Being the Righteousness and innocence of GOD's declaration there are many who deny Him this right and privileged by arguing against this truth. One reason for this maybe lay squarely on the shoulders of the Bible translators. For they lack the ability to follow the leading of the Spirit when He tells them by language and word usage the meaning and true application of the Greek and in the OT the Hebraisms of their ancient language word use. This means for us that there is indeed two laws by limited understanding at play, one the greater law, the law of life, law of love and law of faith. While the lesser law, that being the Law of Moses, as it deals with sin's rebellion of unbelief's revealing and flesh workings of guilty under the penalty of condemnation and death, no longer have any bearing since the resurrection and ascension of Christ. Jesus by his faith in the Father's promises and Faithfulness removed the old Hebrew standard by its being nailed with him on the tree / cross. (Genesis 3:24, 15:6, 17:5; Exodus 15:25; Deuteronomy 21:22-23; Matthew 12:33; Acts 5:30, 10:39, 13:29; Galatians 3:13, 1Peter 2:24; Revelation 2:7, 22:14) Now for our scriptures of Romans 4 beginning at verse 16, titles "the Promise realized by faith" in one of my study Bibles.
Romans 4:16-5:5 "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, (As it is written [in Genesis 17:5], "'I have made thee a father of many nations,'") before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken (in Genesis 15:5), "'So shall thy seed be.'" And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded (G4135) that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. (Genesis 15:6) "And therefore it was imputed (G3049) to him for righteousness." Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. " (KJV)
Romans 4:16-5:5 "That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written (in Genesis 17:5), "'I have made you the father of many nations'"—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told (in Genesis 15:5), "'So shall your offspring be.'" He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced (G4135) that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was (in Genesis 15:6) "counted (G3049) to him as righteousness." But the words "it was counted to him" were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. " (ESV)
Romans 4:16-5:5 "Therefore since faith sponsors the gift of grace, the promise is equally secured for all the children. The Law has no exclusive claim on anyone (the reward system cannot match the gift principle.). Faith is our source, and that makes Abraham our father. When GOD changed Abram's name to Abraham, he made a public statement that he would be the father of all nations. (Genesis 17:5) Here we see Abraham faced with GOD's faith; the kind of faith that resurrects the dead and calls things which are not (yet visible) as though they were. (Note that most of Abram's ancestors were already fathers by the time that they had turned 30 or 35; yet Terha was 70 years old before he had Abram; his name suggests the Terha acknowledged that he could not claim parenthood of this son, he was 'fathered from above'! [Genesis 11:12-26] Now imagine how nervous Abram was when eventually he was also 75 and still without child! That was when GOD met with him and added to his name the 'ha' of Jaweh's (Jehovah) own name! In Arabic the word raham means drizzling and lasting rain. The innumerable drops of water in a drizzling rain are like the stars mentioned in Genesis 15:5 ("look toward heaven and number the stars, if you are able to number them....so shall your seed be") now imagine those innumerable stars raining down upon the earth and each one becomes a grain of sand! So shall your seed be! Genesis 22:17 ("'I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore'"). Abraham's identity, his anme, was the echo of GOD's faith and his bold confession in the absence of Isaac. The name change, similar to that of Simon to Rock, should serve to remind humanity to realize their original identity as sons of GOD, hewn out of the Rock [Deuteronomy 32:18, Isaiah 51:1, 21].) Faith gave substance to hope when everything seemed hopeless; the words, "so shall your seed be" conceived in him the faith of fatherhood. (Abraham's case here pictures the hopelessness of fallen humanity, having lost their identity, and faced with the impossibility to redeem themselves.) Abraham's faith would have been nullified if he were to take his own age and the deadness of Sarah's womb into account. his hundred year old body and Sarah's barren womb did not distract him in the least! He finally knew that no contribution from their side could possibly assist GOD in fulfilling his promise! While he had every reason to doubt the promise, he did not hesitate for a moment but instead empowered by faith confidence, he continued to communicate GOD's opinion. (His name was his confession: in the Hebrew language, "Abraham" was not a mere familiar sounding name, but a meaningful sentence, a confession of faith authority, against the odds. He did not become embarrassed about his name; he did not change his name to "Abe" which is for short when there seemed to be no change in his circumstances. Every time he introduced himself or someone called him by his name, it was a bold declaration and repetition of GOD's promise, calling things that were not as though they were. I would imagine that Sarah spoke his name the most! In fact, every time they addressed one another they spoke the promise, "Mother of nations, kings of peoples shall come from you!" [Genesis 17:5, 16]. Abraham, "the father of the