Καταλλάσσειν, Καταλλαγή. It is sometimes held that these words denote "reconciliation" in the sense of man's laying aside his distrust, reluctance, resistance towards God, not of God's laying aside His holy displeasure against man; and that for this latter idea, that of persuading an offended superior to grant peace, we should need the words διαλλάσσεσθαι (which we have Matt. v. 24, and in the Lxx. in _e.g._ 1 Sam. xxix. 4, where the English has, "Wherewith should he reconcile himself to his master?") and διαλλαγὴ (which does not occur in the N. T.). But καταλλαγὴ (and its verb) is as a fact used in the Greek of the Apocrypha in connexions where the thought is just that of the clemency of a king, induced to pardon. See _e.g._ 2 Macc. v. 20, where the English Version reads, "the great Lord _being reconciled_ (ἐν τῇ καταλλαγῇ τοῦ μεγάλου Δεσπότου) [the temple] was set up." So 2 Macc. i. 5, where we have the prayer (English Version), "God be _at one_ with you," καταλλαγείη ὑμῖν. Thus no elaborate distinction can safely be drawn between the two sets of compounds. And there is no place in the N. T. where the meaning, _conciliation of an offended party_, would not well suit καταλλάσσεσθαι, etc. The present passage (Rom. v. 10, 11) would be practically meaningless otherwise. The whole thought is of the divine mercy, providing a way for accepting grace. To "_receive_ τὴν καταλλαγὴν" is a phrase which, by its very form as well as its connexion, points to the thought not of reluctance overcome but mercy found.
The word "_atonement_" (A.V., ver. 11) needs remark. It seems certain that its derivation is "at-one-ment" (See Skeat, _Etymol. Dict._, s.v.), though an etymological connexion with _ver-söhnen_, (Dutch, _ver-zoenen_) has been maintained (see Hofmeyr, _The Blessed Life_, p. 25). But as Trench remarks, (_Synonyms of the N. T._, s.v. καταλλαγὴ,) the usage of English has now long attached the idea of _propitiation_ (ἱλασμὸς) to the word "_atonement_"; which should therefore be avoided as a rendering for καταλλαγή.
[63] Ἐκ πίστως: "_out of faith_." The phrase has often met us in the Greek before. It calls for various renderings in various contexts; that given above seems best to paraphrase it here.
[64] See detached note, p. 140, for an account of the various reading here, ἔχωμεν εἰρήνην, "_Let us_ have peace."
[65] Ἐσχήκαμεν: "_we have had_," "_we have got_."
[66] Καυχᾶσθαι, καύχησις: see above ii. 23, iii. 27, iv. 2.
[67] Ὑπομονὴ is more than "_patience_." By usage it implies "patience _in action_"; "_perseverance_."
[68] It is quite possible, of course, to explain ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Θεοῦ, grammatically, to mean "_our love to God_." And some, more mystically, explain it of God's faculty of love conveyed to us that we, with it, may love Him. But the following context, especially ver. 8, is clearly against such expositions. Verses 6-11 are in fact an explanation of the thought of ver. 5.
[69] The writer ventures to refer to his Commentary on Ephesians in _The Cambridge Bible_.
[70] Observe the aorist form of the participle.
[71] Ὑπὲρ is literally "_over_," and in itself imports simply "_concern with_"; as when we say that a man is busy "over" an important matter; as it were stooping over it, attending to it. Its special references depend altogether upon context and usage. _In itself_ it neither teaches nor denies the doctrine of a vicarious and substitutionary work; ἀητὶ is the preposition which guarantees as true that great aspect of the Lord's death. But ὑπὲρ of course amply allows for such an _application_ of its meaning, where the context suggests the idea.
[72] We incline more than formerly, though still with some doubt, to see a rising climax here, as indicated in the paraphrase, from δίκαιος to ὁ ἀγαθός.
[73] On the meaning of καταλλαγή see detached note, p. 141.