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Slave of Christ, God’s Cultic Minister, Debtor of Greeks and Barbarians.

Pauline Apostolic Credentials in Rom 1,1-17.

Introduction

After more than twenty years of his apostolic mission, Paul decides to visit

Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, and to meet the Christian community

living there1. Since it is not the church he founded, he prepares his arrival by

sending a letter, known to us as the Letter to Romans. Its purpose is to present

the Apostle, to assure him a warm welcome in the community and to provide

him with their help in his further missionary plans. What was to be a preparation

for the visit resulted actually in one of the richest and more profound writings in

which Paul, looking back at his past and at the same time thinking of the future,

undertakes a thorough reflection on the nature of his apostleship and content of

his Gospel. These crucial issues are accentuated by the Apostle right at the

beginning of his correspondence to Romans, namely in the praescriptio (Rom 1,1-

7), and the exordium of the letter (Rom 1,8-17). There we find a set of titles with

which Paul describes himself as a ‚slave‛ of Christ (1,1), divine leitourgos (1,9)

and the ‚debtor‛ toward the pagan world (1,14). What is the purpose of calling

oneself a ‚slave‛ in the society that looks upon such persons with unreserved

contempt? What kind of cult has Paul in mind defining himself a cultic minister?

Finally, is the Apostle owing something to the pagan world? These questions

stand behind the present article whose purpose will lie in the rhetorical and

semantic investigation on the controversial and highly ambiguous titles which

Paul chooses to describe his apostolic credentials. In order to properly read their

content, we shall first have a look at the arrangement of the epistolary praesriptio

1 The Letter to Romans may be safely located between 55 and 58 A.D. The letter was probably

written from Corinth which is supported by the subscriptions in the manuscripts B1 and D1 and

by the set of names in Rom 16. Cf. T. R. SCHREINER, Romans (BECNT; Grand Rapids, MI 1998) 3-5;

W. HENDRIKSEN, Exposition of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids, MI 1980) 14-15; C. E. B.

CRANFIELD, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, vol.1 (London – New

York 2004) 12-16; R. JEWETT, Romans. A Commentary on the Book of Romans (Hermeneia;

Minneapolis 2007) 18-21; B. WITHERINGTON, III, Paul’s Letter to the Romans. A Socio-Rhetorical

Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI – Cambridge, U.K. 2004) 7; L. T. JOHNSON, Reading Romans. A

Literary and Theological Commentary (Macon, GE 2001) 4; J. D. G. DUNN, Romans 1 – 8 (WBC

38A; Dallas 1988) xliii.

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and the exordium in Rom 1,1-17, and then we will x-ray the particular terms with

which Paul defines his apostolic identity. Thus we hope to arrive at the better

understanding of the communicative dynamics governing the first seventeen

verses of the Romans.

1. Arrangement of the Praescriptio and Exordium

The diversity of the expressions with which Paul presents himself in the first

verses of his Letter to Romans is truly baffling. At the beginning, he builds his

image on the vocabulary taken from the contemporary social relations (1,1), to

consequently shift to the cultic 1,9) and financial language (1,14). Thus, the

Apostle calls himself a ‚slave‛ of Christ, ‚debtor‛ of both Greeks and the

barbarians, and the ‚cultic minister‛ of the Lord. It is not by chance that he

speaks of his apostolic ethos right at the beginning and toward the end of the

Letter to Romans. The epistolary praescritptio2 (Rom 1,1-7) and the exordium3

(Rom 1,8-17) are the most fitting places to present himself to the community

which he had not yet visited (cf. Rom 1,10; 15,28). The figure of the speaker, if

properly presented, adds enormously to the weight of his arguments and makes

2 On the praescriptio (letter opening) consisting of superscriptio (sender’ name), adscriptio

(addressee’s name) and salutatio (greetings formula), see H.-J. KLAUCK, Ancient Letters and the

New Testament. A Guide to Context and Exegesis (Waco, TX 2006) 17-18. On the standard letter

components containing letter opening, letter body and letter closing, see Ibidem, 17-25. See also J.

L. WHITE, Light from Ancient Letters ( Philadelphia 1986); G. W. DOTY, Letters in Primitive

Christianity (Philadelphia 1973); S. K. STOWERS, Letter Writing in Greco-Roman Antiquity

(Philadelphia 1986); A. J. MALHERBE, Ancient Epistolary Theorists (Atlanta 1988); D. E. AUNE, The

New Testament in its Literary Environment (Philadelphia 1989). 3 We analyze the Pauline letter to Romans as a rhetorical speech with its introductory part

(exordium), main thesis (propositio), arguments (probatio) and closing (peroratio). On the general

arrangement (dispositio) of the ancient rhetorical speech, see ARISTOTLE, Rhet. 3.13; QUINTILIAN,

Inst. 3.9.1. On the general applicability of the rhetorical dispositio to the Pauline letters, see J.-N.

ALETTI, ‚La dispositio rhétorique dans les épîtres pauliniennes. Propositions de méthode‛, NTS

38 (1992) 385-401. On the rhetorical disposition in the Letter to Romans, see IDEM., ‚La présence

d'un modèle rhétorique en Romains: Son rôle et son importance‛, Bib 71 (1990) 1-24 ; IDEM, La

lettera ai Romani e la giustizia di Dio (Roma 1997) (also in the English translation God’s Justice in

Romans. Keys for Interpreting the Epistle to the Romans [SB 37; Rome 2010]). Cf. also JEWETT,

Romans, 29-30; WITHERINGTON, Romans, 16-22; W. WUELLNER, ‚Paul's Rhetoric of Argumentation

in Romans. An Alternative to the Donfried-Karris Debate‛, CBQ 38 (1976) 330-351; J. S. VOS,

‚Sophistische Argumentation in Römerbrief des Apostel Paulus‛, NovT 43 (2001) 224-444.

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them acceptable for the audience4. Thus, on the manner in which Paul opens his

conversation introducing himself to the community depends their disposition to

listen and to help him in his future missionary plans.

That should help us to understand the unusually expanded epistolary praescritpio

combined with the exordium that is the rhetorical introduction to the speech

contained in Romans. At the beginning of the letter, following the patterns of the

ancient epistolography, Paul presents himself and defines his addresses (letter

opening, cf. Rom 1,1-7). After these preliminary steps, he undertakes the

discourse with his recipients. Its introductory part, the exordium, starts with the

thanksgiving and the prayer report (1,8-10) after which the Apostle explains his

plans to visit Rome (1,11-15)5. The exordium finishes with the theme that we may

define as a light motive or better as the main thesis of the Pauline letter to the

Romans – the Gospel as a means of salvation both for Jews and for Greeks 1,16-

17)6. Here is how the initial part of the Romans presents itself in the most general

traits7:

PRAESCRPTIO (LETTER OPENING) (1,1-7):

- presentation of the author (1,1)

- presentation of the Gospel (1,2-6)

- the addresses (1,7)

LETTER BODY (1,8 – 15,31)

Exordium (1,8-17) including the main thesis (propositio) (vv.16-17)

- thanksgiving and prayer report (1,8-10)

4 See e.g. QUINTILIAN, Inst. 4.1.7: ‚The exordium may sometimes derive its conciliatory force from

the person of the pleader. For although he may be modest and say little about himself, yet if he is

believed to be a good man, this consideration will exercise the strongest influence at every point

of the case. For thus he will have the good fortune to give the impression not so much that he is a

zealous advocate as that he is an absolutely reliable witness‛. See also ARISTOTLE, Rhet. 1.2.4-5. 5 On the epistolary thanksgiving and prayer report which can belong either to the letter opening or

to the letter body, see KLAUCK, Ancient Letters, 21-23. However, the compactness of the vv.1-7 as

well as the topics of faith, Gospel and future visit in Rome binding vv.8-10 with vv.11-17 make us

qualify the Pauline thanksgiving and prayer as belonging to the exordium. 6 Cf. SCHREINER, Romans, 58; 7 In our arrangement of the letter praescriptio and exordium we generally follow ALETTI, La lettera ai

Romani, 44.

