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. WHO AGAINST HOPE (WHEN NO GROUND FOR HOPE APPEARED) BELIEVED IN HOPE - cherished the believing expectation [ par' (G3844) elpida (G1680) ep' (G1909) elpidi (G1680). Para (G3844), with the accusative, 'to beside;' hence, proeter: epi (G1909) with the dative, denotes actual 'superposition;' hence, the actual 'basis,' ethical 'occasion,' or 'moving principle'],...

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...

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 4:18. _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_....

WHO AGAINST HOPE - Who against all apparent or usual ground of hope. He refers here to the prospect of a posterity; see Romans 4:19. 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 - Genesis 15:5. SO SHALL THY SEED BE - That is, as the stars in heaven for multitude. Thy posterity shall be very numerous....

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

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....

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 4:17 _B_ - ROMANS 4:25. FAITH IN GOD THE LIFE-GIVER. Romans 4:17 associates with the _scope_ the _quality_ of Abraham's faith. The patriarch's world-fatherhood was his in the sight of God whom he believed: God acknowledged and made good that paternityHe who makes alive the dead and summons things non-existent as though in being! Romans 4:18. Abraham's trust in the power yoked to God's promise made his belief efficacious: against hope, he believed in hope; spiritual hope conquered natural despair. He accepted the assurance respecting Isaac's birth, though perfectly aware of its physical impossibility ...