Abraham's Example Of Faith Series

Later in the epistle Paul will say that with the heart we believe and receive righteousness, then with the mouth we confess and that salvation is now flowing through the system. Starts with grace on the inner man. That stirs up hope. Hope soon becomes faith. Faith travels up through the mouth gate and turns into salvation, deliverance from sin. But it is not just a generic faith, according to Paul, it is a faith in the God who raised up Jesus from the dead, and he says that first, right here.

“who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,”

Abraham was dead as far as any capability or desire to have children. God raised Abraham from that death. Sarah’s womb was dead. God raised up Sarah’s womb.

Jesus too was dead. There was no human way for man to be saved now.

Do we understand that even Christ’s death was not enough, without His resurrection? Paul says later that we cannot be saved unless we believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. Why? The price has been paid. It is finished. Debts canceled. Why couldn’t Jesus just return to Heaven at that moment? After all, His resurrection has been a major stumbling-block to

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faith for many. Even in Paul’s day, whether he spoke to the wise Greek Athenians or the Edomite Agrippa or the Roman Festus, resurrection was the line over which people would not go. They appreciate the martyr Jesus, the Jesus of fond memory. Why didn’t God leave it there?

Why the resurrection? Paul is actually going to deal with this in the next and final verse of chapter four, when he talks about the Jesus

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“…who was delivered up because of our offenses…”

This part we have come to understand, though who appreciates it as he ought? A sacrifice for sin had to be made. Jesus offered Himself up to be that Sacrifice.

The word for “delivered” is used in Acts 12:4 and 27:1, speaking of how both Paul and Peter were given over to the authorities and imprisoned. We came across that same word in 1:24, where Paul speaks of how God “gave them over” to uncleanness. It’s a transfer from one authority to another. God wants to rule our lives. We won’t have it, so He says, okay, rule yourself.

Jesus wanted to rule men’s hearts. They said no, and transferred Him to those who could harm Him.

A real translation problem surfaces in this verse. Normally the differences between the two translations are minor “cosmetic” surface issues. Here, a bit more.

One little Greek preposition can make a doctrinal difference if it is translated one way or the other. And Greek prepositions can go different ways, even as English.

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Notice the KJV says that Jesus was delivered up for our offenses. The NKJV has taken an alternate meaning of the Greek dia and says that Jesus was delivered up “because of” our offenses.

Leaving the Greek for a moment, let’s look at the English. Do “for” and “because of” mean the same to us? “I’d be willing to die for you.” That means, if I had to donate an organ, or take a bullet aimed at your body, I’d do it in a minute.

Or we could say, I think I’m going to die because of you. That’s a statement of blame. You gave me the wrong medicine. You crashed the car I was riding in.