abraham the intercessor for the Cities of the Plain showed himself one living for the welfare of others. Not for his sake alone is the short biography written. We are the heirs of the ages. A down the stream of time come argosies laden with mental and spiritual wealth. We stand on the moral delta which is enriched by the alluvial deposits from the noblest men and times. We are rich, or ought to be, in the moral spoils of time. And yet how weak in faith, how puny in works! We shake in the presence of modern pretenders like reeds before the wind. If a woman writes a book against our religion, we pile up against her magazine articles and send forth Christian evidence lecturers, as if she could hurl the Omnipotent from His throne. Why is our faith weak? Because:

1. We look only at the things which are seen. Our vision is bounded by the things of sense. We must look at the things which are unseen. We believe in the unseen and unseeable things of this worldif we may use the wordon the testimony of observant men. Why not believe in the unseen things of the spiritual realm on the testimony of God and of His servants? The things unseen are the realitiesthe certain and abiding realities. Let faith thus exercise itself, and it will grow.

2. We dwell on the seeming. Our morbid fancy leads us astray. We first fancy, and then we believe that the creation of our fancy is a child of fact. Let us seek to be, like Abraham, strong in faith. In spite of all appearances, in spite of all seeming impossibilities, let us believe in God. Can it be that Abraham in the dawn of time by his might shames our weakness? By this weakness of faith we shut ourselves up in the gloomy castle of doubt, we lead miserable lives. Our harps are hung on the willows. Our swords rust in the sheaths. We impede true progress, and we dishonour God. We might be strong if we could look above and beyond our surroundings to the God who promises, and remember that with Him nothing is impossible. Delay there may be to human seeming, and yet that may be accomplishment in the divine purpose. Faith grows like all other powers and graces. Abraham by believing was strengthened in his faith. How wide the promise To him that hath shall be given! Faith is an increasing grace. In order to increase there must be growth; in order to growth there must be food and exercise. Faith is fed by the promise. Faith is exercised by the period of waiting. The very obstacles which would stagger the faith of a doubting soul will be made by the believing man into the means whereby his faith is strengthened. Let us not shame our noble father. A strong faith-soul he walks the upper plains. Does he look down on us as sickly members of his great family? Oh to be strengthened in faith! and then we should give glory to God by the fuller recognition of His power and faithfulness, we should be the better able to perform our duties, our lives would be filled with joy, and Gods blessing would rest upon us. Let us live for the sake of others. The inheritance which Abraham has handed down to us let us impart to our fellows and transmit unimpaired to our descendants.

Rom. 4:20. The unwavering man gathers strength.Physical and intellectual strength may be developed up to a certain limit, and then it declines. Physical strength, sooner or later, will be shorn of the locks wherein it lies. Intellectual strength will fade into the imbecility of age. But moral strength has no limit. It will grow through the longest life. It will develop in eternal cycles. How shall we grow in strength? By wavering not at the promises of God.

I. The unwavering man has a single eye.He looks to the promise, and not to the improbability. He treads the plank of the divine promise, looking forward to the goal of fulfilment, and thus he is not disturbed by the surging waters of scepticism.

II. The unwavering man has a clear vision.The divine promise reveals to his soul the divine Promisor. He is able to perform. He must be faithful. For God to break His promise, would be for God to be untrue to His covenant, to be untrue to His own nature, and that He can never be. How strong a man must grow who clearly sees the divine attributes behind the promise!

III. The unwavering man provides soul growth.He feeds on the promise. It provides a banqueting table at which the unwavering man feeds. God provides by furnishing the food. Man provides by making use of the food. We put on moral strength as we feed on the promises. We increase in strength.

IV. The unwavering man reaches sublime heights.He develops in faith, giving glory to God. The Infinite condescends to the finite, and seeks to raise man out of his human finiteness into the larger spaces of divine possibilities. We give glory to God, not by our weakness, but by striving to get out of our weakness and by putting on strength. Dispute not the faithfulness of the divine Promiser. Be firm in faith, and thou shalt stand even amid the shifting sands of scepticism. Have the spiritual knowableness of faith, and thou shalt not feel the touch of agnosticism. Feed on the promise, and thou wilt become stronger and stronger.

Rom. 4:20-21. Religious faith rational.It is not at all true that faith itself, i.e. trust, is a strange principle of action; and to say that it is irrational is even an absurdity. I mean such a faith as that of Abraham mentioned in the text, which led him to believe Gods word when opposed to his own experience. It is obvious that we trust to our memory. We trust the general soundness of our reasoning powers. From knowing one thing we think we can be sure about another, even though we do not see it. We continually trust our memory and our reasoning powers, though they often deceive us. This is worth observing, because it is sometimes said that we cannot be certain that our faith in religion is not a mistake. When we come to examine the subject, it will be found that, strictly speaking, we know little more than that we exist, and that there is an unseen Power whom we are bound to obey. Beyond this we must trust; and first our senses, memory, reasoning powersthen other authorities; so that, in fact, almost all we do, every day of our lives, is on trust, i.e. faith. Scripture, then, only bids us act in respect to a future life as we are every day acting at present. We are from our birth dependent creatures, utterly dependentdependent immediately on man; and that visible dependence reminds us forcibly of our truer and fuller dependence upon God. It is a mistake to suppose that our obedience to Gods will is merely founded on our belief in the word of such persons as tell us Scripture came from God. We obey God primarily because we actually feel His presence in our consciences bidding us obey Him. And this, I say, confutes these objectors on their own ground, because the very reason they give for their belief is that they trust their own sight and reason, because their own, more than the words of Gods ministers. Now let me ask, If they trust their senses and their reason, why do they not trust their conscience also? Is not conscience their own? Their conscience is as much a part of themselves as their reason is; and it is placed within them by almighty God in order to balance the influence of sight and reason, and yet they will not attend to it. For a plain reason: they love sin; they love to be their own masters, and therefore they will not attend to that secret whisper of their hearts which tells them they are not their own masters and that sin is hateful and ruinous. For ourselves, let us but obey Gods voice in our hearts, and I will venture to say we shall have no doubts practically formidable about the truth of Scripture. Find out the man who strictly obeys the law within him, and yet is an unbeliever as regards the Bible, and then it will be time enough to consider all that variety of proof by which the truth of the Bible is confirmed to us. This is no practical inquiry for us. Our doubts, if we have any, will be found to arise after disobedience. It is bad company or corrupt books which lead to unbelief. It is sin which quenches the Holy Spirit. If we but obey God strictly, in time, through His blessing, faith will become like sight; we shall have no more difficulty in finding what will please God than in moving our limbs or in understanding the conversation of our familiar friends. This is the blessedness of confirmed obedience. Let us aim at attaining it; and in whatever proportion we now enjoy it, praise and bless God for His unspeakable gift.Newman.

