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Romans Chapter
One
Romans 1
There is no epistle in which the apostle places his
apostleship on more positive and formal ground than in this; for at Rome he had
no claim in virtue of his labours. He had never seen the Romans. He was none
the less their apostle; for he was that of the Gentiles. He was a debtor to the
Gentiles. He writes to them because he had received a mission from the Lord
Himself towards all the Gentiles. They were in his allotted sphere of service
as being Gentiles. It was his office to present them as an offering sanctified
by the Holy Ghost (chap. 15:16). This was his commission. God was mighty in
Peter towards the Jews; the mission of Paul was to the Gentiles. It was to him
this mission was entrusted. The twelve moreover acknowledged it. If God has
ordained that Paul should accomplish his mission in direct connection with
heaven and outside the secular influence of the capital, and if Rome was to be
a persecutor of the gospel, that city was not the less Gentile on this account.
It belonged to Paul with reference to the gospel. According to the Holy Ghost
Peter addresses the Jews in the exercise of his apostleship; Paul, the
Gentiles.
This was the administrative order according to God; let us now come to
the substance of his position. Paul was the servant of Christ-that was his
character, his life. But others were, more or less, that. He was more than
that. He was an apostle by the call of the Lord, a "called apostle";
and not only that, and laborious as occasion presented itself, he was nothing
but that in life here below. He was set apart for the glad tidings of God.
These two last characters are very definitely warranted
by the revelation of the Lord to Paul on the way to Damascus-his call, and his
mission to the Gentiles on that occasion; and by setting apart by the Holy
Ghost at Antioch, when he went forth to fulfil his mission.
He calls the gospel to which he was set apart, the gospel
or glad tidings "of God": the Holy Ghost presents it in its source.
It is not that which man ought to be for God, nor yet the means merely by which
man can approach Him on His throne. It is the thoughts of God, and His acts, we
may add, towards man-His thoughts in goodness, the revelation of Him in Christ
His Son. He approaches man according to that which He is and that which He
wills in grace. God comes to him; it is the gospel of God. This is the true
aspect: the gospel is never rightly understood until it is to us the gospel of
God, the activity and revelation of His nature, and of His will in grace towards
man.
Having pointed out the source, the Author of the gospel,
the One whom it thus reveals in His grace, the apostle presents the connection
between this gospel and the dealings of God which historically preceded it-its
promulgation here below, and at the same time its own proper object; that is to
say, its subject properly so called, and the place held with regard to it by
that which preceded it (the order of things which those to whom they belonged
sought to maintain as a substantive and independent system by rejecting the
gospel). He here introduces that which preceded, not as a subject of
controversy, but in its true character, to enforce the testimony of the gospel
(anticipating objections, which are thus solved beforehand).
To the Gentile it was the revelation of the truth, and of God, in
grace; to the Jew it was indeed that, while also putting everything that
regarded him in its right place. The connection of the Old Testament with the
gospel is this: the gospel of God had been announced beforehand by His prophets
in holy writings. Observe here, that in these holy scriptures the gospel of God
was not come, nor was it then addressed to men: but promised or announced
beforehand, as to be sent. The assembly was not even announced: the gospel was
announced, but as being yet to come.
Moreover, the subject of this gospel is, first of all,
the Son of God. He has accomplished a work: but it is Himself who is the true
subject of the gospel. Now He is presented in a twofold aspect: 1st, the object
of the promises, Son of David according to the flesh; 2nd, the Son of God in
power, who, in the midst of sin, walked by the Spirit in divine and absolute
holiness (resurrection being the illustrious and victorious proof of who He
was, walking in this character). That is to say, resurrection is a public
manifestation of that power by which He walked in absolute holiness during His
life-a manifestation that He is the Son of God in power. He is clearly shewn
forth as Son of God in power by this means Here it was no question of promise,
but of power, of Him who could enter into conflict with the death in which man
lay, and overcome it completely; and that, in connection with the holiness
which bore testimony during His life to the power of that Spirit by which He
walked, and in which He guarded Himself from being touched by sin. It was in
the same power by which He was holy in life absolutely that He was raised from
the dead.
In the ways of God on the earth He was the object and the
fulfilment of the promises. With regard to the condition of man under sin and
death, He was completely conqueror of all that stood in His way, whether living
or in resurrection. It was the Son of God who was there, made known by
resurrection according to the power that was in Him, a power that displayed
itself according to the Spirit by the holiness in which He lived. [1] What
marvellous grace to see the whole power of evil-that dreadful door of death
which closed upon the sinful life of man, leaving him to the inevitable
judgment that he deserved-broken, destroyed, by Him, who was willing to enter
into the gloomy chamber it shut in, and take upon Himself all the weakness of
man in death, and thus completely and absolutely deliver him whose penalty He
had borne in submitting to death! This victory over death, this deliverance of
man from its dominion, by the power of the Son of God become man, when He had
undergone it, and that as a sacrifice for sin, is the only ground of hope for
mortal and sinful man. It sets aside all that sin and death have to say. It
destroys, for him who has a portion in Christ, the seal of judgment upon sin,
which is in death; and a new man, a new life, begins for him who had been held
under it, outside the whole scene, the whole effect of his former misery-a life
founded on all the value of that which the Son of God had there accomplished.
