Lessons #31 and 32
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New American Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ HCSB = Holman Christian Standard Bible +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
+ 4. Text is based on 1984 edition of the NIV +
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Gospel reveals God’s righteousness (Rom 1:16-17)
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Let me refresh your mind regarding what we have so far said about this section of Romans 1:16-17. We said that it is the third subsection of Apostle Paul’s introduction of his epistle to the Romans that is also his introduction of the theme of the epistle which is God’s righteousness revealed through the gospel. We also declared that the apostle provided two characterizations of the gospel message that indicate its message is superior to any other message advocated by religious groups. The first characterization of the gospel of Jesus Christ is as God’s power to bring about salvation to those who believe in Jesus Christ given in verse 16. The second is that the gospel reveals God’s righteousness that can be obtained by faith in Jesus Christ. These characterizations of the gospel led the apostle to state his attitude towards the gospel. Thus, we indicated that the central truth the apostle communicated in the passage before us is that the Gospel reveals God’s righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ that leads to salvation and so Paul is not ashamed to preach it. From this truth, we derived a message we believe the Holy Spirit wants to convey to us which is this: You should never be ashamed to give the gospel to people because it is a message that tells of how to appropriate God’s righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, leading to salvation. Consequently, we considered the gospel the apostle preached and stated that it is because of the apostle’s experience with preaching the gospel in different places that caused him to assert that he was not ashamed of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. We stated that the apostle provides two reasons he was not ashamed of the gospel message. His first reason for not being ashamed to preach the gospel is that it is the means of revealing or showing divine power that accomplishes salvation since we have the sentence of Romans 1:16 it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. We argued that this salvation is for the elect who will eventually believe. However, we stated that the apostle went on to elaborate on the order in God’s plan that salvation is brought to the elect. He indicated the Jews had the first opportunity to receive the gospel message and subsequent salvation through faith in Jesus Christ as in the phrase of Romans 1:16 first for the Jew. This is followed by reception of the gospel and resultant salvation by Gentiles or non-Jews as in the phrase then for the Gentile. With this quick review, we proceed to consider the second reason Apostle Paul gave for not being ashamed of preaching the gospel.
We are certain the apostle provided a second reason for not being ashamed of preaching the gospel because of the first word For that begins Romans 1:17. The word “for” is translated from the same Greek word (gar) used in verse 16 we indicated that although it has several usages but that in verse 16 it is used as a marker of reason so it may be translated “for” or “because.” Thus, it was used in that verse to provide the first reason the apostle was not ashamed to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, in verse 17, it is used to introduce the second reason.
The second reason the apostle is not ashamed of preaching the gospel is that it reveals God’s righteousness through faith in the Lord Jesus. It is this second reason that is given in Romans 1:17 in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last. Literally, the Greek reads righteousness of God is revealed in it from faith to faith. I will use the literal translation in my exposition of the clause of verse 17. The literal translation indicates that there are at least three questions to be considered. First, how are we to understand the phrase righteousness of God? Second, how is that revealed in the gospel? Third, what is meant in the phrase from faith to faith?
We begin with the phrase of Romans 1:17 a righteousness from God that literally reads righteousness of God. The literal phrase raises two questions. What is meant by “righteousness” and how is it related to God. To answer the first question of what righteousness means in our phrase, we should understand how the word “righteousness” is used in our context because the Greek word translated righteousness is subject to several interpretations.
