Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Romans 1:17

"For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith." — Romans 1:17 (ASV)

The apostle now explains his statement (cf. “for”) that the Gospel means salvation for those who receive it by faith: it discloses “a righteousness [GK 1466] from God.” Paul is dependent here on the OT (Isaiah 46:12–13; Isaiah 61:10), which emphasizes that God is righteous in the way he acts—an idea foreign to Greek thought. Clearly, the character of God is involved in the sense that what he does and provides is fully in keeping with his righteous nature (cf. 3:26). But just as clearly, this expression also includes the activity of God. The Gospel would not be the good news if it simply disclosed God’s righteousness, and such a message would scarcely demand faith. But if salvation as God provides it is fully in keeping with his righteous character, then it has integrity.

We should compare Paul’s statement here with Php 3:9, where he contrasts his pre-Christian state, in which he had a righteousness based on obeying the law, with his present situation, in which he rests on a righteousness which is from God, based on faith. In summary, God’s righteousness in this context stresses divine provision. What this entails will be unfolded in due course.

Somewhat baffling is the twofold reference to faith—lit. “from faith to faith” (cf. NIV “by faith from first to last”). These two prepositional phrases relate directly to God’s righteousness, indicating how that righteousness is to be received (cf. Paul’s restatement of this idea in 3:21–22). Having said that, we must inquire into the distinctives of the two phrases involving “faith” (GK 4411). Among the numerous suggestions are these: from the faith of the preacher to the faith of the hearer; from OT faith to NT faith (cf. the following quotation); entirely from faith; and from God’s faithfulness to human faith. It is best to see the first phrase (“from faith”) as indicating the basis on which God grants justification (3:26; 5:1; Galatians 2:16) or righteousness (9:30; 10:6). The really troublesome element here is the second phrase (“to faith”). It is intended to remind believers that justifying faith is only the beginning of the Christian life; that same attitude must govern them in their continuing experience as children of God (this is how NIV understands the phrase).

What about “The righteous will live by faith”? Should it be translated this way or “The one who is just by virtue of faith shall live”? Since the apostle quotes the same passage in Gal 3:11 to show that one is not justified by law but rather by faith, it is probable that he intends the reference in the same way here. Also, since the quotation is used at the very beginning of Romans, Paul’s main concern here is not how justified sinners should live (chs. 6–8), but how they can be considered just or righteous in the sight of God. Ethical righteousness depends on a right relationship to God, so the latter merits priority of treatment.

Why did not Paul then change the order to read, “The one who is righteous by faith will live?” Apparently he did not want to disturb the form of a familiar quotation, even though he changed its emphasis from the OT. The liberty involved in using an OT quotation somewhat differently from its original setting is necessitated by the progress of revelation. It was a practice used in Judaism before Paul’s time, as we know from the Dead Sea Scrolls, and it was also used by other apostles (see comment on Ac 2:16–21).