Romans 1:5

Through Christ Paul received χάριν κ. ἀποστολήν. The plural, ἐλάβομεν, may mean no more than the singular, or may proceed from the latent consciousness that the writer is not the only person entitled to say this; it is not expressly meant to include others. χάρις, grace, is common to all Christians; ἀποστολὴ rests upon a specialised χάρις and implies competence as well as vocation. But in the N.T. these are hardly distinguished; it is a man's χάρισμα which constitutes his “call” to any particular service in the Church. εἰς ὑπακοὴν πίστεως : the object of the apostleship received through Christ is obedience of faith, i.e., the obedience which consists in faith (but cf. Acts 6:7) among all the Gentiles. Cf. chap. Romans 10:16; 2 Thessalonians 1:8. The meaning of ἔθνεσιν (Gentiles, not nations) is fixed by Romans 1:13 and by Paul's conception of his own vocation, Galatians 1:16; Galatians 2:8; Ephesians 3:1 ff. ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ : the final purpose of his vocation is that Christ's name may be above every name.