In fine, we have, as the subject of the gospel, the Son
of God, made of the seed of David after the flesh; and, in the bosom of
humanity and of death, declared to be the Son of God in power by resurrection, [2] Jesus
Christ our Lord. The gospel was the gospel of God Himself; but it is by Jesus
Christ the Lord that the apostle received his mission. He was the head of the
work, and sent forth the labourers into the harvest which they were to reap in
the world. The object of his mission, and its extent, was the obedience of faith
(not obedience to the law) among an nations, establishing the authority and the
value of the name of Christ. It was this name which should prevail and be
acknowledged.
The apostle's mission was not only his service; the being
trusted with it was at the same time the personal grace and favour of Him whose
testimony he bore. I am not speaking of salvation, although in Paul's case the
two things were identified-a fact that gave a remarkable colour and energy to
his mission; but there was grace and favour in the commission itself, and it is
important to remember it. It gives character to the mission and to its
execution. An angel performs a providential mission; a Moses details a law in
the spirit of the law; a Jonah, a John the Baptist, preaches repentance,
withdraws from the grace that appeared to falsify his threatenings against the
wicked Gentiles, or in the wilderness lays the axe to the root of the
unfruitful trees in God's garden. But by Jesus, Paul, the bearer of the glad
tidings of God, receives grace and apostleship. He carries, by grace and as
grace, the message of grace to men wherever they may be, the grace which comes
in all the largeness of the rights of God over men, and in Himself as
sovereign, and in which He exercises His rights. Among these Gentiles, the
believing Romans also were the called of Jesus Christ.
Paul therefore addresses all the believers in that great
city. They were beloved of God, and saints by calling. [3] He
wishes them (as in all his epistles) grace and peace from God the Father and
from the Lord Jesus Christ, on whose part he delivered his message. The perfect
grace of God by Christ, the perfect peace of man, and that with God; it was
this which he brought in the gospel and in his heart. These are the true
conditions of God's relationship with man, and that of man with God, by the
gospel-the ground on which Christianity places man. When an individual is
addressed, another consideration comes in, namely, that of his own weaknesses
and infirmities: therefore "mercy" is added to the wish of the sacred
writers in the case of individuals. (See the Epistles to Timothy and Titus, and
the Second Epistle of John.) [4] If the
love of God is in the heart, if He has His place there, it is before God that
one is occupied with the objects of grace; and then, the work of God in them,
the grace that has been displayed is the first thing that comes into the mind,
whether in love or in thankfulness. The faith of the Romans ascends in
thanksgivings from the heart of the apostle, whom the report of it had reached.
He then expresses his desire to see them, a desire that
often occupied his mind. Here he brings out his apostolic relationship towards
them, with all the tenderness and all the delicacy that belong to the grace and
the love which had formed this relationship and which constituted its strength.
He is apostle by right to all the Gentiles, even although he may not have seen
them; but in heart he is their servant; and with the most true and ardent
brotherly love, flowing from the grace that had made him apostle, he desires to
see them, that he might impart to them some spiritual gift, which his
apostleship put him in a position to communicate. What he had in his heart in
this was, that he might enjoy the faith which was common to him and to
them-faith strengthened by these gifts-for their mutual comfort. Often he had
purposed coming, that he might have some fruit in this part also of the field
which God had committed to him; but he had been hindered until now.
He then declares himself a debtor to all the Gentiles,
and ready, as far as in him lay, to preach the gospel to those of Rome also.
The way in which the apostle claims the whole field of the Gentiles as his own,
and in which he was prevented by God from going to Rome until he arrived there
at the end of his career (and then only as a prisoner), is worthy of all
attention.
However it might be, he was ready, and that because of
the value of the gospel-a point which leads him to state both the value and the
character of this gospel. For, he says, he was not ashamed of it. It was the
power of God to salvation. Observe here the way in which the apostle presents
everything as coming from God. It is the gospel of God, the power of God to
salvation, the righteousness of God, and even the wrath of God, and that from
heaven-a different thing from earthly chastisement. This is the key to everything.
The apostle lays stress upon it, putting it forward from the commencement of
the epistle; for man ever inclines to have confidence in himself, to boast of
himself, to seek for some merit-some righteousness, in himself, to Judaise, to
be occupied with himself, as though he could do something. It was the apostle's
joy to put his God forward.
