The obedience of faith 1
Bill Mounce wrote a post last week on the new Zondervan Koinonia blog on the meaning of the phrase ὑπακοὴ πίστεως (”the obedience of faith,” Rom 1:5; 16:26). He argued (rightly) that Greek grammar can only take us so far. It can show us the interpretive possibilities, but only context can help us determine which one is right. He described the two most viable possibilities of the meaning of the genitive as follows:
1. “Obedience, that is, faith.” Paul could be saying that the purpose of his apostolic ministry is to bring the Gentiles to the point of faith (as opposed to works); this faith is the obedience for which the gospel calls. In grammar this is categorized as an epexegetical genitive, where the word in the genitive is explaining (“exegeting”) its head noun.
2. “Obedience that stems from faith.” This is the idea that once a person comes to faith in Jesus, their lives will start to change and move from disobedience to obedience, putting off the old and putting on the new. This would be a source or subjective genitive.
Mounce then argued that both are right. He made the legitimate point that we should not think of Greek grammar “as an apple pie cut into a set number of pieces,” but rather we should think of it “as more on a continuuum.” The result is that the “use of a case in any one place may sit squarely on the cut between the two pieces of pie.”
I’m willing to grant that this is possible. What is interesting is that Mounce had earlier said that context alone can decide among the competing options, but proceeded to ignore his own (wise) counsel. He did not discuss the context but merely appealed to a broader theological truth:
Is it possible to experience God’s cleansing sent to us through faith without our hearts being changed? Of course not. In the New Covenant our old heart is removed and a new softer, pliable heart of flesh is put in its place. But if our heart is changed, is it possible for our lives also not to change? Of course not. Changed people live in a changed way. This is why judgment (outside of John) is always done on the basis of our lives (i.e., works). Our changed lives of obedience show the reality of the heart changed through faith.
I agree with this theological truth. Justification and sanctification are to be distinguished but cannot be separated, since both flow from union with Christ. The Westminster Confession says it well: “Faith, thus receiving and resting on Christ and his righteousness, is the alone instrument of justification: yet is it not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces, and is no dead faith, but worketh by love” (WCF XI:2).
The question is: Is this what Paul had in mind when he used the phrase “the obedience of faith”? In my view, the context better supports Mounce’s option 1, “obedience, that is, faith.”
I. The narrow context
It is important to note that Rom 1:5 is part of the letter frame (Rom 1:1-15; 15:14-33) that surrounds the letter body (Rom 1:16–15:13). Here is an abbreviated summary of the structure of Romans:
I. 1:1-15 Letter Frame: Paul’s missionary devotion to the Gospel
II. 1:16-11:36 Letter Body, Pt. 1: Teaching the Gospel to the CR
III. 12:1-15:13 Letter Body, Pt. 2: Practical Instructions for the CR
IV. 15:14-33 Letter Frame: Paul’s missionary devotion to the Gospel
V. 16:1-27 Appendix: Recommendation, Greetings & Doxology
(CR = The Christians in Rome)
The letter frame focuses on Paul’s missionary devotion to the Gospel, and, in particular, on his role as an apostle to the Gentiles. In Rom 1:5 he says that through Christ he “received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles.” Paul is primarily thinking about the fact that he was called to bring the gospel to the Gentiles so that they might become converted. The missionary context of Paul’s statement here brings to the fore the idea of coming to faith in Christ as the way one obeys or submits to the gospel.
This interpretation is supported by a parallel statement in the second half of his letter frame (Rom 15:14-33). Having concluded the letter body, Paul returns to reflect on his role as ”a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles” (v 16). He says, “I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience (εἰς ὑπακοήν - N.B.: same prepositional phrase used in 1:5) of the Gentiles, by word and deed … so that I have fully preached the gospel of Christ” (vv 18-19, NASB). The fact that he is talking about his missionary work is reinforced by his statement in the next verse that he aspired to preach the gospel only where Christ was not already named (v 20). “The obedience of the Gentiles” in Rom 15:18 most likely refers to their submission to the gospel, i.e., their conversion, not their subsequent life of obedience to God’s moral will.
In both 1:5 and 15:18, the “obedience” that is in view is the obedience “among (or of) the Gentiles.” This suggests that he has in mind the conversion process that involves moving out of the status of “Gentiles” (those outside of the covenant and without God in the world) into the status of “saints.” In a very real sense, “saints” who came from a pagan background are no longer “Gentiles.” Paul says as much in 1 Corinthians 12:2, when, looking back on the former pagan life of the Corinthian Christians, he says “When you were Gentiles (ἔθνη), you were led astray to mute idols.”
One last point. You might think that Rom 15:18 is not part of the narrow, immediate context of Rom 1:5. But consider two facts: (1) The same prepositional phrase, “resulting in the obedience” (εἰς ὑπακοήν), occurs in these two verses (and in 16:26), and (2) they both occur in the letter frame which is about Paul’s missionary task of preaching Christ among the Gentiles with a view to their coming to faith.
In my next post I’ll look at the broader context, namely, the pervasive use of “obedience/disobedience” language in Paul and other NT writers to refer to “submitting to the Gospel by believing it” (or, “not submitting to the Gospel by failing to believe it”).