Romans 1:16-17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
If you haven’t read Part 1 of this study, you can here.
Yesterday we looked into ‘For I am not ashamed’. Today, let’s move a little further. Firstly, ‘for the Jew first, and also for the Greek’.
What does this mean? Greek here means ‘Gentile’ – or one who is not a Jew. The Jews were first as they were chosen by God to show his Love, and bring about His plan in the world. Not because they deserved it either (Deuteronomy 7:7-8), but simply because God chose them. This is the order of God’s plan in the world – first to the Jews (and if you look closely, to anyone who wanted it, but through the Jewish Law and custom), then to everyone through Jesus Christ, who fulfilled the Law. So there is no favoritism of God here – it is simply the order of God’s plan. You will see Paul uses this phrase quite a bit.
Lastly, we come to ‘The Just shall live by faith’. This is true of old, as it is of now. Despite this being a quote form the Old Testament (Habakkuk 2:4), we still are called to live by our Faith in Jesus Christ. It is through our faith in Jesus we are saved (Ephesians 2:8), and through our faith that we continue to live our lives (Galatians 2:20).
Lord God, I pray for revelation through your Holy Spirit as we continue to study through your word. Teach us how to live by faith in you. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Live by Faith – Romans 1:16-17 (Part 2)