Thus, in the gospel, God intervened, accomplishing a
salvation which was entirely His own work-a salvation of which He was the
source and power, and which He Himself had wrought. Man came into it by faith:
it was the believer who shared it, but to have part in it by faith was exactly
the way to share it without adding anything whatsoever to it, and to leave it
wholly the salvation of God. God be praised that it is so, whether for
righteousness or for power, or for the whole result; for thus it is perfect,
divine. God has come in, in His almighty power and in His love, to deliver the
wretched, according to His own might. The gospel is the expression of this: one
believes it and one shares it.
But there is an especial reason why it is the power of
God in salvation. Man had departed from God by sin. Righteousness alone could
bring him back into the presence of God, and make him such that he could be
there in peace. A sinner, he had no righteousness, but quite the contrary; and
if man were to come before God as a sinner, judgment necessarily awaits him:
righteousness would be displayed in this way. But, in the gospel, God reveals a
positive righteousness on His part. If man has none, God has a righteousness
which belongs to Him, which is His own, perfect like Himself, according to His
own heart. Such a righteousness as this is revealed in the gospel. Human
righteousness there was none: a righteousness of God is revealed. It is
all-perfect in itself, divine and complete. To be revealed, it must be so. The
gospel proclaims it to us.
The principle on which it is announced is faith, because
it exists, and it is divine. If man wrought at it, or performed a part of it,
or if his heart had any share in carrying it out, it would not be the
righteousness of God; but it is entirely and absolutely His. We believe in the
gospel that reveals it. But if it is the believer who participates in it, every
one who has faith has part in it. This righteousness is on the principle of
faith. It is revealed, and consequently to faith, wherever that faith exists.
This is the force of the expression which is translated
"from faith to faith"-on the principle of faith unto faith. Now the
importance of this principle is evident here. It admits every believing Gentile
on the same footing as the Jew, who has no other right of entrance than he.
They both have faith: the gospel recognises no other means of participating in
it. The righteousness is that of God; the Jew is nothing more in it than the
Gentile. As it is written, "The just shall live by faith." The
scriptures of the Jews testified to the truth of the apostle's principle.
This is what the gospel announced on God's part to man.
The primary subject was the Person of Christ, son of David according to flesh
(accomplishment of promise); and the Son of God with power according to the
Spirit of holiness. But the righteousness of God (not of man) was revealed in
it. This is the grand theme of all that follows. The apostle had indeed reason
not to be ashamed of it, despised as it was by men.
But this doctrine was confirmed by another consideration,
and was based on the great truth contained in it. God, in presenting Himself,
could not look at things according to the partial communications adapted to the
ignorance of men, and to the temporary dispensations by which He governed them.
Wrath was not merely His intervention in government, as by the Assyrian or
Babylonish captivity. It was "wrath from heaven." The essential
opposition of His nature to evil, and penal rejection of it wherever it was
found, was manifested. Now God manifested Himself in the gospel. Thus divine
wrath does not break forth indeed (for grace proclaimed the righteousness of
God in salvation for sinners who should believe) but it is revealed (not
exactly in the gospel-that is the revelation of righteousness; but it is
revealed) from heaven against ungodliness-all that does not respect the
presence of God-against all that does not comport with the presence of God, and
against all unrighteousness or iniquity in those who possessed the truth but
still dishonoured God; that is to say, against all men, Gentile or otherwise,
and particularly the Jews who had the knowledge of God according to the law;
and, again (for the principle is universal, and flows from that which God is,
when He reveals Himself), against every one who professes Christianity, when he
walks in the evil that God hates.
This wrath, divine wrath, according to God's nature as in
heaven, against man as a sinner, made God's righteousness necessary. Man was
now to meet God fully revealed as He is. This shewed him wholly a sinner, but
paved the way in grace for a far more excellent place and standing-one based on
the righteousness of God. The gospel reveals the righteousness: its
opportuneness and necessity are demonstrated by the state of sin in which all
men are, and by occasion of which wrath was revealed from heaven. Man was not
merely to be governed by God, and find governmental wrath, but to appear before
God. How could we stand there? The answer is the revelation of God's
righteousness by the gospel. Hence, too, even in speaking of resurrection
Christ is declared to be the Son of God according to the Spirit of holiness.
God has to be met such as He is. The revelation of God Himself in His holy
nature went necessarily farther than mere Jews. It was against the thing sin,
wherever it was, wherever it met sin, to make good what God is. It is a
glorious truth; and how blessed that thus divine righteousness in sovereign
grace should be revealed! And, God being love, we can say that it could not be
otherwise; but how glorious to have God thus revealed!