The word “righteousness” is translated from a Greek word (dikaiosynē) that may mean “righteousness” in the sense of doing what God requires or doing what is right, as the word is used to describe those who are persecuted to whom belongs God’s kingdom in Matthew 5:10:
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
It is also in the sense of doing what God requires that our Greek word is used to attribute righteousness to Abraham when he believed Yahweh’s promise, as stated in Romans 4:3:
What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Righteousness here is a blessing conferred to Abraham in the sense that God considered him as doing what He wanted since he believed in Him. What God requires should not be thought only in terms of moral actions but what is in accordance with His plan. This point is important since there is no morality involved in the use of our Greek word when it is used in the mouth of the Lord Jesus during His water baptism, but it is simply used in the sense of conforming to God’s plan, what He has decided, what is pleasing to Him in the Lord Jesus’ reply to John who was hesitant to baptize Him, as we read in Matthew 3:15:
Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
Our Greek word may refer to the practices required by religion such as charitable giving so that it has the meaning of “religious observances,” as in Matthew 6:1:
“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
The phrase acts of righteousness may be translated “religious observances.” Our Greek word may refer to the quality, state, or practice of judicial responsibility with focus on fairness hence means “justice, equitableness, fairness.” Thus, it is used to describe the manner of God’s future judgment in Acts 17:31:
For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”
It is in this sense of fairness or justice that that our Greek word is used regarding the right practicing of judicial responsibility of believing rulers as it is used in Hebrews 11:33:
who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,
The word may refer to quality or state of juridical correctness with focus on redemptive action and so means “righteousness.” It is used to describe the executive privilege that belongs to God in conferring a benefit. For example, the offering of Jesus Christ on the cross is described as a demonstration of righteousness on the part of God in Romans 3:25:
God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—
The 1984 edition of the NIV translated our Greek word with “justice” in this passage, but the 2011 edition used the meaning “righteousness” that is found in majority of our English versions. Each of these meanings could be justified in this passage, but it is probably the meaning of “righteousness” that is intended since the passage is concerned with how God puts persons right with Himself. Our Greek word may mean “being put in right relationship with God”, as that is the sense of the word in Romans 5:17:
For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
The phrase the gift of righteousness may be understood either as the gift that comes from God because He is righteous or the gift of being put into a right relation with God. Though it is difficult to separate these two interpretations, but it is probably the second interpretation that is intended so that our Greek word is given the meaning of “being put into right relation with God.” Our Greek word in some contexts may approach the meaning of “salvation.” This we can see from its use in the Septuagint of Isaiah 51:5:
My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm.
Here Yahweh’s righteousness is near, so is salvation; hence, there is a parallel between the two that we can say that “righteousness” in certain context refers to “salvation.”
We have considered the various meanings of the Greek word translated “righteousness” in our passage of study. Thus, the question is to determine how it is used in our passage. In our passage of Romans 1:17, the word means “quality or state of juridical correctness that is in accordance with the moral requirements of God’s character.” This meaning will become clearer as we continue with our exposition of Romans 1:17.
The second question raised in the phrase of Romans 1:17 righteousness of God is, of course, the relationship of “righteousness” to “God.” There are two general possibilities. Righteousness could be understood as that which characterizes God or that which comes from God. The second possibility is understood either as “the saving activity of God” or “the status of right relationship with Himself that God grants.” While both general meanings make sense in the context, it is probably the first meaning of that which characterizes God that the apostle meant since that enables a more general understanding of what the apostle asserted regarding how righteousness is related to the gospel message and in the final analysis it will encompass the second general interpretation. Furthermore, if the apostle intended to convey that the righteousness that is from God either as His saving activity or the status of right relationship with Himself that He grants, it seems that the apostle would have used a Greek preposition that indicates such understanding. For example, when the apostle indicated that righteousness in the sense of his salvation is from God, he used a Greek preposition (apo) that may mean “from” as he used it in 1 Corinthians 1:30:
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
The apostle also used another Greek preposition (ek) that may mean “from” as a marker of the source of a state or activity when Apostle Paul indicated that the righteousness or good standing, he has with God is from Him as stated in Philippians 3:9:
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
The point is that we contend that the literal phrase righteousness of God should be understood in the sense of the righteousness that characterizes God as will become clearer as we consider the second question, we raised regarding the sentence of Romans 1:17 in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last or literally righteousness of God is revealed in it from faith to faith. This brings us to the second question we raised.
The second question that is raised by the literal translation of Romans 1:17 righteousness of God is revealed in it from faith to faith regards how God’s righteousness is revealed in the gospel. To begin with, the word “revealed” is translated from a Greek word (apokalyptō) that means to cause something to be fully known hence, means “to reveal, disclose, bring to light, make fully known.” The word may be used in a general sense of revealing of something, as it is used in revealing of thoughts of people in Luke 2:35:
so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
However, the word is often used especially for divine revelation. Thus, Apostle Paul used the word in asserting that God the Father revealed Jesus Christ to him in Galatians 1:16:
to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man,
Paul, no doubt, has heard about Jesus Christ otherwise, he would not have been persecuting Christians in Jerusalem prior to his conversion. So, when he said that God revealed His Son in him, he meant that God caused him to know more fully who Jesus Christ is. God caused him to know what he had not known before about Jesus Christ. It is not difficult to understand what Paul meant here in light of the fact that most people on the planet today have heard about Jesus Christ, but they do not fully know who He is for if they did, they would trust in Him for salvation and so be saved. It is only to those that God makes Jesus Christ fully known who come to faith in Him and so are saved. Anyway, in our passage of Romans 1:17, the Greek word is used in the sense of “to cause something, especially information, that was previously unknown to be fully known, that is, to be revealed.”
