In the preceding verses Paul spoke of the gospel. Here, the subject changes to Jesus. Paul and others received “grace” and “apostleship.” This was a way of saying what Paul more fully stated in Eph. 1:3. Every spiritual blessing is in Christ. The grace and the positions enjoyed by the apostles were all a result of God’s spiritual blessings.
Paul’s usage of the word grace in this passage is somewhat uncertain. Galatians 2:9 seems to use the same word to describe Paul’s apostleship. Because of God’s grace Paul was an apostle. In 1 Cor. 3:10 and 1 Cor. 15:10, the word grace describes the Spirit’s power and inspiration. In this passage the Spirit’s power and inspiration are probably the correct explanation. More information on this term is found below.
The information in verse 5 is the key to getting spiritual blessings from God. Paul spoke of faith, and he linked it with obedience. God requires both of these things from mankind. Kittel (6:206) says Paul coined the combination of these two items. This source also says (6:205-206), “‘to believe’ is ‘to obey’” and “Paul in particular stresses the element of obedience in faith.” Paul spoke of being obedient in the first and last chapters of this book (Rom. 1:5; 16:26). Other sections of this letter such as 15:18 and 6:17 also stress the obedient nature of faith. This obedient faith is to be “among all the nations.”
Paul’s mission was to aid people in all the nations. He taught people about Christianity and encouraged men and women to obey the truth (2 Cor. 5:11). This was necessary in the first century as well as now because those who do not obey the gospel will be lost (2 Thess. 1:7-9). Romans 1:6 tells us the Romans had been obedient to the faith. Their obedience had joined them to Jesus. They had become “beloved of God.” They were saints. Because of who these people were (Christians, people of God), Paul wished grace and peace upon them from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Before continuing to study more of the text, several important facts should be noted. Verse 6 states Paul’s readers had been “called of Jesus Christ.” Verse 7 says these same people had been “called to be saints.” Today, it is not uncommon to find people who say God called them. The New Testament says God calls people through His word (the gospel, 2 Thess. 2:14). After the Word of God calls people, there is justification and glorification (Rom. 8:29-30) because those who were lost have obeyed the truth (Rom. 1:5; 2 Thess. 1:8-9).
The words grace and peace were typical greetings that describe “the source and the sum of all Christian blessings” (Expositor’s Greek Testament, 2:587). The word grace was a common greeting for Greeks and would have made an impression with the non-Jews at Rome. The word peace was a Hebrew greeting. It would have been well received by Christians from a Jewish background. The words grace and peace also describe blessings from both the Father and Jesus. The Father and Son work together in giving blessings (Jn. 10:30).
The word “saints” in verse 7 shows that these saints were alive and not dead. Also, it is clear from verse 7 that the saints were Christians and only Christians. That is, they were not special characters who had been canonized (canonization is the process whereby dead people are declared saints). The Biblical definition for a saint and the definition used by others do not always match. The only difference between saints and sinners is that saints have embraced Jesus Christ as their saviour and have obeyed His will. W. E. Vine (1:328) rightly noted that the “word ‘saint,’ in reference to an individual believer, is not found in the New Testament.”
The last point is Paul’s thankfulness for “all” the Christians in Rome. This thought is repeated in verse 8. Paul considered every Christian to be important, and he wrote in such a way to include everyone. This is an excellent example for us to follow.
1:8: First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world.
Since the formal part of Paul’s introduction is over (verses 1-7), the emphasis now turns to building rapport with the Romans. Several of the thoughts expressed in this next section are appropriate for our day. For instance, Paul “thanked” (eucharisteo) God. The apostle believed in expressing appreciation to God, and his view of prayer was not limited to please give me/please bless me. This is a lesson we would do well to remember and teach our children. One of the ways and times to teach it is at mealtime. A second lesson comes from the fact that the verb thank is in the present tense. Paul continually gave thanks for these Christians. A third lesson is found in the fact that this verb is also used in verse 21, a passage that shows not everyone gives thanks to God. A fourth point is that when Paul thanked God, he went “through” Jesus Christ. Since Jesus is our mediator (1 Tim. 2:5), it is right for our prayers to go through Him. This is why most public prayers contain the expression, “in Jesus’ name.” The name of Jesus (compare Acts 8:16; 19:5; 1 Cor. 1:13, 15) means by the Lord’s “command and authority” or “acting on his behalf” (Thayer, p. 447). Jesus has instructed His people to ask “in His name” (Jn. 14:13, 14; 15:16; 16:23) because requests based upon His authority are powerful.
The word translated give thanks is used elsewhere in Paul’s letters. He used this term when writing to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 1:4); the Ephesians (1:16); the Philippians (1:3); the Colossians (1:3); the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 1:2; 2 Thess. 1:3); and Philemon (verse 4).
Another piece of information in verse 8 is the reputation of the Romans. Paul said other Christians knew about the Romans and the faith of these brethren was “proclaimed throughout the whole world.” When Paul described the faith of these Christians, he used the definite article (“the” faith). These Christians understood God’s plan for the church, and they were practicing it (2 Tim. 1:13, ASV). This gave them a reputation. Today, virtually every congregation is still known for something. Congregations are known for being evangelistic, liberal, conservative, friendly, cold, dead, wasteful, stingy, or having a high turnover rate of members and preachers. The Romans were known for being on the right track. This is the kind of reputation every church should have.
