Romans 4:17

New International Reader's Version

It is written, “I have made you a father of many nations.” (Genesis 17:5) God considers Abraham to be our father. The God that Abraham believed in gives life to the dead. Abraham’s God also creates things that did not exist before.

Cross References

Genesis 17:16

I will give her my blessing. You can be sure that I will give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations. Kings of nations will come from her.”

Genesis 17:20

I have heard what you said about Ishmael. I will surely bless him. I will make his family very large. He will be the father of 12 rulers. And I will make him into a great nation.

Genesis 28:3

May the Mighty God bless you. May he give you children. May he make your family larger until you become a community of nations.

Isaiah 43:6

I will say to the north, ‘Let them go!’ And I will say to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from far away. Bring my daughters from the farthest places on earth.

Isaiah 44:7

Who is like me? Let him come forward and speak boldly. Let him tell me everything that has happened since I created my people long ago. And let him tell me what has not happened yet. Let him announce ahead of time what is going to take place.

Isaiah 48:13

With my own hand I laid the foundations of the earth. With my right hand I spread out the heavens. When I send for them, they come and stand ready to obey me.

Isaiah 49:12

They will come from far away. Some of them will come from the north. Others will come from the west. Still others will come from Aswan in the south.”

Isaiah 51:2

Consider Abraham. He is the father of your people. Think about Sarah. She is your mother. When I chose Abraham, he did not have any children. But I blessed him and gave him many of them.

Isaiah 55:12

“My people, you will go out of Babylon with joy. You will be led out of it in peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song as you go. And all the trees in the fields will clap their hands.

Matthew 3:9

Don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘Abraham is our father.’ I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham even from these stones.

John 5:21

The Father raises the dead and gives them life. In the same way, the Son gives life to anyone he wants to.

John 5:25

What I’m about to tell you is true. A time is coming for me to give life. In fact, it has already begun. The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God. Those who hear it will live.

John 6:63

The Holy Spirit gives life. The body means nothing at all. The words I have spoken to you are full of the Spirit. They give life.

Acts 15:18

The Lord does things that have been known from long ago.

Romans 3:29

Or is God the God of Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of Gentiles? Yes, he is their God too.

Romans 4:18

When there was no reason for hope, Abraham believed because he had hope. He became the father of many nations, exactly as God had promised. God said, “That is how many children you will have.” (Genesis 15:5)

Romans 4:2

Did he become right with God because of something he did? If so, he could brag about it. But he couldn’t brag to God.

Romans 8:11

The Spirit of the God who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you. So the God who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your bodies. He will do this because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Romans 9:11

Here is what happened. Rebekah’s twins had not even been born. They hadn’t done anything good or bad yet. So they show that God’s purpose is based firmly on his free choice.

Romans 9:26

He also says, “Once it was said to them, ‘You are not my people.’ In that very place they will be called ‘children of the living God.’ ” (Hosea 1:10)

1 Corinthians 1:28

God chose the things of this world that are common and looked down on. God chose things considered unimportant to do away with things considered important.

1 Corinthians 15:45

It is written, “The first man Adam became a living person.” (Genesis 2:7) The last Adam became a spirit that gives life.

1 Timothy 6:13

God gives life to everything. Christ Jesus told the truth when he was a witness in front of Pontius Pilate. In the sight of God and Christ, I give you a command.

Hebrews 11:12

Abraham was past the time when he could have children. But many children came from that one man. They were as many as the stars in the sky. They were as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. No one could count them.

Hebrews 11:3

We have faith. So we understand that everything was made when God commanded it. That’s why we believe that what we see was not made out of what could be seen.

Hebrews 11:7

Noah had faith. So he built an ark to save his family. He built it because of his great respect for God. God had warned him about things that could not yet be seen. Because of his faith Noah showed the world that it was guilty. Because of his faith he was considered right with God.

1 Peter 2:10

Once you were not a people. But now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy. But now you have received mercy.

2 Peter 3:8

Dear friends, here is one thing you must not forget. With the Lord a day is like a thousand years. And a thousand years are like a day.