Verses 1-7
THE INSCRIPTION, INTRODUCTION, AND FUNDAMENTAL THEME
THE APOSTLESHIP OF PAUL, APPOINTED FOR THE GLORY OF THE NAME OF GOD THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST, AND FOR THE REVELATION OF THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD FOR FAITH IN ALL THE WORLD, AMONG THE JEWS AND GENTILES, AND ESPECIALLY ALSO IN ROMEIInscription and Salutation
TO THE Romans
1Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,3 called to be an apostle [a called, chosen apostle, κλητὸς ], separated [set apart, ἀφωρισμένος] unto the gospel of God 2(Which he had promised afore [which he promised beforehand, προεπηγγείλατο] by [through] his prophets in the holy Scriptures4) [omit parenthesis], 3Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord [omit here the words:Jesus Christ our Lord, and transfer them to the close of Romans 1:4], which [who] was made [born5] of [from, 4ἐκ] the seed of David according to the flesh; And [omit And] declared to be [who was installed]6 the Son of God with [in] power,7 according to the Spirit of holiness, by [from, ἐξ]8 the resurrection from [of] the dead9 [—Jesus Christ our 5Lord]: By [through] whom we have received [we received] grace and apostleship, for [unto, εἰς, i.e., for the purpose of, with a view to, in order to bring about] obedience to the faith [of faith]10 among all [the] nations, for his name [name’s sake]: 6Among whom are ye also the called [, the chosen ones] of Jesus Christ:11 7To all that be in Rome,12 beloved of God [To all the beloved of God who are in Rome], called to be [chosen] saints: [.]13
Grace to you,14 and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
First Section.—Inscription and greeting.—Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an Apostle, set apart for the Gospel of God.—His gospel in harmony with the Old Testament (of the Jews): A gospel of Christ, who, in His human nature and His historical pedigree, is the Son of David; but who, in His spiritual glory, appears as the principle of the resurrection of the dead, and as the one appointed to be the Son of God in power (majesty). By this glorified Christ the Apostle has received his Christian and apostolic call, for the purpose of calling all nations to obedience to the faith.—All the believers in Rome belong to this totality. He accordingly greets the Christians in Rome with the apostolic salutation.
[General Remarks on the Apostolic Salutations.—On the grammatical structure of the two sentences, Romans 1:1-7, see textual note 12to Romans 1:7. St. Paul opens his Epistles with his name and official title, by which he challenges respectful attention to his inspired teaching, and with the assurance of his brotherly regard and love for the readers, by which he wins their affections. The ancient epistolary style unites in a brief inscription what we now distinguish as address, greeting, and subscription. Paul combines the heathen and the Hebrew form of salutation, and inspires both with a deep Christian meaning.
The Greek and Roman epistolary inscription contained simply the name of the writer in the nominative, and the name of the receiver in the dative (e.g., Πλἀτων Διονυσἰω, Cicero Attico), frequently with the addition of the wish for health and prosperity, by the words εὖ πρἀττειν, more usually χαίρειν, or χαίρειν λέγεν, satutem, or salutem dicit. This form we find in the New Testament three times: once in the heathen sense, in the letter of Lysias to the Roman governor Felix, Acts 23:26 (Κλαὐδιος Λυσίας τῶ ... Φήλικι χαίρειν), and twice in the Christian sense, namely in the circular letter of the Apostolic Council of Jerusalem, which was probably written by James, Acts 15:23 (οἱ ... τοῖς ... ἀδελφοῖς τοῖς ἐξ ἐθνῶν χαίρειν), and in the Epistle of James, Romans 1:1 (Ἰἀκωβος ... ταῖς δώδεκα φυλαῖς ... χαίρειν).15 From 2 John, Romans 1:10 (χαίρειν αὐτῶ μὴ λέγετε), it appears that Greek Christians were in the habit of greeting one another with the usual χαῖρε (Vulg., ave, comp. Matthew 26:49; Matthew 27:29; Matthew 28:9; Mark 15:18; Luke 1:28; John 19:3). But the heathen formula, as implying a prayer to the gods, had in it a taint of idolatry, or, at all events, it referred only to temporal prosperity, and had to give way before long to a change in accordance with Christian feeling.
The Hebrew (and Arabic) form of salutation is שָׁלוֹם, εἰρήνη, Peace, or שָׁלוֹם לְךָ, LXX., εἰρήνη σοι, Peace be with you; comp. Genesis 29:6; Genesis 43:23; Exodus 18:7; Judges 6:23; 1 Samuel 10:4; Daniel 10:19 : Luke 10:5-6, &c. (With the later Jews the usual formula was יישׁר). The risen Saviour greeted thus the assembled disciples, John 20:19; John 20:26, bringing the true peace of the soul with God, which He, the Prince of Peace, had bought by His atoning death and triumphant resurrection (comp. John 14:27; John 16:33; Matthew 10:12-13).
Combining the Græco-Roman inscription and the Hebrew salutation, we would have this form: “Paul to the Romans. Health and peace be with you.”
But Paul transforms the Greek χαίρειν and the Hebrew shalom from the prevailing idea of physical health and temporal comfort, into the deep meaning of the saving grace and peace of God in Christ, and comprehends in the two words χάρις and εἰρήνη the richest blessings of the gospel; χάρις being the objective cause of the Christian salvation, and ειρήνη its subjective effect in the soul of man. At the same time, there is, no doubt, a reference in this epistolary greeting to the Mosaic, or rather Aaronic benediction, Numbers 6:25-26 : “The Lord make His grace shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee (וִיחֻנּךָּ, from חָנַן, gratiosus fuit, hence חֵן, χάρις), the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace (שָׁלוֹם, LXX., εἰρήνην).” We find this salutatory grace and peace not only in the Epistles of Paul, but also in those of Peter and of John in the Apocalypse. In the Pastoral Epistles, 1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2, and Titus 1:4 (text, rec.), Paul, with reference probably to the Greek version of the Aaronic benediction, Numbers 6:25 (ἐλεήσει σε for וִיחֻנֶּךָּ), adds to the prayer for grace and peace that of mercy (ἔλεος), which ministers of the gospel need more than any other class of men. This threefold blessing, corresponding to the threefold Aaronic benediction, we find also in 2 John 3.16
In the Epistle to the Romans, where Paul, contrary to his habit, addressed a congregation which he had not founded, or even visited, he amplifies the Græco-Hebrew inscription and salutation still more, and inserts parenthetically some of the fundamental doctrinal ideas of the Epistle, as suggested by the mention of “the gospel of God,” namely: (1) The connection of the gospel with the Old Testament revelation, Romans 1:2; (2) the divine-human nature of Christ, who is the subject of that gospel, Romans 1:3-4; (3) his call to the apostleship of all the Gentiles by Christ, which gives him a right to address himself also to the Romans, Romans 1:5. In the richness of this salutation we see the overflowing fulness of Paul’s mind, and the importance he attached to this Epistle. Calvin: Epistola tota sic methodica est, ut ipsum quoque exordium ad rationem artis compositum sit.—P. S.]17
Romans 1:1.—Paul.—Saul as Paul, i.e., the Small, in opposition and contrast to Bar-Jesus, Elymas the Sorcerer of Cyprus, Acts 13:8. [Saul and Paul. Paulos is the Hellenistic, Paulus the Latin form for the Hebrew Saul, though differing from it in meaning. It was chosen as the nearest allusive and alliterative equivalent, and as a name already familiar to the Greeks; while Saul, as a proper name, was unknown to them. The name Saul—the most distinguished name in the genealogy of the tribe of Benjamin, to which Paul belonged (Romans 11:1; Philippians 3:5; comp. Acts 13:21)—the Apostle used among the Jews, the name Paul among the Gentiles, and in the later part of his life exclusively. The Jews and early Christians often had two names, either similar in sound and identical in meaning, as Silas and Silvanus (the former occurring uniformly in the Acts thirteen times, the latter four times in the Epistles), Lucas and Lucanus18 (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon 1:24); or similar in sound but different in meaning, as Jesus and Justus (Colossians 4:11), Saul and Paul, Hillel and Pollio; or different in sound but identical in meaning, as Cephas (Hebrew) and Peter (Greek); or different both in sound and meaning, as Jacob and Israel, Simon and Peter, Bartholomew and Nathanael, John and Mark (Acts 12:12; Acts 12:25), Simeon and Niger (Romans 13:1), Barsabas and Justus (i. 23). It is possible that the Apostle Paul, as a Roman citizen, received this name in early youth in Tarsus (Lightfoot), or inherited it from some ancestor, who may have adopted it in becoming a freedman, or in acquiring the Roman citizenship; Paul being the well-known cognomen of several distinguished Roman families, as the gens Æmilia, Fabia, Julia, Sergia, &c. It is more probable, however, that he chose the name himself after he entered upon his labors among the Gentiles, as a part of his missionary policy to become a Greek to the Greeks, in order to gain them more readily to Christ (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). At all events, the name Paul is first mentioned during his first great missionary journey, when he, taking henceforth precedence of Barnabas in words and in acts, struck Elymas the sorcerer with blindness, and converted Sergius Paulus, the pro-consul of Cyprus, to the Christian faith (Acts 13:8). After this striking fact, he is uniformly called Paul in the latter chapters of the Acts, and in all the Epistles. But we have no right, for this reason, to infer (with Jerome, Olshausen, Meyer, Ewald, and others) that the name Paul was a memorial of the conversion of Sergius Paulus as his first-fruit. For (1) he may have converted many Jews and Gentiles before that time; (2) pupils are called after their teachers and benefactors, and not vice versâ; (3) Luke gives no intimation to that effect, and connects the name Paul, not with that of the proconsul of Cyprus (Romans 13:7; Romans 13:12), but with that of Elymas the sorcerer (Romans 1:8). The last circumstance favors the ingenious hypothesis of Dr. Lange, that the name expresses the symbolical significance of the victory of Paul, the small man of God, over Elymas, the mighty magician of the devil, as a New Testament counterpart of the victory of David over Goliath, or of Moses over the sorcerers of Egypt. Dr. Lange, however, admits the probability that Paul had his Roman name before this occasion. At all events, the change of name has nothing whatever to do with his conversion; and all allegorical interpretations of Chrysostom, Augustine, Wordsworth, and others, which go on this assumption, are merely pious fancies, which are sufficiently refuted by the fact that the Apostle is repeatedly called Saul long after his conversion, as in Acts 9:25; Acts 9:30; Acts 12:25; Acts 13:1-2; Acts 13:7; Acts 13:9; and that it is said of Saul in one passage (Romans 13:9), that he was “filled with the Holy Ghost.”—P. S.]19