The word translated “whole” (holos) sometimes describes the majority of something (see how this same term is used in Acts 2:47; 11:28; 21:31). If this is not the sense of the word in Rom. 1:8, Paul may have intended the statement to be a hyperbole (an exaggeration for emphasis). A good parallel verse is Lk. 2:1b (the areas and parts of the world about which people knew and with which they were familiar).
The word translated “proclaimed” in the ASV is rendered “spoken” in the KJV. This term (katangello) described an authoritative message which was proclaimed to people. This word is also used to describe the message of the resurrection (Acts 4:2), the word of God (Acts 13:5; 15:36), the way of salvation (Acts 16:17), the gospel (1 Cor. 9:14), and the death of Christ (Acts 17:3). Here the Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament (2:256) describes it as “the faith penetrating the world from the Roman church is now understood as gospel for all the world.”
1:9-10: For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of his Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers 10 making request, if by any means now at length I may be prospered by the will of God to come unto you.
Paul spent a lot of time praying for the Christians at Rome. Verse 9 helps explain what Paul meant in 1 Thess. 5:17. The expression “how unceasingly” comes from a single word (adialeiptos) which is used only four times in the New Testament (here, 1 Thess. 1:3; 2:13; 5:17). This term describes “an action continued over an indefinite period of time but probably not with such intensity that forbids a rest. It has connotations of mental alertness, consistency, and discipline” (CBL, GED, 1:79). Spicq (1:33) says it describes a precept that “should be linked to that of the Master when he bade his disciples to ‘pray under all circumstances and never give up.’” The term may be thought of as describing “‘a spiritual life dominated by the presence of God’ and as a perpetual communion with God, after the fashion of a shoot vitally connected to the vine stock” (ibid). Paul spent a lot of time in prayer.
McGuiggan (p. 64) lists items which sometimes hinder him from praying like Paul. These include:
- The sneaking feeling prayer really doesn’t work.
- Personal guilt that makes us feel unworthy to pray.
- A schedule which is too full to make room for habitual prayer.
- Ignorance about how to pray which leads to boredom during times of prayer.
- Ignorance concerning the specific will of God so the believer is unable to intelligently pray for many things.
- Realizing God already knows about the request and He is about to again hear our prayer.
McGuiggan (same page) also lists things which help him pray like Paul prayed.
- The word
- The example of Jesus.
- Answered prayers.
- Good study habits.
- An honest attempt to live a life pleasing to God.
- Being around praying people.
One of the items about which Paul prayed was a visit to Rome. The word translated “making request” (deomai) meant to “ask, ask please, to beg.” This term “indicates an intensity of petition and an earnestness of Paul the beggar” (Owen, p. 3). Paul wanted to be “prospered” (euodoomai). This is the word Paul used in 1 Cor. 16:2. Aside from Rom. 1:10 and 1 Cor. 16:2, this term is only found in 3 Jn. 2 (it occurs twice in this verse). Here, it means “whether I will finally succeed” (Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament (2:81). Paul had a burning desire to see the Christians in Rome. “While all men of that time aspired to see the fabled capital city of the world of that day, Paul did not measure his longing on the basis of the outward magnificence of the great city; he longed to meet with his fellow believers. Some were his kinsmen, some had been fellow workers, some were prisoners, but all were his Christian brothers and sisters” (CBL, Romans, p. 23).
In spite of Paul’s intense desire, he left the matter up to God (verse 10, “by the will of God”). This is another lesson adults and young people need to hear regarding prayer. Our requests need to be stated in a way where we are always mindful of God’s will and what would be best. This is what Jesus did when He was in the garden. “To find the will of God is the greatest discovery. To know the will of God is the greatest knowledge. To do the will of God is the greatest achievement” (CBL, Romans, p. 23).
If we do pray for God’s will to be done, we must be prepared for the possibility that we may not like heaven’s plans. God’s will may be something we do not want to do. It is not necessary to always like God’s will but it is necessary to do His will.
If we have difficulty ascertaining God’s will, McGuiggan (Romans, p. 68) offers these pointers:
- Where God hasn’t made himself clear, He takes full responsibility.
- God is not like a train; He is able to run on more than one track.
- There are times when the subject is not good or bad, but better and best.
- If we are uncertain and the decision does not need to be made right away, wait for a while.
- Major in the will of God.
The other item which needs to be mentioned comes from verse 9. Paul said he served God in his “spirit” (heart). This corresponds with Jn. 4:24. Christians are to put their heart and soul into serving God. The word translated “serve” (latreuo) is used to describe the priestly service in Heb. 9:9; 10:2. It was also used by Paul to describe the service given by the Gentiles to idols (Rom. 1:25). Our Christian life, whether we are worshipping or not, should have spirit and zest. There needs to be interest, enthusiasm, and feeling in our Christian life. Christianity is not a heartless, cold, and unfeeling religion. Our service to God needs to come from the depth of our thoughts and convictions (Owen, p. 3).
W. E. Vine (1:328) noted the word serve “originally signified the work of a hired servant, as distinguished from the compulsory service of the slave, but in the course of time it largely lost that significance, and in its usage in Scripture the thought of adoration was added to that of free obedience.”
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