ACC ~ Romans 4 v9 - 12

OVERVIEW:

Paul returns to his theme, that the blessing of faith is given quite apart from circumcision. The Fathers all echo him in this and merely reinforce what the apostle says about Abraham. Gentiles are invited to receive the blessings of Abraham, the father of all faith-ful.

4:9 | Who Receives the Blessing?

FAITH PRIOR TO CIRCUMCISION. ORIGEN: If Abraham was justified by faith before he was circumcised, then it is possible for anyone who believes in God to be justified by faith, even if uncircumcised. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

GENTILES INVITED. AMBROSIASTER: Is this blessedness given to the children of Abraham only or to the Gentiles also? If in those days the Gentiles were not forbidden to come under the law and the promise made to Abraham, how could it be that in the time of Christ they should be prevented from coming to grace, when God has clearly invited them? COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

CHRYSOSTOM: Paul shows that the blessing, far from shunning the uncircumcised, was given to the uncircumcised (i.e., Abraham) before circumcision was instituted. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 8.

THE STAGES OF NATURE, LAW AND FAITH. PELAGIUS: Paul means that the blessing is to be found in each of the three periods of nature, circumcision and Christian faith. Everyone agrees that faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness. Therefore, what reason discovers about Abraham, we will heed with regard to the rest. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

4:10 | Abraham’s Righteousness Preceded Circumcision

THE FATHER OF ALL UNCIRCUMCISED BELIEVERS. ORIGEN: In that Abraham was justified while he was still uncircumcised, it is obvious that he is the head and father of all uncircumcised believers. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

AMBROSIASTER: What did Abraham believe? He believed that he would have a descendant, a son, in whom all the nations would be justified by faith while they were still uncircumcised, as Abraham then was. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

PELAGIUS: Now we must see whether circumcision is born of righteousness or righteousness of circumcision. It must be the former, because Abraham was righteous before he was circumcised. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

FAITH OLDER THAN CIRCUMCISION. THEODORET OF CYR: Paul demonstrates that faith was not only older than the law, it was older than circumcision as well. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

4:11 | Circumcision as a Sign of Righteousness by Faith

ABRAHAM ACCEPTED CIRCUMCISION AS A SIGN. TERTULLIAN: But you Jews say that Abraham was circumcised. Yes, but he pleased God before his circumcision, and he did not yet observe the sabbath. For he had accepted circumcision as a sign for that time, not as a prerogative title to salvation. AN ANSWER TO THE JEWS 3.

A SIGN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS TO COME. AMBROSIASTER: Abraham received circumcision as a sign of the righteousness of faith. For believing that he would have a son, he received the sign of the thing which he believed, that it might be known that he was justified because of what he believed. Circumcision has no special value; it is just a sign. The children of Abraham received this sign so that it would be known that they were the children of him who had received this sign because he believed in God and so that they would imitate their father’s faith and believe in Jesus, who was promised to Abraham. Isaac was born as a type of Christ, for the nations are not blessed in Isaac but in Christ, “for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved,” says the apostle Peter. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

CHRYSOSTOM: See how the uncircumcised had Abraham as their father before the circumcised came into existence! So if circumcision must be honored because it preaches righteousness, uncircumcision is still preeminent, because it came before circumcision in the dispensation of faith. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 8.

CHRYSOSTOM: Paul taught us both that Abraham received circumcision as a sign and that while he was still uncircumcised he gave evidence of righteousness arising from faith. HOMILIES ON GENESIS 39.18.

SEAL OF AN EXISTING RIGHTEOUSNESS. PELAGIUS: In case anyone says that Abraham was circumcised unnecessarily, Paul argues that it is the sign or seal of an existing righteousness, not of growth in an unfolding righteousness. This righteousness was so perfect that it deserved a seal, for something that is full is always sealed. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

THE PURPOSES OF CIRCUMCISION. SEVERIAN: Circumcision was given for these three reasons: First, to be a sign of faith; second, to mark out the race of Abraham, and third, to be a sign and symbol of good and wise behavior. It was not given in order to produce righteousness but as a sign and seal of the righteousness which was Abraham’s by faith. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

4:12 | Following Abraham’s Example

THE FATHER OF THE FAITHFUL. ORIGEN: After believing, Abraham received circumcision as a sign of the faith which he already had … which is how he can also be the father of those who are circumcised, provided that they share the same faith which he had while he was still uncircumcised. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

AMBROSIASTER: Paul says this because Abraham by believing became the forefather of the circumcision, but of the heart, not only of those who descended from him but also of those who, from among the nations, believed in the way he did. He is the father of the Jews according to the flesh, but according to faith he is the father of all believers. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

THE REALITY OF WHICH THE SIGN SPOKE. CHRYSOSTOM: Circumcision is meaningless if there is no faith within. It is a sign of righteousness, but if there is no righteousness, then there is no sign either. The reason the Jews received a sign was that they might seek diligently for the reality of which the sign spoke. If they had done so, they would not have needed the sign in the first place. Righteousness is not the only thing that circumcision proclaims; it also proclaims that righteousness can be found in an uncircumcised man (e.g., Abraham). In effect, therefore, circumcision proclaims that there is no need of circumcision. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 8.

THE FATHER OF THE RIGHTEOUS. PELAGIUS: Therefore all the Gentiles who believe are children of Abraham when faith alone is credited to them as righteousness and they too receive the circumcision—of the heart. Or perhaps this verse should be understood like this: Abraham was righteous in uncircumcision so that he could become the father of uncircumcised believers, and he remained righteous once he was circumcised in order to become the father of the righteous who are circumcised. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

PREPARED FOR SALVATION BY FAITH. THEODORET OF CYR: If a Gentile who has not been circumcised follows Abraham’s faith, which he manifested before being circumcised, he will not be rejected. For the God of all, since he had foreseen as God that he would gather one people from both Jews and Gentiles and prepare for them salvation by faith, had appointed Abraham as their father as well. Paul had demonstrated that Abraham had acquired righteousness by faith before being circumcised and that even after being circumcised he lived not according to the law of Moses but by clinging to his faith. Hence Paul called him the father of the Gentiles who believe. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.