Be that as it may, the apostle wrote in Romans 1:17 in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed or literally righteousness of God is revealed in it. Our concern is to understand how God’s righteousness is revealed in the gospel. The gospel reveals that God does not tolerate sin. This, we learn from the fact that the apostle indicated that the gospel he preached included that Christ died for sins as stated in 1 Corinthians 15:3:
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
It is as the gospel is declared that the information that Christ died for sins is revealed. The death of Christ on the cross demonstrates that it is impossible for God to ignore sins and still maintain a relationship with the sinner. Since God’s righteousness means that He always acts in accordance with what is right as determined by Him, sending Christ to die on the cross is probably the strongest demonstration that His righteousness means He abhors sins. So, the gospel lets us know that God could not possibly ignore sin and have anything to do with anyone that is a sinner. Furthermore, as we have stated, God in the strongest possible manner indicated that His righteousness demands that sin be punished. However, since humans could not pay for their sins, God sent His Son to die for sins so that His righteous standard would be met to enable Him show mercy to sinners as that is what Holy Spirit conveyed later through Apostle Paul in what he wrote in Romans 3:25–26:
25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Remember that the Greek word translated “righteousness” in Romans 1:17 has as one of its meanings, “justice” so when it is said that God presented Jesus Christ as a sacrifice of atonement to demonstrate His justice that is also a way to say that Christ’s death demonstrates God’s righteousness since His righteousness includes acting in accordance with what is right as determined by Him. God determined that it is right that Jesus Christ should die for our sins since we are unable to do so. Therefore, it is the gospel that reveals this truth that God abhors sins but that is not all, He did something about sin that no human could. Hence, when we consider righteousness as “quality or state of juridical correctness that is in accordance with the moral requirements of God’s character” that definition is revealed by the death of Christ on the cross.
There is another aspect to understanding righteousness as “quality or state of juridical correctness that is in accordance with the moral requirements of God’s character.” It is that legally, God could upon meeting His moral requirement allows a human to be in good standing with Him. Thus, the gospel reveals that because of the death of Christ on the cross humans judicially can meet God’s righteous demands. It is for this reason that when Apostle Paul declared the gospel in Pisidian Antioch, he informed the Jews that through faith in Jesus Christ they could meet God’s requirement that could not be met through observing of the law as recorded in Acts 13:39:
Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.
The point is that the gospel reveals how a person could become acceptable to God that could not be obtained through observance of the law. Thus, when the apostle wrote in Romans 1:17 in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last or literally righteousness of God is revealed in it from faith to faith he also means that it is the gospel that reveals how a person can be in right standing with God that is not possible by observance of the law. This brings us to the third question raised in the literal translation of Romans 1:17 righteousness of God is revealed in it from faith to faith.
The third question is how we should understand the literal phrase from faith to faith. The phrase has been interpreted in different ways by commentators. For example, a fifth century interpretation that in my understanding could not be considered a serious interpretation of the phrases is that it means “from the faith of the preacher to the faith of the hearer.” So, let me state some of those I consider as more serious interpretations. One serious interpretation is that “the phrase is emphatic in nature, highlighting the centrality or importance of faith that salvation is completely by faith.” Another says it means “from smaller to greater degree of faith.” Still another interpretation is that it means “from faith as a starting point to faith as a permanent condition” or “Righteousness is received by faith and leads to continually increasing faith.” These serious interpretations to me are not complete in explaining what the apostle meant. Because the phrase should not be interpreted without regard to the fact the apostle stated that the gospel reveals God’s righteousness and he quotes from the OT Scripture, the phrase should be understood as a short phrase that is intended to expound on the complete Christian message that involves the gospel and Christian doctrines. Thus, it is our interpretation that when the apostle wrote the phrase of Romans 1:17 from faith to faith he meant to say that the gospel message reveals that God’s righteousness can be appropriated by faith and this appropriation of God’s righteousness leads to faithfulness to God’s righteousness, that is, that the one saved is expected to behave in accordance with the God’s righteousness. There are several reasons for this interpretation.
