A. Salutation (1:1–7)
Prologue (1:1–15)
A. Salutation (1:1–7)
An ancient letter began with a simple salutation: ‘X to Y, greetings.’ Such a greeting forms the skeleton of the prescripts of most of the New Testament Epistles, variously expanded and given a Christian emphasis.
The salutation at the beginning of this letter takes a similar form: ‘Paul … to all God’s beloved in Rome … grace … and peace.’ But each part of the greeting is expanded: the sender’s name, the recipient’s name, and even the greetings.
1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle. The word translated ‘servant’ is Greek doulos, ‘slave’. Paul is completely at his Master’s disposal. His summons to be an apostle, a special commissioner of Christ, came directly, he claims, from ‘Jesus Christ and God the Father’ (Gal. 1:1), who laid on him the responsibility of proclaiming the gospel in the Gentile world on the occasion when he revealed his Son to him on the Damascus road (Gal. 1:16).
Set apart for the gospel of God, that is, for the ministry of the gospel, long before his conversion; cf. Galatians 1:15, where he says that he was divinely set apart for this purpose before his birth. All the rich and diversified gifts of Paul’s heritage (Jewish, Greek and Roman), together with his upbringing, were foreordained by God with a view to his apostolic service. Cf. the risen Lord’s description of Paul as ‘a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles …’ (Acts 9:15). The ‘gospel of God’, his euangelion, is the joyful proclamation of the death and resurrection of his Son, and of the consequent amnesty and liberation which men and women may enjoy through faith in him. The Old Testament background of the New Testament use of euangelion is found in the LXX of Isaiah 40–66 (especially Isa. 40:9; 52:7; 60:6; 61:1), where this noun or its cognate verb euangelizomai is used of the proclamation of Zion’s impending release from exile. The New Testament writers treat this proclamation as foreshadowing the proclamation of release from spiritual estrangement and bondage procured by the death and resurrection of Christ (see p. 206).
2. Which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures. This statement is amplified in 1:17; 3:21; 4:3, 6–25; 10:5–20; 15:9–12, 21.
3. Concerning his Son. This phrase, which expresses the subject-matter of ‘the gospel of God’, introduces a short confessional summary (verses 3–4) which may have been as familiar to the Roman Christians as to Paul himself; it is likely, however, that Paul has recast its wording so as to bring out certain necessary emphases.
Who was descended from David according to the flesh. The Davidic descent of Jesus was clearly an element in early Christian preaching and confession. Jesus himself appears to have laid no weight on it, but he did not refuse the designation ‘Son of David’ when it was applied to him, as by blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:47–48). His question about the scribal exegesis of Psalm 110:1 (Mark 12:35–37) should not be construed as a repudiation of Davidic descent.
The phrase ‘according to the flesh’ (i.e. ‘by natural descent’) is used of Christ again in 9:5.
4. Designated Son of God in power. The word rendered ‘designated’ (horizō) is used in Acts 10:42; 17:31 of Christ’s appointment as judge of all. Paul does not mean that Jesus became the Son of God by the resurrection, but that he who during his earthly ministry ‘was the Son of God in weakness and lowliness’ became by the resurrection ‘the Son of God in power’ (A. Nygren, ad loc.). Similarly Peter at Pentecost concludes his proclamation of the resurrection and exaltation of Christ by calling on ‘all the house of Israel’ to ‘know assuredly’ that God has made the crucified Jesus ‘both Lord and Christ’ (Acts 2:36). The phrase ‘with power’ (en dynamei, as here) appears also in Mark 9:1, where the coming of the kingdom of God ‘with power’ (by contrast with the limitations under which it was manifested during Jesus’ ministry) is probably the direct sequel to Jesus’ death and vindication.
According to the Spirit of holiness. There is an obvious antithesis between ‘according to the flesh’ and ‘according to the Spirit’. But when Paul states the second member of this antithesis, he makes its meaning plain by adding the genitive ‘of holiness’. The Spirit of holiness is the regular Hebrew way of saying ‘the Holy Spirit’; Paul here reproduces the Hebrew idiom in Greek. By the antithesis of ‘flesh’ and ‘Spirit’ here he ‘plainly … does not allude to the two natures of our Lord, but to the two states of humiliation and exaltation’.1 It is one and the same Son of God who appears as the earthly Jesus and as the heavenly Christ; but his Davidic descent, a matter of glory ‘according to the flesh’, is now seen nevertheless to belong to the phase of his humiliation, and to be absorbed and transcended by the surpassing glory of his exaltation, by which he has inaugurated the age of the Spirit. The outpouring and ministry of the Spirit attest the enthronement of Jesus as ‘Son of God in power’.2
By his resurrection from the dead. The phrase is literally ‘in consequence of the resurrection of dead ones’; the plural ‘dead ones’ is an instance of what grammarians call the ‘generalizing plural’. Exactly the same phrase is used in Acts 26:23 of the resurrection of Christ. So here it is Christ’s own resurrection that is referred to, and not (as some have thought) his raising of Lazarus and others—still less the phenomenon described in Matthew 27:52–53. But Christ’s resurrection is denoted by a phrase which hints at the future resurrection of his people; his resurrection is the first instalment of ‘the resurrection of the dead’, as is made clear in 8:11 (where those who are indwelt by ‘the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead’ have through that Spirit the assurance of their own resurrection). (Cf. 1 Cor. 15:20–23, 44–49.)
5. Grace and apostleship. This is probably a hendiadys, meaning ‘the grace (or divine gift) of apostleship’; cf. the references in 12:6 to the ‘gifts that differ according to the grace given to us’, and in 15:15–16 to the ‘grace’ given to Paul by God ‘to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles’.
To bring about the obedience of faith, i.e. the obedience that is based on faith in Christ. The ‘faith’ here is not the gospel or the body of doctrine presented for belief, but the belief itself. (Cf. 15:18; 16:26.)
Among all the nations. This phrase indicates Paul’s special vocation to be the apostle to the Gentiles (cf. 11:13). The Greek noun ethnē (like its Hebrew equivalent gōyîm) is variously rendered ‘nations’, ‘Gentiles’ or ‘heathen’ (for this last cf. 1 Cor. 12:2; 1 Thess. 4:5).
6. Including yourselves. This probably means not only that the Roman church was situated in the Gentile world but also that its membership was now predominantly Gentile.
Who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. Cf. 8:28, 30 for the divine calling.
7. To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints. Because they are the well-loved people of God, they are called to be holy as he is holy (Lev. 19:2, etc.; 1 Pet. 1:15–16). He has summoned them to be set apart for himself; they are saints by divine vocation. There are hints here and there in the New Testament that ‘the saints’ was a designation (possibly a self-designation) of those Jewish believers (cf. 15:25; Eph. 2:19) who looked on themselves as ‘the saints of the Most High’ who were destined to receive royal and judicial authority from God (Dan. 7:18, 22, 27). Paul insists on applying the same designation to Gentile believers, concorporate with their brethren of Jewish race.
For the phrase ‘in Rome’ see the textual note on pp. 32–33.
Grace to you and peace. The Greek greeting was Chaire, which literally means ‘Rejoice!’. The Jew said Shālōm,3 ‘Peace!’ This was sometimes amplified to ‘Mercy and peace’ (as in 2 Baruch 78:2). Paul takes over the amplified form, but in place of ‘mercy’ he habitually uses his favourite word ‘grace’ (Gk. charis). The grace of God is his free love and unmerited favour to men and women, imparted through Christ; the peace of God is the well-being which they enjoy through his grace.
From God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This spontaneous and repeated collocation of Christ with God bears witness to the place which Christ held in the thought and worship of Paul and other early Christians.