The thesis of the epistle then is in verse 17, that which
proved its need in verse 18. From verse 19 to the end of verse 20 in chapter 3,
the condition of men, Jews and Gentiles, to whom this truth applies, is given
in detail, in order to shew in what way this wrath was deserved, and all were
shut up in sin (v. 19 and 21 of this chapter giving the leading principles of
the evil as regards the Gentiles). From verse 21 to 31 of chapter 3, the answer
in grace by the righteousness of God, through the blood of Christ, is briefly
but powerfully declared. For we first get the answer by Christ's blood to the
old state, and then the introduction, by death and life through Christ, into
the new.
The apostle begins with the Gentiles-"all
ungodliness" of men. I say the Gentiles (it is evident that if a Jew falls
into it, this guilt attaches to him; but the condition described, as far as
chapter 2:17, is that of Gentiles); afterwards that of the Jews, to chapter
3:20.
Chapter 1:18 is the thesis of the whole argument from
verse 19 to chapter 3:20, this part of the epistle shewing the ground of that
wrath.
The Gentiles are without excuse on two accounts. First,
that which may be known of God has been manifested by creation-His power and
His Godhead. This proof has existed since the creation of the world. Secondly,
that, having the knowledge of God as Noah had it, they had not glorified Him as
God, but in the vanity of their imaginations, reasoning upon their own thoughts
on this subject and the ideas it produced in their own minds, they became fools
while professing themselves to be wise, and fell into idolatry, and that of the
grossest kind. Now God has judged this. If they would not retain a just thought
of the glory of God, they should not even retain a just idea of the natural
honour of man. They should dishonour themselves as they had dishonoured God. It
is the exact description, in a few strong and energetic words, of the whole
pagan mythology. They had not discernment, moral taste, to retain God in their
knowledge: God gave them up to a spirit void of discernment, to boast
themselves in depraved tastes, in things unbecoming nature itself. The natural
conscience knew that God judged such things to be worthy of death according to
the just exigencies of His nature. Nevertheless they not only did them, but
they took pleasure in those who did them, when their own lusts did not carry
them away. And this left no excuse for those who judged the evil (and there
were such), for they committed it while judging it. Man then by judging
condemned himself doubly: for by judging he shewed that he knew it to be evil,
and yet he did it. But the judgment of God is according to truth against those
who commit such things: they who acquired credit by judging them should not
escape it.
[1] This
puts us, since it is for us, in connection with a holiness (as does the
revelation of righteousness farther on, but there more openly) which implies
connection with God as He is in Himself fully revealed-not like the Jews
outside the veil.
[2] It
is not said "by His resurrection," but "by resurrection"
abstractly. His own was the great proof, but that of every man is a proof
likewise.
[3] The
reader must take notice that, in verses 1 and 7, it is not "called to be
an apostle," nor "called to be saints," but apostle by call,
saints by call. They were the thing declared, and they were so by the call of
God. A Jew was not holy by call; he was born holy, relatively to the Gentiles.
These were the called of Jesus Christ; but they were not simply called to be
holy, they were so by call.
[4] The
Epistle to Philemon might appear at first sight to be an exception; but it
confirms this remark, for it will be seen that the assembly in his house is
included in the wish. This makes the address of Jude the more remarkable. There
is however a question of a various reading in Titus 1:4.
── John Darby《Synopsis of Romans》
Romans 1
Chapter Contents
The apostle's commission. (1-7) Prays for the saints at
Rome, and expresses his desire to see them. (8-15) The gospel way of justification
by faith, for Jews and Gentiles. (16,17) The sins of the Gentiles set forth.
(18-32)
Commentary on Romans 1:1-7
(Read Romans 1:1-7)
The doctrine of which the apostle Paul wrote, set forth
the fulfilment of the promises by the prophets. It spoke of the Son of God,
even Jesus the Saviour, the promised Messiah, who came from David as to his
human nature, but was also declared to be the Son of God, by the Divine power
which raised him from the dead. The Christian profession does not consist in a
notional knowledge or a bare assent, much less in perverse disputings, but in
obedience. And all those, and those only, are brought to obedience of the
faith, who are effectually called of Jesus Christ. Here is, 1. The privilege of
Christians; they are beloved of God, and are members of that body which is
beloved. 2. The duty of Christians; to be holy, hereunto are they called,
called to be saints. These the apostle saluted, by wishing them grace to
sanctify their souls, and peace to comfort their hearts, as springing from the
free mercy of God, the reconciled Father of all believers, and coming to them
through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Commentary on Romans 1:8-15
(Read Romans 1:8-15)
We must show love for our friends, not only by praying
for them, but by praising God for them. As in our purposes, so in our desires,
we must remember to say, If the Lord will, James 4:15. Our journeys are made prosperous or
otherwise, according to the will of God. We should readily impart to others
what God has trusted to us, rejoicing to make others joyful, especially taking
pleasure in communing with those who believe the same things with us. If
redeemed by the blood, and converted by the grace of the Lord Jesus, we are
altogether his; and for his sake we are debtors to all men, to do all the good
we can. Such services are our duty.
