https://youtu.be/WLJ9DMu4998
In our verse-by-verse study of Romans last time we started our Expanded Translation of Rom 4:18; "Who in hope against hope." We noted that this phrase addresses Abraham's human inability along side of God's ability that is revealed in the doctrine.
We noted that metabolized doctrine in the soul is the coin of the spiritual realm. God was waiting for Abraham to reach the doctrinal viewpoint that recognized that God would deliver on His promise regardless of Abraham's inability.
The challenge to Abraham was to believe God's promise and wait patiently with confident expectation for God to fulfill his promise at the right time.
It is the same for us. Lam 3:21-25; Isa 40:31; Psa 23:5-6; Mark 10:27;
Rom 4:18; the phrase translated hope against hope" is elpis" (hope) plus the locative of "elpis" (hope).
The first "elpis' (hope) refers to the hopeless situation of Abraham's sexual death. The second "elpis" (hope) refers to God's promise of sexual prosperity that is the exact opposite of sexual death so we have the juxtaposition of what is impossible for man with what is possible for God.
With doctrine in the soul, occupation with Christ, capacity for life from spiritual maturity, the second "elpis" (hope) that refers to God's viewpoint is Abraham's reality.
Without doctrine there is hopelessness with doctrine there is complete and total confidence. Being a believer without doctrine intensifies the hopeless of a hopeless situation. This is hope as a principle, not the actual details. In other words, he had not given up and he was not discouraged.
Abraham's sexual death for years had created a hopeless situation for Abraham by age ninety-nine.
There was no way that sexually impotent Abraham could have an heir by Sarah or anyone else in fulfillment of God's promise.
Furthermore, ninety-year-old Sarah who was never able to have children has passed the menopause so she was totally incapable of pregnancy.
Abraham would have succumbed to despair and self-pity except for the fact that during those years of sexual death he had learned doctrine and had gone from the discouragement and self-pity of reversionism of to the absolute confident expectation of super-grace.
At 99 Abraham was an super-grace believer. That means maximum adjustment to God's justice and a mature confident relationship with God's integrity. As a result God's promise and God's ability were more real to Abraham than his completely hopeless human situation.
Doctrine resident in the soul gave power to Abraham's faith-rest function while at the same time establishing God's omnipotence as the object for his faith-rest.
Metabolized doctrine resident in the soul made God's ability more real to him than his inability. Heb 10:38;
Rom 4:18; To Abraham God's promise of an heir through sexual prosperity was more real to him than his sexual inability.
Because of maximum metabolized doctrine Abraham considered the source of the promise that was the doctrine, was certain because it was based on God's integrity.
He also knew that God's integrity was perfect so God's timing is perfect so having the promise all he had to do was wait for God.
"that he might become a father of many nations " "eis" (in): plus the accusative singular from the definite article "ho" (the) with the aorist active infinitive of "ginomai" (become).
In this phrase there has to be a definite article "ho" (the or that) with the infinitive to understand the meaning of the preposition "eis" (in).
The subject is the accusative singular of general reference from the intensive pronoun "autos" (he or him) that is used to define and emphasize a specific person and often provides a double emphasis by being used as a personal pronoun.
"Ginomai" (to become) is in the constantive aorist tense that looks at the action of the verb in its entirety. It takes Abraham's sexual prosperity with both Sarah and Keturah, and gathers it together into a single event.
In this case the best way to translate "eis" (in) is "in order that." Then the accusative of general reference" autos" (he) (Abraham) might become."
Again, the constantive aorist gathers into one entirety the years and years of great sexual prosperity that will occur after God' fulfills His promise that will result in children.
The active voice tells us that Abraham in spiritual maturity produces the action of the verb in the status of sexual prosperity, first with Sarah and then Keturah because a total of seven sons were born as the result of his sexual prosperity from God's justice. Gen 21:5; Gen 25:2;
Rom 4:18; "Ginomai" (to become) is a purpose infinitive that is used to express the objective of the action of the finite verb "in order or so that that he might become" is a good translation.
Plus the accusative singular direct object from "pater" (father) that means father, pattern, or ancestor. It means, "father" here but not just father in the sense of having children but also in the sense of receiving blessing from God.
This blessing from God to Abraham will be a blessing to the entire human race throughout human history and for eternity because Abraham's seed through Isaac is the gene pool for the seed of the woman, Jesus Christ who would be the savior of mankind.
