Romans 4:1
What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh?
English Standard Version (ESV)
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
The phrase "according to the flesh" can be tricky, but here it doesn't just mean Abraham's physical descent. It points to the realm of human effort, works, and fleshly privileges like circumcision, implying that whatever Abraham "found" in his relationship with God wasn't gained through these human means. This sets up the argument that Abraham, the great patriarch, found righteousness not by merit but by faith, a concept that challenges the idea of earning God's favor.
Paul is addressing Jewish objections to his teaching that justification comes by faith, not by observing the Law. He turns to Abraham, the revered ancestor of the Jewish people, to show that even he was justified by faith, not by works or religious rituals. This sets the stage to prove that Abraham is the spiritual father of all believers, both Jew and Gentile, who follow his example of faith.
Paul brings up Abraham, the revered ancestor of the Jews, and asks a provocative question: what did he gain 'according to the flesh'?
The phrase "according to the flesh" here is a key pointer. In Paul's writings, especially in Romans, "flesh" often refers to our human efforts, our physical lineage, our adherence to external religious laws and rituals, and anything we rely on apart from God’s grace.
When Paul asks what Abraham gained "according to the flesh," he's challenging the idea that Abraham, or anyone else, could earn God's favor through human achievement or by belonging to a specific group. The Jewish people highly valued their descent from Abraham and the physical marker of circumcision as proof of their special status. Paul is about to show that Abraham's true gain wasn't rooted in these outward, 'fleshly' things, but in something far deeper.
If Abraham's greatness wasn't about 'the flesh,' what was it about? Paul points to a specific moment and a profound discovery.
The commentators highlight that Paul's argument hinges on Genesis 15:6: "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." This is Abraham's great 'find' – not something he did in his own strength, but something he received by faith.
Understand the original words
sarx · Greek Noun
A term referring to the biological or ancestral line of a people group; in the NT, it often distinguishes physical descent from spiritual status.
Paul uses Abraham's life to challenge the idea that physical descent or religious rites like circumcision, rather than faith alone, secure a right relationship with God. Abraham's justification by faith, which occurred before circumcision, serves as a powerful precedent for Gentiles being accepted by God through faith, independent of Jewish law.
c. 2000 BC
Abraham's Call and Covenant
God calls Abram (later Abraham) out of Ur and establishes a covenant with him, promising to make him a great nation and a blessing to all peoples. This event predates circumcision and is foundational to his relationship with God.
c. 1992 BC— this verse
Circumcision Instituted
God commands Abraham, now 99 years old, to circumcise himself and all males in his household. This rite becomes the sign of the covenant, marking Abraham and his descendants as belonging to God.
c. 1992 BC
Abraham Justified by Faith
Scripture records that Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. This occurred years before the institution of circumcision, highlighting faith as the basis of his right standing with God.
c. 1990 BC
Birth of Ishmael
Abraham's son Ishmael is born to Sarah's servant Hagar. This event, occurring after Abraham's justification by faith but before Isaac's birth, demonstrates that not all of Abraham's physical descendants were part of the promised lineage of faith.
This verse is the very passage Paul quotes to answer his own question, showing that Abraham's faith was counted to him as righteousness, directly refuting any idea of boasting based on works or fleshly lineage.
Galatians 3:6This passage echoes Romans 4 by also citing Genesis 15:6, emphasizing that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him, and that true spiritual descendants are those of faith, not just physical lineage.
Romans 9:8This verse clarifies that Abraham's 'children' are not simply those born according to the flesh, but those born according to the promise, directly addressing the distinction Paul is making between physical descent and spiritual reality.
James 2:21This verse provides a parallel, though distinct, perspective on Abraham's faith and works, showing how his willingness to offer Isaac (a 'work') demonstrated the genuineness of his 'faith,' a concept that underpins Paul's discussion of what Abraham truly 'found.'
expositorsRomans 4:1: "What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?"
Chapter 10 ABRAHAM AND DAVID Romans 4:1-12 THE Jewish disputant is present still to the Apostle’s thought. It could not be otherwise in this argument. No question was more pressing on the Jewish mind than that of Acceptance; thus far, truly, the teaching and discipline of the Old Testament had not been in vain. And St. Paul had not only, in his Christian Apostleship, debated that problem countl…
bensonRomans 4:1: "What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?"
Romans 4:1-2 . What shall we say then — The apostle, in the preceding chapter, having shown the impossibility of man’s being justified by the merit of his obedience to any law, moral or ceremonial, or any otherwise than by grace through faith, judged it necessary, for the sake of the Jews, to consider the case of Abraham, on being whose progeny, and on whose merits, the Jews placed great depend…
The phrase "according to the flesh" can be tricky, but here it doesn't just mean Abraham's physical descent. It points to the realm of human effort, works, and fleshly privileges like circumcision, implying that whatever Abraham "found" in his relationship with God wasn't gained through these human means. This sets up the argument that Abraham, the great patriarch, found righteousness not by merit but by faith, a concept that challenges the idea of earning God's favor.
Paul is addressing Jewish objections to his teaching that justification comes by faith, not by observing the Law. He turns to Abraham, the revered ancestor of the Jewish people, to show that even he was justified by faith, not by works or religious rituals. This sets the stage to prove that Abraham is the spiritual father of all believers, both Jew and Gentile, who follow his example of faith.
Paul is addressing Jewish objections to his teaching that justification comes by faith, not by observing the Law. He turns to Abraham, the revered ancestor of the Jewish people, to show that even he was justified by faith, not by works or religious rituals. This sets the stage to prove that Abraham is the spiritual father of all believers, both Jew and Gentile, who follow his example of faith.
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Ask a follow-up
Ask Sola things like:
Live chat about Romans 4:1 is available in the Sola app.
c. 1989 BC
Birth of Isaac
Abraham's promised son, Isaac, is born to Sarah. Isaac is the son of promise through whom the lineage of faith, and ultimately the Messiah, would come.
c. 1800 BC
Abrahamic Covenant Endures
The foundational promises made to Abraham continue to shape the identity and destiny of his descendants, the Israelites, influencing their understanding of God's chosen people and their relationship with Him.
"What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh?" — The phrase "according to the flesh" can be tricky, but here it doesn't just mean Abraham's physical descent. It points to the realm of human effort, works, and fleshly privileges like circumcision, i…
