Romans 1:17

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“For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

What does “from faith to faith” mean? How can one go from “having faith” to “having faith”?

Rom 1:16 explains that God’s overall Plan involves calling the Jew first, and then Gentiles. The Jews first demonstrated faith (end of Rom 1:16). Then, Acts 10:2 records the first Gentile who was converted, thus developing faith (end of Rom. 1:17).

Also, in a second application, there is another kind of human faith that all people have at certain times in their lives—but this faith must eventually be replaced by the permanent faith that only comes by the Spirit of God in converted minds (Gal. 5:21-22; 2:16).

Remember that Christ healed many people and praised their faith as He did. Consider that none of these people had the Holy Spirit. But they did have human faith! Finally, it does take human faith to even believe that we will be forgiven by Christ’s sacrifice, that God has called us, and that we will receive His Spirit, because all of this belief is expressed prior to baptism. After conversion, we live by the faith of Christ in us.