Luómǎshū 4:17

17 Yàbólāhǎn suǒ xìn de , shì nà jiào sǐ rén fùhuó shǐ wú biàn wéi yǒude shén , tā zaì zhǔ miànqián zuò wǒmen shìrén de fù . rú jīng shàng suǒ jì , wǒ yǐjing lì nǐ zuò duō guó de fù .

Luómǎshū 4:17 Meaning and Commentary

Romans 4:17

As it is written I have made thee a father of many nations,
&c.] The passage referred to, is in ( Genesis 17:4 Genesis 17:5 ) ; which proves him to be a father not of the Jews only, since they cannot be called "many nations", but of the Gentiles also; and which must be understood in a spiritual sense, for Abraham was the father of them,

before him whom he believed, [even] God;
that is, he was so, either in the sight of God, who sees not as man sees; in his account, he was the father of many nations, long before he really in fact was; or "over against" or "like unto him", as the word may signify: as God was the Father of many nations, so was Abraham, though not in such a sense as he is; and as God is the Father of us all that believe, so was Abraham; there is some little likeness and resemblance in this between them, though not sameness. The object of his faith is described as he,

who quickeneth the dead:
meaning either the dead body of Abraham and Sarah's womb; or Isaac, who was given up for dead; or the Gentiles, who were dead in trespasses and sins; or rather the dead bodies of men at the last day, a work which none but the almighty God can effect; the consideration of which is sufficient to engage faith in the promises of God, and a dependence on him for the fulfilment or them: and who stands further described as he, who

calleth those things which be not, as though they were;
so he called Abraham the father of many nations, when he was not in fact, as if he really was; and the Gentiles his seed and offspring, before they were; and when he comes effectually to call them by his grace, they are represented as "things which are not", whom he called, "to bring to nought things that are", ( 1 Corinthians 1:28 ) ; they were not his people, nor his children, and he called them so, and by his grace made them so, and made them appear to be so; for as in creation so in regeneration, God calls and brings that into being which before was not: and the phrase seems to be an allusion to the creation of all things out of nothing; and it is a Rabbinical one, for so the Jews speaking of the creation say ^F19

``(Nya la arwq) , "he calls to that which is not", and it is excluded; (i.e. all things are excluded out of it, as a chicken out of an egg;) and to that which is, and it is established, and to the world, and it is stretched out.''

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 R. Solomon ben Gabirol in Cether Malcuth apud L. Capell. in loc.

Luómǎshū 4:17 In-Context

15 Yīnwei lǜfǎ shì rĕ dòng fèn nù de . ( huò zuò jiào rén shòuxíng de ) nàli méiyǒu lǜfǎ , nàli jiù méiyǒu guō fàn .

16 Suǒyǐ rén dé wéi hòusì shì bĕnhū xìn . yīncǐ jiù shǔ hū ēn . jiào yīngxǔ déng rán guī gĕi yīqiè hòuyì . búdàn guī gĕi nà shǔ hū lǜfǎ de , yĕ guī gĕi nà xiàofǎ Yàbólāhǎn zhī xìn de .

17 Yàbólāhǎn suǒ xìn de , shì nà jiào sǐ rén fùhuó shǐ wú biàn wéi yǒude shén , tā zaì zhǔ miànqián zuò wǒmen shìrén de fù . rú jīng shàng suǒ jì , wǒ yǐjing lì nǐ zuò duō guó de fù .

18 Tā zaì wú kè zhǐwang de shíhou , yīn xìn réng yǒu zhǐwang , jiù déyǐ zuò duō guó de fù , zhēng rú xiānqián suǒ shuō , nǐde hòuyì jiāngyào rúcǐ .

19 Tā jiāng jìn bǎi suì de shíhou , suīrán xiǎng dào zìjǐ de shēntǐ rútóng yǐ sǐ , Sǎlā de shēngyù yǐjing duàn jué , tāde xìnxīn háishì bú ruǎnfuò .