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- the plans to visit Rome (1,11-15)

- the main thesis on the Gospel of salvation (1,16-17)

Rom 1,1 is then the first verse of the praescriptio, the opening part of the ancient

letter usually developed according the formula A to B with a stereotyped

infinitive chairein (‚greetings‛)8. As we may notice, in comparison to the usual

letter opening, Paul expands it considerably by the addition of three elements: 1)

by a triple identification of himself (1,1); 2) by the insertion of a fragment on the

nature and content of the Gospel he is preaching (1,2-6); and 3) by the longer

salutation formula with the identification of the addresses (1,7). This lengthy and

unusual introductory salutation (Rom 1,1-7) may be due to the fact that the

Apostle is writing to a community with which he has not yet had any personal

contact9. He is introducing himself to the Christians of the capital of the Roman

Empire. Yet, it is not an ordinary introduction, as it foreshadows major ideas in

the body of the letter: gospel, apostolate, and the role of Christ Jesus10. It seems

that Paul does not lose a moment beginning to shape his speech already in the

praescriptio11. Its expanded form clearly corroborates the communicative

strategies of the subsequent exordium (1,8-17)12.

It is then striking to see how smoothly the Apostle passes from speaking of

himself to speaking of the Gospel and the Lord. These themes are so strictly

connected that one cannot notice where one ends and another starts. In Rom 1,1,

Paul, employing the chain-thought, begins a long phrase that will be closed only

8 Cf. KLAUCK, Ancient Letters, 18. 9 Cf. WITHERINGTON, Romans, 29. The centrality of the Gospel in 1,1-7 suggests he shares it with

his readers. Cf. SCHREINER, Romans, 30. 10 Cf. J. A. FITZMYER, Romans: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (AB 33;

New Haven – London 2008) 228. 11 It is probably the reason for which many scholars regarded Rom 1,1-7 as a part of the exordium.

Cf. WUELLNER, ‚Paul's Rhetoric‛, 330-351; F. SIEGERT, Argumentation bei Paulus, gezeigt an Röm 9-

11 (Tübingen, 1985); R. JEWETT, ‚Following the Argument of Romans‛ WordWorld 6 (1986) 382-

389 ; IDEM, Romans, 96; F. VOUGA, ‚Romains, 1,18–3,20 comme narratio‛, La Narration. Quand le

récit devient communcaiton (eds. P. Bühler – J. F. Habermacher) (Geneva 1988) 145-161. 12 Bryskog rightly observes that the audience would probably understand this prescript as a

statement of the sender’s credentials which establishes Paul’s right and authority to write or

speak persuasively to the Romans. Cf. S. BRYSKOG, ‚Epistolography, Rhetoric and Letter

Prescript: Romans 1.1–7 as a Test Case‛, JSNT 65 (1997) 37.40. This is basically the function of the

exordium in the ancient speech. In this sense the praescriptio stressing the Pauline apostolic ethos

prepares the exordium.

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in v.7. His vocation to be ‚set apart‛ for the Gospel of God is a trigger that

initiates the reflection on the Good News promised through the prophets (1,2)

and concerning his Son (1,3-4)13. The two-verse description of the Pauline kerygma

leads once again to the topic of the apostleship received from the Lord and

having as a purpose bringing the Gentiles to the obedience of faith (1,5). Among

them Paul places also the Romans (1,6) to whom finally the letter is addressed

(1,7). This is how the flow of thought may be presented:

v.1 Paul

1. a slave of Christ (Christou Iēsou),

2. called to be an apostle,

3. set apart for the gospel of God

v.2 (the gospel) promised through prophets in the holy

scriptures,

v. 3 the gospel concerning his Son,

(Son) descended from David

v.4 designated Son of God in power (..) by his resurrection

v.5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship

(apostleship) to bring about the obedience of faith (..) all the

Gentiles,

v.6 (Gentiles) including yourselves

called to belong to Jesus Christ (Christou Iēsou);

v.7 To all God's beloved in Rome, called to be saints (<)

13 On the pre-Pauline formula in Rom 1,3-4, see SCHREINER, Romans, 38; R. BULTMANN, Theology of

the New Testament, vol. 1 (New York 1951) 49-50; C. K. BARRETT, A Commentary on the Epistle to the

Romans (London 1991) 20; F. HAHN, The Titles of Jesus in Christology: Their History in Early

Christianity (New York 1969) 246-251; K. WENGST, Christologische Formeln und Lieder des

Urchristentums (SNT 7; Gütersloh 1972) 112-117; J. D. G. DUNN, ‚Jesus—Flesh and Spirit: An

Exposition of Romans I.3–4‛, JTS 24 (1973) 40-68; P. STUHLMACHER, ‚Theologische Probleme des

Römerbriefpräskripts‛, EvT 27 (1967) 374-389; R. JEWETT, ‚The Redaction and Use of an Early

Christian Confession in Romans 1:3–4‛, The Living Text: Essays in Honor of Ernest W. Saunders

(eds. D. E. GROH – R. JEWETT) (Lanham, MD 1985) 100-113; FITZMYER, Romans, 230.

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As we see, ‚Paul‛ (v.1) may be easily connected with the address in v.7, ‚to

God’s beloved in Rome‛. It is brief and clear enough and actually it is how the

letters in antiquity were addressed. What is then the purpose of the long phrase

that runs in between? According to the rhetorical taxonomy we could call it the

amplificatio, that is the expansion of the writers presentation. Paul first adds his

triple identification as: 1. ‚slave‛ of Christ, 2. ‚apostle‛, and 3. the one ‚set apart

for the Gospel‛. Each of these elements may be interpreted as a header for what

follows14. The ‚slave‛ of Christ (v.1) will come back in the Roman’s description

as those who are called to ‚belong to Christ‛ (v. 6b; see the same genitive

Christou Iēsou). It means that the Pauline belonging to Jesus is a model for the

Roman’s relation with the Lord. The second expression, ‚the apostle‛ (v.1) is

then developed by defining the purpose of the Pauline apostleship – to bring the

Gentiles to the obedience of faith (v.5-6a; see the repeated stem apostol-). Finally

the central part is occupied by the description of the Gospel Paul was set for with

its most important figure – the Risen Lord. In the pivotal v.5 he is also defined as

the one from whom Paul received the grace of his apostleship.

From the way in which Paul opens his letter results already that his apostolic

identity is intrinsically bound to the Gospel and to the Lord15. The central part in

which he describes the nature of the Good News and the content of his preaching

points at the centrality of this issue which will be further confirmed in the main

thesis of Rom 1,16-17. Additionally the parallel between v.1, in which Paul calls

himself a slave of Christ, and v.6, in which the Romans are called to belong to

Christ, point at the Apostle whose life will be presented as a model for the

community. Before we proceed to the analysis of the exordium, let us stop at the

three terms Paul employs in the crucial v.1 to describe his identity.

2. Slave of Christ, Apostle, Set Apart for the Gospel

Paul’s first description of himself as doulos Christou Iēsou (‚slave of Jesus Christ‛)

makes us turn to the contemporary social relations of the Graeco-Roman world

14 Cf. JEWETT (Romans, 96) pointing at the apostleship motive developed in v.5 and the Gospel in

vv.2-4. 15 Cf. SCHREINER, Romans, 32;

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with its widespread slavery (estimates claim three slaves to one free citizen)16.

Here also we encounter the first problem. Paul builds his apostolic presentation

on the concept that has virtually no positive evaluation in the Greek or

Hellenistic culture. The Greeks with a strong sense of freedom would feel a

violent aversion to bondage and scorn for a slavery. It accounts especially for the

social human relations but also refers to gods. Even the Cynics, with their

broader view of service to which they felt summoned by Zeus himself, would

call themselves rather basileus (‚king‛) and dēspotes (‚lord‛), the very opposite of

doulos17. The Roman courts at the time of Paul defined slaves as persons as well

as things18.

