Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? New Living Translation Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? English Standard Version What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? Berean Standard Bible What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, has discovered? Berean Literal Bible What then shall we say Abraham our father discovered according to the flesh? King James Bible What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? New King James Version What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? New American Standard Bible What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? NASB 1995 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? NASB 1977 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? Legacy Standard Bible What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? Amplified Bible What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather humanly speaking, has found? [Has he obtained a favored standing?] Christian Standard Bible What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? Holman Christian Standard Bible What then can we say that Abraham, our physical ancestor, has found? American Standard Version What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, hath found according to the flesh? Contemporary English Version Well then, what can we say about our ancestor Abraham? English Revised Version What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, hath found? GOD'S WORD® Translation What can we say that we have discovered about our ancestor Abraham? Good News Translation What shall we say, then, of Abraham, the father of our race? What was his experience? International Standard Version What, then, are we to say about Abraham, our human ancestor? Majority Standard Bible What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, has discovered? NET Bible What then shall we say that Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh, has discovered regarding this matter? New Heart English Bible What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather, has found according to the flesh? Webster's Bible Translation What shall we then say that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? Weymouth New Testament What then shall we say that Abraham, our earthly forefather, has gained? World English Bible What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather, has found according to the flesh? Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionWhat, then, will we say Abraham our father to have found, according to flesh? Berean Literal Bible What then shall we say Abraham our father discovered according to the flesh? Young's Literal Translation What, then, shall we say Abraham our father, to have found, according to flesh? Smith's Literal Translation What then shall we say Abraham our father to have found, according to the flesh? Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleWHAT shall we say then that Abraham hath found, who is our father according to the flesh. Catholic Public Domain Version So then, what shall we say that Abraham had achieved, who is our father according to the flesh? New American Bible What then can we say that Abraham found, our ancestor according to the flesh? New Revised Standard Version What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleWHAT then shall we say concerning Abraham, the chief of our forefathers, who lived according to the flesh before God called him? Aramaic Bible in Plain English What therefore do we say about Abraham, the chief of our forefathers, that he found in the flesh? NT Translations Anderson New TestamentWhat, then, shall we say that Abraham our father has found, as it respects the flesh? Godbey New Testament Then what shall we say that Abraham, our father according to the flesh, has found? Haweis New Testament WHAT then shall we say that Abraham our father hath obtained by the flesh? Mace New Testament How then can we assert, "that Abraham our father obtained this from circumcision?" Weymouth New Testament What then shall we say that Abraham, our earthly forefather, has gained? Worrell New Testament What, then, shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, has found according to the flesh? Worsley New Testament What shall we say then that Abraham our father obtained according to the flesh? Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context Abraham Justified by Faith1What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, has discovered? 2If Abraham was indeed justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God.… Cross References Genesis 15:6 Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Galatians 3:6-9 So also, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” / Understand, then, that those who have faith are sons of Abraham. / The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” ... James 2:21-23 Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? / You see that his faith was working with his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he did. / And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God. Hebrews 11:8-12 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going. / By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. / For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. ... Genesis 12:1-3 Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you. / I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. / I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 17:4-5 “As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. / No longer will you be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. Galatians 3:16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ. Hebrews 6:13-15 When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself, / saying, “I will surely bless you and multiply your descendants.” / And so Abraham, after waiting patiently, obtained the promise. Genesis 22:15-18 And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time, / saying, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your only son, / I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies. ... John 8:39 “Abraham is our father,” they replied. “If you were children of Abraham,” said Jesus, “you would do the works of Abraham. Isaiah 51:1-2 “Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut, and to the quarry from which you were hewn. / Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who gave you birth. When I called him, he was but one; then I blessed him and multiplied him. Luke 3:8 Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. Matthew 3:9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. Galatians 4:22-31 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. / His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born through the promise. / These things serve as illustrations, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children into slavery: This is Hagar. ... Genesis 18:18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Treasury of Scripture What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, has found? what. Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? Romans 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Abraham. Isaiah 51:2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. Matthew 3:9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. Luke 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. as pertaining. Romans 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, Hebrews 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? Jump to Previous Abraham Discovered Earthly Flesh Forefather Found Gained Matter PertainingJump to Next Abraham Discovered Earthly Flesh Forefather Found Gained Matter PertainingRomans 4 1. Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness;10. before he was circumcised. 13. By faith only he and his seed received the promise. 16. Abraham is the father of all who believe. 24. Our faith also shall be credited to us as righteousness. What then shall we say This phrase introduces a rhetorical question, a common technique used by Paul to engage his audience and provoke thought. In Greek, "Τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν" (Ti oun eroumen) suggests a transition from the previous argument, inviting readers to consider the implications of what has been discussed. Paul often uses this phrase to challenge assumptions and lead into deeper theological truths. It sets the stage for a discussion on faith and righteousness, encouraging believers to reflect on the nature of their own faith in light of Abraham's example. that Abraham, our forefather has discovered (1-25) The subject of the chapter is an application of the foregoing to the special (and crucial) case of Abraham, with particular reference to two ideas that are continually recurring throughout the last chapter: (1) the supposed superiority of Jew to Gentile (and, a fortiori, of the great progenitor of the Jews); (2) the idea of boasting or glorying based upon this superiority. Following out this the Apostle shows how even Abraham's case tells, not against, but for the doctrine of justification by faith. Indeed, Abraham himself came under it. And not only so, but those who act upon this doctrine are spiritually descendants of Abraham. It is entirely a mistake to suppose that they of the circumcision only are Abraham's seed. The true seed of Abraham are those who follow his example of faith. He put faith in the promise, they must put their faith in the fulfilment of the promise. (1) To come back to the question of Romans 3:1, repeated in Romans 3:9, in what did the superiority of Abraham, the great representative of the Jewish race, really consist? As pertaining to the flesh.--The construction of these words appears to be determined by their position in the sentence. According to the best MSS. they are distinctly separated from "hath found" and joined with "our father." They would therefore mean simply "our father according to the flesh," i.e., by natural descent, as in Romans 1:3. Hath found.--Hath got, or gained, by way of advantage. Verses 1-25. - (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 are of faith such as his was; and in Christ, offering justification through faith to all, the promise is now fulfilled. Verse 1. - What then shall we say that Abraham our father according to the flesh hath found? The connection, denoted by οῦν, with the preceding argument is rather with vers. 27, 28 of ch. 3, than with its concluding words, νόμον ἱστάνομεν. This appears, not only from the drift of ch. 4, but also from the word καύχημα in ver. 2, connecting the thought with ποῦ οῦν ἡ καύχησις; in Romans 3:27. The line of thought is, in the first place, this: We have said that all human glorying is shut out, and that no man can be justified except by faith: how, then (it is important to inquire), was it with Abraham our great progenitor? Did not he at least earn the blessing to his seed by the merit of his works? Had not he, on that ground, whereof to glory? No, not even he. Scripture, in what it says of him, distinctly asserts the contrary. There is uncertainty in this verse as to whether "according to the flesh" (κατὰ σάρκα) is to be connected with "our father" or with "hath found." Readings vary in their arrangement of the words. The Textus Receptus has Τί οῦν ἐροῦμεν Αβραὰμ τὸν πατέρα ἡμῶν εὐρηκέναι κατὰ σάρκα. But the great preponderance of authority is in favour of εὐρηκέναι Ἀβραὰμ τὸν προπάτορα ἡμῶν κατὰ σάρκα. The first of these readings requires the connection of κατὰ σάρκα with εὐρηκέναι; the second allows it, but suggests the other connection. Theodoret, among the ancients, connecting with εὐρηκέναι, explains κατὰ σάρκα thus: "What righteousness, of Abraham's, wrought before he believed God, did we ever hear of?" Calvin suggests, as the meaning of the phrase (though himself inclining to the connection with προπάτορα)," naturaliter vel ex seipso." Bull, similarly ('Harmonic Apostolica,' 'Disputatio Posterior,' c. 12:14-17), "by his natural powers, without the grace of God." Alford, following Meyer, says that κατὰ σάρκα is in contrast to κατὰ πνεύμα, and that it "refers to that department of our being from which spring works, in contrast with that in which is the exercise of faith." Difficulty is avoided if (as is the most natural inference from the best authenticated reading) we take κατὰ σάρκα in connection with πάτερα or προπάτορα, in the sense of our forefather in the way of natural descent, the question being put from the Jewish standpoint; and this in distinction from the other conception of descent from Abraham, according to which all the faithful are called his children (cl. Romans 1:3; Romans 9:3, 5, 8:1 Corinthians 10:18). Among the ancients Chrysostom and Theophylact take this view. For the import of εὐρηκέναι, cf. Luke 1:30 (εϋρες χάριν παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ) and Hebrews 9:12 (αἰωνίαν λύτρωσιν εὑράμενος᾿.Parallel Commentaries ... Greek WhatΤί (Ti) Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun - Accusative Neuter Singular Strong's 5101: Who, which, what, why. Probably emphatic of tis; an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what. then οὖν (oun) Conjunction Strong's 3767: Therefore, then. Apparently a primary word; certainly, or accordingly. shall we say ἐροῦμεν (eroumen) Verb - Future Indicative Active - 1st Person Plural Strong's 2046: Probably a fuller form of rheo; an alternate for epo in certain tenses; to utter, i.e. Speak or say. [that] Abraham, Ἀβραὰμ (Abraam) Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular Strong's 11: Abraham, progenitor of the Hebrew race. Of Hebrew origin; Abraham, the Hebrew patriarch. our ἡμῶν (hēmōn) Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 1st Person Plural Strong's 1473: I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I. forefather, προπάτορα (propatora) Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular Strong's 3962: Father, (Heavenly) Father, ancestor, elder, senior. Apparently a primary word; a 'father'. has discovered? εὑρηκέναι (heurēkenai) Verb - Perfect Infinitive Active Strong's 2147: A prolonged form of a primary heuro, which heureo is used for it in all the tenses except the present and imperfect to find. Links Romans 4:1 NIVRomans 4:1 NLT Romans 4:1 ESV Romans 4:1 NASB Romans 4:1 KJV Romans 4:1 BibleApps.com Romans 4:1 Biblia Paralela Romans 4:1 Chinese Bible Romans 4:1 French Bible Romans 4:1 Catholic Bible NT Letters: Romans 4:1 What then will we say that Abraham (Rom. Ro) |
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