A first reason for our interpretation that the phrase from faith to faith means that the gospel message reveals that God’s righteousness can be appropriated by faith and this appropriation of God’s righteousness leads to faithfulness to God’s righteousness is because the Greek construction employed by the apostle requires emphasis on the word faith, that is, that we pay closer attention to the word faith. The phrase from …to is one that is used as part of a Semitic idiom for emphasis by repeating a word as we may note beginning from the Septuagint. The phrase is found in the Septuagint of Psalm 84:7[LXX 83:8]:
They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
Here the word “strength” is emphasized in the phrase from strength to strength that is interpreted by some to mean “to grow stronger” although because the Hebrew word (ḥǎyil) translated “strength” in unpointed Hebrew may mean “rampart,” the NJV (Tanakh) used the meaning “rampart” in their translation as “from rampart to rampart.” Another passage in which the Greek form used in Romans 1:17 appears in the Septuagint is Jeremiah 9:3:
“They make ready their tongue like a bow, to shoot lies; it is not by truth that they triumph in the land. They go from one sin to another; they do not acknowledge me,” declares the LORD.
The sentence They go from one sin to another is literally they go forth from evil to evil. This could be understood to mean that people “do one evil thing after another” or that people increasingly do evil things so that they cover up “small deceits with larger ones.” In the two usages of the Greek phrase in the Septuagint, the context does not permit the noun emphasized to have two possible meanings although the Hebrew words used are subject to other meanings. Anyway, in the NT, we find Apostle Paul use the Greek phrase in 2 Corinthians 2:16:
To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?
The Greek expression is used twice in this verse. The first is in the phrase the smell of death that literally reads an odor from death to death. The literal phrase from death to death could be understood to mean that those who are perishing mentioned in 2 Corinthians 2:15 go from being spiritually dead to eternal death in which case the Greek word (thanatos) translated “death” is given two different meanings in the context. The second use of the Greek expression is in the phrase the fragrance of life that literally reads a fragrance from life to life. The literal phrase from life to life could also be read to mean that those who are being saved go from present life to living eternally with God so that the Greek word (zōē) translated “life” is given two different meanings. This approach of assigning two different meanings is applicable to Romans 1:17, hence our second reason for our interpretation.
A second reason for our interpretation that the phrase from faith to faith means that the gospel message reveals that God’s righteousness can be appropriated by faith and this appropriation of God’s righteousness leads to faithfulness to God’s righteousness is because the word “faith” in the phrase is subject to two possible interpretations. The word “faith” is translated from a Greek word (pistis) although often translated “faith” has several other meanings. The Greek word may mean “faith” in the active sense of believing or trusting in someone; the kind of believing that brings salvation. Another meaning of the Greek word translated “faith” is “true piety or genuine devotion or even firm commitment.” Stephen was described as one who had a genuine devotion or firm commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ in that he did not waver in what he believed but was fully devoted to the Lord. This is the sense of the word “faith” in Acts 6:5:
This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
Another meaning of the Greek word translated “faith” is as an important virtue that Christians should have, or they have as a result of believing in Christ or as a result of the Holy Spirit operating in them. So, it is used to describe “faithfulness” that is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit given in Galatians 5:22:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
That faith refers to an important Christian virtue is evident in the fact that it is often associated with the virtue of love and so Apostle Paul used it in his epistle to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:13:
What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.
Another meaning of the Greek word translated “faith” is a reference to a religious movement such as the Christian faith, which is essentially the same as “the Christian religion.” It is in this sense that Apostle Paul used it to describe what people heard about him following his conversion as stated in Galatians 1:23:
They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”
Paul’s former effort was focused on exterminating Christians and so the Christian movement. Thus, what he tried to destroy is not so much the preaching of the gospel but the Christian movement since if he stopped the movement, he would have destroyed the Christian religion. Of course, that was not to be the case as he was converted and became one of the most fervent advocates of the Christian movement.
Still another meaning of the Greek word translated “faith” is “body of teaching” or “doctrine.” It is in this way that the word “faith” is used to describe what will happen to some at a later time as we read in 1 Timothy 4:1:
The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
It is possible that “faith” here can also be interpreted as the “Christian faith,” but it is more likely the apostle meant Christian doctrine especially because of the expression things taught by demons. It is the sense of doctrine or body of teaching of the Christian faith that “faith” is used in Jude 3:
Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.