A servant of Jesus Christ.—עֶבֶר יְהוָֹה. This is not merely the general designation of the pious man (Fritzsche: Christi cultor, Ephesians 6:6), but the designation of his office (Tholuck); 1 Corinthians 4:1; Philippians 1:1; James 1:1. Reiche: The word implies unlimited obedience. Schott: “δοῦλος denotes the Christian, so far as he, in the discharge of a special Christian calling, surrenders himself completely to God’s will, and excludes his own preference.” Here the Christian call in its universal character is meant, just as it appears in the apostleship, after the absolute service of the one great servant of God, Isaiah 53:0. Nevertheless, there is no tautology in the addition: called to be an apostle. Calvin: Apostolatus ministerii est species. The same office, related to Christ, makes the δοῦλος, in the absolute sense (comp. Isaiah 53:0.); but, related to the world, it makes the ἀπόστολος. [A servant, literally bondsman (δοῦλος, from δέω, to bind), denotes generally, like the corresponding Hebrew עֶבֶד יְהוָֹה, a relation of dependence on God, and cheerful obedience to His will. Paul glories in this service, which is perfect freedom. The more we feel bound by the authority of Christ, the more we are free from the bondage of men. Deo servire vera libertas est (Augustine). In a wide sense, the term applies to all believers, who are both children and servants of God (Isaiah 65:13; Daniel 3:26; Romans 6:22; Romans 14:4; Ephesians 6:6; 1 Corinthians 7:22; 1 Peter 2:16; Revelation 19:2; Revelation 19:5); in a special and emphatic sense, it is used of the chosen office-bearers in the kingdom of God, as Moses, the prophets, and kings in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 34:5; Joshua 1:1; Isaiah 49:5; Jeremiah 25:4), and the ministers of the gospel in the New, particularly the apostles (so here; Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:1; Colossians 4:12; James 1:1; 2 Peter 1:1; Revelation 1:1). Hodge: “Servant is a general official designation, of which, in the present case, apostle is the specific explanation.” Paul “rejects all human authority in matters of faith and duty, and yet professes the most absolute subjection of conscience and reason to the authority of Jesus Christ.” Wordsworth: “Other men, in the beginning of their epistles, especially those which they addressed to the Roman people, recited their own titles as rulers, kings, or conquerors; but the apostles claim to be heard as δοῦλον, bondsmen, bondsmen of Jesus Christ.” Comp., however, my annotation on ἀπόστολος, which is a title of dignity and authority.—P. S.]—Jesus Christ. That is, Jesus is the Christ. Dealing with the Roman Christians, the Apostle had no ground for saying the reverse: Christ Jesus, i.e., The Christ is Jesus.
Called to be an apostle.—As he had had to defend his call before the Corinthians and Galatians on account of opponents, he does it here because he was not yet personally known to the Roman Church. [Called; chosen, appointed, not self-called, but called by Christ, in opposition to an arbitrary self-constituted authority (αὐτό–κλητος, self-appointed), and called directly by Christ, without the intervention of church authority, comp. Galatians 1:1 : “Not of men (ἀπ̓ ἀνθρώπων), nor by any man (δἰ ), but by Jesus Christ,” &c. The word refers to the historical call, not to the eternal election. Calvin: Neque enim iis assentior, qui eam de qua loquitur vocationem ad eternam Dei electionem referunt.—P. S.] The expression, apostle, has here its widest significance. Christ, the Risen One, has called him; he is therefore, in the most positive sense, a witness of His resurrection, and this implies the apostolic witness of the whole of His miraculous person and work. [Apostle is a title of dignity, signifying the highest order of servant; every apostle being a servant of Christ, but not every servant an apostle of Christ. The one brings out the dependence of Paul on Christ, the other his authority over the congregations, and the latter is conditioned by the former. The term apostle may designate, etymologically, any delegate, commissioner, or missionary, but more particularly, as here, and in most passages, a chosen eye and ear witness of the life of Christ, who was personally instructed and selected by Him for the work of laying the foundation of the Christian Church, and teaching her through all subsequent generations. The apostles were inspired messengers of Christ, not to a particular charge, but to the whole world. The term is therefore generally restricted to the twelve (Luke 6:13), and to Paul, who was likewise directly called by the Lord (Galatians 1:1; Galatians 1:12; Acts 9:15; Acts 26:17). The sudden call of the persecuting Paul to the apostleship of the Gentiles corresponds to the sudden call of the Gentiles to Christianity, just as the gradual instruction of the Jewish apostles accords with the long training of the Jewish nation for the gospel.—P. S.]
Separated, set apart.—Not equal to chosen of God (De Wette), nor to appointed by the Church (with reference to Acts 13:2; Olshausen),20 but directed to and appointed for this particular calling, through the whole providential course of his life (comp. Galatians 1:15). An ἀφορίζεσθαι first took place with him [at his birth, comp. Galatians 1:15 : ὁ , καὶ καλέσας, κ.τ.λ.; then.—P. S.] when he was sent from Tarsus to Jerusalem [?]; a second [third], at his conversion and retreat into Arabia; and a third [fourth], at his special appointment as the Apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 13:2 ff.; Galatians 2:0.). The biblical ὁρίζειν must be distinguished from προγινὠκειν or ἐκλέγεσθαι as well as from καλεῖν; it denotes the Divine determination of the historical career of the man (see Acts 17:26). [Meyer refers ἀφωρισμένος to the historical call at Damascus, and compares σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς, Acts 9:15; Acts 26:16 ff. The word is an explanation of κλητὸς , and gives us the additional idea of destination. It implies that Paul was selected from the world, singled out, consecrated to, and destined for the gospel service, at the time of his conversion. It refers to the Divine appointment for the apostolic office in general, while ἀφορίσατε, in Acts 13:2, refers to a special mission, ἀφορὶζειν, like καλεῖν, looks to the historical call, προορίζειν to the eternal decree, but the former is only an execution in time or actualization of the latter.—P. S.]
Unto the gospel of God.—That is, not the gospel having God for its object (Chrysostom), but the gospel given by God (2 Corinthians 11:7) for promulgation. [It is the genitive, not of the object, but of origin and possession; God’s gospel, whose author is God, and whose theme is Christ and His salvation by free grace; comp. Romans 1:3-4; Romans 15:16; 1 Thessalonians 2:2; 1 Thessalonians 2:8-9.—P. S.] Gospel.21 Without the article.22 According to De Wette and Schott, it is here not the internal matter or contents of the gospel, but the εὐαγγελίζεσθαι. [De Wette: zur Verkündigung des Evangeliums.—P. S.] Tholuck, on the contrary: “Εὐαγγέλιον does not stand for the infinitive εὐαγγελίζεσθαι, as we learn from the relative ὅ, but it is only an indefinite method of expression, as 2 Corinthians 2:12; 2 Corinthians 10:14.” We would say, rather, that it is the concrete method of expression, implying that the knowledge of salvation cannot be without preaching, and preaching cannot be without the matter of the gospel.
Romans 1:2. Which He promised before by His prophets in the holy Scriptures.—[So that God stood pledged, as it were, to reveal the gospel.] The second verse must not be read, with Beza [and the authorized English version, which often closely follows Beza], as parenthesis. The same expression occurs, 2 Corinthians 9:5 [τἡν προεπηγγελμένην εὐλογίαν ὑμῶν, your bounty before promised.—P. S.] The mention of the Old Testament promise of the gospel must not only authenticate the Apostle to the Jewish Christians, but it must also enforce the gospel for the Gentile Christians. This preceding promise lay specifically in the Messianic passages (De Wette); and, at the same time, according to the New Testament view, in the meaning of the whole of the Old Testament, which promised the universal Pauline gospel (see Romans 10:0.). The expression γραφαί, without the article, does not denote passages of Scripture (Dr. Paulus [Meyer] ), but γραφαί ἅγιαι has become, according to De Wette, a nomen proprium.23 [The second verse teaches that the gospel is no abrupt innovation or afterthought, but the forethought of God, the fulfilment of His promise, and “the desire of all nations.” This harmony of the New and Old Dispensations should be a convincing proof of the Divine origin of Christianity, not only to the Jews, who already believe in the Old Testament, and need only be convinced that Jesus of Nazareth was really the promised Messiah, but also to the heathen, who well know that it is the exclusive prerogative of God to foresee and prearrange the future. In this view, Christianity is the oldest as well as the latest religion, going back to the first promise in Paradise, and even beyond the beginning of time, to the eternal counsel of God. Augustine says: “The New Testament is concealed in the Old; the Old Testament is revealed in the New.” By his prophets, is not to be confined, of course, to the sixteen prophetical books, but extends to the whole Old Testament Scriptures, as far as they contain the gospel, from the promise of the serpent-bruiser, Gen. 3:25, to Malachi 4:2. In fact, the entire Scripture is one organic system of prophecies and types bearing testimony to Christ; John 5:39.—P. S.]
