(Romans 4:17-22) Just as it has been written, "A father of many nations I have made you," before whom he trusted, God, the One who makes alive the dead and the One who calls those which do not exist as existing, who, against hope, trusted in hope for himself to become the father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, "In this manner will be your seed." And he who was not weak with respect to faith understood that his body was already dead when he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb, but to the promise of God he was not parted with unbelief. Rather he was strengthened with faith, giving glory to God, and fully assured that He who had promised is strong also to do, on which account, also it was counted to him for righteousness.
17 Just as it has been written, "A father of many nations I have made you”… “Father Abraham had many sons, many sons had Father Abraham, I am one of them and so are you, so let's all praise the Lord, right arm…,” so we used to sing at summer camp. The plan of God is mysterious and masterful. When He promised Abraham that his descendents would outnumber the stars, He meant that millions of human beings would trace their family tree back to the great patriarch; and they did. To this day, many Arab nations and religions claim Abraham as their root. But the true fulfillment would be of far greater consequence: Abraham is the forefather of the faithful from every tribe, tongue, and nation under heaven. His real progeny consists of believing, Spiritual descendents. I am one of them, and so are you, if you believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the true seed of Abraham.
John the Baptist declared that God could raise up children to Abraham from rocks. At first glance, this seems to be a silly statement because no rock could match its DNA to the family of Abraham. But that was John’s point. Being a child of Abraham (and, therefore, an heir to the promise) has nothing whatsoever to do with DNA. Abraham’s children believe, and God can grant this ability to Jews, Romans, Greeks, Babylonians, Americans, Muslims, Asians, Africans, and even rocks, if He so chooses.
Before whom he trusted, God, the One who makes alive the dead and the One who calls those which do not exist as existing… God has been doing this from the beginning when He looked out at nothing and then thrust the universe into being by mere command. Later, He took a mound of dead clay and breathed into it the breath of life and it became a living soul. Later still, when the time had come to give flesh to His Son, He took a dormant egg in a young girl's ovary and caused it to become Jesus of Nazareth; and when His inanimate corpse was laid in the tomb, God once again breathed the breath of life into it, and up from the grave He arose.
Sarah's uterus was dead and the son which God repeatedly promised to Abraham did not exist. God had made Abraham a father of many citizen-less nations. This was no cause for alarm however, because God is in the business of doing things which for men are impossible.
18-22 Who, against hope, trusted in hope… Hope has become a synonym for a mere wish with no expectancy or grounded anticipation attached; to be left with only “a hope and a prayer” is to be left standing at the edge of despair with the ground beneath your feet giving way. This is not the biblical (or historical) meaning, however. In the Scripture, hope connotes something that is expected, but not yet realized. And when one's hope is based on the promise of God, anything short of sincere expectation borders on idolatry.
Abraham's hope was based upon God's promise, and he was convinced that not only was God a good God and would, therefore, keep His promise, but also that He had the capability of keeping His promise. Abraham’s situation was against hope because according to the Laws of Nature there was no reason to expect Sarah to bear a child; but he trusted, in hope, because he had received a promise from the One who controls the Laws of Nature. The outcome of his unwavering trust was justification.