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Zohrap 1805
ՆԱԽԱԴՐՈՒԹԻՒՆ
Առ Հռոմայեցիս Թղթոյն

Զայս առաքեաց ՚ի Կորնթոսէ, մինչդեռ ո՛չ էր տեսեալ զՀռոմայեցիսն. եւ անձկացեալ էր տեսանել զնոսա. եւ յառաջագոյն ընկալաւ՝ զհաւատս նոցա, իբր թէ ետես զնոսա յետ այնորիկ, նշանակէ թէ բազում անգամ անձկացեալ էր գալ առ նոսա՝ եւ ո՛չ կարացեալ։ Ապա եւ վարդապետական զթուղթս արար վասն կոչմանն հեթանոսաց. եւ զի թլփատութիւնն ժամանակաւ էր՝ եւ այժմ խափանեալ է, եւ թէ Քրիստոսիւ արձակեցաւ յանցաւորութիւնն Ադամայ, եւ ստուեր օրինացն էանց. եւ զկոչումն հեթանոսաց ըստ կարգի տպաւորէր սա, եւ ցուցանէր ամենայն մարդկան թէ անկցորդ եղեաք օրինացն. եւ զամենեսեան ուսուցանէ բնութիւնն, եւ յայսմ յարարածոցս կարօղ են ճանաչել զԱստուած։ Եւ այժմ կամաւ պատճառէ յառաջագոյն զՀելլենացիսն, եթէ Աստուած յայտնեաց նոցա զիւր գիտութիւնն ՚ի գործոց աշխարհիս, եւ զմշտնջենաւոր զօրութիւն նորա, որ է Բան նորա որով զամենայնն արար։ Իսկ սոքա ո՛չ ծանեան յարարածոցս, եթէ է Աստուած նոցա Արարիչ, եւ արարածքն աստուածագործք. այլ մանաւանդ նոքա եւ զարարածս պաշտեն։ Պատժէ այսուհետեւ զՀրէայսն եթէ ո՛չ պահեցին զօրէնսն, այլ եւ մանաւանդ անցանելով ընդ օրէնսն՝ զԱստուած անարգեցին։ Եւ այսպէս ՚ի միասին վիճակեալ զՀրէայսն եւ զՀելլենացիսն, կոչէ եւ քննութիւն առնէ վասն անօրէնութեան. զի ցուցցէ եթէ հաւասարք են ամենեքեան. ասացեալ զամենեսեան պարտաւոր՝ զՓրկիչն աղաչել վասն շնորհացն եւ ազատութեանն։ Ասէ եւ առ Հրէայսն գալ, եւ կոչօղ եղեալ հեթանոսաց, սակայն բռնութեամբ. դադարեալ թլփատութեանն եւ ստուերական օրինացն, զի Աբրահամ ասէ ո՛չ ՚ի թլփատութեան, այլ նախ քան զթլփատութիւնն արդարացաւ, եւ անուանեցաւ Աբրահամ. զի հայր բազմաց առ յապա լինելոց էր որք յանթլփատութեան հաւատսն էին, որ եւ յետ արդարութեանն էառ զթլփատութիւնն ՚ի մարմինն. զի նշան լիցի որոց մարմնով լինելոց էին ՚ի նմանէ։ Դադարելոց էր երբեմն թլփատութիւնն յորժամ հեթանոսք լինէին որդիք Աբրահամու, սկսեալք քաղաքավարիլ ըստ հաւատոցն Աբրահամու, որով արդարացաւն մինչ էր յանթլփատութիւնն. զսա շնորհի՛ւն անուանեաց Աբրահամ, եւ բռնութեամբ եկն առ նշանակն, զի դադարելոց էր նշանակն։ Եւ եթէ հեթանոսք բռնադատէին թլփատել՝ խափանէր անունն Աբրահամ, եւ կոչէր Աբրամ. որ Աբրահամ յԱստուծոյ անուանեցաւ։ Ո՛չ իւիք թլփատել հեթանոսաց. այլ ո՛չ եւ սոքա եւս որ մարմնով էին Հրէայք. զի ո՛չ երբէք այսու հաստատէր անունն, եւ հայր ազգաց բազմաց կոչէր. եւ ո՛չ ինչ ապա պիտոյ է սոցա թլփատել, բաւական է հաւատքն Աբրահամու։ Այլ եւ ո՛չ ինչ ՚ի ստուերական օրինացն, եւ ո՛չ ՚ի նմանէ՝ այլ ՚ի հաւատոց արդարացաք. որպէս եւ Աբրահամն։ Զայս ամենայն այսպէս տպաւորեաց. եւ ցուցանէ դարձեալ, եթէ այլ ոք երբէք ո՛չ եղեւ փրկիչ շնորհօք՝ Իսրայէլի եւ հեթանոսաց, եւ ջնջիչ առաջին մեղացն Ադամայ որ առ ամենեսեան եղեւ, եւ այլ իւիք ո՛չ կարացին մաքրիլ, բայց Քրիստոսիւ Աստուծով։ Զի զանէծսն որ իսկզբանէ եղեւ, այլ ումեք անկար էր արձակել, կամ զգրեալսն. քանզի եւ այլ ումեք անկար էր, եթէ ո՛չ էր զգեցեալ զմարմին Որդին Աստուծոյ եւ եղեալ մարդ. եւ զայս մատուցեալ վասն ամենեցուն, զի զամենեսեան ազատեսցէ ՚ի մահուանէ. եւ վասն զի միով մարդով մեղք եկն յաշխարհ, յաղագս այսորիկ եւ միով մարդով շնորհն եղեւ։ Եւ իբրեւ զբարի տնօրէն զՀրէայսն մխիթարէ, զի. Ո՛չ երբէք յանցաւոր ասէ՝ էք օրինացն, եթէ ՚ի Քրիստոս հաւատայք։ Եւ ընտանենայ առ հեթանոսն մի՛ երբէք ամբարտաւանել ՚ի վերայ Իսրայէլի. այլ գիտել եթէ ոստք են ՚ի վերայ արմատոյն. քանզի ինքեանք ՚ի նոցանէ արմատացան։ Յետ այսորիկ յորդորական առնէ զբան վարդապետութեանն կատարեալ զթուղթն։

А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
В жизни Апостола Павла нужно различать: 1) его жизнь, как иудея и фарисея, 2) его обращение и 3) его жизнь и деятельность, как христианина и апостола.

Павел родился в Киликийском городе Тарсе, находившемся на границе между Сирией и Малой Азией (Деян 21:39). Он был еврей из колена Вениаминова (Рим 11:1: и Флп 3:5). Имя его первоначальное было Савл или Саул, и дано было ему, вероятно, в память о первом царе еврейском, происходившем из колена Вениаминова. Родители Савла принадлежали, по убеждениям, к фарисейской партии, которая отличалась строгою исполнительностью по отношению к закону Моисееву (Деян 23:6; ср. Флп 3:5). Вероятно, за какие-нибудь заслуги отец или дед Ап. Павла получил права римского гражданина - обстоятельство, оказавшееся небесполезным для Ап. Павла во время его миссионерской деятельности Деян 16:37: и сл. ; 22:25-29; 23:27).

Язык, на котором говорили в семье Павла, был, без сомнения, общеупотребительный тогда в иудейских общинах Сирии - сиро-халдейский. Между тем несомненно, что Савл, еще будучи мальчиком, ознакомился довольно хорошо и с греческим языком, на котором говорило большинство жителей Тарса - греков [На Востоке, в больших городах и сейчас встречается немало людей, говорящих на двух-трех языках. И такие люди встречаются в низших классах общества]. Тарс, во времена Ап. Павла, был в отношении к образованности жителей соперником Афин и Александрии, и Апостол поэтому едва ли, при своей талантливости и любознательности, мог пройти мимо греческой литературы, не ознакомившись с нею. По крайней мере, на основании его посланий и речей можно заключить о его знакомстве с некоторыми греческими поэтами. Первая цитата, какую он делает из греческих поэтов, принадлежит вилинийскому поэту Арату и встречается также у Клеанфа - это именно слово: "мы - Его рода!" (Деян 17:28). Вторая заимствована у Менандра (1Кор.15:30), третья - у критского поэта Эпименида (Тит 1:12). За вероятность гипотезы о его некотором знакомстве с греческой литературой говорит и то обстоятельство, что Апостолу приходилось выступать со своими речами пред образованными афинянами, а для этого он должен был хотя несколько ознакомиться с их религиозно-философскими воззрениями, поскольку они выразились в поэтических творениях греческих мыслителей.

Однако воспитание и обучение Павла, несомненно, шло в направлении иудаизма и раввинизма: об этом говорят и его своеобразная диалектика, и его метод изложения, а также его стиль. Очень вероятно, что, ввиду его особенных дарований, его уже рано предназначали к раввинскому служению. Может быть, для этого родители Павла позаботились выучить его ремеслу швеца палаток (skhnopoioV - Деян 18:3): по иудейскому воззрению, раввин должен был стоять вне зависимости от своих учеников в отношении к материальному обеспечению (Pirke Abot., 2:2).

Если мы обратим внимание на все эти обстоятельства детства Павла, то вполне поймем его благодарные чувства, с какими он говорил позже: "Бог, который избрал меня от чрева матери..." (Гал 1:15). Если действительно задачей, предназначенной для Павла, было освободить Евангелие от покровов иудейства, чтобы предложить его в чисто духовном виде языческому миру, то Апостолу нужно было соединить в себе два, по-видимому, противоположные условия. Прежде всего он должен был выйти из недр иудейства, потому что только в таком случае он мог основательно узнать, что такое жизнь под законом, и на собственном опыте убедиться в бесполезности закона для спасения человека. С другой стороны, он должен был быть свободным от национальной иудейской антипатии к языческому миру, какою было проникнуто особенно палестинское иудейство. Не помогло ли ему отчасти и раскрыть пред язычниками целого мира двери Царства Божия то обстоятельство, что он вырос среди греческой культуры, с которою он обнаруживает довольно хорошее знакомство? Таким образом, иудейское законничество, греческая образованность и римское гражданство - вот те плюсы, какие имел Апостол при своих, особо полученных им от Христа, духовных дарах, необходимых ему, как проповеднику Евангелия во всем мире.

Когда иудейские мальчики достигали 12-летнего возраста, их обыкновенно в первый раз брали в Иерусалим на один из главнейших праздников: они становились с этих пор, по тогдашнему выражению, "сынами закона". Так было, вероятно, и с Павлом. Но он остался в Иерусалиме после этого на жительство, - кажется, у родственников, - чтобы там вступить в раввинскую школу (ср. Деян 23:16). В то время славился в Иерусалиме своими познаниями в законе ученик знаменитого Гиллела - Гамалиил, и будущий Апостол расположился "у ног Гамалиила" (Деян 22:3), сделавшись его прилежным учеником. Хотя сам учитель был человек не крайних воззрений, ученик его стал ревностнейшим читателем закона Моисеева и в теории, и на практике (Гал 1:14; Флп 3:6). Он все силы своей воли направлял к осуществлению начертанного в законе и в толкованиях отцов идеала, чтобы за это удостоиться славного положения в Царстве Мессии.

У Павла были три, редко соединяющиеся в человеке качества, уже в то время обратившие на себя внимание его начальников: сила ума, твердость воли и живость чувства. Но по внешности своей Павел производил не особенно благоприятное впечатление. Варнава в Ликаонии объявлен был Юпитером, а Павел - только Меркурием, откуда видно, что первый был гораздо импозантнее, чем второй (Деян 14:12). Однако едва ли можно придавать значение показанию апокрифического сочинения 2-го века - Acta Раuli et Theclae, где Павел изображается человеком маленького роста, плешивым и с крупным носом... Был ли Павел человеком болезненного телосложения, об этом сказать что-либо определенное трудно. Изредка у него, действительно, болезненность проявлялась (Гал 4:13), но это не мешало ему обойти почти весь тогдашний европейский юг. Что же касается "Ангела сатаны", данного ему (2Кор. 12:7), то это выражение не указывает непременно на телесную болезнь, а может быть истолковано и в смысле особых преследований, каким подвергался Павел в несении своей миссионерской деятельности.

У иудеев обыкновенно рано вступали в брак. Был ли женат Павел? Климент Александрийский и Евсевий Кесарийский, а за ними Лютер и реформаторы давали утвердительный ответ на этот вопрос. Но тон, каким Павел говорит в 1: посл. к Коринфянам о данном ему даре (ст. 7), может скорее служить основанием для того предположения, что Павел не был женат.

Видел ли во время своего пребывания в Иерусалиме Павел Иисуса Христа? Это очень вероятно, ввиду того, что Павел на больших праздниках бывал в Иерусалиме, а Господь Иисус Христос также приходил сюда в это время. Но в посланиях Апостола Павла нет на это ни одного указания (слова 2Кор. 5:16, указывают только на плотской характер распространенных среди иудеев мессианских ожиданий).

Достигши тридцатилетнего возраста, Павел, как наиболее ревностный фарисей и ненавистник нового, христианского, учения, которое казалось ему обманом, получил поручение от начальства иудейского преследовать приверженцев новой секты - христиан, тогда еще называвшихся у иудеев просто "еретиками-назореями" (Деян 24:5). Он присутствовал при убиении св. Стефана и участвовал в преследованиях христиан в Иерусалиме, а потом отправился в Дамаск, главный город Сирии, с письмами от Синедриона, которые уполномочивали его продолжать свою инквизиторскую деятельность и в Сирии.

В своей деятельности Павел не находит отрады. Как видно из VII-й главы послания к Римлянам, Павел сознавал, что на пути к осуществлению предначертанного законом идеала праведности у него стояло весьма серьезное препятствие - именно похоть (ст. 7). Болезненное чувство своего бессилия в делании добра было, если можно так сказать, отрицательной инстанцией в подготовлении того перелома, какой совершился с Павлом на пути в Дамаск. Напрасно он старался насытить свою искавшую праведности душу напряжением своей деятельности, направленной на защиту закона: ему не удалось потушить в себе точившую его сердце мысль о том, что с законом спасения не достигнешь...

Но было бы совершенно противно всей истории Павла объяснять этот перелом, совершившийся в нем, как естественное следствие его духовного развития. Некоторые теологи представляют событие, совершившееся с Павлом на пути в Дамаск, как явление чисто субъективное, имевшее место только в сознании Павла. Гальстен (в своем сочинении: "О Евангелии Петра и Павла") приводит некоторые остроумные соображения в пользу такой гипотезы, но еще Баур, учитель Гольстена, также считавший явление Христа при обращении Павла "внешним отражением духовной деятельности" Апостола, не мог все-таки не сознаться, что событие это остается в высшей степени таинственным. Апостол Павел сам смотрит на свое обращение, как на дело принуждения его со стороны Христа, Который избрал его Своим орудием в деле спасения людей (1Кор.9:16, 18, ср. 5-6). С таким взглядом Апостола согласно и сообщение о самом факте, находящееся в книге Деяний. Три раза об обращении Павла говорится в книге Деяний (9:1-22; 22:3-16: и 26:9-20), и везде в этих местах можно находить указания на то, что и спутники Апостола Павла, действительно, заметили нечто таинственное, что совершилось собственно с Павлом, и что это таинственное в известной степени совершалось чувственно, было доступно для восприятия. Они не видали лица, которое говорило с Павлом, говорится в книге Деяний (9:7), а видели сияние, которое было ярче полуденного света (20:9; 26:13); они не слышали ясно слов, сказанных Павлу (22:9), но звуки голоса слышали (9:7). Из этого, во всяком случае, следует вывести такое заключение, что "явление при Дамаске" было объективным, внешним.

Сам Павел так был уверен в этом, что в 1: послании к Коринфянам (1Кор.9:1), чтобы доказать действительность своего апостольского призвания, ссылается на этот самый факт "видения им Господа". В гл. XV-й того же послания он ставит это явление наряду с явлениями Воскресшего Христа апостолам, отделяя его от своих позднейших видений. Да и цель этой главы доказывает, что он здесь не думал ни о чем другом, как только о внешнем, телесном явлении Христа, ибо эта цель - выяснить реальность телесного воскресения Господа, чтобы из этого факта сделать вывод о реальности воскресения тел вообще. Но внутренние видения никогда бы не могли служить доказательством ни телесного воскресения Христа, ни нашего. Заметить нужно еще, что когда Апостол ведет речь о видениях, то относится к ним со строгой критикой. Так он говорит нерешительно, напр., о своем восхищении до третьего неба: "я не знаю", "Бог знает" (2Кор. 12:1: и сл.). Здесь же он говорит о явлении ему Господа без всяких оговоров (ср. Гал 1:1).

Ренан делает попытку объяснить это явление некоторыми случайными обстоятельствами (бурей, разразившейся на Ливоне, блеснувшей молнией или приступом лихорадки у Павла). Но сказать, чтобы такие поверхностные причины могли иметь на Павла такое глубокое действие, изменить все его мировоззрение, это было бы в высшей степени опрометчиво. Реус признает обращение Павла необъяснимой психологической загадкой. Нельзя также согласиться с другими богословами отрицательного направления (Гольстен, Кренкель и др.) в том, будто в Павле уже давно было "две души", боровшиеся между собою, - одна душа иудея-фанатика, другая - уже расположенного ко Христу человека. Павел был человек, вылитый, так сказать, из одного слитка. Если он думал об Иисусе по дороге в Дамаск, то думал о Нем с ненавистью, как свойственно и теперь думать о Христе большинству иудеев. Чтобы Мессия мог предноситься ему как небесный светозарный образ - это в высшей степени невероятно. Иудеи представляли себе Мессию могущественным героем, который родится в Израиле, вырастет в сокровенности, а потом явится и поведет свой народ на победную борьбу с язычниками, за которой последует его воцарение в мире. Иисус этого не сделал, и потому Павел не мог уверовать в Него, как в Мессию; тем не менее, он мог представить Его находящимся на небе.

С обращением Павла в истории человечества пробил решительный час. Наступило время, когда союз, некогда заключенный Богом с Авраамом, должен был распространиться на весь мир и обнять собою все народы земли. Но для такого необычайного дела требовался и необычайный деятель. Двенадцать палестинских апостолов не подходили к этой задаче, тогда как Павел был, так сказать, всеми обстоятельствами своей жизни подготовлен к ее осуществлению. Он был истинным сосудом Христовым (Деян 9:15) и вполне сознавал это (Рим 1:1-5).

Что совершилось в душе Павла в течение трех следовавших за этим великим событием дней? Намеки на это время дает нам VI глава послания к Римлянам. Отсюда мы видим, что Апостол тогда пережил в себе смерть ветхого человека и воскресение нового. Умер Савл, поставлявший всю силу в собственной праведности, или, что то же, в законе, и родился Павел, веровавший только в силу благодати Христовой. Куда привела его фанатическая ревность о законе? К противлению Богу и к преследованию Мессии и Его Церкви! Причину такого результата Павел понял ясно: желая обосновать свое спасение на своей собственной праведности, он искал через это прославить не Бога, а себя самого. Теперь для него уже не было тайною, что этот путь самооправдания ведет только к внутреннему разладу, к духовной смерти.

Но, умерев для закона (Гал 3:19), Павел воскрес для новой жизни. Он почувствовал себя новою тварью во Христе (2Кор. 5:17). Он понял великое значение искупительной смерти Христа, только что явившегося ему во свете. Вместо того, чтобы видеть в ней, как прежде, справедливое наказание человеку, осмелившемуся назвать себя Мессией, он увидел в ней предложенную Самим Богом примирительную жертву за грехи всего мира и грехи его, Павла. Теперь он понял, кого изображал пророк Исаия под видом Раба Иеговы, вземлющего на себя грехи мира. Покрывало спало с глаз Павла, и он увидел крест, как орудие спасения мира, а воскресение Христа признал памятником всеобщей амнистии для человеческого рода, пребывавшего дотоле под осуждением Божиим. Новая правда являлась теперь в его сознании бесценным даром любви Божией к человечеству, и он принял ее от всего сердца; сознавая, что к ней ему нечего прибавить от себя, он почувствовал себя примиренным с Богом. В крещении, преподанном ему рукою Анании, он умер вместе со Христом, погребен был вместе с Ним и с Ним же восстал к новой жизни (Рим гл. VI).

В душе его ярким пламенем загоралась любовь ко Христу, возгретая в нем действием сообщенного ему Святого Духа, и он почувствовал себя теперь способным до конца пройти подвиг послушании и самоотвержения, который таким трудным казался ему, пока он находился под игом закона. Теперь уже он стал не рабом, а чадом Божиим.

Понял теперь Павел и то, какое значение имели различные постановления Моисеева закона. Он увидел, как недостаточен был этот закон в качестве оправдывающего средства. Закон явился теперь в его глазах воспитательным учреждением временного характера (Кол 2:16-17). Наконец, кто же тот, благодаря кому человечество получило все дары Божии без всякого содействия закона? Простой ли этот человек? Теперь Павел привел себе на память, что этот, осужденный Синедрионом на смерть, Иисус был осужден, как Богохульник, который объявлял себя Сыном Божиим. Это утверждение доселе представлялось Павлу верхом нечестия и обмана. Теперь же он ставит это утверждение в связь с величественным явлением, бывшим ему по дороге в Дамаск, и колена Павла преклоняются пред Мессиею не только как пред сыном Давида, но и как пред Сыном Божиим.

С этим изменением в понимании лица Мессии соединилось у Павла изменение в понимании дела Мессии. Пока Мессия представлялся сознанию Павла только как сын Давида, Павел понимал Его задачу, как задачу прославления Израиля и распространения силы и обязательности Моисеева закона на целый мир. Теперь же Бог, явивший Павлу и этом сыне Давида по плоти истинного Своего Сына - Лицо Божественное, вместе с этим дал иное направление мыслям Павла о призвании Мессии. Сын Давидов принадлежал одному Израилю, а сын Божий мог сойти на землю только для того, чтобы стать искупителем и Господом всего человечества.

Все эти основные пункты своего Евангелия Павел выяснил для себя именно в первые три дня, последовавшие за его обращением. То, чем для 12-ти апостолов было их трехлетнее обращение со Христом и закончившее этот круг их воспитания сошествием на них Св. Духа в день Пятидесятницы, - то получено было Павлом путем усиленной внутренней работы в течение трех дней после его призвания. Если бы он не совершил этой тяжелой работы над собою, то и самое явление Господа для Павла и для целого мира осталось бы мертвым капиталом (ср. Лк 16:31).

Павел стал апостолом с того самого момента, как уверовал во Христа. Об этом ясно говорит и история его обращения, как она сообщается в кн. Деяний (гл. 9); и сам Павел (1Кор.9:16, 17). Он был принужден Господом взять на себя апостольское служение, - и тотчас же исполнил это веление.

Обращение Павла совершилось, вероятно, на 30-м году его жизни. Апостольская деятельность его продолжалось также около 30: лет. Она разделяется на три периода: а) время приготовления - около 7: лет; б) собственно апостольская деятельность, или его три великие миссионерские путешествия, обнимающие собою время около 14-ти лет, и в) время его заключения в узы - два года в Кесарии, два года в Риме, с присоединением сюда времени, протекшего от освобождения Павла от первых римских уз до его кончины - всего около 5-ти лет.

а) Хотя Павел стал полноправным апостолом со времени самого своего призвания, однако он не тотчас приступил к деятельности, для которой он был избран. Главным образом язычники должны были стать предметом его заботы (Деян 9:15), но Павел, на самом деле, начинает c проповеди иудеям. Он является в иудейскую синагогу Дамаска и тут уже встречает пришельцев из язычников, которые и являются для него мостом, ведшим его к знакомству с чисто языческим населением города. Поступая таким образом, Павел показывал, что он вполне признает особые права Израиля - первому услышать весть о Христе (Рим 1:16; 2:9, 10). И в последствии Павел никогда не упускал случая оказать особое почтение правам и преимуществам своего народа.

Из Дамасской синагоги (Деян 10:20) Павел отправился в близ лежавшие области Аравии. Здесь он действовал около трех лет, как проповедник о Христе (Гал 1:17, 18), в то же время выясняя для себя в подробностях систему нового учения. Впрочем, многие пункты Евангелия выяснил Павел, вероятно, только постепенно, по мере открывавшихся нужд Церкви. Таково его учение об отношении закона к Евангелию и др.

После своего пребывания в Аравии Павел вернулся в Дамаск, где его проповедь возбудила против него сильную ярость в иудеях. (Дамаск находился в то время под властью аравийского царя Ареты). В это время Павел почувствовал желание познакомиться лично с Ап. Петром - этим главным свидетелем земной жизни Спасителя. От него он мог получить подробные и точные сведения о деятельности Господа Иисуса Христа, - но и только: в научении Евангелию Павел не нуждался (Гал 1:11, 12). Здесь, в Иерусалиме, Павел намеревался пробыть подолее, чтобы Евангельская проповедь из уст его, прежнего фанатического гонителя христиан, произвела большее впечатление на слушателей. Но Господь не пожелал свой избранный сосуд предать ярости иерусалимских иудеев, и, по особому откровению, Павел покинул город (Деян 22:17: и сл.). Отсюда он ушел сначала в Кесарию, а потом в Тарс, где, в недрах своей семьи, и дожидался дальнейших повелений Господа.

Он ожидал не напрасно. Вследствие гонения на верующих, первою жертвою которого пал св. Стефан, довольно значительное число верующих из еллинов, т. е. говоривших по-гречески иудеев, бежали из Иерусалима в Антиохию, главный город Сирии. Эти пришельцы обратились с проповедью Евангелия не к иудеям, а прямо к еллинам, и таким образом христианство впервые проложило себе путь прямо в среду язычников. В Антиохии образовалась многочисленная и одушевленная христианская община, в которой большинство обратившихся греков пребывало в единении с христианами иудейского происхождения. Апостолы и Церковь Иерусалимская была удивлена, получив известие об этом явлении чрезвычайной важности, и отправили в Антиохию Варнаву, чтобы разузнать об этом движении обстоятельнее и руководить им. Варнава при этом вспомнил о Павле, которого он же раньше представил апостолам в Иерусалиме, вызвал его из Тарса и увел его с собою на достойное его поприще деятельности. Между общиною Антиохийскою и Павлом утвердилось с этих пор внутреннее общение, величественным результатом которого было распространение Евангелия во всем языческом мире.

После целого ряда дней общей работы в Антиохии Варнава и Павел были посланы в Иерусалим, чтобы отнести милостыню бедным христианам этого города. Это путешествие, имевшее место в год смерти Ирода Агриппы (Деян XII гл.), должно быть отнесено к 44: г. по Р. X., потому что, по Иосифу Флавию, Ирод Агриппа именно в этом году скончался.

б) Вторая часть истории деятельности Апостола, как проповедника Евангелия, заключает в себе истории его трех великих апостольских путешествий вместе с падающими на это время посещениями Иерусалима. В связи с этими путешествиями находится и появление наиболее важных посланий Павла. Замечательно, что первое его путешествие падает на год смерти последнего иудейского царя: с падением национальной иудейской царской власти начинается распространение Евангелия среди язычников. Иудейский партикуляризм уже отжил свое время и вместо него выступает христианский универсализм.

Три миссионерские путешествия Павла имели своим исходным пунктом Антиохию, которая была колыбелью миссии среди язычников, как Иерусалим был колыбелью миссии среди Израиля. После каждого из этих путешествий Павел посещал Иерусалим, чтобы этим закрепить связь, какая существовала и должна была существовать между обеими миссиями (Гал 2:2).

Первое путешествие он совершил с Варнавою. Оно не было далеким: Павел посетил в этот раз только остров Кипр и лежащие к северу от него провинции Малой Азии. С этого времени Апостол усваивает себя имя Павла (Деян 13:9), созвучное его прежнему имени - Савл. Вероятно, он переменил имя по обычаю иудеев, которые, предпринимая путешествие по языческим странам, обыкновенно заменяли свои еврейские имена греческими или римскими. (Из Иисуса делали Иоанна, из Епиакима - Апкима). Обращаясь во время этого путешествия к язычникам, Апостол, несомненно, возвещал им единственное средство оправдания - веру во Христа, не обязывая их исполнять дела закона Моисеева: это с ясностью видно как из самого факта призвания Христом нового Апостола, кроме 12-ти., так и из слов самого Павла (Гал 1:16). Притом, если уже Ап. Петр находил возможным освобождать язычников, принимавших христианство, от соблюдении закона Моисеева (и прежде всего - от обрезания - Деян 11:1-2), то тем более можно быть уверенным, что уже и в первое свое путешествие Апостол язычников Павел освобождал их от исполнения закона Моисеева. Таким образом, мнение Гаусрата, Саботы, Геуса и др. о том, что Павел в первое путешествие еще не выработал себе определенного взгляда на вопрос о значении закона для язычников, должно быть признано безосновательным.

Что касается того, как смотрел Ап. Павел в первое время своей миссионерской деятельности на значение закона Моисеева для христиан из иудеев, то это вопрос более сложный. Мы видим, что на соборе Иерусалимском, состоявшемся в присутствии Ап. Павла после первого его путешествия, вопрос об обязательности закона Моисеева для христиан из иудеев и не поднимался: все члены собора, очевидно, признавали, что эта обязательность находится вне сомнения.

Но взгляд на это самого Павла был иной. Из послания к Галатам мы видим, что он полагал всю оправдывающую человека силу только в кресте Господа Иисуса Христа, что он уже умер для закона с тех пор, как обратился ко Христу (Гал 2:18-20). Двенадцать апостолов ожидали, по-видимому, какого-нибудь внешнего события, какое было бы сигналом отмены закона Моисеева, напр., явления Христа во славе Своей, - тогда как для Ап. Павла необходимость этой отмены стала ясною с самого момента его призвания. Но Ап. Павел не хотел заставлять других апостолов стать на его точку зрения, а, напротив, сам делал им уступки там, где они являлись главами иудео-христианских общин. И впоследствии он снисходил к утвердившимся в иудео-христианах воззрениям на закон Моисеев, руководимый в этом случае чувством братской любви (1Кор.9:19-22). Ввиду того, чтобы ученик его, Тимофей, был лучше принят иудеями, он совершил над ним обрезание, - впрочем, уже значительное время спустя после обращения Тимофея в христианство (Деян 16:1). С другой стороны, когда дело касалось самого принципа оправдания, Павел не шел ни на какие уступки: Тита, Еллина, он не дал подвергнуть обрезанию во время пребывания на Иерусалимском соборе, потому что враги Павла, требовавшие этого обрезания, приняли бы согласие Апостола на это, как его измену его убеждениям о необязательности закона Моисеева для христиан из язычников (Гал 2:3-5).

Апостольский собор вообще кончился очень благоприятно для Павла. Церковь Иерусалимская и первенствующие ее деятели признали, что смущавшие антиохийских христиан пришельцы из Иерусалима - христиане из иудеев - поступали неправильно, требуя чтобы антиохийцы, помимо Евангелия, приняли еще обрезание, делавшее будто бы их полноправными наследниками обетований о спасении. Апостолы иерусалимские ясно показали, что они не считают необходимым для обращающихся ко Христу язычников и принятие обрезания со всеми обрядами Моисеева закона. Проповедь Ап. Павла была признана здесь вполне правильною и достаточною (Гал 2:2-3), а Ап. Павел, как известно, возвещал язычникам, что если они будут принимать, обращаясь ко Христу, и обрезание, то Христос им не принесет никакой пользы (Гал 5:2-4). Собор требовал от христиан из язычников соблюдения только самых элементарных требований чистоты, известных под именем "заповедей Ноевых". Левитские же обряды, таким образом, сводились на степень простых национальных обычаев - не больше (Деян 15:28-29).

