Romans 1.17a-The Gospel Reveals the Righteousness of God From Faith to Faith
Prairie View Christian Church
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday June 7, 2007
Romans: Romans 1:17a-The Gospel Reveals the Righteousness of God From Faith to Faith
Lesson # 21
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 1:16.
This evening we will continue with our study of the book of Romans and in particular chapter one and so by way of review, we have noted thus following thus far:
Romans 1:1-7 contains the salutation in the book of Romans, which identifies the writer as Paul (verse 1) and the recipients of the letter as being believers in Rome (verses 6 and 7) and the subject as being Jesus Christ (verse 1:2-5).
In Romans 1:8, we read where Paul relates to the believers in Rome that he makes it a habit to thank the Father for them in prayer because of their faith, which was well-know throughout the Rome Empire.
Then, in Romans 1:9-10, Paul also related to the believers in Rome that he prayed for them and that he might be able to visit them in the future.
In Romans 1:11, Paul writes to the believers in Rome that his purpose for wanting to visit them was that it had been his great desire for some time to impart some spiritual blessing to them that would strengthen their faith.
Next, we studied in Romans 1:12, Paul qualifies his statement in Romans 1:11 by relating that his other purpose for wanting to visit the believers in Rome is that he and they would be mutually encouraged by one another’s faith.
In Romans 1:13, Paul writes of his intention to visit the believers in Rome in order to reap a harvest among them but his evangelistic work and care and concern for the churches he had established from Jerusalem to Illyricum had prevented him from doing so.
Then, in Romans 1:14-15, Paul writes that he is obligated and eager to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles in Rome and in Romans 1:16, he writes that he is unashamed to do so.
Last evening we began a study Romans 1:16-17, which as we noted in our introduction to the book of Romans, contains the theme of this epistle.
In this passage, the apostle Paul makes an assertion that he is not ashamed of the gospel of God, which is based on two premises: (1) The gospel is the power of God for salvation (2) The gospel reveals the righteousness of God.
Last evening we studied Romans 1:16, which contains the theme of this epistle and the assertion that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
This evening we will study Romans 1:17, which contains Paul’s second assertion about the gospel, namely that the gospel reveals the righteousness of God from faith to faith.
Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
Romans 1:17, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.’”
“For” is the causal use of the post-positive conjunction gar (gavr), which introduces another explanation as to the reason why Paul is not ashamed of the gospel message, namely, that the gospel reveals the righteousness of God.
The expression “in it” is composed of the preposition en (e)n), “in” and the dative neuter 3rd person singular form of the personal pronoun autos (au)tov$) (ow-tos), “it.”
The preposition en is a marker of means indicating that the gospel is the “means by which” the righteousness of God, Jesus Christ is revealed.
The personal pronoun autos refers to its antecedent in Romans 1:16 to euangelion, “the gospel” which is a reference to the communication of the gospel.
The word functions grammatically in Romans 1:17 as a “dative instrumental of means” indicating that the gospel is the means by which the righteousness of God, Jesus Christ is revealed.
Therefore, we should translate the prepositional phrase en auto, “by means of it (the communication of the gospel).”
“Righteousness” is the noun dikaiosune (dikaiosuvnh), which was used in classical Greek and the LXX (Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible) as a general term for “virtue” and “integrity” of character.
Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines “integrity”: (1) Soundness of and adherence to moral principle and character; uprightness; honesty (2) The state of being whole, entire, or undiminished (3) A sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition.
Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines “virtue”: (1) Moral excellence; goodness; righteousness (2) Conformity of one’s life and conduct to moral and ethical principles; uprightness, rectitude.
In classical Greek, the noun dikaiosune had two basic meanings: (1) Righteousness as seen from the legal or political standpoint (2) Righteousness from the ethical, religious and moral perspective.
In the LXX, the noun dikaiosune was used primarily to denote an attribute of God and to describe His relationship to both Israel and the Gentiles.
In the Greek New Testament, the noun dikaiosune was used primarily to denote an attribute of God and also refers to the righteousness of Jesus Christ that is imputed to the person who accepts Him as their Savior.
The word is also used in relation to the believer experiencing the righteousness of Jesus Christ after salvation by appropriating the teaching of the Word of God that they have been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ (See Romans 6).
In relation to the Christian, the noun dikaiosune, “righteousness” refers to fulfilling one’s obligations to love both God and men, doing right to both God and men.
In Romans 1:17, the noun dikaiosune means, “righteousness” and refers to the righteousness of Christ since Paul writes that the gospel reveals the righteousness of God and in Romans 1:3-4 he writes that the gospel message centers upon the Person of Christ.
The righteousness of Christ refers to the character of Christ having perfect integrity in the sense that His character is perfectly sound, perfectly adhering to the will of God, which is love, upright, honest, perfectly whole, undiminished, sound, unimpaired and in perfect condition.
