1
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.
9
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.
11
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.
16
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.
18
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
22
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.
24
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.
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