Romans 1:3. Concerning his Son.—This refers to εὐαγγέλιον, gospel, Romans 1:1; Romans 1:24 and not to promised, Romans 1:2, as Tholuck, Meyer [Alford, Hodge], and others would have it. For the question further on is concerning the gospel in its complete New Testament development, and not merely in its Old Testament outline. Meyer says that the connection of περὶ with εὐαγγέλιον [instead of the gen. objecti] does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. But it must be noticed that here the act of preaching the gospel of evangelization is connected with the gospel itself. Besides, the parenthesis has its influence upon the expression.
Romans 1:3-4. Who was born, &c.—The words from γενομένου to νεκρῶν (Romans 1:3-4) are not an abrupt parenthesis (according to Griesbach and Knapp), but part of the sentence.25 They characterize the Son of God, not according to the antithesis of the human and divine nature of Christ in itself, but according to the revelation of this antithesis in the national Old Testament limitation, and in the universal New Testament expansion and elevation of the person of Christ to heavenly majesty, in accordance with the analogy of Philippians 2:6. Yet that ontological antithesis is reflected in this historical antithesis. The historical Christ has a double genealogy and history, which is represented in the following analogies and antitheses:
γενόμενος
ἐκ σπέρματος Δαυείδ
κατὰ σάρκα
ὁρισθεὶς υἱὀς θεοῦ ἐν δυνάμει
ἐξ
κατὰ πνεῦμα ἁγιωσὺνης.
[This antithetic parallelism, already hinted at by Bengel, is also brought out by Forbes (Analyt. Com., p. 97), and may be more clearly and fully set forth in this way:
“Concerning His Son,Who was born [Son of Man in weakness]from the seed of David,as to the flesh,Who was installed Son of God in powerfrom the resurrection of the dead,as to the Spirit of holiness,—Even Jesus Christ our Lord.”—P. S.]The γενόμενος denotes not merely the being born, but, in a wider sense, the genealogical procession from the seed of David (see Matthew 1:1 ff.). [The house of David represented the flower of the Jewish nation, and foreshadowed the kingdom of Christ. That the Messiah was to proceed from this royal family, was predicted in the Old Testament, Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5; Psalms 132:11; and generally expected by the Jews, Matthew 22:42; John 7:42; Acts 13:23. Meyer, without good reason, confines ἐκ σπέρματος Δαυείδ to the male line of descent, and refers both genealogies of Matthew and Luke to Joseph; Melanchthon, on the contrary, identifies ex sem ne David with ex virgine Maria; and Wordsworth infers from the words that Mary, as well as Joseph, was of the lineage of David. Comp. Com. on the genealogies in Matthew 1:0. and Luke 3:0. Alford: “The words ἐκ σπέρματος Δ. cast a hint back at the promise just spoken of. At the same time, in so solemn an enunciation of the dignity of the Son of God, they serve to show that, even according to the human side, His descent had been fixed in the line of him who was Israel’s anointed and greatest king.”—P. S.]
In distinction from this appearance of Christ in human nature, the idea of the exalted Christ is expressed by the words, ὁρισθεὶς υἱός θεοῦ ἐν δυνάμει, established as Son of God in power. The attempt to analyze and divide this one conception (for example, in Luther’s German translation) has obscured the passage very much. The Son of God, in distinction from His Old Testament origin, is absolutely destined (ὡρισμἑνος, Acts 10:42) to be the Son of God in majesty, or in the majestic exercise of his power (see Philippians 2:6 ff.) The ὁρίζειν of God constitutes the central point of all kindred conceptions—of the ὁροθεσίαι, Acts 17:26; of the προορίζειν, Romans 8:29; and of the ἀφορίζειν, Galatians 1:15. It expresses here God’s absolute determination or establishment concerning Christ as the centre of all the historical developments of the new world, the Head of all things (Matthew 28:18; Ephesians 1:20 ff.). The expression refers not to the Son of God as such simply, but to the Son of God as exalted to heavenly majesty. As such, He is ὀρισθείς, not merely προορισθείς, prœdestinatus (Ambrose, Augustine,26 Vulgate, &c., according to the Greek fathers, and the gloss προορισθέντος). But as He is the γενόμενος έκ σπέρματος Δαυείδ, his descent from David being the human and historical antecedence for his higher dignity; so is He ὁρισθεὶς υἱός θεοῦ ἐξ . The ἐκ, according to the analogy of ἐκ σπέρματος, cannot merely mean since the resurrection, or through (by) the resurrection, but it indicates the origin: out of the resurrection. The σπέρμα Δαυείδ is the whole genealogy, or “the root of Jesse” (Romans 15:12), as it became manifest by the birth from the Virgin. Thus, likewise, the resurrection is not merely the fact of the resurrection of Christ, but with the fact of the resurrection there are brought to light the strength and root of the resurrection of the dead in the world, (Ephesians 1:19 ff.). It is in accordance with this that Christ can say: “I am the resurrection and the life.” Deep in the heart of the first world—for which Christ is the first-born of every creature (πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως, Colossians 1:15)—there is at work the power, proceeding from the Logos, of a new world (Romans 8:23), for which Christ is the first-born from the dead (πρωτότοκος ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, Colossians 1:18). And this world of the resurrection, which became manifest in His personal resurrection, continues now to operate dynamically, and will continue to do so until the flower of the new world appears in the first resurrection of the elect (1 Corinthians 15:23), and the fruit in the last general resurrection. The Apostle therefore means here the power of the resurrection as the christological principle of life in the world, which has become manifest by the resurrection of Christ, and acts and works as the historical principle of the universal resurrection of the dead. Christ arose from his death and resurrection as the fixed and established, or instituted Son of God in power. (Comp. the Messianic passage, Psalms 2:0.: “This day have I begotten Thee;” which denotes the very day of the seditious rebellion against the Messiah as the grand day of his glorification). The destination which Christ had from the beginning, became inauguration or institution at His resurrection. The ὁριο̈θείς therefore, does not merely mean “shown,” “declaratively established” (Meyer, according to Chrysostom, δειχθέντος);27 the ἐκ does not mean merely since or after (Theodoret, Erasmus, and others); and the ἀνάστασις νεκρῶν does not mean merely ἀνάστασις ἐκ νεκρῶν. And Philippi, following Melanchthon, and others, has very properly connected the ἐν δυνάμει with υἱοῦ θεοῦ, and did not follow Luther, Meyer, and others in connecting it with ὁρισθέντος. Meyer has therefore no ground for opposing the explanation of Bengel—that our resurrection is comprehended in Christ’s resurrection—by remarking that the term the resurrection from the dead is only the general expression of the category.
In the third antithesis, κατὰ σάρκα, “according to the flesh,” means the fleshly or physical origin of Christ, but not according to the first conception of σάρξ, i.e., the sensuous, susceptible, vital fulness of corporeity, as distinct from and subjected to the spirit, or, in a more general sense, the “earthly man,” ἄνθρωπος χοϊκός (1 Corinthians 15:47; Genesis 2:0). Still less has flesh here the second meaning, viz., sinful sensuousness and susceptibility, as opposed to the spirit, and without it; or, in the more general sense, the “natural man,” ἄνθρωπος ψυχικός (John 3:6; 1 Corinthians 2:14). But σάρξ has here its third meaning, and expresses the physical human nature under the influence of the spirit (John 1:13; John 6:51), yet in historical relations, or man in his historical finiteness, limitation, and qualification (Galatians 4:4). For Christ’s incarnation, and the growth of His physical nature, evidently involved no opposition to the “Spirit of holiness,” but took place under its consecrating influence.
[Flesh (σάρξ, בָּשָׂר) is here, and in all the passages where it is used of the incarnation (Romans 9:5; 1 Timothy 3:16; John 1:14; 1 John 4:2), a strong Hebraizing term for human nature, with the implied idea, perhaps, of weakness and frailty, though not necessarily of sin (somewhat analogous to the occasional use of the German der Sterbliche, and the English mortal, for man). It is as correct to say: Christ became man (Menschwerdung), as to say: Christ became flesh (incarnatio, incarnation, Fleischwerdung), but the latter expression is more emphatic; it exhibits more strongly the condescension of Christ, the identity of His nature with our own, and the universalness of His manhood. The word σάρξ, therefore, when applied to Christ, must not be understood in an Apollinarian sense, as if Christ merely assumed a human body with the animal soul, but not the rational soul, whose place was supplied by the divine Logos. It implies the entire human constitution, body, soul, and spirit, sin only excepted, which does not originally and necessarily belong to man. It is not the flesh, as opposed to the spirit, that is here intended, but the human, as distinct from the divine. The flesh, as an organized system of life, is the outward tabernacle and the visible representative of the whole man to our senses. The σάρξ of Christ was the seat of a human ψυχή, with its affections, and of a human νοῦς or πνεῦμα, with its intelligence (comp. Matthew 27:50; John 11:33; John 19:30), but not of the ἁμαρτία. He was subject to temptation, or temptable (Hebrews 2:18; Hebrews 4:15), but neither σαρκικός (Romans 7:14), nor ψυχικός (1 Corinthians 2:14). He appeared not “in the flesh of sin,” but only “in the likeness of the flesh of sin” (Romans 8:2). At the same time, the limitation, κατὰ σάρκα, plainly implies the divine nature of Christ. “Were He a mere man,” says Hodge, “it had been enough to say that He was of the seed of David; but as He is more than man, it was necessary to limit His descent from David to His human nature.”—P. S.]
