Romans 4.13-The Promises of the Abrahamic Covenant Were Received By Faith and Not By Obeying the Law
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday January 27, 2008
Romans: Romans 4:13-The Promises of the Abrahamic Covenant Were Received By Faith and Not By Obeying the Law
Lesson # 125
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 4:1.
This morning we will study Romans 4:13 in which Paul teaches that the promises of the Abrahamic covenant were received by Abraham through faith and not by obeying the Law.
In Romans 4:13-17, Paul proceeds to point out to his Jewish audience that the Lord’s promises to Abraham that he would be heir of the world preceded the giving of the Law.
Romans 4:1, “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?”
Romans 4:2, “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.”
Romans 4:3, “For what does the Scripture say? ‘ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.’”
Romans 4:4, “Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.”
Romans 4:5, “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.”
Romans 4:6, “just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works.”
Romans 4:7, “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED.”
Romans 4:8, “BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.”
Romans 4:9, “Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, ‘FAITH WAS CREDITED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.’”
Romans 4:10, “How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.”
Romans 4:11, “and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them.”
Romans 4:12, “and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.”
Romans 4:13, “For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.”
Romans 4:14, “For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified.”
Romans 4:15, “for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation.”
Romans 4:16, “For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.”
Romans 4:17, “(as it is written, ‘A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU’) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.”
Let’s look at verse 13 in detail.
Romans 4:13, “For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.”
“For” is the “explanatory” use of the post-positive conjunction gar (gavr), which introduces a statement that “explains” Paul’s previous statements in Romans 4:11-12.
“The promise” is the noun epangelia (e)paggeliva) (ep-ang-el-ee-ah), which refers to all the promises the Lord made to Abraham that compose what theologians call the “Abrahamic” covenant even though it is singular in number since it functions as a “collective singular.”
Therefore, in Romans 4:13, the noun epangelia means, “promise” and is a “collective singular” referring to all the promises contained in the Abrahamic covenant, which collectively imply that Abraham and his descendant, the Lord Jesus Christ will inherit creation.
“To descendants” is the articular dative neuter singular form of the noun sperma (spevrma) (sper-mah), “descendants.”
The Scriptures teach that the “seed” or “descendant” of Abraham is four-fold: (1) Abraham’s biological or racial descendants, which would include: (a) The Ishmaelites through Hagar (Gen. 17:20; 21:13; 25:12-18) (b) The Midianites and others through Keturah (Gen. 25:1-4) (c) The Edomites through Isaac and Rebekah (Gen. 25:23; 36:1-43). (2) Abraham’s biological or racial descendants the Israelites of Jews through Sarah and Isaac and Rebekah and Jacob (Genesis 12:2, 7; 18:18; Rom. 9:6-9). (3) Abraham’s spiritual descendants, which would include those individuals, both Jew and Gentile racially, who exercised faith alone in Christ alone (Gal. 3:6-29). (4) The Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:16).
In Romans 4:13, the noun sperma refers to the Lord Jesus Christ since the word is in the singular and in Galatians 3:16 Paul identifies Abraham’s sperma, “seed, descendant” as being the Lord Jesus Christ.
Galatians 3:16, “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as referring to many, but rather to one, ‘And to your seed,’ that is, Christ.”
Also, we must remember though that heirship for the believer is through being in union with Christ (Ephesians 2:12-13; 3:5-6).
Ephesians 2:11, “Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called ‘Uncircumcision’ by the so-called ‘Circumcision,’ which is performed in the flesh by human hands.”
Ephesians 2:12, “remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”
Ephesians 2:13-14, “But now in Christ Jesus you (Gentiles) who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall.”
Ephesians 2:15, “by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace.”
Ephesians 2:16, “and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.”
Ephesians 2:17, “AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR.”
Ephesians 2:18-19, “for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household.”
Ephesians 2:20, “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone.”
Ephesians 2:21, “in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord.”
Ephesians 2:22, “in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”
Ephesians 3:1-13 teaches that it was a mystery that the Gentiles through faith in Christ would become fellow heirs with Jewish believers, fellow members of the body of Christ and fellow partakers of the four unconditional covenants of promise to Israel.
Ephesians 3:1-6, “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles. If indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief (in Ephesians 1:8-9). by referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ (that which is disclosed in Christ), which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”
Romans 4:13, “For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.”
“He” is the intensive personal pronoun autos (au)tov$) (ow-tos), which emphasizes that Abraham is the heir of the earth because of the Lord’s promises to him that are contained in the Abrahamic covenant.
Paul uses this word and not a plural form of a pronoun that would include the Lord Jesus Christ since he wishes to emphasize with his Jewish audience that Abraham’s faith justified him before God and receiving the promise of inheriting the earth.
The Lord Jesus Christ does “not” need to be justified before God because He is sinless whereas Abraham was a sinner who was justified by his faith in Christ.
“Heir” is the noun kleronomos (klhronovmo$) (klay-ron-om-os), which means, “possessor, heir” and is used here of Abraham and a specific descendant of his, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ, thus indicating that they will “possess” the earth and the government of the world during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ.
“The world” is the noun kosmos (kovsmo$) (kos-mos), which refers to creation that was created out of non-existing material by the Lord Jesus Christ and includes everything on the earth in their complex order and composition as created by the Son of God in perfect order and subject to the laws God established to govern its operation.
There is no express mention of Abraham and his spiritual descendants being heirs or possessors of the earth in the Genesis account of Abraham.
However, Genesis 12:1-3, 6-9; 13:14-18; 15:1-6, 18-21; 17:1-8; 22:15-18; 26:4; 28:13-15; 35:9-13 reveal that Abraham received the following promises: (1) The promise of an heir from Abraham’s own body (Genesis 15:4, 13-14; 18:10, 14), (2) Innumerable (biological and spiritual) descendants (Genesis 13:16; 15:5; 17:2; 22:17; 28:14; 35:11), (3) The land of Canaan plus an extensive portion of land on the earth whose boundaries are on the Mediterranean, the Aegean Sea, the Euphrates River and the Nile River, which would include what is now known today as Turkey, most of East Africa, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman and Red Sea, Syria, Iraq and Jordan (Genesis 12:7; 13:14-18; 15:7, 18-21; 17:8; 28:13; 35:12), (4) The nation of Israel (Genesis 12:2; 28:14; 35:11; 46:3), (5) Arab nations (Genesis 17:3-5; 35:11; ), (6) Nations composed of Gentile believers (Genesis 17:3-5; 35:11), (7) Arab and Israelite kings (Genesis 17:6, 16; 35:11), (8) Regenerate Gentile kings (Genesis 17:6, 16; 35:11), (9) Dominion (Genesis 22:17; 28:14), (10) Abraham would be the medium of blessing to all the nations through the Messiah who would descend from him (Genesis 12:3; 22:18; 28:14).
Since these promises contained in the Abrahamic covenant make clear that God purposed through Abraham and his offspring, the Lord Jesus Christ to work out the destiny of the entire world, it was implicit in the promises to Abraham that he and his spiritual descendants and the Lord Jesus Christ would inherit the earth.
The full realization of this awaits the consummation of the millennial kingdom at Christ’s Second Advent.
Romans 4:13, “For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.”
The statement “not through the Law” emphatically negates the idea that Abraham received the promise that he would inherit the earth by means of obedience to the Law.
“Through the righteousness of faith” indicates that the righteousness that was credited to Abraham as a result of his faith in the Lord was “the means” by which he received the promise that he would inherit the earth.