Romans 4:17
( As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. ( As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
God is the one who gives life to the dead. His word has creative power to call into being what does not yet exist, and when He calls it, it comes to be. He regards what He has purposed as already accomplished, seeing the end from the beginning.
The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, rise from the grave to immortal life, and belong to God as His people. Because His purpose and His relationship with the risen saints are certain, the dead are living to Him. In the setting of Romans 4 and 5, faith is the means by which human nature reaches for the divine nature and overcomes through Christ.