Romans 1:4. According to the Spirit of holiness, κατὰ πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης.—We accept, with Bengel, against Tholuck, that the ἁγιωσύνη is certainly distinguished from the ἁγιότης—just as sanctimonia is from sanctitas—in expressing the operation of the Spirit, though in a more comprehensive relation. This is the Spirit of God, who, as the sanctifying Spirit in the world, constitutes the complete opposition and counteraction to the entire corruption of sin; who was first the cause of the holy birth of Christ, and then of His resurrection; and who now proceeds from the glorified Christ as the principle of the sanctification of humanity and the world. Bengel: Ante resurrectionem latebat sub carne Spiritus; post resurrectionem carnem penitus abscondit Spiritus sanctimoniœ.28 We accept this statement in a wider sense. From the divina natura of Christ as sanctificationis omnis causa (Melanchthon, Calov, [Bengel, Olshausen], and others), we must distinguish the expression so far as it does not denote the individual, but the universal vital principle of the new birth of humanity. And we must distinguish it from the Holy Spirit, the πνεῦμα ἅγιον (Chrysostom, and most commentators; see Meyer),29 so far as it denotes this principle, not merely according to its complete New Testament revelation, but also according to the Old Testament preparation of the divine-human life. But we must not make the distinction so that the πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης will represent the difference between the absolute communication of the Spirit to Christ and the relative operation of the πνεῦμα ἅγιον (Tholuck, Baur). We shall be secure against confounding the ideas, πυεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης, λόγος or εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ (Rückert, Reiche), if we observe the difference between the universal and individual divine principle of life in revelation. This difference is most decidedly ignored by Baur, when he understands by the πνεῦμα ἁγ. the Messianic Spirit. When Clemens Romanus, Ephesians 2:0., terms Christ the first Spirit,30 he means the individual designation of the divine nature of Christ, yet according to its universal relation, just as the spirit of a man is the individual himself, but according to his universal relation.
[Κατὰ πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης is evidently the antithesis or counterpart of κατὰ σάρκα, and as σάρξ here means the human nature of Christ, πνεῦμα must mean His divine nature, which is all Spirit, and intrinsically holy. ἁγιωσύνης is the genitive of qualification, showing that holiness is the essential characteristic of Christ’s Spirit, and yet it distinguishes this from the πνεῦμα ἅγιον, which is the technical designation of the third person of the Trinity. Comp. John 4:24 : “God (i.e., the divine being or nature which the three persons of the Trinity have in common) is Spirit;” 2 Corinthians 3:17, where Christ Himself is called “the Spirit;” 1 Timothy 3:16 : “justified in Spirit” (ἐν πνεὺματι); Hebrews 9:14 : “Who with an eternal Spirit (διά πνεύματος αἰωνίου) offered Himself without spot to God;” and 1 Peter 3:18, where a somewhat similar distinction is made between the flesh and the spirit, or the human and divine nature of Christ: “Being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit,” although this passage is not exactly parallel. Meyer takes πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης to mean the ἔσω ἄνθρωπος, the whole inner life of Christ, which was elevated above all purely human spirits, filled with the Spirit of God, sinless and perfect. De Wette: “The spiritual side of the life of Christ, yet with the attribute of holiness partly as a quiescent quality, partly as an efficacious power emanating from it.” Substitute for this: “The Divine side of Christ’s person with the essential characteristic of holiness,” &c., and we can adopt this explanation. If flesh means the whole human nature, it implies a human spirit, but not the πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης, which is essentially Divine.—P. S.]
Of Jesus Christ our Lord.—[Ἰησοῦ Χρισ τοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν, Romans 1:4, in apposition with τοῦ υἱοῦ θεοῦ, anticipated in the E. V. Romans 1:3]. This expresses the relation of the exalted Son of God to the Apostle and the Roman Christians as the ground and bond of their union. They together accepted Jesus as the Christ of God, and served Him as their common Master. [Alford: “Having given this description of the person and dignity of the Son of God, very man and very God, he now identifies this divine person with Jesus Christ, the Lord and Master of Christians—the historical object of their faith, and (see words following) the Appointer of himself to the apostolic office.” De Wette: “ ’̓Ιησ Χρ. bezeichnet den Sohn Gottes als historisch-kirchliche Erscheinung.” So Tholuck, Philippi. Jesus is the personal, Christ the official name; the former expresses His true character and mission and relation to the world, the latter His connection with the Old Testament and the promise of God. Jesus, i.e., Saviour, was the Hebrew name, announced by the angel before His birth, Matthew 1:25; Luke 1:31, and given at His circumcision, Luke 2:21; Christ, the Greek equivalent for the Hebrew Messiah, i.e., the Anointed, exhibits Him as the fulfiller of all the prophecies and types of the Old Testament, as the divinely promised and anointed Prophet, Priest, and King of Israel, who had for ages been the desire of all nations and the hope of all believers. Lord is here, and often, applied to Christ in the same sense in which the Septuagint uses κύριος for the Hebrew אֲדוֹנָי and יְהוָֹה. See the Lexica. Christ is so called as the supreme Lord of the New Dispensation, or the sovereign Head of Christendom, to whom all believers owe allegiance and obedience.—P. S.]
Romans 1:5. Through whom we received.—After stating the common relation of believers to Christ, there follows the account of the special relation of the Apostle to Him. It is plain that neither Romans 1:5 nor Romans 1:6 can be parenthetical; but here is prepared the whole treatment of the Epistle on the relation between the call of the Apostle and the call of the church at Rome. δἰ οὖ. Christ is the personal means of communicating his call on God’s part [or the mediatorial agent in conferring grace from God to man, comp. Galatians 1:1; 1 Corinthians 1:9.—P. S.]. ἐλάβομεν (received) denotes not only the free divine gift, but also the living religious and moral appropriation by faith. It is plain that the plural here has reference to the call of Paul alone (not to the apostles in general, according to Bengel), from the following signature of his apostleship, by which he is the Apostle to the Gentiles.31
Grace [in general] and apostleship [in particular.—P. S.]. Grace, as the operative call to salvation and to the full experience of salvation in justification, is the preliminary condition for every Christian office, and, above all, to the apostleship. The grand unfolding of his apostleship was therefore preceded by an extraordinary degree of grace [in his conversion]. The explanation, χάριν , grace of apos leship (Hendiadys, so Chrysostom, Beza, Philippi, and others), obliterates the force of that preliminary condition;32 but when the grace is regarded merely as pardoning grace (Augustine, Calvin), the fundamental part is mistaken for the whole. Thus, also, the extraordinary apostolic gifts (χαρίσματα) to which Theodoret, Luther, and others refer χάριν, presuppose grace (χάρις) already. Meyer understands the expression to mean Divine grace in general; that is, the translation into the communion of the beloved of God.
Unto obedience of faith [εἰς ὑπακοὴν πίστεως, zum Glaubensgehorsam, comp. Romans 16:26.—P. S.]. That is, for the purpose of establishing obedience to the faith. The εἰς denotes not merely the purpose, but also the operation of the apostleship;—an instance of Pauline conciseness. It may be asked here, whether the genitive πίστεως indicates the object, or must be read as apposition: the faith which consists in obedience [to the Word and Will of Christ.—P. S.].33 But this question is limited by the second, whether πίστις can stand in the objective sense as fides quæ creditur [quod credendum est, doctrina Christiana.—P. S.]? Meyer denies this, and asserts that πίστις, in the New Testament, is constantly subjective faith [fides qua creditur, fides credens.—P. S.], though it is often made objective, as here, and is regarded a power, or controlling principle.34 But this would give us the idea of obedience toward the faithful. The obedience here meant is either identical with faith (the obedience which consists in faith, according to Theophylact, Calvin35 ), or it is obedience to faith in its objective form. The latter interpretation is supported by the expressions ὑπακοὴ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, 2 Corinthians 10:5 [ὑπακοἠ τῆς , 1 Peter 1:22], and particularly Acts 6:7 [“a great company of priests ὑπήκουον τῇ πίστει, became obedient to the faith,” comp. Romans 10:16 : ὑπήκουσαν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ.—P. S.]. Comp. 1 Peter 1:2; 1 Peter 1:14. But this πίστις cannot mean only doctrina fidei. Even obedience to the gospel (Romans 10:16) does not express the most definite form of the objective πίστις: this is Christ Himself. An Epistle, sent to Rome by the ambassador of a Lord and King, who declared himself appointed to call all the peoples of the Roman Empire to obedience or allegiance, must have been planned in full consciousness of the antithesis, as well as of the analogy, between the earthly Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Christ. Therefore the Apostle expresses the analogy when he characterizes himself as an ambassador who appeals to the nations to be obedient to his Lord. But the antithesis lies in his denoting this obedience as an obedience to the faith. We must admit that the idea of the subjective faith also has here a good sense in itself. Faith is not at all arbitrary, but an obligatory obedience incumbent upon the inmost soul and conscience; yet its obedience is not slavish, but the joyous act of free faith, as it is assensus and fiducia. And if we accept this, the expression would be an oxymoron, like the expression: law of the Spirit. But since the question is concerning a characterization of the apostleship, the fuller idea must be expected: obedience toward the object of faith, especially as the freedom of faith is thereby also declared. Even the Christian’s hope can be used in an objective sense (Colossians 1:5).
Among all the nations (ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν).—Since this expression constitutes one definition with the preceding, it is an improper alternative to refer it either to ἐλάβ. (Beza) or to εἰς ὑπακ. πίστεως (Meyer [Hodge]). We translate here, among all the nations (with Rückert, Reiche, Baur); not among all Gentiles (Tholuck, Meyer), because, from the following salutation, the Jews are included in the designation, and because it is in harmony with the purpose of the whole Epistle to establish a united congregation from among Jews and Gentiles. With this view, the subordinate idea of heathen nations is immediately introduced, yet not clearly before Romans 1:13-14, &c. [Hodge: “The apostles were not diocesans, restricted in jurisdiction to a particular territory. Their commission was general. It was to all nations,”—yet with an amicable division of the immense field of labor; comp. Galatians 2:9; Romans 15:20; 2 Corinthians 10:16.—P. S.]
