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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadCambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - Romans 1:5 - 1:5
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5. δι' οὗ. He who is the subject of the Gospel is also the agent through whom GOD dispenses those powers which enable men to minister the Gospel; cf. Joh 1:17; Gal 1:1.
ἐλάβομεν. The subject of Rom 1:1 is recovered—the apostolic commission exercised under the Lord. The aorist refers to the act by which the commission was given; cf. 1Co 2:12; 1Co 15:8-9; 1Ti 2:7; 2Ti 1:11. The plural = we Christian apostles (ct[61] τῶν προφητῶν α.) as 1Co 1:23; 1Co 2:12. But S. Paul certainly uses the plural with direct, though perhaps not exclusive, reference to himself, e.g. 2 Corinthians 10 passim; Moulton, p. 86.
[61] ct. contrast
Χάριν καὶ ἀποστολήν. The close connexion of the words, and the immediate context, prove that χάρις is here used in the specially Pauline sense of the favour of GOD as extended to all mankind, with especial reference to S. Paul’s commission to the Gentiles, cf. Gal 1:15 f., a decisive parallel; Gal 2:7 f. cf. Robinson, Eph. pp. 224 ff., “the freeness and universality of the Gospel.” S. Paul felt that his commission was a signal instance of GOD’S free favour. Cf. also Rom 15:15; Php 1:7; 1Co 15:10. ἀποστολή = commission.
εἰς ὑπακοὴν πίστεως, to promote obedience (to GOD) springing from or belonging to faith in Him (not from keeping of law). The phrase corresponds to εἰς εὐαγγέλιον θεοῦ in Rom 1:1 and indicates the attitude of recipients of the Gospel; their faith accepts and brings them to obey Him who reveals Himself in the Gospel as their GOD. The genitive is then a genitive of ‘derivation or foundation’ as in Rom 4:13; cf. Hort, 1 Pet. p. 89 (see the whole note). With ὑπακοή the genitive seems never to be objective in N.T. (not even 2Co 10:5). Obedience will be the sign of the coming in of the Gentiles as disobedience was the cause of the rejection of Israel; cf. Rom 10:21; Isa 65:12; Isa 66:4. It is the proper outcome of faith, the acceptance of GOD’s offer; cf. 1Pe 1:2.
ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν. Cf. Rom 15:12; Rom 16:26 = Gentiles: the πᾶσιν added to emphasise the universality of the commission, cf. 13.
ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ, i.e. of the Lord Jesus Christ. The name, both in O.T. and N.T., stands for the Person as revealed for man’s acknowledgment; cf. Act 9:15. 3Jn 1:7 (where see Westcott’s add. note) is an exact parallel; Act 5:41; Act 9:16; Act 21:13, of suffering on behalf of the Name they proclaimed. The full force comes out Php 2:9-11. The idea, not the word, is present 2Co 5:20; Eph 6:20. ὑπὲρ then = to gain acknowledgment of Him as revealed.