Romans 4:13

For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. FOR THE PROMISE, THAT HE SHOULD BE THE HEIR OF THE WORLD. To understand this in any local or territorial sense-of the land of Canaan, as a type of heaven (with Calvin) or of the millennial reign over the each (with Alford) - is surely away from the apostle's purpose. Nor does it seem to meet the case to view it (with Hodge) as just a general promise of blessedness. The allusion seems clearly to be to the promise, "In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed." In this case Abraham is "the heir of the world" religiously rather than locally. By his Religion he may be said to rule the world. As the parent of that race from whom the world has received "the lively oracles," of whom it is said that "Salvation is of the Jews," and "o...

13._For the promise, etc. _He now more clearly sets the law and faith in opposition, the one to the other, which he had before in some measure done; and this ought to be carefully observed: for if faith borrows nothing from the law in order to justify, we hence understand, that it has respect to nothing else but to the mercy of God. And further, the romance of those who would have this to have been said of ceremonies, may be easily disproved; for if works contributed anything towards justification, it ought not to have been said, through the written law, but rather, through the law of nature. But Paul does not oppose spiritual holiness of life to ceremonies, but faith and its righteousness. The meaning then is, that heirship was promised to Abraham, not because he deserved it by keeping the law, but because he had obtained righteousness by faith. And doubtless (as Paul will presently sho...

13-22 The promise was made to Abraham long before the law. It points at Christ, and it refers to the promise, Genesis 12:3. In Thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. The law worketh wrath, by showing that every transgressor is exposed to the Divine displeasure. As God intended to give men a title to the promised blessings, so he appointed it to be by faith, that it might be wholly of grace, to make it sure to all who were of the like precious faith with Abraham, whether Jews or Gentiles, in all ages. The justification and salvation of sinners, the taking to himself the Gentiles who had not been a people, were a gracious calling of things which are not, as though they were; and this giving a being to things that were not, proves the almighty power of God. The nature and power of Abraham's faith are shown. He believed God's testimony, and looked for the performance of his promis...

Verse Romans 4:13. _FOR THE PROMISE, THAT HE SHOULD BE THE HEIR OF THE_ _WORLD_] This promise intimated that he should be the medium through whom the mercy of God should be communicated to the _world_, to both _Jews_ and _Gentiles_; and the _manner_ in which _he_ was justified, be the _rule_ and _manner_ according to which all men should expect this blessing. Abraham is here represented as having all the _world_ given to him as his _inheritance_; because _in_ _him_ all nations of the earth are blessed: this must therefore relate to their being all interested in the _Abrahamic covenant_; and every person, now that the covenant is fully explained, has the privilege of claiming justification through faith, by the blood of the Lamb, in virtue of this original grant....

FOR THE PROMISE ... - To show that the faith of Abraham, on which his justification depended, was not by the Law, the apostle proceeds to show that the promise concerning which his faith was so remarkably evinced was before the Law was given. If this was so, then it was an additional important consideration in opposition to the Jew, showing that acceptance with God depended on faith, and not on works. THAT HE SHOULD BE HEIR OF THE WORLD - An heir is one who succeeds, or is to succeed to an estate. In this passage, the world, or the entire earth, is regarded as the estate to which reference is made, and the promise is that the posterity of Abraham should succeed to that, or should possess it as their inheritance. The precise expression used here, “heir of the world,” is not found in the promises made to Abraham Those promises were that God would make of him a great nation...

EXPOSITION ROMANS 4:1 (5) _Abraham himself shown to have been justified by faith, and not by works, believers being his true heirs._ The main points of the argument may be summarized thus: When Abraham obtained a blessing to himself and to his seed for ever, it was by faith, and not by works, that he is declared to have been justified so as to obtain it. Thus the promise to his seed, as well as to himself, rested on the principle of justification by faith only. The Law, of which the principle was essentially different, could not, and did not, in itself fulfil that promise; and that its fulfilment was not dependent on circumcision, or confined to the circumcised, is further shown by the fact that it was before his own circumcision that he received the blessing and the promise, Hence the seed intended in the promise was his spiritual seed, who a

FOR THE PROMISE THAT HE SHOULD BE HEIR OF THE WORLD,.... This promise is thought by some to refer to that of his being "the father of many nations", Genesis 17:4; by whom the Gentiles are particularly meant, who are sometimes called "the world", and "the whole world", or the elect of God, the believing part of the world; whether among Jews or Gentiles, who sometimes go by the name of "the world" in Scripture: but to this it may be objected, that the promise here spoken of is made to Abraham's seed, as well as to himself; by which is meant not the Messiah, who is indeed heir of the world, and all things in it, but all believers, whether Jews or Gentiles; as appears from Romans 4:16; and therefore cannot be both heirs and inheritance too. Others think the land of Canaan is designed, and by a synecdoche, a part of

Romans 4:1. _What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness._ He stands as the great Father of believers, and this is the charter given to him, and given to all believers in him. «Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness.» Romans 4:4. _Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt._ That is to say, to him who hopes to be saved by his works, to whom salvation is of merit. He has worked for the reward. He has earned it. Do not talk about grace in that case....

CHAPTER 4 _ 1. The Witness of Abraham to Justification. (Romans 4:1 .)_ 2. As Confirmed also by David. (Romans 4:6 .) 3. Circumcision the Sign of the Covenant. (Romans 4:9 .) 4. Faith in Him Who Raiseth the Dead. (Romans 4:13 .) Romans 4:1 Two witnesses are summoned next in whose lives the truth of justification by faith is illustrated. The Jews boasted of Abraham as the father of their nation. “Abraham our father” is still the common phrase used by all orthodox Jews as it was in the days of John the Baptist, as he declared, “Sa

ROMANS 4:11 _B -_ ROMANS 4:17_ A._ ABRAHAM'S RELATION TO MANKIND. With Abraham's faith a great prospect opened for humanity. ROMANS 4:11_ B_, ROMANS 4:12. According to Genesis 17 the patriarch received the Covenant-sign to the end he might be father of all that believe while in uncircumcision like himself,. and father, to be sure, of circumcision in the case of those who do not rely upon the fleshly token (_cf._ Romans 2:26), but who keep in the track of our father Abraham's pre-circumcision faith....