Meyer's NT Commentary
Romans 3:22. A righteousness of God, however, (mediated) through faith in Jesus Christ. On δέ, with the repetition of the same idea, to be defined now however more precisely, the δικαιοσύνη Θεοῦ (not merely δικαιοσύνη, as Hofmann insists contrary to the words); comp
Romans 9:30. See on
Php 2:8.
The genitive Ἰ. Χ. contains the object of faith[816] in accordance with prevailing usage (
Mark 11:22;
Acts 3:16;
Galatians 2:16;
Galatians 2:20;
Galatians 3:22;
Ephesians 3:12;
Ephesians 4:13;
Php 3:9;
Jam 2:1). The article before διὰ πίστ. was not needed for the simple reason that δικαιοσύνη Θεοῦ is without it. Therefore, and because the point at issue here was not the mode of becoming manifest, but the specific characterising of the righteousness itself that had become manifest, neither διὰ πίστ. (Fritzsche, Tholuck) nor the following εἰς πάντας κ.τ.λ[817] (de Wette, Fritzsche, Tholuck, Winer, Mehring and others) is to be made dependent on ΠΕΦΑΝΈΡΩΤΑΙ.
ΕἸς ΠΆΝΤΑς Κ. ἘΠῚ Π. Τ. ΠΙΣΤ.] scil. ΟὖΣΑ; see Bornemann, a[818] Xen. Symp. 4, 25. The expression is an earnest and significant bringing into prominence of the universal character of this ΔΙΚΑΙΟΣΎΝΗ ΔΙᾺ ΠΊΣΤ. Ἰ. Χ.: which is for all, and upon all who believe. Both prepositions denote the direction of aim, in which the δικαιοσύνη presents itself, though with the special modification that under the ΕἸς lies the notion of destination (not “the immanent influx,” Reithmayr), under the ἐπί that of extending itself over all. On the peculiar habit, which the Apostle has, of setting forth a relation under several aspects by different prepositional definitions of a single word, see Winer, p. 390 [E. T. 521]; compare generally Kühner, II. 1, p. 475 f. While recent expositors (including Rückert, Reiche, Köllner, de Wette) have often arbitrarily disregarded the distinction in sense between the two prepositions,[819] and have held both merely as a strengthening of the idea all (“for all, for all without exception,” Koppe), the old interpreters, on the other hand, forced upon the εἰς and ἐπί much that has nothing at all in common with the relation of the prepositions; e.g. that εἰς π. applies to the Jews and ἐπὶ π. to the Gentiles; ‘thus Theodoret, Oecumenius, and many others, who have been followed by Bengel, Böhme and Jatho (and conversely by Matthias, who explains ἐκ and εἰς in
Romans 1:17 in the same way).
οὐ γάρ ἐστι διαστ.] Ground assigned for the πάντας τ. πιστ. “For there is no distinction made, according to which another way to the δικαιοσύνη Θεοῦ would stand open for a portion of men, perchance for the Jews,” and that just for the reason that (
Romans 3:23) all have sinned, etc.
[816] This view of the genitive is justly adhered to by most expositors. It is with πίστις as with ἀγάπη, in which the object is likewise expressed as well by the genitive as by εἰς. Nevertheless, Scholten, Rauwenhoff, van Hengel and Berlage (de formulae Paulinae πίστις Ἰ. Χριστοῦ signif., Lugd. B. 1856) have recently taken it to mean the “fides, quae auctore Jesu Christo Deo habetur” (Berlage). Against this view we may decidedly urge the passages where the genitive with πίστις is a thing or an abstract idea (
Php 1:27;
2 Thessalonians 2:13;
Acts 3:16;
Colossians 2:12); also the expression πίστις Θεοῦ in
Mark 11:22, where the genitive must necessarily be that of the object. Comp. the classical expressions πίστις Θεῶν and the like. See besides Lipsius, Rechtfertigungsl. p. 109 f.; Weiss, bibl. Theol. p. 335.
[817] .τ.λ. καὶ τὰ λοιπά.
[818] d refers to the note of the commentator or editor named on the particular passage.
[819] For in none of the similar passages are the prepositions synonymous. See
Romans 3:20,
Romans 11:36;
Galatians 1:1;
Ephesians 4:6;
Colossians 1:16. See also Matthias and Mehring in loc. The latter, following out his connection πεφανέρ., explains: “manifested to all men and for all believers.” But it is arbitrary to take τοὺς πιστεύοντας as defining only the second πάντας, as Morus and Flatt (see also Morison, p. 229 ff.) have already done. After the emphatic δικαιοσύνη δὲ Θεοῦ διά πίστεως the πιστεύειν is so much the specific and thorough mark of the subjects, that τοὺς πιστεύοντας must define the πάντας in both instances.