The righteousness of Christ refers to the character of Christ having perfect virtue in the sense that His character is perfect moral excellence, goodness, and His conduct is conformed perfectly to the will of God.
“Of God” is the noun theos (qeov$), which is a genitive of source indicating that the righteousness referred to in Romans 1:17 “originates” from God and was “not” of human origin.
The righteousness of God refers to the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ since the gospel centers upon the Person of Christ according to Romans 1:3-4 and the gospel message reveals the righteousness of God according to Romans 1:17.
Therefore, the genitive of source theos indicates that the righteousness referred to in Romans 1:17 “originates” from God and is in fact the second member of the Trinity, the incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ who is the object of faith.
“Is revealed” is 3rd person singular present passive indicative form of the apokalupto (a)pokaluvptw) (ap-ok-al-oop-to), which is a compound word composed of the preposition apo (a)pov), “from” and the verb kalupto (kaluvptw), “to conceal, hide.”
Interestingly and surprisingly, the result of combining these two words is that apokalupto means the exact opposite, “to reveal, disclose, uncover.”
So thus far, we can see that the righteousness of God in the Person of the impeccable, incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ is revealed by means of the communication of the gospel.
The noun dikaiosune, “righteousness” and this verb apokalupto, “is revealed” are used with two prepositional phrases, ek pisteos eis pistin, “from faith to faith.”
“From faith” is composed of the preposition ek (e)k), “from” and the genitive feminine singular form of the noun pistis (pivsti$) (pis-tis), “faith.”
The preposition ek, “from” is a marker of the extent of time from a point in the past whereas the noun pistis, “faith” is a genitive of time and together, they emphasize time with emphasis upon the beginning.
Therefore, the prepositional phrase ek pisteos, “from faith” emphasizes that by means of the communication of the gospel, the righteousness of Christ was revealed in the believer the moment he accepted Jesus Christ as His Savior since at that moment God the Father imputed the righteousness of His Son to him (See Romans 4).
“To faith” is composed of the preposition eis (ei)$), “to” and the accusative feminine singular form of the noun pistis (pivsti$) (pis-tis), “faith.”
The preposition eis, “to” is a marker of continuous extent of time up to a point whereas as the noun pistis, “faith” is an accusative of measure or extent of time and together, they emphasize the extent of time.
Therefore, the prepositional phrase eis pistin, “to faith” emphasizes that by means of the communication of the gospel, the righteousness of Christ is revealed in the believer “after” salvation when he appropriates by faith the teaching of the gospel that he has been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ (Romans 6:11-23; 8:1-17; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:5-17).
It also emphasizes that the righteousness of Christ is revealed in the believer when he receives a resurrection body at the rapture of the church, which completes the Father’s plan to conform the believer into the image of His Son (Romans 8:28-29).
The passive voice of the verb apokalupto indicates that the subject is acted upon or receives the action of the verb by either an expressed or unexpressed agent.
The subject of the passage is the noun dikaiosune, “righteousness” as indicated in that it functions grammatically as a nominative subject and the agency is expressed by the prepositional phrase en auto, “by means of it (the gospel).”
Therefore, the passive voice of the verb apokalupto indicates that the subject, the righteousness of Jesus Christ, is acted upon by the communication of the gospel and is revealed when the believer trusted in Jesus Christ as His Savior since at that moment God the Father imputes His Son’s righteousness to the believer.
It also indicates that the righteousness of Christ is acted upon by the communication of the gospel and is revealed in the believer after salvation when he experiences the righteousness of Christ by exercising faith in the gospel that he has been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ.
It also indicates that the righteousness of Christ is acted upon by the communication of the gospel and is revealed the moment the believer receives his resurrection body at the rapture of the church.
The present tense is “gnomic” used to make a statement of a general, timeless fact indicating that it is an “eternal spiritual truth” or “spiritual axiom” that by the communication of the gospel, the righteousness of Christ is revealed in the believer when he trusted in Jesus Christ as His Savior since God the Father imputes the righteousness of Christ to the believer at that moment.
It also indicates that it is an “eternal spiritual truth” or “spiritual axiom” that by the communication of the gospel, the righteousness of Christ is revealed in the believer after salvation when he exercises faith in the gospel message that he has been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ.
Furthermore, it indicates that is an “eternal spiritual truth” that the righteousness of God is revealed in the believer the moment he receives his resurrection body at the rapture of the church, which completes the Father’s plan to conform the believer into the image of Christ.
Therefore, the expression dikaiosune gar theou en auto apokaluptetai ek pisteos eis pistin, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith” indicates that by means of the communication of the gospel, the righteousness of Christ is revealed in the believer in three stages: (1) Positionally, at the moment he exercises faith in the gospel message and trusts in Jesus Christ as his Savior. (2) Experientially, after salvation when the believer exercises faith in the gospel message that he has been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ. (3) Ultimately, when he receives his resurrection body at the rapture of the church.
