<p>4:1&nbsp;<i>What then shall we say-&nbsp;</i>Paul&rsquo;s frequent &ldquo;What then shall we say to this?&rdquo; occurs at least 5 times in Romans alone (Rom. 4:1; 6:1; 7:7; 9:14,30)- and this is the classic phrase used by Jewish teachers at the end of presenting their argument to their students. Seeing then that Paul writes in a rabbinic way, as if He is giving a stream of&nbsp;<i>Midrash</i>&nbsp;on earlier, familiar writings e.g. the words of Jesus or the Old Testament, we should be looking for how he may quote or allude to just a word or two from the Lord, and weave an interpretation around them.</p><p><i>About Abraham our forefather&shy;-&nbsp;</i>Paul was writing to Jewish and Gentile believers. Yet he speaks of &ldquo;our&rdquo; father as if he&rsquo;s writing mainly to Jews here- but see on Rom. 4:11. Alternatively, it could be that Paul in wishing to be as personal as possible in addressing his readers is referring to Abraham as &ldquo;our father&rdquo; in the sense that he personally was Jewish. Paul in this section is now exemplifying what he has taught so far in Romans from the example of Abraham. This whole &lsquo;Abraham&rsquo; section is written in the style of Rabbinic Midrash, with Gen. 15:6 as the verse being expounded. Paul&rsquo;s point is that Jewish and Gentile believers can trace themselves back to Abraham because the family likeness is in faith not circumcision. Jewish proselytes were forbidden to call Abraham &ldquo;our father&rdquo; (C.K. Barrett,&nbsp;<i>From First Adam to Last</i>&nbsp;(New York: Scribner&rsquo;s, 1962) p. 31.).&nbsp;</p><p><i>According to the flesh</i>- The same Greek phrase is used five times in Romans 8 in the negative sense of &ldquo;according to the flesh&rdquo;. The suggestion may be that walking according to the flesh rather than the Spirit was related to placing meaning on the fact that Abraham was a fleshly ancestor. Being or emphasizing ones&rsquo; Jewishness was therefore related to&nbsp;<i>un</i>spirituality, whereas the Jews thought that being Jewish was a sign of spirituality. Paul&rsquo;s style was so radical, but then so are the demands of the grace which has saved us.</p><p><i>Hath found </i>KJV- In the context of Rom. 3:27,28, what has he found to boast / glory about? The answer is- nothing, according to his works.</p>