Commentary on Romans 3.6–3.7
Latin text: Migne, PG 14 (Latin text: Migne, Patrologia Graeca vol. 14 (1862), transcribed from library-scan OCR of the printed volume).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Chapter 3
3.6PG 14:937a–941b
Scimus autem, quoniam quaecunque lex loquitur, his qui in lege sttnt loquitur, ιιι omne os obstruatur et subditus flat omnis mundus Deo. Propterea ex operibus legis non justillcabitur omnis caro in conspectu Dei. Per legem enim agnitio peccati .» Ρτωτθιὶ sumus in principiis Apostolum in hac Epistola de pluribusilegibus tractaturum, quarum discretio et distinctio nisi per loca singula habeatur, confundere poterit sensum legentis. Igitur etiam itt praesenti loco quod dicitu Scimus autem, quoniam quaecunque lex loquitur, his qui in lege sunt loquitur, diligentius Ι) Moysi intelligere, quae illis sine dubio solis loquitur, quos ex matris utero circumciderit et docuerit, quomodo consequens videbitur quod per hanc legem. quae uuam tantummodo institutis suis contingit gentem, omne os obstruetur, et omnis per eam mundus Deo teneatur obnoxius? Quid enim commune ad hanc legem gentes omnes, quid totus habere mundus credendus est? Quomodo autem et agnitio peccati per legem Moysi fieri dicitur. cum inveniantur plurimi et ante eam agnovisse peccatum suum? Cain denique cum peccasset ita ait : Majns est peccatum meum, quant ut remittatur ,» (tl) Sed ct patriarcha: cum ad loseph descendissent in Egyptum, et simulata ab eo confutatione urgerentur, ita ad alterutrum dicunt : ‹ ln peccatis sumus pro fratre nostro, quia despeximus tribulationem ejus animae cmn rogaret nos , et non exaudivimus eunt :pr0pter hoc venit super nos tribulatio haec ’.i Sed et Job, quem ante legem fuisse constat, ita dicit : Quod et si peccavi invitus, si occultavi peecatum meum, aut confusus sum multitudine populi, quominus annuntiarem delictum meum .» Qui omnes evidenter docentur agnovisse peccatum suum. Ex his ergo colligitur Paulum apostolum non de lege Moysi ltzec dicere, Quia lex his qui in lege sunt loquitur ,» sed de naturali lege quae scripta est in cordibus hominum. Haec ergo lex quaecunque dicit, his qui in lege sunt dicit. 'ln lege autem sunt hi qui id aetatis agunt, quo discretionem boni malique jam capiant. Sine lege vero illi sunt quibus nondum bujusmodi discretionis sensus advenit, secundum quod et Paulus dicit : Ego autem vivebam sine lege aliquando “. δ Secundum hanc ergo legem naturalem consequenter Apostolusdixisse videbitur omne os obstruendum, et omnem mundum obnoxium Dei judicio futurum. Hujus enim legis quae {naturaliter hominibus inest, nullus est expers, neque Iudaeorum , neque gentilium : et ideo consequenter dictum videtur etiam illud, quod iustificetur Deus in verbis suis, et vincat cum iudicatur “. Ut verbi causa dicamus: si requiratur quid Deus homini contulerit, et quid homo ex his quae a Deo accepit operatus sit, judicari cum hominibus Deus videbitur: et invenietur quidem Deus dedisse homini omnes allectus, omnesque motus quibus ad virtutem niti possit et progredi : insuper etiam vim rationis inseruisse , qua agnosceret quid deberet agere, quid cavere. Haec ergo invenitur Deus communiter omnibus hominibus praestitisse. Sed si his acceptis homo neglexerit iter virtutis incedere, cui ex Deo nihil del'uit, invenitur ipse defuisse iis quae a Deo data sunt sibi. Merito ergo dicitur in tali judicio Deus vincere et justificari in verbis suis. Haec ergo lex naturalis loquitur omnibus qui in lege sunt : ex cujus prteceptis soli-mibi immunes fieri videntur infames, quibus nondum inest pravi rectique judicium. Sed bis si etiam illi sociandi sint qui quacunque ex causa impotes sunt mentis, videto. Exceptis vero his nullus hominum mihi elIugere videtur banc legem. Considerandum est autem ne forte non solum homines, sed et angelos, et omnem, quaecunque illa est, rationabilem creaturam lex ‘ ista constringat. Si enim recte a sapientibus definitum est, legem esse quae dictet quod agi debeat, et quod agi non debeat vetet, quomodo non bujusmodi lex etiam supernis et coelestibus ordinibus inserta videbitur; quibus utique et observandi quiddam, 510 et quiddam cavendi disciplina est? Et nisi hac lege tenerentur, nunquam de eis diceret Scriptura divina: Angelos quoque, qui non servaverunt principatum suum, sed dereliquerunt proprium domicilium , Deus adjudicium magni diei aeternis vinculis in tartaro constrictos sub caligine reservavit ". Unde constat inesse eis legem; qua non observata passi sunt haec quae superius Scriptura testata est. Sed et Paulus cum dicit: ε Αη nescitis quia angelosjudicabimus ‘3?» quid aliud