For the sake of his name.—(See Acts 5:41). Not for “the good” of His name; nor for the glorifying of the same (Meyer), which would have been expressed in the form of a doxology,36 but for the spread of His name (Philippians 2:10). Therefore the words are not an addition, but an explanatory parallel to the expression, “for obedience to the faith” &c., and relate, in common with this, to the antecedent. His name is the object of the faith to which the nations should render obedience in His name.
Romans 1:6. Among whom are ye also.—We place here a comma, and read the words, the called, the chosen ones of Jesus Christ, as an address (with Rückert, Philippi, &c.); but not, among whom are ye also called of Jesus Christ (with Lachmann, Meyer [Alford], and others). For the principal weight rests on the thought, that the Roman Christians were included in the totality of nations to which the Apostle was sent. He did not need to say first to them that they were the called of Jesus Christ. Thus we have the beautiful antithesis: I am the chosen Apostle for all nations: you are the chosen believers in the midst of all nations: we are therefore directed toward each other.
The called of Jesus Christ.—Not, whom Christ has called (Luther, Rückert, and others); but who, as the called [by the accepted call of God through the gospel], belong to and are subject to Him (the genitive of possession; Erasmus [Calvin, De Wette], Meyer, and others).37 Paul refers the call (through Christ) to God (Romans 8:30, &c.; see Meyer). The Apostle seems, by this address, to anticipate the salutation itself; but the address must prepare the way for the salutation by the reminder that he can salute them as pertaining to him. [Hodge: “Οἱ κληψοί, the called, means the effectually called; those who are so called by God as to be made obedient to the call. Hence the κλητοὶ are opposed to those who receive and disregard the outward call. … Hence, too, κλητοὶ and ἐκλεκτοὶ are of nearly the same import; κατἁ πρόθεσιν κλητοί, Romans 8:28; comp. Romans 9:11; 1 Corinthians 1:26-27. We accordingly find κλητοί used as a familiar designation of believers.” This is not quite correct. κλητοί and ἐκλεκτοί (a paronomasia in Greek, like the German erwählt and auserwählt) are clearly distinguished, Matthew 20:16; Matthew 22:14 : πολλοὶ γὰρ εἰσιν κλητοὶ, ὀλἱγοι δἑ ἐκλεκτοὶ, many are called, but few chosen; in the last passage they are even put in antithesis. All the members of the visible Church are κλητοί, though they may ultimately be lost; but only the members of the invisible Church, or the true believers, are ἐκλεκτοὶ, or κλητοὶ κατὰ πρόθεσιν (Romans 8:28). Comp. the notes on Matthew 20:16, in vol. i. p. 352 and 354 f.—P. S.]
Romans 1:7. To all that are in Rome.—The address and the salutation.38 The Epistle is addressed to all Christians in Rome. Residence in Rome and connection with the body of Roman Christians are certainly presupposed (see Romans 1:8). But the Roman Christians are saluted according to the condition of things, as an incipient church not yet fully organized, but destined to become so—an end to which this very Epistle was directed. The Apostle expresses himself otherwise in the Epistles to the Corinthians, Galatians, and Thessalonians. There he salutes the Christians as a church, or churches. [The Christians residing at Rome, whether born there or not, are viewed as one community, however imperfectly they may have been organized at the time; but they no doubt worshipped in different parts of the city, and were thus divided into various domestic congregations, ἐκκλησίαι κατ̓ οἶκον, Romans 16:5. The population of the city of Rome at the time of Christ is variously estimated from one to two millions. In his earliest five epistles, Paul addresses himself τῆ ἐκκλησίᾳ, κ. τ. λ.; in all the others, τοῖς ἁγίοις.—P. S.]
Beloved of God, called to be saints.—The root of their Christian faith is, that they know themselves beloved of God by the experience of His reconciliation; the goal and crown of their Christian faith is holiness. But they are not merely called to be saints (De Wette). As truly called, they are actually saints first in this sense: that, according to the analogy of theocratic holiness, they are separated from the ungodly world and consecrated to God; secondly, in the sense that Christ dwells in them as the principle of increasing holiness, and that they are characterized according to the ruling principle of their new life (1 Corinthians 7:14). This general designation does not imply that the Apostle could say it of every individual, still less that he should ascribe to individuals a personal holiness of life. [κλητοί has the same relation to ἅγιοι as κλητός has to ἀπόστολος, in Romans 1:1, and expresses the vocation of the Roman Christians to holiness, which is both an actual possession as to principle, and a moral aim to be realized more and more by daily growth in Christ.—P. S.]
Grace to you and peace.—The Greek καίρειν (Acts 15:23; James 1:1), and the Hebrew שָׁלוֹס לָכֶּם, are here reflected unitedly in the infinitely richer Christian salutation. The grace which, as the cause of peace, has its source in God and Christ; the peace, as the operation of this cause, which becomes the source of new life in believers. The more definite Christian conception is destroyed if we substitute (with Meyer, against Olshausen, Philippi, and many others) salvation instead of peace, and kindness instead of grace. [Grace and peace are related to each other as cause and effect, and constitute the chief blessings of Christianity, embracing all that we need. The profound Christian meaning of χάρις—the redeeming love of God in Christ—and of εἰρήνη—the peace with God by the redemption—compared with the ordinary meaning of the Greek καίρειν and the Hebrew shalom, affords a striking example of the transforming power which the genius of Christianity exercised over ancient language and custom. See the General Remarks on p. 57.—P. S.]
From God our Father.—The expression of the specifically Christian consciousness of God. The experience of pardon through Christ produces the consciousness of the υἱοθεσία (sonship, adoption) as a result.
And [from] the Lord.—[Κυρίου Ἰ. Χρ. is not dependent on Πατρός and parallel with ἡμῶν, but is ruled by ἀπο and is coördinate with Θεοῦ πατρός. God is nowhere called “our and Christ’s Father,” and Christ never addresses God “our,” but “My Father,” owing to His peculiar relationship which is rooted in the ὁμοουσία, or equality of essence. This frequent coördination of Christ with the Father, as equally the object of prayer and the source of spiritual blessing, implies the recognition of the divinity of Christ. No Hebrew monotheist could thus associate, without blasphemy, the eternal Jehovah with a mere man. So also Philippi, Hodge, and others.—P. S.] Not of the Lord (Erasmus, Glöckler). Nevertheless, we would not read, with Meyer: καὶ , and not merely view Christ as causa medians, in distinction from the Father, as the causa principalis. For the dominion of the exalted Saviour must be distinguished from the mediatorship of Christ as causa medians. [God the Father is the author, Christ the mediator and procurer, the Holy Spirit the applier or imparter, of grace and peace. The Spirit takes them from Christ and shows them to the believer (comp. John 16:14). The latter may be the reason why the Holy Spirit is not especially mentioned in the epistolary salutations, except 2 Corinthians 13:13-14; 1 Peter 1:2.—P. S.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The Epistle of the Apostle to the Romans on the righteousness of faith is still in a special sense a new message to the Romans, and a witness against Romanists. [It connects admirably with the concluding verses of the Acts, Acts 28:30-31, as a specimen of Paul’s preaching in Rome, and to the Romans.—P. S.]
2. The significance of the Epistle to the Romans: (1.) As the first of the New Testament Epistles; (2) in the group of the Pauline Epistles; (3) as an original record of the missionary activity of the Apostle, and as an example for evangelical missions; (4) as the central point of the Christian doctrine of salvation, and thus as the starting-point of the Western (Latin) Church, and especially of the Protestant Evangelical Church (see the Introduction).
3. The epistolary inscription of ancient writers contrasted with the subscription of recent ones. The former characterizes the Epistle as a substitute for personal intercourse; the latter has become an independent form of personal communication. Frankness predominates in the former, courtesy in the latter.4. Servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle. The extent of one idea is determined by that of the other.—Gospel of God: glorious unity.—Connection of the Old and New Testaments.—The apostles, unlike the Pharisees, acknowledge no traditions in connection with the Old Testament.—Grace and office must not be separated.—Just as little can we separate the experience of God’s love and the beginning of sanctification.—Neither can grace and peace be separated; nor the paternal authority of God and the authority of Christ.
5. The importance of the inscription of this Epistle. The importance of the salutation. The adaptation of the great Apostle of the Gentiles and of the Christian congregation of the great metropolis to each other. See the Exeg. Notes.
6. The antithesis: Christ born of the seed of David, and appointed the Son of God in majesty and honor (also over the Roman world), is an economical antithesis, at the foundation of which lies the ontological antithesis: that Christ is the temporal Son of David and the eternal Son of God.
7. The resurrection was historically accomplished and essentially finished in Christ. As the ideal and dynamical productive energy of the Logos, its roots and impulse pervade the whole history of the world and of man, and especially the history of the kingdom of God. The same may be said of the Spirit of holiness. See the Exeg. Notes. The Logos lighteth every man that cometh into the world (John 1:9).
8. Paul, as the ambassador of Jesus Christ, the Son of God in regal power, announces to the believers of the imperial city of Rome that it is his business to call the world to obedience to the faith and to subjection to Christ.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
An apostolic salutation: 1. From whom does it come? 2. what is its import? 3. to whom is it addressed? (Romans 1:1-7).—The one gospel of God: 1. Promised by His prophets; 2. fulfilled by His Son (Romans 1:3-4).—The missionary preaching among the Gentiles was a preaching of obedience to the faith for the glorifying of the name of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:5).—Every office is a gift of grace. The servants of Christ must remember this: 1. For their humility; 2. for their elevation and encouragement (Romans 1:5).—How can preachers of the gospel guard against bitterness toward the members of their congregation? By considering that the congregation are: 1. Beloved by God; 2. called by Jesus Christ (Romans 1:7).—Grace and peace: on one side different in manifestation, but, on the other, one in origin.
Luther:—The Spirit of God was given after Christ’s ascension, since which time He sanctifies Christians and glorifies Christ in all the world as the Son of God in power, in word, miracle, and sign (Romans 1:4).
