What does it mean that God gives life to the dead (Romans 4:17)?

According to the apostle Paul, Abraham’s faith, not his works, was the basis of his right standing with God. Even in his old age, Abraham trusted God to fulfill His promise to give him and his wife, Sarah, a child (Genesis 18:11–14). Reflecting on that promise, Paul describes God as the one “who gives life to the dead” (Romans 4:17). This phrase refers to God’s power to bring life from Abraham and Sarah’s “as good as dead” bodies through the birth of their son, Isaac (Romans 4:19; Hebrews 11:11–12). It also points to His power to give spiritual life to those who are dead in sin today.

When Sarah gave birth to Isaac, she was ninety years old, and Abraham was one hundred (Genesis 21:5). Even though they were far beyond childbearing age, Abraham believed that God would fulfill His promise. Looking back on this story, Paul writes that Abraham “faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead” (Romans 4:19). While Sarah was physically alive, Paul refers to her womb as “dead” because it could no longer produce life by natural means.

Despite all biological limitations, Abraham “did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God” (Romans 4:20). This means he looked beyond human ability, trusting that God had the power to overcome the natural obstacles Sarah’s body presented in giving birth at that stage of her life.

Paul’s description of God as the one “who gives life to the dead” also reveals how He saves sinners. Just as God gave physical life to Isaac, He gives spiritual life to those who are as good as dead in sin. Through faith in Jesus Christ, sinners are made alive to God. This is why Paul concludes the chapter by saying that the words about Abraham’s faith were written “for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead” (Romans 4:24). As God brought life from Abraham and Sarah’s lifeless bodies, so He brings spiritual life to sinners who cannot save themselves.

Romans 4:24 also speaks to the ultimate proof that God gives life to the dead through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The same power that brought Isaac into the world also raised Jesus from the dead— “that power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead” (Ephesians 1:19–20). This connection shows that the God who worked powerfully in Abraham’s life is the same who fully displayed His power by raising Jesus from the dead.

The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is also at work in the lives of believers today. His resurrection is the foundation of their hope, confirming that God can give life to what is dead. Through Jesus, God not only raises the dead but also assures believers of their future resurrection and eternal life with Him (John 11:25–26). This promise gives believers confidence to face death, knowing that the same life-giving power that raised Jesus will one day raise them.

The God who gave life to the dead in the days of Abraham and Sarah still gives life to the dead today. As Paul writes later in Romans, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you” (Romans 8:11). Those who trust in Jesus for salvation have hope that the God who gives life to the dead will one day raise them as well, fulfilling His promise to them just as He did to Abraham.