nisi sub lege scitesse positos eos quos pronuntiat ad judicium deducendos? Sed si quis nobis occurrat ex eo quod supra diximus Deum esse cum hominibus iudicandum, quasi etiam ipsum ο dicere videamur esse sub lege, audi quanta de hoc cautela in Apostoli Litteris invenitur, qui Christum non in lege esse, sed plenitudinem esse legis commemorat :et sicut ipse est juStitia ex qua omnes justi (lunt, et ipse est veritas ex qua omnes in veritate consistunt, et ipse est vita ex qua omnes vivunt, ita et ipse est lex, ex qua omnes in lege sunt. Venit ergo ad judicium, non tanquam qui in lege sit, sed tanquam qui lex sit. Ego autem puto quod bi qui jam perfecti sunt, et Domino conjuncti unus spiritus cum ipso elfecti sunt ιδ, nec ipsi in lege sunt, sed magis ipsi sunt lex, sicut et alibi idem ' Apostolus dicit : «Quiajusto lex non est posita ’. lta : t Quaecunque lex loquitur iis qui in lege sun loquitur, ut omne os obstruatur, secundum ea ' quae supra diximus, ιιι subditus fiat, vel, ut alibi legimus, tobuoxius fiat omnis mundus Deo “,n quod et magis cum Graecis exemplaribus convenit. Sed requiramus omnem mundum hic quid appellaverit. Nunquidnam putabitur per omnem mundum ita terrenus hic debere intelligi locus, ut et arbores, et lapides, et herbae, ac semina, et palea: quae in ipso sunt, pariter nominata: sint! Partes enim mundi hate esse singula videntur. Non arbitror ita quempiam ineptum inveniri , ut Iret possit asserere. Restat igitur ut omnem mundam omne rationale animal dicat : et sicut omne quod irrationale est, excipitur ab hoc sensu, ita nulla mihi videtur ab bac conditione rationalis creatura secerni. Omnis ergo mundus obnoxius lit Deoper hoc quod legem naturalem inseruit omnibuszde quibus et in alio loco dicit, quia in nomine lese omne genu flectetur ccelestium . terrestriumet inl'ernorum . Quod utique si faciat , complesse videbitur legem; si non faciat, esse obnoxius legi: per legem autem consequenter et Deo. Si cui νέω de solis hominibus boc videbitur dictum , quod et legem naturalem ipsis inesse dixerit, et de Solis ipsis scriptum accipiat : «Ut omne os obstruatur, et obnoxius fiat omnis mundus Deo η, υιεο tur occasione subsequentis sermonis, quo dicit: «Quia ex operibus legis non justilicabitur omnis caro ι’. Quod utique dictum videbitur de his tantum qui in carne sunt positi. Sed qui priorem sensum magis tenere volunt, observabant diligentius quomodo Apostolus dixerit ex operibus legis non justilicari omnem ca‘rnem : quia ad eos qui in carne sunt opera legis spectant ; ad eosrero quiin spiritu sunt, id est superiores ordines ctelestium ministeriorum, sensus pertinet legis. ί Ex operibus igitur legis , quodr non intimabit"; omnis caro in conspectu ejus, hoc modo intelligendum puto : quia omnis qui caro est, et secundum carnem vivit, non potest justilicari ex lege Dei, sicut et alibi dicit idem Apostolus, quia «qui in carne sunt , Deo placere non possunt “ ; item alibi : Quia sapientia carnis inimica est Deo, legi enim Dei non est subjecta :nec enim potest ; et propheta dicit : ε Omnis caro fenum υς et in Evangelio scriptum est: Spiritus est quivivilicat: caro autem non prodest quidquam . De his ergo dicit, quia ex lege Dei non justificabitur omnis caro coram ipso. Sed et hoc quod addidit «coram ipso,» non otiose praetereat, sicut jam frequentius admonuimus, quia aliud est coram Deo Ῑυειίηρπί ν aliud comm hminibus ε hoc esi,“ nobis mundat sunt, hoc est, ad comparationem} hominum mundae habentur et sanctae; ad comparationem vero Dei mundae esse non possunt. «Per legem enim agnitio peccati .» Videamus quomodo per legem fit agnitio peccati. Dum per legem discimus quid agendum sit, quid cavendum, simul et quid peccatum sit, et quid non sit agnoscimus. Non ergo, ut haeretici Deum legis accusant, mala radix estlex, et mala arbor per quam peccati venitagnitio : quia non dixit: Ex lege agnitio peccati,» sed, «per legem,» ut scias non ex ipsa ortum, sed per ipsam agnitum esse peccatum. Ut, verbi gratia , si dicere. ntus:511 Per artem medicinae datur languoris agnitio, nunquidnam videretur tibi causa languoris esse medicina, quia per ipsam qualitas languoris agnoscitur l Sed, sicut constat bonam esse medicinam quze aegritudinis intelligentiam praestat, qua possit vitari infirmitas, ita et lex bona est per quam deprehenditur et agnoscitur peccatum. Serrat antem, ut puto, huiusmodi expositio etiam illius explanationis consequentiam, quam supra edidimus de eo quod scriptum est: ‹ Causati enim sumus Judaos et Graecos omnes sub peccato esse, sicut scriptum est : Quia non est justus quisquam, non est intelligens, non est requirens Deum ".
"Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are in the law, so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may become subject to God. Therefore by the works of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight. For through the law comes the knowledge of sin." We said at the beginning that the Apostle in this Epistle would treat of several laws, and unless their discernment and distinction is kept in each place, it can confuse the reader's understanding. In the present place too, then, where he says, "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are in the law," … if we wish to understand this of the law of Moses, which without doubt speaks only to those whom it circumcised from their mother's womb and taught, how will it seem consistent that through this law, which by its institutions touches only one nation, every mouth will be stopped and the whole world held liable to God through it? For what is to be believed that all the nations, what that the whole world, have in common with this law? And how is the knowledge of sin also said to come about through the law of Moses, when very many are found to have recognized their sin even before it? Cain, indeed, when he had sinned, said thus: "My sin is greater than that it should be forgiven." And the patriarchs too, when they had gone down to Joseph in Egypt and were pressed by his feigned accusation, say thus to one another: "We are in sins concerning our brother, because we despised the distress of his soul when he begged us, and we did not listen to him; for this reason this distress has come upon us." And Job, who certainly lived before the law, says thus: "If I sinned unwillingly, if I hid my sin, or was ashamed before the multitude of the people so as not to declare my offense." All these are clearly shown to have recognized their sin. From these, then, it is gathered that the apostle Paul says this, "The law speaks to those who are in the law," not of the law of Moses but of the natural law that is written in the hearts of men.
Whatever this law says, then, it says to those who are in the law. And those are in the law who are of the age at which they already grasp the discernment of good and evil. But those are without law to whom the sense of such discernment has not yet come, according to what Paul also says: "But I was once living without law." According to this natural law, then, the Apostle will seem to have said consistently that every mouth is to be stopped and the whole world will be liable to the judgment of God. For no one, whether of the Jews or of the Gentiles, is without a share in this law, which is in men by nature; and therefore it also seems consistently said that God is justified in his words and prevails when he is judged. For example, if it is asked what God conferred on man, and what man has done with what he received from God, God will seem to be judged with men; and it will be found that God gave man all the dispositions and all the motions by which he could strive and advance toward virtue, and besides implanted the power of reason, by which he might recognize what he ought to do and what to avoid. God is found, then, to have granted these things to all men in common. But if, having received these, man has neglected to walk the road of virtue, man, to whom nothing was lacking from God, is found to have been lacking to the things that were given him by God. Rightly, then, in such a judgment God is said to prevail and to be justified in his words.
This natural law, then, speaks to all who are in the law; from its precepts only infants seem to me to be exempt, in whom there is not yet the judgment of wrong and right. But see whether those too should be joined to these who for any reason whatever are not in possession of their minds. Apart from these, however, no man seems to me to escape this law. It must be considered, however, whether perhaps this law binds not only men but also angels and every rational creature whatever. For if it has been rightly defined by the wise that law is what dictates what ought to be done and forbids what ought not to be done, how will a law of this kind not be seen to be implanted also in the higher and heavenly orders, for whom there is certainly a discipline of observing some things and avoiding others? And if they were not held by this law, divine Scripture would never say of them: "And the angels who did not keep their own position but left their proper dwelling God has kept under darkness for the judgment of the great day, bound in eternal chains in Tartarus." From this it is clear that there is a law in them, by not observing which they have suffered what Scripture testified above. And when Paul says, "Do you not know that we will judge angels?" what else does he know but that those whom he declares are to be brought to judgment are placed under law?
But if someone objects to us, from what we said above, that God is to be judged with men, as though we seemed to say that he too is under law, hear how great a caution is found on this point in the Apostle's letters, who records that Christ is not in the law but is the fullness of the law; and just as he is justice, from which all are made just, and he is truth, from which all stand in the truth, and he is life, from which all live, so he is also the law, from which all are in the law. He comes to judgment, then, not as one who is in the law but as one who is the law. And I think that those who are already perfect, and, joined to the Lord, have been made one spirit with him, are not themselves in the law either, but rather are themselves law, as the same Apostle says elsewhere: "For the law is not laid down for the righteous."
Thus: "Whatever the law says, it says to those who are in the law, so that every mouth may be stopped," according to what we said above, "and the whole world may become subject," or, as we read elsewhere, "liable, to God," which agrees better with the Greek copies. But let us ask what he has called "the whole world" here. Will it be thought that by "the whole world" this earthly place should be understood in such a way that the trees and stones and plants and seeds and straw that are in it are named along with it? For each of these seems to be part of the world. I do not think anyone will be found so foolish as to be able to assert this. It remains, then, that by "the whole world" he means every rational animal; and just as everything irrational is excluded from this sense, so no rational creature seems to me to be set apart from this condition. The whole world, then, becomes liable to God through the fact that he implanted the natural law in all; of whom he also says in another place that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. If it does this, it will seem to have fulfilled the law; if it does not, to be liable to the law, and through the law consequently to God also.
If it seems to anyone that this was said of men alone, since he said that the natural law is in them, and he takes "so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may become liable to God" as written of them alone, let him use the occasion of the following words, where he says: "For by the works of the law no flesh will be justified"; which will certainly seem to be said only of those who are placed in the flesh. But those who wish to hold rather to the former sense will observe more carefully how the Apostle said that no flesh is justified by the works of the law: because the works of the law concern those who are in the flesh, but the sense of the law pertains to those who are in the spirit, that is, the higher orders of the heavenly ministries. "By the works of the law," then, "no flesh will be justified in his sight": I think this should be understood in this way, that everyone who is flesh and lives according to the flesh cannot be justified by the law of God; as the same Apostle says elsewhere, that "those who are in the flesh cannot please God"; and again elsewhere, that "the wisdom of the flesh is hostile to God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor can it be"; and the prophet says, "All flesh is grass"; and in the Gospel it is written: "It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh is of no use at all." Of these, then, he says that by the law of God no flesh will be justified before him. And let what he added, "before him," not pass idly, as we have already often warned: because to be justified before God is one thing, before men another … are clean to us, that is, in comparison with men they are held clean and holy, but in comparison with God they cannot be clean.