При своем возвращении в Антиохию Павел и Варнава взяли с собою Силу, одного из верующих мужей Иерусалимской Церкви, который имел поручение ознакомить сирийские и киликийские общины с решением апостольского собора. Вскоре после этого Павел отправился с Силою во второе миссионерское путешествие. В этот раз Павел посетил основанные им в первое путешествие церкви Малой Азии. Вероятно, Павел стремился посетить Ефес - средоточение религиозной и умственной жизни Малой Азии, но Бог решил иное. Не Малая Азия, а Греция требовала к себе Апостола. Задержанный своею болезнью в Галатии довольно долгое время, Павел основал здесь церкви (Гал 4:14) среди потомков кельтов, переселившихся сюда за три века до Р. X. Когда Павел с Силою пошли отсюда дальше на проповедь Евангелия, то почти не имели успеха нигде и очутились довольно скоро на берегу Эгейского моря, в Троаде. В видении было здесь открыто Павлу, что его ожидает Европа и прежде всего Македония. Павел и отправился в Европу, сопровождаемый Силою, Тимофеем, который присоединился к нему в Ликаонии, и врачом Лукою (Деян 16:10. ср. 20:5; 12:1; 28:1).

В очень короткое время в Македонии были основаны церкви: Филиппийская, Анфипольская, Солунская и Беройская. Во всех этих местах против Павла воздвигаемы были гонения со стороны римской власти, потому что местные иудеи представляли Христа соперником Кесаря. От преследований Павел шел дальше, к югу, и прибыл, наконец, в Афины, где пред Ареопагом изложил свое учение, а потом поселился в Коринфе. Прожив здесь около двух лет, он за это время основал немало церквей по всей Ахаии (1Кор.1:1). По окончании же этой деятельности отправился в Иерусалим и отсюда - в Антиохию.

В это время Ап. Петр начал свои миссионерские путешествия вне Палестины. Посетивши с Марком о. Кипр, он прибыл в Антиохию, где был в то время и Варнава. Здесь и Петр, и Варнава свободно посещали дома христиан из язычников и вкушали трапезу с ними, хотя это не совсем согласовалось с постановлением апостольского собора, по которому верующие из иудеев обязаны были в отношении к пище руководиться обрядовыми предписаниями Моисеева закона. Петр помнил данное ему символическое разъяснение по поводу обращения Корнилия (Деян 10:10: и cл.), а кроме того, полагал, что нравственные обязанности (общение с братией) должны стоять выше послушания обрядовому закону. Варнава же, со времени своей деятельности среди язычников, уже привык к этому подчинению обряда духу любви христианской. Но вот неожиданно в Антиохию пришли посланные Иаковом христиане из Иерусалима. Они, по всей вероятности, должны были разузнать о том, как исполняется в Антиохии христианами из иудеев постановление апостольского собора, и ими, конечно, дано было понять и Петру и Варнаве, что те поступают здесь неправильно, входя в общение при трапезах с христианами из язычников. Это очень подействовало на того и другого, и оба, во избежание соблазна для своих единоплеменников, перестали принимать приглашения христиан из язычников на трапезы.

Поступок Петра был очень важен по своим последствиям. Антиохийские христиане из язычников, сначала было с радостью принявшие у себя такого знаменитого Апостола, как Петр, увидели теперь с огорчением, что он их чуждается, считает их как бы нечистыми. Это, разумеется, в одних должно было произвести недовольство Петром, в других - желание поддержать с ним общение во что бы то ни стало, - даже с пожертвованием своей свободою от закона. Павел не мог не вступиться за своих духовных чад и, в сознании того, что закон уже не нужен был для христиан вообще (Гал 2:19, 20), обратился к Петру с указанием на неправильность его образа действий, на его неустойчивость. Петр, конечно, и сам хорошо сознавал, что закон уже не нужен для христиан, и потому смолчал на это выступление Ап. Павла против него, показав этим, что он вполне солидарен с Павлом.

После этого Павел предпринял третье миссионерское путешествие. Он прошел на этот раз в Галатии и утвердил в вере галатов, которых смущали в то время иудействующие христиане, указывавшие и на необходимость обрезания и обрядового закона вообще и для христиан из язычников (Деян 18:23). Затем он прибыл в Ефес, где его уже ожидали его верные друзья Акила с женою, Прискиллою, вероятно, здесь подготовлявшие почву для деятельности Павла. Два или три года, которые Павел провел в Ефесе, представляют собою время наивысшего развития апостольской деятельности Павла. В это время возникает целый ряд цветущих церквей, представленных впоследствии в Апокалипсисе под символом семи золотых светильников, посреди которых стоял Господь. Это именно церкви в Ефесе, Милете, Смирне, Лаодикии, Иерополе, Колоссах, Фиатире, Филадельфии, Сардах, Пергаме и др. Ап. Павел здесь действовал с таким успехом, что язычество стало трепетать за свое существование, что подтверждается бунтом против Павла, возбужденным фабрикантом идольских изображений - Димитрием.

Однако радость великого Апостола языков омрачилась в это время противодействием, какое ему оказывали его враги, иудействующие христиане. Они ничего не имели против его проповеди о "кресте"; им даже приятно было, что Павел приводит языческий мир в христианство, так как они видели в этом пользу для мозаизма. Они стремились собственно к возвышению значения закона, на Евангелие же смотрели, как на средство к этому. Так как Павел смотрел на вещи как раз наоборот, то иудействующие стали всячески подрывать его авторитет среди обращенных им язычников и прежде всего в Галатии. Они говорили галатам, что Павел - и не настоящий Апостол, что закон Моисеев имеет вечное значение и что без него христиане не гарантированы от опасности подпасть под рабство греху и порокам. Апостолу пришлось ввиду этого послать из Ефеса Галатам послание, в котором он опровергал все эти ложные представления. Как кажется, это послание имело желанный успех, и авторитет Павла и его учения снова утвердился в Галатии (1Кор.16:1).

Тогда иудействующие обратили усилия свои на другое поприще. Они появились в церквах, основанных Павлом в Македонии и Ахаии. Здесь они снова старались поколебать авторитет Павла и ввести людей в подозрение относительно чистоты его нравственного характера. Преимущественно они имели успех с своими наветами на Павла в Коринфе, и Апостол во 2-м своем послании к Коринфянам со всею силою вооружается против этих врагов своих, называя их иронически сверх-апостолами (uper lian oi apostoloi). По всей вероятности, это были те обратившиеся в христианство священники (Деян 6:7) и фарисеи (15:5), которые, гордясь своим образованием, не хотели подчиняться апостолам вообще и думали занять в церквах их место. Может быть, они-то и разумеются у Павла под именем Христовых (1Кор 1:12), т. е. признававших только авторитет Самого Христа и не хотевших повиноваться никому из апостолов. Впрочем, Апостол и первым своим посланием к Коринфянам успел восстановить свой поколебленный было авторитет в Коринфской церкви, а второе его послание к Коринфянам свидетельствует уже о том, что враги его - в Коринфе уже признали себя побежденными (см. гл. Vll-ю). Поэтому-то Павел в конце 57-го г. снова посетил Коринф и пробыл здесь около трех месяцев [Предполагают, что до этого Апостол был в Коринфе уже дважды (ср. 2Кор. 13:2).].

Из Коринфа, через Македонию, Павел отправился в Иерусалим с пожертвованиями для бедных христиан Иерусалимской церкви, собранными в Греции. Здесь Иаков и пресвитеры сообщили Павлу, что о нем ходят среди христиан из иудеев слухи, как о враге закона Моисеева. Чтобы показать неосновательность этих слухов, Павел, по совету пресвитеров, совершил над собою в Иерусалиме обряд посвящения в назореи. Этим Павел не совершил ничего противного своим убеждениям. Главное для него было - ходить в любви и, руководимый любовью к своим соиноплеменникам, предоставляя времени окончательную эмансипацию их от Моисеева закона, он принял обет, как нечто совершенно внешнее, не затрагивавшее и не менявшее его существенных убеждений обязательство. Это событие послужило поводом к аресту его и отсюда начинается новый период его жизни.

в) После своего ареста в Иерусалиме Павел был отправлен в Кесарию на суд к римскому прокуратору Феликсу. Он пробыл здесь два года до отозвания Феликса (в 60-м г.). В 61-м году он явился пред новым прокуратором Фестом и, так как дело его все затягивалось, он, как римский гражданин, потребовал, чтобы его отправили на суд в Рим. Путешествие свое он совершал со значительными задержками и только весною следующего года прибыл в Рим. Из последних двух стихов Деяний мы узнаем, что он провел здесь два года, как пленник, впрочем, пользуясь довольно значительною свободой сношений с посещавшими его верующими сотрудниками своими, которые приносили ему вести о далеких церквах и им доставляли от него послания (к Колоссянам, Ефесянам, Филимону, Филиппийцам).

На этом сообщении обрывается книга Деяний. Отсюда жизнь Апостола может быть описываема или на основании предания, или при руководстве некоторых мест из его посланий. Вероятнее всего, как это подтверждается отцами церкви, что Павел после двухлетнего пребывания в Риме был освобожден и снова посетил церкви Востока и потом проповедовал на западе, до Испании. Памятником этой последней деятельности Апостола являются его так называемые пастырские послания, которые нельзя отнести ни к одному из раннейших периодов его служения.

Так как ни одна из Испанских церквей не приписывает себе происхождения от Апостола Павла, то вероятным является предположение, что Апостол Павел был схвачен тотчас же после того, как вступил на почву Испании, и отправлен был немедленно в Рим. Мученическая кончина Апостола, которую принял Апостол на улице, ведущей в Остию [Здесь теперь находится базилика, называемая S. Paolo fuori le mura.], как об этом говорит римский пресвитер Кай (2-го в.), воспоследовала в 66-м или в67-м г., по сообщению историка Евсевия [См. об этом в брошюре I. Frey. Die letzten Lebensjahre des Paulus. 1910.].

Чтобы установить хронологию жизни Апостола Павла, для этого нужно воспользоваться двумя твердыми датами - датою его путешествия в Иерусалим с Варнавою в 44-м г. (Деян XII гл.) и датою его выступления на суде пред Фестом в 61-м г. (Деян XXV гл.).

Фест умер еще в тот самый год, как прибыл в Палестину. След., Павел мог быть послан им в Рим - самое позднее - осенью 61-го г. Пленение Апостола в Иерусалиме, случившееся за два года до этого, последовало, таким образом, в 59-м г.

Третье миссионерское путешествие Павла, предшествовавшее этому пленению, обнимало собою почти трехлетнее пребывание Апостола в Ефесе (Деян 19:8, 10; 20:31), путешествие его по Греции с довольно долгим пребыванием в Ахаии (Деян 20:3) и путешествие в Иерусалим. Таким образом, началом этого третьего путешествия можно полагать осень 54-го г.

Второе миссионерское путешествие, по Греции, не могло продолжаться менее двух лет (Деян 18:11-18) и, следовательно, началось осенью 52-го г.

Апостольский собор в Иерусалим, бывший очень незадолго до этого путешествия, имел место, вероятно, в начале 52-го г. или в конце 51-го г.

Первое миссионерское путешествие Павла с Варнавою в Малой Азии с двукратным пребыванием в Антиохии обнимало собою два предшествующие года и началось, след., в 49-м г.

Отодвигаясь далее назад, мы приходим к тому моменту, когда Варнава взял с собою Павла в Антиохию. Это было около 44-го г. Сколько времени до этого Павел провел в Тарсе, в недрах своего семейства, точно нельзя установить, - очень может быть, около четырех лет, так что первое посещение Павлом Иерусалима после своего обращения можно относить к 40-му году.

Этому посещению предшествовало путешествие Павла в Аравию (Гал 1:18) и двукратное пребывание в Дамаске. На это он сам отводит три года (Гал 1:18). Таким образом, обращение Павла совершилось, вероятно, в 37-м г.

В год обращения Павлу могло быть около 30-ти лет, след., рождение его мы можем относить к 7-му г. по Р. Х. Если же он умер в 67-м г., то всей жизни его было около 60-ти лет.

В правильности этой хронологии убеждают нас еще следующие соображения:

1) Пилат, как известно, был уволен от должности прокуратора в 36-м г. До приезда нового прокуратора евреи и могли позволить себе узурпаторский поступок - совершение казни над Стефаном, чего они не посмели бы сделать при прокураторе, так как римляне отняли у них право совершения казней. Таким образом, кончина Стефана могла иметь место в конце 36-го или начале 37-го г., а вслед за этим, как известно, последовало и обращение Павла.

2) Путешествие Павла и Варнавы в Иерусалим по поводу голода 44-го года находит себе подтверждение у светских историков, которые говорят, что при импер. Клавдии в 45-м или 46-м г. голод постиг Палестину.

3) В послании к Галатам Павел говорит, что он ходил в Иерусалим на апостольский собор через 14: лет после своего обращения. Если собор этот имел место в 51-м году, то, значит, обращение Павла совершилось в 37-м г.

Таким образом, хронология жизни Ап. Павла принимает следующий вид:

7-37. Жизнь Павла, как иудея и фарисея.

37-44. Годы его приготовления к апостольской деятельности и первые опыты его в этой деятельности.

45-51. Первое миссионерское путешествие, вместе с двукратным пребыванием в Антиохии, и апостольский собор.

52-54. Второе миссионерское путешествие и основание церквей в Греции (два послания к Солунянам) [В Греции, в г. Дельфах, хранится вырезанное на камне письмо императора Клавдия к дельфийцам. В этом письме проконсулом Греции назван Галлион, брат философа Сенеки, тот самый, на суд которого был привлечен Ап. Павел его врагами, иудеями в Коринфе. Известный ученный Дейсман в своей статье об этом памятнике (приложена к книге Дейсмана Paulus, 1911: г., с. 159-177) доказывает, что письмо написано в период времени от начала 52-го до 1-го августа 52-го г. Отсюда он заключает, что Галлион был проконсулом в этот год и, вероятно, вступил в должность 1-го апреля 51-го г. или даже позже, летом. Павел уже пробыл до вступления на проконсульство Галлиона в Коринфе 1: 1/2: г; следовательно, он прибыл в Грецию и именно в Коринф в 1-ом месяце 50-го года, а уехал отсюда в конце лета 51-го года. Таким образом, по Дейсману второе миссионерское путешествие Апостола продолжалось с конца 49-го года до конца 51-го года... Но такое предположение пока покоится на недостаточно твердых основаниях.].

54-59. Третье миссионерское путешествие; пребывание в Ефесе; посещение Греции и Иерусалима (послания: к Галатам, два к Коринфянам, к Римлянам).

59: (лето) - 61: (осень). Пленение Павла в Иерусалиме; пленение в Кесарии.

61: (осень) - 62: (весна). Путешествие в Рим, кораблекрушение, прибытие в Рим.

62: (весна) - 64: (весна). Пребывание в римских узах (послания к Колоссянам, Ефесянам, Филимону, Филиппийцам).

64: (весна) - 67. Освобождение из римских уз, второе пленение в Риме и мученическая кончина там (послания к Евреям и пастырские).

Прибавление

а) Личность Апостола Павла. Из обстоятельств жизни Апостола Павла можно вывести понятие о том, что такое представляла собою личность этого Апостола. Прежде всего, нужно сказать, что Павлу был чужд дух какого-либо педантизма. Часто бывает, что великие общественные деятеля являются чрезвычайными педантами в проведении своих убеждений: они не хотят вовсе считаться с разумными требованиями жизни. Но Ап. Павел, при всей уверенности в истинности своих убеждений относительно значения Моисеева закона и благодати Христовой в деле оправдания человека, все-таки, по мере надобности, то совершал обрезание над своими учениками, то противился этому (история с Титом и Тимофеем - см. Гал 2:3: и Деян 16:3). Не признавая себя обязанным исполнять закон Моисеев, он, однако, во избежание соблазна для иерусалимских христиан, принял обет назорейства (Деян 21:20: и сл.). Точно также Апостол иначе судит по вопросу о пище в послании к Римлянам, чем в послании к Колоссянам (ср. Рим ХIV и Кол II).

К этому снисхождению Апостол находил силы в любви христианской, которая всецело владела его сердцем. Где еще была для людей возможность спасения, хотя бы в самой малой степени, там он употреблял все старания любящего отца или даже любящей матери к тому, чтобы спасти своих духовных чад от погибели. Так, он много трудов положил на обращение к повиновению Христу галатов и коринфян. Но он же не боялся высказать окончательное осуждение тем, в ком не виделось никаких признаков раскаяния (2Тим. 4:14; 1Кор.5:5), кто шел против самых основ христианской веры (Гал 5:12). И, опять, где дело шло только о лично ему нанесенных огорчениях, там он всегда умел забывать и прощать своим оскорбителям (Гал 4:19) и даже молился за них Богу (2Кор. 13:7).

Сознавая себя во всем истинным служителем Божиим и смотря на церкви, им устроенные, как на свою заслугу пред Христовым судилищем (1Тим. 2:19: и сл., 2Кор. 6:4; Флп 2:16; 4:1), Павел тем не менее никогда не хотел оказывать на них какое-либо давление своим великим авторитетом. Он предоставлял самим церквам устраивать свои внутренние дела, сам имея уверенность в том, что любовь ко Христу удержит их в известных границах и что Дух Св. пособит им в их немощах (2Кор. 5:14; Рим 8:26). Он, впрочем, не был чужд тому, что совершалось особенно важного в различных церквах, и духом своим присутствовал при разборе наиболее серьезных церковных дел, издали посылая иногда свои решения по этим делам (1Кор.5:4). При этом, однако, Ап. Павел проявлял всегда трезвую рассудительность и способность практически смотреть на дело. Он в высшей степени умело сдерживал порывы лиц, находившихся под особым обаянием дара языков. Он умел найти, что сказать тем христианам, которые в ожидании близкого пришествия Христова совсем было бросили всякие работы. Он требовал от своих духовных чад только того, что они могли сделать. Так, к коринфянам в отношении к брачной жизни он предъявляет менее строгие требования, чем к солунянам. В особенности же большую рассудительность Павел показал в деле своего миссионерского призвания. Когда он пошел на дело просвещения Европы, то воспользовался теми удобными дорогами, которые римляне или возобновили, или устроили вновь, и останавливался при этом в таких городах, которые или по своей торговле, или как римские колонии, стояли в живых сношениях с другими. Последнее обстоятельство представляло собою гарантию того, что отсюда Евангелие будет распространяться в новых местах. Мудрость свою проявил Апостол и в том, что лучшее свое послание, с изложением своего учения, он отправил в столицу Римской империи и именно пред тем, как сам должен был посетить Рим.

б) Результаты миссионерской деятельности Ап. Павла. Когда Ап. Павел шел на смерть, то он с утешением мог сказать себе, что Евангелие распространилось по всему тогдашнему миру. В Палестине, Финикии, Кипре, Антиохии, Александрии и Риме оно утвердилось еще до Павла, но во всяком случае почти во всей Малой Азии и в Греции впервые Павел с его спутниками возвестил слово о Христе. Павел и его спутники основали церкви в Пергии, Антиохии Писидийской, Иконии, Листре, Дервии, Троаде, Филиппах, Солуни, Берии, Коринфе, Кенхреях и в других местностях Ахаии. Учениками Павла, кроме того, были основаны церкви в Коллосах, Лаодикии и Иерополе, а также и в других местностях Малой Азии [Почему Ап. Павел не посетил Африки и, в частности, такого важного города, как Александрия? Дейсман (с. 135) объясняет это тем, что в 38-ом г., следов., в начале миссионерской деятельности Павла, в Александрии начались гонения на иудеев, а позже там явились уже другие проповедники...].

Что касается состава церквей, основанных Павлом и его спутниками и учениками, то в него входили по преимуществу люди низших классов общества, рабы, отпущенники и ремесленники (1: Сол 4:11; 1Кор.1:26). На это указывают и противники христианства еще во 2-ом в. (Цельc и Цецилий). Даже клирики и епископы иногда принадлежали к классу рабов. Впрочем, были случаи, когда в христианство обращались знатные или богатые женщины (Еводия, Синтихия, Хлоя и др.). Были также некоторые знатные мужи среди христиан, как, напр., проконсул Кипра Сергий, Павел (Деян 13:12), Дионисий, член афинского Ареопага (Деян 17:34) и др.

Ренан в своей "Жизни Ап. Павла" высказывает мнение, что состав христианской церкви при Ап. Павле был очень невелик - быть может, обращенных Павлом и в Малой Азии, и в Греции было "не более тысячи человек..." С этим мнением нельзя согласиться уже потому, что христианство в то время возбуждало против себя серьезные опасения со стороны язычников и иудеев-еллинистов, чего не могло бы быть, если бы церкви христианские по разным городам состояли, как предполагает Ренан, только из 10-20: человек каждая. Кроме того, в посланиях Павла есть намек на сравнительно большую численность состава церквей (Гал 4:27: и др.). Из светских писателей о "множестве" христиан говорят Плиний Младший и Лукиан.

От указанных выше церквей Малой Азии, Греции и других, где Павел приложил свои труды, Евангелие распространилось постепенно по всем странам света, и Моно (Monod) в своей книге об Ап. Павел (1893, 3) справедливо говорит: "если бы меня спросили: кто между всеми людьми представляется мне величайшим благодетелем нашего рода, я, без колебания, назвал бы Павла. Я не знаю никакого имени в истории, которое бы казалось мне, как имя Павла, типом самой широкой и самой плодотворной деятельности".

Результаты миссионерской деятельности Ап. Павла тем более поразительны, что он должен был на поприще этой деятельности преодолевать различные немаловажные препятствия. Против него идет постоянная агитация со стороны иудействующих, которые везде ходят по его следам, настраивая против него обращенных Павлом христиан; неверующие иудеи также стараются всеми средствами положить конец миссионерской деятельности Апостола; язычники, по временам, восстают против него; наконец, при болезненности Павла, ему в высшей степени трудно было путешествовать, тем более, что он почти всегда ходил пешком... Тем не менее "сила Господня совершилась в немощи Павла" (2Кор. 12:8) и он преодолел все, что стояло, как препятствие, на его пути.

О посланиях Ап. Павла. Православная Церковь принимает в своем каноне 14: посланий Ап. Павла. Некоторые ученые полагают, что Ап. Павел написал более посланий, и стараются найти намеки на существование теперь уже будто бы потерянных посланий Павловых в посланиях самого Ап. Павла. Но все соображения этих ученых в высшей степени произвольны и безосновательны. Если Ап. Павел упоминает как будто бы о существовании какого-то послания к Коринфянам в V-й гл. (ст. 9), то это упоминание может относиться к первым главам 1-го послания, а те отрывки из мнимого послания Павла к Коринфянам, какие сделались известны ученым в начале 17-го в. в армянском переводе, представляют собою явную подделку (см. об этом в ст. проф. Муретова: "Об апокрифической переписке Ап. Павла с коринфянами" Богосл. Вестник, 1896, III). Под упоминаемым в IV главе 16-м ст. посл. к Колоссянам "посланием Лаодикийцам" легко можно разуметь послание к Ефесянам, которое, как окружное, было передано в Лаодикию, откуда его должны были получить колоссяне под титулом "послания из Лаодикии". Если Поликарп Смирнский как будто упоминает о "посланиях" Павла к Филиппийцам, то опять и здесь греч. слово epistolaV; имеет общее значение "послание" = лат. Litterae. Что касается апокрифической переписки Ап. Павла с философом Сенекою, представляющей собою шесть писем Павла и восемь Сенеки, то неподлинность ее вполне доказана наукою (см. ст. проф. А. Лебедева: "Переписка Ап. Павла с Сенекой" в собрании сочинении А. Лебедева).

Все послания Ап. Павла написаны на греческом языке. Но то язык не классический греческий, а живой; разговорный язык того времени, довольно шероховатый. На его речи сильно отразилось влияние воспитавшей его раввинской школы. У него, напр., часто встречаются еврейские или халдейские выражения (abba, amhn, marana и др.), еврейские обороты речи, еврейский параллелизм предложений. Отражается на его речи и влияние иудейской диалектики, когда он вводит в речь резкие антитезы, краткие вопросы и ответы. Тем не менее, Апостол знал греческий разговорный язык хорошо и свободно распоряжался в сокровищнице греческих вокабул, постоянно прибегая в замене одних выражений другими - синонимическими. Хотя он и называет себя "невеждою в слове" (2Кор. 11:6), однако это может указывать только разве на незнакомство его с литературным греческим языком, которое, однако, не помешало ему написать чудный гимн любви христианской (1Кор.XIII гл.), за который известный оратор Лонгин причисляет Апостола к величайшим ораторам. К недостаткам стиля Ап. Павла можно отнести довольно часто попадающиеся анаколуфы, т. е. отсутствие соответствующего придаточному главного предложения, вставки и пр., что, впрочем, объясняется особым увлечением, с каким он писал свои послания, а также и тем, что большею частью свои послания он писал не собственноручно, а диктовал переписчикам (вероятно, по слабости зрения).

Послания Апостола Павла обыкновенно начинаются приветствиями к Церкви и заканчиваются разными сообщениями о себе и приветствиями, назначенными для отдельных лиц. Некоторые из посланий имеют преимущественно догматическое содержание (напр., посл. к Римлянам), другие главным образом касаются устройства церковной жизни (послание 1-е к Коринфянам и пастырские), иные преследуют полемические цели (к Галатам, 2-е к Коринфянам, к Колоссянам, к Филиппийцам, к Евреям). Прочие можно назвать посланиями общего содержания, заключающими в себе разные вышеупомянутые элементы. В Библии они расположены по сравнительной важности их содержания и по важности тех церквей, к каким они адресованы.

На первом месте, поэтому, постановлено к Римлянам, на последнем - к Филимону. Послание к Евреям поставлено после всех, как получившее всеобщее признание в отношении к подлинности сравнительно в позднее время.

В своих посланиях Апостол выступает пред нами верным в заботливым руководителем основанных им или стоявших к нему в отношении церквей. Он нередко говорит гневно, но зато умеет говорить кротко и ласково. Словом, послания его представляются образцом этого рода искусства. При этом тон его речи и самая речь принимают в разных посланиях новые оттенки. Впрочем, все волшебное действие его речи чувствует, по мнению Иоанна Вейса, только тот, кто читает его послания вслух, так как Ап. Павел вслух говорил свои послания писцу и предназначал их для чтения вслух в тех церквах, куда они были посылаемы (Die Schriften d. N. Т. 2B. S. 3). Прибавить к этому нужно, что послания от Павла являются образцовыми в отношении к группировке содержащихся в них мыслей, а эта группировка требовала, конечно, целых дней и даже недель на составление каждого более обширного послания.

Ап. Павел как богослов. Учение свое Ап. Павел излагает не только в своих посланиях, но и в речах, помещенных в книге Деяний апостольских (13:16-41; 14:15-17; 17:22-31; Х10:18-36; ХХ2:1-21; 23:1-6; 24:10-26; 26:1-23; 28:11-20). В раскрытии учения Павла можно различать два периода - первый, обнимающий собою его речи и послания, составленные до его пленения, к второй - простирающийся от взятия Павла в узы до его кончины. Хотя в первом периоде Апостола занимал более всего конфликт с иудействующими, а в последнем его мысли были привлечены другими обстоятельствами жизни верующих, тем не менее, можно констатировать тот факт, что в том и другом периоде основной тип учения Апостола оставался единым.

Уже в первом периоде Апостол Павел главным предметом своего Евангелия ставит вопрос о правильном отношении человека к Богу или вопрос об оправдании. Он учит, что люди не могут оправдаться пред Богом своими собственными силами и что поэтому Сам Бог указывает человечеству новый путь к оправданию - веру во Христа, по заслугам Которого и дается всем оправдание. Чтобы доказать неспособность человека оправдаться своими силами, Апостол и в речах, и в посланиях своих изображает состояние человека в язычестве, в иудействе, которое (иудейство), хотя и не находилось в такой тьме, в какой пребывало язычество, тем не менее не чувствовало в себе сил идти по стезе добродетели, какую ему намечал закон Моисеев. Чтобы объяснить эту неспособность идти путём добродетели, Апостол говорит о силе прародительского греха, тяготеющего на людях. Адам согрешил первый - и от него зараза греховная перешла на все человечество и выразилась в целом ряде отдельных прегрешений. Человек стал вследствие этого склонен грешить и там, где разум подсказывал ему правильный образ действий - он, как выражается Апостол, подчинился плоти.

Но Бог предоставил язычников их страстям, а евреев отдал под водительство закона для того, чтобы они сознали необходимость в божественной помощи. И вот, когда эта педагогическая цель была достигнута, Господь послал людям Спасителя в лице Единородного Своего Сына, принявшего плоть человеческую. Христос умер за людей и примирил их с Богом, и это-то искупление людей от греха и смерти и возрождение их в новую жизнь и считает своим долгом возвещать Ап. Павел. Человек должен только уверовать в это и он начинает новую жизнь во Христе, под водительством Духа Божия. Вера же есть не только знание, но восприятие Христа всем внутренним существом человека. Она не есть его дело, его заслуга, а прежде всего обязана своим происхождением таинственной благодати Божией, привлекающей сердца людей ко Христу. Эта вера дает человеку оправдание - действительное оправдание, а не только вменение праведности Христовой. Человек, уверовавший во Христа, становится действительно возрожденным, новою тварью, и над ним уже не тяготеет никакое осуждение.

Общество оправданных верующих образует собою Церковь Христову или Церковь Божию, которую Апостол сравнивает то с храмом, то с телом. Фактически, однако, Церковь не представляет еще собою осуществленного ее идеала. Она достигнет своего идеального состояния или прославления только после второго пришествия Христова, которое, однако, не воспоследует ранее того, как придет антихрист и как совершится окончательное поражение зла.

Во втором периоде (и последнем) учение Ап. Павла принимает преимущественно христологический характер, хотя Апостол раскрывает часто и те мысли, какие высказаны в посланиях и речах его раннейших. Лицо Господа Иисуса Христа характеризуется здесь, как лицо не только Искупителя, но Творца и Промыслителя вселенной. Он и по воплощении не утратил Своего Богосыновства, но только вступил в новую форму существования, человеческую, которая, однако, по воскресении Христа, сменялась новою - прославленною. Вместе с прославлением Богочеловека возрождается и человек вообще и входит в то близкое общение с Богом, каким он некогда обладал. У человека теперь является истинным отечеством не земля, а небо, где уже восседает Христос. Чтобы особенно доказать величие христианства своим единоплеменникам-христианам из иудеев, Павел изображает (в посл. к Евреям) Христа, как превышающего Своею силою ангелов, которые участвовали в даровании Синайского закона и Моисея, законодателя.

Что касается нравственных предписаний и постановлений относительно порядков церковной жизни, то они почти равномерно распределяются по всем посланиям. По большой части нравоучительные мысли идут в посланиях после догматического или полемического отдела, представляя собой как бы вывод из догматического учения.

Ап. Павел как богослов имел чрезвычайно большое влияние на развитие Христианского богословия. У него первого высказаны те христологические учения, какие в последствии раскрыты в посланиях других апостолов, в Евангелиях и первых произведениях христианской письменности второго века. В учении об искушении под влиянием Павла стояли Ириней, Тертуллиан, Ипполит, Климент Александрийский и апологеты, Августин и др. позднейшие богословы. Но является вопрос: насколько в учении самого Павла оригинального, самостоятельного? Не стоял ли сам он под влиянием еллинской философии или, по крайней мере, раввинского богословия? Многие исследователи говорят, что, если нельзя признать вероятным первого предположения, то второе является весьма правдоподобным... Так ли это на самом деле?

Прежде всего, зависимость Павла от раввинского богословия должна бы сказаться в экзегетическом методе. Но при внимательном сравнении толкований раввинских и толкований Павла между теми и другими оказывается существенное различие. Во-первых, раввины, объясняя Св. Писание, хотели найти в нем непременно обоснование религиозно-обрядовым мнениям иудейства. Содержание Библии, таким образом, было определено уже заранее. Для этого над текстом делали донельзя непозволительные операции, толкуя его главным образом типически-аллегорически. Апостол же, хотя и принимает предания иудейской церкви, но не в раввинской их окраске, а как достояние всего иудейского народа, хранившего их в своей памяти. Он берет их только для иллюстрации своих положений, не придавая им самостоятельного значения. Если он допускает, по местам, аллегорическое толкование, то аллегории его принимают собственно характер прообразов: на всю историю народа Божия Апостол смотрел, как на преобразовательную по отношению к истории Нового Завета и объяснил ее в мессианском смысле.