Commentary on Romans 1:16,17
(Read Romans 1:16,17)
In these verses the apostle opens the design of the whole
epistle, in which he brings forward a charge of sinfulness against all flesh;
declares the only method of deliverance from condemnation, by faith in the
mercy of God, through Jesus Christ; and then builds upon it purity of heart,
grateful obedience, and earnest desires to improve in all those Christian
graces and tempers, which nothing but a lively faith in Christ can bring forth.
God is a just and holy God, and we are guilty sinners. It is necessary that we
have a righteousness to appear in before him: there is such a righteousness
brought in by the Messiah, and made known in the gospel; a gracious method of
acceptance, notwithstanding the guilt of our sins. It is the righteousness of
Christ, who is God, coming from a satisfaction of infinite value. Faith is all
in all, both in the beginning and progress of Christian life. It is not from
faith to works, as if faith put us into a justified state, and then works kept
us in it; but it is all along from faith to faith; it is faith pressing
forward, and gaining the victory over unbelief.
Commentary on Romans 1:18-25
(Read Romans 1:18-25)
The apostle begins to show that all mankind need the
salvation of the gospel, because none could obtain the favour of God, or escape
his wrath by their own works. For no man can plead that he has fulfilled all
his obligations to God and to his neighbour; nor can any truly say that he has
fully acted up to the light afforded him. The sinfulness of man is described as
ungodliness against the laws of the first table, and unrighteousness against
those of the second. The cause of that sinfulness is holding the truth in
unrighteousness. All, more or less, do what they know to be wrong, and omit
what they know to be right, so that the plea of ignorance cannot be allowed
from any. Our Creator's invisible power and Godhead are so clearly shown in the
works he has made, that even idolaters and wicked Gentiles are left without
excuse. They foolishly followed idolatry; and rational creatures changed the
worship of the glorious Creator, for that of brutes, reptiles, and senseless
images. They wandered from God, till all traces of true religion must have been
lost, had not the revelation of the gospel prevented it. For whatever may be
pretended, as to the sufficiency of man's reason to discover Divine truth and
moral obligation, or to govern the practice aright, facts cannot be denied. And
these plainly show that men have dishonoured God by the most absurd idolatries
and superstitions; and have degraded themselves by the vilest affections and
most abominable deeds.
Commentary on Romans 1:26-32
(Read Romans 1:26-32)
In the horrid depravity of the heathen, the truth of our
Lord's words was shown: "Light was come into the world, but men loved
darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil; for he that doeth
evil hateth the light." The truth was not to their taste. And we all know
how soon a man will contrive, against the strongest evidence, to reason himself
out of the belief of what he dislikes. But a man cannot be brought to greater
slavery than to be given up to his own lusts. As the Gentiles did not like to
keep God in their knowledge, they committed crimes wholly against reason and
their own welfare. The nature of man, whether pagan or Christian, is still the
same; and the charges of the apostle apply more or less to the state and
character of men at all times, till they are brought to full submission to the
faith of Christ, and renewed by Divine power. There never yet was a man, who
had not reason to lament his strong corruptions, and his secret dislike to the
will of God. Therefore this chapter is a call to self-examination, the end of
which should be, a deep conviction of sin, and of the necessity of deliverance
from a state of condemnation.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Romans》
Romans 1
Verse 1
[1]
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the
gospel of God,
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ-To this
introduction the conclusion answers, Romans 15:15, etc.
Called to be an apostle — And made an apostle by that calling. While God calls, he makes what he
calls. As the Judaizing teachers disputed his claim to the apostolical office,
it is with great propriety that he asserts it in the very entrance of an
epistle wherein their principles are entirely overthrown. And various other
proper and important thoughts are suggested in this short introduction; particularly
the prophecies concerning the gospel, the descent of Jesus from David, the
great doctrines of his Godhead and resurrection, the sending the gospel to the
gentiles, the privileges of Christians, and the obedience and holiness to which
they were obliged in virtue of their profession.
Separated — By
God, not only from the bulk of other men, from other Jews, from other
disciples, but even from other Christian teachers, to be a peculiar instrument
of God in spreading the gospel.
Verse 2
[2] (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
Which he promised before — Of old time, frequently, solemnly. And the promise and accomplishment
confirm each other. Deuteronomy 18:18; Isaiah 9:6,7; 53:1; 61:1; Jeremiah 23:5.
Verse 3
[3]
Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David
according to the flesh;
Who was of the seed of David according to the
flesh — That is, with regard to his human nature.
Both the natures of our Saviour are here mentioned; but the human is mentioned
first, because the divine was not manifested in its full evidence till after
his resurrection.
