Romans 1:1

Παῦλος. Here, Gal., Gal., Ephesians, 1 and 2 Tim., no colleague is mentioned.

δοῦλος in the address here and Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:1, only; cf. James 1:1; 2 Peter 1:1; Jude 1:1; Revelation 1:1; cf. also Galatians 1:10; Colossians 4:12; 2 Timothy 2:24. The most absolute term for service, countenanced by our Lord Himself, cf. Matthew 20:27 and n. John 15:15; cf. Isaiah 49:3 f.; Jeremiah 7:25, alibi Regular O. T. term for prophets. Here adopted by S. Paul for himself, and the name, Ἰ. Χρ., substituted for Jehovah; cf. S. H.

Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. The personal relation is the foundation of the Christian stat whether of the apostle or of his readers (Romans 1:6). Ἰης., the personal name, emphasises, as always, the human mission of the Lord, its character and object. Χρ., the official name, emphasises the position in the history of GOD’s dealings with men, and the divine commission. N. the fourfold repetition Romans 1:1; Romans 1:4; Romans 1:6-7 and cf. 1 Corinthians 1:1-9.

κλητὸς�. Romans 1:7, κλητοῖς ἁγίοις: cf. 1 Corinthians 1:1-2 only. This group καλεῖν, κλῆσις, κλητός is characteristic of Pauline writings; Revelation 17:14 only in John. Evv. only Matthew 9:13 |[49]. They describe the call to service, whether accepted or rejected. The emphasis is on the invitation given, Galatians 1:1; cf. Matthew 22:3 f. |[50]. See further n. on Romans 8:28. The added word describes the nature of the service required.

[49] | parallel to
[50] | parallel to

ἀπόστολος in its widest sense—a commissioned agent—then further defined in the following phrases. The nexus throughout the passage is by development of the implicit meaning into explicit statements, words forming the base of expanding thoughts. The name in its Christian use is derived from the Lord Himself, Mark 3:14 = Luke 6:13. See Add. Note H.

ἀφωρισμένος. Cf. Galatians 1:15 : repeats and enlarges the idea of κλητός = separation from all other human relations for this single purpose of absolute service to the commission when the call came. It is a characteristic O. T. expression for the relation of Israel to GOD (as the κλητός); cf. the word Pharisee, of which it appears to be an assonant rendering.

εἰς εὐαγγέλιον θεοῦ. As the call and separation are of GOD, so is the object, GOD’S Gospel.

For the spread of the Gospel as the aim of Christian service cf. 1 Thessalonians 3:2; Philippians 1:5; Philippians 2:22; Philippians 4:3; Galatians 2:7; 1 Corinthians 9:12; 2 Corinthians 2:12; 2 Corinthians 8:18; 2 Corinthians 10:14; 2 Timothy 1:8; below, Romans 15:16; Romans 15:19 alibi The O.T. connexion is with the use of εὐαγγελίζεσθαι in Isaiah 40 f., esp. 61; cf. Luke 4:18. It is the Lord’s own word for His message, Mark 1:15; Mark 8:35 and Luke 4:43 alibi

The phrase is anarthrous only here (cf. Revelation 14:6), and so emphasises the character of the object—for propagating good tidings of and from GOD.

On the word see Thayer and S. H. and Dalman, p. 102.