Chiasmus Resources

Citing ancient authors who use the articular substantive adjective a)gaqo&j/ a)gaqo&n in reference to deity, this article proposes that tou~ a)gaqou~in Rom 5.7 designates God while dikai/ou refers to any righteous person. This distinction integrates Rom. 5.7 into an argument a minore ad majus with an ascending series from the ungodly to the righteous person and then to God. The structure of this argument emphasizes the anomaly of the statement in v. 6, which to maintain logical progression should read ‘no one dies for the ungodly’. This verse, however, afŽ rms the contrary, namely that Christ died on behalf of the ungodly. Precisely this anomaly in the logical progression substantiates the commendation of God’s love reiterated in v. 8, which concludes the argument.