Despite these negative connotations, some scholars argue that the title of slave

makes perfect sense in a letter to Rome. First, the Roman congregation, judging

by the names in Rom 16, consisted of many slaves, freedmen and freedwomen19.

The Apostle who defines himself and speaks as a slave of Christ would be

neither strange nor despiteful for them. Secondly, some would claim, largely

overlooked in the debate thus far was the local connotation of this expression in

Rome, where influential slaves in imperial service proudly bore the title ‚slave of

Caesar‛20. Paul, introducing himself with proper credentials as an agent of Christ

Jesus, used the technical term for a ‚king’s official‛ or an imperial bureaucrat.

The proximity between ‚slave of Caesar‛ and ‚slave of Christ Jesus‛ would then

run throughout the entire letter defining ‚whose power is ultimate, whose

gospel is efficacious, and whose program for global pacification and unification

is finally viable‛21.

16 Cf. FITZMYER, Romans, 231; JEWETT, Romans, 51-53. See also M. I. FINLEY (ed.), Classical Slavery

(London 1987); W. L. WESTERMANN, The Slave Systems of Greek and Roman Antiquity (Philadelphia

1955). Quite the similar presentation of Paul we find also in Gal 1,10 and Phil 1,1. 17 See EPICTETUS, Diatr. 3.22.49; 4.1.7. Cf. K. H. RENGSTORF, ‚doulos‛, TDNT II, 263. 18 Cf. WESTERMANN, The Slave Systems, 104. See also O. PATTERSON, ‚Paul, Slavery and Freedom:

Personal and Socio-Historical Reflections‛, Semeia 83/84 (1998) 263-279; IDEM, Slavery and Social

Death: A Comparative Study (Cambridge, MASS 1982). 19 Cf. WITHERINGTON, Romans, 39. 20 Cf. JEWETT, Romans, 100. The author follows the survey of M. J. BROWN, ‚Paul’s Use of δοῦλος

Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ in Romans 1:1‛, JBL 120 (2001) 723-737. See also WITHERINGTON, Romans, 39. 21 Cf. JEWETT, Romans, 100. This interpretation of the use of ‚slave‛ in 1,1 remains in congruence

with the author’s global reading of the Letter to Romans understood as a confrontation with the

imperial ideology and order.

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These interpretations, although interesting, lack substantial semantic support

and seem to impose on the Pauline rationale the extraneous strategy of dialog

with the imperial ideology. What Paul is really interested in is the condition of

the community in Rome (relations between Jewish Christians and the Christians

of the pagan origin) and his future evangelistic mission. It is also doubtful

whether he would choose ‚Cesar’s slaves‛ to present his relation with Jesus

having at his disposal the much more familiar OT model. In fact, the idea of

being slave to God, only marginally present in the Hellenistic literature, appears

with positive connotations in the Jewish-Hellenistic ambience22. The concept is

commonly found in the LXX which describes in this way Abraham, Joshua,

David, the prophets and other God-fearing people23. To be ‚slave of God‛

becomes thus a title of honor and denotes one’s life lived in the total commitment

to the divine service. We conclude then that it is the OT tradition that underlies

the Pauline idea of doulos Christou Iēsou24. Now we should define closer what

being ‚slave of Jesus Christ‛ consists in.

The Lord, making Paul his own possession, gives his life a new goal. As the first

expression doulos describes the intimate belonging to Jesus, the next one,

apostolos, explicates this new goal of Paul’s life25. He was ‚called to be an

apostle‛, that is ‚the one who is sent‛ by God. That is the basic sense of apostolos

from apostellō, ‚to send‛). It comes up in the extrabiblical literature where it is

used in the sense of ‚naval expedition‛, ‚colony‛ or ‚messenger, ambassador‛26.

The noun appears only once in the LXX (1 Kgs 14,6) where it translates the

passive participle šālûaḥ, ‚sent,‛ used of Ahaziah dispatched by God as a stern

messenger to the wife of Jeroboam. In the most general traits then, Paul considers

himself a ‚slave‛ of Christ, that is, his ‚messenger‛ and ‚representative‛.

22 For the Jewish-Hellenistic ambience, see the use of verb douleuō in LXX describing the act of

serving the true God Judg 10,16; Psa 2,11; 99,2; 101,22. 23 Cf. Josh 24,29; Judg 2,8; Ps 26,9; 33,23; 68,37; 88,3; 104,42; 2 Chr 17,23; Jer 25,4; Amos 3,7. 24 Cf. SCHREINER, Romans, 32; C. TALBERT, Romans (Macon 2002) 27. Barrett, pointing always at the

Jewish ambience, suggests that Paul may be drawing on language that refers to servants of a

king. While Greeks did not see themselves as a king’s slaves, Jews who were ministers of a king

often did (1 Sam 8,17; 2 Sam 14,22). Cf. BARRETT, Romans, 18. 25 Cf. RENGSTORF, ‚doulos‛, 277. 26 Cf. LYSIAS, Or. 19.21; DEMOSTHENES, Or. 3.5; 18.80,107; DIONYSIUS OF HALICARNASSUS, Ant. rom.

9.59; PLATO, Ep. 7.346a; HERODOTUS, Hist. 1.21; 5.38; JOSEPHUS, Ant. 17.300; 20.50.

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The lack of religious reference both in the Greek and OT literature made some

scholars turn to the Palestinian Jewish background in search of the closer

meaning of apostolos. There, in the first century A.D. we find the institution of

šĕlûḥîm, the rabbis whom the Jerusalem authorities would send out to act in their

name to settle financial, calendar, or doctrinal questions among Jews living

outside Jerusalem27. In the same vein Paul would be a representative of the

church community with authority to teach recognized by the Twelve (cf. Gal 2,1-

10). It may seem the closest parallel, yet we should bear in mind the exceptional

character of the Pauline apostleship. In the letter to Galatians he recognizes it

also as a gift of the Risen Lord not of any man (cf. Gal 1,12-24)28. It manifests itself

in the substantive adjective klētos (‚the called one‛) and is further developed in

Rom 1,3-5 where Paul speaks of the ‚grace of apostleship‛ as received from

Christ, the Lord ‚declared the Son of God with power according to the spirit of

holiness by resurrection from the dead‛ (v.4). Paul did not assume on his own

the function of Christ’s representative and envoy. It was entrusted him by the

Risen Lord.

This development of the idea of the Pauline apostolate might also be observed in

the arrangement of the praescriptio. The parallel between v.1 and vv.5-6 where we

find the idea of the apostleship allowed us also to define generally its purpose –

to bring the Gentiles to the obedience of faith (v.5b). How is Paul going to do it?

The answer comes with the third expression contained in Rom 1,1 which in its

linear development sheds a decisive light on what Paul means by his ‚slavery‛

and apostolic vocation29. The perfect passive participle aphōrismenos from the

Greek aphōrizō means ‚the one who has been set apart‛30. The passive voice

27 Cf. H. VOGELSTEIN, ‚The Development of the Apostolate in Judaism and Its Transformation in

Christianity‛, HUCA 2 (1925) 99-123; K. H. RENGSTORF, ‚apostolos‛, TDNT I, 407-420; FITZMYER,

Romans, 232. 28 In the same vein JEWETT (Romans, 101) speaks of the development of the idea of apostleship

reflected in Rom 1:1, where ‚the apostle is one who, through a vision of the risen Lord, has

become an official witness to his resurrection and who has been commissioned by him to preach

the gospel in a way fundamental to its spread‛. 29 On the concept of apostleship elucidated by the subsequent aphōrismenos eis euaggelion theou, see

CRANFIELD, Romans, I, 53. 30 The verb aphōrizō literary means ‚to separate‛, ‚to severe‛, hence also the secondary meaning

‚to appoint‛. Cf. BDAG, 127. Paul uses it also in the sense separating oneself, holding aloof in Gal

2,12; 2 Cor 6,1.

10

allows presuming the action of God himself who had chosen the Apostle for his

mission while its purpose is explained with the subsequent eis euaggelion theou31.