Starke:—The preachers of the gospel must preach both the law and the gospel in their respective order, and especially the gospel (Romans 1:1).—He who does not become a saint on earth, will not be numbered among the saints in heaven (Romans 1:7).
Quesnel:—Every thing that comes to light is not therefore new: the oldest errors are continual novelties, and the newest truths are ever old.
Osiandri Bibl.:—Christ, according to His human nature, is our brother. O great consolation! (Romans 1:3).
Cramer:—Worldly peace is a great treasure, but, after all, it is not sufficient for us. When Christ communicates His peace to us (John 14:27), it is grace in God; and then have we peace with God (Romans 1:7).
Bengel: The Gospel of God is also the Gospel of Christ (Romans 1:1).—Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Romans 1:3-4). This is the ground of all legitimate address of Christ to His Father and God, and of our legitimate address, through Him as our Lord, to His Father and our Father, His God and our God, who hath made us His own. He was Son of God before His humiliation; but His Sonship was veiled during His earthly life, and not fully unveiled till after His resurrection. On this rests His justification, 1Ti 3:16; 1 John 2:1, and this is the ground of our justification, Romans 4:25.
Gerlach:—According to the flesh, the Son of God belonged to the Jews alone. But by the completion of His atonement, through the resurrection, He became the universal King of the human race, Lord of heaven and earth, according to the Spirit which dwelt in Him, and has perfectly pervaded His human nature (Romans 1:3-4).
Heubner:—Prophets and apostles had one calling, one work (Romans 1:2).—The apostolic benediction—of what fulness of spiritual gifts, of what a holy heart, does it give witness! It is grand to express such a wish for a church; it presupposes the personal possession and appreciation of these gifts, but also a serious zeal to apply them to the congregation (Romans 1:7).
Roos:—If the theme of Paul’s preaching had been only virtue, and a supreme Being whom we call God, he would have pleased the Greeks; and if he had preached on a Messiah yet to come, and on the works of the law, the Jews would have been contented with him. But he preached on the Son of God. That was the voice of his gospel (Romans 1:4).
Besser:—The Spirit of holiness is the very force by which Christ has taken away the power of death, and has destroyed mortality, through the triumph of His imperishable life (ver 4).
J. P. Lange:—How Christ exhibits His power as Lord by the Spirit of sanctification: 1. As the Risen One; 2. as the Son of God (Romans 1:1-4).—The same: Like man, like salutation.—The joy with which the Apostle announces the majesty of Christ in imperial Rome: 1. How foolish this joy appeared; 2. how gloriously it was justified; 3. how it must be fulfilled once more.—The internal connection between the power of the resurrection and the Spirit of holiness in Christ.
[Burkitt:—Paul declares: 1. The person from whom he received authority to be an apostle, namely, Christ; 2. how free and undeserved a favor it was; 3. the special duty and office of an apostle; 4. how he puts the Romans in mind of their condition by nature before the gospel was revealed to them and received by them; hence it is the duty of both ministers and people to be mindful of what was their condition by nature.—Why is the Holy Ghost excluded in the salutation of Romans 1:7? He is not excluded, though He be not named; but is necessarily implied in the forementioned gifts. Besides, in other salutations the Holy Ghost is expressly mentioned; 1 Corinthians 13:13, 14.—Henry:—The Apostle describes: 1. The person who writes the Epistle; 2. the gospel itself; 3. the persons to whom it is written; and 4. pronounces the apostolic benediction.—Doddridge:—We are called to partake of the privileges of God’s people; we belong to the society of those who are eminently beloved of God, and who lie under great obligations, as they are called a holy nation, a peculiar people. May we not dishonor the sacred community to which we belong, and may we finally enjoy the important privileges of that state of everlasting glory in which the kingdom of the Son of God shall terminate!—Clarke:—The Apostle invokes upon the Romans all the blessings which can flow from God as the fountain of grace; producing in them all the happiness which a heart filled with the peace of God can possess; all of which are to be communicated to them through the Lord Jesus Christ.—Comprehensive Comm.:—The Christian profession is not a notional knowledge, or a naked assent, or useless disputings; but it is obedience to the faith. The act of faith is the obedience of the understanding to God revealing, and the product of that is the obedience of the will to God commanding.—Barnes:—From Paul’s connecting the Lord Jesus Christ with the Father, we see: 1. That the Apostle regarded Him as the source of grace and peace as really as he did the Father; 2. he introduced them in the same connection, and with reference, to the bestowal of the same blessings; 3. if the mention of the Father implies a prayer, the same is implied by the mention of Christ, and hence was an act of worship to the latter; 4. all this shows that Paul’s mind was familiarized to the idea that Christ was divine.—These seven verses are a striking instance of the manner of Paul. While the subject is simply a salutation to the Roman church, his mind seems to catch fire, and to burn and blaze with signal intensity. He leaves the immediate subject before him, and advances some vast thought that awes us, and fixes us in contemplation, and involves us in difficulty about his meaning, and then returns to his subject.—Hodge:—God is called our Father, not merely as the author of our existence and the source of every blessing, but especially as reconciled toward us through Jesus Christ.—If Jesus Christ is the great subject of the gospel, it is evident that we cannot have right views of the one without having correct opinions concerning the other.—J. F. H.]
[Schaff:—The epistolary addresses generally bear on the doctrine of the ministerial office and its relation to the congregation, and furnish suitable texts for ordination and installation sermons.
Romans 1:1. Paul, a model for a Christian minister: I. In his humility—a servant (bondsman) of Jesus Christ. II. In his dignity—a chosen apostle. His sense of dependence on Christ (servant) precedes and underlies his sense of authority over the congregation (apostle).—Only the true servant of Christ can be a true servant of the people.—Ministers derive their authority from Christ, not from the people, but for the people.—A servant of Christ. The service of Christ is perfect freedom, John 8:36. St. Augustine: “Deo servire vera libertas est.”—A chosen apostle. The apostle and the ordinary minister: I. The unity: (a.) Both are called by God; (b.) both are servants of Christ; (c.) both labor for the same end—the glory of God and the salvation of souls. II. The difference: (a.) An apostle is called directly by Christ; a minister, through the medium of church authority; (b.) an apostle is inspired and infallible; a minister is only enlightened, and liable to err; (c.) an apostle has the world for his field; a minister is confined to a particular charge.—Chosen, set apart. The necessity of a Divine call for the ministry: I. The inner call by the Holy Ghost. II. The outward call by the authority and ordination of the Church.—The regularly called minister contrasted with the self-constituted minister and fanatic.—Set apart unto the gospel. The preaching of the gospel: I. The chief duty of the minister, to which all others must be subordinated. II. The highest work, in which Christ Himself and all the apostles engaged. III. The inconsistency of connecting any secular calling with the holy ministry.
Romans 1:2. The close connection of the Old and New Testaments. Christianity a new, and yet an old religion.—The historical character of Christianity—in opposition to the Gnostic and fanatical theory of a magical, abrupt descent from the clouds.
Romans 1:3-4. Jesus Christ the great theme of the gospel. His double nature, the human, earthly, historical, and the divine, heavenly, eternal—both inseparably united in one person.—The importance of the resurrection as an argument for the Divinity of Christ.
Romans 1:5. Christ, the mediator of all grace.
Romans 1:7. The Christians are saints—i.e., separated from the world and consecrated to the service of God; holy in principle, and destined to become more and more holy and perfect in their whole life and conduct.—The redeeming grace of God in Christ—the fountain of peace with God and with ourselves.—First grace, then peace.—No grace without peace; no peace without grace.—The coördination of Christ with God the Father in the epistolary inscriptions—an indirect proof of the Deity of Christ.]
Footnotes:
[1][It was thought best to separate the three distinct sections embraced in Romans 1:1-17, viz.: I. The Address and Salutation, Romans 1:1-7. II. The Epistolary Introduction, Romans 1:8-15. III. The Theme of the Epistle, Romans 1:16-17. Dr. Lange presents them as one whole, which, with our numerous additions, would make it too long and inconvenient for reference.—P. S.]
[2][Πρὸς ̔Ρωμαίους. This is the oldest and simplest title of Codd. א. (Sin.) A. B. C., and has been adopted by Lachmann, Tischendorf, Alford, Lange, &c., in the place of the title of the textus receptus: Παύλου τοῦ ̔Ρωμαίους ἐπιστολή. For other titles, see the apparatus criticus in Tischendorf.—P. S.]
Romans 1:1; Romans 1:1.—The reading ̓Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ is confirmed by most authorities [Codd. א. A. E. G., and adopted by Lachmann, Alford], against the reading, Christ Jesus (Cod. B., Tischendorf).
Romans 1:2; Romans 1:2.—[ἐν γραφαῖς ἁγίαις, literally in sacred writings (without the article), but better, with the E. V., in the Holy Scriptures. γραφαῖς was sufficiently defined by ἁγίαις to be understood by the readers as referring to the Old Testament. So is πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης, Romans 1:4, and πνεῦμα ἁγιον repeatedly without the article. Comp. Winer, Gr. of the N. T., § 19, 2 b. (p. 113, 6th ed., p. 119, 7th ed., by Lünemann). Meyer insists that the omission of the article (ταῖς) indicates that only those portions or passages of the Old Testament were meant here, which contain Messianic prophecies, and he refers in proof to γραφῶν προφητικῶν in Romans 16:26 (where, however, the prophetical portions of the Old Testament are meant). But Fritzsche, De Wette, Tholuck, Philippi, Alford, Lange (Exeg. Notes), and most commentators regard γραφαὶ ἅγιαι as a proper noun for the whole Old Testament. And, in fact, it is the whole Bible, as an organic unit, from Genesis to Malachi, which bears witness to Christ, comp. John 5:46.—P. S.]