In our passage of Romans 1:17, the Greek word is used twice. In the first usage the meaning is that of “trust,” specifically, strong confidence in and reliance upon Jesus Christ. In the second, it means “faithfulness” to Christian doctrines. The two meanings we have given indicate Apostle Paul is concerned with two things revealed in the gospel regarding God’s righteousness: how to appropriate it and the resultant righteousness that is associated with believer’s lifestyle. This reason for our interpretation implies that the phrase from faith to faith could be translated by faith to faith to indicate means of appropriating God’s righteousness and what such appropriation results.
A third reason for our interpretation that the phrase from faith to faith means that the gospel message reveals that God’s righteousness can be appropriated by faith and this appropriation of God’s righteousness leads to faithfulness to God’s righteousness is the apostle indicates that God’s righteousness can be appropriated by faith in Christ as stated in Romans 3:21–22:
21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
The apostle’s declaration that God’s righteousness is obtained through faith is certainly part of his preaching of the gospel. So, we can say that the gospel reveals God’s righteousness that is obtained by faith in Jesus Christ.
A fourth reason for our interpretation that the phrase from faith to faith means that the gospel message reveals that God’s righteousness can be appropriated by faith and this appropriation of God’s righteousness leads to faithfulness to God’s righteousness is the apostle implies that his preaching of the gospel included the necessity of living righteously, that is, living in accordance with God’s righteousness. This we deduce from what the apostle declared in Acts 26:20
First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.
The apostle conveyed he preached that people who believe should demonstrate that to be true through their deeds. The implication is that the gospel the apostle preached included the fact that God’s righteousness is to be obtained through faith in Jesus Christ but once a person receives God’s righteousness, it is incumbent on that individual to be faithful to God’s righteousness or righteous demands. Therefore, what the apostle stated in this passage supports our interpretation.
A fifth reason for our interpretation that the phrase from faith to faith means that the gospel message reveals that God’s righteousness can be appropriated by faith and this appropriation of God’s righteousness leads to faithfulness to God’s righteousness is the apostle’s quotation from the OT Scripture. His quotation is introduced in the clause of Romans 1:17 just as it is written. The sentence it is written or its equivalent For it is written is a formula for quotation from the OT Scripture. The formula was used by the Lord Jesus and the apostles in citing the OT Scripture. For example, the Lord Jesus used it to cite Scripture to Satan during His temptation as we read in Matthew 4:4:
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
He quoted exactly from Deuteronomy 8:3:
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
That aside, Apostle Paul used the formula to quote severally from the OT Scriptures.
In the use of the formula of Romans 1:17 just as it is written to support his declaration regarding righteousness through faith and resultant faithfulness to God’s righteousness revealed in the gospel, the apostle writes next “The righteous will live by faith.” The word “righteous” is translated from a Greek word (dikaios) that in this Romans 1:17 should be understood both as the person that is in right standing with God and lives in accordance with God’s standards. The word “live” is translated from a Greek word (zaō) that may mean “to live” in the sense of “to be physically alive.” The word may mean “to live” in the sense of to behave or to conduct oneself in a pattern of behavior as Apostle Paul used it to remind the Colossians of the pattern of life in which they conducted themselves prior to salvation as recorded in Colossians 3:7:
You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.
The word may mean “to live in a transcendent sense of the life of a child of God.” Thus, it is used by Apostle Paul to describe the life led by the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:25:
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
In our passage of Romans 1:17, the word is used in the sense of “to live supernaturally,” that is, “to live in the glory of life to come eternally especially to live a life without sin or with sin subdued.” Anyhow, when Apostle Paul wrote “The righteous will live by faith” he quotes from Habakkuk 2:4:
“See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright—but the righteous will live by his faith—
Before we comment on this passage, we should note that the apostle quoted it again in his epistle to the Galatians as stated in Galatians 3:11:
Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.”
The context in which the apostle quoted the passage in Galatians 3:11 is different from that of Romans 1:17. In Galatians, the apostle was defending the doctrine of justification by faith while in Romans the apostle was concerned with revelation of God’s righteousness as contained in the message of the gospel and resultant faithfulness to God’s righteousness on the part of the believer. Thus, while both quotations, no doubt, involve being in right standing with God the fact that the phrase of Romans 1:17 from faith to faith is not used in Galatians 3:11 implies that there should be a slight difference in the apostle’s quotation in both passages. Besides, Apostle Paul did not use this quotation to prove his doctrine of justification but as an illustration of his doctrine of justification. He has proved that doctrine by referring to Abraham. However, by quoting Habakkuk he is supporting the doctrine of justification in that if there is no such thing then why the prophet would provide another way of life, which is by faith.