It is for the Gospel revealed by God (subjective genitive) that Paul was set apart

and destined. To be Christ’s slave means then to become his messenger

(apostolos) set apart (aphōrismenos) to preach the Gospel. The last expression, more

than the Jewish cultic background, echoes the model of the prophetic call32. Paul,

to some extent, sees in his life the repeated story of the OT prophets. The idea

appears also in Gal 1,15 where he uses the same verb aphōrizō speaking of God’s

call from the mother's womb (cf. Isa 49,1; Jer 1,5). As the Gospel of God was

promised through the prophets (Rom 1,2) so also Paul regards himself their

successor endowed, however, with the much more glorious mission of preaching

the Son of God33.

Ultimately, the initial address of the letter to the Romans discloses before our

eyes the foundations of the Pauline identity and the deepest motivation of his life

of faith. They consist in belonging to Christ to the point that he calls himself his

slave. It then finds a concrete expression in following Christ’s call to become his

apostle and to give his life to the preaching of the Gospel. Writing to the Romans,

Paul certainly describes a process which took place in his case and which over

many years brought him to the understanding that to be Christ’s means first and

foremost to preach his Gospel. No doubt we could point at the Damascus event

as the moment in which this process started34. There he was defeated by the Lord

and became his servant (cf. Phil 3,12; Acts 9,1-9). At that moment also the Risen

Lord made him his apostle and entrusted him with the commission to preach the

Good News to the gentiles (cf. Gal 1,15-16; Acts 9,15). In Rom 1,9 Paul

interestingly calls his new mission ‚a cultic service‛ for God. This new

31 See also the same root horizō in the passive voice used in Rom 1,4 where the action regards God

declaring divinity of Christ. 32 Cf. U. KELLERMANN, ‚aphōrizō‛, EDNT I, 183; SCHREINER, Romans, 33. 33 Cf. SCHREINER, Romans, 33; E. KÄSEMANN, Commentary on Romans (Grand Rapids, MI 1980) 6; J.

A. D. WEIMA ‚Preaching the Gospel in Rome: A Study of the Epistolary Framework of Romans‛,

Gospel in Paul: Studies on Corinthians, Galatians, and Romans for Richard N. Longenecker (eds.

L. A. JERVIS – P. RICHARDSON) (JSNTSup 108; Sheffield 1995) 341. For more, see K. O. SANDNES,

Paul—One of the Prophets? A Contribution to the Apostle’s Self-Understanding (WUNT 2/43;

Tübingen 1991). 34 Cf. SCHREINER, Romans, 33.

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understanding of the apostolic commission will be the next object of our

reflection.

3. Divine Leitourgos

Regarding what Paul has already said about his apostolic identity in the

praescriptio Rom 1,1-7, the next vv.8-10 bring to his thought a considerable

novelty. As the Apostle turns to the formulary thanksgiving and prayer report,

his idea of the apostleship also assumes some cultic features. He starts speaking

of the religious ministry he is performing for God (1,9). It is interestingly

combined with the Gospel and thus strictly related with the preceding part, vv.1-

735. Thus, the Pauline presentation continues uninterrupted:

THE EPISTOLARY THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER REPORT (ROM 1,8-10):

v.8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you (<)

v.9 For God is my witness,

whom I serve (latreuō) with my spirit in the gospel of his Son,

that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers,

v.10 asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to

you.

Once again we can notice the same smoothness in Paul’s passing from the

thanksgiving for the Roman’s faith (v.8) to report on the prayer he makes to be

able to visit them (vv.9-10). The exordium starting in Rom 1,8 is also marked by

the profuse presence of the rhetorical pathos. The thanksgiving for the Romans’

faith which ‚is proclaimed in all the world‛ presents Paul who, even though not

being a father of the community, has a lively interest in their life36. Such a signal

of the spiritual vicinity and joy surely complies with the tenor of the exordium

which should make the audience benevolent, attentive and ready to receive the

35 See the vocabulary links between 1,1-7 and 8-10: Jesoūs Christos (1,1.4.6.7.8), theos (1,1.4.7.8.910),

pistis (1,5.8), hyios (1,3.4.9), pneuma (1,4.9), euaggelion (1,1.9). 36 See also the hyperbole ‚in all the world‛ strengthening the highly emotional pitch of the

thanksgiving. On the use of the pathos in the rhetorical argument, see QUINTILIAN, Inst. 6.2.20-36;

ARISTOTLE, Rhet. 1.2.5.

12

message37. Another hyperbole in 1,9 describes the Apostle who ‚without ceasing‛

always remembers Romans in his prayers asking that he may succeed in coming

to them (v.10). The purpose of the Pauline visit remains still unclear at this stage

but the audience is assured that it is not motivated by the Apostle’s caprice. In

v.9 Paul recurs to the amplificatio by means of which he inserts the mention on his

service ‚in the spirit‛ and ‚in the Gospel‛. This is also much in vein with the

practices of the exordium in which the ethos of the speaking enhances the

credibility of the message and assures the positive response of the hearers38. The

Apostle’s arrival is connected with the cultic ministry he holds before God. What

does it mean?

In Rom 1,9 Paul employs the verb latreuō which in the Greek literature is used in

the sense of carrying out the religious duties, especially of a cultic nature39. The

Apostle describes his cultic service as made ‚in his spirit‛ (en tō pneumati mou),

with the entire inner, spiritual engagement, and manifested in his preaching the

Good News40. The expression en tō euaggeliō tou hyiou autou (‚in the Gospel of his

Son‛) is the instrumental dative with which Paul describes how he worships

God41. It is strictly connected with the Good News but the precise nature of the

cultic ministry of Paul is not explicated. To read it in its full meaning, we have to

turn to the place where the same idea comes back in a much more pronounced

way, namely to the peroratio of the Pauline speech in Rom 15,14-2142.

37 On the exordium in an ancient speech, see ARISTOTLE, Rhet. 3.14-15; CICERO, Inv. 1.15-18;

[CICERO], Rhet. Her. 1.3.4-7,11; QUINTILIAN, Inst. 4.1.1-79. 38 According to JOHNSON (Reading Romans, 8) it serves the pragmatic strategies of the Apostle who

thus wants to assure himself the help of the Romans in pursuing his mission to Spain. On the

argument from ethos, see QUINTILIAN, Inst. 6.2.8-19; ARISTOTLE, Rhet. 1.2.3-5. 39 Cf. BDAG, 586. See PLUTARCH, Mor. 405C; 407E; PLATO, Ap. 23B ; PHILO, Spec. 1.300. Similarly in

the LXX: Exod 3,12; 10,7.8.26; 12,31; Deut 6,13; 10,12-13. 40 Cf. D. J. MOO, Romans 1–8 (Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary; Chicago 1991) 53; FITZMYER,

Romans, 244-245; We prefer this interpretation over the reading of H. STRATHMANN (‚latreuō‛,

TDNT IV, 64) who translates it, ‚through the Spirit of God imparted to me‛. Similarly W. G.

KÜMMEL, Römer 7 und die Bekehrung des Paulus (Leipzig 1929) 33; JEWETT, Romans, 120-121. 41 Pace FITZMYER (Romans, 245) who claims that the Gospel should be here understood in the

active sense of the preaching as in Gal 2,7; Phil 4,3.15; 1 Cor 9,14b.18b; 2 Cor 2,12; 8,18. 42 On such a delimitation of the peroratio in Romans, see ALETTI, La lettera ai Romani, 44.

13

The peroratio, that is the closing part of the speech, by its nature echoes the ideas

of the introductory part43. Among them we find the grace given Paul to be a

cultic minister of the Gentiles (Rom 15, 16; cf. 1,9) and his mission of brining the

Gentiles to obedience (Rom 15,18.20-21; cf. 1,5-6). Here also the Apostle explains

the boldness of the teachings contained in the letter with the divine grace given

him by God, namely to be the leitourgos of Jesus Christ. This is how Paul puts it:

Rom 15,15-16

v.15 (..) I have written to you very boldly (<),

because of the grace (charis) given me by God

v.16 to be a minister (leitourgos) of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles

in the priestly service (hierourgeō) of the gospel of God,

so that the offering (prosphora) of the Gentiles may be acceptable (euprosdektos),

sanctified (hagiazō) by the Holy Spirit.

