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"For therein is righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith."
What are we to understand by the "righteousness of God"? What is meant by "from
faith to faith"? Do these words read with the word "revealed" or with the word
"righteousness"? Is it correct to speak of justification as a forensic or legal term? Is faith
a modified work, a kind of dividend? These are questions that must be answered. The
way has been prepared, we have caught something of the spirit of the epistle, we must
now be prepared to devote both time and patience as we seek light from the Lord upon
this critical verse. Let us close this present paper by giving the structure of the opening
verses of Rom. 1::--
Paul and the gospel (Rom. 1: 1-17).
A | a | 1: 1.
Paul separated unto the gospel.
b | c | 1: 2. Promised in the Scriptures.
d | 1: 3-5-. The gospel . . . . . the power.
B | 1: 5, 6. The sphere of Paul's apostleship. "All nations."
C | 1: 7-13-. Paul's concern for Rome. "Service in the gospel."
B | 1: 13-15. The sphere of Paul's apostleship. "Greeks and Barbarians."
A | a | 1: 16-.
Paul unashamed of the gospel.
b |
d | 1: -16. The gospel . . . . . the power.
c | 1: 17. Anticipated in the Scriptures.
The focal points are the relation of Paul to the gospel, the sphere of his ministry, and
the twofold power.
#4.
The righteousness of God (1: 17).
pp. 168 - 173
Rom. 1: 17 is the crux of the epistle to the Romans, and indeed of the gospel as
committed to Paul. All that follows in this epistle is necessitated by the statements of this
verse, as we hope to show. That it is vitally connected with that gospel of which Paul
was unashamed, and which he declared to be the power of God unto salvation, we can see
by the presence of the word "for". Where all is important it may be unwise to suggest
distinctions, but the student of Scripture, and of Paul's epistles particularly, should never
lose sight of the little word gar, generally translated "for". The theme runs: The gospel is
the power of God unto salvation to all that believe, for--then follows the reason:--
"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written,
The just shall live by faith. "
Before we can make any real progress in the understanding of this passage, we must
seek the Scriptural meaning of the terms, "the righteousness of God", and "the just".