Charles Ellicott Commentary Romans 4:1

"What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, hath found according to the flesh?" — Romans 4:1 (ASV)

To come back to the question of Romans 3:1, repeated in Romans 3:9, in what did the superiority of Abraham, the great representative of the Jewish race, really consist?

As pertaining to the flesh.—The construction of these words appears to be determined by their position in the sentence. According to the best manuscripts, they are distinctly separated from “has found” and joined with “our father.” They would therefore mean simply “our father according to the flesh,” i.e., by natural descent, as in Romans 1:3.

Has found.—Has obtained, or gained, by way of advantage.

The subject of the entire chapter is an application of the preceding discussion to the special (and crucial) case of Abraham, with particular reference to two ideas that are continually recurring throughout the previous chapter:

1. The supposed superiority of Jew to Gentile (and, à fortiori, of the great progenitor of the Jews);
2. The idea of boasting or glorying based upon this superiority.

Following this, the Apostle shows how even Abraham’s case speaks not against, but for the doctrine of justification by faith. Indeed, Abraham himself came under it.

Not only that, but those who act upon this doctrine are spiritually descendants of Abraham. It is entirely a mistake to suppose that they of the circumcision only are Abraham’s seed.

The true seed of Abraham are those who follow his example of faith. He put faith in the promise; they must put their faith in the fulfillment of the promise.