The amount of the expressions taken from the cultic language is astonishing. The

very first, leitourgos, denotes primarily the person who performs a public service

either for the body politic, or discharging a task for society44. The religious

meaning of service rendered to a deity, also present in the word, emerges fully in

the LXX where it occurs almost exclusively in the cultic passages as a technical

term for worship and priestly ministry45. In the rabbinic use, the idea of the

temple service is expanded also to the laity. The rabbis speak of the ethical

service to God, while synagogue worship extends it to the ministry of the word

and of prayer46. It is not excluded that Paul’s employment of the concept draws

both on the LXX and the rabbinic understanding of leitourgia. Especially from the

context of Rom 15,15-16 results that it might be interpreted as an equivalent of

the cultic service, a true worship given to God at whose heart stands now Christ.

The liturgical nuance is consequently strengthened in v.16 where Paul speaks of

‚the priestly service‛ (hierourgeō) whose object is the Gospel. In the Greek

43 On the character of the peroratio in the ancient rhetorical speech, see QUINTILAIN, Inst. 6.1;

ARISTOTLE, Rhet. 3.19. 44 Cf. BDAG, 591; H. STRATHMANN, ‚leitourgeō‛, TDNT IV, 215-218. 45 Cf. Exod 28,35; 35,19; 36,33; Num 8,22 ; 16,9; 2 Chr 11,14; Joel 1,13. For the similar connotations

in the Greek literature, see DIONYSIUS OF HALICARNASSUS, Ant. rom. 2.2.3; 2.73.2; 10.53.6;

PLUTARCH, Mor. 417A. 46 Cf. R. MEYER, ‚leitourgeō‛, TDNT IV, 225.

14

literature hierourgos means a ‚sacrificing priest‛ while the verb is used in the

sense of ‚performing holy service‛ or ‚acting as a priest‛47. The object of the

Pauline service is, as we have just said, the Gospel. It does not mean, however,

that the Gospel itself is being worshipped by the Apostle. Paul serves the Gospel

by preaching it. His priestly function is performed not with respect to the word of

God but toward the pagans. As Christ's minister, he brings the Gentiles as an

acceptable offering. The noun prosphora that Paul uses here may denote simply

the ‚act of bringing‛ or ‚that what is brought as a voluntary expression‛, that is

‚present‛, ‚gift‛48. Yet, in connection with the verb hierourgeō the sense of

religious sacrifice comes to the first plan49. Paul regards himself as a priestly

minister in the sense that due to his preaching of the Gospel the Gentiles become

an offering acceptable to God50. Their lives dedicated to God become thus a

worship Paul is serving by proclaiming the Good News51. The Gospel has also

power to fill the newly converted with the Holy Spirit that will sanctify them

(hagiazō), that is, purify them from sin and give them a share in God’s life52.

So far, the motivations concerning the Pauline preaching are bound exclusively

to God’s call and worship. The situation seems to change as we explore further

the exordium reaching Rom 1,14. The description ‚debtor of Greek and

barbarians‛ contained there moves the stimulus of Paul’s mission toward the

pagan world and constitutes the last title with which Paul describes his

credentials in the exordium. It will be also the next object of our rhetorico-

semantic investigations.

47 Cf. BDAG, 471. 48 Cf. Ibidem, 887. 49 The religious meaning is also the one that dominates in the use of the word in the LXX and in

Heb 10 where the noun appears five times. See 1 Kgs 7,34; Ps 39,7; Sir 14,11; 34,18.19; 35,1.5; 38,11;

46,16; 50,13.14; Dan 3,38; Acts 21,26; 24,17; Heb 10,5.8.10.14.18. 50 The genitive tōn ethnōn should be read as objective or epexegetic. Against W. SCHENK,

‚prosphora‛, EDNT III, 178. The adjective euprosdektos (‚acceptable‛) in the LXX also appears with

a cultic reference. See Lev 1,3; Jer 6,20; Isa 56,7. Cf. also W. GRUNDMANN, ‚euprosdektos‛, TDNT II,

58-59. 51 On the ultimate reason for a mission to the Gentiles in Rom 1,5 which is the proclamation, glory

and praise of Jesus, see SCHREINER, Romans, 35; J. STOTT, Romans: God’s Good News for the World

(Downers Grove, IL 1994) 53; B. BYRNE, Romans (Sacra Pagina; Collegeville, MINN 1996) 40. 52 On the meaning of purification present in hagiazō in Rom 15,16, see BDAG, 10. The other places

in the Corpus Paulinum where the verb is used in a similar sense, are 1 Cor 6,11; Eph 5,26; 1 Thess

5,23.

15

4. Debtor of Greeks and Barbarians

Let us first explain of whom Paul is speaking, mentioning Greeks and the

barbarians. The statement from 1,14-15 is a part of the wider explanation given

by the Apostle to his intended visit in Rome. The clarification of the apostolic

plans actually occupies the greater part of the exordium in the Pauline speech53:

THE EXORDIUM 1,11-15

First motivation of the visit (vv.11-12)

11. For I long to see you,

that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you,

12. that is,

that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith,

both yours and mine.

Second motivation of the visit (vv.13-15)

13. I want you to know, brethren, that I have often intended to come to you

(but thus far have been prevented),

in order that I may reap some harvest among you

as well as among the rest of the Gentiles.

14. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians,

both to the wise and to the unlearned:

15. so I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

Once again we can notice how passionate and overflowing with rhetorical pathos

the verses of the exordium are. The first reason of the Pauline visit is his longing

to see the Romans and to strengthen them with some spiritual gifts (1,11). In the

following verse he adds that the strengthening is actually mutual and consists in

sharing in each other’s faith (Rom 1,12)54. Finally, the second part (1,13-15)

supplements the emotional declarations from 1,11-12 with the ethos of the

Apostle, which brings to light the particular motivation of the visit. In the

rhetorical gradatio Paul claims that his arrival is motivated by the divine call to

53 JEWETT (Romans, 127) erroneously qualifies 1,12-15 as the narratio – statement of facts. Similarly

WITHERINGTON, Romans, 40. 54 The connection between the verses is not clear. The scholars pay attention to the corrective

meaning of v.12 in which Paul writing to the community that is not his own tries to avoid an

impression he is extending his authority over them. Their strengthening is to be mutual as he will

be also encouraged by their witness. Cf. FITZMYER, Romans, 246.

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preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. As he had already reaped some harvest among

them in the other parts of the world, so he would like to do it also in Rome (Rom

1,13)55. The next phrase confirms what he has just said picking up the concepts of

the Gentiles and developing it in the parallel expressions ‚Greeks and

barbarians‛, ‚wise and unlearned‛56. Paul is speaking here of his ‚debt‛ toward

the non-Jewish world57. In its real he also puts the Romans as the closing v.15

practically repeats his resolution to come to Rome with the Gospel58. Thus, as a

whole, the section contains a concentric structure:

A. Pauline intention to come to Rome with the Gospel (v.13)

B. Motivation – debtor of Greeks and barbarians, wise and unlearned (v.14)

A’. Pauline intention to come to Rome with the Gospel (v.15)

Two things may be inferred from the way Paul shapes his exordium. ‚Greeks‛

and ‚barbarians‛, ‚wise‛ and ‚unlearned‛ of whom he is speaking in Rom 1,14

are a development and expansion of the generic definition ‚Gentiles‛ found in

1,1359. Thus, the Pauline debt regards the whole pagan world, with no

distinction, to which he was sent to preach the Gospel. Secondly, the central

55 JEWETT (Romans, 129) thinks the fruit mentioned by Paul means he hopes to gain logistical and

tactical support from Rome for his mission to Spain. An additional confirmation would be the

fact that the Spaniards were viewed as barbarians par excellence (cf. 1,14) because they continued

to resist Roman rule for a long time. 56 Hellēnes used by Paul would refer to the Greek-speaking people among the ethnē, and especially

to the cultured people of the Greco-Roman world, particularly in the great cities. Barbaroi, on the

other hand, would be the non-Greek-speaking Gentiles. For Paul the Christians of Rome would

not have been among the barbaroi, because in the first century A.D. Greek was spoken by most