Anyhow, to understand the apostle’s quotation as it pertains to Romans 1:17, we need to briefly examine the original text that apostle quoted. The context of this quotation is the complaint of Prophet Habakkuk concerning the prosperity of the wicked and his seemingly success in oppressing the righteous. Yahweh did not give Habakkuk the direct answer to his question or complaint; instead, He informs him that it is more important for the righteous to live by faith than be concerned about the wicked who certainly would be destroyed because he is not in the right relationship with God. That aside, we return to the quotation in Habakkuk.
The first half of Habakkuk 2:4 See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright is concerned with Yahweh’s characterization of the wicked as those who do not live uprightly or in conformity with God’s word. Yahweh having characterized the wicked to the prophet, continued to give him an assurance that it will be well with the righteous who live faithfully to Him. It is this assurance that is given in the last clause of Habakkuk 2:4 but the righteous will live by his faith. A more literal translation is but the righteous will live by his faithfulness. This literal translation is reflected in the 2011 edition of the NIV. We are not at this point concerned with justification of the literal translation since we have done so in a detailed study of this passage. If you are interested in that detail, I suggest you consult the website of Berean Bible Church, Bay Springs, Mississippi, and go to our study of Habakkuk beginning with lesson #22. That aside, the meaning “faithfulness” is preferred to the word “faith” used in the 1984 edition of the NIV, since the Hebrew noun (ʾěmûnāh) used in this verse in Habakkuk has the meaning of “faithfulness.” The word “righteous” is translated from a Hebrew adjective (ṣǎddîq) that describes a person whose behavior is in accordance with an acceptable standard of behavior in a given society and so means “just, upright, righteous.” Here in Habakkuk 2:4, the adjective is used by the prophet to describe an individual who worships the God of Israel in the sense of conducting his or her life in accordance with God’s standard. The word “live” is translated from a Hebrew word (ḥāyāh) with the basic meaning “to live.” However, there are several nuances to this basic meaning. Of the various meanings of the Hebrew word, it is the sense of “sustaining life” that is most applicable to the context of Habakkuk 2:4 since a person does not really have anything to do with respect to how long the individuals lives on this planet. Furthermore, while the idea of perseveration of life is possible but such meaning is usually associated with a Hebrew form (Piel) that is not used in the passage.
In the context of Habakkuk 2:4, how should we understand the clause but the righteous will live by his faith? The clause is a message of assurance to the righteous that God will make a distinction between the wicked and the righteous in that those who are righteous would be sustained in this life through their faithfulness to Yahweh. This means that as the believer lives in obedience to God’s word such an individual is assured that Yahweh will continue to sustain the person in terms of peace and even security in the midst of troubles of this life. This is the explanation of the clause in the context of the passage and so that leads to an important question.
Why did the apostle quote this passage as he discoursed God’s righteousness? It is because the passage contains two aspects of righteousness. There is the recognition of the righteous who is so described because of the person’s relationship with God. There is also the fact of experience of conforming to God’s righteousness. Consequently, the apostle’s citation of this passage of Habakkuk must mean that he was thinking of God’s righteousness in two ways as he wrote the phrase of Romans 1:17 from faith to faith. He was thinking of the righteousness of God that a person receives by faith in Christ but also the righteousness that is a result of conducting self in accordance with God’s word. Conducting self in a manner that is in conformity with God’s standard requires empowerment of the Holy Spirit so that the person who does so can be described as living supernaturally. Hence, the righteous person will live supernaturally in the eternal state, but such living begins on this planet. The point is that the phrase from faith to faith is intended to convey that the gospel reveals God’s righteousness obtained by faith and faithfulness that results from receiving God’s righteousness. Both concepts are revealed in the gospel message. This brings us to end of our consideration of Romans 1:16-17 but let me close by reminding you of the message of the passage we have expounded. The message is: You should never be ashamed to give the gospel to people because it is a message that tells of how to appropriate God’s righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ leading to salvation.
07/19/24