Rom. 4:25. The possibility of a resurrection.The presumptions against the possibility of a resurrection operate so strongly in the minds of some that they think it needless to inquire what evidence there is for it, being persuaded that the thing itself is not capable of being supported by any evidence. This prejudice was a very early one, for the apostle expostulates this case with King Agrippa: Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead? Let us consider the force of this expostulation, and see whether it is strong enough to encounter the prejudice. Now nothing can be said to be incredible if there is a power in any person able to effect it; for if there is such a power, that power may bring into existence that very thing which you doubt of; and it cannot be incredible that a thing should exist which may possibly really exist. If we consider only the strength of children, it is incredible that they should build castles; but if we consider the strength and ability of men, it would be ridiculous to doubt whether they could or no. So that the credibility or incredibility of anything depends on knowing whether there is or is not a power adequate to the undertaking. The resurrection of the dead is in truth a very stupendous work; but neither you nor I am to undertake it: if it depended on us, it would be incredible indeed. It is the work of God, and of Him only; and surely I have named one of credit and power sufficient to be trusted in this great affair. And this is St. Pauls argument, Why should it be thought incredible that God should raise the dead? Whoever, therefore, affirms that a resurrection is in itself a thing incredible must affirm that it is incredible that God has power to raise the dead. And now consider who it is that can, consistently with the common and allowed principles of reason and nature, deny this power to God. No one certainly who admits that God made the world can entertain this doubt; for if God has given us the life we now enjoy, what should hinder Him from restoring life again after this is lost? Can there be more difficulty in giving life the second time than there was at first? If there be any contradiction therefore in the notion of a resurrection, there must be the very same in the notion of creation. And therefore natural religion is just as much concerned in this point as revelation; for though the belief of the fact that the dead shall be raised depends on revelation, yet our belief that God has power to raise the dead depends, not on revelation, but on the clear dictates of reasonof that reason by which we discover Him to be our creator. And if you doubt even of this, His power of creation, you must bid adieu to all religion at once; for if God created not the world, how are you at all related to Him? If He did not make us, what right has He to govern us? or what pretence to our obedience? Neither you from nature nor we from revelation can ever be satisfied. The power of God being admitted to be equal to this work, the question of the resurrection of Christ comes to be a question of fact. And though I propose not to enter into the evidence of the fact, yet it may be proper to observe that a resurrection considered as a fact is a fact as capable of evidence as any whatever; it is an object of sense, of every sense by which we judge of the reality of things without us. We are told that Christ died and rose again. Of His death, I suppose, there is no great doubtdie He certainly did. And surely there could be no more difficulty to see and know that He was dead than in knowing when others were dead, from Adam to this day. One would think, therefore, that those about Him, who saw Him crucified and buried, might be trusted when they report that He died. But He came to life again. Very true; and it was very easy for those who conversed with Him to know whether He was alive or no. There was no more difficulty in judging of His being alive than of judging in any other case whether those we converse with are alive or no. His having been dead and buried could not possibly alter the case, or create any difficulty in judging whether He was really alive or no. So that the Resurrection, considered as a fact, was in every part of it an object of sense, and as capable of being well attested as any other object of sense whatever. Lay these things togetherthe romise of God to give us eternal life, His power to make good His word, the confirmation He has given us of our hope by the resurrection of Christand what is wanting to make the belief of this article a rational act of faith? The promises of God have never borrowed help from moral probabilities. The promises to Abraham were not of this kind; so far otherwise, that it is said of him that against hope he believed in hopethat is, he hoped where, humanly speaking, there was no ground for hope. There was no probability that his seed who was a stranger and pilgrim on earth should inherit the land of Canaan, possessed by great and powerful nations. Compare now this case with the case of Christians. We have great promises made to us by God in Christ Jesus, the promises of a resurrection to life. Inquire of the world; they know of no such thingthe ages past have afforded no instance of this kind; and, as far as they can see and judge, daily experience is a witness against this hope. Under these difficulties, whither shall we go for refuge and support? Whither but to the promises of God, and to this full persuasion, that what He has promised He is able to perform? If we hold fast this persuasion and stagger not through unbelief, then shall we indeed be the children of the faith of Abraham, whose faith was imputed to him for righteousness.Sherlock.

SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Rom. 4:18-25

These things are written not for Abrahams sake alone.These things were not written for Abrahams sake alone; they were written for ours. Abraham trusted in God to quicken his unborn sonby-and-by to raise him (if need were) from the dead. We trust Him who did quicken in the flesh and raise from the dead His own supernatural Son Jesus. The gospel facts, the gospel promises, and the blessings of the new covenant in Christ are to us what the birth of Isaac was to Abraham: things all of them beyond the reach of experience or against itthings past or future or absent or spiritualthings in one way or another undiscerned by sense and to reason improbable; resting for their evidence solely on the word of the living God. To that man they are very real thingsmore real than anything elsewho believes in God before all others. To other men they are quite unreal, shadowy, phantom-like, unbelievable. Such a faith in God is reckoned for righteousness to every man who has it, just as it was to Abraham, the father of all believers.Dykes.

Christ died not as a mere teacher.St. Paul first declares that Christ was delivered for our offences. Now, if the single service which Christ has rendered to mankind be, as the Socinian tells us, in the character of a teacher of religion; and if, by the discovery which our Lord has made of the different conditions of the righteous and the wicked in a future life, every man, once brought to a belief of the doctrine, might be reclaimed in such a degree as to merit, by his future conduct, not only a free pardon of his past offences, but also a share of those good things which God hath prepared for them that love Him; if our Lords doctrine might of itself, in this way, be a remedy for the sins of men, and if His sufferings and death were necessary only for the confirmation of His doctrine,then might we admit it to be only in an indirect and a figurative sense that the sins of men are spoken of in this clause as having been the occasion of His death. For His doctrine would in that case be the means of their reformation, and His death would only be the means of establishing His doctrine. But if nothing future can undo the past; if we have incurred guilt without so much as the ability of meriting reward; if it is only through the power of divine grace that we can think or do anything which is right; and if, after all that divine grace has done for him, the life of the believer still consists in a perpetual conflict with appetites which are never totally subdued, and in an endeavour after perfection which never is attained; if the case really be that if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us; if, nevertheless, we are expressly assured that, on confessing our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness; and if, as the beloved disciple assures us, it is the blood of Jesus Christ which cleanseth us from all sin,then must it plainly follow that the Redeemers death was available to the expiation of the sins of men, far otherwise than merely as a solemn confirmation of the truth of the Christian religion; then must it plainly follow that Christ died to make an atonement for the sins of men, and that His blood has a direct and proper efficacy to expiate our guilt.Bishop Horsley.