Romans 1:3; Romans 1:3.—[γενομένου can only be said of the human nature of Christ which began in time, while His divine nature is without beginning and without end. Mark the difference between ἐγένετο and ἦν in John 1:1; John 1:3; John 1:6. Comp. also Galatians 4:4 : ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν υἱὸν αὑτοῦ, γενόμενον ἐκ γυναικὸς, γενόμενον ὑπὸ νόμον. Some Minuscule MSS. read γεννωμένου for γενομένου.—P. S.]
Romans 1:4; Romans 1:4.—[ὁρισθέντος, decreed, constituted, ordained, inaugurated. Bengel: “ὁρισθέντος multo plus dicit quam ἀφωρισμένος, Romans 1:1 : nam ἀφρίζεται unus e pluribus, ὁρίζεται unicus quispiam, Acts 10:42.” ὁρίζειν (from ὅρος, limit) means, 1. to limit, to set bounds; 2. to define (of ideas); 3. to fix, to appoint or constitute, especially with the double accusative (Acts 10:42; Acts 17:31). The last meaning alone can apply here. Dr. Lange translates festgesteilt, established. Some of the best commentators (Chrysostom, Luther, Fritzsche, Olshausen, Philippi, Robertson, Alford, Hodge, and even Meyer) understand it here of a mere declaration, or a subjective manifestation and recognition of Christ as the Son of God in the hearts of men. But there is confessedly no instance where ὁρίζειν means to declare, to manifest, to prove. And then the human recognition of the Messiahship of Christ was the result of an act of God. Paul speaks here not of the preëxistent, but of the incarnate Christ, of the God-Man. Under this view Christ was divinely decreed and objectively fixed, constituted, and inaugurated as the Son of God in power or majesty (ἐν δυνάμει is to be connected with υἱοῦ, not with the verb) at His resurrection, which implied the principle and germ of the resurrection of all believers, and by which the man Jesus was exalted and made partaker of the divine glory of the Logos in His preëxistent state. Comp, Philippians 2:9-11; John 17:5. In a similar sense ποιεῖν is used, Acts 2:36 : “God hath made this Jesus whom ye have crucified, Lord and Christ.” Paul had probably in mind the divine decree (חֹק, Sept. πρόσταγμα), Psalms 2:7 : “Thou art my Son: this day have I begotten thee,” which he expressly refers to the resurrection, Acts 13:33; comp. Hebrews 1:5; Hebrews 5:5. This is, of course, not to be understood in the Socinian sense, which denies the eternal Sonship of Christ; on the contrary, the eternal Sonship (Romans 8:3; Galatians 4:4; Colossians 1:15; Philippians 2:7) precedes and underlies the historical Sonship, just as the Divinity of Christ is necessarily implied in His incarnation; for He could never have become God-Man, if He had not been God before. The eternal, metaphysical Sonship of the Logos, which is coëqual with the Father, was indicated by Paul in Romans 1:3, τοῦ υὶοῦ αὑτοῦ, before speaking of the incarnation, and is, in its nature, incommunicable; but the historical Sonship of the God-Man, which dates indeed from the incarnation (Luke 1:35), but was not fully developed, publicly established, and made manifest till the resurrection, is communicated to believers; first germinally in regeneration, whereby they are made “sons of God,” Romans 8:14, and fully in their resurrection, Romans 8:23, when what is here sown in weakness will be raised in power (ἐν δυνάμει), 1 Corinthians 15:43. Hence the risen Saviour is called “the first-born among many brethren,” Romans 8:29; “the first-born from the dead” (πρωτότοκος ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν), Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5. Comp. Dr. Lange, Exeg. Notes, p. 61. Forbes, Analyt. Com., p. 94, and Cremer, Bibl. theol. Wörterbuch, sub. ὁρίζω. The translation of the Vulgate: qui prædestinatus est Filius Dei, rests on a false reading or gloss: προ ορισθέντος.—P. S.]
Romans 1:4; Romans 1:4.—[ἐν δυνάμει may be connected adverbially with ὁρισθέντος (=τοῦ ἐν δυν. ὁρ.), with power, powerfully, effectually, kräftiglich, gewaltig (Luther, Olshausen, De Wette, Meyer, Alford, Hodge), or better adjectively with the preceding noun υὶοῦ θεοῦ, in power (Melanchthon: “Declaratus est esse Filius Dei potens,” Philippi, Hofmann, Lange). In the former case, the words refer to the resurrection as an exhibition of the Divine power; in the latter, they contrast the majesty and power of the risen Son of God with the weakness of His human nature, the ἀσθένεια, implied in σάρξ.—P. S.]
Romans 1:4; Romans 1:4.—[Dr. Lange translates ἐξ von-aus, from, out of, as indicating the origin, corresponding to ἐκ σπέρματος, Romans 1:3. Bengel: “ἐκ non modo tempus, sed nexum rerum denotat.” The preposition ἐκ marks in both cases, Romans 1:3-4, the source from or out of which the relation springs. The seed of David is the source of the human nature of Christ; the resurrection is the starting-point of His divine nature, not in its preëxistent state, of course, but in its objective historical manifestation and public recognition among men. Comp. Exeg. Notes.—P. S.]
Romans 1:4; Romans 1:4.—[ἀνάστασις νεκρῶν, the resurrection of the dead, Todten-auferstehung, is not identical with ἀνάστασις ἐκ νεκρῶν, resurrection from the dead (E. V.), but is a stronger summary expression which comprehends the resurrection of Christ and the believers as one connected whole or single fact, inasmuch as the resurrection of Christ, who is “the Resurrection and the Life” itself, implies and guarantees the resurrection of all the members of His mystical body; comp. John 11:25; Acts 4:2; Acts 17:32; Acts 23:6; Acts 26:23; 1 Corinthians 15:12. Alford: “We must not render as E. V. ‘the resurrection from the dead,’ but the resurrection of the dead,’ regarded as accomplished in that of Christ.” Comp. also Philippi and Wordsworth.—P. S.]
Romans 1:5; Romans 1:5.—[εἰς ὑπακοὴν πίστεως (without the article) occurs once more, Romans 16:26, and may be translated as a compound noun: Glaubensgehorsam. The words express the design and object of Paul’s apostlesh p, viz., that through its instrumentality all the nations be brought to a saving faith in Christ. The different views on the meaning of πίστις, whether it be objective faith, fides quæ creditur, or subjective faith, fides qua creditur, do not affect the translation. See Exeg. Notes.—P. S.]
Romans 1:6; Romans 1:6.—[The E. V. and Dr. Lange make a comma after ὑμεῖς, and regard κλητοὶ Ἰ. Χρ. as being in apposition to ὑμεῖς. So also the New Testament of the Am. Bible Union, which, however, omits the article before called, and renders: among whom are ye also, called of Jesus Christ. But Lachmann, Tischendorf, De Wette, Meyer, Alford, omit the comma and connect κλητοί as the predicate with ἐστέ: “Among whom ye also are called of Jesus Christ;” Meyer: “Unter welchen auch ihr Berufene Jesu Christi seid.” Alford thinks that the assertion among whom are ye, with a comma after ὑμεῖς, would be fiat and unmeaning. This, however, is not the case. See Exeg. Notes.—P. S.]
Romans 1:7; Romans 1:7.—[ἐν ̔Ρώμη, Romans 1:7, and τοῖς ἐν Ρ̓ώμῃ, Romans 1:15, are omitted in Cod. G. Born. and Schol. Cod. 47, but this omission is too isolated to nave any critical weight. Comp. Meyer against Reiche’s inference.—P. S.]
Romans 1:7; Romans 1:7.—[According to the usual construction still adhered to by Wordsworth, who makes a comma after ἁγίοις, the first seven verses form but one sentence, in which case we would have a double subject, viz., Παῦλος and Χάρις καὶ εἰρήνη instead of χάριν καὶ είρήνην (λέγει), and a repetition of the persons addressed, viz., τοῖς ἐν Ῥώμη and ὑμῖν. But it is impossible that such a gross grammatical irregularity should occur not only here, but in all the Pauline Epistles, as also in 1 and 2 Peter, Jude, and Revelation 1:4. The nominative χάρις and εἰρήνη, as well as the ὑμῖν, clearly indicate that the second clause of Romans 1:7 (which should be divided into two verses) forms a complete sentence by itself and contains the salutation proper, while the preceding words form the inscription. Hence there should be a period before χάρις. So Knapp-Goeschen, Lachmann, Tischendorf, Theile-Stier, Alford, in their editions, as well as most of the modem commentators. Tholuck is wrong when he says that Fritzsche was the first to suggest this division. Beza already did it; “Novam hic periodum incipio, adscripto puncto post ἁγίοις.”—P. S.]
Romans 1:7; Romans 1:7.—[Grace to you, without be, is in accordance with the Greek and the Vulg. (gratia vobis et pax) and preferable. The E. V. is inconsistent, sometimes inserting be and sometimes omitting it. The verbal form to be supplied after χἁρις in this case would not be the annunciative or mandatory ἕστω, be, but the optative εἴη, may be; for the χάρις ὑμῖν is not an elliptical doxology, nor an authoritative benediction, but a prayer or earnest wish; comp. 2 Peter 1:2, χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη πληθυνθείη; Judges 2:0, ἔλεος … πληθυνθείη.—P. S.]
[15][Outside of the New Testament the salutatory χαίρειν is also found in several epistles of Ignatius, in the epistle of (pseudo-) Barnabas, and in other ancient Christian documents; comp. Eusebius, H. E. v. 4; iv. 26.—P. S.]
[16][In post-apostolic literature, Clement of Rome wishes the Corinthians χάρις καὶ εἰρήνη. Polycarp, ad Phil., instead of this, has ἔλεος καὶ ειρήνη (comp. Galatians 6:16 : εἰρήνη ἐπ̓ αὐτοὺς καὶ ἔλεος). The Martyrium Polycarpi, in its inscription, prays for ἔλεος, εἰρήνη καὶ , which corresponds with the formula in Judges 2:0. In the epistle of the congregations of Southern Gaul, A. D. 167 (Eusebius, H. E. v. 1–4). we have εἰρήνη καὶ χάρις καὶ δόξα.—P. S.]