Далее. В учении о Христе Павел является также независимым от иудейско-раввинских мнений. Для иудеев Мессия не был не только существом вечным, но даже не был и первым проявлением воли Божией о спасении людей. До мира - говорит Талмуд - существовали семь вещей и первою из этих вещей была Тора. Мессия-Избавитель представлялся только высшим воплотителем идеи законности и лучшим исполнителем закона. Если же закон исполняется хорошо людьми, то и особого Мессии не надобно... Для Апостола же Павла Христос, от вечности существующий, как полная Божественная личность, является краеугольным камнем всего здания искупления.

Это одно уже указывает, что учение Павла о Христе и учение раввинов о Мессии - диаметрально противоположны! Далее, в понимании искупления Павел также расходится с раввинами. По воззрению раввинов, иудей и сам мог достигнуть действительной праведности - для этого ему следовало только в точности исполнять закон Моисеев. Апостол Павел говорил совершенно обратное этому, утверждая, что собственными силами никто не может спастись. Мессия, по раввинскому воззрению, должен явиться уже к оправдавшим себя пред Богом иудеям, чтобы только увенчать их праведность, дать, напр., им свободу и власть над всем миром, а по Апостолу Павлу - Христос пришел для того, чтобы даровать человечеству оправдание и устроить на земле духовное царство.

Различается учение Павла от раввинского и в других пунктах: в вопросе о происхождении греха и смерти, в вопросе о будущей жизни и втором пришествии Христа, о воскресении мертвых и т. д. Из этого можно сделать правильное заключение, что учение свое Апостол выработал сам на основании бывших ему откровений, примыкая к тому, что дошло до него из благовестия о Христе через других апостолов и проповедников - свидетелей земной жизни Спасителя....

Пособия для изучения жизни Апостола Павла:

а) святоотеческие: Иоанна Златоуста "На Апостола Павла 7: слов".

б) русские: Иннокентия, архиеп. Херсонского. Жизнь Апостола Павла. Прот. Михайловский. Об Апостоле Павле. Прот. А. В. Горский. История Апостольской церкви. Артаболевский. О первом миссионерском путешествии Апостола Павла. Св. Глаголев, 2-е великое путешествие Ап. Павла с проповедью Евангелия. Иером. Григорий. 3-е великое путешествие Апостола Павла.

в) на русском языке иностранные. Ренан. Апостол Павел. Фаррар. Жизнь Апостола Павла (в переводах Матвеева, Лопухина в о. Фивейского). Вреде. Ап. Павел [Из переведенных на русский язык замечательны следующие сочинения о жизни Апостола Павла: Weinel. Paulus, der Mensch und sein Werk (1904: г.) и A Deissmann. Panlus. Eine kultur und religionsgeschichtliche Skizze, с прекрасною картою "Мир Апостола Павла" (1911: г.). Живо написана книжка проф. Knopfa Paulus (1909: г.).].

О богословии Апостола Павла можно читать обширную и основательную диссертацию проф. И. Н. Глубоковского. Благовестие Апостола Павла по его происхождению и существу, кн. 1-я Пет. 1905: г. и кн. 2-я Пет. 1910: г. Здесь указана и вся литература об Апостоле Павле на разных языках до 1905: года. Полезна здесь и книга проф. Симона. Психология Ап. Павла (пер. еп. Георгия, 1907: г.). Интересна и важна в апологетическом отношении статья Nosgen a Der angebliche orientalische Einsclag der Theologie des Apostels Paulus (Neue Kirchliche Zeitschrift, 1909: г. Heft 3: и 4-я).

Послание Римлянам

Во время пребывания своего в Коринфе в третий раз (Деян 20:2: и сл.), когда коринфяне сравнительно держали себя спокойно, не входя друг с другом в споры, Ап. Павел написал (около начала 59-го г.) послание к Римлянам, важнейшее и наиболее обработанное из своих посланий. Послание это было продиктовано Апостолом переписчику Тертию в доме Гая, в котором собиралась местная христианская община (Рим 16:22: и сл.), и через Фиву, жительницу порта Кенхрейского, которая пользовалась среди коринфских христиан уважением, отправлено в Рим (Рим 16:1: и сл.). Павел пишет с радостным сознанием, что его великая задача исполнена, так как он возвестил Евангелие от Иерусалима - на востоке до Иллирика - на западе (до Адриатического - моря) и устроил церкви во всех более важных городах, как опорные пункты Евангелия (Рим 15:19, 23). Но его пламенный дух не покоя жаждет, а новых завоеваний: он хочет посетить запад - прежде всего столицу империи, Рим, а потом Испанию (Рим 15:24, 28). Только он должен раньше лично снести в Иерусалим пожертвования, собранные в Македонии и Греции (Рим 15:25: и сл.), не скрывая при этом, что он в этом путешествии подвергает опасности свою жизнь (Рим 15:31). Все это соответствует положению Ап. Павла в конце его третьего путешествия (ср. Деян ХIX:21; 20:22; 24:17).

По взгляду многих древних и новых исследователей писаний Павла, послание к Римлянам представляет собою краткое изложение христианского учения, которое Апостол предложил римлянам как бы отчет о своей проповеди, которую он теперь готов был перенести на запад. Но при этом предположении то обстоятельство, что послание адресовано в Рим, является случайным, а кроме того, неверно и то представление, будто в этом послании дается изложение христианского учения. В самом деле, здесь нет полного раскрытия всех главных истин Евангелия: тут нет обстоятельной христологии и эсхатологии, не упоминается вовсе о таинстве Евхаристии. Наконец, бросается в глаза и то, что Апостол здесь имеет в виду показать несостоятельность иудейско-фарисейской точки зрения, а не изобразить языческое воззрение на жизнь. Другие, предполагая, что римская Церковь состояла по преимуществу из обратившихся ко Христу иудеев (в Риме жило очень много иудеев), - причем ссылаются на Рим 4:1, где Павел говорит об Аврааме, "нашем отце по плоти", и на Рим 7:1: и сл., где читатели изображаются людьми, находившимися "под законом" и теперь освободившимися от него, - определяют цель послания так: Павел хотел дать этим римским христианам разъяснение относительно истинного смысла своей, не связанной с законом Моисеевым миссии и привлечь их на свою сторону, чтобы их недоверие не мешало ему действовать на западе. Но доказательства, какие приводятся в пользу этого мнения, несостоятельны. Ап. Павел одинаково в посланиях, написанных в церквах, образовавшимся из обращенных язычников, говорит о древних евреях: "отцы наши" (1Кор.10:1) и предполагает в них знакомство с законом Моисеевым (Гал 4:21). Очевидно, что, по его представлению, все христиане были новым "народом завета" и истинными потомками Авраама "по духу". Очевидно, что и христиане из язычников должны были знакомиться с Ветхим Заветом (конечно, в переводе LХХ), как с историческою основою для уразумения евангельской истории. Кроме того, целый ряд мест послания к Римлянам ясно указывает на читателей христиан из язычников. Так: 1:6: причисляет римских христиан к "званным Иисуса Христа" среди язычников; в 1:13: Апостол выражает надежду иметь "некоторый плод" между ними, как и у других язычников; в 15:16: он выставляет свое послание к ним, как часть его священнического служения среди язычников; в XI:13: он прямо говорит о них, как о язычниках, тогда как в 9:3: иудеев называет своими братьями и сродниками по плоти. Наконец, в XXVIII-й гл. кн. Деяний (ст. 21: и cл.) римские иудеи говорят Павлу, что они о нем ничего не знают, не получали о нем из Иудеи никаких писем (тем более - от него!) и о христианстве знают только то, что оно везде вызывает пререкания... Все это было бы трудно понять, если бы римская Церковь состояла из обратившихся иудеев. Иные полагают, что римские христиане были обращенные язычники, получившие Евангелие через иудействующих христиан, которые научили их, что и для христиан соблюдение закона - необходимо. Апостол и хочет исправить их представления о христианстве и внушить им правильное понимание значения закона Моисеева. В доказательство этого взгляда на цель послания указывают на то, что Апостол в первой части послания опровергает защитников закона и обрезания, а равно и преимуществ народа израильского. Но этому взгляду противоречит то, что Апостол ясно высказывает свою радость относительно общего состояния римской Церкви. Он благодарит Бога за всех римских христиан (1:8); он свидетельствует, что сам имеет такую же веру, как они, и хочет утешиться этой их верою (1:12); он убежден, что они полны доброго настроения, исполнены всяким познанием, так что сами в состоянии наставлять друг друга; отсюда он смотрит на свое послание только, как на напоминание, а не как на научение чему-то новому (15:14: и сл.). Все это было каким-то заискиванием, если бы на самом деле в Риме доминировало иудействующее христианство, против которого Апостол постоянно боролся. Есть еще мнение, по которому римская Церковь имела смешанный состав, т. е. состояла из христиан из иудеев и из язычников. Послание и написано было с целью примирить тех и других, причем первые восемь глав направлены к христианам из иудеев, а последующие 9-15: - к христианам из язычников. Но против такого предположения необходимо сказать, что едва ли можно открыть на всем протяжении послания такие примирительные цели. Только разве 14-я и 15-я главы могли бы иметь такую тенденцию...

Всего вероятнее то предположение, что послание к Римлянам написано с целью опровержения взглядов фарисейского иудейства, но направлено к Церкви, состоявшей в массе своей из обращенных язычников, среди которых были и христиане из иудеев, но не было иудеистической агитации. Зачем же, однако, Павел к такой Церкви написал послание в явно противоиудейском духе? Церковь римская была основана не Павлом, даже не Варнавою, не Петром, а неизвестными пришельцами-христианами, которые в доказательство истинности Евангелия ссылались, конечно, на пророчества, исполнившиеся на Христе. Но та книга, которая содержала эти пророчества, в то же время содержала и закон Моисеев, как откровение, данное Богом избранному народу израильскому. Через это легко могло образоваться мнение, что Евангелие есть только усовершение Ветхого Завета или новый закон с более строгими требованиями. Так понять Евангелие легко могли именно римляне, преимущественно смотревшие на религию, как на пунктуальное исполнение законно установленных церемоний. Когда римские христиане услышали о Павле, им могло представиться, что учение Павла допускает нравственную разнузданность или послужить оправданием той нравственной распущенности, какая в то время царила в Риме. На это могли всегда указывать и иудеи. Поэтому, то и решился Павел, предварительно своему прибытию в Рим, ознакомить римлян со своею проповедью, свободною от ограниченного узко-законнического понимания Евангелия. Он предложил им в послании очерк своей противофарисейской полемики и показал, что Евангелие не есть новый закон, а сила, дающая человеку оправдание от грехов и приводящая его в общение с Богом. Этим он хотел укрепить веру римлян, дать им более полное понятие о Христе и Его деле и отрезать доступ всякой иудейской агитации. Послание, можно сказать, есть яркий протест против духа номизма...

И древние толкователи, и новейшие исследователи согласно утверждают (два-три исключения не могут идти в счет), что автором послания к Римлянам был Ап. Павел. Julicher в своем предисловии к изъяснению послания к Римлянам (изд. Weiss) говорит: "подлинность послания может оспаривать только тот, кто отважится выключить из истории личность Ап. Павла". Несколько затрудняет толкователей только то обстоятельство, что послание, собственно говоря, имеет три заключения: 15:33; 16:20: и 16:24. Но это можно объяснить тем, что Павел сначала закончил было послание на 15:33: ст. , а потом нашел нужным прибавить приветствия, опять было сначала законченные 19-м стихом XVI и гл., за которым следует заключение (20-й стих), но потом продолженные в 21-23-м стихах, которым Павел не мог не дать снова заключения (ст. 24-й). Что касается доксологии XIV-й гл. (ст. 24-26), то ее большинство кодексов относит к самому концу послания.

Ап. Павел главным образом говорит в послании об оправдании человека, которое должно иметь своим естественным последствием блаженство человека. Этим оправданием люди обязаны только Евангелию. В Евангелии или в христианстве обнаруживается правда Божия, т. е. достигает до нас воля Бога, и Его существо проникает в нас; через веру мы входим в жизненное общение с Богом, и праведность Божественная становится в то же время и нашей, и мы образуем из себя настоящее Царство Божие - царство праведности.

Эту мысль Апостол развивает так. Сначала он констатирует тот факт, что вне Евангелия существует только обнаружение гнева Божия, которому должны подпасть как те, кто злонамеренно ограждает себя от истины, так и те, которые, хотя и знают истину, но не проводят ее в жизнь. К первой категории принадлежат почти все язычники, которых Бог предал за это удаление от истины на волю их страстей и пороков, ко второй - главным образом иудеи и частью язычники (I гл. - III гл. ст. 20). Итак, Бог раньше, до возвещения Евангелия, гневался на людей. Теперь же - не то: Он сообщает людям Свою праведность через принесение в жертву за грехи людей Сына Своего, Господа Иисуса Христа. Каждый, кто уверует во Христа-Искупителя, становится оправданным в очах Божиих (3:21-26). О таком способе оправдания содержатся предуказания и в Ветхом Завете, как видно из примера Авраама (3:27-IV гл.). Плодом нашего оправдания верою является примирение с Богом и вечное блаженство, хотя последнее составляет пока только предмет нашей надежды (5:1-11). Через оправдание мы достигаем опять того состояния невинности и славы, которого некогда лишился Адам (5:12-21). В христианстве уже немыслима греховная жизнь - христианин со Христом начал новую, святую жизнь, от которой уже он не может, не должен возвращаться к прежним порядкам жизни во грехе (6:1-23). Но причем же остается закон Моисеев, который раньше имел такое большое значение? Мы, христиане, - говорит Ап., - уже умерли для закона, и не должны жалеть о нем, потому что он только содействовал обнаружению наших греховных склонностей, а средств побороть их - не давал (7:1-25). Теперь христиане находятся под водительством Духа Христова и живут только для праведности и в уповании на вечную жизнь (8:1-11), которая, несомненно, станет нашим достоянием (8:12-18). Нашу надежду на будущее блаженство подкрепляют воздыхания твари, воздыхания нашего собственного сердца и воздыхания пребывающего в нас Св. Духа (8:19-27). Кроме того, вера в предопределение Божие также дает опору для нашей надежды на прославление (8:28-39).

Таким образом, Павел исчерпал свою тему - "правда Божия открывается в Евангелии из веры в веру". Но так как он еще в первой главе (ст. 16) говорил, что Евангелие является силою Божией, спасающей прежде всего иудея, а между тем до сих пор иудеи являлись для Апостола как бы утратившими всякую надежду на спасение, то он теперь считает необходимым выяснить, что на самом деле он не отрицает возможности спасения через Евангелие и для иудеев. Хотя число спасенных уже иудеев весьма мало, а огромное большинство, - можно даже сказать, вся нация иудейская, - стало во враждебное отношение к Евангелию и осталось за порогом Царства Христова, тем не менее в далеком будущем иудейский народ обратится ко Христу и будет принят в лоно Церкви Христовой (IX-XI гл.).

В следующей, увещательной, части своего послания Павел делает христианам римским разъяснение тех обязанностей, какие они приняли на себя со вступлением в Церковь Христову. Веру свою во Христа они должны обнаружить в своей жизни - прежде всего, как члены церковного общества (гл. XII), а потом, как члены государства, сознательно подчиняющиеся государственному закону (13:1-12). Наконец, Павел дает некоторые указания относительно личного самоусовершенствования христианина (13:12-14). Все это представляет раскрытие основного положения 12-й гл. 1-го ст.: "служите Богу!" Этим же принципом "служения Богу" Павел советует римским христианам руководиться и в спорах о так называемых вещах безразличных (adiaphora), которые тогда велись в римской церкви: все должны думать только о том, как бы угодить Богу, стараться об уничтожении партийности, жертвуя своим самолюбием, по примеру Христа (14-15, 4). Точно так же римские христиане не должны разделяться на общины иудео-христианские в общины языческо-христианские, потому что Господь хочет иметь в Своей Церкви и язычников, и иудеев (15:5-13). Два замечания - о тоне послания (15:14-21) и о дальнейших планах Апостола (15:22-33) образуют эпилог в послании. Сюда еще присоединяются приветствия и некоторые заключительные увещания (гл. 16-я).

Таким образом, послание к Римлянам имеет такое расположение: а) введение (1:1-17), б) дидактическая часть (1:18-11:36), в) увещательная часть (12:1-15:13) и с) заключение (15:14-XVI гл. ).

Текст послания может быть определяем по древним рукописям, по древним переводам и по цитатам, приводимым в творениях Отцев Церкви и писателей церковных. Из рукописей - одни написаны большими буквами и возникли ранее 10-го в., другие - обыкновенным шрифтом, как стали писать с 10-го в. Первых насчитывается 11: и самые древние из них: Синайская (s/s) и Ватиканская (В) - обе 4-го века, Александрийская (А) и кодекс Ефрема (С) - 5-го века. Все рукописи - и древние и позднейшие - подходят под один из трех разрядов. Это или 1) александрийский текст (s/s, А, В, С), вероятно, названный так потому, что он употреблялся в Египте и столице Египта, Александрии; или 2) греко-латинский, названный так потому, что принят был в западных церквях и сопровождался латинским переводом; или же 3) византийский, который заключают в себе почти все позднейшие рукописи, написанные обычным мелким шрифтом, и который принят был в греческой империи. Между этими текстами есть различие, и нелегко решить, какой из этих форм текста отдать предпочтение.

Из переводов послания - два восходят ко 2-му веку. Это именно древний латинский перевод Itala (с него переработана и принята в католической Церкви Vulgata) и сирский перевод Peschito. Оба эти перевода не только согласны между собою в существенных пунктах, но и соответствуют тексту наших греческих рукописей, что весьма важно в смысле засвидетельствования неповрежденности нашего греческого текста. Itala близок более к греко-латинскому тексту, а Peschito - к византийскому. Третий, несколько позднейший перевод - коптский (египетский) следует в точности александрийскому тексту. Что касается цитат из послания, встречающихся у церковных писателей 2-го века, то они также подтверждают нашу уверенность в неповреждённости принятого у нас греческого текста, по крайней мере, в важнейших местах. Так, св. Ириней Лионский в 185-м г. по Р. X. издал труд, в котором приведено около 84-х стихов из послания к Римлянам Около 150-го г. Иустин-философ приводит из посл. к Римлянам гл. III-ю ст. 11-17. Около 140-го г. еретик Маркион обнародовал свое издание Павловых посланий и Тертуллиан в своем сочинении против Маркиона приводит около 38-ми стихов послания к этому изданию. Кроме того, сам Тертуллиан в своих сочинениях приводит около ста цитат из поcл, к Римлянам (190-210: г.). Наконец, Климент Римский около 96-го г. приводит в своем послании к Коринфянам место из 1-й гл. поcл. к Римлянам (ст. 28-32).

В издаваемых Св. Синодом Библиях на 4-х языках печатается вообще византийский текст послания к Римлянам (так называемый Textus Receptus). С этого текста сделан наш славянский перевод послания, русский же перевод значительно отступает от него и дает к нему во многих местах дополнения (напечатаны курсивом).

Из свято-отеческих толкований и пояснений церковных древних богословов на послание к Римлянам известны труды: 1) Оригена (3-го века), сохранившееся в латинской переработке Руфина; 2) Ефрема Сирина (4-го в.) - сохранившееся в переводе на армянский язык, с которого был сделан латинский перевод, в 1905-м и русский; 3) Амросиаста или, как предполагают, римского диакона Гилярия (4-го в.); 5) Августина (конец 4-го в.); 6) Иоанна Златоуста 33: беседы (4-го в.) - перев. на русск. яз. вновь при Петерб. дух. Академии; 7) Феодора Мопсуэтского (4-го и 5-го в.); 8) блаж. Феодорита (5-го в.) - перев. на русс. яз. ; 9) Экумения (10-го в.) и 10) Феофилакта Болгарского (11-го в.), - пер. на русс. яз.

Со времени реформации на Западе появилось очень много толкований на послание к Римлянам. Наиболее известны труды: 1) Лютера (16-го в.), 2) Кальвина, 3) Мелонхтона, 4) Базы - все того же времени, 5) Гроция (17-го в.). В 19-м в. наиболее ценные труды издали: Tholuck, Meyer, Fritzsche, Philippi, Hengel, Umbreit, Ewald, Hoffmann, Godet, Weiss, Lipsius, Sanday (на англ. языке); В 20-м в. известны труды luliclier (изд. I. Weiss в Schriften d. N. Т.), Lietzmann, Richier и в особенности серьезный и огромный труд Th. Zahn'a: Der Brief an die Komer. 1910: г.

Из русских сочинений наибольшею известностью пользуется составленное по св. Отцам толкование на послание к Римлянам епископа Феофана (Говорова). Издано несколько раз Афонским Русским Пантелеймоновым монастырем. Кроме этого, отдельных толкований на поcл. к Римлянам на русск. языке не имеется. Есть только краткие объяснения послания в учебниках и пособиях по Св. Писанию Нового Завета, назначенных для дух. семинарий (Иванова, Хераскова, Розанова, Лебедева).
Matthew Henry: Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible - 1706
IF we may compare scripture with scripture, and take the opinion of some devout and pious persons, in the Old Testament David's Psalms, and in the New Testament Paul's Epistles, are stars of the first magnitude, that differ from the other stars in glory. The whole scripture is indeed an epistle from heaven to earth: but in it we have upon record several particular epistles, more of Paul's than of any other, for he was the chief of the apostles, and laboured more abundantly than they all. His natural parts, I doubt not, were very pregnant; his apprehension was quick and piercing; his expressions were fluent and copious; his affections, wherever he took, very warm and zealous, and his resolutions no less bold and daring: this made him, before his conversion, a very keen and bitter persecutor; but when the strong man armed was dispossessed, and the stronger than he came to divide the spoil and to sanctify these qualifications, he became the most skilful zealous preacher; never any better fitted to win souls, nor more successful. Fourteen of his epistles we have in the canon of scripture; many more, it is probable, he wrote in the course of his ministry, which might be profitable enough for doctrine, for reproof, &c., but, not being given by inspiration of God, they were not received as canonical scripture, nor handed down to us. Six epistles, said to be Paul's, written to Seneca, and eight of Seneca's to him, are spoken of by some of the ancients [Sixt. Senens. Biblioth. Sanct. lib. 2] and are extant; but, upon the first view, they appear spurious and counterfeit.

This epistle to the Romans is placed first, not because of the priority of its date, but because of the superlative excellency of the epistle, it being one of the longest and fullest of all, and perhaps because of the dignity of the place to which it is written. Chrysostom would have this epistle read over to him twice a week. It is gathered from some passages in the epistle that it was written Anno Christi 56, from Corinth, while Paul made a short stay there in his way to Troas, Acts xx. 5, 6. He commendeth to the Romans Phebe, a servant of the church at Cenchrea (ch. xvi.), which was a place belonging to Corinth. He calls Gaius his host, or the man with whom he lodged (ch. xvi. 23), and he was a Corinthian, not the same with Gaius of Derbe, mentioned Acts xx. Paul was now going up to Jerusalem, with the money that was given to the poor saints there; and of that he speaks, ch. xv. 26. The great mysteries treated of in this epistle must needs produce in this, as in other writings of Paul, many things dark and hard to be understood, 2 Peter iii. 16. The method of this (as of several other of the epistles) is observable; the former part of it doctrinal, in the first eleven chapters; the latter part practical, in the last five: to inform the judgment and to reform the life. And the best way to understand the truths explained in the former part is to abide and abound in the practice of the duties prescribed in the latter part; for, if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, John vii. 17.

I. The doctrinal part of the epistles instructs us,

1. Concerning the way of salvation (1.) The foundation of it laid in justification, and that not by the Gentiles' works of nature (ch. i.), nor by the Jews' works of the law (ch. ii., iii.), for both Jews and Gentiles were liable to the curse; but only by faith in Jesus Christ, ch. iii. 21, &c.; ch. iv. (2.) The steps of this salvation are, [1.] Peace with God, ch. v. [2.] Sanctification, ch. vi., vii. [3.] Glorification, ch. viii.

2. Concerning the persons saved, such as belong to the election of grace (ch. ix.), Gentiles and Jews, ch. x., xi. By this is appears that the subject he discourses of were such as were then the present truths, as the apostle speaks, 2 Peter i. 12. Two things the Jews then stumbled at--justification by faith without the works of the law, and the admission of the Gentiles into the church; and therefore both these he studied to clear and vindicate.

II. The practical part follows, wherein we find, 1. Several general exhortations proper for all Christians, ch. xii. 2. Directions for our behaviour, as members of civil society, ch. xiii. 3. Rules for the conduct of Christians to one another, as members of the Christian church, ch. xiv. and ch. xv. 1-14.

III. As he draws towards a conclusion, he makes an apology for writing to them (ch. xv. 14-16), gives them an account of himself and his own affairs (v. 17-21), promises them a visit (v. 22-29), begs their prayers (v. 30-32), sends particular salutations to many friends there (ch. xvi. 1-16), warns them against those who caused divisions (v. 17-20), adds the salutations of his friends with him (v. 21-23), and ends with a benediction to them and a doxology to God (v. 24-27).