Faith against improbability.For against hopecontrary to all natural reason for hopehe believed in hope. He trusted with the most immovable expectation that he should become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. This was the promise on the fulfilment of which he so confidently relied. It was given many years before the birth of Isaac to which it relates. But though every year of delay increased the natural improbability of the event, it in no degree weakened the patriarchs faith. He did not suspect that the circumstances on which its improbability depended rendered the promise unlikely to be fulfilled. He looked to nothing but the faithfulness of God, who quickeneth the dead and calleth things which be not as though they were. He knew that whatever the Almighty promised He was able to fulfil, and would fulfil. He staggered not therefore at the promise through unbelief. He did not deliberate on the improbability of the event, the possibility of his being deceived as to the divine authority of the communication, or the unlikelihood of the supernatural event taking place in order to raise up a family to him. The expression He was delivered means He was given up to death, as is plain from the immediately subsequent reference to His resurrection. He was given up to death in order to atone for our offences, and as a sacrifice in virtue of which it might be just in God to forgive our sins, and raised again for our justification. These words are not intended to imply that to particular parts of our Lords ministry particular parts of our salvation must be referredthe pardon of sin being the consequence of His death, and justification the effect of His resurrection. His whole ministry forms one connected series; and from the whole series of our Lords obedience, and death, and resurrection, and ascension into heaven, and intercession at the Fathers right hand, our salvation, and every particular part of it, are derived. By being raised again for our justification may be understood that His resurrection from the dead is a sure proof that His death is a full and an accepted atonement for sin, and that in virtue of it we may obtain justification by faith in His name.Ritchie.

Faith rests on the nature of God and work of Christ.Our judgment declares that God will keep His wordi.e., that He will not punish for their sins those who believe the gospel. By an act of the will our entire being accepts this verdict of our judgment, and there follows at once within us, by the laws of mind fixed by God, a confident expectation that we ourselves will escape from punishment. Such is justifying faith. The faith which sanctifies is a belief of the promises. It is a sure expectation that in consequence of Gods eternal purpose, by union with Christ, and through the agency of the Holy Spirit, we shall actually be, from this moment, dead to sin and living only for God. In each case according to our faith it is done to us. Again, it is because God raised Christ from the dead that we accept the teaching of Jesus as the word and promise of God. Consequently our assurance of escape from punishment, and our expectation that all the promises will be fulfilled, rest upon the historical fact of the resurrection of Christ. Our faith is therefore a leaning on Him who raised Jesus from the dead. In the death of Christ Gods infinite love is revealed to us as the firm ground of our confidence. We are sure that He who spared not His own Son will give us all things. Hence the love of God manifested on the cross of Christ is the immovable foundation on which rests our expectation of the fulfilment of each gospel promise. We may therefore describe faith in God as an assurance that Gods words will come true, an assurance resting upon the nature of God as made known in the death and resurrection of Christ. From the foregoing it will be evident that faith in God, so far from being contrary to reason, is itself the noblest kind of reasoning. For our hope we have the best reason, one which our intelligence fully approvesviz., the word and character of God. Owing to the comparative uncertainty of all human testimony, the word believe frequently denotes in common life an assurance mingled more or less with doubt. But the faith which God requires is the very opposite of doubt. It is therefore a full assurance that Gods word will come true.Beet.

ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 4

Rom. 4:18. Comfort in a cloud.A friend of mine, says Paxton Hood, told me of a visit he had paid to a poor woman overwhelmed with trouble in her little room, but she was always cheerful; she knew the Rock. Why, said he, Mary, you must have very dark days; they must overwhelm you with clouds sometimes. Yes, she answered; but then I often find that there is comfort in a cloud. Comfort in a cloud, Mary? Yes, she said; when I am very low and dark I go to the window, and if I see a heavy cloud I think of those precious words, A cloud received Him out of their sight, and I look up and see the cloud sure enough, and then I think, Well, that may be the cloud that hides Him; and so you see there is comfort in a cloud. There was strong faith. She gave glory to God by believing in hope against human appearances, and God rewarded her faith by putting cheerfulness into her soul. A simple faith can do more than sublime philosophy. Against hope Abraham believed in hope.

Rom. 4:20. Lord to the fore.The Lords aye to the fore, said a good Scotchwoman in her day of trial, and by this faith she was supported. God is ever in the forefront of His trusting people. He is still at the helm of human affairs. The best of all is, God is with us, said John Wesley as he was dying, and by this trust he was supported as he passed within the veil. Yea, by this trust he was supported as he passed from scene to scene in his laborious life of surpassing energy and glorious endeavours for the benefit of his fellow-creatures and for the extension of the Saviours kingdom.

Rom. 4:21. Gods promise to Abraham.Among the curiosities of the Bank of England may be seen some cinders, the remains of some bank-notes that were burned in the great fire of Chicago. After the fire they were found, and carefully put between boards and brought to the bank. After applying chemical tests, the numbers and values were ascertained, and the Bank of England paid the money value to the owners. If a human promise can be worth so much, how much more so is the promise of God? Nothing can ever destroy the promise divine. I will be their God.Home Words.

Rom. 4:22.Imputed righteousness.Bishop Asbury being asked his thoughts on imputed righteousness, observed, Were I disposed to boast, my boasting would be found true. I obtained religion near the age of thirteen. At the age of sixteen I began to preach, and travelled some time in Europe. At twenty-six I left my native land and bid adieu to my weeping parents, and crossed the boisterous ocean to spend the balance of my days in a strange land, partly settled by savages. I have travelled through heat and cold for forty-five years. In thirty years I have crossed the Alleghany Mountains fifty-eight times. I have often slept in the woods without necessary food or raiment. In the Southern States I have waded swamps and led my horse for miles, where I took cold that brought on the diseases which are now preying on my system and must soon terminate in death. But my mind is still the samethat it is through the merits of Christ I am to be saved.

Rom. 4:24-25. The roll-call.In a hospital at Scutari during the Crimean war a soldier lay dying; he had lain there, watched by his nurses for many a long hour, apparently unconscious. On a sudden he rose up in his bed, and with a voice which startled them allso strong it washe shouted, Yes, I am here! They laid him back upon his bed exhausted and breathless with the effort, gently soothed him, and asked him what he was doing. Oh! he said, I heard the roll-call of my regiment after the battle, and I was answering to my name. Jesus Christ was delivered for our offences and raised again for our justification. His resurrection is the pledge of that of all believers. The great roll-call will be given at the final day. The redeemed will pass to the home of endless rest and peace.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

(18) Who.It must be noticed that the relative here refers to Abraham, whereas in the previous verse it referred to God.

Believed in hope.The force of the preposition gives rather to the sentence the meaning of grounded his faith upon hopethat internal subjective hope that was strong within him, though there were no objective grounds for hoping.