Verse 4
[4] And
declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness,
by the resurrection from the dead:
But powerfully declared to be the Son of God,
according to the Spirit of Holiness — That is, according to
his divine nature.
By the resurrection from the dead — For this is both the fountain and the object of our faith; and the
preaching of the apostles was the consequence of Christ's resurrection.
Verse 5
[5] By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith
among all nations, for his name:
By whom we have received — I and the other apostles.
Grace and apostleship — The favour to be an apostle, and qualifications for it.
For obedience to the faith in all nations — That is, that all nations may embrace the faith of Christ.
For his name —
For his sake; out of regard to him.
Verse 6
[6]
Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:
Among whom —
The nations brought to the obedience of faith.
Are ye also —
But St. Paul gives them no preeminence above others.
Verse 7
[7] To
all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and
peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
To all that are in Rome — Most of these were heathens by birth, Romans 1:13, though with Jews mixed among them.
They were scattered up and down in that large city, and not yet reduced into
the form of a church. Only some had begun to meet in the house of Aquila and
Priscilla.
Beloved of God —
And from his free love, not from any merit of yours, called by his word and his
Spirit to believe in him, and now through faith holy as he is holy.
Grace —
The peculiar favour of God.
And peace —
All manner of blessings, temporal, spiritual, and eternal. This is both a
Christian salutation and an apostolic benediction.
From God our Father, and the Lord Jesus
Christ — This is the usual way wherein the apostles
speak, "God the Father," "God our Father." Nor do they
often, in speaking of him, use the word Lord, as it implies the proper name of
God, Jehovah. In the Old Testament, indeed, the holy men generally said,
"The Lord our God;" for they were then, as it were, servants; whereas
now they are sons: and sons so well know their father, that they need not
frequently mention his proper name. It is one and the same peace, and one and
the same grace, which is from God and from Jesus Christ. Our trust and prayer
fix on God, as he is the Father of Christ; and on Christ, as he presents us to
the Father.
Verse 8
[8]
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is
spoken of throughout the whole world.
I thank — In
the very entrance of this one epistle are the traces of all spiritual
affections; but of thankfulness above all, with the expression of which almost
all St. Paul's epistles begin. He here particularly thanks God, that what
otherwise himself should have done, was done at Rome already.
My God —
This very word expresses faith, hope, love, and consequently all true religion.
Through Jesus Christ — The gifts of God all pass through Christ to us; and all our petitions
and thanksgivings pass through Christ to God.
That your faith is spoken of — In this kind of congratulations St. Paul describes either the whole of
Christianity, as Colossians 1:3, etc.; or some part of it, as 1 Corinthians 1:5. Accordingly here he mentions
the faith of the Romans, suitably to his design, Romans 1:12,17.
Through the whole world — This joyful news spreading everywhere, that there were Christians also
in the imperial city. And the goodness and wisdom of God established faith in
the chief cities; in Jerusalem and Rome particularly; that from thence it might
be diffused to all nations.
Verse 9
[9] For
God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that
without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
God, whom I serve — As
an apostle.
In my spirit —
Not only with my body, but with my inmost soul.
In the gospel — By
preaching it.
Verse 10
[10]
Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey
by the will of God to come unto you.
Always — In
all my solemn addresses to God.
If by any means now at length — This accumulation of particles declares the strength of his desire.
Verse 11
[11] For
I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end
ye may be established;
That I may impart to you — Face to face, by laying on of hands, prayer, preaching the gospel,
private conversation.
Some spiritual gift —
With such gifts the Corinthians, who had enjoyed the presence of St. Paul,
abounded, 1 Corinthians 1:7; 12:1; 14:1. So did the Galatians likewise, Galatians 3:5; and, indeed, all those churches
which had had the presence of any of the apostles had peculiar advantages in
this kind, from the laying on of their hands, Acts 19:6; 8:17, etc., 2 Timothy 1:6. But as yet the Romans were greatly
inferior to them in this respect; for which reason the apostle, in the twelfth
chapter also, says little, if any thing, of their spiritual gifts. He therefore
desires to impart some, that they might be established; for by these was the
testimony of Christ confirmed among them. That St. Peter had no more been at
Rome than St. Paul, at the time when this epistle was wrote, appears from the
general tenor thereof, and from this place in particular: for, otherwise, what
St. Paul wishes to impart to the Romans would have been imparted already by St.
Peter.
Verse 12
[12] That
is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you
and me.
That is, I long to be comforted by the mutual
faith both of you and me - He not only associates the Romans with, but even
prefers them before, himself. How different is this style of the apostle from
that of the modern court of Rome!
Verse 13
[13] Now
I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come
unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also,
even as among other Gentiles.
