‘From Faith to Faith’ in Rom 1:17: What the Heck Does It Mean?

I seem to enjoy working through semantic difficulties. No doubt the enigmatic phrase ek pisteōs eis pistin in Romans 1:17 (usually rendered “from faith to faith” in English Bibles) has proved to be one. It is rather unfortunate in my humble opinion that this phrase is often brushed off as meaningless or as nothing more than a rhetorical adornment, since it is by this faith that Paul tells us “the righteousness of God is revealed” (v. 17). As such, it is my conviction that Paul does indeed have something to say to his readers about holiness and Christian living in this short, yet certainly not meaningless, four-word phrase.

Several parallels for this expression can be cited. For example, Ps 84:7 promises that the one whose strength is in God will go on “from strength to strength” (ek dunameōs eis dunamin), and the wicked in Jeremiah 9:3 progress “from evil to evil” (ek kakōn eis kaka). Paul uses this formula again in 2 Cor 2:16, “from death to death … from life to life.” Though only a few parallels can be cited, what is clear from these examples is that this formula does not seem to indicate the kind (e.g. “from one strength to another”) but the degree (e.g. “from strength to greater strength”) of the substantive. As such, implicit in this expression is a sense of progression.

C. K. Barrett is on the right track, I think, in acknowledging that these parallels suggest the meaning “from one level of faith to a higher;” however, wrongly abandoning this textual evidence, he concludes that such a meaning “does not … suit the present context,” and is rather a simple emphatic rhetorical device. This it most certainly is; but its essence is much richer than simply rhetorical emphasis, I think.

A myriad of other proposals have been made regarding the meaning of this phrase, such as “from the faith [of the preacher] to the faith [of the hearer],” and “from faith [as a starting point] to faith [as a permanent condition].” A few (such as my good professor Dr. Witherington, with whom I must respectfully disagree on this point) have proposed the meaning “from [God’s (or Christ's)] faith to [humanity’s] faith.” (Dr. Witherington, in his commentary on Romans, translates this phrase “from the faithful one unto those who have faith.”) However, such interpretations seem to completely disregard what is known about the employment of this formula outside of the present text. I tend to agree with Colin Brown and the NIDNTT editorial committee that

… it seems more natural to construe ek as indicating not the source or starting-point (“from faith”) but the basis or means (“by faith”; as in Hab. 2:4), with the eis pistin either intensifying the effect of ek pisteōs … or denoting the goal of God’s impartation to men of a righteous status (“leading to faith”).

Furthermore, the use of the preposition eis indicates some sort of progression or goal. Moule, in his Idiom Book, affirms the translation of eis pistin here as “leading to faith,” a very appropriate rendering of the phrase. I would suggest, then, that this phrase is best translated “by faith leading to faith,” that is, a greater degree of faith.

What, then, does this mean for the Christians in Rome to whom Paul wrote, and for all Christians today? First, it means that “the righteousness of God” (dikaiosune theou—a discussion for perhaps another day!) is revealed by means of, or on the basis of, faith (or better yet, “trusting in” him, since pisteuō also has this meaning). That is, God makes his righteousness known to those who put their trust in him. Second, it means that God’s revelation of his righteousness to those who trust in him necessarily leads to a greater degree of trust in him. Remember, though, that nowhere are we told that such trust is imparted to us. It does not come automatically. Indeed, it may come with great struggle. But it is in such times that, when we put our trust in him, his righteousness is revealed, and we learn to trust him all the more.

Then again, maybe this interpretation just results from the Wesleyan in me!