That he might become.So as by exercise of faith to carry out Gods purpose.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

(18-22) Extended description of the faith of Abraham.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

18. Against hope Contrary to all ordinary human hopeful expectation. In a divine hope.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘Who in hope believed against hope, to the end that he might become a father of many nations, according to what had been spoken, “So shall your seed be.” ’

Paul now makes the application to what followed in the life of Abraham, something which also resulted from his faith. For as a consequence of God’s promise he believed that he would be the father of many nations, even though it was ‘a hope believed against hope’, that is, a hope in what appeared to be impossible. He believed God’s promise that ‘so will your seed be’. Note that the citation is from Gen 15:5 which was, of course, immediately followed by the statement that God reckoned Abraham as ‘in the right’ because of his faith.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Rom 4:18 . ] Parallel to the . . [1073] Rom 4:16 ; therefore only a comma or a colon need be put after .

] on hope , is the basis of the . Comp 1Co 9:10 ; frequent in Greek authors. See also Tit 1:2 . Abraham’s faith was opposed to hope ( , frequent in classical writers) in its objective reference, and yet not , but rather based on hope in its subjective reference, a significant oxymoron.

. . [1075] ] Rightly Luther: in order that he might be . Comp Rckert, Tholuck, Philippi. It contains the end , ordained by God, of the ., thus exhibiting Abraham’s faith in its teleological connection with the divine decree, and that in reference to the word of God, Rom 4:17 ; hence, it is less in harmony with the context to take . . [1077] as the purpose of Abraham . Rom 4:11 , . . [1078] is quite analogous. Following Beza, many writers (including even Reiche, Kllner, Baumgarten-Crusius, Krehl, Mehring, Hofmann) take . as the object of .; quite contrary to the usage of the N. T.; see on Rom 4:11 . Here, as in every case previously, the object of faith (the divine promise) is quite self-evident. The view which explains it of the consequence (Bhme, Flatt, Fritzsche, following older writers) for , is linguistically erroneous (see on Rom 1:20 ), and quite at variance with the tenor of the discourse; for in Rom 4:19-21 the delineation of the faith itself is still continued, so that at this stage the result (it is introduced in Rom 4:22 ) would be quite out of place.

.] belonging to . . [1079] , not to (Hofmann, in accordance with his incorrect view of . . [1080] ).

] What is meant by this, Paul assumes to be familiar to his readers; and therefore the corresponding part is by no means wanting. F G and several Fathers (also Vulg. ms.) have after the addition: . The first half only is a proper gloss; the . . . does not lie in the , Gen 15:5 , but is imported from Gen 12:16 .

[1073] . . . .

[1075] . . . .

[1077] . . . .

[1078] . . . .

[1079] . . . .

[1080] . . . .

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

Rom 4:18-21 . More particular setting forth of this faith of Abraham, according to its lofty power and strength. , Chrysostom.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

Ver. 18. Who against hope, &c. ] Elegans Antanaclasis propter speciem contradietionis, saith Piscator. Spes in terrenis, incerti nomen boni; spes in divinis, nomen est certissimi, saith another.

Believed in hope ] It is the nature of faith to believe God upon his bare word; and that against sense in things invisible, against reason in things incredible: sense corrects imagination, reason corrects sense, but faith corrects both. It will not be, saith sense; it cannot be, saith reason; it both can and will be, saith faith, for I have a promise for it.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

18 22 .] A more detailed description of this (Abraham’s) faith, as reposed on God’s Omnipotence .

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

18. ] Who against hope (where there was nothing to hope) believed in ( , with dat., in its literal import signifying close adherence, is accordingly used to connect an act with that to which it is immediately attached as its ground or accompaniment. Thus here, the hope existed as the necessary concomitant and in some sense the condition of the faith) hope, in order to his becoming the father of many nations (i.e. as a step in the process of his becoming, and one necessary to that process going forward. He would never have become, &c., had be not believed. To render . ‘that he should become,’ and connect it with (Theophyl., Beza, all., De Wette) is against Paul’s usage, who never connects with a neut. inf., and not justified by Phi 1:23 ; 1Th 3:10 .

The mere consecutive sense, ‘so that he became,’ here, as every where, is a weakening of the sense (see however note on ch. Rom 1:20 ), and besides, would introduce an objective clause in a passage which all refers subjectively to Abraham).

] viz. as the stars of heaven : see l. c., and compare Psa 147:4 .

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Rom 4:18 ff. Abraham’s faith described. It was both contrary to hope (as far as nature could give hope), and rested on hope (that God could do what nature could not). . . . ( cf. Rom 4:11 ) is most properly taken to express the Divine purpose that he might become father, etc. (see Moulton’s note in Winer, p. 414); not result so that he became. , . . ., Gen 15:5 : the passage is familiar, and the is supposed to suggest its own interpretation the stars of the heaven.

, without becoming weak in faith, he considered his own body. “The participle , though preceding the verb, is most naturally interpreted as referring to a (conceived) result of the action denoted by .” Burton, Moods and Tenses , 145. This remark holds good only with the reading : if we read . the meaning is, He considered not his body quippe qui non esset imbecillis (Winer, p. 610). (circiter) : his great age was the primary and fundamental fact in the situation: this seems to be the suggestion of as distinct from . In Rom 4:20 ( ) the contrasts with becoming weak, as he considered his body, the actual conduct of Abraham. “He did not waver in relation to the promise, in unbelief; on the contrary, he was strengthened in faith.” On , cf. Mat 21:21 , Jas 1:6 , Rom 14:23 . : instrum, dative; because of unbelief. It is simplest to take as dative of respect, though Heb 11:11 can be adduced by those who would render: “he became strong, recovered his bodily vigour, by faith”. The participles in Rom 4:21 are loosely attached to the principal verbs, and are really equivalent to co-ordinate clauses with . In his whole conduct on this occasion Abraham glorified God, and demonstrated his own assurance of His power. See Burton, 145. : for this Hebraism see Jos 7:19 , Jer 13:16 , Joh 9:24 , Act 12:23 . For Rom 14:5 , Col 4:12 .

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

against. App-104.

believed in. App-150.

the. Omit.

nations. Greek. ethnos. See Rom 1:5.

according to. Greek. kata. App-104.

So, &c. Quoted from Gen 15:5.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

18-22.] A more detailed description of this (Abrahams) faith, as reposed on Gods Omnipotence.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Rom 4:18. , past [against] hope believed in hope) We lay hold of one and the same object both by faith and by hope; by faith, as a thing, which is truthfully enunciated [proclaimed]; by hope, as an object of joy, which for certain both can and will realized. He believed in the hope of the promise, past [beyond, prter] the hope of reason, [which reason would have suggested]. and , past [against] and in, the particles opposed to each other, produce a striking oxymoron.[48]-, so) as the stars, Gen 15:5. LXX. also, .-. Comp. Gal 3:8, notes.