"For through the law comes the knowledge of sin." Let us see how the knowledge of sin comes through the law. While we learn through the law what is to be done and what avoided, we at the same time recognize what sin is and what it is not. The law, then, is not, as the heretics who accuse the God of the law say, an evil root and an evil tree through which the knowledge of sin comes; because he did not say, "From the law comes the knowledge of sin," but "through the law," so that you may know that sin did not arise from it but was recognized through it. For example, if we said, "Through the art of medicine the knowledge of sickness is given," would medicine seem to you to be the cause of the sickness because through it the nature of the sickness is recognized? But just as it is clear that medicine is good, which gives an understanding of illness by which the infirmity can be avoided, so too the law is good, through which sin is detected and recognized. An exposition of this kind, I think, also keeps the consistency of the explanation we gave above of what is written: "For we have charged that Jews and Greeks are all under sin, as it is written: There is no one righteous, there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God."
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Rom 3:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 3:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 4:13 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 42:21 (quotation, high confidence) · Job 31:33 (quotation, high confidence) · Job 31:34 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 2:15 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 7:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 3:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Jude 1:6 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Pet 2:4 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 6:3 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 10:4 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rom 13:10 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Cor 1:30 (allusion, high confidence) · John 14:6 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 6:17 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Tim 1:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Phil 2:10 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 8:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 8:7 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 40:6 (quotation, high confidence) · John 6:63 (quotation, high confidence) · Job 25:5 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 7:17 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rom 3:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 3:10 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 3:11 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The law that 'speaks to those in the law' and brings the knowledge of sin is the natural law given to every rational being, including angels, from the age of discernment; Christ is not under law but is the law, the perfect are a law to themselves, and the law is good because it reveals sin as medicine reveals sickness.
- Rom 3:19–20. Text is lost in the scan in the sentence on being justified "before God" and "before men" (marked …; the missing words probably cited Job 25:5 on the stars that are not clean in God's sight). Lines are also lost near the start of the comment (marked …). "The heretics who accuse the God of the law" are the Marcionites and similar groups. Origen's extension of the natural law to angels is translated as written. "Bound in eternal chains in Tartarus" combines Jude 6 with 2 Pet 2:4.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Migne's footnote references removed): per omnem l7. “‘ vr, "llum. vm, 8. “ ibid. 7. mundum → per omnem mundum.
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Rom. 3.6 (PG 14:937a–941b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-commentarius-romanos/3-6/#p-3-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-commentarius-romanos-3-6) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Rufinus's Latin translation of Origen's lost Greek (Migne PG 14, from the library scan's OCR, slips corrected as logged; lines lost in the scan are marked and noted); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was checked afterwards privately against a modern translation (never quoted or copied); the Latin decides.
3.7PG 14:941b–945b
Nunc autem sine lege iustitia Dei manifestata est, testificata a lege et prophetis. Justitia autem Dei per fidem Jesu Christi in omnes et super omnes qui credunt in eum. Non enim est distinctio. Omnes enim peccaverunt, et egent gloria Dei, Iustiflcati (ἶ gratis estin Christo Jesu ". Quod astruximus in superioribus, dicentes non de lege Moysi dictum, e Quia quaecunque lex loquitur, his qui in lege sunt loquitur“, putabit aliquis non tam vere, quam violenter assertum, cum videat nunc nomen legis non ad natura. sed ad Moysi legem referri : et dicet quod in praesenti loco justitia Dei pronuntietur ab Apostolo uianil'estari per legem, et non solum per legem, sed et per prophetas, ut sine ulla ambiguitate de lege Moysi intelligantur dicta esse quae scripta sunt: ex qua lege iustitia Dei per fidem Christi Jesn manifestetur in omnes qui credunt, sive ex .lndeis, sive ex gentibus venientes, qui tamen non ex operibus iustificenlur, sede: gratia Dei, redemptore eis effecto ipso Iesu Christo ". Haec quidem dicet is qui sensum Apostoli in his quae supra exposuimus, violenter a nobis accusabit inflexum. Sed illud est quod constanter possumus