God manifests His righteousness when members of the human race are delivered from sin, Satan, his cosmic system and eternal condemnation through faith His Son Jesus Christ.
God manifests His righteousness when believers after salvation are delivered from sin, Satan and his cosmic system through faith in the gospel message that they have been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ.
God will manifest His righteousness when believers receive their resurrection bodies.
The Bible teaches that there are two categories of righteousness: (1) Absolute righteousness originating in the essence of God revealed by the Spirit in the Word of God and in the Person of Christ (2) Relative righteousness, which is rooted in man’s comparison of himself with other men.
The Bible teaches that the entire human race both Jew and Gentile do not measure up to the righteousness of God and are therefore condemned before God but qualified for grace (Romans 1:18-3:20).
The Lord Jesus Christ manifested the righteousness of God during His 1st Advent, which was witnessed by the Law and the Prophets in the Old Testament Scriptures (Romans 3:21-26).
The righteousness of God can never be attained by anyone through human power and dynamics or by keeping the Mosaic Law but rather it is received as a gift through faith in Jesus Christ who is the righteousness of God incarnate.
The works of the Law can never attain the righteousness of God (Titus 3:5).
The nation of Israel sought to establish their own righteousness rather than accept by faith the righteousness of God in the Person of Jesus Christ (Romans 10:1-10).
The righteousness of God is imputed to the person who exercises faith alone in Christ alone meaning that God credits to the believer the perfect integrity and virtue of Christ.
Romans 4:3, “For what does the Scripture say? ‘ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.’”
The imputation of divine righteousness at the moment of spiritual birth is made possible by the imputation of Adam’s sin in the garden at the moment of physical birth (Romans 5:12-19).
At the moment of physical birth, every member of the human race becomes a sinner because he has received the imputation of Adam’s sin in the garden.
Imputation is the function of the justice of God in crediting something to someone for cursing or for blessing.
The imputation of Adam’s sin at physical birth results in every person having the nature of Adam, which resides in the genetic structure of the physical body and can never please God but is selfish and self-centered and always disobedient to God.
This imputation means that every person born into the world is born physically alive but spiritually dead, but qualified for the imputation of divine righteousness through faith alone in Christ alone.
1 Corinthians 15:22, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.”
The reason why God imputed Adam’s sin in the garden to every member of the human race at physical birth is given in two passages of Scripture:
Galatians 3:22, ‘But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”
Romans 11:32, “For God has shut up all in (Adam’s) disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.”
At the moment of spiritual birth, God imputed His righteousness to the believer so that he is “positionally” the righteousness of God meaning God has given His righteousness as a gift to the believer and He views the believer as righteous as Him, which in turn sets up the potential for the believer to experience this righteousness in time.
Therefore, the moment a person believes in Jesus Christ as Savior, God the Father imputes the righteousness of Christ so that He becomes the believer’s righteousness.
1 Corinthians 1:30, “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.”
After salvation, the believer is commanded to present the members of his physical body as instruments of righteousness, which is accomplished by appropriating by faith the imputed righteousness they received at salvation (See Romans 6).
This faith is demonstrated by the believer through his obedience to the teaching that he has died with Christ and has been raised with Him (See Romans 6:11-13).
The Lord was made our Substitute in order that we might receive the imputation of God’s righteousness and live in that righteousness.
2 Corinthians 5:21, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
1 Peter 2:24, “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”
The new Christ nature received at the moment of salvation was created in the righteousness of God and holiness from the truth according to Ephesians 4:24.
Paul commanded Timothy to pursue living in the righteousness of Christ (See Timothy 2:22).
The Word of God trains the believer to live in the righteousness of Christ.
2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
In fact, the Word of God is designated in Hebrews 5:13 as the “Word of righteousness.”
The Word of God is the wisdom of God and is analogous to a seed, which produces the righteousness of God in the believer when he obeys it (James 3:1-18).
The children of the devil and the children of God are distinguished from each other because the latter practice the righteousness of God and the former practice evil according to 1 John 3:10.
The righteousness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is our invisible weapon is against Satan and the kingdom of darkness (2 Corinthians 6:7; Ephesians 6:10-19).
In fact, the believer is to protect himself in spiritual combat with the righteousness of Christ, which is called in Ephesians 6:14, the “breastplate of righteousness.”
Undeserved suffering and divine discipline are designed to produce the righteousness of God in our lives and not to hurt us.
Hebrews 12:11, “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”
Properly motivated grace giving is called “righteousness” according to 2 Corinthians 9:10.
The believer will be rewarded with a “crown of righteousness” by the Lord Jesus at the Bema Seat for executing the Father’s will according to 2 Timothy 4:8.