[48] See Appendix.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Rom 4:18

Rom 4:18

Who in hope believed against hope,-Abraham, after he had grown old and all hope of a son according to the flesh had passed, still hoped in the promise of God.

to the end that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, So shall thy seed be.-His faith enabled him to become the father of many nations, according to the promise. [This was not only the divinely appointed end of Abrahams faith, but also what Abraham himself looked to as the end of his faith. He believed with the full intention of becoming, what God promised, the father of many nations.]

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

against: Rom 4:19, Rom 5:5, Rom 8:24, Rth 1:11-13, Pro 13:12, Eze 37:11, Mar 5:35, Mar 5:36, Luk 1:18, Act 27:25

So shall: Gen 15:5, Gen 15:6

Reciprocal: Gen 18:11 – old Gen 34:30 – and I shall 1Sa 30:6 – David Psa 22:4 – General Psa 42:5 – hope Isa 26:3 – because Mat 14:31 – O thou Mar 11:23 – and shall Joh 3:33 – hath set Gal 4:23 – but Heb 7:4 – Abraham Heb 11:12 – as the sand

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

:18

Rom 4:18. Against hope believed in hope means the same as the last clause in the preceding verse, concerning the improbability of Abraham’s parenthood.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Rom 4:18. Who. Abraham; who in Rom 4:17 (referring to God) has no equivalent in the Greek, which does not present the ambiguity of our version. Rom 4:18-22, which may constitute a separate paragraph, give a more detailed description of the faith of Abraham; grammatically this verse is parallel with who is the father of us all (Rom 4:16).

Against hope believed in hope. Abrahams belief rested upon hope (the literal sense), but it was also contrary to hope, i.e., contrary to external hope, to what might naturally be hoped for. A similar antithesis is continued throughout

That he might become father, etc. This was the end of the faith of Abraham in Gods purpose. It is not merely the result, nor is it the purpose of Abraham, nor what he believed.

According to, etc. This qualifies become, not, believed.

Had been spoken (Gen 15:5), before the promise that he should become a father of many nations (Gen 17:5).

So, i.e., as the stars of heaven for multitude.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Here St. Paul farther expatiates in the commendation of Abraham’s faith, telling us, That against hope he believed in hope; that is he had a strong hope, a firm faith and trust in the promise and power of God, against all natural grounds of hope; namely, that he should certainly have a son, and a seed like the stars of heaven for multitude.

He farther adds, That he considered not the deadness of his own body nor the barrenness of Sarah’s womb: neither staggered at the promise through unbelief: That is, he regarded not any difficulties which lay in the way of his faith, he admitted no doubts or questions touching the promise or power of God; but without all disputing depended fully upon God for the performance of his own promise, and so gave God the glory of his omnipotency and faithfulness.

Observe here, 1. What was the ground of Abraham’s faith; namely, the special promise, yea, the absolute promise of God, that he should have a son.

Observe, 2. The height and measure of his faith: He was strong in faith, and staggered not through unbelief; he was fully persuaded of God’s all-sufficiency: it is a metaphor taken from ships that come into the harbour with full sail. Thus was it with Abraham, there was not any sail of his soul but what was filled with the wind of assurance. As a ship with full gale and strong sail is carried to the haven against winds and waves, so Abraham, by the strength of his faith, overcame all waves of doubts and difficulties beating upon his mind.

Observe, 3. What was the fruit and issue, the end and event of Abraham’s faith, it brought glory to God: He was strong in faith, giving glory to God. All faith glorifies God truly, but strong faith glorifies him abundantly: It gives him the glory of his power and faithfulness, goodness and truth.

Quest. 1. But how could Abraham’s body be said to be dead, when he had several children afterwards by Keturah? even six months, forty years after Sarah’s death.

Ans. Abraham’s and Sarah’s bodies received now a blessing, or new generative faculty from God, which rendered them capable of begetting and bearing children, when by nature they were not so.

Quest. 2. Was Abraham’s faith so strong as to exclude all doubting? Did not he distrust when he said, Shall a child be born to Abraham that is an hundred years old; and Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? Genesis 21.

Ans. These words are not words of doubting, but inquiring; they proceeded from a desire to be further informed how these things could be. But Abraham laughed, and Sarah also at the mention of a son. True, they did both laugh, but not both alike; Abraham’s laughter proceeded from admiration and joy, but Sarah’s from diffidence and distrust: And accordingly we find Sarah reprimanded, but not Abraham reprimanded, for laughing: Abraham staggered not at the promise through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Rom 4:18-22. Who, &c. In this paragraph the apostle first takes notice of the difficulties which stood in the way of Abrahams faith, and then of the power and excellence of it, manifested in its triumphing over them. Against hope Against all probability; believed in hope With an assured confidence, grounded on the divine promise; according to all that which was spoken When God called him forth abroad to view the stars of heaven. So shall thy seed be So numerous and glorious. And being not weak in faith That is, being strong in faith; for the Hebrews, when they meant to assert a thing strongly, did it by the denial of its contrary. He considered not his own body now dead With regard to the probability of begetting children. He did not regard it so as to be discouraged thereby, or induced to disbelieve the promise. The children which Abraham had by Keturah, after Sarahs death, do not invalidate the apostles assertion here; for Abrahams body, having been renewed by a miracle in order to the begetting of Isaac, might preserve its vigour for a considerable time afterward. Nor did he consider or regard the old age of Sarah. He staggered not Greek, , against the promise of God he did not reason; through unbelief Did not call in question the truth of Gods promise, or the certainty of its fulfilment; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God Entertaining high and honourable thoughts of Gods power and faithfulness, and manifesting the same by his actions. We are told, indeed, that when God declared that Sarah was to be the mother of nations, Gen 17:17, Abraham fell upon his face and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born to him that is a hundred years old? &c. But these questions did not proceed from unbelief, but from admiration and gratitude, as may be gathered from the posture into which he put himself. And with respect to his laughing, it did not imply any doubt of Gods promise, otherwise he would have been rebuked, as Sarah was for her laughing: but it means simply, that he rejoiced at Gods promise; for in the Hebrew language, to laugh signifies to rejoice, Gen 21:6, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me; consequently the passage may be translated, Abraham rejoiced and said, &c. And being fully persuaded Through the knowledge which he had of the divine perfections; that what he had promised Greek, , that what was promised; he was able, and willing also, to perform He believed God to be most faithful, and sure never to fail in the performance of his promises; collecting nothing else from the difficulty and improbability of the matter, but that it was the fitter for an Almighty power to effect; and therefore it His faith; was imputed to him for righteousness He was justified by it.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Vv. 18. Who against hope believed in hope, in order to become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

