another, already taught indeed hoth in the law and prophets, a method which is not legal (without law), i. e. not on the condition of obedience to the law, but on the condition of faith, which is applicable to all men, and perfectly gratuitous,' vs. 21 — 24. But for the reasons given on eh. 1:17, the second interpretation is to be preferred. The term righteous' ness is employed to designate all that excellence which is demanded by the law, and which entitles to all the blessings of a state of justification, and frequently includes the idea of this blessedness itself, i. e. the bless- edness of the state of complete favour with God ; see above on v. 20. The phrase righteousness of God then means that righteousness, with its consequent blessings, of which God is the author, which is of avail before God, which meets and secures his approbation. This interpreta- tion is perfectly consistent with the context. ' As men cannot attain to righteousness by the deeds of the law, God has revealed in the gospel another righteousness, which is not legal, but which is to be attained by faith, which is offered to all men. Gentiles as well as Jews, and which is entirely gratuitous.'
The words without the law are to be connected with the phrase right' eousness of God. It is the righteousness of God without the law, i. e. the works of the law ; see the full phrase, v. 28 ; compare Gal. 2:16. It is a righteousness not attainable by obedience to the law. Being testified hy the lavj and the prophets. Testified, i. e. taught, because the teaching of inspired men was in the form of testimony ; it was not the communica- tion of what they themselves had discovered, but a declaration of what had been delivered to them by God. The Jews were accustomed to. di- vide the Scriptures into two parts, the law and the prophets ; what did not belong to the former was included under the latter. Hence the phrase, as here used, is equivalent to the Scriptures; see Matt. 5: 17. 7: 12. Luke 16: 31. Acts 13: 15, &c. &c. That the Jewish scriptures did teach the doctrine of gratuitous justification, Paul proves in the next chapter, from the case of Abraham and the testimony of David.
(22) Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christy &c. In the preceding verse, Paul had taught negatively, that this righteousness, which is acceptable and available in the sight of God, was not to be attained by the works of the law, he here teaches, 1. That it is to be attained by faith in Christ. 2. That it is applicable to all men. Gentiles as well as Jews. Which is by faith of Jesus Christ, i. e. through, or by means of that faith of which Christ is the object. We are not justified on account of our faith, as though faith were the ground of our acceptance, for the ground is mentioned afterwards ; but it is through faith. Such is almost uniformly the force of the Greek preposition here used, when connected with the genitive. Faith of Christ is of course equivalent to faith in Christ ,• see Mark 11 : 22, " Have faith in God," literally ' of God ;' Acts 3 : 16, " Through faith in his name," literally « of his name ;' Gal. 2 : 20, " I live by faith of the Son of God," &c. &c.
Unto all and upon all that believe. The prepositions rendered urUo