In this chapter we may observe, I. The preface and introduction to the whole epistle, to ver. 16. II. A description of the deplorable condition of the Gentile world, which begins the proof of the doctrine of justification by faith, here laid down at ver. 17. The first is according to the then usual formality of a letter, but intermixed with very excellent and savoury expressions.
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
Preface to the Epistle to the Romans
That St. Paul was the author of this epistle, and that it possesses every evidence of authenticity that any work of the kind can possess, or that even the most fastidious skepticism can require, has been most amply proved by Dr. W. Paley, Archdeacon of Carlisle, in his work entitled "Horae Paulinae; or, the Truth of the Scripture History of St. Paul evinced, by a comparison of the Epistles which bear his name with the Acts of the Apostles, and with one another."
Of this apostle I have spoken at large in the notes on the preceding book, and especially in the observations at the close of the ninth chapter, to which I beg leave to refer the reader. It will be sufficient to state here, that Saul, (afterwards called Paul), was born in Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, of Jewish parents, who possessed the right of Roman citizens; (see the note on Act 22:28); that, when young, he was sent to Jerusalem for the purpose of receiving a Jewish education; that he was there put under the tuition of the famous Rabbi Gamaliel, and was incorporated with the sect of the Pharisees, of whose system he imbibed all the pride, self-confidence, and intolerance; and distinguished himself as one of the most inveterate enemies of the Christian cause; but, being converted by a most singular interposition of Divine Providence and grace, he became one of the most zealous promoters and successful defenders of the cause which he had before so inveterately persecuted.
Though this epistle is directed to the Romans, yet we are not to suppose that Romans, in the proper sense of the word, are meant; but rather those who dwelt at Rome, and composed the Christian Church in that city: that there were among these Romans, properly such, that is heathens who had been converted to the Christian faith, there can be no doubt; but the principal part of the Church in that city seems to have been formed from Jews, sojourners at Rome, and from such as were proselytes to the Jewish religion.
When, or by whom, the Gospel was first preached at Rome cannot be ascertained. Those who assert that St. Peter was its founder, can produce no solid reason for the support of their opinion. Had this apostle first preached the Gospel in that city, it is not likely that such an event would have been unnoticed in the Acts of the Apostles, where the labors of St. Peter are particularly detailed with those of St. Paul, which indeed form the chief subject of this book. Nor is it likely that the author of this epistle should have made no reference to this circumstance, had it been true. Those who say that this Church was founded by these two apostles conjointly, have still less reason on their side; for it is evident, from Rom 1:8, etc., that St. Paul had never been at Rome previously to his writing this epistle. It is most likely that no apostle was employed in this important work, and that the Gospel was first preached there by some of those persons who were converted at Jerusalem on the day of pentecost; for we find, from Act 2:10, that there were at Jerusalem strangers of Rome, Jews, and proselytes; and these, on their return, would naturally declare the wonders they had witnessed, and proclaim that truth by which they themselves had received salvation. Of Rome itself, then the metropolis of the world, a particular account has been given in the note on Act 28:16 (note); to which the reader is requested to refer.
The occasion of writing this epistle may be easily collected from the epistle itself. It appears that St. Paul had been made acquainted with all the circumstances of the Christians at Rome, by Aquila and Priscilla, (see Rom 16:3), and by other Jews who had been expelled from Rome by the decree of Claudius, (mentioned Act 18:2); and, finding that they consisted partly of heathens converted to Christianity, and partly of Jews who had, with many remaining prejudices, believed in Jesus as the true Messiah, and that many contentions arose from the claims of the Gentile converts to equal privileges with the Jews, and from the absolute refusal of the Jews to admit these claims unless the Gentile converts became circumcised, he wrote to adjust and settle these differences.
Dr. Paley, with his usual perspicuity, has shown that the principal object of the argumentative part of the epistle is "to place the Gentile convert upon a parity of situation with the Jewish, in respect of his religious condition, and his rank in the Divine favor." The epistle supports this point by a variety of arguments; such as, that no man of either description was justified by the works of the law - or this plain reason, that no man had performed them; that it became therefore necessary to appoint another medium, or condition of justification, in which new medium the Jewish peculiarity was merged and lost; that Abraham's own justification was antecedent to the law, and independent of it; that the Jewish converts were to consider the law as now dead, and themselves as married to another; that what the law in truth could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God had done by sending his Son; that God had rejected the unbelieving Jews, and had substituted in their place a society of believers in Christ, collected indifferently from Jews and Gentiles. Therefore, in an epistle directed to Roman believers, the point to be endeavored after by St. Paul was to reconcile the Jewish converts to the opinion that the Gentiles were admitted by God to a parity of religious situation with themselves, and that without their being obliged to keep the law of Moses. In this epistle, though directed to the Roman Church in general, it is, in truth, a Jew writing to Jews. Accordingly, as often as his argument leads him to say any thing derogatory from the Jewish institution, he constantly follows it by a softening clause. Having, Rom 2:28, Rom 2:29, pronounced "that he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor that circumcision which is outward in the flesh," he adds immediately, "What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there in circumcision? Much every way." Having in Rom 3:28, brought his argument to this formal conclusion, "that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law," he presently subjoins, Rom 3:31, "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid! Yea, we establish the law." In the seventh chapter, when in Rom 7:6 he had advanced the bold assertion, "that now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held;" in the next verse he comes in with this healing question, "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid! Nay, I had not known sin but by the law." Having, in the following words, more than insinuated the inefficacy of the Jewish law, Rom 8:3 : "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh;" after a digression indeed, but that sort of a digression which he could never resist, a rapturous contemplation of his Christian hope, and which occupies the latter part of this chapter; we find him in the next, as if sensible that he had said something which would give offense, returning to his Jewish brethren in terms of the warmest affection and respect: "I say the truth in Christ Jesus, I lie not; my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart; for I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers; and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came." When, in the 31st and 32nd verses of the ninth chapter, he represented to the Jews the error of even the best of their nation, by telling them that "Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, had not attained to the law of righteousness, because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law, for they stumbled at that stumbling-stone;" he takes care to annex to this declaration these conciliating expressions: "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved; for I bear them record, that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge." Lastly, having, Rom 10:20, Rom 10:21, by the application of a passage in Isaiah, insinuated the most ungrateful of all propositions to a Jewish ear, the rejection of the Jewish nation as God's peculiar people; he hastens, as it were, to qualify the intelligence of their fall by this interesting exposition: "I say then, hath God cast away his people, (i.e. wholly and entirely?) God forbid! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew;" and follows this throughout the whole of the eleventh chapter, in a series of reflections calculated to soothe the Jewish converts, as well as to procure from their Gentile brethren respect to the Jewish institution. Dr. Paley, drawing an argument from this manner of writing, in behalf of the genuineness of this epistle, adds, "Now all this is perfectly natural. In a real St. Paul writing to real converts, it is what anxiety to bring them over to his persuasion would naturally produce; but there is an earnestness and a personality, if I may so call it, in the manner, which a cold forgery, I apprehend, would neither have conceived nor supported." Horae Paulinae, p. 49, etc.
From a proper consideration of the design of the apostle in writing this epistle, and from the nature and circumstances of the persons to whom it was directed, much light may be derived for a proper understanding of the epistle itself. When the reader considers that the Church at Rome was composed of heathens and Jews, that the latter were taught to consider themselves the only people on earth to whom the Divine favor extended; that these alone had a right to all the blessings of the Messiah's kingdom; that the giving them the law and the prophets, which had not been given to any other people, was the fullest proof that these privileges did not extend to the nations of the earth; and that, though it was possible for the Gentiles to be saved, yet it must be in consequence of their becoming circumcised, and taking on them the yoke of the law: - when, on the other hand, the reader considers the Roman Gentiles, who formed the other part of the Church at Rome, as educated in the most perfect contempt of Judaism and of the Jews, who were deemed to be haters of all mankind, and degraded with the silliest superstitions, and now evidently rejected and abandoned by that God in whom they professed to trust; it is no wonder if, from these causes, many contentions and scandals arose, especially at a time when the spirit of Christianity was but little understood, and among a people, too, who do not appear to have had any apostolic authority established among them to compose feuds and settle religious differences.
That the apostle had these things particularly in his eye is evident from the epistle itself. His first object is to confound the pride of the Jews and the Gentiles; and this he does by showing the former that they had broken their own law, and, consequently, forfeited all the privileges which the obedient had a right to expect. He shows the latter that, however they might boast of eminent men, who had been an honor to their country, nevertheless, the Gentiles, as a people, were degraded by the basest of crimes, and the lowest idolatry; that, in a word, the Gentiles had as little cause to boast in their philosophers as the Jews had to boast in the faith and piety of their ancestors; "for all had sinned and come short of the glory of God." This subject is particularly handled in the five first chapters, and often referred to in other places.
Concerning the time in which this epistle was written, there is not much difference of opinion: it is most likely that it was written about a.d. 58, when Paul was at Corinth: see Rom 16:23, conferred with Co1 1:14; and Rom 16:1, conferred with Ti2 4:20. It appears, from Rom 16:22, that Paul did not write this epistle with his own hand, but used a person called Tertius as his amanuensis; and that it was sent by the hands of Phoebe, a deaconess, (δια φοιβης της διακυνου), of the Church of Cenchrea, which was the eastern port on the Isthmus of Corinth.
From internal evidence Dr. Paley has demonstrated the authenticity of this epistle; and its existence in the ancient Antehieronymian versions and the Syriac, as well as its being mentioned by the Apostolic Fathers, Barnabas, chap. xii. 13; Clemens Romanus, Ep. i. c. i. 30, 32, 35, 46; Ignatius, Epist. ad Ephes. 20, ad Smyrn. 1, ad Trall. 8; and Polycarp, 3 and 6, and by all succeeding writers, puts it beyond all dispute.
Of the fourteen epistles attributed to St. Paul, (thirteen only of which bear his name), this has been reckoned the first in importance, though certainly not in order of time; for there is every reason to believe that both the epistles to the Thessalonians, that to the Galatians, those to the Corinthians, the first to Timothy, and that to Titus, were all written before the epistle to the Romans. See the dates of the books of the New Testament at the end of the introduction to the Gospels, etc..
In the arrangement of the epistles nothing seems to have been consulted besides the length of the epistle, the character of the writer, and the importance of the place to which it was sent. Rome, being the mistress of the world, the epistle to that city was placed first. Those to the Corinthians, because of the great importance of their city, next. Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse, and Thessalonica, follow in graduated order. Timothy, Titus, and Philemon succeed in the same way: and the epistle to the Hebrews, because the author of it was long in dispute, was placed at the end of the epistles of Paul, as being probably written by him. James, as Bp. of Jerusalem, precedes Peter, Peter precedes John, as the supposed chief of the apostles; and John the beloved disciple, Jude. The book of the Revelation, as being long disputed in the Christian Church, was thrown to the conclusion of the New Testament Scriptures. The surats or chapters of the Koran were disposed in the same sort of order; the longest being put first, and all the short ones thrown to the end, without any regard to the times in which it was pretended they were revealed.
There have been some doubts concerning the language in which this epistle was written. John Adrian Bolten endeavored to prove that St. Paul wrote it in Syriac, and that it was translated into Greek by Tertius: but this supposition has been amply refuted by Griesbach. Others think that it must have been written originally in Latin, the language of the people to whom it was addressed; "for although the Greek tongue was well known in Rome, yet it was the language of the great and the learned; and it is more natural to suppose that the apostle would write in the language of the common people, as those were most likely to be his chief readers, than that of the great and the learned." This argument is more specious than solid. -
1. It is certain that at this time the Greek language was very generally cultivated in Rome, as it was in most parts of the Roman empire. Cicer., pro Arch. 10, says Graeca leguntur in omnibus fere gentibus: Latina, suis finibus, exiguis sane continentur. "The Greek writings are read in almost all nations: those of the Latin within their own narrow limits." Tacitus, Orator. 29, observes, Nunc natus infans delegatur Graeculae alicui ancillae. "Now the new-born child is put under the care of some Greek maid;" and this undoubtedly for the purpose of its learning to speak the Greek tongue. And Juvenal, Sat. vi. ver. 184, ridicules this affectation of his countrymen, which in his time appears to have been carried to a most extravagant excess.
Nam quid rancidius, quam quod se non putat ulla
Formosam, nisi quae de Tusca Graecula facta est?
De Sulmonensi mera Cecropis? Omnia Graece,
Cum sit turpe magis nostris nescire Latine.
Hoc sermone pavent, hoc Iram, Gaudia, Curas,
Hoc cuncta effundunt animi secreta. Quid ultrae
"For what so nauseous and affected too,
As those that think they due perfection want
Who have not learned to lisp the Grecian cant?
In Greece their whole accomplishments they seek:
Their fashion, breeding, language must be Greek,
But raw in all that does to Rome belong,
They scorn to cultivate their mother-tongue,
In Greek they flatter, all their fears they speak,
Tell all their secrets, nay they scold in Greek."
Dryden.
From these testimonies it is evident that the Greek was a common language in Rome in the days of the apostle; and that in writing in this language, which he probably understood better than he did Latin, he consulted the taste and propensity of the Romans, as well as the probability of his epistle being more extensively read in consequence of its being written in Greek.
2. But were these arguments wanting, there are others of great weight that evince the propriety of choosing this language in preference to any other. The sacred writings of the Old Testament were, at that time, confined to two languages, the Hebrew and the Greek. The former was known only within the confines of Palestine; the latter over the whole Roman empire: and the Latin tongue appears to have been as much confined to Italy as the Hebrew was to Judea. The epistle, therefore, being designed by the Spirit of God to be of general use to the Christian Churches, not only in Italy, but through Greece and all Asia Minor, where the Greek language was spoken and understood, it was requisite that the instructions to be conveyed by it should be put in a language the most generally known; and a language too which was then in high and in daily increasing credit.
3. As the Jews were the principal objects of the epistle, and they must be convinced of the truth of Christianity from the evidence of their own Scriptures; and as the Greek version of the Septuagint was then their universal text-book, in all their dispersions, it was absolutely requisite that the epistle should be written in a tongue with which they were best acquainted, and in which their acknowledged Scriptures were contained. These arguments seem conclusive for a Greek and not a Latin original of this epistle.
From the manner in which this epistle has been interpreted and applied, various most discordant and conflicting opinions have originated. Many commentators, forgetting the scope and design of it, have applied that to men in general which most obviously belongs to the Jews, as distinguished from the Gentiles, and to them only. From this one mistake the principal controversies that have agitated and divided the Church of Christ concerning the doctrines of unconditional reprobation and election have arisen. Men, eminent for their talents, learning, and piety, have interpreted and applied the whole on this mistaken ground. They have been opposed by others, not at all their inferiors either in religion or learning, who, not attending properly to the scope of the apostle, have rather argued from the perfections of the Divine nature, and the general concurrent sense of Scripture, and thus proved that such doctrines cannot comport with those perfections, nor with the analogy of faith; and that the apostle is to be interpreted according to these, and not according to the apparent grammatical import of the phraseology which he employs. On both sides the disputes have run high; the cause of truth has gained little, and Christian charity and candour have been nearly lost. Dispassionate men, on seeing this, have been obliged to exclaim: -
- tantaene animis coelestibus irae!
Can such fierce zeal in heavenly bosoms dwell!
To compose these differences, and do justice to the apostle, and set an important portion of the word of God in its true and genuine light, Dr. John Taylor of Norwich, a divine who yielded to few in command of temper, benevolent feeling, and deep acquaintance with the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, undertook the elucidation of this much-controverted epistle. The result of his labors was a paraphrase and notes on the whole book, to which is prefixed "A Key to the Apostolic Writings; or, an essay to explain the Gospel scheme, and the principal words and phrases the apostles have used in describing it." 4to. 1769, fourth edition. This Key, in the main, is a most invaluable work, and has done great justice to the subject. Christians, whether advocates for general or particular redemption, might have derived great service from this work, in explaining the Epistle to the Romans; but the author's creed, who was an Arian, (for he certainly cannot be ranked with modern Unitarians), has prevented many from consulting his book.
To bring the subject of this epistle before the reader, into the fairest and most luminous point of view in my power, I think it right to make a large extract from this Key, steering as clear as possible of those points in which my own creed is certainly at variance with that of my author; especially in the articles of Original Sin, the Atonement, and Deity of Christ; but as these points are seldom directly touched in this introductory key, the reader need be under no apprehension that he shall meet with any thing in hostility to the orthodoxy of his own creed.<

St. Paul shows the Romans his Divine call to the apostleship, and for what end he was thus called, Rom 1:1-6. His salutation to the Church at Rome, and his commendation of their faith, Rom 1:7, Rom 1:8. His earnest desire to see them, that he might impart to them some spiritual gifts, Rom 1:9-15. His description of the Gospel of Christ, Rom 1:16, Rom 1:17. The crimes and profligacy of the Gentile world, which called aloud for the judgments of God, Rom 1:18-32.
Preliminary Observations
Different interpreters have divided this epistle into certain parts or divisions, by which they suppose its subject and matter may be the better understood. Some of these divisions have been mentioned in the preceding preface.
The epistle contains three grand divisions.
I. The Preface,17.
II. The Tractation, or setting forth of the main subject, including two sections:
1. Dogmatic, or what relates to doctrine.
2. Paraenetic, or what relates to the necessity and importance of the virtues and duties of the Christian life.
The dogmatic part is included in the first eleven chapters, the grand object of which is to show that eternal salvation cannot be procured by any observance of the Jewish law, and can be hoped for only on the Christian scheme; for by the works of the law no man can be justified; but what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God has accomplished by sending his Son into the world, who, becoming an offering for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. The paraenetic part commences with Rom 12:1 : I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service, etc.; and extends to Rom 15:14.
III. The peroration or epilogue, which contains the author's apology for writing; his commendation of his apostolical office; his promise to visit them; his request of an interest in their prayers; his commendations of certain persons, and his salutations to others. These points are contained in the succeeding parts of the epistle, from Rom 15:14 to Rom 16:24. The 25th, 26th, and 27th verses (Rom 16:25-27) of this chapter evidently belong to another part of the epistle, and should come in, as they do in a vast majority of the best MSS., after Rom 14:23.
For every thing necessary to a general knowledge of the epistle itself, see the preceding preface.
The inscriptions to this epistle are various in the different MSS. and versions. The following are the principal: - To the Romans - The Epistle of Paul to the Romans - The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans - The Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Romans. The word αγιος, holy, we have translated saint; and thus, instead of saying the holy Paul, etc., we say Saint Paul, etc.; and this is now brought into general use. The older the MSS. are, the more simple the appellatives given to apostles and apostolic men.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
Introduction to Romans
This Epistle has been, with great uniformity, attributed to the apostle Paul and received as a part of the sacred canon. In the church it has never been called into question as a genuine, inspired book, except by three of the ancient sects deemed heretical - the Ebionites, the Encratites, and Cerinthians. However, even they did not deny that it was written by the apostle Paul. They rejected it because they could not make its doctrines harmonize with their views of other parts of the Scriptures. Their rejecting it, therefore, does not militate against its genuineness. That is a question to be settled historically, like the genuineness of any other ancient writing. On this point the testimony of antiquity is uniform. The proof on this subject may be seen at length in Lardner's works. The internal evidence that this was written by Paul is stated in a most ingenious and masterly manner by Dr. Paley in his Horae Pauline.
It is agreed by all, that this Epistle was written in Greek. Though addressed to a people whose language was Latin, yet this Epistle to them, like those to other churches, was in Greek. On this point, there is also no debate. The reasons why this language was chosen were probably the following:
(1) The Epistle was designed doubtless to be read by other churches as well as the Roman congregation; compare Col 4:16. Yet the Greek language, being more generally known and spoken, was more adapted for this purpose than the Latin tongue.
(2) the Greek language was then understood at Rome and extensively spoken. It was a part of polite education to learn it. The Roman youth were taught it; and it was the fashion of the times to study it, even so much so as to make it a matter of complaint that the Latin was neglected for it by the Roman youth. Thus, Cicero (Pro Arch.) says, "The Greek language is spoken in almost all nations; the Latin is confined to our comparatively narrow borders." Tacitus (Orator 29) says, "An infant born now is committed to a Greek nurse." Juvenal (vi. 185) speaks of its being considered as an indispensable part of polite education, to be acquainted with the Greek.
(3) it is not impossible that the Jews at Rome, who constituted a separate colony, were better acquainted with the Greek than the Latin. They had a Greek translation (the Septuagint), but no Latin translation of the Scriptures (as yet), and it is very possible that they used the language in which they were accustomed to read their Scriptures and which was extensively spoken by their brethren throughout the world.
(4) the apostle was himself probably more familiar with the Greek than the Latin. He was a native of Cilicia, where the Greek was doubtless spoken, and he not infrequently quotes the Greek poets in his addresses and epistles Act 21:37; Act 17:28; Tit 1:12; Co1 15:33.
This Epistle is placed first among Paul's epistles, not because it was the first written, but because of the length and importance of the Epistle itself, as well as the importance of the church in the imperial city. It has uniformly had this place in the sacred canon, though there is reason to believe that the Epistle to the Galatians, the first to the Corinthians, and perhaps the two letters to the Thessalonians were written before this.
Of the time when it was written, there can be little doubt. About the year 52 or 54 a. d. the Emperor Claudius banished all Jews from Rome. In Act 18:2, we have an account of the first acquaintance of Paul with Aquila and Priscilla who had departed from Rome in consequence of that decree. This acquaintance was formed in Corinth; and we are told that Paul stayed with them and worked at the same occupation Act 18:3. In Rom 16:3-4, Paul directs the church to greet Priscilla and Aquila, who had for his life laid down their own necks. This service which they rendered to Paul must have been therefore after the decree of Claudius; and of course the Epistle must have been written after the year 52 ad.
In Act 18:19, we are told that Paul left Aquila and Priscilla at Ephesus. Paul made a journey through the neighboring regions, and then returned to Ephesus Act 19:1. Paul remained at Ephesus at least two years Act 19:8, Act 19:9, Act 19:10, and while here probably wrote the First Epistle to the Corinthians. In that Epistle Co1 16:19 he sends the salutation of Priscilla and Aquila, who were, of course, still at Ephesus. The Epistle to the Romans, therefore, in which Paul sends his salutation to Aquila and Priscilla, as being then at Rome, could not be written until after they had left Ephesus and returned to Rome; that is, until three years at least after the decree of Claudius in 52 or 54 ad.
Still further, when Paul wrote this Epistle of Romans, he was about to depart for Jerusalem to convey a collection which had been made for the poor saints there, by the churches in Macedonia and Achaia; Rom 15:25-26. When he had done this, he intended to go to Rome; Rom 15:28. Now, by looking at the Acts of the Apostles, we can determine when this occurred. At this time, he sent Timothy and Erastus ahead of him into Macedonia, while he remained in Asia for a season Act 19:22. After this Act 20:1-2, Paul himself went into Macedonia, passed through Greece, and remained about three months there. In this journey it is almost certain that Paul went to Corinth, the capital of Achaia, at which time it is supposed that Romans was written. From this place he set out for Jerusalem where he was made a prisoner, and after remaining a prisoner for two years Act 24:27, he was sent to Rome about 60 a. d. Allowing for the time of his traveling and his imprisonment, it must have been about three years from the time that he purposed to go to Jerusalem; that is, from the time that he finished Romans Rom 15:25-29 to the time when he actually reached Rome, and thus the Epistle to the Romans must have been written about 57 ad.
It is clear also, that the Epistle to the Romans was written from Corinth. In Rom 16:1, Phoebe, a member of the church at Cenchrea, is commended to the Roman Christians. She probably had charge of the letter, or she accompanied those who had it. Cenchrea was the port of the city of Corinth, about seven or eight miles from the city. In Rom 16:23, Gaius is spoken of as the host of Paul, or he of whose hospitality Paul partook, but Gaius was baptized by Paul at Corinth, and Corinth was manifestly his place of residence; Co1 1:14. Erastus is also mentioned as the chamberlain of the city where the Epistle to the Romans was written; but this Erastus is mentioned as having his home at Corinth; Ti2 4:20. From all this it is manifest that Romans was written at Corinth about the year 57 ad.
Concerning the state of the church at Rome at that time, it is not easy to form a precise opinion. From this Epistle it is evident that it was composed of Jews and Gentiles and that one purpose of writing to it was to reconcile their jarring opinions, particularly about the obligation of the Jewish law, the advantage of the Jew, and the way of justification. It is probable that the two parties in the church were endeavoring to defend each their special opinions, and that the apostle took this opportunity and mode to state to his converted countrymen the great doctrines of Christianity, and the relation of the Law of Moses to the Christian system. The Epistle itself is full proof that the church to whom it was addressed was composed of Jews and Gentiles. No small part of it is an argument expressly with the Jews; Rom. 2; Rom. 3; Rom. 4; Rom. 9; Rom. 10; Rom. 11. And no small part of the Epistle is also designed to state the true doctrine about the character of the Gentiles and the way in which they could be justified before God.
At this time, there was a large number of Jews at Rome. When Pompey the Great overran Judea, he sent a large number of Jewish prisoners to Rome to be sold as slaves, but it was not easy to control them. The Jews persevered resolutely and obstinately in adhering to the rites of their nation, in keeping the Sabbath, etc. So, the Romans eventually chose to give them their freedom and assigned them a place in the vicinity of the city across the Tiber River. Here a town was built, which was principally inhabited by Jews. Josephus mentions that 4, 000 Jews were banished from Rome at one time to Sardinia, and that a still greater number were punished who were unwilling to become soldiers; Ant. book 18, chapter 3, section 5. Philo (Legat. a. d. Caium) says, that many of the Jews at Rome had obtained their freedom; for, says "he, being made captive in war, and brought into Italy, they were set at liberty by their masters, neither were they compelled to change the rites of their fathers;" see also Josephus, Antiq. book 17, chapter 2, section 1; Suetonius' Life of Tiberius, 36, and the notes at Act 6:9. From that large number of Jews, together with those converted from the Gentiles, the church at Rome was collected, and it is easy to see that in that church there would be a great diversity of sentiment, and, no doubt, warm discussions about the authority of the Mosaic Law.
At what time, or by whom, the gospel was first preached at Rome has been a matter of controversy. The Roman Catholic Church has always maintained that it was founded by Peter, and they have thence drawn an argument for their high claims and infallibility. On this subject they make a confident appeal to some of the fathers. There is strong evidence to be derived from this Epistle itself, and from the Acts , that Paul did not regard Peter as having any such primacy and ascendency in the Roman church as are claimed for him by the Papists.
(1) in this whole Epistle, there is no mention of Peter at all! It is not suggested that he had been or was then in Rome. If he had been, and the church had been founded by him, it is incredible that Paul did not make mention of that fact. This is the more striking, as it was done in other cases where churches had been founded by other men; see Co1 1:12-15. Peter (Cephas) is especially mentioned repeatedly by the apostle Paul in his other epistles Co1 3:22; Co1 9:5; Co1 15:5; Gal 2:9; Gal 1:18; Gal 2:7-8, Gal 2:14. In these places Peter is mentioned in connection with the churches at Corinth and Galatia, yet never there as appealing to his authority, but in regard to the latter, expressly calling it into question. Now, it is incredible that if Peter had been then at Rome, and had founded the church there, and was regarded as invested with any unique authority over it, that Paul would never once have even suggested Peter's name!
(2) it is clear that Peter was not there when Paul wrote this Epistle. If he had been, he could not have failed to have sent him a salutation, amid the numbers that he saluted in Rom. 16.
(3) in the Acts of the Apostles, there is no mention of Peter's having been at Rome, but the presumption from that history is almost conclusive that he had not been. In Act 12:3-4, we have an account of his having been imprisoned by Herod Agrippa near the close of his reign (compare Act 5:23). This occurred about the third or fourth year of the reign of Claudius, who began to reign 41 a. d. It is altogether improbable that he had been at Rome before this. Claudius had not reigned more than three years, and all the testimony that the church fathers give is that Peter came to Rome sometime during Claudius' reign.
(4) Peter was still in Jerusalem in the 9th or 10th year of the reign of Claudius; Act 15:6, etc. Nor is there any mention made then of his having been at Rome.
(5) Paul went to Rome about 60 a. d. There is no mention made then of Peter's being with him or being there. If he had been, it could hardly have failed to have been recorded. This is especially remarkable when Paul's meeting with the brethren is expressly mentioned Act 28:14-15, and when it is recorded that he met the Jews, and stayed with them, and spent no less than two years in Rome. If Peter had been there, such a fact could not fail to have been recorded or alluded to, either in the Book of Acts or in the Epistle to the Romans.
(6) the Epistles to the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, to Philemon, and the Second Epistle to Timothy (Lardner, vi. 235) were written from Rome during the residence of Paul as a prisoner; and the Epistle to the Hebrews probably also while he was still in Italy. In none of these epistles is there any hint that Peter was then or had been at Rome; a fact that cannot be accounted for if Peter were truly regarded as the founder of that church, and especially if he were then in that city. Yet in those epistles there are the salutations of a number to those churches. In particular, Epaphras, Luke the beloved physician Col 4:12, Col 4:14, and the saints of the household of Caesar are mentioned Phi 4:22. In Ti2 4:11, Paul expressly affirms that only Luke was with him, a declaration utterly irreconcilable with the supposition that Peter was then in Rome.
(7) if Peter was ever in Rome, therefore, of which indeed there is no reason to doubt, he must have come there after Paul; at what time is unknown. That he was there cannot be doubted without calling into question the truth of all history.
When or by whom the gospel was preached first at Rome, it is not easy, perhaps not possible, to determine. In the account of the day of Pentecost Act 2:10, we find, among others, that there were present strangers of Rome, and it is not improbable that they carried back the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and they became the founders of the Roman congregation. One design and effect of that miracle was doubtless to spread the knowledge of the Saviour among all nations; see the notes at Acts 2. In the list of persons who are mentioned in Rom. 16 it is not improbable that some of those early converts are included; and that Paul thus intended to show honor to their early conversion and zeal in the cause of Christianity. Thus, Rom 16:7, he designates Andronicus and Junia, his kinsmen and fellow-prisoners who were distinguished among the apostles and who had been converted before Paul, that is, before 34 a. d., at least eight years before it was ever pretended that Peter was in Rome. Other persons are also mentioned as distinguished, and it is not improbable that they were the early founders of the church at Rome (Rom 16:12-13, etc.)
That the church at Rome was founded early is evident from the celebrity status which it had acquired. At the time when Paul wrote this Epistle (57 a. d.), their faith was spoken of throughout the world Rom 1:8. The character of the church at Rome cannot be clearly ascertained. Yet it is clear that it was not made up merely of the lower classes of the community. In Phi 4:22, it appears that the gospel had made its way into the family of Caesar, and that a part of his household had been converted to the Christian faith. Some of the church fathers affirm that Nero himself in the beginning of his reign was favorably impressed with regard to Christianity, and it is possible that this might have been through the instrumentality of his family. But little on this subject can be known. While it is probable that the great mass of believers in all the early churches was of obscure and plebeian origin, it is also certain that some who were rich, and noble, and learned, became members of the church of Christ (see Ti1 2:9; Pe1 3:3; Ti1 6:20; Col 2:8; Co1 1:26; Act 17:34).
This Epistle has been usually deemed the most difficult of interpretation of any part of the New Testament; and no small part of the controversies in the Christian church have grown out of discussions about its meaning. Early in the history of the church, even before the death of the apostles, we learn from Pe2 3:16, that the writings of Paul were some of them regarded as being "hard to be understood"; and that "the unlearned and unstable wrested them to their own destruction." It is probable that Peter has reference here to the high and mysterious doctrines about justification and the sovereignty of God, and the doctrines of election and decrees. From the Epistle of James, it would seem probable also, that already the apostle Paul's doctrine of justification by faith had been perverted and abused. It seems to have been inferred that good works were unnecessary; and here was the beginning of the cheerless and withering system of Antinomianism - than which a more destructive or pestilential heresy never found its way into the Christian church. Several reasons might be assigned for the controversies which have grown out of this Epistle:
(1) The very structure of the argument, and the uniqueness of the apostle's manner of writing. Paul is rapid, mighty, profound, often involved, readily following a new thought, leaving the regular subject, and returning again after a considerable interval. Hence, his writings abound with parentheses and with complicated paragraphs.
(2) objections are often introduced, so that it requires close attention to determine their precise bearing. Though Paul employs no small part of the Epistle in answering objections, yet an objector is never once formally introduced or mentioned.
(3) many of Paul's expressions and phrases are liable to be misunderstood, and capable of perversion. Of this class are such expressions as "the righteousness of faith," "the righteousness of God," etc.
(4) the doctrines themselves are high and mysterious. They are those subjects upon which the most profound minds have been in all ages exercised in vain. On them there has been, and always will be a difference of opinion. Even with the most honest intentions that people ever have, they find it difficult or impossible to approach the investigation of them without the bias of early education or the prejudice of pRev_ious opinion. In this world, it is not given to human beings to fully understand these great doctrines. And it is not wonderful that the discussion of them has given rise to endless controversies: and that they who have:
Reasoned high.
Of Providence, foreknowledge, will, and fate;
Fixed fate, free will, foreknowledge absolute,
Have found no end, in wandering mazes lost.
(5) It cannot be denied that one reason why the epistles of Paul have been regarded as so difficult has been an unwillingness to admit the truth of the plain doctrines which he teaches. The heart is by nature opposed to them and comes to believe them with great reluctance. This feeling will account for no small part of the difficulties felt in regard to this Epistle. There is one great maxim in interpreting the Scriptures that can never be departed from. It is, that people can never understand them aright, until they are willing to allow them to speak out their fair and proper meaning. When people are determined not to find certain doctrines in the Bible, nothing is more natural than that they should find difficulties in it, and complain much of its great obscurity and mystery. I add,
(6) That one principal reason why so much difficulty has been felt here, has been an unwillingness to stop where the apostle does. People have desired to advance further, and penetrate the mysteries which the Spirit of inspiration has not disclosed. Where Paul states a simple fact, people often advance a theory. The fact may be clear and plain; their theory is obscure, involved, mysterious, or absurd. By degrees they learn to unite the fact and the theory. They regard their explanation as the only possible one; and, since the fact in question has the authority of divine Revelation, so they insensibly come to regard their theory in the same light; and the one who calls into question their speculation about the cause, or the mode, is set down as heretical, and as denying the doctrine of the apostle. A melancholy instance of this we have in the account which the apostle gives Rom. 5 about the effect of the sin of Adam. The simple fact is stated that that sin was followed by the sin and ruin of all his posterity.
Yet he offers no explanation of the fact. He leaves it as indubitable; and as not demanding an explanation in his argument - perhaps as not admitting it. This is the whole of his doctrine on that subject. Yet people have not been satisfied with that. They have sought for a theory to account for it. And many suppose that they have found it in the doctrine that the sin of Adam is imputed, or set over by an arbitrary arrangement to Beings otherwise innocent, and that they are held to be responsible for a deed committed by a man thousands of years before they were born. This is the theory; and people insensibly forget that it is mere theory, and they blend that and the fact which the apostle states together; and deem the denial of the one, heresy as much as the denial of the other, i. e., they make it as impious to call into question their philosophy, as to doubt the facts stated on the authority of the apostle Paul. If people desire to understand the epistles of Paul, and avoid difficulties, they should be willing to leave it where he does; and this single rule would have made useless several years and entire volumes of controversy.
Perhaps, on the whole, there is no book of the New Testament that demands more a humble, docile, and prayerful disposition in its interpretation than this Epistle. Its profound doctrines, its abstruse inquiries, and the opposition of many of those doctrines to the views of the unrenewed and unsubdued heart of man, make a spirit of docility and prayer especially necessary in its investigation. No one has ever understood the reasonings and views of the apostle Paul except under the influence of elevated piety. No one has ever found opposition to his doctrines recede, and difficulties vanish, who did not bring the mind in an humble frame to receive all that has been Rev_ealed; and that, in a spirit of humble prayer, did not purpose to lay aside all bias and open the heart to the full influence of the elevated truths which the apostle Paul inculcates. Where there is a willingness that God should reign and do all His pleasure, this Epistle to the Romans may, in its general character, be easily understood. Where this is something lacking, it will appear full of mystery and perplexity; the mind will be embarrassed, and the heart dissatisfied with its doctrines; and the unhumbled spirit will rise from its study only confused, irritated, perplexed, and dissatisfied.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
The Epistle to the Romans is "a writing," says Dr. Macknight, "which, for sublimity and truth of sentiment, for bRev_ity and strength of expression, for regularity in its structure, but above all, for the unspeakable importance of the discoveries which it contains, stands unrivalled by any mere human composition, and as far exceeds the most celebrated productions of the learned Greeks and Romans, as the shining of the sun exceeds the twinkling of the stars." "The plan of it is very extensive; and it is surprising to see what a spacious field of knowledge is comprised, and how many various designs, arguments, explications, instructions, and exhortations, are executed in so small a compass.... The whole Epistle is to be taken in connection, or considered as one continued discourse; and the sense of every part must be taken from the drift of the whole. Every sentence, or verse, is not to be regarded as a distinct mathematical proposition, or theorem, or as a sentence in the book of Proverbs, whose sense is absolute, and independent of what goes before, or comes after, but we must remember, that every sentence, especially in the argumentative part, bears relation to, and is dependent upon, the whole discourse, and cannot be rightly understood unless we understand the scope and drift of the whole; and therefore, the whole Epistle, or at least the eleven first chapters of it, ought to be read over at once, without stopping. As to the use and excellency of this Epistle, I shall leave it to speak for itself, when the reader has studied and well digested its contents.... This Epistle will not be difficult to understand, if our minds are unprejudiced, and at liberty to attend to the subject, and to the current scriptural sense of the words used. Great care is taken to guard and explain every part of the subject; no part of it is left unexplained or unguarded. Sometimes notes are written upon a sentence, liable to exception and wanting explanation, as Rom 2:12-16. Here Rom 2:13 and Rom 2:15 are a comment upon the former part of it. Sometimes are found comments upon a single word; as Rom 10:11-13. Rom 10:12 and Rom 10:13 are a comment upon πας [Strong's G3956]

Rom 1:1, Paul commends his calling to the Romans; Rom 1:9, and his desire to come to them; Rom 1:16, What his gospel is; Rom 1:18, God is angry with sin; Rom 1:21, What were the sins of the gentiles.