Next is the objective genitive plural noun and adjective "polus ethnos" (many nations). Abraham's super-grace prosperity became the source of many nations, including Israel through Isaac, and the Arab nations through Keturah.
Next comes the quotation from Gen 15:5; that verifies the existence of a promise that can be claimed through the function of faith-rest: "according to that which had been spoken" "kata" (according) plus the accusative neuter singular from the definite article "ho" (that), plus "elpon" the perfect passive participle of "lego" (spoken).
"elpon" the perfect tense of "lego" (spoken) is a dramatic perfect that places emphasis on an existing state that is described as being unusual. Abraham must understand that the promise that is being fulfilled is based exclusively on God's integrity because only God can fulfill it.
That is where metabolized doctrine comes in. Abraham must use metabolized doctrine to perceive beyond his hopeless human circumstances to the fact that God's justice has never been unfair in any way because the promise was, is, and always has been there as doctrinal reality for him the entire time, all that was needed was for Abraham to receive the capacity to receive the promise was to metabolize the doctrine by believing it with not doubting.
This means that there was there never was a moment when there was a reason for him to be discouraged. This is the rhetorical use of the intensive perfect. The passive voice: Abraham received God's promise in Gen 15:5.
The participle is a complementary participle that is used to complete the action of the main verb "he believed according to that which had been spoken." The promise given in Genesis 12:2 before he left Ur was reconfirmed in Genesis 15:5 and reconfirmed again in Genesis 17:5. This is the principle of Rom 10:17;
Every time God restated the promise it was to encourage Abraham who was advancing toward spiritual maturity to keep on advancing, to never become self absorbed from discouragement and self pity, and to keep his focus on God's integrity because that was the only issue.
The issue is always God who the source of the blessing not the blessing itself.
The same is true for us in whatever adverse situation we may be in. Just like Abraham we are to focus on the source of the blessing not the blessing itself because the certainty of God's blessing is based exclusively on God's integrity and God never fails.
The last phrase in the verse quoted from Gen 15:5; "So shall your descendants be" is just the end of the quotation but it emphasizes it all.
Rom 4:18; It begins with the adverb "houtos"(so) that is used to refer to what precedes, which is why it can be translated "so" or "therefore." The Nestle Aland translates it "thustly."
Plus the nominative neuter singular subject with the definite article "ho" and the noun "sperma" (seed) making it monadic because it belonged only to Abraham.
Next is the future active indicative from the verb "eimi" (to be). The future tense is a predictive future that describes the fact that the promise would be fulfilled at a future time.
The active voice: when the promise of the progeny was fulfilled Abraham would produce the action of the verb, not only in the sex but also with maximum sexual prosperity.
The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal idea from the viewpoint of reality, an unqualified assertion of a dogmatic fact from God's integrity "So your seed shall exist."
Expanded Translation Rom 4:18; "Who beyond hope of sexual prosperity believed in hope of fulfillment, in order that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which he had spoken, So your seed shall exist.
This verse explains that spiritual maturity is always challenged in the area of the reality of life. Reality is always challenged in life but especially to the believer who has attained maximum adjustment to God's justice.
The challenge to Abraham was whither his hopeless situation of sexual death or the reality of the veracity of God's integrity regarding God's righteousness as the principle and God's justice as the function.
Maximum doctrine resident in the soul makes the decision in favor of the reality of God's integrity over any hopeless situation in life.
Rom 4:19; "Without becoming weak in the faith." The verse starts with the connective conjunction "kai" (and) with the negative "mh" (not) that rejects the idea. In this case we have a negative result, so we have "mh" (not).
Then the aorist active participle of the verb "astheneo" (weak) this is an ingressive aorist tense with the negative "mh" (not) where the action viewed by the aorist is contemplated at its beginning.
The negative indicates that Abraham did not even begin to falter. He had made total adjustment to God's justice because he had maximum doctrine resident in his soul.
Mature Abraham had no doubts about God's integrity. "And not becoming weak." The active voice: Abraham produces the action of the verb: he had no doubts. The participle is circumstantial for the fact Abraham's reality was based on God's integrity.
God's justice and God's righteousness were more real to him than his adversity. Then comes the locative singular from "pistis" (faith) with the definite article "ho" (the) that is used as a demonstrative pronoun to emphasize the strength of Abraham's faith-rest function with maximum doctrine resident in his soul. "And so not becoming weak in the faith."