4:17
As well as the promise on Gen 12:2,3 later on God said to Abraham “I have made you the father of many nations” (Gen 17:5). It is God’s purpose that salvation can come to all. So anything that excludes people or does not maintain righteousness is not the gospel. Abraham is our father if we believe. The Jews had a pretty low view of the Gentiles, but God gives life to the dead “and calls into existence the things that do not exist”. We may look at our society today and despair at the increasing godlessness. We should remind ourselves that our God is the God who gives life to the dead, He is the God who changes things, including the hearts of men.
4:18
Paul has just talked about God calling into being things that are not. He now gives a concrete example of this with Abraham. Abraham and Sarah were barren and old, naturally speaking there was no way that they could have children, let alone Abraham becoming the father of many nations. In the same way, the Jews or the Gentiles becoming righteous is, naturally speaking, impossible. Yet God had made a promise to Abraham, and the promise came to be. It worked! All the Jewish righteousness by works efforts had failed, the righteousness by faith works.
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