John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO ROMANS 1
This chapter contains the inscription of the epistle, and salutation, the preface to it, and the grand proposition of justification by faith, so much enlarged on afterwards; and that this could not be by the law of nature, and the works of it among the Gentiles, is demonstrated by a detail of their horrible wickedness, impiety, and unrighteousness. In the inscription an account is given of the author of the epistle, who is described in Rom 1:1 by his name Paul: by his relation to Christ, a servant of his; and by his office, an apostle, whose business and concern were with the Gospel; to which he was separated. This Gospel is commended from the author of it, who is God himself; and from the antiquity of it, Rom 1:2, being as ancient as the writings of the prophets; and from the subject of it, being the Lord Jesus Christ; who is described by his relation to God, his Son, by his dominion over the saints, their Lord, by both his natures, human and divine; his human nature, as being of the seed of David, his divine nature, being the Son of God, Rom 1:4, which is declared by the power he is possessed of, by the Spirit of holiness that is in him, by his resurrection from the dead, and by the apostles receiving from him grace to fit them for their office, and by the office itself: the end of which was to make some among all nations obedient to him, Rom 1:5, among whom were the saints at Rome, who were called by him, and after his name, Rom 1:6, which introduces the account of the persons to whom this epistle is written, who are described, Rom 1:7, by the place of their abode, Rome; by their interest in the love of God; and by the effect, fruit, and evidence of it, their effectual calling; and then follows the apostle's usual salutation, as in all his epistles, in which he wishes grace and peace for them, from God the Father, and from Christ. The preface begins Rom 1:8, in which are a thanksgiving to God, through Christ, for all the saints at Rome, particularly on account of their faith, for which they were everywhere so famous; an appeal to God, Rom 1:9, for the truth of his incessant prayers for them, and particularly, Rom 1:10, that this was a request he made, that if it was the will of God, he might have a speedy and prosperous journey to, them; an expression of strong affection to them, and of his great desire to see them, Rom 1:11, his end in which was partly for their sakes, to communicate spiritual things to them for their establishment, and partly for his own comfort, and the increase of the mutual faith of both, Rom 1:12, also a vindication of himself, Rom 1:13, showing, that it was not any fault of his, or any neglect of them by him, that he had not been with them as yet, but some things hindered him, in the execution of his purpose to come to them; to which he was moved, partly by the hope of having fruit among them, as among others, and partly through the obligation that lay upon him by virtue of his office, to preach the Gospel to all sorts of men, Rom 1:14, he expresses his willingness and readiness to preach the Gospel to them at Rome, as soon as an opportunity would offer, Rom 1:15, which was his work and office, what he delighted in, was closely attached to, and by no means ashamed of, Rom 1:16, partly because of the nature of it, it was the Gospel, good news and true: and partly because of the author and subject of it, Christ; as also because of the efficacy of it in the salvation of Jews and Gentiles; and likewise because of a principal doctrine revealed in it, Rom 1:17, the doctrine of justification by faith, in the righteousness of Christ, confirmed and illustrated by a passage out of Hab 2:4, and which he particularly mentions, because he intended to dwell upon it in this epistle: and in order to show that the Gentiles could not be justified in the sight of God by their obedience to the law, and the light of nature, he observes, that they were the objects of the wrath of God, Rom 1:18, and that very justly, because they sinned knowingly; they had some knowledge of the truth, but they would not profess it: and that they had such knowledge of it, he proves from the author of it, God, who showed it to them, Rom 1:19, and from the means of it, by which they must, and did arrive to some degree of it, namely, the works of creation, Rom 1:20. The apostle goes on to expose the ingratitude of them, the vanity of their minds, the pride and folly of their hearts, Rom 1:21, the gross idolatry they were guilty of, Rom 1:23, for which idolatry they were given up to their own hearts' lusts, to commit the foulest and most scandalous iniquities, even to commit sodomitical practices, and unnatural lusts, both men and women, Rom 1:24. And so far were they from having a righteousness to justify them before God, that they were titled with all unrighteousness; and a large list of the vilest sins, being committed by them, is given; and a catalogue of the worst of sinners, as among them, Rom 1:29. All which are aggravated by their knowledge of the will of God, through the light of nature, that these things were contrary to it, and were deserving of death; and yet they both did them, and were delighted with those that committed them also: the inference which he leaves to be deduced from hence, and which may easily be deduced, is, that therefore there can be no justification of such persons in the sight of God by their own works.
1:11:1: [3274] Պա՛ւղոս ծառայ Քրիստոսի Յիսուսի, կոչեցեալ առաքեա՛լ, որոշեա՛լ յաւետարանն Աստուծոյ[3275]. [3274] Յօրինակին պակասէր ՚ի վերնագրիս անուն՝ Պաւղոսի առաքելոյ. զոր առեալ յայլոց գրչագրաց՝ եդաք զառաջինն ըստ պատշաճի։[3275] Ոմանք. Ծառայ Յիսուսի Քրիստոսի։
1 Պօղոսը՝ Յիսուս Քրիստոսի ծառան, կոչումով առաքեալ, ընտրուած քարոզելու Աստծու Աւետարանը,
1 Պօղոս, Յիսուս Քրիստոսի ծառայ, առաքեալ ըլլալու կանչուած, Աստուծոյ աւետարանին համար որոշուած,
Պաւղոս, ծառայ Յիսուսի Քրիստոսի, կոչեցեալ առաքեալ, որոշեալ յաւետարանն Աստուծոյ:

1:1: [3274] Պա՛ւղոս ծառայ Քրիստոսի Յիսուսի, կոչեցեալ առաքեա՛լ, որոշեա՛լ յաւետարանն Աստուծոյ[3275].
[3274] Յօրինակին պակասէր ՚ի վերնագրիս անուն՝ Պաւղոսի առաքելոյ. զոր առեալ յայլոց գրչագրաց՝ եդաք զառաջինն ըստ պատշաճի։
[3275] Ոմանք. Ծառայ Յիսուսի Քրիստոսի։
1 Պօղոսը՝ Յիսուս Քրիստոսի ծառան, կոչումով առաքեալ, ընտրուած քարոզելու Աստծու Աւետարանը,
1 Պօղոս, Յիսուս Քրիստոսի ծառայ, առաքեալ ըլլալու կանչուած, Աստուծոյ աւետարանին համար որոշուած,
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:11: Павел, раб Иисуса Христа, призванный Апостол, избранный к благовестию Божию,
1:1  παῦλος δοῦλος χριστοῦ ἰησοῦ, κλητὸς ἀπόστολος, ἀφωρισμένος εἰς εὐαγγέλιον θεοῦ,
1:1. ΠΑΥΛΟΣ (A-Paulos,"δοῦλος (a-bondee) Ἰησοῦ (of-an-Iesous) Χριστοῦ, (of-Anointed,"κλητὸς (called) ἀπόστολος, (a-setee-off,"ἀφωρισμένος (having-had-come-to-be-bounded-off-to) εἰς (into) εὐαγγέλιον (to-a-goodly-messagelet) θεοῦ (of-a-Deity,"
1:1. Paulus servus Christi Iesu vocatus apostolus segregatus in evangelium DeiPaul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.
1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called [to be] an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God:

1: Павел, раб Иисуса Христа, призванный Апостол, избранный к благовестию Божию,
1:1  παῦλος δοῦλος χριστοῦ ἰησοῦ, κλητὸς ἀπόστολος, ἀφωρισμένος εἰς εὐαγγέλιον θεοῦ,
1:1. Paulus servus Christi Iesu vocatus apostolus segregatus in evangelium Dei
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ mh▾ tb▾ all ▾
А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
1-7: Послание начинается обширным по объему приветствием, обращенным к читателям. Здесь Апостол говорит о своем праве - обратиться к Римлянам с посланиям. Он - призванный Христом Апостол и получил известные полномочия от Него, чтобы проповедовать Евангелие всем народам.

1: Раб Иисуса Христа. Все христиане - рабы Христа, Который есть их Искупитель и Владыка (2Пет. 2:1). Но Ап. Павел, вероятно, здесь называет себя "рабом Христа" в особенном смысле, как избранный Христом на особое служение, как ближайший и непосредственный исполнитель повелений Христа. Так называет себя и Моисей рабом Божиим (Чис 12:17: и сл.). В других местах Ап. Павел то же отношение свое ко Христу обозначает терминами uphrethV (1Кор.4:1), diakonoV (1Кор.3:5), oikonomoV (1Кор.4:1: и сл.). Ср. Флп 1:1, где Апостол себе и Тимофею придаст наименование рабов Христа, называя прочих христиан просто святыми. - Призванный Апостол. В первенствующей Церкви апостолами назывались иногда странствующие проповедники Евангелия, не получившие, однако, полномочий от Христа (2Кор. 11:5, 13, 23; 12:11) или от какой-либо Церкви.

Ап. Павел не таков: он получил особое призвание (klhtoV) быть апостолом, получил от Самого Христа и признан был за истинного апостола Христова представителями Церкви (ср. Гал 2:7-10). Об этом, конечно, оповестили в Риме друзья Павла (Рим 16:3, 7, 13). - Избранный к благовестию Божию. Апостол является человеком, отделенным для проповедания благой вести, идущей от Бога. Он отделен, освобожден Богом от всяких других обязанностей и забот для того, чтобы он мог вполне отдаться порученному ему великому делу проповедания (выражение aforismenoV - значит "обособленный" - то же, что еврейское слово перша, в греческой транскрипции - farisaioV. Павел есть фарисей - в высшем значении этого слова: он отделил себя и в христианстве от всех обычных занятий и попечений, как отделял себя от простого народа, будучи иудеем и в то же время строгим фарисеем). Он призван быть Апостолом нового откровения Божия - о спасении людей. Его учение не человеческое, а Божие.
Matthew Henry: Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible - 1706
The Apostle's Commission.A. D. 58.
1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) 3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: 5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: 6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: 7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

In this paragraph we have,

I. The person who writes the epistle described (v. 1): Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ; this is his title of honour, which he glories in, not as the Jewish teachers, Rabbi, Rabbi; but a servant, a more immediate attendant, a steward in the house. Called to be an apostle. Some think he alludes to his old name Saul, which signifies one called for, or enquired after: Christ sought him to make an apostle of him, Acts ix. 15. He here builds his authority upon his call; he did not run without sending, as the false apostles did; kletos apostolos--called an apostle, as if this were the name he would be called by, though he acknowledged himself not meet to be called so, 1 Cor. xv. 9. Separated to the gospel of God. The Pharisees had their name from separation, because they separated themselves to the study of the law, and might be called aphorismenoi eis ton nomon; such a one Paul had formerly been; but now he had changed his studies, was aphorismenos eis to Euangelion, a gospel Pharisee, separated by the counsel of God (Gal. i. 15), separated from his mother's womb, by an immediate direction of the Spirit, and a regular ordination according to that direction (Acts xiii. 2, 3), by a dedication of himself to this work. He was an entire devotee to the gospel of God, the gospel which has God for its author, the origin and extraction of it divine and heavenly.

II. Having mentioned the gospel of God, he digresses, to give us an encomium of it.

1. The antiquity of it. It was promised before (v. 2); it was no novel upstart doctrine, but of ancient standing in the promises and prophecies of the old Testament, which did all unanimously point at the gospel, the morning-beams that ushered in the sun of righteousness; this not by word of mouth only, but in the scriptures.

2. The subject-matter of it: it is concerning Christ, v. 3, 4. The prophets and apostles all bear witness to him; he is the true treasure hid in the field of the scriptures. Observe, When Paul mentions Christ, how he heaps up his names and titles, his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, as one that took a pleasure in speaking of him; and, having mentioned him, he cannot go on in his discourse without some expression of love and honour, as here, where in one person he shows us his two distinct natures. (1.) His human nature: Made of the seed of David (v. 3), that is, born of the virgin Mary, who was of the house of David (Luke i. 27), as was Joseph his supposed father, Luke ii. 4. David is here mentioned, because of the special promises made to him concerning the Messiah, especially his kingly office; 2 Sam. vii. 12; Ps. cxxxii. 11, compared with Luke i. 32, 33. (2.) His divine nature: Declared to be the Son of God (v. 4), the Son of God by eternal generation, or, as it is here explained, according to the Spirit of holiness. According to the flesh, that is, his human nature, he was of the seed of David; but, according to the Spirit of holiness, that is, the divine nature (as he is said to be quickened by the Spirit, 1 Pet. iii. 18, compared with 2 Cor. xiii. 4), he is the Son of God. The great proof or demonstration of this is his resurrection from the dead, which proved it effectually and undeniably. The sign of the prophet Jonas, Christ's resurrection, was intended for the last conviction, Matt. xii. 39, 40. Those that would not be convinced by that would be convinced by nothing. So that we have here a summary of the gospel doctrine concerning Christ's two natures in one person.

3. The fruit of it (v. 5); By whom, that is, by Christ manifested and made known in the gospel, we (Paul and the rest of the ministers) have received grace and apostleship, that is, the favour to be made apostles, Eph. iii. 8. The apostles were made a spectacle to the world, led a life of toil, and trouble, and hazard, were killed all the day long, and yet Paul reckons the apostleship a favour: we may justly reckon it a great favour to be employed in any work or service for God, whatever difficulties or dangers we may meet with in it. This apostleship was received for obedience to the faith, that is, to bring people to that obedience; as Christ, so his ministers, received that they might give. Paul's was for this obedience among all nations, for he was the apostle of the Gentiles, ch. xi. 13. Observe the description here given of the Christian profession: it is obedience to the faith. It does not consist in a notional knowledge or a naked assent, much less does it consist in perverse disputings, but in obedience. This obedience to the faith answers the law of faith, mentioned ch. iii. 27. The act of faith is the obedience of the understanding to God revealing, and the product of that is the obedience of the will to God commanding. To anticipate the ill use which might be made of the doctrine of justification by faith without the works of the law, which he was to explain in the following epistle, he here speaks of Christianity as an obedience. Christ has a yoke. "Among whom are you, v. 6. You Romans in this stand upon the same level with other Gentile nations of less fame and wealth; you are all one in Christ." The gospel salvation is a common salvation, Jude 3. No respect of persons with God. The called of Jesus Christ; all those, and those only, are brought to an obedience of the faith that are effectually called of Jesus Christ.

III. The persons to whom it is written (v. 7): To all that are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints; that is, to all the professing Christians that were in Rome, whether Jews or Gentiles originally, whether high or low, bond or free, learned or unlearned. Rich and poor meet together in Christ Jesus. Here is, 1. The privilege of Christians: They are beloved of God, they are members of that body which is beloved, which is God's Hephzibah, in which his delight is. We speak of God's love by his bounty and beneficence, and so he hath a common love to all mankind and a peculiar love for true believers; and between these there is a love he hath for all the body of visible Christians. 2. The duty of Christians; and that is to be holy, for hereunto are they called, called to be saints, called to salvation through sanctification. Saints, and only saints, are beloved of God with a special and peculiar love. Kletois hagiois--called saints, saints in profession; it were well if all that are called saints were saints indeed. Those that are called saints should labour to answer to the name; otherwise, though it is an honour and a privilege, yet it will be of little avail at the great day to have been called saints, if we be not really so.

IV. The apostolical benediction (v. 7): Grace to you and peace. This is one of the tokens in every epistle; and it hath not only the affection of a good wish, but the authority of a blessing. The priests under the law were to bless the people, and so are gospel ministers, in the name of the Lord. In this usual benediction observe, 1. The favours desired: Grace and peace. The Old-Testament salutation was, Peace be to you; but now grace is prefixed--grace, that is, the favour of God towards us or the work of God in us; both are previously requisite to true peace. All gospel blessings are included in these two: grace and peace. Peace, that is all good; peace with God, peace in your own consciences, peace with all that are about you; all these founded in grace. 2. The fountain of those favours, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. All good comes, (1.) From God as a Father; he hath put himself into that relation to engage and encourage our desires and expectations; we are taught, when we come for grace and peace, to call him our Father. (2.) From the Lord Jesus Christ, as Mediator, and the great feoffee in trust for the conveying and securing of these benefits. We have them from his fulness, peace from the fulness of his merit, grace from the fulness of his Spirit.
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:1: Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ - The word δουλος, which we translate servant, properly means a slave, one who is the entire property of his master; and is used here by the apostle with great propriety. He felt he was not his own, and that his life and powers belonged to his heavenly owner, and that he had no right to dispose of or employ them but in the strictest subserviency to the will of his Lord. In this sense, and in this spirit, he is the willing slave of Jesus Christ; and this is, perhaps, the highest character which any soul of man can attain on this side eternity. "I am wholly the Lord's; and wholly devoted in the spirit of sacrificial obedience, to the constant, complete, and energetic performance of the Divine will." A friend of God is high; a son of God is higher; but the servant, or, in the above sense, the slave of God, is higher than all; - in a word, he is a person who feels he has no property in himself, and that God is all and in all.
Called to be an apostle - The word αποστολος, apostle, from αποστελλειν, to send, signifies simply a messenger or envoy; one sent on a confidential errand: but here it means an extraordinary messenger; one sent by God himself to deliver the most important message on behalf of his Maker; - in a word, one sent by the Divine authority to preach the Gospel to the nations. The word κλητος, called, signifies here the same as constituted, and should be joined with αποστολος, as it is in the Greek, and translated thus: Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, constituted an apostle, etc. This sense the word called has in many places of the sacred writings; e. g. Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us, that we should be called, κληθωμεν, Constituted, or made the sons of God. As it is likely that no apostle had been employed in founding the Church of Rome, and there was need of much authority to settle the matters that were there in dispute, it was necessary he should show them that he derived his authority from God, and was immediately delegated by him to preach and write as he was now doing.
Separated unto the Gospel - Set apart and appointed to this work, and to this only; as the Israelites were separate from all the people of the earth, to be the servants of God: see Lev 20:26. St. Paul may here refer to his former state as a Pharisee, which literally signifies a separatist, or one separated. Before he was separated unto the service of his own sect; now he is separated unto the Gospel of God. On the word Gospel, and its meaning, see the preface to the notes on St. Matthew; and for the meaning of the word Pharisee, see the same Gospel, Mat 3:7 (note).
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:1: Paul - The original name of the author of this Epistle was "Saul." Act 7:58; Act 7:1; Act 8:1, etc. This was changed to Paul (see the note at Act 13:9), and by this name he is generally known in the New Testament. The reason why he assumed this name is not certainly known. It was, however, in accordance with the custom of the times; see the note at Act 13:9. The name Saul was Hebrew; the name Paul was Roman. In addressing a letter to the Romans, he would naturally make use of the name to which they were accustomed, and which would excite no prejudice among them. The ancient custom was to begin an epistle with the name of the writer, as Cicero to Varro, etc. We record the name at the end. It may be remarked, however, that the placing the name of the writer at the beginning of an epistle was always done, and is still, when the letter was one of authority, or when it conferred any special privileges. Thus, in the proclamation of Cyrus Ezr 1:2, "Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia," etc.; see also Ezr 4:11; Ezr 7:12. "Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest," etc. Dan 4:1. The commencement of a letter by an apostle to a Christian church in this manner was especially proper as indicating authority.
A servant - This name was what the Lord Jesus himself directed His disciples to use, as their general appellation; Mat 10:25; Mat 20:27; Mar 10:44. And it was the customary name which they assumed; Gal 1:10; Col 4:12; Pe2 1:1; Jde 1:1; Act 4:29; Tit 1:1; Jam 1:1. The proper meaning of this word servant, δοῦλος doulos, is slave, one who is not free. It expresses the condition of one who has a master, or who is at the control of another. It is often, however, applied to courtiers, or the officers that serve under a king: because in an eastern monarchy the relation of an absolute king to his courtiers corresponded nearly to that of a master and a slave. Thus, the word is expressive of dignity and honor; and the servants of a king denote officers of a high rank and station. It is applied to the prophets as those who were honored by God, or especially entrusted by him with office; Deu 34:5; Jos 1:2; Jer 25:4. The name is also given to the Messiah, Isa 42:1, "Behold my servant in whom my soul delighteth," etc.; Isa 53:11, "shall my righteous servant justify many." The apostle uses it here evidently to denote his acknowledging Jesus Christ as his master; as indicating his dignity, as especially appointed by him to his great work; and as showing that in this Epistle he intended to assume no authority of his own, but simply to declare the will of his master, and theirs.
Called to be an apostle - This word called means here not merely to be invited, but has the sense of appointed. It indicates that he had not assumed the office himself, but that he was set apart to it by the authority of Christ himself. It was important for Paul to state this,
(1) Because the other apostles had been called or chosen to this work Joh 15:16, Joh 15:19; Mat 10:1; Luk 6:13; and,
(2) Because Paul was not one of those originally appointed.
It was of consequence for him therefore, to affirm that he had not taken this high office to himself, but that he had been called to it by the authority of Jesus Christ. His appointment to this office he not infrequently takes occasion to vindicate; Co1 9:1, etc.: Gal 1:12-24; Co2 12:12; Ti1 2:7; Ti2 1:11; Rom 11:13.
An apostle - One sent to execute a commission. It is applied because the apostles were sent out by Jesus Christ to preach his gospel, and to establish his church; Mat 10:2 note; Luk 6:13 note.
Separated - The word translated "separated unto," ἀφορίζω aphorizō, means to designate, to mark out by fixed limits, to bound as a field, etc. It denotes those who are "separated," or called out from the common mass; Act 19:9; Co2 6:17. The meaning here does not materially differ from the expression, "called to be an apostle," except that perhaps this includes the notion of the purpose or designation of God to this work. Thus, Paul uses the same word respecting himself; Gal 1:15, "God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace," that is, God designated me; marked me out; or designed that I should be an apostle from my infancy. In the same way Jeremiah was designated to be a prophet; Jer 1:5.
Unto the gospel of God - Designated or designed by God that I should make it "my business" to preach the gospel. Set apart to this, as the special, great work of my life; as having no other object for which I should live. For the meaning of the word "gospel," see the note at Mat 1:1. It is called the gospel of God because it is his appointment; it has been originated by him, and has his authority. The function of an apostle was to preach the gospel Paul regarded himself as separated to this work. It was not to live in splendor, wealth, and ease, but to devote himself to this great business of proclaiming good news, that God was reconciled to people in his Son. This is the sole business of all ministers of "religion."
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:1: Paul: Act 13:9, Act 21:40, Act 22:7, Act 22:13, Act 26:1, Act 26:14
a servant: Rom 1:9, Rom 15:16, Rom 16:18; Joh 12:26, Joh 13:14-16, Joh 15:15, Joh 15:20; Act 27:23; Co2 4:5; Gal 1:10; Phi 1:1, Phi 2:11, Phi 3:6, Phi 3:7; Tit 1:1; Jam 1:1; Pe2 1:1; Jde 1:1; Rev 1:1, Rev 22:6, Rev 22:9
called: Rom 1:5, Rom 11:13; Act 9:15, Act 22:14, Act 22:15, Act 22:21, Act 26:16-18; Co1 1:1, Co1 9:1, Co1 9:16-18, Co1 15:8-10; Co2 1:1, Co2 11:5, Co2 12:11; Gal 1:1, Gal 1:11-17; Eph 1:1, Eph 3:5-7, Eph 4:11; Col 1:1, Col 1:25; Ti1 1:1, Ti1 1:11, Ti1 1:12, Ti1 2:7; Ti2 1:11; Tit 1:1; Heb 5:4
separated: Lev 20:24-26; Num 16:9, Num 16:10; Deu 10:8; Ch1 23:13; Isa 49:1; Jer 1:5; Act 13:2-4; Gal 1:15; Ti1 1:15, Ti1 1:16; Heb 7:26
the gospel: Rom 1:9, Rom 1:16, Rom 15:16, Rom 15:29, Rom 16:25; Mar 16:15, Mar 16:16; Luk 2:10, Luk 2:11; Act 20:24; Eph 1:13; Th1 2:2; Th2 2:13, Th2 2:14; Ti1 1:11
Geneva 1599
1:1 Paul, (1) a (2) (a) servant of Jesus Christ, called [to be] an (b) apostle, (c) separated unto the gospel of God,
(1) The first part of the epistle contains a most profitable preface down to verse six. (2) Paul, exhorting the Romans to give diligent heed to him, in that he shows that he comes not in his own name, but as God's messenger to the Gentiles, entreats them with the weightiest matter that exists, promised long ago by God, by many good witnesses, and now at length indeed performed.
(a) Minister, for this word "servant" is not taken in this place as set against the word "freeman", but rather refers to and declares his ministry and office.
(b) Whereas he said before in a general term that he was a minister, now he comes to a more special name, and says that he is an apostle, and that he did not take this office upon himself by his own doing, but that he was called by God, and therefore in this letter of his to the Romans he is doing nothing but his duty.
(c) Appointed by God to preach the gospel.
John Gill
1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,.... The name of the author of this epistle is Paul, who formerly was called Saul. Some think his name was changed upon his own conversion; others, upon the conversion of the Roman deputy Sergius Paulus, Acts 13:7; others, that he was so called from the littleness of his stature; but rather it should seem that he had two names, which was usual with the Jews; one by which they went among the Gentiles, and another by they were called in their own land; See Gill on Acts 13:9. "A servant of Jesus Christ"; not a servant of sin, nor of Satan, nor of man, nor of Moses and his law, nor of the traditions of the elders, but of Jesus Christ; and not by creation only, but by redemption, and by powerful efficacious grace in conversion; which is no ways contrary to true liberty; nor a disgraceful, but a most honourable character; and which chiefly regards him as a minister of the Gospel:
called to be an apostle: an apostle was one that was immediately sent by Christ, and had his authority and doctrine directly from him, and had a power of working miracles from him, in confirmation of the truth of his mission, authority, and doctrine; all which were to be found in the author of this epistle, who did not thrust himself into this office, or take this honour to himself, of which he always judged himself unworthy, but was "called" to it according to the will, and by the grace of God:
separated unto the Gospel of God. This may regard either God's eternal purpose concerning him, his preordination of him from eternity to be a preacher of the Gospel, to which he was separated from his mother's womb, Gal 1:15; or the separation of him to that work made by the order of the Spirit of God, Acts 13:2. The phrase used is either in allusion to the priests and Levites, who were separated from their brethren the children of Israel, to their sacred employments; or rather to the apostle's having been "a Pharisee", which signifies "one separated", as he was now; only with this difference, before he was separated to the law, but now "to the Gospel", to preach and defend it, which he did with all faithfulness and integrity; the excellency of which Gospel is signified by its being called "the Gospel of God": he is the author of it; his grace is the subject of it; and he it is who commits it to men, qualifies them for the preaching of it, and succeeds them in it.
John Wesley
1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ - To this introduction the conclusion answers, Rom 15:15, &c. Called to be an apostle - And made an apostle by that calling. While God calls, he makes what he calls. As the Judaizing teachers disputed his claim to the apostolical office, it is with great propriety that he asserts it in the very entrance of an epistle wherein their principles are entirely overthrown. And various other proper and important thoughts are suggested in this short introduction; particularly the prophecies concerning the gospel, the descent of Jesus from David, the great doctrines of his Godhead and resurrection, the sending the gospel to the gentiles, the privileges of Christians, and the obedience and holiness to which they were obliged in virtue of their profession. Separated - By God, not only from the bulk of other men, from other Jews, from other disciples, but even from other Christian teachers, to be a peculiar instrument of God in spreading the gospel.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:1 INTRODUCTION. (Rom. 1:1-17)
Paul--(See on Acts 13:9).
a servant of Jesus Christ--The word here rendered "servant" means "bond-servant," or one subject to the will and wholly at the disposal of another. In this sense it is applied to the disciples of Christ at large (1Cor 7:21-23), as in the Old Testament to all the people of God (Is 66:14). But as, in addition to this, the prophets and kings of Israel were officially "the servants of the Lord" (Josh 1:1; Ps 18:1, title), the apostles call themselves, in the same official sense, "the servants of Christ" (as here, and Phil 1:1; Jas 1:1; 2Pet 1:1; Jude 1:1), expressing such absolute subjection and devotion to the Lord Jesus as they would never have yielded to a mere creature. (See on Rom 1:7; Jn 5:22-23).
called to be an apostle--when first he "saw the Lord"; the indispensable qualification for apostleship. (See on Acts 9:5; Acts 22:14; 1Cor 9:1).
separated unto the--preaching of the
gospel--neither so late as when "the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul" (Acts 13:2), nor so early as when "separated from his mother's womb" (see on Gal 1:15). He was called at one and the same time to the faith and the apostleship of Christ (Acts 26:16-18).
of God--that is, the Gospel of which God is the glorious Author. (So Rom 15:16; Th1 2:2, Th1 2:8-9; 1Pet 4:17).
1:21:2: որ յառաջ խոստացաւ ՚ի ձեռն մարգարէի՛ց իւրոց գրո՛վք սրբովք[3276], [3276] Ոսկան. Զոր յառաջ խոստա՛՛։ Ոմանք. Որ յառաջն խոս՛՛։
2 որ նա առաջուց խոստացել էր իր մարգարէների միջոցով սուրբ գրուածքներում
2 Որ առաջուընէ իր մարգարէներուն ձեռքով սուրբ գրքերով խոստացաւ,
որ յառաջ խոստացաւ ի ձեռն մարգարէից իւրոց գրովք սրբովք:

1:2: որ յառաջ խոստացաւ ՚ի ձեռն մարգարէի՛ց իւրոց գրո՛վք սրբովք[3276],
[3276] Ոսկան. Զոր յառաջ խոստա՛՛։ Ոմանք. Որ յառաջն խոս՛՛։
2 որ նա առաջուց խոստացել էր իր մարգարէների միջոցով սուրբ գրուածքներում
2 Որ առաջուընէ իր մարգարէներուն ձեռքով սուրբ գրքերով խոստացաւ,
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:22: которое Бог прежде обещал через пророков Своих, в святых писаниях,
1:2  ὃ προεπηγγείλατο διὰ τῶν προφητῶν αὐτοῦ ἐν γραφαῖς ἁγίαις,
1:2. ὃ (to-which) προεπηγγείλατο ( it-messaged-upon-before ) διὰ (through) τῶν (of-the-ones) προφητῶν (of-declarers-before) αὐτοῦ (of-it) ἐν (in) γραφαῖς (unto-scribings) ἁγίαις ( unto-hallow-belonged ,"
1:2. quod ante promiserat per prophetas suos in scripturis sanctisWhich he had promised before, by his prophets, in the holy scriptures,
2. which he promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,
Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures:

