Fidelity:
“Abraham trusted God, and it was
credited to him as justness.” (3:6)
Blessing: “In
you all the nations will be blessed.” (3:8-9)
Curse:
“Cursed is everyone . . .” (3:10)
Justification: “No one justified by Torah” (3:11a)
Life:
“The just one from fidelity will live”
(3:11b)
Torah/Infidelity:
“The Torah is not from fidelity, but .
. .” (3:12a)
Life:
“He who does these things will live by
them” (3:12b)
Redemption:
“Messiah redeemed us from the curse of
the Torah” (3:13a)
Curse: “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (3:13b)
Blessing:
“So that the blessing of Abraham would come to the nations” (3:14a)
Fidelity:
“So that we would receive the promise
of the spirit through fidelity.” (3:14b)
The
point of verse 12 is that although the Torah did not arise from fidelity, it
yet (αλλα) promises life to “the one who does these
things”—that is, “the just one” already mentioned in the quotation of Heb 2:4
in the previous verse. The function of citing Hab 2:4 and Lev 18:5 together is
therefore not that the fidelity spoken of by Habakkuk invalidates the Torah’s
promise of life to the doer, nor that, as some have suggested Paul understands “doing”
as incompatible with “faith.” Instead, as is also the case in Rom 10, the
argument is about the source of justification and deliverance from the
Torah’s curse. Rather than citing Hab 2:4 and Lev 18:5 as a scriptural
contradiction, Paul cites them as concurring witnesses to the messiah to whom
life is promised. Together they provide the witness of the Torah and Prophets
to the resurrection of “the just one,” whose fidelity enabled him to “do these
things” and receive (resurrection) life, resulting in the dispensation of the
spirit to all of God’s people. (Jason A. Staples, Paul and the Resurrection
of Israel: Jews, Former Gentiles, Israelites [Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2024], 260-61)
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