How could Abraham believe in hope when the promise seemed impossible?
Abraham believed in hope because he trusted the God who quickens the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. Though he was about a hundred and Sarah ninety, he was convinced God could perform what He promised, so his faith rested on divine power, not human possibility.
Les explains that Abraham, against hope, believed in hope—meaning against common sense. Humanly, Abraham was a hundred years old and his wife was ninety, yet God kept telling him he would have a son and that a nation of people would come from his body. Les points out that Abraham had genuine hope because he knew that regardless of how ridiculous it seemed to the human intellect and to the physical understanding of reproduction, God was going to bring it to pass. His confidence rested in the God who quickeneth the dead and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Les connects this to creation, where God created everything out of nothing, and to the spiritual realm, where we are nothing but God makes us something. Abraham believed God could do what He promised, and He did, bringing many nations from Abraham and Sarah, including through Isaac, Jacob, and Ishmael.
Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
What does 'against hope, believed in hope' mean in Romans 4:18?
It means Abraham trusted God's promise even when it contradicted common sense and physical possibility. At a hundred years old, with Sarah ninety, he still held genuine hope that God would give the promised son and make him a father of many nations.
What were Abraham's circumstances when God promised him a son?
Abraham was a hundred years old, and his wife Sarah was ninety. God kept telling him he would have a son and that a nation would come from his body. This seemed against hope and common sense because of their age and the physical impossibility of reproduction.
More Questions
Why did Abraham believe God would give him a son even when it seemed impossible?
Abraham had genuine hope and believed, even though the promise seemed ridiculous to human intellect and physical understanding, because he knew God would bring it to pass.