allirmare : quia sicut nos qui haec asserunt putant in hoc sermone Apostoli, auem nunc proposuimus, nihil invenire posse quo astruamns haec non de Moysi, sed de natura: lege conscripta : ita nec illi quidem invenire aliquid poterunt quomodo quae superius dicta sunt, ad Moysi potius, quam ad naturae legem respicere videantur : et idco sicut illis non idcirco priora stabunt, quia videntur posteriora constare, ita nec nobis quidem poterunt prima turbari, si secunda non eodem currere tramite vidcantur. Quid igitur iContraria sibi scribere dicemus Apostolum? Et haec erit egregii explanatoris assertio ε Quod accidere illis solet qui in diversos sectarum sensus utinm lidei dogma disrumpunt, et illa tantum de Scripturis divinis testimonia explorant, quibus proprium dogma constituant, earum vero quae e diverso veniunt Scriptura divinae sententiarum absolutiones ne extremo , ιιι ait Dominus, digito contingunt. Sed qui fideliter et integre sacrorum Voluminum colligit sensum, debet ostendere quomodo ea quae videntur esse contraria, non sunt vere contraria. Tentabimus ergo etiam in praesenti loco ostendere quomodo priori expositioni nosme haec subseqnens non repugnet. Saepe diximus, et evidentius in praefatione diximus, quod ita Apostolus in hac Epistola multarum legum faciat mentionem, ut cum de una ad alteram transit, deprehendi nisi ab intento satis lectore vix possit. Dixerat in superioribus, quia per legem agnitio peccati θείῃ et quia sensit posse scilicet responderi: Ergo si ex lege naturali agnitio peccati est, potest ex ipsa et agnitio esse justitim, secundum illam scilicet quam supra Ἠ medicinae artis imaginem dedimus: ut quemadmodum per illam languor agnoscitur ut sanitas inveniatur, ita etiam per legem naturas si potest agnitio fieri peccati, similiter possit et iustitiae fieri. Hoc ergo cum vidisset posse sibi objici, postquam dixit: Per legem enim agnitio peccati, subiungit: Nunc autem,sine legejustitia Dei manifestata est. Tale est ergo quod dicit : Non sicut per legem agnitio peccati, ita et manifestatio justitiae Dei per legem tit; sed sine lege manilestaturjustitia Dei. Poterat enim natura: lex arguere peccati naturam , et notitiam ejus ostendere : justitia autem Dei super greditur et supereminet hoc quodcunque mens lmmana solis naturalibus sensibus potest rimari. Nuque enim sulIicit ad intelligendam et considerandam non quamcunque humanam, sed ipsam Dei justitiam, et judicia quae ex ipsa descendunt, de quibus dicitur quia sunt ( abyssus multa , et quia tamprofunda sit justitia Dei etjudicia, ut Apostolus dicat: Quam inscrutabilia sunt judicia Dei ξ’ Sed et Sapientia ita ad homines loquitur, quasi non possit justitia Dei natura: solius'motibus sciri, sed per doctrina» studium quaeri ; et ideo dicit: Discite justitiam qui judicatis terram . Quamobrem ad Dei justitiam agnoscendam nihil prorsus opitulabitur lex naturas, etiamsi videatur sentire aliquid de humana justitia. Illa enim lex potest sentire quod inter hominesjustum situt quod in se quis pati non vult, hoc ne proximo faciat . Nunquid naturaliter potest sentire de illa justitia quae dicit : Videte ne faciatisjustitiam vestram coram hominibus ; et, ut nesciat sinislra tua quid faciat dextra tua “‘i Haec et hujusmodi justadictare non potest lex naturae; et ideo dicit Apostolus : Nunc autem sine lege, natura: scilicet, «justitia Dei manifestata est ν’, testimonium habens legis Moysi etprophetarum, in quibus sanctus Spiritus multa per figuras et aenigmata de justitia Dei scripserat. Et nolo mireris quod unum vocabulum legis secundo in eodem loco positum diversa significet. Invenimus hanc esse Scriptura: consuetudinem et in aliis locis : ut ibi z Nonne vos dicitis,quia adhuc quatuor menses sunt ut veniat messis ?Elevate oculos vestros, et videte regiones, quia albae sunt ad messem. Nonne et hoc loco messis secundo nominata, primo ad corporalem messem refertur, secundo ad spiritalem ? Et iterum in Evangelio cum dicit ad Samaritauam mulierem Salvator, Da mihi bibere ”, et post responsura ejus iterum dicit ad eam : ς Si scires quis est qui dicit tibi : Da mihi bibere; tu utique petisses eum, et dedis- α set tibi aquam vivam. Ει iterum addidit ad eam : Omnis qui bibit ex aqua hac, sitiet iterum; qui autem biberit ex aqua quant ego do ei, non sitiet in aeternum . Vides quomodo et bibere , et aqua, nunc quidem corporaliter, nunc autem spiritaliter in uno eodemque accipitur loco? Est et illic similiter positum, tibi caecus a nativitate curatur δι. Post hoc dicit Salvator : In judicium ego veni in hunc mundum, ut qui non vident videant, et qui vident caeci liant“.r Nonne etiam hic et videre , et non videre nunc corporaliter , nunc spiritaliter intelligitur? Ita ergo etiam in hoc loco Apostolus cum sine lege dicit justitiam Dei manifestari, natura: lex intelligitur; cum vero dicit : Testificata a lege et prophetis, Moysi legem designat. Quod si adhuc tibi minus planum putatur esse quod diximus,addemus etiam haec : Si enim videtur quod eadem lex sit de qua dicitur : σ Nunc autem sine lege justitia Dei manifestata est, quae est et illa de qua ait : Testilicata a lege et prophetis ; si quidem sine lege manifestata est, non accipit testimonium legis; si autem ex lege accipit testimonium. non ergo sine lege manifestata est. Quod cum insolubile sit, nec aliqua possit ratione convelli, dicendum est justitiam quidem Dei manifestari a Christo Jesu, praebente ei testimonium non lege natura, quae adhuc est utique exigua et parva; sed ιεεε Moysi ;non ea quae secundum litteram, sed qua secundum spiritum est, de qua idem dicit Apostolus: ‹ Quia lex spiritalis est “. Similiter autem et prophetae per eum qui