Question: "What is meant by ‘call those things which are not as though they were’ (Romans 4:17)?"
Answer: The context of
Romans 4 is salvation by faith. Paul uses the example of the patriarch
Abraham to show how our relationship with God is based on faith and not the works of the Law.
Romans 4:17
states, “As it is written: ‘I have made you a father of many nations.’
[Abraham] is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God
who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.”
The
truth that God “calls into being things that were not” is expressed
various ways in various translations: God “calleth those things which be
not as though they were” (KJV), “calls into existence the things that
do not exist” (ESV), “calls into being that which does not exist”
(NASB), and “summons the things that do not yet exist as though they
already do” (NET).
It is possible to understand the last part of
Romans 4:17 as meaning that God has the ability to create
ex nihilo.
This idea is brought out in translations that say that God “creates new
things out of nothing” (NLT) or simply “creates new things” (CEV). The
“nothing” in this context would be the deadness of Sarah’s womb (verse
19), and the “new things” that God creates would be Abraham’s offspring
mentioned in verse 18. God gives life to the dead and creates something
from nothing.
The other translations emphasize the decree of
God—the fact that He “calls” or “summons.” When God speaks, it’s as good
as done. He changed Abram’s name to Abraham (“father of a multitude”)
while Sarah was still childless. God spoke of Abraham’s descendants when
as yet there were none. God truly has the ability to speak of
impossible things and, in the speaking, make them possible.
Abraham heard God’s promise and believed it. That faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness (
Genesis 15:6) and provides the example of all who would later exercise faith in God (
Romans 4:11).
Looking into the future, God can speak of things that do not exist as
if they do exist. God has power over death and the ability to create
life. Abraham believed this, and so do we, if we are spiritual
descendants of Abraham (see
Galatians 3:29).
Some
Word of Faith groups misuse
Romans 4:17 to teach the
name-it-claim-it
doctrine. According to this false doctrine, we can speak God’s Word
over our finances, our bodies, our automobiles, etc., and see miraculous
results to our benefit. All we need is a “confession” and enough faith,
and God will transform the physical realm into an environment of
blessing. We can “speak those things that are not as though they are,”
sit back, and enjoy the fruit of our words. Of course,
Romans 4:17
is not remotely about the power of our words; it is about the power of
God’s promises and His faithfulness to keep those promises. Isaac, the
son of promise, was not born because Abraham “confessed” or “declared”
certain words but because God promised he would be.