Brethren — A
frequent, holy, simple, sweet, and yet grand, appellation. The apostles but
rarely address persons by their names; 'O ye Corinthians," "O
Timotheus." St. Paul generally uses this appellation, "
Brethren;" sometimes in exhortation, " My beloved," or, "
My beloved brethren;" St. James, "Brethren," "My
brethren," My beloved brethren;" St. Peter and Jude always, "
Beloved;" St. John frequently, " Beloved;" once, " Brethren;"
oftener than once, My little children." Though I have been hindered
hitherto - Either by business, see Romans 15:22; or persecution, 1 Thessalonians 2:2; or the Spirit, Acts 16:7.
That I might have some fruit — Of my ministerial labours. Even as I have already had from the many
churches I have planted and watered among the other gentiles.
Verse 14
[14] I am
debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the
unwise.
To the Greeks and the barbarians — He includes the Romans under the Greeks; so that this division comprises
all nations.
Both to the wise, and the unwise — For there were unwise even among the Greeks, and wise even among the
barbarians.
I am a debtor to all — I am bound by my divine mission to preach the gospel to them.
Verse 16
[16] For
I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto
salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel — To the world, indeed, it is folly and weakness, 1 Corinthians 1:18; therefore, in the judgment
of the world, he ought to be ashamed of it; especially at Rome, the head and
theatre of the world. But Paul is not ashamed, knowing it is the power of God
unto salvation to every one that believeth - The great and gloriously powerful
means of saving all who accept salvation in God's own way. As St. Paul
comprises the sum of the gospel in this epistle, so he does the sum of the
epistle in this and the following verse.
Both to the Jew, and to the gentile — There is a noble frankness, as well as a comprehensive sense, in these
words, by which he, on the one hand, shows the Jews their absolute need of the
gospel; and, on the other, tells the politest and greatest nation in the world
both that their salvation depended on receiving it, and that the first offers
of it were in every place to be made to the despised Jews.
Verse 17
[17] For
therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is
written, The just shall live by faith.
The righteousness of God — This expression sometimes means God's eternal, essential righteousness,
which includes both justice and mercy, and is eminently shown in condemning
sin, and yet justifying the sinner. Sometimes it means that righteousness by
which a man, through the gift of God, is made and is righteous; and that, both
by receiving Christ through faith, and by a conformity to the essential
righteousness of God. St. Paul, when treating of justification, means hereby
the righteousness of faith; therefore called the righteousness of God, because
God found out and prepared, reveals and gives, approves and crowns it. In this
verse the expression means, the whole benefit of God through Christ for the
salvation of a sinner.
Is revealed —
Mention is made here, and Romans 1:18, of a twofold revelation,-of wrath
and of righteousness: the former, little known to nature, is revealed by the
law; the latter, wholly unknown to nature, by the gospel. That goes before, and
prepares the way; this follows. Each, the apostle says, is revealed at the
present time, in opposition to the times of ignorance.
From faith to faith — By
a gradual series of still clearer and clearer promises.
As it is written —
St. Paul had just laid down three propositions: 1. Righteousness is by faith, Romans 1:17: 2. Salvation is by righteousness, Romans 1:16: 3. Both to the Jews and to the
gentiles, Romans 1:16. Now all these are confirmed by that
single sentence, The just shall live by faith - Which was primarily spoken of
those who preserved their lives, when the Chaldeans besieged Jerusalem, by
believing the declarations of God, and acting according to them. Here it means,
He shall obtain the favour of God, and continue therein by believing. Habakkuk 2:4
Verse 18
[18] For
the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
For —
There is no other way of obtaining life and salvation. Having laid down his
proposition, the apostle now enters upon the proof of it. His first argument
is, The law condemns all men, as being under sin. None therefore is justified
by the works of the law. This is treated of Romans 3:20. And hence he infers, Therefore
justification is by faith.
The wrath of God is revealed — Not only by frequent and signal interpositions of divine providence, but
likewise in the sacred oracles, and by us, his messengers.
From heaven —
This speaks the majesty of Him whose wrath is revealed, his all-seeing eye, and
the extent of his wrath: whatever is under heaven is under the effects of his
wrath, believers in Christ excepted.
Against all ungodliness and unrighteousness — These two are treated of, Romans 1:23, etc.
Of men — He
is speaking here of the gentiles, and chiefly the wisest of them.
Who detain the truth — For it struggles against their wickedness.
In unrighteousness —
The word here includes ungodliness also.
Verse 19
[19]
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed
it unto them.
For what is to be known of God — Those great principles which are indispensably necessary to be known.
Is manifest in them; for God hath showed it
to them — By the light which enlightens every man
that cometh into the world.
Verse 20
[20] For
the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and
Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
For those things of him which are invisible,
are seen — By the eye of the mind.
Being understood —
They are seen by them, and them only, who use their understanding
Verse 21
[21]
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were
thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was
darkened.