Romans. In fact, the Apostle writes his letter to the Christians of Rome in Greek. Cf. FITZMYER,

Romans, 250-251. 57 Cf. SCHREINER, Romans, 55. Against J. HUBY (Saint Paul: Épître aux Romains: Traduction et

commentaire [VS 10; Paris 1957] 57) who claims that ‚wise‛ and ‚unlearned‛ expand the Pauline

debt toward the whole humanity. 58 From Rom 1 we may read that Paul undoubtedly wanted to engage in initial evangelism while

in Rome. In the background, however, one should notice also his intention to rally support for the

Spanish mission. It clearly comes up in Rom 15. 59 Jewett is probably right claiming that the antithesis ‚wise and unlearned‛ roughly corresponds

to ‚Greeks and barbarians‛. This is in accordance with the Greco-Roman educational system

concentrated on linguistic and rhetorical competence in Greek and Latin and the sense of

superiority it created. The barbarians unfamiliar with the classical education would be judged as

‚unlearned‛. Cf. JEWETT, Romans, 131-132.

17

position of the v.14 stresses how important is the concept of ‚debt‛ expressed

here60. It explains the Pauline eagerness to proclaim faith in Jesus in Rome and

beyond it. Let us then ask once again: to whom does Paul really feel indebted? Is

there anything he owes to the pagan ancient world?

To answer this question, we should first have a look at the vocabulary used in

1,14. The Greek verb opheilō from which the noun opheiletēs (‚debtor‛) stems,

means ‚to owe someone something‛. The object may be material (loans, debts,

sums, or rents) or spiritual, hence the general sense of ‚being under obligation‛61.

Besides the financial and juridical meaning, God's goodness also makes people

debtors giving rise to the idea of moral obligation. In the several instances where

the stem opheil- is found in the LXX, it denotes debts or loans62, demands of the

Mosaic law63, punishment fitting the law64, or the principles one should cling to65.

Philo, following the Greek usage, speaks of the inner moral obligation calling

priests to set aside secular things, the Gentiles to worship God and the judges to

dispense justice66. Finally, the Gospels describe with the stem opheil - the sinners

and people being debtors to God’s generous pardon67.

Paul uses the stem in a way demonstrating both the Greek and Semitic

connotations. In his letters it denotes a pay due or financial burden68, a sinful life

according to the flesh69, the mutual Christian obligations70, the law precepts71, or

what is due according to the social conventions72. As we see, no particular place

in the Pauline letters illuminates the use of the noun opheiletēs we find in Rom

1,14 which speaks of being indebted toward the whole pagan world to preach the

Good News. The question should be then responded to from the context of the

60 On the asyndeton adding solemnity to the statement in 1,14, see CRANFIELD, Romans, I, 82. 61 Cf. F. HAUCK, ‚opheilō‛, TDNT V, 560. 62 Cf. Deut 15,2; 24,10; Ezra 3,20; 1 Macc 10,43; 13,15.39; 15,8; Isa 24,2; Ezek 18,7. 63 Cf. Tob 6,13; Prov 14,9. 64 Cf. 3 Macc 7,10; 4 Macc 11,3; Wis 12,20. 65 Cf. 4 Macc 11,15; 16,19; Wis 12,15. 66 Cf. PHILO, Spec. 1.5,114,209; 2.167; 4.56. 67 Cf. Matt 6,12; 18,32; Luke 7,41; 11,4; 13,4. 68 Cf. Rom 4,4; 13,7; Phlm 18. 69 Cf. Rom 8,12. 70 Cf. Rom 13,8; 15,1.27; 1 Cor 7,3; Eph 5,28; 2 Thess 1,3; 2,13. 71 Cf. 1 Cor 9,10; 11,7; Gal 5,3. 72 Cf. 2 Cor 12,11.14.

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Pauline statement. It is doubtful whether Paul might feel a kind of debt toward

the Hellenistic world from which he received a part of his education73. There is

no hint of such gratitude in Rom 1,1-15. The Apostle is rather close to the Greek

sense of moral obligation resulting from the goodness of God and expressing

itself in his service for others74. It is enough to see how many times in Rom 1,1-15

we find a reference to Christ and God75. Thus, Paul seems to say that his

preaching the Gospel to the entire pagan world is first of all a debt to Christ76. He

feels indebted by the goodness and grace of God who revealed the Gospel of his

Son to him. It is for the sake of the revelation he experienced and the apostleship

he received that he cannot hold it for himself77. Thus, Paul remains forever the

debtor of the Lord, eager to pay his debt by preaching the Good News78.

In this sense Rome is something more than only a stage on the Pauline way to

Spain. The Apostle wants to stop at the capital to share with the Christian

community there the Gospel he has been preaching79. Its concise presentation is

73 Thus FITZMYER, Romans, 250. 74 Hence the dative sophois te kai anoētois (Rom 1,14) should be interpreted as the dative of respect. 75 Cf. Rom 1,1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10. 76 Cf. P. S. MINEAR, ‚Gratitude and Mission in the Epistle to the Romans‛, Basileia: Walter Freytag

zum 60. Geburstag (eds. J. HERMELINK – H. J. MARGULL) (Stuttgart 1959) 44; SCHREINER, Romans,

55. 77 Cf. CRANFIELD, Romans, I, 84-85: ‚Paul knows himself to be a debtor, that is, having an

obligation to them in the sense that God has laid upon him a duty toward them. His debt to them

is constituted by the fact that God has appointed him ἐθνῶν ἀπόστολος‛. 78 Paul’s reference to being πρόθυμον carries in itself passionate ardor in combat extolled by

Greek as well as Hellenistic Jewish writers. Cf. C. SPICQ, ‚προθυμία κτλ.‛, TLNT 3, 180-181 79 The ideas that Paul considers Rome as lacking the apostolic fundament (cf. G. KLEIN, ‚Paul’s

Purpose in Writing the Epistle to Romans‛, The Romans Debate. Revised and Expanded Edition

[ed. K. P. DONFRIED] [Peabody, MASS 1991], 29-43) or that he simply wants to exercise his power

over them [cf. L. A. JERVIS, The Purpose of Romans: A Comparative Letter Structure Investigation

(JSNTSup 55; Sheffield 1991)] are contradicting what we actually find in the letter. As too

reductionist one should also qualify the thesis that Paul writes to bring Jewish and Pagan

Christians in Rome to common worship [F. Watson, Paul, Judaism, and the Gentiles: A Sociological

Approach (SNTS MS 56; Cambridge 1986)]. The best solution is that there are various purposes in

Romans, and only by interpreting the various sections of the letter can we discern which purpose

is ultimate. On such a reading, see JEWETT, Romans, 79-90; D. J. MOO, The Epistle to the Romans

(NICNT; Grand Rapids, MI – Cambridge, U.K. 1996) 20; A. J. M. WEDDERBURN, The Reasons for

Romans (Edinburgh 1991); DUNN, Romans 1 – 8, liv-lviii. One of the reasons of the letter would be

to alleviate the conflict between Jews and Pagans in Rome. It is for this sake that Paul in the

Romans summarizes the basic content of the gospel he preached. Its exposition would serve as a

fundament for the unity of the church. It might also dispel some suspicions on Paul’s teaching,

19

contained in the Letter to the Romans which is not a kind of Pauline summa

theologica but a message concerning the actual situation of the church80. Besides

the tensions on the ethno-religious level, reflected in the argument of Rom 1 – 4.9

– 11, the Romans face moral challenges connected with community life. The

Pauline exhortations address a number of them beginning with diversity of the

charismas, brotherly love and forgiveness (Rom 12), to continue with the

submission to the earthly authorities (Rom 13) and to finish with the issue of the

clean and unclean food (Rom 14) and mutual edification (Rom 15). Even if the

Romans believed in Christ they had still much to learn from Paul’s Gospel.