multitudes." ) Abraham's confidence was his [1; G4135] dress-code; he knew beyond doubt that the power of GOD to perform was equal to his promise. ([1; G4135 from G4134 and G5409] plerophoreo, is from plero to be completely covered in every part, + phoreo, to wear garments or armor; traditionally translated to be completely persuaded. His faith was his visible identity and armor; he wore his persuasion like he would his daily garments.) The persuasion of GOD rubbed off on Abraham and became his personal conviction. (this is our victory as Christ ones.) This was the [1] basis of his righteousness. ("Righteousness was [1; G3049] reckoned to him," this means that GOD's faith pointed to an invisible future where humanity's innocence and identity would be redeemed again. [Genesis 3:15's promise] Greek, [1; G3049] logitsomai, logical conclusion.) Here is the Good News: the recorded words, "it was reckoned to him" were not written for his sake alone. Scripture was written with us in mind! The same [1] conclusion is now equally relevant in our realizing the significance of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. (By raising Jesus from the dead GOD proclaimed his belief in our redeemed innocence. Isaac's birth from Sarah's barren womb prophetically declared the resurrection of Jesus from the womb of our tomb! Abraham's best efforts could not produce a child. This underlines humanity's inability to redeem themselves under the law of willpower. Jesus said, '''Abraham saw my day!'" Humanity's most extreme self-sacrifice offered in an attempt to win the favorable attention of their deity could never match the sacrifice of GOD's Lamb to win the attention of humanity! When Isaac questioned his father about the sacrifice, Abraham announced, "Jaweh jireh!" Jaweh sees! And he lifted up his eyes and behold behind him was a ram caught in the thron bush by its horns! Note, "Behind him!" Faith sees the future in past tense-mode! The resurrection is the ultimate proof and trophy of righteousness by GOD's faith. [Romans 6:11] [1; G3049] logitsomai - logical conclusion. "Cosider [logitsomai] yourself dead indeed," compared with 4:19, "Abraham considered his own body dead." We can only study Scripture in the context of Christ as representing the human race; GOD had us in mind all along [John 5;39].) Here is the equation: he was handed over [1; G1223] because of humanity's [2; G3900 from G3895] fallen mindset; he was raised [1; G1223] because we were declared righteous! His resurrection is the official receipt to our acquittal. (His cross=our sins, his resurrect=our innocence! His death brought closure to our fallen mindset; his resurrection is proof of our redeemed righteousness. Why was Jesus handed over to die? Because of, [1; G1223, for] dia, our transgressions. Why was he raised from the dead? Because of, [1; for, G1223] dia , our righteousness! His resurrection reveals our righteousness! If humanity was still guilty after Jesus died, his resurrection would be irrelevant! This explains Acts 10:28 and 2Corinthians 5:14 and 16.
The Youngs Literal Translation of Romans 4:25 reads, "who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised up because of our being declared righteous."
The word [2; G3895, from G3844 and G4098, from G4072] parapipto has two components, para , closest possible proximity of union, and pipto, to descend from a higher place to a lower; to fall; to be thrust down; from petomai, to fly. Thus to stop flying! Losing altitude! This speaks of humanity's fallen mindset. Look at Collisions 3:1-3.)
Now for the author's notes: (In Acts 17:31, Paul explains to the Greek philosophers that according to the Jewish prophetic word, "God had fixed a day on which he would judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given proof to all humanity by raising his from the dead." GOD's declaration of your redeemed innocence is his most urgent invitation to you(manity) to encounter intimate oneness!
See also 1Peter 1:10-12, "This salvation which you now know as your own, is the theme of the prophetic thought; this is what captured the Prophets' attention for generations and became the object of their most diligent inquiry and scrutiny. They knew all along that humanity's salvation was a grace revelation, sustained in their prophetic utterances! (Salvation would never be by personal achievement or a reward to willpower-driven initiative! The Law of works would never replace grace!)
1Peter 1:11 In all of their conversation there was a constant quest to determine who the Messiah would be, and exactly when this will happen. They knew with certainty that is was the spirit of Christ within them pointing prophetically and giving testimony to the sufferings of the Christ and the subsequent glory. (Whatever glory was lost in Adam, would be redeemed again in Jesus Christ!)
1Peter 1:12 It was revealed to them that this glorious grace message that they were communicating pointed to a specific day and person beyond their own horizon and generation; they saw you in their prophetic view! This heavenly announcement had you in mind all along! They proclaimed glad tidings to you in advance, in the Holy Spirit, commissioned from heaven; the Shepherd - Messengers themselves longed to gaze deeply into its complete fulfillment." ) (The Mirror)
Because of the length of this post I will pick up the last portion of chapter 4, which is the beginning of chapter 5 in our next visit, the LORD willing. Which covers the results of our justification. I will do this by simply repeating the last three verses of chapter 4.
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