William Greeting
Rom 1:1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
Rom 1:2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,
Rom 1:3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,
Rom 1:4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,
Rom 1:5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake,
Rom 1:6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;
Rom 1:7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
v1 – Paul begins this letter in his standard way. The wording may be somewhat different with each letter, however there are very similar descriptions. He introduces himself as Paul, a bond servant of Christ, called to be an apostle. The term bond servant is the Greek word δοῦλος (doulos) which means bond servant or slave; one who gives themselves up to another’s will. This is what Paul has done, he is following the will of Christ to spread the truth of what God has done through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
v2 – And this gospel (good news) is not new, but was foretold through the Old Testament starting in Gen 3:15, “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” This was spoke by God to the serpent in the garden after the fall of Adam and Eve.
v3 – As stated above, the gospel refers to the Son of God, Jesus. He of the lineage of King David based on His humanity.
v4 – Jesus was declared to be the Son of God by the Holy Spirit with the evidence being His resurrection from the dead.
v5 – And it was this same Jesus who gave Paul and his helpers the grace and apostleship. Through Jesus they were justified (declared righteous) because of the Jesus’ death on the cross, and it was Jesus who sent them out to spread the good news among the Gentiles. Note Acts 9:15-16 regarding Saul (now Paul) “But the Lord said to him (Ananias), “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” When Jesus met Saul on the road to Damascus, this was His purpose, to enlist him in His service of spreading the gospel not just to the Jews and to kings, but to Gentiles as well.
v6-7 – And those Gentiles whom God sent Paul to included the Roman Church. All those in Rome who are of the faith. Who live out their faith throughout their lives in devotion to Christ. Note: Where it says called ‘as’ saints, in the Greek the wording is called saints. God sent them to those who were already saints. This is not to say that some were not saved through their words, however, they were sent to those who were already Christians.