[17][Besides the commentaries, comp. J. B. Bittinger: The Greetings of Paul, in the Am. Presb. and Theol. Review for Jan. and April, 1867; and especially J. C. Theo. Otto: Ueber den apostolischen Segensgruss χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη, und χάρις, ἔλεος, εἰρήνη, in the Jahrbücher für Deutsche Theologie, vol. vii. No. 4 (Gotha, 1867), pp. 678–697.—P. S.]
[18][Lucanus does not occur in the Greek Testament, but in several Latin MSS. the third Gospel is inscribed: Evangelium secundum Lucanum. The Greek Λουκᾶς is, no doubt, a contraction of the Latin Lucanus, as Σίλας is of Silvanus. Some commentators, however, identify the names Lucas and Lucius (Acts 13:1; Romans 16:21.)—P. S.]
[19][I add, as a curiosity, a quotation from Dr. Wordsworth, who, in his Com. on Acts 13:9, uncritically combines all the various interpretations of the name (except Dr. Lange’s, which was then not yet known to him), and assigns no less than eight reasons for the change of Saul into Paul: (1) Because Σαῦλος was a purely Jewish name. (2) Because among the Greeks it might expose him to contempt, as having the same sound as σαῦλος, wanton (see Homer, Hymn. Mercur., 28, and Ruhnken in loc.). (3) To indicate his change and call to a new life; from a Jew to a Christian; from a persecutor to a preacher of the gospel. (4) But in the change much of the original name was left and commemorated what he had been. The fire of zeal of Σαῦλος still glowed in the heart of Παῦλος, but its flame was purified by the Holy Ghost. (5) His new name denoted also his mission to the Gentiles, the Romans being familiar with the name Paulus. (6) It was a token of humility, Paulus-parvulus (1 Corinthians 15:9). (7) It commemorated the cognomen of Paul’s first (?) convert, Sergius-Paulus, and was a good augury of his future success in the Roman world. (8) It indicates Paul’s intended supremacy in the Roman or Western Church as distinct from the Aramaic name Cephas, and the Greek name Peter.—P. S.]
[20][Wordsworth, also, explains the word from Acts 13:2, where the Holy Ghost says: ἈΦορίσατε (the word here used by Paul) δή μοι τὸν Βαρνάβαν καὶ Σαῦλον εὶς τὸ ἒργον ὁ προσκέκλημαι αὐτούς, so that he was both κλητός and ἀφωρισμένος. Paul was not only called by God, but was also visibly set apart for the apostolic office by an outward mission and ordination at His command. But Acts 13:2 evidently refers to a special and joint mission of Barnabas and Saul.—P. S.]
[21][The Anglo-Saxon gospel, i.e., either good spell, or God’s spell, is the precise equivalent for the Greek εὐαγγέλιον, i.e., good news, glad tidings (of salvation). Geo. P. Marsh, in his Lectures on the English Language, New York, 1860, p. 30, has a note on the two derivations, either from the name of the divinity God, or from the adjective gód, good, and leans to the latter.—P. S.]
[22][Comp. Winer, N. T. Grammar, p. 118 f. ed. 7th, and Textual Note 3.—P. S.]
[23][Comp. Textual Note3.—P. S.]
[24][Grotius: “Hoc refertur ad illud quod præcessit εὐαγγέλιον; explicatur nempe, de quo agat ille sermo bona nuntians.” So also Calvin, Bengel, the E. V., and all who regard Romans 1:2 as a parenthesis. The sense in either case is the same. Christ is the great subject of the gospel.—P. S.]
[25][So Lachmann, Tischendorf, Alford, who, in their editions, omit the parenthesis, and Meyer in loc. Comp. Winer: Grammar N. T. p. 525, 7th ed.: Viele längere Einschaltungen sind nicht Parenthesen, sondern Digressionen, sofern sie nur den Gedankenfortschritt, nicht den Lauf der Construction aufhalten.”—P. S.]
[26][De præd, sanct. c.25. Augustine had but a superficial knowledge of Greek, and was here, as in Romans 5:12 and in other passages, misled by the translation of the Vulgate, which reads: prædestinatus (προ ορισθέντος).—P. S.]
[27][Comp. my textual note No.5. Chrysostom: Τί οὖν ἒστιν ὁρισθέντος; τοῦ δειχθέντος, ἀποφανθέντος, κριθέντος ὁμολογηθέντος παρὰ τῆς ἁπάντων γνώμης καὶ ψήφου. So Theophylact. Luther: erwiesen. Meyer agrees with this as to the sense, but insists that here as elsewhere ὸριζειν with the double accusative means to appoint, designate, institute some one for something (Acts 10:42). Philippi (3d ed.): “Christus ist als Sohn Gottes dargethan, erwiesen, insofern er von den Menschen, oder in der Ueberzeugung der Menschen, durch die Auferstehung von den Todten dazu eingeselzteist. Gonz parallel ist der Gudanke, Acts 13:33.” Alford: “The ὁρίζειν here spoken of is not the objective ‘fixing,’ ‘appointing’ of Christ to be the Son of God, but the subjective manifestation in men’s minds that He is so. Thus the objective words ποιεῖν (Acts 2:36), γεννᾷν (Acts 13:33), are used of the same proof or manifestation of Christ’s Sonship by His resurrection. So again ἐδικαιώθη, 1 Timothy 3:16.” But all this is contrary to the meaning of ὁρίζειν, which denotes the objective fixing and appointing. Wordsworth explains somewhat differently: “Who was defined (as distinguished from all others) by a divine decree, and proclaimed to be the Son of God.” He refers to Psalms 2:7 as the best exposition of this text: “I will declare the decree (חֹק) whereby the Lord said unto me, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee.” Bengel refers to the same passage and remarks that חֹק here means the same as ὀρισμός, and that the divine decree implies, that the Father has most determinately said, Thou art my Son. The ἀπόδειξις, the approving of the Son, follows in the train of this ὁρισμός.—P. S.]
[28][Bengel has a large note on πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης which is well worth reading in full. He regards ἁγιωσύνη, sanctimonia, as a kind of middle term between ἁγιότης, holiness, and ἁγιασμός, sanctification.—P. S.]
[29][Wordsworth and Forbes also wrongly identity the πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης with the πνεῦμα ἂγιον, the third person in the Holy Trinity, and thereby destroy the obvious contrast of κατὰ πν. ἁγιωσ. and κατὰ σάρκα.—P. S.]
[30][Epist. ad Cor. II. c.Romans 9:0 : Ὡς Χριστὸς ὁ κύριος, ὁ σώσας ὴμᾶς, ὢν μὲν τὸ πρῶτον πνεῦμα, ἐγένετο σάρξ, καὶ οὒτως ὴμᾶς ἐκάλεσεν. οὒτως καὶ ὴμεῖς ταύτη ἐν τῆ σαρκὶ . The Clementine origin of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians is very doubtful.—P. S.]
[31][Comp. the note of Meyer in loco against Reiche, and of Alford against Peile, who infers that the subject of ἐλάβομεν must be the same as the preceding ἠμῶν, overlooking the formulary character of the phrase ὸ κύριος ήμῶν.—P. S.]
[32][Alford: “Keep the χάριν καὶ separate, and strictly consecutive, avoiding all nonsensical figures of Hendiadys, Hypallage, and the like. It was the general bestowal of grace which conditioned and introduced the special bestowal (καὶ, as so often, coupling a specific portion to a whole) of apostleship; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:10.” Augustine: “Gratiam cum omnibus fidelibus, apostolatum autem non cum omnibus communem habet.”—P. S.]
[33][Or rather: the obedience which consists in faith, in the act of believing.—P. S.]
[34][Meyer, 4th ed. 1865, p. Rom 43: “πίστις für doctrinafidei zu nehmen (Beza, Tolet., Estius, Bengel, Heum., Cramer, Rosenm., Flatt, Fritzsche, Tholuck, u. M.), ist durchaus gigen den Sprachgebrauch des N. T., in welchem die πίστις stets der subjective Glaube ist, obwohl oft, wie hier, obectivirt, als Potenz gedacht. Vrgl. xvi. 26; Galatians 1:23. Die πίστις ist, nach P., die Ueberzeugung und Zuversicht (assensus und fiducia) von Jesus Christus als dem einzigen und vollkommenen Vermittler der göttlichen Gnade und des ewigen Lebens, durch sein Versöhnungswerk.”—P. S.]
[35][So also Hodge: “The obedience of faith is that obedience which consists in faith, or of which faith is the controlling principle. Wordsworth: “That I might bring all nations to that faith which manifests itself in hearkening to the “Word, and in obedience to the Will, of God.”—P. S.]
[36][Not necessarily; comp. Acts 9:16; Acts 15:26; Acts 21:13, where the same phrase, ύπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος τοῦ κυρίον, Ἰησοῦ, occurs in the sense: for the glory of Christ. Meyer’s interpretation is also adopted by Alford and Hodge. The words aptly express the final end of Paul’s apostleship, which was, to promote the knowledge and glory of Christ. In the “name” of Christ is summed up all that He was, did, and suffered.—p. S.]
[37][Alford takes ̓Ιησοῦ χριστοῦ not as the genit. possessionis, but as equivalent to by Jesus Christ. But the call of believers is uniformly referred to the Father. Alford quotes John 5:25 and 1 Timothy 1:12; but these passages are not to the point.—P. S.]
[38][The salutation commences with χάρις, and should form a verse by itself. The first clause of Romans 1:7 connects with Romans 1:1 and indicates the readers. See Text. Note 12.—P. S.]
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