2: которое Бог прежде обещал через пророков Своих, в святых писаниях,
1:2  ὃ προεπηγγείλατο διὰ τῶν προφητῶν αὐτοῦ ἐν γραφαῖς ἁγίαις,
1:2. quod ante promiserat per prophetas suos in scripturis sanctis
Which he had promised before, by his prophets, in the holy scriptures,
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ tb▾ all ▾
А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
2: Которое Бог прежде обещал... Желая уверить римлян в том, что Евангелие, которое он как Апостол проповедует, не человеческое учение, а весть Божественного происхождения, Павел говорит, что его предвозвестил Сам Бог через Своих пророков в святых писаниях. Читатели уже знали, конечно, что Христос и апостолы указывали на исполнение в Новом Завете ветхозаветных пророчеств (см. Лк 4:17-21; Мф 11:5: (= Ис 60:1: и сл.); Мф 12:17-21: (Иc 41:1-4) и т. д.). Павел не хочет, без сомнения, повторять здесь этой мысли. Он указывает только на то, что писания, в которых предвозвещается наступление Нового Завета, святые, т. е. не заключают в себе заблуждений: им нужно верить и в том, что они говорят о Христовом Царстве...
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:2: Which he had promised afore - Both in the law and in the prophets God showed his purpose to introduce into the world a more perfect and glorious state of things; which state was to take place by and under the influence of the Messiah, who should bring life and immortality to light by his Gospel.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:2: Which he had promised afore - Which gospel, or which doctrines, he had before announced.
By the prophets - The word "prophets" here is used to include those who wrote as well as those who spake. It included the teachers of the ancient Jews generally.
In the holy scriptures - In the writings of the Old Testament. They were called holy because they were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and were regarded as separated from all other writings, and worthy of all Rev_erence. The apostle here declares that he was not about to advance anything new. His doctrines were in accordance with the acknowledged oracles of God. Though they might appear to be new, yet he regarded the gospel as entirely consistent with all that had been declared in the Jewish dispensation; and not only consistent, but as actually promised there. He affirms, therefore:
(1) That all this was promised, and no small part of the Epistle is employed to show this.
(2) that it was confirmed by the authority of holy and inspired men.
(3) that it depended on no vague and loose tradition, but was recorded, so that people might examine for themselves.
The reason why the apostle was so anxious to show that his doctrine coincided with the Old Testament was because the church at Rome was made up in part of Jews. He wished to show them, and the remainder of his countrymen, that the Christian religion was built on the foundation of their prophets, and their acknowledged writings. So doing, he would disarm their prejudice, and furnish a proof of the truth of religion. It was a constant position with the apostle that he advanced nothing but what was maintained by the best and holiest men of the nation. Act 26:22-23, "saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come," etc. There was a further reason here for his appealing so much to the Old Testament. He had never been at Rome. He was therefore personally a stranger, and it was proper for him then especially to show his regard for the doctrines of the prophets. Hence, he appeals here so often to the Old Testament; and defends every point by the authority of the Bible. The particular passages of the Old Testament on which he relied will come before us in the course of the Epistle. See particularly Rom. 3; 4; 9; 10; 11. We may see here,
(1) The Rev_erence which Paul showed for the Old Testament. He never undervalued it. He never regarded it as obsolete, or useless. He manifestly studied it; and never fell into the impious opinion that the Old Testament is of little value.
(2) if these things were promised - predicted in the Old Testament, then Christianity is true. Every passage which he adduces is therefore proof that it is from God.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:2: Which: Luk 24:26, Luk 24:27; Act 10:43, Act 26:6; Tit 1:2
by: Rom 3:21
the holy: Rom 3:2
John Gill
1:2 Which he had promised afore,.... The Gospel is here further commended from the antiquity it: it was no novel doctrine, an upstart notion, but what God had conceived in his own breast from eternity. This mystery was hid in him from the beginning of the world, and was ordained before the world was; in time God was pleased to make it known to the sons of men; he "promised" it, he spoke of it, and declared it
by his prophets, Isaiah and others, "afore" the Apostle Paul was called forth to be a preacher of it; which promise, or promises of it, lie
in the Holy Scriptures; the books of the Old Testament, so called from the author, matter, and usefulness of them. The apostle speaks in the language of his nation, for the Jews frequently call the Bible, writings, Holy Ones; "for", say they, , "all the Scriptures are holy" (c), and style them, , "Scriptures of holiness", or holy Scriptures (d).
(c) Misn. Yadaim, c. 3. sect. 5. (d) Misn. Parah, c. 10. sect. 3. T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 116. 2.
John Wesley
1:2 Which he promised before - Of old time, frequently, solemnly. And the promise and accomplishment confirm each other. Deut 18:18; Is 9:6-7; Is 53:1; Is 61:1; Jer 23:5.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:2 Which he had promised afore . . . in the holy scriptures--Though the Roman Church was Gentile by nation (see on Rom 1:13), yet as it consisted mostly of proselytes to the Jewish faith (see on Introduction to this Epistle), they are here reminded that in embracing Christ they had not cast off, but only the more profoundly yielded themselves to, Moses and the prophets (Acts 13:32-33).
1:31:3: վասն Որդւոյ իւրոյ. եղելոյ ՚ի զաւակէ Դաւթի ըստ մարմնոյ[3277]. [3277] Ոմանք. Դաւթի ըստ մարմնոյն։ Օրինակ մի յաւելու. Դաւթի, ըստ աւետարանիս իմում, եւ ըստ քարոզութեանն Յիսուսի Քրիստոսի, ըստ մարմնոյ սահմա՛՛։
3 իր Որդու մասին, որը մարմնով սերում էր Դաւթի սերնդից եւ
3 Իր Որդիին մեր Տէր Յիսուս Քրիստոսին վրայով, որ մարմնի կողմանէ Դաւիթին սերունդէն եղաւ,
վասն Որդւոյ իւրոյ եղելոյ ի զաւակէ Դաւթի ըստ մարմնոյ:

1:3: վասն Որդւոյ իւրոյ. եղելոյ ՚ի զաւակէ Դաւթի ըստ մարմնոյ[3277].
[3277] Ոմանք. Դաւթի ըստ մարմնոյն։ Օրինակ մի յաւելու. Դաւթի, ըստ աւետարանիս իմում, եւ ըստ քարոզութեանն Յիսուսի Քրիստոսի, ըստ մարմնոյ սահմա՛՛։
3 իր Որդու մասին, որը մարմնով սերում էր Դաւթի սերնդից եւ
3 Իր Որդիին մեր Տէր Յիսուս Քրիստոսին վրայով, որ մարմնի կողմանէ Դաւիթին սերունդէն եղաւ,
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:33: о Сыне Своем, Который родился от семени Давидова по плоти
1:3  περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ τοῦ γενομένου ἐκ σπέρματος δαυὶδ κατὰ σάρκα,
1:3. περὶ (about) τοῦ (of-the-one) υἱοῦ (of-a-Son) αὐτοῦ, (of-it,"τοῦ (of-the-one) γενομένου ( of-having-had-became ) ἐκ (out) σπέρματος (of-a-whorling-to) Δαυεὶδ (of-a-Daueid) κατὰ (down) σάρκα, (to-a-flesh,"
1:3. de Filio suo qui factus est ex semine David secundum carnemConcerning his Son, who was made to him of the seed of David, according to the flesh,
3. concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,
Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh:

3: о Сыне Своем, Который родился от семени Давидова по плоти
1:3  περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ τοῦ γενομένου ἐκ σπέρματος δαυὶδ κατὰ σάρκα,
1:3. de Filio suo qui factus est ex semine David secundum carnem
Concerning his Son, who was made to him of the seed of David, according to the flesh,
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ tb▾ all ▾
А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
3: О Сыне Своем. Благая весть, которую теперь предлагает Бог людям через Своих вестников-апостолов, имеет своим главным предметом или - лучше - средоточным своим пунктом, вокруг которого вращается все прочее содержащееся в Евангелии, Сына Божия. В каком смысле здесь Христос назван Сыном Божиим? Так как здесь Сын Божий называется главным предметом Евангелия, т. е. проповеди апостольской, и так как эта проповедь имеет своим предметом Сына Божия вообще - сначала в состоянии до воплощения, а потом как воплотившегося, то можно заключать, что Павел употребил здесь это выражение в общем и самом обширном значении, как обнимающее и предвечное бытие Сына Божия, и Его жизнь на земле. Он был всегда и оставался истинным Сыном Божиим даже в состоянии уничижения, Сыном Единородным [Некоторые хотят видеть здесь обозначение теократического царя в высшем смысле этого слова или мессии. Но с этим мнением нельзя согласиться ввиду того, что у Иоанна Богослова в Евангелии (1:50) выражения: Сын Божий и Царь Израилев стоят рядом, как понятия различные. Другие полагают, что это выражение указывает только на несравненное нравственное совершенство Христа и на Его постоянное общение с Богом. Но против этого предположения говорит то обстоятельство, что Павел в нашем послании (8:3) приписывает Сыну предсуществование, чего не допускает упомянутое толкование... Иные объясняют титул Сына Божия из чудесного рождения Господа от Духа Святого; но и это толкование стоит в противоречии с только что приведенным местом из 8-ой гл. Наконец, некоторые думают, что титул Сына Божия дается Христу в силу полученного Им прославления по совершении искупления. Но Апостол в 4-м ст. о титуле Сына Божия говорит не как о чем-то приобретенном вновь, а как о принятом снова. Да и здесь личное достоинство Христа, как Сына Божия, предшествует обеим далее описываемым формам Его бытия - земной и небесной или прославленной. Таким образом, мы с полным правом можем видеть в выражении Сын Божий указание на божественное достоинство Христа. Веру во Христа, как в истинного Бога, Апостол выражает и в других посланиях (1Кор.8:6; 10:4; Флп 2:6; Кол 1:15-17)]. - Который родился от семени Давидова по плоти. Но хотя Христос был Сыном Божиим, однако Он явился на земле, как человек, принял плоть и кровь человеческую (выражение "по плоти" дополняет собою выражение "от семени", т. е. от потомства Давидова). - О чудесности же зачатия Христа апостол говорит в 3: ст., VIII-й гл. посл, к Римл. и в V-й гл. 21-м ст. 2: посл. к Коринф., где идет речь о безгрешности Христа. В самом деле, если бы Христос только в не собственном смысле был назван у Павла Сыном Божиим, если бы Павел полагал, что Его отцом был Иосиф, а не Бог, то он не мог бы при этом считать Христа свободным от наследственного греха Адамова. - Замечательно, что наиболее подробностей о чудесном сверхъестественном рождении Христа сообщает сотрудник Ап. Павла, св. Лука.
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:3: Concerning his Son - That is, the Gospel relates every thing concerning the conception, birth, preaching, miracles, passion, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed-royal, being, as far as his humanity was considered, the son of David, and then the only rightful heir to the Israelitish throne.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:3: Concerning his Son - This is connected with the first verse, with the word "gospel." The gospel of God concerning his Son. The design of the gospel was to make a communication relative to his Son Jesus Christ. This is the whole of it. There is no "good news" to man respecting salvation except what comes by Jesus Christ.
Which was made - The word translated "was made" means usually "to be," or "to become." It is used, however, in the sense of being born. Thus, Gal 4:4, "God sent forth his Son made of a woman," born of a woman. Joh 8:58, "before Abraham was (born), I am." In this sense it seems to be used here, who was born, or descended from the seed of David.
Of the seed of David - Of the posterity or lineage of David. He was a descendant of David. David was perhaps the most illustrious of the kings of Israel. The promise to him was that there should not fail a man to sit on this throne; Kg1 2:4; Kg1 8:25; Kg1 9:5; Ch2 6:16. This ancient promise was understood as referring to the Messiah, and hence, in the New Testament he is called the descendant of David, and so much pains is taken to show that he was of his line; Luk 1:27; Mat 9:27; Mat 15:22; Mat 12:23; Mat 21:9, Mat 21:15; Mat 22:42, Mat 22:45; Joh 7:42; Ti2 2:8. As the Jews universally believed that the Messiah would be descended from David Joh 7:42, it was of great importance for the sacred writers to make it out clearly that Jesus of Nazareth was of that line and family. Hence, it happened, that though our Saviour was humble, and poor, and obscure, yet he had that on which no small part of the world have been accustomed so much to pride themselves, an illustrious ancestry. To a Jew there could be scarcely any honor so high as to be descended from the best of their kings; and it shows how little the Lord Jesus esteemed the honors of this world, that he could always evince his deep humility in circumstances where people are usually proud; and that when he spoke of the honors of this world, and told how little they were worth, he was not denouncing what was not within his reach.
According to the flesh - The word "flesh," σάρξ sarx, is used in the Scriptures in a great variety of significations.
(1) it denotes, as with us, the flesh literally of any living being; Luk 24:39, "A spirit hath not flesh and bones," etc.
(2) the animal system, the body, including flesh and bones, the visible part of man, in distinction from the invisible, or the soul; Act 2:31, "Neither did his flesh (his body) "see corruption." Co1 5:5; Co1 15:39.
(3) the man, the whole animated system, body and soul; Rom 8:3, "In the likeness of sinful flesh. Co1 15:50; Mat 16:17; Luk 3:6.
(4) human nature. As a man. Thus, Act 2:30, "God hath sworn with an oath that of the fruit of his loins according to the flesh, that is, in his human nature, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne." Rom 9:5, "whose are the fathers, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, God blessed foRev_er." The same is its meaning here. He was a descendant of David in his human nature, or as a man. This implies, of course, that he had another nature besides his human, or that while he was a man he was also something else; that there was a nature in which he was not descended from David.
That this is its meaning will still further appear by the following observations.
(1) the apostle expressly makes a contrast between his condition according to the flesh, and that according to the spirit of holiness.
(2) the expression "according to the flesh" is applied to no other one in the New Testament but to Jesus Christ. Though the word "flesh" often occurs, and is often used to denote man, yet the special expression, "according to the flesh" occurs in no other connection.
In all the Scriptures it is never said of any prophet or apostle, any lawgiver or king, or any man in any capacity, that he came in the flesh, or that he was descended from certain ancestors according to the flesh. Nor is such an expression ever used any where else. If it were applied to a mere man, we should instantly ask in what other way could he come than in the flesh? Has he a higher nature? Is he an angel, or a seraph? The expression would be unmeaningful. And when, therefore, it is applied to Jesus Christ, it implies, if language has any meaning, that there was a sense in which Jesus was not descended from David. What that was, appears in the next verse.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:3: his Son: Rom 1:9, Rom 8:2, Rom 8:3, Rom 8:29-32; Psa 2:7; Mat 3:17, Mat 26:63, Mat 27:43; Luk 1:35; Joh 1:34, Joh 1:49; Joh 3:16-18, Joh 3:35, Joh 3:36, Joh 5:25, Joh 10:30, Joh 10:36, Joh 20:28, Joh 20:31; Act 3:13, Act 8:37, Act 9:20; Co1 1:9; Gal 4:4; Col 1:13-15; Th1 1:10; Jo1 1:3, Jo1 3:8, Jo1 3:23, Jo1 4:9, Jo1 4:10, Jo1 4:15; Jo1 5:1, Jo1 5:5, Jo1 5:10-13, Jo1 5:20; Rev 2:18
which: Sa2 7:12-16; Psa 89:36, Psa 89:37; Isa 9:6, Isa 9:7; Jer 23:5, Jer 23:6, Jer 33:15-17, Jer 33:26; Amo 9:11; Mat 1:1, Mat 1:6, Mat 1:16, Mat 1:20-23, Mat 9:27, Mat 12:23, Mat 15:22, Mat 22:42-45; Luk 1:31-33, Luk 1:69, Luk 2:4-6; Joh 7:42; Act 2:30, Act 13:22, Act 13:23; Ti2 2:8
according: Rom 8:3, Rom 9:5; Gen 3:15; Joh 1:14; Gal 4:4; Ti1 3:16; Jo1 4:2, Jo1 4:3; Jo2 1:7
Geneva 1599
1:3 (3) Concerning his (d) Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was (e) made of the seed of David (f) according to the flesh;
(3) By declaring the sum of the doctrine of the Gospel, he stirs up the Romans to consider well the matter about which he is entreating them: so then he shows that Christ (who is the very substance and sum of the gospel) is the only Son of God the Father, who with regard to his humanity is born of the seed of David, but with regard to his divine and spiritual nature, by which he sanctified himself, is begotten of the Father from everlasting, as also manifestly appears by his mighty resurrection.
(d) This is a plain testimony of the person of Christ, that he is but one, and also a testimony of his two natures, and their properties.
(e) Who received flesh from the virgin who was David's daughter.
(f) As he is man: for this word "flesh", by the figure of speech synecdoche, is taken for man.
John Gill
1:3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord,.... These words are in connection with "the Gospel of God", Rom 1:1, and express the subject matter of it, the Son of God, Jesus Christ our Lord; for Christ, as the Son of God, the Saviour of sinners, the only Mediator between God and men, who is Lord both of the dead and living, is the sum and substance of the Gospel: he is here described by his relation to God, his Son, of the same nature with him, equal to him, and distinct from him; by his usual names, "Jesus Christ", the one signifying a "Saviour", the other "anointed", and both, that he was anointed of God to be the Saviour of his people; and by his dominion over the saints our Lord, not merely by creation, but by redemption and grace, and happy is the person that can claim interest in him, as is here done; and by the distinction of natures in him:
which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; this respects Christ in his human nature, who was made flesh, and of a woman; and shows his existence before his incarnation, and the immediate power and hand of God in it; and which was done, not by transmutation of him into flesh, but by an assumption of human nature into union with his divine person: he is said to be made "of the seed of David"; this points out the family from whence he sprung; designs the posterity of David, particularly Mary; has regard to the promise made to David, which God fulfilled; and shows the royal descent of Christ: it is added, "according to the flesh"; that is, according to his human nature; which phrase does not denote the corruption, but the truth of that nature; and supposes that he had another nature, otherwise there would have been no need of this limiting and restrictive clause.
John Wesley
1:3 Who was of the seed of David according to the flesh - That is, with regard to his human nature. Both the natures of our Saviour are here mentioned; but the human is mentioned first, because the divine was not manifested in its full evidence till after his resurrection.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord--the grand burden of this "Gospel of God."
made of the seed of David--as, according to "the holy scriptures," He behooved to be. (See on Mt 1:1).
according to the flesh--that is, in His human nature (compare Rom 9:5; Jn 1:14); implying, of course, that He had another nature, of which the apostle immediately proceeds to speak.
1:41:4: սահմանելոյ Որդւո՛յն Աստուծոյ զօրութեամբ ըստ Հոգւոյն սրբութեան. ՚ի յարութենէ՛ մեռելոց Յիսուսի Քրիստոսի Տեառն մերոյ[3278]. [3278] Ոմանք. Ըստ Հոգւոյն սրբութեամբ։
4 որը, զօրութեամբ, Աստծու Որդի էր սահմանուած ըստ Սուրբ Հոգու՝ մեռելներից իր յարութեամբ, - մեր Տէր Յիսուս Քրիստոսը,
4 Որ սրբութեան հոգիին կողմանէ Աստուծոյ Որդի յայտնուեցաւ զօրութեամբ՝ մեռելներէն յարութիւն առնելով.
սահմանելոյ Որդւոյն Աստուծոյ զօրութեամբ ըստ Հոգւոյն սրբութեան. ի յարութենէ մեռելոց Յիսուսի Քրիստոսի Տեառն մերոյ:

1:4: սահմանելոյ Որդւո՛յն Աստուծոյ զօրութեամբ ըստ Հոգւոյն սրբութեան. ՚ի յարութենէ՛ մեռելոց Յիսուսի Քրիստոսի Տեառն մերոյ[3278].
[3278] Ոմանք. Ըստ Հոգւոյն սրբութեամբ։
4 որը, զօրութեամբ, Աստծու Որդի էր սահմանուած ըստ Սուրբ Հոգու՝ մեռելներից իր յարութեամբ, - մեր Տէր Յիսուս Քրիստոսը,
4 Որ սրբութեան հոգիին կողմանէ Աստուծոյ Որդի յայտնուեցաւ զօրութեամբ՝ մեռելներէն յարութիւն առնելով.
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:44: и открылся Сыном Божиим в силе, по духу святыни, через воскресение из мертвых, о Иисусе Христе Господе нашем,
1:4  τοῦ ὁρισθέντος υἱοῦ θεοῦ ἐν δυνάμει κατὰ πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης ἐξ ἀναστάσεως νεκρῶν, ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν,
1:4. τοῦ (of-the-one) ὁρισθέντος (of-having-been-bounded-to) υἱοῦ (of-a-Son) θεοῦ (of-a-Deity) ἐν (in) δυνάμει (unto-an-ability) κατὰ (down) πνεῦμα (to-a-currenting-to) ἁγιωσύνης (of-a-hallow-belongedness) ἐξ (out) ἀναστάσεως (of-a-standing-up) νεκρῶν , ( of-en-deaded ,"Ἰησοῦ (of-an-Iesous) Χριστοῦ (of-Anointed) τοῦ (of-the-one) κυρίου (of-Authority-belonged) ἡμῶν, (of-us,"
1:4. qui praedestinatus est Filius Dei in virtute secundum Spiritum sanctificationis ex resurrectione mortuorum Iesu Christi Domini nostriWho was predestinated the Son of God in power, according to the spirit of sanctification, by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead:
4. who was declared the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection of the dead; Jesus Christ our Lord,
And declared [to be] the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

