Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall your seed be.
against.
Romans 4:19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:
Romans 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Romans 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
So shall.
Genesis 15:5,6 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be…
Abraham in hope believed
Abraham's faith is a central theme in the Bible, often cited as a model for believers. His belief was not based on visible evidence but on trust in God's promise. This mirrors Hebrews 11:1, which defines faith as confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Abraham's faith is also a precursor to the New Testament teaching of justification by faith (Romans 4:3).
and so became the father of many nations
This phrase fulfills God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 17:4-5, where God declares that Abraham will be the father of many nations. This promise is not only biological, through Isaac and Ishmael, but also spiritual, as believers in Christ are considered Abraham's descendants (Galatians 3:29). The phrase underscores the global scope of God's covenant with Abraham.
just as he had been told
This refers to God's specific promise to Abraham in Genesis 15:5, where God tells him to look at the stars and promises that his offspring will be as numerous. This assurance from God is a testament to His faithfulness and the reliability of His word, a theme echoed throughout Scripture (Isaiah 55:11).
“So shall your offspring be.”
This quote from Genesis 15:5 emphasizes the certainty of God's promise. It also points to the future fulfillment in Christ, through whom all nations are blessed (Galatians 3:8). The phrase serves as a reminder of the continuity of God's plan from the Old Testament to the New Testament, culminating in the salvation offered through Jesus Christ.
Abraham and Sarah were far beyond child-bearing years—“his own body was as good as dead … and Sarah’s womb was also dead” (Romans 4:19). From any human vantage point his situation screamed impossible. Yet Scripture consistently shows that:
- God delights in working where human prospects have vanished (2 Kings 3:17; John 11:39-40).
- He “calls things that are not as though they were” (Romans 4:17).
- Hopeless moments become platforms for His glory (Judges 7:2-7; 2 Corinthians 1:8-9).
Biblical hope is confident expectation rooted in God’s character, not wishful thinking. Abraham anchored himself in what God had spoken:
- “Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).
- “He grew strong in faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised” (Romans 4:20-21).
- Hebrews 11:1 reminds us that faith gives substance to hope; Hebrews 11:11-12 notes that Sarah received power to conceive because she judged God faithful.
The promise stretched beyond a single ethnic line:
- Physically—Israel sprang from Isaac (Genesis 17:19; 21:3-5).
- Spiritually—all who trust Christ are counted Abraham’s children (Galatians 3:7-9, 29).
- Ultimately the vision soars to “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation” praising the Lamb (Revelation 7:9-10).
Paul cites this to show that God’s plan always included Jew and Gentile united through faith.
Every detail unfolded exactly in line with God’s word:
- “Is anything too difficult for the LORD?” (Genesis 18:14).
- “Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled” (Joshua 21:45).
- “The word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8).
Abraham’s confidence rested on the unchanging reliability of the One who speaks.
God first uttered these words while Abram gazed at the night sky: “Look to the heavens and count the stars … So shall your offspring be” (Genesis 15:5). That staggering comparison carried two assurances:
- Quantity—innumerable descendants, both physical and spiritual (Genesis 22:17; Hebrews 11:12).
- Quality—offspring characterized by faith, culminating in the promised Seed, Christ (Galatians 3:16).
Believers today, adopted through Christ (John 1:12; Romans 8:15-17), shine as part of that starry promise.
Romans 4:18 showcases a man who trusted God when every earthly indicator pointed to defeat. Hope anchored in divine promise triumphed over hopelessness, bringing forth a family that spans the globe and the ages. The verse invites us to rest in the same faithful God who still turns impossibilities into fulfilled promises for all who believe.
(18-22) Extended description of the faith of Abraham.(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 hope"--that 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 God's purpose.
Verses 18-21. - Who against hope in hope believed (παρ ἐλπίδα ἐπ ἐλπίδι - an oxymoron. For a similar use of ἐπ ἐλπίδι, see 1 Corinthians 9:10; also below, Romans 5:2. Its position in the Authorized Version might suggest its dependence on "believed," which is grammatically possible (cf. Romans 9:33; Romans 10:11), but unallowable here, since hope cannot well be regarded as the object of belief) to the end he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be (Genesis 15:5, viz. "as the stars"). And being not weak in faith, he considered not (i.e. paid no regard to as a hindrance to faith. The codices relied on by our recent Revisers omit οὐ before κατενόησεν, and they accordingly translate, "he considered his own body," thus making the idea to be that he was fully aware of the apparent impossibility of his having a son, but believed notwithstanding. But the reading of the Textus Receptus has good support, and especially that of the Greek Fathers, and gives the best sense) his own body now dead (already deadened - νενεκρώμενον ( ι.ε. with respect to virility. So, with the same reference, Hebrews 11:12), when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb; but he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong (rather, was strengthened) in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that what he had promised he was able also to perform. With regard to the construction of ver. 20, we may observe that, though in the Authorized Version, which is followed above, the prepositions put before "unbelief" and "faith" are varied, both words are datives without a preposition in the Greek, and apparently with the same force of the dative in both cases, the sense being, "With regard to the promise, etc., unbelief did not cause him to waver (οὑ διεκρίθη τῇ ἀπιστία), but faith made him strong ἐνεδυναμώθη τῇ πίστει)." The purport of the whole passage is to show, with reference to Genesis 17:15-22; Genesis 18:9-16, how Abraham's faith in the promise of a seed through Sarah, which seemed impossible in the natural course of things, corresponded in essence to our faith in "him that raised Jesus our Lord from the dead" (ver. 24). It was faith in a Divine power above nature, able to quicken into supernatural life that which humanly is dead. And as Abraham's faith in this promised birth of Isaac involved a further faith in the fulfilment through him of all the promises, so our faith in the resurrection of Christ involves faith in all that is signified and assured to us thereby - in "the power of a Divine life" in him, to bring life out of death, to regenerate and quicken the spiritually dead, and finally in "eternal redemption" and the "restitution of all things" (cf. John 3:6; John 5:25; Romans 6:3-12; 1 Corinthians 3:21-23; Ephesians 1:18-23; Ephesians 2:4-8; Revelation 1:18; to which many other similarly significant passages might be added). It may be observed that, not only in the instance here adduced, but in his whole life as recorded in Genesis, Abraham stands forth as an exemplification of habitual faith in a Divine order beyond sight, and trust in Divine promises. In this consists the religious meaning of that record for us all. Notably so (as is especially set forth in Hebrews 11:17, etc.) in his willingness to sacrifice the son through whom the promise was to be fulfilled, retaining still his faith in the fulfilment.