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§2 Paul: The Man and His Message (Rom. 1:8–15)

In the second part of the introduction (vv. 8–15) the apostle scales down from lofty theological heights to news of himself and the occasion for writing. His focus changes from the gospel to himself, and he signifies this by casting most of his verbs and pronouns in the first person. Paul expresses his thankfulness for the believers in Rome and assures them of his repeated desire to visit them. There is a tension in this passage, however, which demands a resolution. On the one hand, Paul is constrained to preach the gospel to the Gentiles; on the other hand, outward circumstances have prevented him from preaching at the heart of the Gentile world, Rome. Beneath Paul’s testimony one perceives an inexorable hope that at last his commission to preach to the Gentiles will open a way to Rome.

1:8 / Paul customarily begins his epistles with thanksgiving to God for his churches. It was not his custom to write timeless theological essays; rather, Paul penned letters to church communities and individuals whom he knew and cared for. His letters, in other words, are spawned from pastoral concern, and Romans is no exception.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world (see also 1 Thess. 1:8). Thanksgiving is Paul’s first word. The use of First leads us to expect a “second,” but Paul’s train of thought gets carried afield and he fails to continue the sequence. He is grateful because their faith is being reported all over the world. His gratitude is neither a vague sense of euphoria nor an unaccountable sense of well-being, but gratitude for specific acts of God. Whether the Romans’ faith was more noteworthy than the faith of other churches, or whether Paul was giving thanks simply because the Christian faith had taken root in Rome, is difficult to say. Whatever the reason, Paul celebrates that the flag of the gospel has been planted in the capital of the ancient world.

Although we are not told who planted it or how it came about, it is clear that Paul takes no credit for establishing the beachhead. The church in Rome existed before the apostle ever reached the imperial city, and long before he penned this epistle. The Book of Acts records that when Paul finally reached Rome “the brothers there traveled to meet us” (Acts 28:15). It is highly likely that Roman Christianity grew out of the large Jewish population there, and it is not unlikely that the church owed its existence to believers returning from the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (see Acts 2:10). If so, there were Christian churches in Rome more than two decades before Paul wrote this epistle.

1:9–10 / This section and chapter 15:14–33 are the only clearly autobiographical parts of Romans. Paul recounts the history of his longing to visit Rome, a history of expectant hopes and frustrated desires. The God whom he worships is witness to his constant prayers for Rome (v. 9) and longstanding desire to visit the city (v. 11). God, whom I serve with my whole heart has the ring of an oath, which is not uncommon in Paul. It should not be overlooked that “the gospel of God” in verse 1 is “the gospel of his Son” here in verse 9. The exact relationship between Jesus and God would require several centuries before the definition of Nicea (A.D. 325) determined that the Son was “true God from true God, begotten not created, of the same essence (Gk. homoousion) as the Father.” Early Jewish Christians, for whom monotheism was a zealous article of faith (Deut. 6:4), must have been reluctant to equate Jesus with God, but Paul comes extremely close to doing so here.

In verse 10 Paul gives the impression that at last he sees daylight in his plans to visit Rome. If and when he comes, however, the success of his venture will depend on God’s design, a design shaped and influenced by his prayers.

1:11–12 / One reason for visiting Rome was to establish something of a base camp for Paul’s missionary outreach to Spain (15:22–28). But here there is no mention of Spain. Paul may want to avoid giving the impression that his epistle is written from ulterior motives, specifically that the chief reason for writing is to strike up a relationship that will be serviceable for subsequent missionary work. On the contrary, the roots of Paul’s desire to visit Rome go deeper than his plans to visit Spain.

Here and in verse 13 Paul gives his reason for desiring to visit Rome. I long to … impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong. What is the spiritual gift Paul hopes to impart to the Romans? The Greek word charisma, commonly translated “gift,” practically owes its existence to the apostle. It occurs in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 with reference to special gifts or endowments of the Holy Spirit for the purposes of ministry. Here the spiritual gift seems to be related to Paul’s preaching of the gospel, for he closes this section by repeating that he desires “to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome” (v. 15). In verse 13 he expresses the hope to “have a harvest among you.” The Greek word for harvest, karpos, appears again in 15:28 with reference to the collection for the poor believers in Jerusalem. It is, of course, possible that Paul uses these two expressions generally of “blessing,” or perhaps with reference to his missionary labors, i.e., that in Rome he may see new converts and deeper conviction in faith.

Another possibility is worth considering, however, especially since charisma and karpos normally refer to specific phenomena. It is not to be discounted that the spiritual gift which Paul hopes to give and the harvest which he hopes to reap are subtle references to the need for reconciliation between Gentile and Jew in Rome. We have noted that following the repeal of the edict of Claudius when Jewish Christians returned to the capital, they likely discovered a Christianity which had become increasingly Gentile in their absence (see Introduction). Without presuming to know more than he does about the situation, and without presuming to be able to achieve more than he can, Paul may have chosen these two expressions to signal the reconciliation which he hopes his exposition of the gospel will effect in Rome.

The difficult grammar of verse 12 is indicated in the NIV by a dash. The awkward construction may be due to the fact that Paul must tread delicately and forestall any suspicions that he is intruding in Roman affairs. Lest he antagonize his readers by an attitude of condescension, Paul meets them as an equal, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. The Greek word symparakalesthai, here translated mutually encouraged, occurs nowhere else in all the Bible. If Paul’s faith can strengthen theirs, so can theirs strengthen his. This sense of bonding is reinforced in verse 14 where Paul says, “I am obligated.” A debtor is someone who owes something to another, and in Paul’s case it was the debt of love (13:8). No Christian, not even the apostle Paul, stands above or outside the church. It is only within the church that apostles or believers have any authority and their message any credibility.

1:13 / Paul assures the Romans that his failure to visit them is not due to lack of desire on his part. Rather, he has been prevented from doing so until now. In 1 Thessalonians 2:18 he writes similarly that he was prevented by Satan from visiting the Thessalonians. There is no mention here, however, of Satan’s blocking his course; indeed, Jewish writers often employed the passive voice (as Paul does here) with reference to God. Especially in light of verse 10, it is preferable to conclude that Paul’s delay in reaching Rome was due to God’s will.

1:14–15 / Paul testifies that I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. The word translated non-Greeks is literally “barbarians.” There have been attempts to understand non-Greeks as an allusion to Spain or perhaps to peoples of unintelligible language. It seems more likely, however, that Paul is thinking of the greater Gentile world of all non-Israelites. By the wise and the foolish he probably means “the cultured and the uncultured.” One thing is for certain: to preach the gospel to Greeks and non-Greeks was the center and sum of Paul’s apostolic calling.