4: и открылся Сыном Божиим в силе, по духу святыни, через воскресение из мертвых, о Иисусе Христе Господе нашем,
1:4  τοῦ ὁρισθέντος υἱοῦ θεοῦ ἐν δυνάμει κατὰ πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης ἐξ ἀναστάσεως νεκρῶν, ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν,
1:4. qui praedestinatus est Filius Dei in virtute secundum Spiritum sanctificationis ex resurrectione mortuorum Iesu Christi Domini nostri
Who was predestinated the Son of God in power, according to the spirit of sanctification, by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead:
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А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
4: И открылся Сыном Божиим. Некоторые новейшие толкователи, на основании значения употребленного здесь в греч. тексте глагола orizein, который будто бы содержит в себе указание на некоторое изменение, происходящее в лице, к которому относится этот глагол, полагают, что здесь идет речь об изменении человеческой природы Христа в прославленную, божественную, о чем Христос молился Отцу пред смертью (Ин 17:5). Но, по толкованию древних Отцов Церкви и других церковных толкователей, Апостол говорит здесь только, что со времени воскресения Христа Его достоинство, как Сына Божия, ранее неясно представляемое даже Его апостолами, стало для всех ясно. "Определился, наконец, лик Господа, и все, узревавшие то верою, восклицали с Фомою: Господь мой и Бог мой!" (еп. Феофан). А как это определилось - Апостол говорит далее, - в силе - т. е. Господь по воскресении явился как сильный, чтобы спасать (Ис 63:1). Ранее Он пребывал в состоянии немощи (2Кор. 13:4; Евр 2:14; 5:2). - По духу святыни, т. е. прославление Христа, как Богочеловека, имело своею внутреннею, действенною причиною совершенную святость Его, о которой Апостол говорит и в посл. к Евреям (9:14). Так как в Ветхом Завете еще было высказано, что святой Божий не подвергнется по смерти тлению (Пс 15:10), то совершеннейшая святость Христа также исключала возможность разложения Его тела по смерти, и Христу, как совершенно чуждому тления, необходимо было излечиться чудесно, в одно мгновение, когда пробил час Его воскресения. Таким образом, прославление Христа в акте воскресения было вполне согласно с тою Его совершенною святостью, которая ни на минуту не затмевалась ничем во время земной жизни Христа. - Через воскресение из мертвых, т. е. со времени (ex) воскресения из мертвых. Воскресение для Христа было первым (по времени) обнаружением Его прославления, как Богочеловека. - О Иисусе Христе Господе нашем. Эти слова составляют приложение к выражению 3-го ст.: о Сыне Своем. - О прославлении Христа, которое, так сказать, вывело Его из узкого круга иудейской национальности (Рим 15:8). Апостол говорит для того, чтобы дать понять римским христианам, что он, Павел, призван прославленным Христом, Который через это прославление вступил в отношения ко всему человечеству и, след., произвел Павла так же, как Апостола, для всех народов земли.
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:4: And declared to be the Son of God - See the note on Act 13:33, where this subject is considered at large. The word ορισθεντος, which we render declared, comes from οριζω, to bound, define, determine, or limit, and hence our word horizon, the line that determines the farthest visible part of the earth, in reference to the heavens. In this place the word signifies such a manifest and complete exhibition of the subject as to render it indubitable. The resurrection of Christ from the dead was such a manifest proof of our Lord's innocence, the truth of his doctrine, and the fulfillment of all that the prophets had spoken, as to leave no doubt on any considerate and candid mind.
With power - εν δυναμει, With a miraculous display of Divine energy; for, how could his body be raised again, but by the miraculous energy of God? Some apply the word here to the proof of Christ's sonship; as if it were said that he was most manifestly declared to be the Son of God, with such powerful evidence and argument as to render the truth irresistible.
According to the spirit of holiness - There are many differences of sentiment relative to the meaning of this phrase in this place; some supposing that the spirit of holiness implies the Divine nature of Jesus Christ; others, his immaculate sanctity, etc. To me it seems that the apostle simply means that the person called Jesus, lately crucified at Jerusalem, and in whose name salvation was preached to the world, was the Son of God, the very Messiah promised before in the holy Scriptures; and that he was this Messiah was amply demonstrated.
1st, By his resurrection from the dead, the irrefragable proof of his purity, innocence, and the Divine approbation; for, had he been a malefactor, as the Jews pretended, the miraculous power of God would not have been exerted in raising his body from the dead.
2nd, He was proved to be the Son of God, the promised Messiah, by the Holy Spirit, (called here the spirit of holiness), which he sent down upon his apostles, and not on them only, but on all that believed on his name; by whose influence multitudes were convinced of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and multitudes sanctified unto God; and it was by the peculiar unction of this spirit of holiness, that the apostles gave witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, Act 4:33.
Thus, then, Christ was proved to be the true Messiah, the son of David according to the flesh, having the sole right to the throne of Israel; and God recognized this character, and this right, by his resurrection from the dead, and sending forth the various gifts and graces of the Spirit of holiness in his name.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:4: And declared - In the margin, "determined." Τοῦ ὁρισθέντος Tou horisthentos. The ancient Syriac has, "And he was known to be the Son of God by might and by the Holy Spirit, who rose from the house of the dead." The Latin Vulgate, "Who was "predestinated" the Son of God," etc. The Arabic, "The Son of God destined by power special to the Holy Spirit," etc. The word translated "declared to be" means properly "to bound, to fix limits to," as to a field, to determine its proper limits or boundaries, to "define," etc. Act 17:26, "and hath determined the bounds of their habitation." Hence, it means to determine, constitute; ordain, decree; i, e. to fix or designate the proper boundaries of a truth, or a doctrine; to distinguish its lines and marks from error; or to show, or declare a thing to be so by any action. Luk 22:22, "the Son of man goeth as it was determined, as it was fixed; purposed, defined, in the purpose of God, and declared in the prophets. Act 2:23, "him being delivered by the determinate counsel, the definite. constituted will, or design, of God. Act 11:29; Heb 4:7, "he limiteth a certain day," fixes it, defines it. In this sense it is clearly used in this place. The act of raising him from the dead designated him, or constituted him the Son of God. It was such an act as in the circumstances of the case showed that he was the Son of God in regard to a nature which was not "according to the flesh." The ordinary resurrection of a man, like that of Lazarus, would not show that he was the Son of God; but in the circumstances of Jesus Christ it did; for he had claimed to be so; he had taught it; and God now attested the truth of his teaching by raising him from the dead.
The Son of God - The word "son" is used in a great variety of senses, denoting literally a son, then a descendant, posterity near or remote, a disciple or ward, an adopted son, or one that imitates or resembles another; see the note at Mat 1:1. The expression "sons of God," or "son of God," is used in an almost equal latitude of signification. It is:
(1) Applied to Adam, as being immediately created by God without an earthly father; Luk 3:38.
(2) it is applied to saints or Christians, as being adopted into his family, and sustaining to him the relation of children; Joh 1:12-13; Jo1 3:1-2, etc. This name is given to them because they resemble him in their moral character; Mat 5:45.
(3) it is given to strong men as resembling God in strength; Gen 6:2, "The sons of God saw the daughters of men," etc. Here these men of violence and strength are called sons of God, just as the high hills are called hills of God, the lofty trees of Lebanon are called cedars of God, etc.
(4) kings are sometimes called his sons, as resembling him in dominion and power, Psa 82:6.
(5) the name is given to angels because they resemble God; because he is their Creator and Father, etc., Job 1:6; Job 2:1; Dan 3:25.
But the name the "Son of God" is in the New Testament given by way of eminence to the Lord Jesus Christ. This was the common and favorite name by which the apostles designated him. The expression "Son of God" is applied to him no less than 27 times in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, and 15 times in the Epistles and the Revelation The expression my Son, and his Son, thy Son, etc. is applied to him in his special relation to God, times almost without number. The other most common appellation which is given to him is "Son of man." By this name he commonly designated himself. There can be no doubt that that was assumed to denote that he was a man, that he sustained a special relation to man, and that he chose to speak of himself as a man. The first, the most obvious, impression on the use of the name "Son of man" is that he was truly a man, and was used doubtless to guard against the impression that one who manifested so many other qualities, and did so many things like a celestial being, was not truly human being.
The phrase "Son of God" stands in contrast with the title "Son of man," and as the natural and obvious import of that is that he was a man, so the natural and obvious import of the title "Son of God" is that he was divine; or that he sustained relations to God designated by the name Son of God, corresponding to the relations which he sustained to man designated by the name Son of Man. The natural idea of the phrase, "Son of God," therefore is, that he sustained a relation to God in his nature which implied more than was human or angelic; which implied equality with God. Accordingly, this idea was naturally suggested to the Jews by his calling God his Father; Joh 5:18, "But said also that God was his Father, "making himself equal with God." This idea Jesus immediately proceeded to confirm; see the note at Joh 5:19-30. The same idea is also suggested in Joh 10:29-31, Joh 10:33, Joh 10:36, "Say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest: "because I said I am the Son of God?" There is in these places the fullest proof that the title suggested naturally the idea of equality with God; or the idea of his sustaining a relation to God corresponding to the relation of equality to man suggested by the title Son of man.
This view is still further sustained in the first chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, Rom 1:1-2, "God hath spoken unto us by His Son." He is the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, Rom 1:3. He is higher than the angels, and they are required to worship him, Rom 1:4-6. He is called "God," and his throne is foRev_er and ever, Rom 1:8. He is "the Creator of the heavens and the earth," and is immutably the same, Rom 1:10-12. Thus, the rank or title of the "Son of God" suggests the ideas and attributes of the Divinity. This idea is sustained throughout the New Testament. See Joh 14:9, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father;" Rom 1:23, "That all men shall honor the Son even as they honor the Father;" Col 1:19, "It hath pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;" Col 2:9, "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily:" Phi 2:2-11; Rev 5:13-14; Rev 2:23. It is not affirmed that this title was given to the second person of the Trinity before he became incarnate; or to suggest the idea of any derivation or extraction before he was made flesh. There is no instance in which the appellation is not conferred to express his relation after he assumed human flesh. Of any derivation from God, or emanation from him in eternity, the Scriptures are silent. The title is conferred on him, it is supposed, with reference to his condition in this world, as the Messiah. And it is conferred, it is believed, for the following reasons, or to denote the following things, namely.
(1) to designate his unique relation to God, as equal with him, Joh 1:14, Joh 1:18; Mat 11:27; Luk 10:22; Luk 3:22; Pe2 1:17, or as sustaining a most intimate and close connection with him, such as neither man nor angels could do, an acquaintance with his nature Mat 11:27, plans, and counsels, such as no being but one who was equal with God could possess. In this sense, I regard it as conferred on him in the passage under consideration.
(2) it designates him as the anointed king, or the Messiah. In this sense it accords with the use of the word in Psa 82:6. See Mat 16:16, "Thou art "the Christ, the Son of the living God." Mat 26:63, "I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether "thou be the Christ, the Son of God." Mar 14:61; Luk 22:70; Joh 1:34; Act 9:20, "he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God."
(3) it was conferred on him to denote his miraculous conception in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Luk 1:35, "the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, therefore διό dio also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the "Son of God."
(It is readily admitted, that on the subject of the "eternal Sonship" very much has been said of an unintelligible kind. Terms applicable only to the relation as it exists among people have been freely applied to this mystery. But whatever may be thought of such language as "the eternal generation," "the eternal procession," and "the subordination" of the Son; the doctrine itself, which this mode of speaking was invented to illustrate, and has perhaps served to obscure, is in no way affected. The question is not, Have the friends of the doctrine at all times employed judicious illustration? but, What is the "Scripture evidence" on the point? If the eternal Sonship is to be discarded on such grounds, we fear the doctrine of the Trinity must share a similar fate. Yet, those who maintain the divinity of Christ, and notwithstanding deny the eternal Sonship, seem generally to found their objections on these incomprehensible illustrations, and from thence leap to the conclusion that the doctrine itself is false.
That the title Son of God, when applied to Jesus, denotes a natural and not merely an official Sonship, a real and not a figurative relation; in other words, that it takes origin from the divine nature, is the view which the Catholic Church has all along maintained on this subject: no explanation which falls short of divinity will exhaust the meaning of the title. Christ is indeed called the Son of God on account of his miraculous conception; "That holy thing," said the angel to the Virgin, "which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of the Highest." But the creation of Adam, by the immediate power of God, without father or mother, would constitute him the Son of God, in a sense equally or even more exalted than that in which the title is applied to Jesus, if the miraculous conception were allowed to exhaust its meaning. Nor will an appeal to the resurrection of Christ serve the purpose of those who deny the divine origin of the title, since that is assigned as the evidence only, and not the ground of it.
The Redeemer was not constituted, but declared or evidenced to be, "the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead." In the search for a solution short of divine Sonship, recourse is next had to the office of Christ as Mediator. Yet though the appellation in question be frequently given in connection with the official character of Jesus, a careful examination of some of these passages will lead to the conclusion, that "though the Son of God hold the office, yet the office does not furnish the reason or ground of the title." The name is given to distinguish Jesus from all others who have held office, and "in such a way as to convince us that the office is rendered "honorable" by the exalted personage discharging its duties, and not that the person merits the designation in virtue of the office." "When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman," etc. "God so loved the world that he gave his "only begotten Son," etc. Now the glory of the mission in the first of these passages, and the greatness of the gift in the second, is founded on the original dignity of the person sent and given. But if the person derive his title from the office only, there would seem to be comparatively little grandeur in the mission, and small favor in the gift. The passages quoted would more readily prove that God had bestowed favor on Jesus, by giving him an office from which he derived so much "personal dignity!"
The following are some of the passages in which the appellation "Son of God" is found connected with the office of Christ. "These are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, (an official term signifying "anointed Saviour"), the Son of God;" "He answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ (the official designation) is the Son of God;" "Whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" Now it is reasonable to suppose, that these declarations and confessions concerning the person of Christ, contain not only an acknowledgment of his official character, but also of his personal dignity. "Thou art Jesus the Christ," is the acknowledgment of his office, and "thou art the Son of God," is an acknowledgment of his natural dignity. The confession of the Ethiopian eunuch, and of Peter, would be incomplete on any other supposition. It should be borne in mind also, that the question of Christ to Peter was not, What office do ye suppose I hold? but, "Whom say ye that I am?" See Haldane on Rom 1:4.
If, then, the miraculous conception, the resurrection, and the office of Christ, do not all of them together exhaust the meaning of the appellation, we must seek for its origin higher still - we must ascend to the divine nature. We may indeed take one step more upward before we reach the divine nature, and suppose, with Professor Stuart and others, that the name denotes "the complex person of the Saviour," as God and man, or in one word, "Mediator." Comment on Heb. Exe. 2. But this is just the old resolution of it into official character, and is therefore liable to all the objections stated above. For while it is admitted by those who hold this view, that Christ is divine, it is distinctly implied, that the title Son of God would not have been his but for his office.
In the end therefore we must resolve the name into the divine nature. That it implies equality with God is clearly proved in this commentary. So the Jews understood it, and the Saviour tacitly admitted that their construction was right. And as there is no equality with God without divinity, the title clearly points to such a distinction in the Godhead as is implied in the relative terms, Father and Son. Indeed it is not easy to understand how the doctrine of the Trinity can be maintained apart from that of the eternal Sonship. If there be in the Godhead a distinction of persons, does not that distinction belong to the nature of the Godhead, independent of any official relations. Or will it be maintained, that the distinction of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, arises entirely from the scheme of redemption, and did not exist from eternity? We may find fault with Dr Owen, and others, who speak of a "hypostatical subordination of persons in the Godhead." Prof. Stuart, Com. Heb. Exe. 1. Yet, the distinction itself, through we cannot explain it, "must" be allowed to exist.
The remaining evidence of the eternal Sonship may be thus stated.
1. Christ is called God's "own Son," his "beloved," and "well beloved," and "only begotten Son.' So strong and special adjuncts seem intended to pRev_ent any such idea as that of figurative Sonship. If these do not express the natural relationship, it is beyond the power of language to do it. Moreover, correct criticism binds us to adopt the natural and ordinary signification of words, unless in such cases as plainly refuse it,
2. In a passage already quoted, God is said "to have sent forth His Son to redeem us," etc. And there are many passages to the same effect, in which is Rev_ealed, not only the pre-existence of Christ, but the capacity in which he originally moved, and the rank which he held in heaven. "God sent forth his Son," implies that he held that title prior to his mission. This at least is the most obvious sense of the passage, and the sense which an ordinary reader would doubtless affix to it. The following objection, however, has been supposed fatal to this argument: "The name Son of God is indeed used, when speaking of him pRev_ious to his having assumed human nature, but so are the names of Jesus and the Christ, which yet we know properly to belong to him, only as united to humanity." It is readily allowed that the simple fact of the name being given prior to the incarnation proves nothing of itself. But the case is altered when this fact is viewed in connection with the difficulty or impossibility of resolving the Sonship into an official relation. No such difficulty exists in regard to the terms "Jesus" and "Christ," for they are plainly official names, signifying "anointed Saviour."
3. Rom 1:3-4. If in this passage we understand the apostle to declare, that Christ was of the seed of David, according to his human nature, the rule of antithesis demands, that we understand him next to assert what he was according to his divine nature, namely, the Son of God.
The views given in this Note are those adopted by the most eminent orthodox divines. The language of the Westminster divines is well known; "The only Redeemer of the covenant of grace is the Lord Jesus Christ, who being the eternal Son of God, of one substance etc." "Larger Catechism." Mr. Scott "is decidedly of opinion, that Christ is called the only Son of God in respect of his divine nature." Commentary, Heb 1:3-4." The late Principal Hill, in his Theological System, having exposed what he deemed erroneous views on this subject, adds, "there is a more ancient and a more exalted title to this name (Son of God), which is inseparable from the nature" of Christ. "3rd edition, vol. i., page 363.)"
With power - ἐν δυνάμει en dunamei. By some this expression has been supposed to mean in power or authority, after his resurrection from the dead. It is said, that he was before a man of sorrows; now he was clothed with power and authority. But I have seen no instance in which the expression in power denotes office, or authority. It denotes physical energy and might, and this was bestowed on Jesus before his resurrection as well as after; Act 10:38, "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit, and with power; Rom 15:19; Co1 15:43. With such power Jesus will come to judgment: Mat 24:30. If there is any passage in which the word "power" means authority, office, etc., it is Mat 28:18, "All power in heaven and earth is given unto me." But this is not a power which was given unto him after his resurrection, or which he did not possess before. The same authority to commission his disciples he had exercised before this on the same ground, Mat 10:7-8. I am inclined to believe, therefore, that the expression means "powerfully, efficiently;" he was with great power, or conclusiveness, shown to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead. Thus, the phrase "in power" is used to qualify a verb in Col 1:29, "Which worketh in me mightily," "Greek," in power, that is, operating in me effectually, or powerfully. The ancient versions seem to have understood it in the same way. "Syriac," "He was known to be the Son of God by power, and by the Holy Spirit." "AEthiopic," "Whom he declared to be the Son of God by his own power, and by his Holy Spirit," etc. "Arabic," "Designated the Son of God by power appropriate to the Holy Spirit."
According to the spirit of holiness - κατά πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης kata pneuma hagiō sunē s. This expression has been variously understood. We may arrive at its meaning by the following considerations.
(1) it is not the third person in the Trinity that is referred to here. The designation of that person is always in a different form. It is "the Holy Spirit," the Holy Ghost, πνεῦμα ἅγιον pneuma hagion, or τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον to pneuma to hagion; never "the spirit of holiness."
(2) it stands in contrast with the flesh; Rom 1:3, "According to the flesh, the seed of David: according to the spirit of holiness, the Son of God." As the former refers doubtless to his human nature, so this must refer to the nature designated by the title Son of God, that is, to his superior or divine nature.
(3) the expression is altogether unique to the Lord Jesus Christ. No where in the Scriptures, or in any other writings, is there an affirmation like this. What would be meant by it if affirmed of a mere man?
(4) it cannot mean that the Holy Spirit, the third person in the Trinity, showed that Jesus was the Son of God by raising him from the dead because that act is no where attributed to him. It is uniformly ascribed either to God, as God Act 2:24, Act 2:32; Act 3:15, Act 3:26; Act 4:10; Act 5:30; Act 10:40; Act 13:30, Act 13:33-34; Act 17:31; Rom 10:9; Eph 1:20, or to the Father Rom 6:4, or to Jesus himself Joh 10:18. In no instance is this act ascribed to the Holy Spirit.
(5) it indicates a state far more elevate than any human dignity, or honor In regard to his earthly descent, he was of a royal race; in regard to the Spirit of holiness, much more than that, he was the Son of God.
(6) the word "Spirit" is used often to designate God, the holy God, as distinguished from all the material forms of idol worship, Joh 4:24.
(7) the word "Spirit" is applied to the Messiah, in his more elevated or divine nature. Co1 15:45, "the last Adam was made a quickening Spirit." Co2 3:17, "now the Lord (Jesus) is that Spirit." Heb 9:14, Christ is said to have offered himself through the eternal Spirit. Pe1 3:18, he is said to have been "put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit." Ti1 3:16, he is said to have been "justified in the Spirit." In most of these passages there is the same contrast noticed between his flesh, his human nature, and his other state, which occurs in Rom 1:3-4. In all these instances, the design is, doubtless, to speak of him as a man, and as something more than a man: he was one thing as a man; he was another thing in his other nature. In the one, he was of David; was put to death, etc. In the other, he was of God, he was manifested to be such, he was restored to the elevation which he had sustained before his incarnation and death, Joh 17:1-5; Phi 2:2-11. The expression, "according to the Spirit of holiness," does not indeed of itself imply divinity. It denotes that holy and more exalted nature which he possessed as distinguished from the human. What that is, is to be learned from other declarations. "This expression implies simply that it was such as to make proper the appellation, the Son of God." Other places, as we have seen, show that that designation naturally implied divinity. And that this was the true idea couched under the expression, according to the Spirit of holiness, appears from those numerous texts of scripture which explicitly assert his divinity; see Joh 1:1, etc., and the note on that place.
By the resurrection from the dead - This has been also variously understood. Some have maintained that the word "by," ἐξ ex, denotes after. He was declared to be the Son of God in power after he rose from the dead; that is, he was solemnly invested with the dignity that became the Son of God after he had been so long in a state of voluntary humiliation. But to this view there are some insuperable objections.
(1) it is not the natural and usual meaning of the word "by."
(2) it is not the object of the apostle to state the time when the thing was done, or the order, but evidently to declare the fact, and the evidence of the fact. If such had been his design, he would have said that pRev_ious to his death he was shown to be of the seed of David, but afterward that he was invested with power.
(3) though it must be admitted that the preposition "by, ἐξ ex," sometimes means after (Mat 19:20; Luk 8:27; xxiii. 8, etc.), yet its proper and usual meaning is to denote the efficient cause, or the agent, or origin of a thing, Mat 1:3, Mat 1:18; Mat 21:25; Joh 3:5; Rom 5:16; Rom 11:36, "OF him are all things." Co1 8:6, "one God, the Father, of whom are all things," etc. In this sense, I suppose it is used here; and that the apostle means to affirm that he was clearly or decisively shown to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead.
But here will it be asked, how did his resurrection show this? Was not Lazarus raised from the dead? And did not many saints rise also after Jesus? And were not the dead raised by the apostles; by Elijah, by the bones of Elisha, and by Christ himself? And did their being raised prove that they were the sons of God? I answer that the mere fact of the resurrection of the body proves nothing in itself about the character and rank of the being that is raised. But in the circumstances in which Jesus was placed it might show it conclusively. When Lazarus was raised, it was not in attestation of anything which he had taught or done. It was a mere display of the power and benevolence of Christ. But in regard to the resurrection of Jesus, let the following circumstances be taken into the account.
(1) he came as the Messiah.
(2) he uniformly taught that he was the Son of God.
(3) he maintained that God was his Father in such a sense as to imply equality with him, Joh 5:17-30; Joh 10:36.
(4) he claimed authority to abolish the laws of the Jews, to change their customs, and to be himself absolved from the observance of those laws, even as his Father was, John 5:1-17; Mar 2:28.
(5) when God raised him up therefore, it was not an ordinary event. It was "a public attestation, in the face of the universe, of the truth of his claims to be the Son of God." God would not sanction the doings and doctrines of an impostor. And when, therefore he raised up Jesus, he, by this act, showed the truth of his claims, that he was the Son of God.
Further, in the view of the apostles, the resurrection was intimately connected with the ascension and exaltation of Jesus. The one made the other certain. And it is not improbable that when they spoke of his resurrection, they meant to include, not merely that single act, but the entire series of doings of which that was the first, and which was the pledge of the elevation and majesty of the Son of God. Hence, when they had proved his resurrection, they assumed that all the others would follow. That involved and supposed all. And the series, of which that was the first, proved that he was the Son of God; see Act 17:31, "He will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance to all people, "in that he hath raised him from the dead." The one involves the other; see Act 1:6. Thus, Peter Act 2:22-32 having proved that Jesus was raised up, adds, Act 2:33, "therefore, being by the right hand exalted, he hath shed forth this," etc.; and Act 2:36, "therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ."
This verse is a remarkable instance of the "apostle" Paul's manner of writing. Having mentioned a subject, his mind seems to catch fire; he presents it in new forms, and amplifies it, until he seems to forget for a time the subject on which he was writing. It is from this cause that his writings abound so with parentheses, and that there is so much difficulty in following and understanding him.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:4: declared: Gr. determined
the Son: Rom 1:3; Joh 2:18-21; Act 2:24, Act 2:32, Act 3:15, Act 4:10-12, Act 5:30-32, Act 13:33-35, Act 17:31; Co2 13:4; Eph 1:19-23; Heb 5:5, Heb 5:6; Rev 1:18
according: Luk 18:31-33, Luk 24:26, Luk 24:27; Heb 9:14; Pe1 1:11; Pe2 1:21; Rev 19:10
Geneva 1599
1:4 And (g) declared [to be] the Son of God with (h) power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
(g) Shown and made manifest.
(h) The divine and mighty power is set against the weakness of the flesh, for it overcame death.
John Gill
1:4 And declared to be the Son of God,.... Not made as he is said to be before, when his incarnation is spoken of; nor did he begin to be the Son of God, when he was made of the seed of David, but he, the Son of God, who existed as such, from everlasting, was manifested in the flesh, or human nature: and this his divine sonship, and proper deity, are declared and made evident,
with, or "by"
his power; which has appeared in the creation of all things out of nothing; in upholding all things in their beings; in the government of the world, and works of Providence; in the miracles he wrought; in his performing the great work of redemption; in the success of his Gospel, to the conversion of sinners; and in the preservation of his churches and people: here it seems chiefly to regard the power of Christ in raising the dead, since it follows, and which is to be connected with this clause,
by the resurrection from the dead; and designs either the resurrection of others, as of Lazarus, and some other persons, in his lifetime, and of some at his resurrection, and of all at the last day: or the resurrection of his own body, which dying he had power to raise up again, and did; and which declared him to be, or clearly made it appear that he was the Son of God, a divine person, truly and properly God: and this was done
according to the Spirit of holiness; which may be understood of the Holy Spirit, the third person in the Trinity, who is holy in himself, and the author of holiness in the saints; and who is the declarer of Christ's sonship, partly by bearing a testimony to it in the word, and in the hearts of believers, and chiefly by being concerned in the resurrection of the body of Christ from the dead; or else by the Spirit of holiness may be meant the divine nature of Christ, which, as it is holy, so by it Christ offered himself to God, and by it was quickened, or made alive, when he had been put to death in the flesh; and which must be a clear and strong proof of his being truly the Son of God.
John Wesley
1:4 But powerfully declared to be the Son of God, according to the Spirit of Holiness - That is, according to his divine nature. By the resurrection from the dead - For this is both the fountain and the object of our faith; and the preaching of the apostles was the consequence of Christ's resurrection.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:4 And declared--literally, "marked off," "defined," "determined," that is, "shown," or "proved."
to be the Son of God--Observe how studiously the language changes here. He "was MADE [says the apostle] of the seed of David, according to the flesh" (Rom 1:3); but He was not made, He was only "declared [or proved] to BE the Son of God." So Jn 1:1, Jn 1:14, "In the beginning WAS the Word . . . and the Word was MADE flesh"; and Is 9:6, "Unto us a Child is BORN, unto us a Son is GIVEN." Thus the Sonship of Christ is in no proper sense a born relationship to the Father, as some, otherwise sound divines, conceive of it. By His birth in the flesh, that Sonship, which was essential and uncreated, merely effloresced into palpable manifestation. (See on Lk 1:35; Acts 13:32-33).
with power--This may either be connected with "declared," and then the meaning will be "powerfully declared" [LUTHER, BEZA, BENGEL, FRITZSCHE, ALFORD, &c.]; or (as in our version, and as we think rightly) with "the Son of God," and then the sense is, "declared to be the Son of God" in possession of that "power" which belonged to Him as the only-begotten of the Father, no longer shrouded as in the days of His flesh, but "by His resurrection from the dead" gloriously displayed and henceforth to be for ever exerted in this nature of ours [Vulgate, CALVIN, HODGE, PHILIPPI, MEHRING, &c.].
according to the spirit of holiness--If "according to the flesh" means here, "in His human nature," this uncommon expression must mean "in His other nature," which we have seen to be that "of the Son of God"--an eternal, uncreated nature. This is here styled the "spirit," as an impalpable and immaterial nature (Jn 4:24), and "the spirit of holiness," probably in absolute contrast with that "likeness, of sinful flesh" which He assumed. One is apt to wonder that if this be the meaning, it was not expressed more simply. But if the apostle had said "He was declared to be the Son of God according to the Holy Spirit," the reader would have thought he meant "the Holy Ghost"; and it seems to have been just to avoid this misapprehension that he used the rare expression, "the spirit of holiness."
1:51:5: որով ընկալաք շնո՛րհս եւ առաքելութիւն ՚ի հնազանդութիւն հաւատոց, յամենայն հեթանոսս վասն անուան նորա[3279]. [3279] Ոմանք. Եւ հնազանդութիւն հաւատոյ։
5 որի միջոցով ստացանք առաքեալ լինելու շնորհ՝ իր անուան համար հաւատի հնազանդութեան բերելու բոլոր հեթանոսներին,
5 Որով շնորհք եւ առաքելութիւն առինք՝ հաւատքի հնազանդութեան համար բոլոր ազգերուն մէջ, անոր անունին համար.
որով ընկալաք շնորհս եւ առաքելութիւն` ի հնազանդութիւն հաւատոց յամենայն հեթանոսս վասն անուան նորա:

1:5: որով ընկալաք շնո՛րհս եւ առաքելութիւն ՚ի հնազանդութիւն հաւատոց, յամենայն հեթանոսս վասն անուան նորա[3279].
[3279] Ոմանք. Եւ հնազանդութիւն հաւատոյ։
5 որի միջոցով ստացանք առաքեալ լինելու շնորհ՝ իր անուան համար հաւատի հնազանդութեան բերելու բոլոր հեթանոսներին,
5 Որով շնորհք եւ առաքելութիւն առինք՝ հաւատքի հնազանդութեան համար բոլոր ազգերուն մէջ, անոր անունին համար.
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:55: через Которого мы получили благодать и апостольство, чтобы во имя Его покорять вере все народы,
1:5  δι᾽ οὖ ἐλάβομεν χάριν καὶ ἀποστολὴν εἰς ὑπακοὴν πίστεως ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ,
1:5. δι' (through) οὗ (of-which) ἐλάβομεν (we-had-taken) χάριν (to-a-granting) καὶ (and) ἀποστολὴν (to-a-setting-off) εἰς (into) ὑπακοὴν (to-a-hearing-under) πίστεως (of-a-trust) ἐν (in) πᾶσιν ( unto-all ) τοῖς (unto-the-ones) ἔθνεσιν (unto-nations) ὑπὲρ (over) τοῦ (of-the-one) ὀνόματος (of-a-name) αὐτοῦ, (of-it,"
1:5. per quem accepimus gratiam et apostolatum ad oboediendum fidei in omnibus gentibus pro nomine eiusBy whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith, in all nations, for his name:
5. through whom we received grace and apostleship, unto obedience of faith among all the nations, for his name’s sake:
By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

5: через Которого мы получили благодать и апостольство, чтобы во имя Его покорять вере все народы,
1:5  δι᾽ οὖ ἐλάβομεν χάριν καὶ ἀποστολὴν εἰς ὑπακοὴν πίστεως ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ,
1:5. per quem accepimus gratiam et apostolatum ad oboediendum fidei in omnibus gentibus pro nomine eius
By whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith, in all nations, for his name:
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ tb▾ all ▾
А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
5: Через Которого мы получили благодать и апостольство. У греков часто множественным числом местоимения заменялось единственное. Это делалось в тех случаях, где личность говорящего отодвигалась на задний план, и когда прежде всего желательно было выставить на вид самое дело, совершенное личностью. Так и Апостол здесь говорит, значит, только об едином себе, как апостоле, поставленном главным образом для обращения язычников в Церковь Христову [Цан передает это место так: "я и другие апостолы Христовы получили..."]. - Благодать, т. е. спасающую благодать, которая излилась на Павла в день его обращения ко Христу (объяснение слова - Рим 3:24). - Апостольство - это особое благодатное служение, состоявшее в произведении спасения всему миру. - Чтобы во имя Его покорять вере все народы, - точнее с греч.: "чтобы производить послушание вере между всеми народами во славу Его имени". Под верою лучше понимать проповедь о вере (ср. Деян 6:7: многие послушались веры). Народы. Греч. слово eqnh можно переводить и выражением народы, но как в Ветхом Завете (Быт 12:3; Ис 13:6), так и в Новом (Деян 9:15; 11:1; Гал 1:16; Еф 2:11: и в нашем послании: 2:14, 15; 3:29; 11:13; 15:9, 11) оно употребляется и как особый технический термин для обозначения язычников, и здесь это выражение, несомненно, имеет такой же смысл [По Цану, здесь имеется в виду повеление Христа апостолам проповедовать всей твари (Мк 16:15).]. - Во имя Его. Эти слова (по греч.: uper tou onom = в честь Его, Христа, имени) напоминают собою слова Христа к Анании о Павле: "он есть Мой избранный сосуд, чтобы возвещать имя Мое пред народами" (Деян 9:15).
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:5: Grace and apostleship - The peculiar influence and the essential qualifications which such an office requires. Without the Grace, favor, and peculiar help of God, he could not have been an apostle: he had an extraordinary conversion, and an extraordinary call to preach the Gospel. Probably χαριν και αποστολην, grace and apostleship, mean the same as χαριν της αποστολης, the apostolical office; for so the word χαρις means in Rom 12:3; Rom 15:15; Co1 3:10; Eph 3:8. See the various acceptations of the word grace, Rom 1:7.
For obedience to the faith - That by this office, which I have received from God, and the power by which it is accompanied, I might proclaim the faith, the Gospel of Jesus; and show all nations the necessity of believing in it, in order to their salvation. Here is:
1. The Gospel of the Son of God.
2. An apostle divinely commissioned and empowered to preach it.
3. The necessity of faith in the name of Jesus, as the only Savior of the world.
4. Of obedience, as the necessary consequence of genuine faith. And,
5. This is to be proclaimed among all nations; that all might have the opportunity of believing and being saved.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:5: By whom - The apostle here returns to the subject of the salutation of the Romans, and states to them his authority to address them. That authority he had derived from the Lord Jesus, and not from man. On this fact, that he had received his apostolic commission, not from man, but by the direct authority of Jesus Christ, Paul not infrequently insisted. Gal 1:12, "for I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by Revelation of Jesus Christ;" Co1 15:1-8; Eph 3:1-3.
We - The plural here is probably put for the singular; see Col 4:3; compare Eph 6:19-20. It was usual for those who were clothed with authority to express themselves in this manner. Perhaps here, however, he refers to the general nature of the apostolic office, as being derived from Jesus Christ, and designs to assure the Romans that "he" had received the apostolic commission as the others had. 'We," the apostles, have received the appointment from Jesus Christ. '
Grace and apostleship - Many suppose that this is a figure of speech, "hendiadys," by which one thing is expressed by two words, meaning the grace or favor of the apostolic office. Such a figure of speech is often used. But it may mean, as it does probably here, the two things, grace, or the favor of God to his own soul, as a personal matter; and the apostolic office as a distinct thing. He often, however, speaks of the office of the apostleship as a matter of special favor, Rom 15:15-16; Gal 2:9; Eph 3:7-9.
For obedience to the faith - In order to produce, or promote obedience to the faith; that is, to induce them to render that obedience to God which faith produces. There are two things therefore implied.
(1) that the design of the gospel and of the apostleship is to induce men to obey God.
(2) that the tendency of faith is to produce obedience. There is no true faith which does not produce that. This is constantly affirmed in the New Testament, Rom 15:18; Rom 16:19; Co2 7:15; James 2.
Among all nations - This was the original commission which Jesus gave to his apostles, Mar 16:15-16; Mat 28:18-19. This was the special commission which Paul received when he was converted, Act 9:15. It was important to show that the commission extended thus far, as he was now addressing a distant church which he had not seen.
For his name - This means probably "on his account," that is, on account of Christ, Joh 14:13-14; Joh 16:23-24. The design of the apostleship was to produce obedience to the gospel among all nations, that thus the name of Jesus might be honored. Their work was not one in which they were seeking to honor themselves, but it was solely for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ. For him they toiled, they encountered perils, they laid down their lives, because by so doing they might bring people to obey the gospel, and thus Jesus Christ might wear a brighter crown and be attended by a longer and more splendid train of worshippers in the kingdom of his glory.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:5: we have: Rom 12:3, Rom 15:15, Rom 15:16; Joh 1:16; Co1 15:10; Co2 3:5, Co2 3:6; Gal 1:15, Gal 1:16; Eph 3:2-9; Ti1 1:11, Ti1 1:12
apostleship: Act 1:25; Co1 9:2; Gal 2:8, Gal 2:9
for obedience to the faith: or, to the obedience of faith, Rom 15:18, Rom 15:19, Rom 16:26; Act 6:7; Co2 10:4-6; Heb 5:9
among: Rom 3:29
for his name: Mal 1:11, Mal 1:14; Act 15:14; Eph 1:6, Eph 1:12; Pe1 2:9, Pe1 2:10
Geneva 1599
1:5 (i) By whom we have received (k) grace and apostleship, for (l) obedience to the faith (m) among all nations, for his name:
(i) Of whom.
(k) This marvellous, liberal, and gracious gift, which is given to me, the least of all the saints, to preach, etc.; see (Eph 3:8).
(l) That men through faith might obey God.
(m) For his name's sake.
John Gill
1:5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship,.... That is, either by the Holy Spirit, from whom all grace and gifts come, qualifying for the discharge of any office; or by the Lord Jesus Christ, who is full of grace and truth, has received gifts for, and gives them to men to fit them for whatsoever service he is pleased to call them to. By "grace and apostleship" may be meant, either one and the same thing, the favour and honour of being the apostles of Christ; or different things, and the one in order to the other. Grace may design special saving grace in calling, justification, pardon, and adoption, and sanctification, which was received in common with other saints, and is absolutely necessary to an apostle, and to any ordinary minister of the word; or the doctrine of grace, which they received from Christ, and dispensed to others; or rather the gifts of grace, and the various measures thereof, which they received from their ascended Lord and King, by which they were furnished for apostleship, that is, the work and office of apostles; to which they were called by Christ, and from whom they received a commission to execute it. The apostle takes in others sides himself, and says, "we have received"; partly for the sake of modesty, and partly to keep up his equal title with others to this office; and since this is had in a way of receiving, which supposes giving, and excludes boasting, it obliges to make use of all grace and gifts to the glory of Christ, by whom they are received. The end for which they received such an office, and grace to fit them for it, was, "for obedience to the faith"; that men might be brought by the ministry of the word to obey the faith, Christ the object of faith; to submit to his righteousness, and the way of salvation by him, and to be subject to his ordinances or to obey the doctrine of faith, which is not barely to hear it, and notionally receive it, but to embrace it heartily by faith, and retain it, in opposition to a disbelief and contempt of it; and which is the end and design of the Gospel ministration to bring persons to, Moreover, by
obedience to the faith, or "obedience of faith", as it may be rendered, may be meant the grace of faith, attended with evangelical obedience; for obedience, rightly performed, is only that which is by faith, and springs from it. Now grace and apostleship were received, in order to be exercised
among all nations; not in Judea only, to which the first commission of apostleship was limited, but in all the nations of the world, as the commission renewed by Christ after his resurrection ordered; and that some among all nations of the earth might, by the power of divine grace accompanying the word, be brought to faith and obedience: and all this, the qualifications for the office, the due exercise of it in all the world, and the success that attended it, were
for his name; for the honour and glory of Christ, in whose name they went, and which they bore and carried among the Gentiles, out of whom he was pleased "to take a people for his name", Acts 15:14.
John Wesley
1:5 By whom we have received - I and the other apostles. Grace and apostleship - The favour to be an apostle, and qualifications for it. For obedience to the faith in all nations - That is, that all nations may embrace the faith of Christ. For his name - For his sake; out of regard to him.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:5 By whom--as the ordained channel.
we have received grace--the whole "grace that bringeth salvation" (Tit 2:11).
and apostleship--for the publication of that "grace," and the organization of as many as receive it into churches of visible discipleship. (We prefer thus taking them as two distinct things, and not, with some good interpreters, as one--"the grace of apostleship").
for obedience to the faith--rather, "for the obedience of faith"--that is, in order to men's yielding themselves to the belief of God's saving message, which is the highest of all obedience.
for his name--that He might be glorified.
1:61:6: յորս եւ դո՛ւք էք կոչեցեալ Յիսուսի Քրիստոսի[3280]. [3280] Ոսկան. Ընդ որս եւ դուք էք։
6 որոնց թւում էք եւ դուք՝ կանչուածներդ Յիսուս Քրիստոսին.
6 Որոնց մէջ դուք ալ Յիսուս Քրիստոսին կանչուածներն էք.
յորս եւ դուք էք կոչեցեալ Յիսուսի Քրիստոսի:

1:6: յորս եւ դո՛ւք էք կոչեցեալ Յիսուսի Քրիստոսի[3280].
[3280] Ոսկան. Ընդ որս եւ դուք էք։
6 որոնց թւում էք եւ դուք՝ կանչուածներդ Յիսուս Քրիստոսին.
6 Որոնց մէջ դուք ալ Յիսուս Քրիստոսին կանչուածներն էք.
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:66: между которыми находитесь и вы, призванные Иисусом Христом, --
1:6  ἐν οἷς ἐστε καὶ ὑμεῖς κλητοὶ ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ,
1:6. ἐν (in) οἷς ( unto-which ) ἐστὲ (ye-be,"καὶ (and) ὑμεῖς (ye," κλητοὶ ( called ) Ἰησοῦ (of-an-Iesous) Χριστοῦ, (of-Anointed,"
1:6. in quibus estis et vos vocati Iesu ChristiAmong whom are you also the called of Jesus Christ:
6. among whom are ye also, called Jesus Christ’s:
Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:

