Paul, the gospel of God, and the Son (Romans 1:1–7)

Paul expands the usual letter opening ("A to B, greeting") far beyond its normal length. Before he names the addressees, he defines his commission, the gospel's pedigree in Scripture, its content, and its goal.

Says Paul calls himself δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ (doulos Christou Iēsou, "a servant of Christ Jesus"), κλητὸς ἀπόστολος (klētos apostolos, "called to be an apostle"), and ἀφωρισμένος εἰς εὐαγγέλιον θεοῦ (aphōrismenos eis euangelion theou, "set apart for the gospel of God," 1:1). Implies The word δοῦλος has two sides. In Paul's world it meant ownership and total obligation, so he belongs wholly to Christ. In the LXX "servant of the Lord" is also a title of honor for Moses, David, and the prophets (2 Kgdms 7:5). Paul puts Christ Jesus where the LXX has the Lord (note.language.Rom.1.1.doulos; lex.G1401). Implies The two passives, "called" and "set apart," make God the one who commissions. Paul's office is not self-appointed (compare Gal 1:1, 15; note.language.Rom.1.1.apostolos; lex.G652). Uncertain A pun on "Pharisee" ("separated") in ἀφωρισμένος has been suggested, but it cannot be shown from the text, and the commentary does not build on it.

Says God "promised beforehand" this gospel "through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures" (1:2, BSB). The gospel is "of God" (1:1) and "regarding His Son" (περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, 1:3). Implies "Of God" names the gospel's source. Its content is the Son. The prophets' "good news" of God's reign and return to Zion (Isa 40:9; 52:7 LXX, εὐαγγελίζομαι; cf. Rom 10:15) is the primary background (note.language.Rom.1.1.euangelion; lex.G2098). Imperial "good tidings" and the title "son of a god" were also current in Paul's world (the Priene calendar inscription; coins of Octavian). Whether Paul intended a challenge to Caesar is debated, but the text grounds both terms in Scripture's promise (note.historical.Rom.1.1-Rom.1.32.son-of-god-euangelion).

Says The gospel concerns the Son. He came from the seed of David according to the flesh and was appointed Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection of the dead: "Jesus Christ our Lord" (1:3–4). These two clauses are treated in the next section.

Says Through him Paul has received "grace and apostleship" (χάριν καὶ ἀποστολήν) "for the obedience of faith among all the nations, for his name's sake" (1:5). The readers are among those nations, "called to belong to Jesus Christ" (1:6). They are "loved by God" and "called to be saints" (κλητοῖς ἁγίοις, 1:7). Implies The same word, κλητός (klētos, "called"), describes Paul (1:1) and the Romans (1:6–7). In both cases calling is God's act, and the readers' holiness is a status given by that call, not their own achievement (note.language.Rom.1.1.apostolos).

Says The greeting is "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (1:7, BSB). Implies One preposition, ἀπό, governs both persons, so Jesus is named with the Father as the source of divine grace and peace. Paul also gives the Lord's name to Jesus as κύριος (kyrios, "Lord," 10:9–13, citing Joel 2:32, MT 3:5). Together these imply his deity. No mere creature is named in a greeting as a source of grace.

Says The addressees are "all in Rome" (1:7). The variant record shows that G (Boernerianus) and its Latin column g omit "in Rome" here and at 1:15. The team prints ἐν Ῥώμῃ with high confidence (var.Rom.1.7.en-rome; var.Rom.1.15.tois-en-rome). In the order of Paul's titles in 1:1, the team prints SBLGNT's Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ with low confidence. 𝔓¹⁰, perhaps the earliest witness, and B read this order, while ℵ A and the Byzantine tradition read Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. The sense is the same either way (var.Rom.1.1.christou-iesou).