Romans 1:9-15, starting with verse 9 and 10: "For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I always make mention of you in my prayers, making request that now at last I might somehow have a prosperous journey to come to you by God's will.
For God is my witness." Some modern Christians have imagined that Paul is swearing an oath by using the phrase "God is my witness." However, if that were the case, Paul would be violating the direct commandment of Jesus given in the Sermon on the Mount: "I say to you, do not swear at all." James repeats this prohibition against swearing: "But above all things, my brothers, do not swear, neither by heaven nor by earth nor by any other oath." Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ, always obeyed his Lord.
So Paul is not swearing here; he is merely stating that God could testify to the fact that Paul has prayed unceasingly for the Roman Christians. It is as if Paul were asking someone to witness his signature on a document. In this instance, the only person who can serve as his witness is God. Who else could verify that Paul had prayed for the Romans without ceasing?
Origen points out: "God is a witness for his saints, for they themselves are witnesses for God." Origen is referring to the words in Isaiah 43:12, "You are my witnesses, and I also am a witness," says the Lord God. Chrysostom writes: why does he call God as his witness? Paul had to declare his love for them, since at that point he had not even seen them. As a result, he could not call upon any man as his witness; he could only call upon the one who dwells in our hearts. Paul had told them of his love for them.
As evidence of this love, Paul declared that he continually prayed for them; he said he wished to come to them. However, none of these things were self-evident to others. So Paul appeals to God's trustworthy testimony. Does this mean that it is permissible for Christians to call upon God as their witness in the way Paul does here? Not necessarily. There is no recorded instance of any of the early Christians ever calling on God as their witness.
It must be remembered that Paul wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Since what he was writing was the very word of God, he could appropriately call upon God as his witness. We, of course, are not in the same position, and Origen observes that Paul not only served God with his body but with his spirit as well. He then points to Jesus's words to the Samaritan woman: "But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.
Without ceasing I always make mention of you in my prayers." Paul had exhorted all Christians to pray without ceasing. Accordingly, here he testifies that he practices what he has preached to others. He had never even seen most of the Roman Christians, yet his love is so great that he prays for them constantly.
Because of this, when Paul later gives admonition to the Roman Christians, they can rest assured that he is giving it out of love: "That now at last I might somehow have a prosperous journey to come to you by God's will." This is one reason why Paul constantly prayed about the Roman Church; he was eager to visit them. As Origen comments, before Paul set out on any gospel journey, he always prayed about it until he procured the blessing of God on his mission. He thereby set an example for the rest of us.
Chrysostom adds: you see that Paul earnestly desires to see the Romans, yet he does not want to see them contrary to what seemed good to God. So his longing for them was mingled with his fear of God. It shows his exceeding love for them that he prayed continually about it and did not give up when he did not immediately receive his request. At last, Paul has been praying for a long time for God's permission to visit the Romans. At last, God has opened the door.
Chapter 1, verse 11: "For I long to see you so that I may pass on to you some spiritual gift, to the end you may be strengthened." As a true apostle, Paul does not want to simply enjoy the social company of the Romans; rather, he also wants to pass on some spiritual gift to them.
Chrysostom sees significance in Paul's use of the word "pass on," which our Bibles usually translate as "impart." He writes: Paul does not say "so that I may teach you." He does not say "so that I may instruct you," or "so that I may fill up what is lacking." Rather, he says "so that I may pass on to you." This shows that it is not his own things that he will be giving them; rather, he will be passing on to them those things that he himself had received.
Paul says that his purpose is so that they will be strengthened. Some English translations render this word as "established." However, the early Christians understand "storizo" to mean to strengthen or confirm something already in place. Other evangelists had already planted the Church in Rome; Paul is merely reinforcing the work of others.
Theodoret explains that since the Church in Rome was already established, Paul necessarily adds: "To the end you may be strengthened." He is saying, "I do not desire to bring you some new or additional teaching, but to confirm that teaching which has already been preached among you." In other words, I want to water the trees that have already been planted.
Chapter 1, verse 12: "That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith of both you and me." Paul demonstrates his humility by saying that he himself needs to be comforted by the Roman Christians. It is not just a matter of their receiving spiritual comfort from him. Chrysostom writes: Oh, what profound humility! It is not only a matter of their needing him; he says that he needs them also. He thereby puts the disciples in the position of teachers; he makes them his equals.
Chapter 1, verse 13: "Now I would not have you ignorant, brothers, that I often intended to come to you, but I was prevented until now so that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among the other Gentiles." Paul once again explains why he has not yet visited the Romans. Origen comments: when Paul says that "I was prevented until now," this may mean that God forbade him. If so, it illustrates that God supervised where each of the apostles was to go or not to go.
Through his governance, he permitted the word of God to be preached to some people at a given time while prohibiting it from being preached to others. As it says elsewhere: "And when we tried to enter into Bithynia, the Spirit of Jesus prevented us." Acts 16:7. Chrysostom adds: that Paul accepts God's providence in this regard, and he does not inquire into God's reasons.
