“but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”
| Greek Term | Transliteration | Parsing | Theological Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| τὸν εγείραντα | ton egeiranta | Aor. act. ptc., acc. masc. sg. (egeirō) | The one who raised. God the Father is identified by His act of raising Jesus—the resurrection defines God. |
| παρεδόθη | paredothē | Aor. pass. ind., 3rd sg. (paradidōmi) | Was delivered/handed over. Divine passive—God handed Christ over to death (cf. Isa. 53:6, 12). |
| παραπτώματα | paraptōmata | Acc. neut. pl. (paraptōma) | Trespasses, transgressions. The concrete sins for which Christ was handed over to death. |
| ηγέρθη | ēgerthē | Aor. pass. ind., 3rd sg. (egeirō) | Was raised. Again the divine passive—the Father raised Him. The resurrection is for (διά + acc.) our justification. |
| δικαίωσιν | dikaiōsin | Acc. fem. sg. (dikaiōsis) | Justification. A rare noun in the NT (only here and 5:18). The legal declaration of righteousness, grounded in the resurrection. |
Paul has just argued that Abraham’s faith was credited as righteousness (Gen. 15:6) and now extends the principle to New Covenant believers. The object of saving faith is defined as “him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord.” John Murray observes that God is here identified not primarily as Creator or Lawgiver but as the Raiser of Jesus. The resurrection is so central to the identity of God in Paul’s theology that it becomes a defining divine attribute. Charles Hodge notes the parallel with Abraham’s faith in the “God who gives life to the dead” (4:17)—the same resurrection power that quickened Abraham’s body now vindicates Christ and justifies sinners.
This verse is widely recognized as a pre-Pauline creedal formula, likely drawn from early Christian liturgy and echoing Isaiah 53. The structure is chiastic: delivered up / for our trespasses // raised / for our justification.
The verb paredothē (“was delivered up”) echoes the Septuagint of Isaiah 53:12, where the Servant is “delivered up” (paredothē) for the sins of many. Murray insists that the divine passive here points to the Father’s sovereign act: it was God who handed over His own Son (cf. Rom. 8:32). The trespasses (paraptōmata) are the meritorious cause of Christ’s death—He died because of our sins.
The second clause—“raised for our justification”—is the theological crux. The preposition dia with the accusative (dia tēn dikaiōsin hēmōn) is causal: “on account of.” But in what sense was Christ raised “on account of” our justification? Murray argues that the resurrection is the Father’s declaration that the sin-bearing work of the cross was accepted; if Christ had remained in the grave, there would be no evidence that the penalty had been fully satisfied. R.C. Sproul puts it vividly: the resurrection is God’s “receipt” for the payment of our debt.
Thomas Schreiner notes that dikaiōsis is an exceptionally rare word in the New Testament, occurring only here and in Romans 5:18. Its rarity suggests Paul chose it with precision: it denotes the act of justifying, not merely the state. The resurrection is thus inseparable from justification—it is the divine vindication that makes the forensic declaration possible. Lloyd-Jones argued that without the resurrection, we could never know that our sins had truly been dealt with; the empty tomb is the guarantee of the believer’s righteous standing.
Theological Summary: Romans 4:24–25
The resurrection is the ground and evidence of justification. Christ was delivered to death because of our transgressions and raised because of (i.e., to secure and confirm) our justification. The divine passive (ēgerthē) emphasizes the Father’s agency. Without the resurrection, there is no proof that the atonement was accepted. Reformed theology consistently holds that the cross and resurrection are two inseparable moments of one saving act.