in ipsis locutus est spiritum Dei.Est praeterea et illa apud Apostolumdehoc sermone, si quis diligentius observet, mira distinctio. Moris est apud Graecos nominibus ἄρθρα νηιponi, quae apud nos possunt articuli nominari. Si _ quando igitur Moysi legem nominat, solitum nomini praemittit articulum ;si quando vero naturalem vult intelligi, sine articulo nominat legem. Et hoc ergo in loco ubi dicit, Nunc sine lege justitia Dei manifestata est, articulum nou habet; in sequenti vero ubi dicit, Testilicata a lege et prophetis,» secundo in loco legem cum articulo posuit. Si ergo suflicienter patuit de legis appellatione diversitas, videamus nunc quaejustitia sine naturali lege manifestatur. ldem apostolus Paulus dicit de Christo. quia factus est nobis sapientia a Deo, etjustitia, et sanctilicatio, et redemptio“. Haec ergo justitia Dei, quae est Christus , manifestatur sine lege quidem naturali, non tamen sine lege Moysi vel prophetis. Dat enim ei testimonium lex sicut et ipse dicit : ‹ Scrutamini Scripturas; ipse sunt qua testimonium reddunt de me “. Nam lex quidem naturalis potest occasiones praebere. et intellectum dare, ut diximus, vel ad ea quae inter homines agi mquitas poscit, vel ad hoc ipsum, ut esse sentiat Deum. De Christo autem quod sit Filius Dei, sentire naturaliter quis potest f ldeo ergo sine hac lege, justitia Det, quae est Christus, manifestata est, testificata ex lege Moysi et prophetis. Verum priusquam ad consequentia properemus, omittenda non videtur ne haec quidem observatio, quod in peccato quidem agnitionem posuit, in justitia vero manifestationetn. σ Omne enim quod manifestatur, lux est“; et si quod manifestatur lux est, peccatum quod lux non est non manifestatur, sed agnoscitur. Ego sic accipio et illud: «Nihil occultum quod non manifestetur, uec opertum quod non reveletur ".i Sed ad propositum revertamur. Lex ergo et pro. pheta: testes sunt justitia: Dei; quae justitia per fidem Jesu Christi manifestatur in omnes credentes. in quibus nulla est distinctio, utrum ex Juitais. an ex gentibus credant. Vide autem quia manilestands iustitia Dei (’68) non unam posuit causam tantummodo fidei, sed et legem sociat et prophetas, quia neque fides sola sine lege et prophetis manifestat justitiam Dei, neque rursus lex et prophetae sine fide : alterum ergo haeret ex altero , ut sit ex utroque perfectio. Nulla, inquit, distinctio est inter Judzeos et Gnécos, cum constet ex aequo omnes sub peccato factos esse, sicut supra claruit, et nunc justitiam Dei,legis et prophetarum testimoniis fultam, per fidem Jesu Christi ex aequo omnibus datam. Ex eo quod omnes sub peccato facti fuerant, alieni sine dubio effecti sunt etiam a gloria Dei, quod eam nec sapere ullo genere poterant, nec mereri. Quomodo enim peccator auderet dare gloriam Deo, ad quem _ dicit Propheta : Peccatori autem dixit Deus: Quare tu enarras justitias usus“? Et iterum alia Scriptura dicit : Non est speciosa laus Dei in or peccatoris “. Idcirco iustitia Del per fidem Jesu Christi ad omnes perveniens qui credunt, sive Judaei sint, sive Gmci, purgatos eos a prioribus sceleribus justificat, et capaces facit gloria: Dei : et hoc non ex meritis eorum, nec pro operibus facit, sed gratis gloriam credentibus praestat. Per redemptionem, inquit, quae est in Christo Iesu. s Vidcamus attentius quid sibi velit redemptio qua est in Christo Jesu. Redemptio dicitur id quod datur hostibus pro his quos in captivitate detinent, ut cos restituant pristina: libertati. Detinebatur ergo apud hostes humani generis captivitas peccato tauquam bello superata: venit Filius Dei qui factus est nobis s non solum sapientia a Deo, et iustitia, el sanctificatio, sed et redemptio “ : s et senietipsum dedit redemptionem, id est semetipsum liostibus tradidit, ac sitientibus eis suum sanguinem fudit : et haec est credentibus facta redemptio, sicut et Petrus in Epistola sua scribit, dicens : Quia non corruptibili argento vel auro redempti estis, sed pretioso sanguine unigeniti Filii Dei ἰζ s Hoc fortassis et Salomon sub mysterio designabat, dicens: Redemptio animae viri propriae divitia tius ". s Si enim requiras quae sint animm propria». divitiae. invenies sapientiam divitias ejus esse, et justitiam, et sanctificationetuJiaec autem omnia Christum esse dicit Apostolus . Christus ergo‘est animae divitiae, et ideo ipse est redemptio ejus. Nam
"But now without the law the righteousness of God has been manifested, witnessed by the law and the prophets; the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ unto all and upon all who believe in him. For there is no distinction; for all have sinned and lack the glory of God, being justified freely in Christ Jesus." What we established above, saying that "whatever the law says, it says to those who are in the law" was not said of the law of Moses, someone will think asserted not so much truly as forcibly, when he sees that the name of law is now referred not to nature but to the law of Moses; and he will say that in the present place the Apostle declares the righteousness of God to be manifested through the law, and not only through the law but also through the prophets, so that what is written must be understood without any ambiguity to be said of the law of Moses; from which law the righteousness of God through faith in Christ Jesus is manifested unto all who believe, whether they come from the Jews or from the Gentiles, who yet are justified not by works but by the grace of God, Jesus Christ himself having been made their redeemer. This, indeed, is what will be said by one who will accuse us of having forcibly bent the Apostle's meaning in what we explained above.