So far we could see how important for the Pauline presentation the motif of the

Gospel is. It defines his relation with the Lord, his mission and purpose of his

life. The preaching is also the way in which he worships and serves his God

paying his debt to him. Now, in the last two verses of the exordium (1,16-17) we

find one more important truth that shaped profoundly the apostolic identity of

Paul. There, he claims that the Gospel of God is the only way of salvation for all

mankind. The closer look at this statement will constitute the last step in our

process of discovering the identity of the Apostle.

5. Apostolic Identity Built upon the Gospel

The declaration found in Rom 1,16-17 is regarded by many scholars as the main

thesis (propositio) of the entire letter81. It is also smoothly connected with the

especially those concerning the Jewish-Pagan relations that might come to a surface in Rome too.

One of the purposes would be also intensely practical. The Apostle hoped that the unified

congregations would rally together to support his mission to Spain (Rom 15,22-24). Cf.

SCHREINER, Romans, 3-5.15-22; JOHNSON, Reading Romans, 6-8. 80 Regarding then the character and purpose of the Romans, the scholars rightly stop calling it the

summa theologica of Saint Paul. For this position, see especially S. K. STOWERS, A Rereading of

Romans: Justice, Jews, and Gentiles (New Haven 1994).. Instead, one can support the theological

character of the letter in which Paul summarizes some controversial issues contained in his

Gospel in a more reflective way. Cf. SCHREINER, Romans, 16; W. HENDRIKSEN, Exposition of

Romans, 25; WTHERINGTON, Romans, 2; JOHNSON, Reading Romans, 9-11. 81 Among those who are speaking of the rhetorical propositio in 1,16-17 we may mention: ALETTI,

La lettera ai Romani, 32 (the main propositio at least for Rom 1 – 8); JEWETT, Romans, 135 (the

rhetorical propositio); WITHERINGTON, Romans, 47 (propositio and partitio). See also J. D. G. DUNN,

‚Paul’s Epistle to the Romans: An Analysis of Structure and Argument‛, ANRW II, 2842-2890;

IDEM, Romans 1 – 8, 37; FITZMYER, Romans, 253; CRANFIELD, Romans, I, 87; SCHREINER, Romans, 58-

59. On the importance of the propositiones in proper reading Paul, see ALETTI, La lettera ai Romani,

20

preceding part of the exordium by the explicative gar (‘for‛)82. In v.16 Paul

adduces one more reason for which he is so eager to preach his Gospel also in

Rome. The explanation, however, goes far beyond the context of his future visit

assuming the features of the universal statement, reflected then in the argument

of the Romans83:

THE MAIN THESIS (ROM 1,16-17): 16 For (gar) I am not ashamed of the gospel,

since (gar) it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith,

to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For (gar) in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith;

as it is written, ‚The righteous one through faith shall live‛.

The Gospel is the power of God (dynamis theou) for salvation for everyone who

believes in it (v.16)84. Paul is not ashamed to preach it either in Rome or in any

other place of the pagan world85. The universality of the Good News is then

29-32. The proposition announces a theme but also triggers and engenders an argumentation,

which forms a micro- or macro-literary unit. 82 Cf. U. WILCKENS, Der Brief an die Römer. Teilband 1: Röm 1–5. Evangelisch-Katholischer

Kommentar zum Neuen Testament 6/1 (Zürich – Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1978) 82. 83 The scholars agree in pointing that the elements of the propositio in 1,16-17 are then taken up in

the subsequent argumentative parts Rom 1,18 – 4,25 (the righteousness of God and salvation

through faith), Rom 5 – 8 (the righteousness of God and the gift of the new life), Rom 9 – 11 (the

righteousness of God and the salvation of Israel). Cf. ALETTI, La lettera ai Romani, 43-46; DUNN,

Romans 1 – 8, 37-38; FITZMYER, Romans, 253. 84 On the Gospel as God’s almighty saving power, see CRANFIELD, Romans, I, 89: ‚What Paul is

saying here, then, is that the gospel is God’s effective power active in the world of men to bring

about deliverance from His wrath in the final judgment and reinstatement in that glory of God

which was lost through sin—that is, an eschatological salvation which reflects its splendor back

into the present of those who are to share it‛. Jewett, on the other hand, stresses the presence of

the idea of salvation in the imperial Rome. Augustus was called ‚the true savior and the

benefactor of the entire race of men while Nero was celebrated as ‚the savior and benefactor of

the universe‛. Over against this politico-religious context, Paul contends that salvation is

manifest now in the seemingly powerless communities of faith established by the gospel. Cf.

JEWETT, Romans, 138. 85 Some scholars connect the statement of Paul with the Christian missionary formula found in

Mark 8,38; Luke 9,26. Cf. FITZMYER, Romans, 255; SCHREINER, Romans, 59; CRANFIELD, Romans, 86.

JEWETT (Romans, 137) thinks of the divine revelation on the ‚obscene cross‛ that stands at the

centre of the Gospel and which overlooks the honor and propriety of the established religious

21

articulated in the expression ‚to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also

to the Greek‛86. The insertion of the Jewish people is new with respect to the

preceding verses in which Paul defined his mission as embracing the pagan

world. It surely reflects the ethnic-religious strata of the community composed of

the Jewish Christians and the Christians of the pagan origin87. It also stresses the

universal character of the Gospel addressed practically to the whole humanity,

with no exception (cf. 1,14). It will be further developed in 1,18 – 4,25. In the next

v.17 which is the rhetorical ratio, brief explanation of the thesis, Paul explicates

why in the Gospel the whole humanity finds its salvation88. Picking up the

crucial term ‚faith‛, the Apostle speaks of ‚the righteousness of God‛ (dikaiosynē

theou, v.17) revealed in it89. This term which in the history of theology and

exegesis received an enormous interest on the part of scholars is now interpreted

rather in the sense of God’s attribute or better the action through which he

restores his people to a proper relation with himself90. The Gospel is the saving

traditions, both Graeco-Roman and Jewish. From the rhetorical point of view, Paul employs the

figure called litotes to say that he is truly proud and honored to be the servant of the Gospel. 86 The inclusive emphasis with the word πᾶς, ‚to all who have faith‛(1,16), is characteristic of

Romans. In Rom 1,16 πᾶς appears already for the fourth time, marching toward a total of more

than 75 times in the letter as a whole. See L. Gaston, Paul and the Torah. Vancouver: University of

British Columbia Press, 1987, 116-134. On the universality of the Gospel, see also SCHREINER,

Romans, 61-62; 87 In the distinction Greeks/Jews JEWETT (Romans, 139-140) sees an effort of Paul trying to balance

the situation in the church where the majority of ‚strong‛ or Gentile-oriented groups was

discriminating against the minority of ‚weak‛ or Jewish-oriented groups. ‚In keeping with the

revolution in honor and shame that the gospel entails, overturning the precedence of the Greco-

Romans over the barbarians and the wise over the foolish, Paul seeks to correct the imbalance in

Rome‛. It is hard to see how the mere expression ‚to the Jew first‛ could correct the situation in

the community. Besides, the Pauline argument aiming at removing the Jewish exception and

showing the Gospel as a unique way of salvation could actually strengthen the position of the

Gentile-oriented groups. 88 Cf. ALETTI, La lettera ai Romani, 30 n.4. See also WILCKENS, Römer, I, 86. On the ratio in the

ancient rhetoric, see QUINTILIAN, Inst. 5.10.33. 89 For helpful surveys of scholarship on the concept of the righteousness of God, see MOO, Romans

1-8, 65-70.75-86; M. A. SEIFRID, Justification by Faith: The Origin and Development of a Central

Pauline Theme (NTSup 68; Leiden 1992) 6-77; FITZMYER, Romans, 258-263; SCHREINER, Romans,

62-71; CRANFIELD, Romans, I, 92-99. 90 This interpretation becomes increasingly popular both among the catholic and protestant

interpreters. Cf. e.g. FITZMYER, Romans, 262; BARRETT, Romans, 19; CRANFIELD, Romans, I, 96; MOO,

The Epistle to the Romans, 74; JEWETT, Romans, 142; SCHREINER, Romans, 64. This understanding is

also supported by the next genitival expression ‚wrath of God‛ (subjective genitive) in 1,18. The

second option would be to understand it as the believer’s status, that is a gift from God that

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power of God because it reveals God’s plan of salvation proceeding ‚through

faith‛ and intended ‚for faith‛ (ek pisteōs eis pistin)91. It means that the ‚divine

righteousness‛ in history always operated through ‚faith‛ (see further the

example of Abraham in Rom 4) and brought man to recognize ‚faith‛ as the

ultimate way of salvation92.