Because, knowing God — For the wiser heathens did know that there was one supreme God; yet from
low and base considerations they conformed to the idolatry of the vulgar.
They did not glorify him as God, neither were
thankful — They neither thanked him for his benefits,
nor glorified him for his divine perfection.
But became vain —
Like the idols they worshipped.
In their reasonings —
Various, uncertain, foolish. What a terrible instance have we of this in the
writings of Lucretius! What vain reasonings, and how dark a heart, amidst so
pompous professions of wisdom!
Verse 23
[23] And
changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to
corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
And changed —
With the utmost folly. Here are three degrees of ungodliness and of punishment:
the first is described, Romans 1:21-24; the second, Romans 1:25-27; the third, in Romans 1:28, and following verses. The
punishment in each case is expressed by God gave them up. If a man will not
worship God as God, he is so left to himself that he throws away his very
manhood.
Reptiles — Or
creeping things; as beetles, and various kinds of serpents.
Verse 24
[24]
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own
hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Wherefore —
One punishment of sin is from the very nature of it, as Romans 1:27; another, as here, is from
vindictive justice.
Uncleanness —
Ungodliness and uncleanness are frequently joined, 1 Thessalonians 4:5 as are the knowledge of God
and purity.
God gave them up — By
withdrawing his restraining grace.
Verse 25
[25] Who
changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature
more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
Who changed the truth — The true worship of God.
Into a lie —
False, abominable idolatries.
And worshipped —
Inwardly.
And served —
Outwardly.
Verse 26
[26] For
this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did
change the natural use into that which is against nature:
Therefore God gave them up to vile affections — To which the heathen Romans were then abandoned to the last degree; and
none more than the emperors themselves.
Verse 27
[27] And
likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their
lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and
receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
Receiving the just recompense of their error — Their idolatry being punished with that unnatural lust, which was as
horrible a dishonour to the body, as their idolatry was to God.
Verse 28
[28] And
even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over
to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
God gave them up to an undiscerning mind — Treated of, Romans 1:32.
To do things not expedient — Even the vilest abominations, treated of verses Romans 1:29-31.
Verse 29
[29]
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness,
maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Filled with all injustice — This stands in the first place; unmercifulness, in the last.
Fornication —
Includes here every species of uncleanness.
Maliciousness —
The Greek word properly implies a temper which delights in hurting another,
even without any advantage to itself.
Verse 30
[30]
Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil
things, disobedient to parents,
Whisperers —
Such as secretly defame others.
Backbiters —
Such as speak against others behind their back.
Haters of God —
That is, rebels against him, deniers of his providence, or accusers of his
justice in their adversities; yea, having an inward heart-enmity to his justice
and holiness.
Inventors of evil things — Of new pleasures, new ways of gain, new arts of hurting, particularly in
war.
Verse 31
[31]
Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable,
unmerciful:
Covenant-breakers — It
is well known, the Romans, as a nation, from the very beginning of their
commonwealth, never made any scruple of vacating altogether the most solemn
engagement, if they did not like it, though made by their supreme magistrate,
in the name of the whole people. They only gave up the general who had made it,
and then supposed themselves to be at full liberty.
Without natural affection — The custom of exposing their own new - born children to perish by cold,
hunger, or wild beasts, which so generally prevailed in the heathen world,
particularly among the Greeks and Romans, was an amazing instance of this; as
is also that of killing their aged and helpless parents, now common among the
American heathens.
Verse 32
[32] Who
knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of
death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
Not only do the same, but have pleasure in
those that practise them — This is the highest degree of wickedness.
A man may be hurried by his passions to do the thing he hates; but he that has
pleasure in those that do evil, loves wickedness for wickedness' sake. And
hereby he encourages them in sin, and heaps the guilt of others upon his own
head.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Romans》
Chapter 1. The Sin of the Gentiles
Not Only Do the
Sinful Things
But Also Applaud the Sins of the Others
I. Proclaim the
Gospel of God
II. The Wish to
visit Rome
III. Against
Godlessness and Wickedness
── Chih-Hsin Chang《An Outline of The New Testament》
Chapter One General Review
OBJECTIVES IN STUDYING THIS CHAPTER
1) To be impressed with the all-sufficiency of the gospel 2) To see how God's wrath may be directed toward our society today SUMMARY
As is the custom in most of his epistles, Paul begins by extendinggreetings and offering thanks. Identifying himself as a bond-servantof Christ, he mentions his apostleship and its mission in the gospel ofGod concerning His Son: to bring about the obedience of faith amongall the Gentiles (1-6). Addressing the recipients of his epistle as"all who are beloved in Rome popular two-fold greeting of that day: "grace" and "peace" (7). He isthankful for their well-known faith and reveals his desire to visit