The word hope is used here in two different senses, the one subjective: hope as a feeling (in the phrase: in hope), the other objective: hope to denote the motive for hoping (in the phrase: against hope). It is nearly the same in Rom 8:24, with this difference, that hope in the latter passage, taken objectively, does not denote the ground of hoping, but the object of hope (as in Col 1:5). The apostle therefore means: without finding in the domain of sense or reason the least ground for hoping, he nevertheless believed, and that by an effort of hope proceeding from a fact which the eye did not see nor the reason comprehend, God and His promise. This is the realization of the notion of faith expressed Heb 11:1, a notion which is so often wrongly contrasted with the conception of Paul. Instead of: he believed in hope, it seems as if it should have been: he hoped on (the foundation of) his faith. But the is taken here nearly in the same sense as in the frequent phrases: , , in goodwill, in hatred; , in hospitality. His faith burst forth in the form of hope, and that in a situation which presented no ground for hope.

Translators generally weaken the expression , in order to become, by suppressing the idea of intention: and thus it is that he became (Oltram.), or: and he believed that he would become (Osterv.). This substitution of the result for the intention is grammatically inadmissible. He really believed with the intention of becoming. If he grasped the promise with such energy, it certainly was in order that it might be realized. It is therefore unnecessary to ascribe this notion of aim to God, as Meyer does.

The following verses develop the two notions: against hope (Rom 4:19), and in hope (Rom 4:20-21).

Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)

Who in hope believe against hope, to the end that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, So shall thy seed be. [Now, since a righteousness of law is unattainable by men, the inheritance was bestowed because of a righteousness of faith, that it might be a free gift, and that all the promises concerning it might be sure, to the entire household. Not only to that division of Abraham’s spiritual children who are under the law (believing Jews), but also to that part who are only his children by reason of a like faith with him (believing Gentiles), for Abraham is the father of all believers, whether Jews or Gentiles; as it is written, “A father of many nations have I made thee.” And Abraham was such a spiritual father in the estimate of God, who, in his omnipotence and omniscience, gives life to the dead (and, from a child-bearing standpoint, Abraham and Sarah were as good as dead), and speaks of unborn and as yet non-existent children as though they already had being. And God spoke thus to the man who, when nature withheld all reason to hope, still hoped for the purpose of obtaining from God the fulfillment of the promise that he should be the father of many nations, according to God’s gracious assurance, when he bade Abraham look upon the stars, and said, “So shall thy seed be.” The word “made,” in Rom 4:17; means to constitute or appoint. “This word,” says Shedd, “denotes that the paternity spoken of was the result of a special arrangement or economy. It would not be used to denote the merely physical connection between father and son.” Such a word is to be expected, for the promise was that Abraham was to be a spiritual, not a fleshly, father of many nations. Again, it is fittingly said that Abraham was such in God’s sight, for it was God, and not man, who thus anticipated the future. Though Abraham and Sarah were long past the age of child-bearing, and though it was to be many centuries before Abraham would have spiritual children, begotten of the gospel among the Gentiles, yet God spoke of him as the father of many nations; foreknowing his own power and foreseeing his own workings, God meant both to make him a father in the near future, and to give him a spiritual seed among the Gentiles in the remote future.]

Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)

18. Who against hope believed, pursuant to hope that he should be the father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, So shall thy seed be.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

Verse 18

Who; referring to Abraham.–Against hope; against all apparent evidence.

Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament

SECTION 13 DESCRIPTION OF ABRAHAMS FAITH

CH. 4:18-25

Who against hope believed in hope, in order that he might become father of many nations, according to the spoken word, So shall be thy seed. And, without being weakened in faith, he considered his own body as good as dead, being about a hundred years old, and the death of the womb of Sarah. But in view of the promise of God he did not doubt with unbelief, but was made strong by faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what He has promised He is able also to do. For which cause it was also reckoned to him for righteousness. Moreover, it was not written because of him only, that it was reckoned to him, but also because of us, to whom it will be reckoned, to those that believe on Him that raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was given up because of our trespasses and was raised because of our justification.

In 12, we learnt that Abraham obtained by faith the blessings of the Old Covenant. We saw him standing in the presence, and believing the word, of Him who makes the dead to live. Paul will now analyse Abrahams faith, and show that it is a model for ours.

Rom 4:18. Hope: in N.T., expectation of good; in classic Greek, expectation of good or ill, e.g. Thuc. i. 1.

Against hope in hope: literally upon hope; so Rom 5:2; Rom 8:20; Act 2:26; Act 26:6. Abrahams faith was a reliance upon the future when, humanly speaking, the future promised nothing.

To the end that etc.: purpose of this faith. That what follows was a result of it, is at once evident: for it led to the birth of Isaac and the fulfilment of the promises; and, by setting an example, it led thousands to exercise similar faith and to look back upon Abraham as their spiritual father. But it is needless to give to the preposition here used ( …) any other than its ordinary sense of purpose: so in Rom 4:11. For we cannot doubt that God led Abraham to believe in order to set an example to thousands who should afterwards walk in his steps. In the Bible, frequently a purpose far above their thought is attributed to the acts of men. This comes from a consciousness that nothing takes place without Gods permission, and that nothing is permitted except what will work out His purposes. Hence mens acts have a meaning the actors think not of. When Abraham trampled under foot the expectation of nature, resting upon the expectation of faith, he was by his faith working out the purpose of God, a purpose corresponding to the promise believed. Cp. Mat 2:15; Mat 2:23.

The spoken word: spoken by God to Abraham. Contrast as it is written in Rom 4:17.

Rom 4:19-21. A wonderful analysis of Abrahams faith and hope.

Rom 4:19. Negative aspect of his faith. The word not after considered is omitted in the four oldest MSS. and by all the Critical Editors; and is certainly spurious. It may have been put in by a copyist who thought it needful to make up the sense, and supposed that some earlier copyist had omitted it. The practical difference is not great. In the one case, we are told that Abraham did not take into account his advanced age; in the other, that he was unmoved by his consideration of it. In either case, he was unmoved by the fact of his old age.

Dead death: reproductive powers, in both Abraham and Sarah, being dead.

A hundred years old: referring to Gen 17:1; not to Gen 15:6, when Abraham first believed Gods promise of a numerous posterity. When Ishmael was born, Abraham looked upon him as the promised seed: Gen 17:18. But God tried his faith by declaring in Gen 17:16 that the promised child should spring from Sarah. In Gen 17:17, we see the effort of his faith to overcome this new difficulty; and we infer with certainty that his faith was again victorious. Belief of this last promise was all that God required; and the birth of Isaac soon followed. To this matured faith, Paul now refers.

