Romans 4:18Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

How did he believe with hope beyond hope? Beyond human hope, with divine hope. The Apostle both proves the greatness of the deed and removes the incredibility of what was said. Faith reconciled what was opposed to itself.

If the Apostle were speaking of the offspring that came from Ishmael, the words “against hope” would be superfluous. That offspring was born from Abraham not by faith, but by nature. But here the Apostle means Isaac, because Abraham believed not for the sake of those Gentiles, but for the sake of him who was to be born from a barren woman.

Do not think, he says, that Abraham was counted worthy of honors without merit. How could this be, when beyond human hope he believed with divine hope that he would become father of many nations? Not of those who came from Ishmael, for they came from Abraham not by faith but by nature, but of those like him in faith.

This is according to what was said: “So numerous shall your seed be.” And, not becoming weak in faith, he did not consider that his body, almost a hundred years old, was already deadened, nor the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at God’s promise through unbelief, but remained strong in faith, giving glory to God and being fully assured that He was able to do what He had promised.

“He believed,” he says, “in God, Who gives life to the dead and calls the things that do not exist as though they existed.” That is, from the deadened body of Abraham and the barren womb of Sarah He gave life and brought forth those who at that time did not exist.

Since they were granted through the promise given to them, God praised the faith of their father, who believed in his generations. Thus whoever was born from him would be like his father in faith, and would have the same faith that his parents had before the birth of the son.

This is the meaning of the words: “against hope, in hope he believed.” And he adds: “and he did not consider his own deadened body,” nor “the deadness of Sarah’s womb,” and so forth.

It is evident that, although Abraham had no hope of begetting a son, he believed God beyond hope, knowing that all things are possible for God (cf. Mt 19:26; Mk 10:27), so that he might become the father of many nations. Of this it is said, "So shall your seed be" (Gen 15:5). He believed what seems impossible to the world, because it is contrary to nature. Old people cannot beget children, and their seed cannot be multiplied beyond number. Therefore faith is precious, because it believes in the future contrary to what it knows or sees. It is comforted by the hope that the One who promises is God.

Seeing that his wife was barren, that both had been overtaken by the weakness of old age, that according to human reasoning there was not the least hope of childbearing, and that he could not encourage himself by any ancient example, Abraham received God's promise with faith. For by the words "against hope" the Apostle means hope according to nature, and by the words "in hope" he means hope in God's promise.

"Against hope he believed in hope." Or, as Chrysostom has it, beyond human hope, with the hope that comes from God. That is, Abraham, having already lost the hope of having children by the natural way, still believed God's promise and hoped that this faith would not deceive him.

The Apostle then sets forth, in the form of a dilemma, that Abraham could not have obtained the promise of being heir of the world otherwise than through the righteousness of faith.

Indeed, this great promise could be received either through faith or through fulfillment of the law. But “the law produces wrath, for where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith,” the Apostle concludes, “that it might be according to mercy” (Rom 4:15-16).

By this very mercy the immutability of God’s promise is secured for all “the seed of Abraham according to faith, who is the father of us all” (Rom 4:16).

Having stated the conclusion concerning the reception of the promise by faith, the Apostle draws a further conclusion from it. All Abraham’s posterity that became heir of this promise was the fruit of faith. He points out that, at the very conclusion of the covenant, Abraham was promised that he would be father of many nations (Gen 17:5).

According to John Chrysostom, “as God is our Father not by natural kinship, but by the bond of faith, so also is Abraham, for obedience makes him father of us all. And since the Jews paid no attention to this kinship, clinging to the coarser natural one, the Apostle proves, through applying Abraham to God, that kinship by faith is far more important...”

He “believed in hope,” that is, he believed that what God had promised would certainly be fulfilled. He believed “against hope” means that he believed when his circumstances were contrary to it. They not only failed to support hope, but rather destroyed it.

“How did he believe with hope beyond hope? Beyond human hope, with divine hope. Faith reconciled what was contradictory” (Saint Chrysostom).

In what, then, did he believe beyond hope? That he would be father of many nations. Abraham, having grown old and having no children, wished to make Eliezer of Damascus his heir. But God appeared to him and said that Eliezer would not be his heir, but that seed would come from Abraham himself, numerous seed. “Look how many stars are in heaven. So shall your seed be” (see Gen 15:1-5).