Romans 1:5 - Exposition

Through whom we received grace and apostleship, unto obedience of faith among all the nations, for his Name's sake . "We" here means, not Christians generally, but Paul himself (though probably, as also in all other cases where he similarly uses this plural, with the intention of including others, here his fellow-apostles); for the "grace" spoken of is evidently from what follows a special grace for the apostolic office to which he had been called. The word ἀποστολὴ occurs in a like sense in Acts 1:25 . εἰς ὑπακοὴν πίστεως , etc., denotes the purpose of his apostleship, viz. to bring men everywhere, of whatever race, to believe and obey the gospel; not to a belief in it only, but to the obedience which comes of faith, or which faith renders. " Accepimus mandatum Evangelii ad omnes gentes pro-ferendi, cut illae per fidem obedient " (Calvin). Some take the phrase, ὑπακοὴν πίστεως , to mean "obedience to faith," faith being regarded, not as cause efficiens, but as a commanding principle exacting obedience to itself. So Meyer, who refers to passages where a genitive after ὑπακοὴ has this meaning: 2 Corinthians 10:5 ( ὑπακοὴ τοῦ χριστοῦ ); 1 Peter 1:22 ( ὑπακοὴ τῆς ἀληθείας ) ; and also to Acts 6:7 ( ὐπήκουον τῇ πίστει ) . The last of these quotations would have been peculiarly apposite in support of the interpretation contended for, were not πίστεως in the text now before us anarthrous, so as to suggest subjective faith, rather than "the faith delivered to the saints," as in Acts 6:7 . The question is, after all, of no importance with regard to the essential idea intended to be conveyed. ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν seems to point especially to St. Paul's own apostleship (cf. Acts 22:21 ; Galatians 1:16 ; Galatians 2:8 , Galatians 2:9 ; Ephesians 3:1 , Ephesians 3:8 ), though, of course, the apostleship of all, wherever exercised, had a similar worldwide purpose. In using the expression here, he anticipates what he is about to say as to his not shrinking from addressing even the Romans with authority; his mission being to all the nations. υπὲρ τοῦ οηνόματος αὐτοῦ is best connected with "obedience of faith." The phrase is of frequent occurrence (cf. Acts 5:41 ; Acts 9:15 ; Acts 15:26 ; Acts 21:13 ; also 2 Thessalonians 1:12 ). It is most usually connected with the idea of suffering in behalf of Christ.