Rom 4:20-21. Positive description of Abrahams faith. He looked with unshaken faith, at his own aged body; but he looked also at the promise of God. That doubt is contrasted with faith, implies that God requires a faith which excludes doubt. So Rom 14:23; Mat 21:21; Mar 11:23; Jas 1:6. Had Abraham doubted, it would have been with unbelief.

Strong by faith: able to break down obstacles: cp. Heb 11:33. Giving glory etc.: he recognised with admiration the grandeur of God. Being fully assured etc.: a description of Abrahams faith. Faith in a promise is a full assurance that the speaker will fulfil it. Here the fulfilment involved power greater than that of nature. Consequently, Abrahams assurance that Gods word will come true implied an assurance that He is able to suspend the ordinary course of nature: for otherwise He cannot do what He has promised. Notice here an emphatic repetition of the ground of Abrahams faith. Owing to the kind of promise believed, it was a reliance upon the power of God. Such reliance is the highest tribute of glory to God: contrast Rom 1:21. But faith is, here and everywhere, an assurance that God not only can, but actually will, perform His word. Abraham contemplated the natural impossibility of a child being born from himself and Sarah. But he fixed his eye on the promise of God and on the infinite grandeur and power of Him who had promised. This banished doubt and unbelief, and gave him the strength of faith. His faith was a reliance on the word and power of God.

Rom 4:22. For which cause: because he was fully assured etc. This may refer to Gen 15:6 or Gen 17:15-23 : cp. 1 Macc. ii. 52. Because Abrahams faith was what has just been described, God accepted it as the condition required for fulfilment of the promise. This prepares a way for Rom 4:23-25.

Rom 4:23-24. Bearing upon us, of the story of Abraham.

It was not written because of him only, i.e. to pay honour to him, but also because of us, i.e. for our good. By this assertion, Paul attributes to Genesis a purpose far above the thought of its human author and therefore attributes the book, in some real sense, to one who foresaw the day of Christ. So Rom 3:19; Rom 15:4; 1Co 9:10; 1Co 10:11; Gal 3:8. Of all this, the O.T. contains abundant evidence. For the far-reaching harmony underlying the Old and New Testaments, of which Romans 4 is so wonderful an example, must have a common and superhuman source. And if, as Paul everywhere assumes, the Old Testament contains actual revelations from God to man, and these preparing a way for the supreme revelation in Christ, we cannot doubt that, in the providence of God, they were written down in order that the permanent records might help the faith of those who in later ages should put faith in Christ. In other words, we need not doubt that the benefits actually derived by Christians from the Old Testament were designed by God. And if so, the world-wide importance of the Gospel makes this the chief purpose for which the Jewish Scriptures were given. The future tense, will be reckoned, cannot refer to the judgment day: for justification will then be, not by faith, but, as we read in Rom 2:13, by works. And the word us forbids us to refer it exclusively or mainly to those who in time to come will be justified. It is best to suppose that Paul puts himself beside the writer of Genesis and looks forward to the Gospel as still future. Just so in Rom 5:14 the coming One refers to the incarnation of Christ; and we shall be, in Rom 6:5, to our present Christian life. Similarly, in Rom 7:14, Paul throws himself back into the days when he was under the Law; and in Rom 8:30 throws himself forward and looks back upon his final glorification as already achieved. This sudden change of mental standpoint is a mark of the intense vividness of his thought. He ever identifies himself with that about which he writes.

Believe on: as in Rom 4:5. To believe a promise, is to lean upon him that gave it.

Him that raised Jesus: on whose superhuman power both Abraham relied and we now rely. Just as to him belief of the promise was impossible without an assurance that God is able to set aside the decay of nature, so now we cannot believe Christs promise of eternal life unless we are sure that God is able to open the gates of death. For, that God raised Jesus from the dead, is an essential element of the Gospel: so Rom 10:9; Act 17:18; Act 17:31. That Abrahams faith had in view a miracle in the future, ours one in the past, does not mar the similarity. For, past or future, each involved the infinite power of God. This reference to the raising of Christ suggested the words dead and make alive the dead in Rom 4:19; Rom 4:17. The birth of Isaac was virtually a resurrection of the dead. Again, the resurrection of Christ, once believed, becomes a proof of the power of God, and therefore a pledge that He will fulfil all His promises: so Act 17:31; Eph 1:20; 1Pe 1:21. Hence, the description here of God whom we believe is parallel to that in Rom 4:17 of Him whom Abraham believed.

Rom 4:25. Two great facts closely related, one to Doctrine 2. Justification through the Death of Christ, of which the significance will be expounded in Rom 5:1-11; and the other to Doctrine 1. Justification through Faith, which has just been illustrated by the faith of Abraham. Thus this verse is a bridge between Romans 4, 5.

Trespasses: sins looked upon as a moral fall where we ought to have stood upright: cp. Rom 11:11.

Given-up: surrendered to a hostile power, as in Rom 1:24; Rom 1:26; Rom 1:28; Rom 8:32.

Because we fell, Jesus was given over into the hands of His enemies that He might be a propitiation for our sins. And, just as our sins, taken in connection with Gods purpose to save us, moved Him to give up Christ to die, so our need of justification moved Him to raise Christ from the dead: for without this proof of the divine mission of Christ there would have been no faith in Him and no justification through faith. So 1Co 15:17; 1Pe 1:3; 1Pe 1:21; notice the want of faith in Luk 24:11; Luk 24:21.

God raised Christ from the grave in order to give to His disciples a firm foundation on which their faith may rest securely as a means of justification. This last word will become the key-note of the next section.

The use of the same preposition ( with accusative) with a past fact and a purpose touching the future need not surprise us. In each case it denotes, as always, a motive for action. When God resolved to justify, His own purpose became to Him a motive. Compare The Nicene Creed, Because of us men and because of our salvation: a very close parallel. The simplicity of this exposition renders needless Godets suggestion that Paul refers to a sentence of justification pronounced in favour of guilty humanity in the resurrection of Christ. For of such collective justification Paul never speaks; and the reference of the word here is fixed by the word justified immediately following.

In this section, no reference is made to any similarity or connection between the promises believed by Abraham and by us. The comparison does not embrace the object-matter of faith, but only the mental act and the personal object, viz. the God of power whose word is in each case believed. The promises believed and the blessings obtained are altogether different. But the disposition of mind and heart is the same. The total difference between the two cases is a great advantage: for it compels us to look, not at one particular promise, but at a great underlying principle, viz. that every promise is fulfilled to those who believe it. God promises to us, and by faith we obtain, pardon and holiness and every grace. At the same time, the careful reader will observe that the promises to Abraham receive their complete fulfilment only in the fulfilment of the promises given to us; and that this fulfilment is brought about by the resurrection of Christ. The connection is referred to in Gal 3:16. Thus He is the centre towards which tends every step in the setting up of the Kingdom of God.

