16 Because of this (it is) from faith, that (it might be) according to grace,
in order for the promise to be confirmed to all the seed, not only to that from
the law but also to that from the faith of Abraham, who is father of us all,
17 as it has been written that ’I have made you father of many nations’,
before whom he believed, God, who makes-alive the dead and calls the things not
being as being.
18 Contrary to hope he believed in hope that he would become father of many
nations according to what was spoken: ’So shall your seed be’;
19 and not weakening in faith he considered his own body [already] put to
death, being about a hundred years old, and the deadness of the womb of Sarah.
20 With respect to the promise of God he did not doubt in disbelief but was
strengthened in/by faith, giving glory to God
21 and being convinced that what he has promised he is also able to do.
22 Therefore [also] "it was reckoned to him for righteousness".
23 But it was not written for his sake alone that "it was reckoned to
him",
24 but also for our sake, to whom it will be reckoned, to those believing in
the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
25 who was handed over for our lapses and raised for our justification.
My translation
Submitted by andrew on Sat, 22/09/2007 - 19:18.
16-17Because of this - that is, because the law brings
wrath (4:15) - it must be on the basis of faith that the promise to Abraham is
confirmed to all his descendants, not only to those who come from the law,
but also to those who emulate the faith of Abraham. Abraham believed in
the God who, in the first place, called things into being that did not exist,
who brought a ’new creation’ into existence; but Paul transposes this to the
contemporary situation: Abraham’s belief that God would bring a new humanity
into existence corresponds to the belief or faith of the new community in Christ that God will make-alive the
dead. This is the sense in which Abraham’s faith is at this point archetypal for
God’s people: it is a faith that God will restore to life a people that was dead
(cf. Ezek. 37:1-14; Hos. 6:1-2) so that it would have a future.
18-21 Paul reinforces the typology by speaking of Abraham’s body
as already having been put to death (nenekrōmenon) and of the
deadness (nekrōsin) of Sarah’s womb. Abraham’s faith that God
would bring into existence a family that did not exist out of a condition of
deadness prefigures the faith of those who now believe that God will raise
Israel again to life from the deadness of its sin.
22-25 The transposition is now made explicitly. The principle that
faith is reckoned for righteousness is applicable both to Abraham and to
those believing in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
Notice how Paul constructs this statement. It is not belief that
Jesus was raised from the dead but belief in the God who
raised Jesus from dead that will result in justification. The future of God’s people is
safeguarded by the faith of those who believe that God will remain faithful to
his promise to Abraham - and act accordingly. Faith is not a matter purely of
belief in some principle or truth. It is a matter of concrete trust in a course of action, a difficult way
leading to life.
16 Because of this (it is) from faith, that (it might be) according to grace, in order for the promise to be confirmed to all the seed, not only to that from the law but also to that from the faith of Abraham, who is father of us all,
17 as it has been written that ’I have made you father of many nations’, before whom he believed, God, who makes-alive the dead and calls the things not being as being.
18 Contrary to hope he believed in hope that he would become father of many nations according to what was spoken: ’So shall your seed be’;
19 and not weakening in faith he considered his own body [already] put to death, being about a hundred years old, and the deadness of the womb of Sarah.
20 With respect to the promise of God he did not doubt in disbelief but was strengthened in/by faith, giving glory to God
21 and being convinced that what he has promised he is also able to do.
22 Therefore [also] "it was reckoned to him for righteousness".
23 But it was not written for his sake alone that "it was reckoned to him",
24 but also for our sake, to whom it will be reckoned, to those believing in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
25 who was handed over for our lapses and raised for our justification.
16-17 Because of this - that is, because the law brings wrath (4:15) - it must be on the basis of faith that the promise to Abraham is confirmed to all his descendants, not only to those who come from the law, but also to those who emulate the faith of Abraham. Abraham believed in the God who, in the first place, called things into being that did not exist, who brought a ’new creation’ into existence; but Paul transposes this to the contemporary situation: Abraham’s belief that God would bring a new humanity into existence corresponds to the belief or faith of the new community in Christ that God will make-alive the dead. This is the sense in which Abraham’s faith is at this point archetypal for God’s people: it is a faith that God will restore to life a people that was dead (cf. Ezek. 37:1-14; Hos. 6:1-2) so that it would have a future.
18-21 Paul reinforces the typology by speaking of Abraham’s body as already having been put to death (nenekrōmenon) and of the deadness (nekrōsin) of Sarah’s womb. Abraham’s faith that God would bring into existence a family that did not exist out of a condition of deadness prefigures the faith of those who now believe that God will raise Israel again to life from the deadness of its sin.
22-25 The transposition is now made explicitly. The principle that faith is reckoned for righteousness is applicable both to Abraham and to those believing in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. Notice how Paul constructs this statement. It is not belief that Jesus was raised from the dead but belief in the God who raised Jesus from dead that will result in justification. The future of God’s people is safeguarded by the faith of those who believe that God will remain faithful to his promise to Abraham - and act accordingly. Faith is not a matter purely of belief in some principle or truth. It is a matter of concrete trust in a course of action, a difficult way leading to life.
See also: