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Romans 1-8, Volume 38A
By James D. G. Dunn, Bruce M. Metzger, David A. Hubbard, Glenn W. Barker ZONDERVAN
Copyright © 1988 Thomas Nelson, Inc.
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-310-52182-2
CHAPTER 1
Introduction (1:1–17)
The letter falls into the three self-evident sections of almost all communications: beginning (1:1–17), middle (1:18–15:13) and end (15:14–16:27). The introduction consists of three paragraphs: 1:1–7, where Paul introduces himself with an unusual degree of elaboration and greets his readers in typical fashion; 1:8–15, where Paul makes a preliminary statement of his hopes to visit the Christians in Rome; and 1:16–17, where Paul sets out the main theme of the unusually lengthy exposition following thereafter.
A. Introductory Statement and Greetings (1:1–7)
Form and Structure
The opening paragraph is framed by the typical and long-established [TEXT UNREADABLE IN ORIGINAL SOURCE] for the beginning of a Greek letter: A to B [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], "Greeting" (within [TEXT UNREADABLE IN ORIGINAL SOURCE] NT cf. Acts 15:23; 23:26; James 1:1; see further Roller, 55–56). Paul elaborates each of the three elements with characteristic features: his own self-identification as "servant of Christ Jesus" and "apostle ..." (v 1) is more extensive than usual (presumably because he was writing to largely unknown congregations—though Rengstorf, "Paulus," justifiably warns against overemphasis on this point); the description of his addressees is elaborate (v 7a), but not unduly so (cf. 1 Cor 1:2; contrast Gal 1:2); and he concludes with his regular Christianized greeting, "Grace ([TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII.]) to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (v 7b; cf. 2 Macc 1:1; 2 Apoc. Bar. 78.2).
Unusually, however, Paul inserts a lengthy parenthesis about his gospel and apostleship between the first two elements of the standard opening (vv 2–6), presumably as a deliberate tactic to demonstrate his "good faith" and to deflect any suspicion or criticism from the start. This would explain, in particular, his incorporation of an older credal or evangelistic formulation (vv 3–4)—a clear indication to his Roman readers that he shares with them, as with those who were believers before him, a common faith and gospel.
Recognition of these distinctively Pauline features at the very beginning of the letter provides a first clear indication of Paul's concerns in writing: he writes preeminently as one "set apart for the gospel," whose apostleship is directed to the Gentiles (vv 1,5); but each assertion is carefully formulated in characteristic Jewish terms—the gospel of God which he "promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures" (vv 1–2), Gentile converts "beloved of God, called to be saints" (v 7). Immediately therefore a theological dynamic is set up (out of which the structural tensions arise in large part): a Jewish gospel for Gentiles; what does this mean for the Gentiles?—and for the Jews as a whole? The thematic importance of what is thus signaled in the prescript is indicated by the subsequent frequency of the key words "faith" and "Gentiles," and also "obedience" (see on 1:5) ("the prescript has programmatic character for the whole epistle"—van der Minde, 38; see also O'Brien, 226–29, and Wright, Messiah, chap. 1).
That a pre-Pauline formulation is involved in vv 3–4 (and not just pre-Pauline phrases, as argued by Poythress) is indicated particularly by: (1) the two relative clauses in antithetic parallelism, (2) with the parallel verbs as aorist participles, and (3) two sets of parallel phrases attached [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] (4) the untypical Pauline language ([TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII.]), (5) the Semitism [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], (6) and the primitive description of Christ's resurrection as "the resurrection of the dead"; and (7) the evidence of similar primitive balanced formulations (son of David, son of God) in 2 Tim 2:8, Ign. Smym. 1.1 and in the common tradition lying behind the birth narratives (Matt 1:18–25; Luke 1:32–35; see Brown, Birth, 133–43, 309–16). That the lines are not exactly balanced says nothing to the contrary: theological adequacy would be regarded as more important than stichometric consistency; and the more redaction argued for, the less fitted would the formula be to serve its most obvious function of assuring the Roman addressees that Paul fully shared their common faith {pace Jewett, "Redaction").
That Paul framed the earlier material with the two Christological affirmations, "concerning his Son" and "Jesus Christ our Lord" is generally accepted. The still popular view that [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] is an insertion (by Paul or earlier) which disrupts the parallelism (so, e.g., Schlier and Wilckens; but see Hahn, Titles, 247, and Kasemann with further literature), depends too much on the older view that the Davidic Messiah was not thought of as God's son (as in Wegenast, 73–74—so that "son of David" and "son of God" could stand in abrupt antithesis), now overthrown by the evidence of the Dead Sea Scrolls (see on 1:4). The older view that the [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] antithesis is also a Pauline insertion has now been largely abandoned (e.g., Michel against earlier editions, Wilckens; otherwise Wengst, 113; variation in Linnemann, 274–75, and Theobald, 382–83): the use of the [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] antithesis is not typical of Paul's use elsewhere, though the meaning of each phrase is not so different from Paul as Schweizer, "Rom l:3f.," argued—[TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] cf. 4:1, 9:3, 5; [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], cf. 6:4, 2 Cor 13:4; cf. Wengst, 113. Jewett argues that the two [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII.] phrases belong to a second, redacted, but still pre-Pauline level; but continues to depend on the unlikely suggestion that Paul added the unusual [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] ("Redaction").
As examples of the quality of Paul's style we may note the wordplay in vv 1–2 [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], the neatly balanced sequence of prepositional phrases in v 5: [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], and the balance between the phrases which he applies to himself in v 1 and those he applies to his readers in v 7:
[TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]
The naming of "Jesus Christ" four times in seven verses indicates the centrality of Christ to Paul's whole thought and endeavor.
Comment
1 [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], "Paul." The name by which Paul evidently wished to be known in all his letters. He never uses the name "Saul," though according to Acts that was how he was known at the time of his conversion and during the early part of his ministry and as a missionary of the church at Antioch (Acts 9:1,4, etc., 13:1–2,7). It would appear, however, from Acts 13:9 that at that time he already had the double name, "Saul, Paul," the latter which he presumably had used in the past in Greek circles (MM, 499; NDIEC 1:89–96). As a Roman citizen (a status enjoyed by many Jews of the period—see SVMG, 3:132–34) "Paul" was probably part of the formal name (e.g., C. Julius Paulus) by which he was registered according to law (Harrer, Hemer). "Saul" would then have been his familiar name, which persisted well into adulthood. In Acts the transition from "Saul" to "Paul" as his regular self-designation more or less coincides with the beginning of his active (recorded) outreach to Gentiles beyond the eastern seaboard of the Mediterranean. Since "Saul" was an unfamiliar name outside Jewish circles the transition to the more easily recognized name was a natural step. Yet, the completeness of the change strongly suggests a transition in Paul's self-perception, at least in terms of the social context within which he had his identity, perhaps a certain freeing of himself from the person he had been perceived to be as "Saul," or a willingness to engage in new relationships other than those enjoyed by "Saul." That "Paul" thus reflects his increasing commitment as "apostle to the Gentiles" is therefore quite likely. And since this commitment comes to the fore more or less clearly in all his letters, the consistent self-designation "Paul" in all his letters can also be seen as an expression of that commitment—and not least in Romans (cf. 1:5–7). Such an implication would obviously be lost on his Roman readers, unless they were familiar with his older persona.
Paul does not associate anyone else with his greetings, in contrast to his usual practice (though cf. Gal 1:1). This is not to be explained simply by the fact that he and his associates had had no hand in the founding of the Roman congregations (cf. 1 Cor 1:1). And, assuming chap. 16 is part of the original letter (see 16:1–23 Form and Structure), Timothy, his closest fellow worker, was beside him here too (16:21; cf. 2 Cor 1:1; Phil 1:1; Col 1:1; 1 Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:1). In this instance we may assume therefore that Paul wanted to present himself in his own person to these largely unknown congregations, as (the) apostle to the Gentiles (cf. 11:13), and with the subsequent exposition of the gospel understood very much as his (cf. 2:16; 16:25; Achtemeier). It was on their reaction to this very personal statement that the success or failure of this letter would hang (see also on 16:21).
[TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], "slave of Christ Jesus"—elsewhere among his introductory formulae only in Phil 1:1. Paul here clearly draws on his Jewish heritage. The Jewish worshiper quite naturally thought of himself as God's slave (Neh 1:6, 11; Ps 19:11, 13; 27:9; 31:16; etc.; 1QH 7.16; 9.10–11; etc.). The noun is used both in the plural and in the singular for Israel as a whole (Deut 32:36; Jer 46 [LXX 26]:27; Ezek 28:25). And great figures from the past are quite often referred to as Yahweh's slave, particularly Moses (e.g., 2 Kgs 18:12; Neh 9:14; Ps 105:26; Dan 9:11; Mai 4:4; Josephus, Ant. 5.39), and the prophets (Ezra 9:11; Jer 7:25; 25:4; 35 [LXX 42]: 15; Ezek 38:17; Dan 9:6; Amos 3:7; Zech 1:6). As such the idea draws its force from Israel's conviction that it had been chosen by the one God to be peculiarly and particularly his—Israel as belonging exclusively to Yahweh and none other, Israel's great heroes honored by the title precisely because of the unconditional quality of their commitment to Israel's God and of their part in maintaining the covenant between God and his people. The idea itself does not necessarily imply that Paul placed himself in the line of such great figures. But in using it of himself Paul certainly wanted to indicate the same exclusiveness and unconditional character of his belonging and dependence. The phrase is not so much honorific as indicative of dedication. Hence also its wider use in early Christian vocabulary, not just of apostolic figures (Phil 1:1; 2 Tim 2:24; James 1:1; 2 Pet 1:1; Jude 1:1), but also of Christians generally (Acts 4:29; 1 Cor 7:22; Eph 6:6; Col 4:12; Rev 22:3; see further BGD, [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] 4; and later NDIEC 2:54).
Paul's adaptation of the familiar Jewish language is distinctive in three ways. (1) He calls himself a slave "of Christ Jesus." This is the corollary of hailing Jesus as "Lord," but the degree to which the pious Jew's exclusive devotion to the one God has now become or come to include the same sort of devotion to Jesus as risen from the dead and exalted to God's right hand is highly significant as an indicator of how far developed the self-understanding of the Jesus movement already was (cf. Titus 1:1, "slave of God"). The degree of intended continuity with traditional Jewish faith would be heightened if [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] retained anything of its titular significance as the Greek translation of "Messiah." And this may be implied in the fact that [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] can stand first (an odd inversion if "Jesus Christ" had become solely a proper name—McCasland, 382). But the idea of Jesus as fulfillment of Israel's Messianic hope (and therefore worthy of the devotion previously restricted to the Lord, Yahweh) is clearly drawn in only in vv 2–4, and can only be recognized in v 1 as a reflection of the immediately following emphasis (see particularly Dahl, "Messiahship," 37–47; Kramer, 203–14).
(2) Paul very likely had in mind a particular OT passage—Isa 49:1–7 or 8. (a) It certainly played a role in shaping his own understanding of his call as apostle to the Gentiles, along with other "Servant" passages in Isaiah: Gal 1:15—Isa 49:1 (note also the self-reference as "Christ's slave" in Gal 1:10); 2 Cor 6:1–2—Isa 49:8; Rom 15:21—Isa 52:15; Phil 2:1b—Isa 49:4; note also Acts 13:47—Isa 49:6; Acts 26:18—Isa 42:7. (b) The theme of God calling his servant Islave for ministry to the Gentiles (and the diaspora as part of his covenant purpose) is certainly prominent in both Isa 49:1–8 (LXX) and Paul's opening statement here (vv 1—7), in which case it is presumably implied that Paul saw his ministry to the Gentiles both as fulfilling Israel's covenanted role (according to Isaiah), and as bringing to full effect Jesus' own role as the Servant of Yahweh (cf. Dunn, Jesus, 112—13); see further on 15:21.
(3) The idea of the individual being slave of a deity was familiar enough in the East, and in the West through the spreading mystery cults. Otherwise it would have been at odds with cultured Greek thought, where the sense of the dignity of the free man made it virtually impossible for slavery to serve as an ideal or commendable type of relationship (TDNT 2:261—65; Lagrange). This sense of a fundamental distinction between slave and free was deeply rooted in Roman society (cf. Meeks, Urban Christians, 20—21), so that Paul must have been aware of it, and of the conflicting images the phrase would provoke in the minds of his Roman readers—not least the designation of himself as "slave" of the one who had suffered the "slaves' punishment" (see M. Hengel, Crucifixion [London: SCM, 1977] 51–63).
[TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], "called to be an apostle"—the complete phrase only here and in 1 Cor 1:1. [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] in common parlance would denote one who had been invited to a meal (e.g., 1 Kgs 1:41,49; 3 Macc 5.14; Matt 22:14). This sense is derived from the verb [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], "invite," which also has the stronger force of "summon" (BGD, [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] 1b, d, e), and which presumably had something of that stronger sense when the invitation to the banquet was given by a king or by a god (as in Matt 22:3, 9 and NDIEC 1:5–6). Even stronger is its Christian usage (cf. particularly Rom 4:17; 9:11–12)—Paul's readers defined precisely as "the called," those whose lives had been determined by God's summons, who had been drawn into God's ongoing purpose by the power of that call (1:6–7; 8:28,30; 1 Cor 1:2,9,24; 7:15, 17–24; Gal 1:6; 5:8, 13; etc.—see TDNT 3:488—89, 494). Within that calling, which is one of the distinguishing features of all those belonging to Christ, Paul thinks of a calling to a specific task (1:1; 1 Cor 1:1), though in both cases he takes care to ensure that the idea of a specific calling cannot be separated from the calling of all (1:6–7; 1 Cor 1:2; cf. Str-B, 3:1–2). The prominence of the theme of God's summons both here (vv 1,6–7) and in the context of the Isaiah servant passages (Isa 41:9; 42:6; 43:1; 45:3—4; 48:12, 15; 49:1; 51:2) strengthens the probability that Paul had the Isaianic theme very much in mind.
[TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] has the basic force of "messenger, delegate, one sent on behalf of" (MM, BGD; in Paul, 2 Cor 8:23; Phil 2:25). Hence the specialized sense of "messenger, apostle of Christ," which had already become established as a technical term in Christian vocabulary, even though it did not swallow up the less specific sense for some time (Did. 11.4, 6). In calling himself an "apostle" Paul clearly presupposes a special commissioning by the risen Christ to a limited group within a limited time period following his resurrection (1 Cor 15:8—"last of all"), and asserts an authority exercised particularly in mission, in the establishing of churches (1 Cor 9:1–2). Here he announces his title without making any great point of it, though he will shortly emphasize its (for him) two main characteristics—an apostleship given through the exalted Christ and an apostleship to the Gentiles (1:5; contrast the more vigorous defense called forth in Galatians and 1 and 2 Corinthians). In each case he acts on his conviction that his authority as apostle was circumscribed by his sphere of mission and was to be exercised only in relation to the churches founded by him (1 Cor 12:28; 2 Cor 10:13–16—see NEB; Rom 15:20). Paul claimed a special apostleship to the Gentiles (see further on 11:13), but not in an exclusive sense, since he also reckoned as apostles a wider circle than the twelve, including several who were associated in one way or another with him in the Gentile mission (1:5; 16:7; 1 Cor 4:9; 15:7; 1 Thess 2:6). That "apostle" as a t.t. was not yet so limited as Acts 1:26 implies, helps explain why Paul's claim to an apostolic commissioning was accepted by the Jerusalem leadership (to the extent that they did so) despite the uncomfortableness of his understanding of the gospel which belonged to his apostleship to the Gentiles (Gal 2:1–10). The tendency already in Acts to confine the title to "the twelve" anticipates later trends (cf. LPGL) not yet evident at the time of Paul. For further discussion and bibliography see J. A. Kirk, "Apostleship since Rengstorf: Towards a Synthesis," NTS 21 (1974—75) 249–64; Dunn, Jesus, 271–80; NIDNTT 1:136–37.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Romans 1-8, Volume 38A by James D. G. Dunn, Bruce M. Metzger, David A. Hubbard, Glenn W. Barker. Copyright © 1988 Thomas Nelson, Inc.. Excerpted by permission of ZONDERVAN.
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