Paul seals the main thesis with the Scriptural quotation: ‚The righteous one

through faith shall live‛ (1,17; cf. Hab 2,4)93. Faith is meant to be a means through

which man shares in the life of God94. This argument from authority serves to

add to the main thesis the status of God’s truth. Paul is not standing up for a

renders people acceptable or not guilty in his sight (Luther’s interpretation). For this

interpretation, see R. BULTMANN, ‚Δικαιοσύνη Θεοῦ‛, JBL 83 (1964) 12-16; R. H. MOUNCE, Romans

(NAC 27; Nashville 1995) 72-73. See also Käsemann’s understanding of the righteousness of God

interpreted as the gift which brings the believer in obedience under the lordship of Christ. Cf. E.

KÄSEMANN, ‚‘The Righteousness of God’ in Paul‛, New Testament Questions of Today (ed. IDEM)

(London 1969) 168-182 91 JEWETT (Romans, 139) forcefully interprets the thesis of Romans as turning upside down the

social value system of the Roman Empire: ‚The contrast with Roman civic cult brings more

clearly into focus the implications of Paul’s thesis and its correlation with the rest of the exordium

as well as the subsequent argument of the letter, because this gospel shatters the unrighteous

precedence given to the strong over the weak, the free and well-educated over slaves and the ill-

educated, the Greeks and Romans over the barbarians. If what the world considers dishonorable

has power, it will prevail and achieve a new form of honor to those who have not earned it, an

honor consistent with divine righteousness. All who place their faith in this gospel will be set

right, that is, be placed in the right relation to the most significant arena in which honor is

dispensed: divine judgment. Thus the triumph of divine righteousness through the gospel of

Christ crucified and resurrected is achieved by transforming the system in which shame and

honor are dispensed. The thesis of Romans therefore effectively turns the social value system of

the Roman Empire upside down‛. See also WITHERINGTON, Romans, 31. 92 Cf. FITZMYER, Romans, 263: ‚’Through faith’ would express the means by which a person shares

in salvation; ‘for faith’ would express the purpose of the divine plan (<). In either case Paul

would be suggesting that salvation is a matter of faith from start to finish, whole and entire. It is

not that through Christ and through faith in him human beings are enabled to fulfill the law, but

rather that through God’s gift of Christ Jesus human beings come to believe in him, belong to

him, and share in the uprightness that has been revealed through him and the gospel about him‛.

On the progressive character of the expression illustrating movement and transformation, see

also CH. L. QUARLES, ‚From Faith to Faith: A Fresh Examination of the Prepositional Series in

Romans 1:17‛, NovT 45 (2003) 6-7. 93 On the different textual traditions in the quotation from Habakkuk, see J. A. FITZMYER,

‚Habakkuk 2:3–4 and the New Testament‛, To Advance the Gospel: New Testament Studies (ed.

IDEM) (New York 1981) 236-246. 94 Cf. IDEM, Romans, 264.

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human wisdom of his own. What he is trying to show is the divine principle of

faith through which in the Gospel salvation is offered to every man.

What is truly striking is the lack of reference to Christ that we would expect to

find in the main thesis. What is the nature of the faith that brings salvation to the

whole humanity? It is so much more astonishing if we consider that a moment

before, in the praescritpio, Paul did not hesitate to indulge in the long description

of his Gospel with its central figure Christ (1,3-4). In the main thesis, however, the

proceedings change. If the Gospel is to be argued as a universal way of salvation

for everybody, Paul will start from what may be universally acknowledged both

by Jews and by Greeks. The Christ will be the end and the climax of his

argument. Only in Rom 3,21-22a, which serves as a subpropositio corroborating

the main thesis from 1,16-17, we will come to know that ‚faith‛ giving access to

salvation is really ‚faith in Jesus‛ through which the ‚righteousness of God‛

operates95. For now, in the final accord of the exordium Paul presents himself as a

bold and eager preacher of the Gospel. If the Good News is the unique way of

salvation for all mankind, how can he not preach it in Rome and beyond it?

Summary

In the opening verses of the Letter to Romans we find astonishingly rich and

profuse presentation of the Pauline credentials. They occupy the entire epistolary

praescriptio (Rom 1,1-7) and the exordium (Rom 1,8-17) where Paul in introducing

himself prepares the community for the Good News he is proclaiming and tries

to win their support for the future trip to Spain. The Romans’ response to Paul’s

message will depend to a great extent on his initial presentation. Thus the

Apostle portrays his life as dedicated entirely to Christ (doulos) who called him to

be his representative (apostolos) by preaching the Gospel (1,1). The mission of

spreading the Good News is a climax and the most important expression of the

Pauline relation with the Lord. Its purpose is then described with the use of the

cultic language as a service to God (1,9; cf. 15,15-16) which consists in preparing

the Gentiles to become an acceptable offering to him. Finally, shifting to the

financial metaphor Paul speaks of himself as a ‚debtor‛ not of man, though it

may seem so, but of the Lord himself (1,14). Paul feels indebted to the one that

95 Cf. ALETTI, La lettera ai Romani, 34.45.

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revealed to him the riches of his Gospel and made him his own possession (1,1).

That is why he is also eager to come to Rome to strengthen them and to share

with them the Good News he was preaching elsewhere (1,11-12). From the

themes exposed in the Letter to the Romans we can deduce that the Christians in

the capital of the empire are actually in need of a practical teaching on the

problematic issues they are facing (cf. the Jewish-Christian relations envisaged in

Rom 1 – 4 or 9 – 11 and the exhortations in Rom 12 – 15).

One more profound conviction guides the Pauline steps to Rome. It is expressed

in the two last verses of the exordium that we may with a good dose of certainty

define as the propositio (main thesis) of the Letter to the Romans. The Gospel

which is the object of the Apostle’s proclamation and his personal vocation

constitutes also the only universal means of salvation for all mankind (1,16). This

truth must have matured in Paul from the very moment of the meeting with the

Risen Lord for all the years of his preaching. In the Gospel the divine plan of

salvation (his ‚righteousness‛) is revealed and operates ‚through faith‛ and

bringing man ‚to faith‛ (1,17). It is hard to imagine then a more powerful

motivation to preach the Good News. In the last accord of the exordium Paul puts

forward the Gospel as the fundament on which he constructs his apostolic

identity. The propositio in 1,16-17 opens also the way to the rest of letter where the

Apostle will show how the Gospel he is preaching and living for should also

profoundly shape the way of living of the Roman converts96.

96 The exordium exposing the ethos of Paul whose life is governed by the Gospel may be well

understood as an introduction to the further argument in which Paul will demonstrate how the

principles guiding his apostolic life remain valid for every Christian. The pivotal 1,16-17 is still

very personal (‚I am not ashamed of the Gospel‛) and strictly connected with the preceding v.15

but at the same time introduces the hearers in the new universal perspective of the salvation of all

mankind (‚for all who believe‛). Thus, moving from the apostolic credentials (exordium) to the

teaching contained in the argumentative part of the letter (probatio) Paul shows that his life and

experience could actually serve as an example (exemplum) for every Christian.