But this is what we can firmly affirm: that just as those who assert this think that we can find nothing in this word of the Apostle which we have now set forth by which to establish that these things were written not of the law of Moses but of the law of nature, so neither will they be able to find anything by which what was said above may seem to look to the law of Moses rather than to the law of nature. And therefore, just as the earlier statements will not stand for them because the later ones seem consistent, so neither will the first be disturbed for us if the second do not seem to run along the same path. What then? Shall we say that the Apostle writes things contrary to each other? And will this be the assertion of a distinguished expositor? This is what usually happens to those who break up the one doctrine of faith into the different senses of sects, and seek out from the divine Scriptures only those testimonies by which to establish their own doctrine, while the resolutions of the sayings of divine Scripture that come from the opposite side they do not touch, as the Lord says, even with their fingertip. But one who gathers the sense of the sacred volumes faithfully and wholly must show how the things that seem contrary are not truly contrary.
We will try, then, in the present place too to show how this subsequent passage does not conflict with our earlier exposition. We have often said, and said more clearly in the preface, that in this Epistle the Apostle makes mention of many laws in such a way that when he passes from one to another it can hardly be detected except by a very attentive reader. He had said above that "through the law comes the knowledge of sin"; and since he perceived that the answer could be made: "Then if the knowledge of sin is from the natural law, the knowledge of righteousness too can be from it," according to the image of the medical art that we gave above, so that just as through it sickness is recognized in order that health may be found, so too through the law of nature, if the knowledge of sin can come about, the knowledge of righteousness can likewise come about: when he saw that this could be objected to him, after he said, "For through the law comes the knowledge of sin," he adds: "But now without the law the righteousness of God has been manifested." What he says, then, is this: "The manifestation of the righteousness of God does not come about through the law in the way that the knowledge of sin comes through the law; but the righteousness of God is manifested without the law." For the law of nature could convict the nature of sin and show the knowledge of it; but the righteousness of God surpasses and towers above whatever the human mind can search out by natural perceptions alone. For it is not sufficient for understanding and contemplating, not just any human righteousness, but the very righteousness of God and the judgments that descend from it, of which it is said that they are "a great deep," and that the righteousness and judgments of God are so profound that the Apostle says: "How unsearchable are the judgments of God!" And Wisdom too speaks to men as though the righteousness of God could not be known by the motions of nature alone but must be sought through the study of teaching; and therefore she says: "Learn righteousness, you who judge the earth."
For recognizing the righteousness of God, then, the law of nature will help not at all, even if it seems to perceive something of human righteousness. For that law can perceive what is just among men: that what one does not want to suffer oneself one should not do to one's neighbor. Can it by nature perceive that righteousness which says: "See that you do not do your righteousness before men," and "Let your left hand not know what your right hand is doing"? The law of nature cannot dictate these and similar righteous things; and therefore the Apostle says: "But now without the law," that is, of nature, "the righteousness of God has been manifested," having the testimony of the law of Moses and of the prophets, in which the Holy Spirit had written many things about the righteousness of God through figures and riddles.
And do not be surprised that one word, "law," placed twice in the same place, signifies different things. We find that this is the custom of Scripture in other places too; as there: "Do you not say that there are still four months before the harvest comes? Lift up your eyes and see the fields, for they are white for harvest." Here too, is not harvest, named twice, referred first to the bodily harvest and second to the spiritual? And again in the Gospel, when the Savior says to the Samaritan woman, "Give me a drink," and after her answer says to her again: "If you knew who it is who says to you, Give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water"; and again he added to her: "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I give him will not thirst for ever." Do you see how both "drink" and "water" are taken now bodily, now spiritually, in one and the same place? It is set down similarly there too where the man blind from birth is healed. After this the Savior says: "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind." Is not here too both seeing and not seeing understood now bodily, now spiritually? So too in this place, then, when the Apostle says that the righteousness of God is manifested without the law, the law of nature is understood; but when he says, "witnessed by the law and the prophets," he designates the law of Moses.
And if what we have said is still thought less than plain to you, we will add this too. If it seems that the law of which it is said, "But now without the law the righteousness of God has been manifested," is the same as that of which he says, "witnessed by the law and the prophets": if indeed it has been manifested without the law, it does not receive the testimony of the law; but if it receives testimony from the law, then it has not been manifested without the law. Since this is insoluble and cannot be overthrown by any reasoning, it must be said that the righteousness of God is manifested by Christ Jesus, the law of nature, which is surely still small and slight, not bearing witness to it, but the law of Moses: not that which is according to the letter, but that which is according to the spirit, of which the same Apostle says that "the law is spiritual"; and likewise the prophets, through the Spirit of God who spoke in them. There is besides, if anyone observes carefully, a remarkable distinction in the Apostle concerning this word. It is the custom among the Greeks to set before nouns arthra, which among us can be called articles. Whenever, then, he names the law of Moses, he sets the usual article before the noun; but whenever he wishes the natural law to be understood, he names law without the article. And so in this place too, where he says, "Now without the law the righteousness of God has been manifested," it has no article; but in what follows, where he says, "witnessed by the law and the prophets," in the second place he put "law" with the article.