On the other hand, as Origen also notes, it may have been Satan who was preventing Paul from coming to Rome, and Paul is diligently praying for God to remove this obstacle. So that I might have some fruit among you also. Ambrosiaster understands this fruit to refer to making converts among the people in Rome by adding: even as among the other Gentiles. Paul shows that the Romans should not think of themselves as superior to the rest of the Gentile world.
Chrysostom notes: Paul's preaching was given to all people alike; it knew no distinction of rank nor any preeminence of nation. Chapter 1, verse 14: "I am debtor to both the Greeks and the barbarians, both to the wise and the foolish." Paul uses "debtor" in the sense of being under obligation, for he was sent as the apostle to the Greeks and the barbarians. Paul sometimes uses the term "Greeks" to refer to all Gentiles.
However, in this passage, Ambrosiaster understands Paul to be using "Greeks" to refer to all people within the Roman Empire, and that he uses "barbarians" to refer to people living outside the Roman Empire. The wise to whom Paul refers are the worldly wise, who are foolish when it comes to true wisdom. Both the educated and the uneducated need the gospel message. Theodoret comments: Paul is saying, "I have been appointed to be the teacher of all the Gentile nations.
Therefore, I owe the debt of an evangelist not only to the Greeks but also to the barbarians. It was for this very purpose that the Spirit conferred on me the gift of other tongues, and it behooves me to discharge this debt, both to the unlearned and to those who boast of their worldly wisdom." Chapter 1, verse 15: "Therefore, as much as it lies with me, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome." Paul closes this passage by once again reiterating his eagerness to preach the gospel in Rome.
As Chrysostom points out, Paul's coming to Rome to preach the gospel eventually led to his death. It was in this way that he lost his life in this city, being cut off by the tyrant of it, Nero. However, this occurred on his second visit to Rome, not on his first visit: the beginning of Paul's great argument. Romans 1:16-17. When Bishop Stephen Langton divided the New Testament into its present chapter divisions, this would have been an excellent place to start a new chapter.
Paul is now finished with his introductory remarks, and he launches into his great argument. Paul continues this lengthy argument without abatement all the way to the end of Chapter 13. As discussed in the introductory chapter, Paul's great argument consists of six key points, the first of which he now introduces. Point 1: All mankind lies guilty before God and needs salvation.
Chapter 1, verse 16: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation, to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Chrysostom writes: Why does Paul say, "I am not ashamed"? It is because the pagan Romans were haughty and exceedingly focused on the things of this world. Yet Paul was going to be preaching to them: Jesus, who was known to be a carpenter's son, brought up in Judea in the house of a lowborn woman.
So Paul is telling the Roman Christians that people may ask, "Isn't it true that you worship someone who was crucified? If so, do not be ashamed and do not be downcast; rather, glory in it, put on a bright face. With the eyes of a free man and with your head held high, proudly take up your confession of faith. And if that person asks again, 'Isn't it true that you worship someone who was crucified?' boldly answer, 'Yes, I do.' For it is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes.
The gospel is not the power of God to everyone, but only to those who believe." Theodoret comments: the holy apostle appropriately refers to the saving gospel as the power of God, for it exhibits power, bestowing salvation on believers. To the Jew first and also to the Greek, Paul now moves seamlessly into his primary subject. After exhorting his readers not to be ashamed of the gospel, he reminds them that the gospel brings salvation to both Jews and Gentiles.
Although he mentions this fact in an almost offhand way, Paul is skillfully turning his readers' minds to the noble subject of the salvation of the Jews and Gentiles. Theodoret notes: Paul says the gospel is offered to all, both Jews and Greeks. He puts the Jews first, before the Greeks: "For our Lord Christ sent the holy apostles as preachers to the Jews first." In other words, the phrase "to the Jew first" means that the Jews were the first ones to hear the gospel.
Paul told the unbelieving Jews in Antioch and Pisidia: "It was necessary that God's word should be spoken to you first. Since indeed you thrust it from yourselves and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles." Chapter 1, verse 17: "For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, 'The righteous will live by faith.'" The expression "from faith to faith" means from the faith of the law and the prophets to the faith of the gospel.
Theodoret writes: Paul says, "From faith to faith. For we ought to believe the prophets and by them be brought to the faith of the gospel." Paul purposefully quotes from the Old Testament to show that righteousness through faith was taught in the law and the prophets. This demonstrates that he and the other apostles were not teaching anything new. Interestingly, this bridge between the law and the gospel moves in both directions. Origen writes: "Those who are under the law must believe in the gospel.
At the same time, those who have begun with the gospel must also believe the law and the prophets. For a person does not have the fullness of life if he has only one but not the other. Even though Christians are not under the Mosaic law, our faith is built on the law and the prophets." Condemnation of the Gentiles (Romans 1:18-23): Throughout most of Romans, Paul will be confronting both the unbelieving Jews and the Judaizers within the Church.
Therefore, Paul prudently begins by first condemning not the Jews but the unbelieving Gentiles. In this manner, Paul is making it easier for the Jews to receive the hard truths he will be declaring to them. Paul also demonstrates that he is not singling out the Jews for criticism. Chapter 1.