Romans 1:1-7

Address and Greeting

The Apostle conforms to the usage of his time, beginning his letters with his own name, followed by a designation of the persons addressed, to which a greeting is added. But he usually describes himself as related to Jesus Christ, indicates the character of those he addresses, and gives a distinctively Christian salutation. The most usual designation of himself is ‘an Apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God' (so 2 Cor., Eph., Col., 2 Tim.); in 1 and 2 Thess. no designation is added; ‘prisoner,' ‘servant,' etc., occur in other Epistles. But here and in Galatians the description is more full, in view of the thoughts which are to follow. (Compare also the full designation in Titus 1:1-3.) He begins the address here, by describing himself as ‘a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an Apostle;' he then particularizes his relation to the gospel (Romans 1:1); but designing to treat quite fully of evangelical truth, he enlarges upon these relations, introducing: (1) the connection of the gospel with the Old Testament, Romans 1:2; (2) the divine-human Person of Christ, who is the subject of this gospel, Romans 1:3-4; (3) his call to the apostleship of the Gentiles (Romans 1:5), which gives him the right to address the Roman Christians, Romans 1:6. Then follows the usual apostolic greeting, Romans 1:7. The fulness of this address shows the importance which the Apostle attached to the fundamental thoughts of this Epistle, since they suggest themselves at the very outset, and are interwoven with what would ordinarily be merely the conventional beginning of a letter.

The greeting found in Romans 1:7 occurs in this form (with trifling variations) in most of Paul's letters. It is partly Greek, partly Hebrew, in its origin, but wholly Christian in its sense. (On the words “grace” and “peace,” see Romans 1:7.) The Pastoral Epistles (with the exception of Titus, according to the correct text) contain the form, “grace, mercy, and peace,” the word “mercy” being probably derived from the Greek version of the priestly benediction, Numbers 6:25. The Apostle Peter in his Epistles, and the Apostle John in the Apocalypse, join together “grace and peace” in their greetings, while in Jude 1:2 we find “ mercy, peace, and love.”

The whole section shows Paul to be a model for the Christian minister, in his humility and dignity, in the sense of dependence on the personal Lord Jesus Christ which underlies his authoritative utterances, as well as in his devotion to this great personal theme of the gospel which he so earnestly desires to preach everywhere.