Sections 11-13 defend a point in 10 specially liable to objection, viz. faith as the one condition of righteousness. 11 provokes the objection, by showing that this condition overthrows all Jewish and human boasting.

This is in complete harmony with the teaching of DIV. 1. 12 meets the objection by showing that faith was the condition on which were bestowed upon Abraham all the blessings of the Old Covenant. And 13 teaches that his faith was similar to that required from us. The defence of faith as a condition of justification is now complete. The doctrine is assumed in the opening words of the next chapter; and then all mention of faith ceases till Rom 9:30, when the harmony of the Old and New will again meet us.

FAITH and belief and the cognate verb believe represent the same Greek and Hebrew words. They denote mental rest in an idea, touching past, present, or future. The idea in which we are at rest is often mentioned as the object-matter of our belief. We say, I believe it, or I believe that it is so: cp. Rom 6:8; Rom 10:9; Joh 9:18; Joh 16:30; 1Jn 5:1; 1Jn 5:5; Mar 11:23-24; also Joh 11:26; 1Jn 4:16; Act 13:41. The assurance may arise from perception by the senses, as in Mat 15:32; Joh 20:8; Joh 20:29; from testimony of others; from a course of reasoning, as in Rom 6:8; or from pure fancy. It may rest on good grounds, and correspond with reality; or on evidence altogether insufficient, and be, as in 2Th 2:11, an utter delusion. Yet in all these cases, if the mind be at rest in an idea, we say, He believes it.

The most important beliefs are those which bear upon the future, and upon our own interests. Faith then assumes the form of expectation. We look forward, with an inward rest proportionate to the degree of our faith, to the realisation of that which we believe. Such beliefs call forth our strongest emotions, and frequently direct our actions. And only so far as objects and events are reflected in our belief do they influence our action.

The variety of the effects of belief arises, not from different kinds or sources of it, and not altogether from different degrees of confidence, but chiefly from variety of its object-matter. When we believe, we submit ourselves to be influenced by the object-matter of our belief. But our submission is voluntary: and each act which springs from faith is a fresh and free submission. For we may refuse, if we will, to act according to our convictions. But such refusal always tends to weaken and destroy the conviction trampled under foot.

A person is frequently introduced as the object of our belief. When we say, I believe him, we mean that our assurance arises from, and rests upon, the word and character of a speaker. In Joh 4:21; Joh 14:11; Act 27:25; Act 8:12, we have both the personal object and the object-matter of faith.

Justifying faith is belief of Jesus Christ: Rom 3:22; Gal 2:16. This can only mean belief of the word of Christ, a mental rest reposing on His promise of life eternal for all who believe. In 2Th 2:13, we have belief of the truth; this last being the object-matter of saving faith. In Rom 4:5; Rom 4:24, we have one who believes on Him that justifies the ungodly, and on Him that raised Jesus. Abrahams faith was an assurance, resting on the power of God, that He will fulfil, in spite of natural impossibility, His promise of a numerous posterity.

In the O.T., e.g. Psa 13:5; Psa 32:10, we very often find trust in God, and much less often, e.g. Num 14:11; Deu 1:32, the phrase believe in Him. In the N.T., we have very often the words faith and believe, with God and Christ as their personal object; and more seldom trust in Him. The difference is significant. Trust is a confident expectation resting on a mans character, but not necessarily on a definite promise. Consequently, all saving belief in God is trust: for it is a reliance upon His character that He will fulfil His words. But it is often more than trust: it is a definite assurance resting upon, and corresponding with, a definite promise of God. To ancient Israel, God revealed Himself; and upon His revealed character His people rested their hopes of deliverance and prosperity. In our happier days, God has spoken in plain words His purposes of mercy for us; and upon His very words we lean and expect their exact fulfilment.

To denote a belief involving trust, the Hebrews used the phrase believe in, implying confident expectation touching the future conduct of the person believed in: so Gen 15:6; Exo 14:31; Exo 19:9; Jer 12:6; Mic 7:5; Pro 26:25; 1Sa 27:12; contrast Gen 45:26; Pro 14:15. The phrase believe in ( ) is a conspicuous feature of the Fourth Gospel, also 1Jn 5:10; 1Jn 5:13; but is rare elsewhere: Mat 18:6; Act 10:43; Act 14:23; Act 19:4; Rom 10:14; Gal 2:16; Php 1:29; 1Pe 1:8 : cp. Act 20:21; Act 24:24; Act 26:18. This rarity of the phrase is obscured by the Revisers rendering of Mar 11:22; Act 3:16; Rom 3:22; Rom 3:26; Gal 2:16; Gal 2:20; Gal 3:22; Eph 3:12; Php 3:9; Col 2:12. But we have no intelligible and correct English rendering of the phrase there used. Another phrase ( ) is found in Mar 1:15; Joh 3:15; cp. Eph 1:15; Col 1:4; 1Ti 3:13; 2Ti 1:13; 2Ti 3:15.

Since saving faith is reliance upon Gods known character, we may speak of implicit faith, viz. such estimate of His character as, apart from any particular promise, is prepared to accept with confidence and expectation whatever He says; and of explicit faith, viz. a definite assurance of the fulfilment of a definite promise. In the former sense, the phrase believe in Him is very common in the Fourth Gospel. But all faith in Christ has reference, direct or indirect, to His spoken word.

It is now evident that JUSTIFYING FAITH is an assurance, resting upon the word and character of God, that He now receives into His favour, according to His promise in Christ, us who here and now accept that promise. And we have seen that this faith has a close parallel in the faith by which Abraham accepted, and obtained fulfilment of, Gods promise to him of a numerous posterity through which blessing should come to all mankind. Under Rom 6:11, we shall find another exercise of faith, laying hold of other promises, and followed by still more wonderful results.

So far I have spoken of faith without reference to the Holy Spirit. In so doing, I have imitated Paul, who up to this point has not mentioned the work of the Spirit. We have studied faith merely as a mental process. For the spiritual source of our assurance of the favour of God, see notes under Rom 8:17.

Fuente: Beet’s Commentary on Selected Books of the New Testament

4:18 {17} Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

(17) A description of true faith wholly resting in the power of God, and his good will, set forth in the example of Abraham.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

5. The exemplary value of Abraham’s faith 4:18-22

Paul concluded his proof that faith was the only method of justification before the Cross by showing that what Abraham did in trusting God is essentially what everyone must do.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

Abraham’s hope rested solely on God’s promise. He had no hope of obtaining descendants naturally. His faith was not a condition for the reception of the promise, but he believed with the intention of receiving it. [Note: Godet, p. 181.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)