If, then, the difference in the term "law" has become sufficiently clear, let us now see what righteousness is manifested without the natural law. The same apostle Paul says of Christ that he has become for us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. This righteousness of God, then, which is Christ, is manifested without the natural law, yet not without the law of Moses and the prophets. For the law gives testimony to him, as he himself also says: "Search the Scriptures; they are what bear witness to me." For the natural law can provide occasions and give understanding, as we said, either for the things that equity demands be done among men, or for this very thing, that one perceive that God exists. But can anyone perceive by nature that Christ is the Son of God? Therefore without this law the righteousness of God, which is Christ, has been manifested, witnessed by the law of Moses and the prophets.
But before we hasten to what follows, not even this observation seems to be omitted: that with sin he set "knowledge," but with righteousness "manifestation." "For everything that is made manifest is light"; and if what is made manifest is light, sin, which is not light, is not made manifest but recognized. I take in this way also the saying: "Nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor covered that will not be revealed." But let us return to our subject. The law and the prophets, then, are witnesses of the righteousness of God; and this righteousness is manifested through faith in Jesus Christ unto all who believe, among whom there is no distinction, whether they believe from the Jews or from the Gentiles. But see that for manifesting the righteousness of God he did not set down faith alone as the one cause, but joins also the law and the prophets; because neither does faith alone without the law and the prophets manifest the righteousness of God, nor again the law and the prophets without faith: each therefore depends on the other, so that perfection comes from both.
There is no distinction, he says, between Jews and Greeks, since it is clear that all alike have been made under sin, as became clear above, and that now the righteousness of God, supported by the testimonies of the law and the prophets, is given to all alike through faith in Jesus Christ. From the fact that all had been made under sin, they had without doubt also become strangers to the glory of God, since they could in no way either perceive it or deserve it. For how would a sinner dare to give glory to God, to whom the prophet says: "But to the sinner God said: Why do you recount my righteous deeds?" And again another Scripture says: "Praise of God is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner." Therefore the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, reaching to all who believe, whether Jews or Greeks, justifies them, cleansed from their former crimes, and makes them capable of the glory of God; and it does this not from their merits nor for their works, but grants glory to believers freely.
"Through the redemption," he says, "which is in Christ Jesus." Let us see more attentively what the redemption which is in Christ Jesus means. Redemption is the name for what is given to enemies for those whom they hold in captivity, so that they may restore them to their former freedom. The human race, then, was held captive among its enemies, overcome by sin as in war. The Son of God came, who has become for us not only wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification, but also redemption; and he gave himself as a redemption, that is, he handed himself over to the enemies and poured out his blood for them as they thirsted; and this has become redemption for believers, as Peter too writes in his epistle, saying: "For you were redeemed not with corruptible silver or gold, but with the precious blood of the only-begotten Son of God." This perhaps Solomon too was signifying as a mystery when he said: "The redemption of a man's soul is his own riches." For if you ask what the soul's own riches are, you will find that its riches are wisdom and righteousness and sanctification; and the Apostle says that Christ is all these. Christ, then, is the soul's riches, and therefore he himself is its redemption. For …
Rom 3:21 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 3:22 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 3:23 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 3:24 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 3:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Titus 3:5 (allusion, medium confidence) · Titus 3:7 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 23:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 3:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 36:6 (35:7 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 11:33 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 7:12 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 6:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 6:3 (quotation, high confidence) · John 4:35 (quotation, high confidence) · John 4:7 (quotation, high confidence) · John 4:10 (quotation, high confidence) · John 4:13 (quotation, high confidence) · John 4:14 (quotation, high confidence) · John 9:1 (allusion, high confidence) · John 9:39 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 7:14 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 1:30 (quotation, high confidence) · John 5:39 (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 5:13 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 8:17 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 50:16 (49:16 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Tim 2:6 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Pet 1:18 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Pet 1:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Prov 13:8 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The 'righteousness of God manifested without the law' is Christ, revealed apart from natural law but witnessed by the spiritual sense of Moses and the prophets (Paul marks the law of Moses with the article); faith and the Scriptures together reveal it, and all, Jew and Gentile, are justified freely through the redemption of Christ's blood.
- Rom 3:21–24. Origen's remark on the Greek article (Paul writes "law" with the article for the law of Moses, without it for the natural law) is translated as written. "Justifies them ... not from their merits nor for their works, but grants glory to believers freely" is translated exactly. The redemption price paid to the enemies ("he handed himself over to the enemies") is Origen's image. The section breaks off in mid-sentence ("Nam"); the commentary continues in 3.8. "Learn righteousness, you who judge the earth" is Wis 1:1 (in the Latin form "Diligite/Discite iustitiam").
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Migne's footnote references removed): Matth. xxttt, 4. ’ ibid. l9. " Tit. ιιι, 5-7. justitia → justitia.
Extrabiblical texts: Wis 1:1 (Wisdom of Solomon [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; quotation); Sir 15:9 (Sirach [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; quotation)
Topics: Christology, Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Rom. 3.7 (PG 14:941b–945b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-commentarius-romanos/3-6/#p-3-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Rufinus's Latin translation of Origen's lost Greek (Migne PG 14, from the library scan's OCR, slips corrected as logged; lines lost in the scan are marked and noted); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was checked afterwards privately against a modern translation (never quoted or copied); the Latin decides.