Faith of Christ (2:16, 20)

Says πίστις (Abbott-Smith: “faith, belief, trust, confidence”) is joined to a genitive three times: in 2:16 διὰ πίστεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ (dia pisteōs Iēsou Christou) and ἐκ πίστεως Χριστοῦ (ek pisteōs Christou), and in 2:20 ἐν πίστει ζῶ τῇ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ (en pistei zō tē tou huiou tou theou), where the article τῇ ties the genitive to πίστει. Between the two in 2:16 the verb takes εἰς: εἰς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐπιστεύσαμεν.

Says As grammar, the genitive after πίστις admits more than one reading; the BSB renders it “faith in” each time (“by faith in Jesus Christ”; “by faith in the Son of God”).

Uncertain Burton (p. 121) holds that it should “be taken as an objective genitive, expressing substantially the same relation to πίστις which is expressed after the verb by εἰς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν”. Wesley (p. 495) glosses the phrase “by faith in him”, and Lightfoot (p. 114), in paraphrase, speaks of “that faith in Jesus Christ was the only means of justification”. No lean is taken here.

Says See the notes on Romans 3:22 and 3:22–26.