Romans 4:16 // Father Abraham

Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all (Romans 4:16)

For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. (Genesis 18:19)

Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. (Luke 3:8)

They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. (John 8:39)

Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. (Galatians 3:7)

We used to sing a light-hearted song in Sunday School: "Father Abraham has many sons… I am one of them and so are you…" I remember distinctly liking this song because the actions we were supposed to do were like a workout for a little boy. I'd be waving my arms and hopping from foot to foot and nodding my head and spinning around all at once and it felt good because I knew it was difficult and I could do it. Sometimes I think the church loses boys because it refuses to challenge them.

I always wondered though, how are we all children of Abraham? I was pretty sure I did not have any Jewish or Arab ancestry, and I didn't know anyone else in the whole Sunday School that did. So why did the song make this false claim? It troubled me a bit.

But when we look at what the scriptures say about Abraham, we learn that those who are children of Abraham are those who have faith like Abraham (Gal 3:7) and therefore do the right thing like Abraham (Jn 8:39). That is why Jesus claimed that God could create new children of Abraham from rocks. Abraham would not, could not, literally be their ancestor, but they could be like him in these two qualities. Regarding these two qualities: the faith of Abraham (as Paul says) is the essential quality. Everyone who has the faith of Abraham is therefore a child of Abraham, but faith is invisible. The actions of Abraham on the other hand are the result of the faith, and all the children of Abraham will therefore do good things like Abraham. So the first of these traits is the cause and the latter trait is the effect.

Why does God use this metaphor of fathers and children? In Genesis 18:19 Jehovah gives the one reason that I know of why Abraham was chosen and not someone else (like Job for example?). Abraham was a man that God knew would teach his children his faith in such a way that they would teach their children and so on. The children of Abraham are those who have learned faith from Abraham, and we do so by reading about him in the Scriptures.

What are my words and actions teaching other people about faith?