6: между которыми находитесь и вы, призванные Иисусом Христом, --
1:6  ἐν οἷς ἐστε καὶ ὑμεῖς κλητοὶ ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ,
1:6. in quibus estis et vos vocati Iesu Christi
Among whom are you also the called of Jesus Christ:
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ tb▾ all ▾
А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
6: Между которыми находитесь и вы, призванные Иисусом Христом. Этим Апостол указывает на свое право обратиться к римским христианам с посланием. Он - Апостол язычников, а они также были язычниками, и таким образом Павел обязан о них заботиться, а они должны его слушаться. И он призван Христом (ст. 1), и они призваны также Христом (klitoi I. X.) - Господин у них с Павлом один и тот же, и если Павел служит Ему, как Апостол, то римляне должны служить Христу, как послушные чада Апостола.
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:6: Ye are the called - Ye Romans are all invited to believe in Christ Jesus, for the salvation of your souls; and to you, with the rest, my apostolical mission extends. This appears to be the most obvious sense of the word called in this place - to be called by the Gospel is to be invited to believe in Christ Jesus, and become his disciples. The word sometimes means constituted, or made, as in Rom 1:1.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:6: Among whom - That is, among the Gentiles who had become obedient to the Christian faith in accordance with the design of the gospel, Rom 1:8. This proves that the church at Rome was made up partly at least, if not mainly, of Gentiles or pagans. This is fully proved in the xvith. chapter by the names of the persons whom Paul salutes.
The called of Jesus Christ - Those whom Jesus Christ has called to be his followers. The word "called" (see Rom 1:1) denotes not merely an external invitation to privilege, but it also denotes the "internal" or "effectual" call which secures conformity to the will of him who calls, and is thus synonymous with the name Christians, or believers. That true Christians are contemplated by this address, is clear from the whole scope of the Epistle; see particularly Rom. 8; compare Phi 3:14; Heb 3:1.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:6: are ye also: Eph 1:11; Col 1:6, Col 1:21
the called: Rom 8:28-30, Rom 9:24; Co1 1:9; Gal 1:6; Th1 2:12; Th2 2:14; Ti2 1:9; Heb 3:1; Pe1 2:9, Pe1 2:21; Pe2 1:10; Rev 17:14
Geneva 1599
1:6 Among whom are ye also the (n) called of Jesus Christ:
(n) Who through God's goodness belong to Christ.
John Gill
1:6 Among whom are ye also,.... The Romans, though they were the chief, were among the nations of the world to whom the apostles were sent; and since Paul was called to be an apostle, and had, as others, grace and apostleship, and particularly the apostleship of the uncircumcision, or was ordained a teacher of the Gentiles, more especially he was an apostle to them, and as such was to be regarded by them. This seems to point out what they were originally; they were among all nations which lay in darkness; and were without Christ and hope, and God in the world; but now,
the called of Jesus Christ. The calling here spoken of is not to an office, or a mere external one by the ministry of the word, but an internal special call by the grace of God; and which is irresistible, efficacious, and unchangeable, and is an high, holy, and heavenly one; by it persons are called out of darkness into light, out of bondage into liberty, out of the world, from the company of the men of it, and the sinful pleasures thereof, to fellowship with Christ and his saints, and off a dependence on themselves, and their own righteousness, to the grace and righteousness of Christ, and to eternal glory. The persons so called are the elect of God, who are secured in Christ, and redeemed by him, and who has a concern with the Father and Spirit in the calling of them: hence they are styled, "the called of Jesus Christ"; they are called by him, and after his name; he has an interest in them; as they were before his chosen and redeemed ones, they are now his called ones; as Jacob and Israel of old were named of God, "my called", Is 48:12; so these were named Christ's called ones; and who by calling came to be partakers of him and of his grace.
John Wesley
1:6 Among whom - The nations brought to the obedience of faith. Are ye also - But St. Paul gives them no preeminence above others.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:6 Among whom are ye also--that is, along with others; for the apostle ascribes nothing special to the Church of Rome (compare 1Cor 14:36) [BENGEL].
the called--(See on Rom 8:30).
of Christ Jesus--that is, either called "by Him" (Jn 5:25), or the called "belonging to Him"; "Christ's called ones." Perhaps this latter sense is best supported, but one hardly knows which to prefer.
1:71:7: ամենեցուն որոց է՛ք ՚ի Հռովմ՝ սիրելեաց Աստուծոյ՝ կոչեցելո՛ց սրբոց։ Շնո՛րհք ընդ ձեզ եւ խաղաղութի՛ւն յԱստուծոյ Հօրէ մերմէ եւ ՚ի Տեառնէ Յիսուսէ Քրիստոսէ[3281]։ [3281] Ոմանք. Ամենեցուն որ էքդ ՚ի Հռոմ, սիրելեացդ։
7 ամենքիդ, որ Հռոմում էք, Աստծու սիրելիներիդ, կանչուած սրբերիդ, ձեզ շնո՜րհ եւ խաղաղութի՜ւն մեր Հայր Աստծուց եւ Տէր Յիսուս Քրիստոսից:
7 Ձեր բոլորին, որ Հռովմի մէջ էք, Աստուծոյ սիրելիներուդ, սուրբ ըլլալու կանչուածներուդ, շնորհք եւ խաղաղութիւն ձեզի Աստուծմէ մեր Հօրմէն ու Տէր Յիսուս Քրիստոսէն։
ամենեցուն որոց էք ի Հռովմ, սիրելեաց Աստուծոյ` կոչեցելոց սրբոց, շնորհք ընդ ձեզ եւ խաղաղութիւն յԱստուծոյ Հօրէ մերմէ եւ ի Տեառնէ Յիսուսէ Քրիստոսէ:

1:7: ամենեցուն որոց է՛ք ՚ի Հռովմ՝ սիրելեաց Աստուծոյ՝ կոչեցելո՛ց սրբոց։ Շնո՛րհք ընդ ձեզ եւ խաղաղութի՛ւն յԱստուծոյ Հօրէ մերմէ եւ ՚ի Տեառնէ Յիսուսէ Քրիստոսէ[3281]։
[3281] Ոմանք. Ամենեցուն որ էքդ ՚ի Հռոմ, սիրելեացդ։
7 ամենքիդ, որ Հռոմում էք, Աստծու սիրելիներիդ, կանչուած սրբերիդ, ձեզ շնո՜րհ եւ խաղաղութի՜ւն մեր Հայր Աստծուց եւ Տէր Յիսուս Քրիստոսից:
7 Ձեր բոլորին, որ Հռովմի մէջ էք, Աստուծոյ սիրելիներուդ, սուրբ ըլլալու կանչուածներուդ, շնորհք եւ խաղաղութիւն ձեզի Աստուծմէ մեր Հօրմէն ու Տէր Յիսուս Քրիստոսէն։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:77: всем находящимся в Риме возлюбленным Божиим, призванным святым: благодать вам и мир от Бога отца нашего и Господа Иисуса Христа.
1:7  πᾶσιν τοῖς οὗσιν ἐν ῥώμῃ ἀγαπητοῖς θεοῦ, κλητοῖς ἁγίοις· χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ.
1:7. πᾶσιν ( unto-all ) τοῖς (unto-the-ones) οὖσιν ( unto-being ) ἐν (in) Ῥώμῃ (unto-a-Rome) ἀγαπητοῖς ( unto-excessed-off-unto ) θεοῦ, (of-a-Deity," κλητοῖς ( unto-called ) ἁγίοις : ( unto-hallow-belonged ) χάρις (a-granting) ὑμῖν (unto-ye) καὶ (and) εἰρήνη (a-peace) ἀπὸ (off) θεοῦ (of-a-Deity) πατρὸς (of-a-Father) ἡμῶν (of-us) καὶ (and) κυρίου (of-Authority-belonged) Ἰησοῦ (of-an-Iesous) Χριστοῦ. (of-Anointed)
1:7. omnibus qui sunt Romae dilectis Dei vocatis sanctis gratia vobis et pax a Deo Patre nostro et Domino Iesu ChristoTo all that are at Rome, the beloved of God, called to be saints. Grace to you and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
7. To all that are in Rome, beloved of God, called saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called [to be] saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ:

7: всем находящимся в Риме возлюбленным Божиим, призванным святым: благодать вам и мир от Бога отца нашего и Господа Иисуса Христа.
1:7  πᾶσιν τοῖς οὗσιν ἐν ῥώμῃ ἀγαπητοῖς θεοῦ, κλητοῖς ἁγίοις· χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ.
1:7. omnibus qui sunt Romae dilectis Dei vocatis sanctis gratia vobis et pax a Deo Patre nostro et Domino Iesu Christo
To all that are at Rome, the beloved of God, called to be saints. Grace to you and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
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А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
7: Всем. Этим добавлением Павел расширяет круг лиц, которым он посылает свое послание. Очевидно, что в Риме были и христиане из иудеев. - Возлюбленным Божиим. Бог любит всех людей (Ин 3:16), но по отношению к неверующим любовь Божия может быть только жалостью, а не тем тесным внутренним общением, в каком Бог находится с Своими чадами - верующими. - Признанным святым. Так называет он христиан для того, чтобы показать, что они святы, т. е. отделены от греховного Мира по призванию Божию, которое служит для них ручательством в прочности этой святости. - Благодать вам и мир. Под благодатью здесь следует разуметь любовь Божию, проявляющуюся все в новых и новых обнаружениях среди верующих; мир же - это чувство полного душевного успокоения, какое сообщает человеку сознание своего примирении с Богом. - От Бога Отца нашего и Господа Иисуса Христа. Любовь Бога и любовь Христа - различны: та - любовь Отца, эта - любовь брата. Христос любит людей своею любовью (Рим 5:15). Показывая же, что податель даров есть не только Отец, но и Сын, Апостол, по изъяснению блаж. Феодорита, "поучает нас равенству Отца и Сына".
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:7: Called to be saints - Invited to become holy persons, by believing the Gospel and receiving the gifts of the Holy Ghost. Or, here, the word may have the meaning of made or constituted, as above; κλητοις αγιοις, to all that be in Rome, Constituted saints, for they had already received the Gospel grace, and were formed into a Christian Church.
Grace to you - χαρις υμιν; May you be partakers of the Divine favor, the source whence every blessing is derived.
I think it necessary, once for all, to give the several acceptations of this word grace which occur in the sacred writings.
1. The word χαριν signifies in general favor or benevolence, but especially that favor which is powerful and active, and loads its objects with benefits. Luk 1:30 : Fear not, Mary, thou hast found Favor, χαριν, with God. Luk 2:40 : And the child grew - and the Grace of God, χαρις θεου, the favor of God was upon him. Luk 1:52 : And Jesus increased in Favor, χαριτι Grace, with God and man. Act 2:47 : Having Favor, χαριν, Grace, with all the people. Act 4:33 : And great Grace, χαρις, Favor, was upon them all. The apostles were at that time in universal favor with the multitude. In this sense the word occurs in a great variety of places, both in the Old and New Testaments.
2. Hence it is often used for the blessing which it dispenses; for, if God be favourably disposed towards a person, his beneficent acts, in that person's behalf, will be a necessary consequence of such favor. Joh 1:14 : Full of Grace and truth; accomplished in all spiritual blessings. Joh 1:16 : And Grace upon Grace: he who is full of the most excellent blessings, confers them liberally on all believers. Act 11:23 : When he had seen the Grace of God, i.e. had the fullest evidence that they were richly endowed with heavenly gifts. Co1 1:4 : For the Grace of God which is given you - the Divine blessings conferred upon you. Co2 9:8 : God is able to make all Grace abound toward you; i.e. to enrich you with every benediction. This is also a very common acceptation of the word; and in this sense the word grace or favor is now generally understood among religious people. The grace of God meaning with them some Divine or spiritual blessing communicated.
3. It is sometimes taken for the whole of the Christian religion, as being the grandest possible display of God's favor to a lost, ruined world: and in this sense it appears to be used, Joh 1:17 : For the Law was given by Moses; but Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ: where the term Grace is evidently opposed to Law; the latter meaning the Mosaic, the other the Christian, dispensation. Act 13:43 : Barnabas persuaded them to continue in the Grace of God; i.e. to hold fast their profession of the religion of Christ. Rom 6:14 : Ye are not under the Law, but under Grace - ye are no longer under obligation to fulfill the Mosaic precepts, but are under the Christian dispensation. See also Rom 6:15; and see Co2 1:12; Co2 6:1; Gal 1:6; Col 1:6; Ti2 2:1, Tit 2:11 : The Grace of God, that bringeth salvation unto all men, hath appeared. The Jewish religion was restricted in its benefits to a few; but the Christian religion proposes the salvation of all men; and the author of it has become a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Heb 12:15 : Looking diligently lest any man fall from the Grace of God - lest any man apostatize from the Christian religion, and the blessings of pardon and holiness which he has received through it. Pe1 5:12 : This is the true Grace of God wherein ye stand - the Christian religion which ye have received is the genuine religion of God.
4. It signifies all the blessings and benefits which Christ has purchased, and which he gives to true believers, both in time and eternity. See Rom 5:15, Rom 5:17, where the grace of God is opposed to death; i.e. to all the wretchedness and misery brought into the world by Adam's transgression. Co1 16:23 : The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all - May every blessing purchased by Christ's passion and death be the portion of you all. Gal 5:4 : Ye are fallen from Grace - ye have lost the blessings of the Gospel by submitting to circumcision.
5. It signifies the apostolic and ministerial office, or the authority to propagate the Christian religion, and the unction or influence by which that office is executed; so in the 5th verse of this chapter, (Rom 1:5) as has been already noted: By whom we have received Grace and apostleship, or, the apostolic office. Rom 13:3 : I say, through the Grace given unto me; i.e. I command you, by the authority of my apostolic office, etc. See also Rom 13:6.
6. It signifies a gift, salary, or money collected for the use of the poor. Co1 16:3 : Whomsoever ye shall approve - them will I send to bring your Liberality, την χαριν υμων, your Grace; i.e. the collection made for the poor saints: see Co1 16:1. Co2 8:4 : Praying us - that we would receive the Gift, την χαριν, the Grace, the contribution made in the Churches of Macedonia, for the relief of the poor. In this sense it is used in Ecclus. 17:22: He will keep the Good Deeds of man, χαριν, the same as ελεημοσυνη, alms, in the beginning of the verse; and it signifies a kind or friendly act, in the same author. Ecclus. 29:16: Forget not the Friendship, χαριτας, of thy surety. Graces or χαρις, was a deity among the ancients; and the three Graces, αι τρεις χαριτες, were called Pitho, Aglaia, and Euphrosyne; πειθω, mild persuasion; αγλαια, dignity; ευφροσυνη, liberality and joyfulness; and these were always painted naked, to show that all benefits should be gratuitous, this being essential to the nature of a gift. See Suidas, in χαριτας.
7. It sometimes signifies merely thanks or thanksgiving. See Luk 17:9 : Doth he thank, μη χαριν εχει, that servant? Rom 6:17 : But God be Thanked, χαρις οε τω θεω. Co1 10:30 : For if I by Grace, χαριτι, Thanksgiving, as our margin has it, and properly.
8. It signifies remuneration, wages, or reward Luk 6:32-34 : If ye love them that love you - do good to them which do good to you - lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what Thank have ye? ποια υμιν χαρις εστι; what Reward have ye? This appears, from the parallel place, Mat 5:46, to be most evidently the meaning: τινα μισθον εχετε; what Reward have ye? The word is used in this sense by several Greek writers.
9. It signifies whatever is the means of procuring the favor or kindness of another. Pe1 2:19, Pe1 2:20 : For this is Thankworthy, τουτο γαρ χαρις παρα τῳ Θεῳ, this is the means of Procuring Favor from God.
10. It signifies joy, pleasure, and gratification, which is the, meaning of cara, and with which it is often confounded in the New Testament. Plm 1:7 : For we have great Joy, χαριν γαρ εχομεν πολλην. Tobit 7:18: The Lord give thee Joy, χαριν, for this thy sorrow. In this sense the word is used by the best Greek writers; and in this sense it appears to be used, Co2 1:15.
11. It signifies the performance of an act which is pleasing or grateful to others. Act 24:27 : Felix, willing to show the Jews a Pleasure, χαριτας καταθεσθαι, to perform an act which he knew would be highly gratifying to them.
12. It signifies whatever has the power or influence to procure favor, etc. Suavity, kindness, benevolence, gentle demeanour. Luk 4:22 : All wondered at the Gracious Words, τοις λογοις της χαριτος, the benevolent, kind, and tender expressions; such as his text, Luk 4:18, would naturally lead him to speak. He hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, etc. Eph 4:29; Col 4:6 : Let your speech be always with Grace; i.e. gracious, kind, benevolent, savouring of the doctrine of Christ: it is thus used by several Greek writers. See Schleusner. As the word χαρις Grace, most frequently signifies some blessing or benefit calculated to promote human happiness, it is generally derived from χαρω, I rejoice, because of the effect produced by the blessing.
And peace - ειρηνη, the same as שלום shalom in Hebrew, generally signifying all kinds of blessing, but especially harmony and unity, and the bond of such unity. The most probable derivation of the word ειρηνη is from ειρω, I bind, and εν, one - because peace unites and binds those who were, by discord, before disunited. In the New Testament it signifies -
1. Peace, public or private, in the general acceptation of the word, as implying reconciliation and friendship; and to the etymology of the word the apostle seems to allude in Eph 4:3 : Endeavouring to keep the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace. Act 12:20 : They of Tyre and Sidon desired Peace - they sought reconciliation, with Herod, by means of Blastus, the king's chamberlain.
2. It signifies regularity, good order. Co1 14:33 : God is not the God of confusion, but of Peace.
3. It signifies the labor or study of preserving peace and concord; and this is supposed to be its meaning, Mat 10:34; Luk 12:51; and Act 7:26. Rom 14:17 : For the kingdom of God is righteousness and Peace - the Christian dispensation admits of no contention, but inculcates peace. Co1 7:15 : God hath called us to Peace - to labor to preserve quietness and concord. Heb 12:14 : Follow Peace - labor to preserve it.
4. It signifies the author or procurer of peace and concord. Eph 2:14 : He is our Peace - the author of concord betwixt Jews and Gentiles.
5. It signifies the Gospel and its blessings. Eph 2:17 : And came and preached Peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
6. It signifies all kinds of mental and corporeal happiness, and especially the happiness of Christians. Luk 1:79 : To guide our feet into the way of Peace - to show us the way to obtain true happiness. Luk 19:42 : The things which belong unto thy Peace - that by which thou mightest have been made truly happy. Th1 5:23 : The very God of Peace - God, the only source of true felicity. Joh 16:33 : These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have Peace - that ye might have confidence and happiness in believing on me as your only Savior.
7. It signifies good wishes and affectionate prayers. Mat 10:13 : And if the house be worthy, let your Peace come upon it. Our Lord commands his disciples, Mat 10:12, to salute the house into which they entered; and this was done by saying, Peace be unto this house! that is, Let every blessing, spiritual and temporal, be the portion of this family! See Luk 10:6; Joh 14:27; Act 15:33 : They were let go in Peace - they had the most fervent and affectionate prayers of the Church.
8. It signifies praise. Luk 19:38 : Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! - May all the heavenly host praise God, and give him the highest honor!
9. It signifies benignity, benevolence, favor. Rom 5:1 : Being justified by faith, we have Peace with God - In consequence of having our sins forgiven, we have a clear sense of the Divine favor. Phi 4:7 : The Peace of God which passeth all understanding - the inexpressible blessedness of a sense of the Divine favor. See Schleusner's Lexicon.
From God our Father - The apostle wishes them all the blessings which can flow from God, as the fountain of grace, producing in them all the happiness which a heart filled with the peace of God can possess; all of which are to be communicated to them through the Lord Jesus Christ. See the note on Act 28:31.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:7: To all that be in Rome - That is, to all who bear the Christian name. Perhaps he here included not only the church at Rome, but all who might have been there from abroad. Rome was a place of vast concourse for foreigners; and Paul probably addressed all who happened to be there.
Beloved of God - Whom God loves. This is the privilege of all Christians. And this proves that the persons whom Paul addressed were "not" those merely who had been invited to the external privileges of the gospel. The importance of this observation will appear in the progress of these notes.
Called to be saints - So called, or influenced by God who had called them, as to become saints. The word "saints," ἅγιοι hagioi, means those who are holy, or those who are devoted or consecrated to God. The radical idea of the word is what is separated from a common to a sacred use, and answers to the Hebrew word, קדושׁ qadowsh. It is applied to any thing that is set apart to the service of God, to the temple, to the sacrifices, to the utensils about the temple, to the garments, etc. of the priests, and to the priests themselves. It was applied to the Jews as a people separated from other nations, and devoted or consecrated to God, while other nations were devoted to the service of idols. It is also applied to Christians, as being a people devoted or set apart to the service of God. The radical idea then, as applied to Christians, is, that "they are separated from other men, and other objects and pursuits, and consecrated to the service of God." This is the special characteristic of the saints. And this characteristic the Roman Christians had shown. For the use of the word, as stated above, see the following passages of scripture; Luk 2:23; Exo 13:2, Rom 11:16; Mat 7:6; Pe1 1:16; Act 9:13; Pe1 2:5; Act 3:21, Eph 3:5; Pe1 2:9; Phi 2:15; Jo1 3:1-2.
Grace - This word properly means "favor." It is very often used in the New Testament, and is employed in the sense of benignity or benevolence; felicity, or a prosperous state of affairs; the Christian religion, as the highest expression of the benevolence or favor of God; the happiness which Christianity confers on its friends in this and the future life; the apostolic office; charity, or alms; thanksgiving; joy, or pleasure; and the benefits produced on the Christian's heart and life by religion - the grace of meekness, patience, charity, etc., "Schleusner." In this place, and in similar places in the beginning of the apostolic epistles, it seems to be a word including all those blessings that are applicable to Christians in common; denoting an ardent wish that all the mercies and favors of God for time and eternity, blended under the general name grace, may be conferred on them. It is to be understood as connected with a word implying invocation. I pray, or I desire, that grace, etc. may be conferred on you. It is the customary form of salutation in nearly all the apostolic epistles; Co1 1:3; Co2 1:2; Gal 1:3; Eph 1:2; Phi 1:2; Col 1:2; Th1 1:1; Th2 1:2; Plm 1:3.
And peace - Peace is the state of freedom from war. As war conveys the idea of discord and numberless calamities and dangers, so peace is the opposite, and conveys the idea of concord, safety, and prosperity. Thus, to wish one peace was the same as to wish him all safety and prosperity. This form of salutation was common among the Hebrews. Gen 43:23, "peace to you! fear not;" Jdg 6:23; Jdg 19:20; Luk 24:36. But the word "peace" is also used in contrast with that state of agitation and conflict which a sinner has with his conscience. and with God. The sinner is like the troubled sea, which cannot rest, Isa 57:20. The Christian is at peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, Rom 5:1. By this word, denoting reconciliation with God, the blessings of the Christian religion are often described in the scriptures, Rom 8:6; Rom 14:17; Rom 15:13; Gal 5:22; Phi 4:7. A prayer for peace, therefore, in the epistles, is not a mere formal salutation, but has a special reference to those "spiritual" blessings which result from reconciliation with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
From God our Father - The Father of all Christians. He is the Father of all his creatures, as they are his offspring, Act 17:28-29. He is especially the Father of all Christians, as they have been "begotten by him to a lively hope," have been adopted into his family, and are like him; Mat 5:45; Pe1 1:3; Jo1 5:1; Jo1 3:1-2. The expression here is equivalent to a prayer that God the Father would bestow grace and peace on the Romans. It implies that these blessings proceed from God, and are to be expected from him.
And the Lord Jesus Christ - From him. The Lord Jesus Christ is especially regarded in the New Testament as the Source of peace, and the Procurer of it; see Luk 2:14; Luk 19:38, Luk 19:42; Joh 14:27; Joh 16:33; Act 10:36; Rom 5:1; Eph 2:17. Each of these places will show with what propriety peace was invoked from the Lord Jesus. From thus connecting the Lord Jesus with the Father in this place, we may see,
(1) That the apostle regarded him as the source of grace and peace as really as he did the Father.
(2) he introduced them in the same connection, and with reference to the bestowment of the same blessings.
(3) if the mention of the Father in this connection implies a prayer to him, or an act of worship, the mention of the Lord Jesus implies the same thing, and was an act of homage to him.
(4) all this shows that his mind was familiarized to the idea that he was divine.
No man would introduce his name in such connections if he did not believe that he was equal with God; compare Phi 2:2-11. It is from this incidental and unstudied manner of expression, that we have one of the most striking proofs of the manner in which the sacred writers regarded the Lord Jesus Christ.
These seven verses are one sentence. They are a striking instance of the manner of Paul. The subject is simply a salutation to the Roman church. But at the mention of some single words, the mind of Paul seems to catch fire, and go burn and blaze with signal intensity. He leaves the immediate subject before him, and advances some vast thought that awes us, and fixes us in contemplation, and involves us in difficulty about his meaning, and then returns to his subject. This is the characteristic of his great mind; and it is this, among other things, that makes it so difficult to interpret his writings.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:7: To all: Act 15:23; Co1 1:2; Co2 1:1; Phi 1:1; Col 1:2; Jam 1:1; Pe1 1:1, Pe1 1:2; Jde 1:1; Rev 2:1, Rev 2:8, Rev 2:12, Rev 2:18, Rev 2:29, Rev 3:1, Rev 3:7, Rev 3:14, Rev 3:22
beloved: Rom 9:25; Deu 33:12; Psa 60:5; Sol 5:1; Col 3:12; Ti1 6:2
called: Rom 1:6; Co1 1:2; Col 3:15; Th1 4:7; Pe1 1:15; Pe2 1:3
Grace: Co1 1:3-9; Co2 1:2; Gal 1:3; Eph 1:2; Phi 1:2; Col 1:2; Th1 1:1; Th2 1:2; Ti1 1:2; Ti2 1:2; Tit 1:4; Plm 1:3; Pe1 1:2; Pe2 1:2; Jo2 1:3; Jde 1:2; Rev 1:4, Rev 1:5
peace: Rom 5:1
God: Mat 5:16, Mat 6:8, Mat 6:9; Joh 20:17; Gal 1:4; Phi 4:20; Th1 1:3; Th2 1:1; Jo1 3:1
and the Lord: Act 7:59, Act 7:60; Co1 16:23; Co2 12:8-10, Co2 13:14; Gal 6:18; Eph 6:23, Eph 6:24; Phi 4:13, Phi 4:23; Th1 3:11-13, Th1 5:28; Th2 2:16, Th2 2:17, Th2 3:16, Th2 3:18; Ti2 4:22; Plm 1:25; Rev 22:21
Geneva 1599
1:7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called [to be] saints: (o) Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
(o) God's free good will: by "peace" the Hebrews mean a prosperous success in all things.
John Gill
1:7 To all that be in Rome,.... These words contain both the inscription of the epistle, and the apostle's usual salutation, as in all his epistles, The inscription of it is not to the Roman emperor; nor to the Roman senate, nor to all the inhabitants in Rome; but to all the saints there, whether rich or poor, bond or free, male or female, Jew or Gentile, without any distinction, being all one in Christ Jesus: and these are described as
beloved of God; not for any loveliness there was in them, nor because of any love in them to God, nor on account of their obedience and righteousness; but through the free favour and sovereign will and pleasure of God, who loved them before he called them, even from eternity, and will love them to eternity; which love of his is the source and spring of all the blessings of grace, and, among the rest, of the effectual calling: hence this character is set before the following one,
called to be saints; not born so, nor become so through their own power, but were so by calling grace, as a fruit of everlasting love; men are first beloved of the Lord, and then called to be his saints. The salutation follows; the things wished for in it are,
grace to you, and peace: by "grace" is not meant ministerial gifts, which are not common to all the saints; nor the Gospel, which was at Rome already; nor the love and favour of God, which these persons were sharers in, as appears from their above characters; nor the principle of grace, which was now formed there in their effectual calling; but an increase of grace, as to its degrees, acts, and exercise; every grace is imperfect in this respect, and those who have the most stand in need of more; there is such a thing as growing in grace, which is very desirable, and may be expected from God, who is able to make all grace to abound, and has promised to give more: by "peace" is meant, peace with God through Christ; peace in their own consciences, and with one another; all manner of prosperity inward and outward here, and eternal happiness hereafter. The persons from whom these are desired are,
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; God the Father of Christ is spoken of as our Father, which is by adoption; partly to engage fear and reverence of him at his throne; and partly to encourage freedom and boldness there, and an expectation of receiving every blessing of grace from him: "the Lord Jesus Christ" is mentioned, as being the person through whom, and for whose sake, all the blessings of grace and peace are communicated to us; and being put upon a level with the Father in these petitions, shows him to be equal with him, and so truly and properly God. "Grace" may be thought to be particularly wished for from the Father, though not exclusive of Christ, since he is the God of all grace, who has treasured up a fulness of it in his Son. And "peace" may be considered as desired to be had from Christ, though not exclusive of the Father; since the covenant of peace was made with him, the chastisement of peace was laid on him, and he has made peace by the blood of his cross, and is the giver of it to his people.
John Wesley
1:7 To all that are in Rome - Most of these were heathens by birth, Rom 1:13, though with Jews mixed among them. They were scattered up and down in that large city, and not yet reduced into the form of a church. Only some had begun to meet in the house of Aquila and Priscilla. Beloved of God - And from his free love, not from any merit of yours, called by his word and his Spirit to believe in him, and now through faith holy as he is holy. Grace - The peculiar favour of God. And peace - All manner of blessings, temporal, spiritual, and eternal. This is both a Christian salutation and an apostolic benediction. From God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ - This is the usual way wherein the apostles speak, "God the Father," "God our Father." Nor do they often, in speaking of him, use the word Lord, as it implies the proper name of God, Jehovah. In the Old Testament, indeed, the holy men generally said, "The Lord our God;" for they were then, as it were, servants; whereas now they are sons: and sons so well know their father, that they need not frequently mention his proper name. It is one and the same peace, and one and the same grace, which is from God and from Jesus Christ. Our trust and prayer fix on God, as he is the Father of Christ; and on Christ, as he presents us to the Father.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:7 beloved of God--(Compare Deut 33:12; Col 3:12).
Grace, &c.--(See on Jn 1:14).
and peace--the peace which Christ made through the blood of His cross (Col 1:20), and which reflects into the believing bosom "the peace of God which passeth all understanding" (Phil 4:7).
from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ--"Nothing speaks more decisively for the divinity of Christ than these juxtapositions of Christ with the eternal God, which run through the whole language of Scripture, and the derivation of purely divine influences from Him also. The name of no man can be placed by the side of the Almighty. He only, in whom the Word of the Father who is Himself God became flesh, may be named beside Him; for men are commanded to honor Him even as they honor the Father (Jn 5:23)" [OLSHAUSEN].
1:81:8: Նախ՝ գոհանա՛մ զԱստուծոյ իմոյ ՚ի ձեռն Յիսուսի Քրիստոսի վասն ձե՛ր ամենեցուն. զի հաւա՛տք ձեր պատմեա՛լ են ընդ ամենայն աշխարհ[3282]։ [3282] Ոմանք. ՚Ի ձեռն Տեառն Յիսուսի Քրիստոսի։
8 Նախ՝ ձեր բոլորի համար գոհութիւն եմ մատուցում իմ Աստծուն, Յիսուս Քրիստոսի միջոցով, նրա համար որ ձեր հաւատը պատմւում է ամբողջ աշխարհով մէկ:
8 Նախ կը գոհանամ իմ Աստուծմէս Յիսուս Քրիստոսի ձեռքով ձեր ամենուն համար, վասն զի ձեր հաւատքը բոլոր աշխարհի մէջ կը պատմուի։
Նախ գոհանամ զԱստուծոյ իմոյ ի ձեռն Յիսուսի Քրիստոսի վասն ձեր ամենեցուն. զի հաւատք ձեր պատմեալ են ընդ ամենայն աշխարհ:

1:8: Նախ՝ գոհանա՛մ զԱստուծոյ իմոյ ՚ի ձեռն Յիսուսի Քրիստոսի վասն ձե՛ր ամենեցուն. զի հաւա՛տք ձեր պատմեա՛լ են ընդ ամենայն աշխարհ[3282]։
[3282] Ոմանք. ՚Ի ձեռն Տեառն Յիսուսի Քրիստոսի։
8 Նախ՝ ձեր բոլորի համար գոհութիւն եմ մատուցում իմ Աստծուն, Յիսուս Քրիստոսի միջոցով, նրա համար որ ձեր հաւատը պատմւում է ամբողջ աշխարհով մէկ:
8 Նախ կը գոհանամ իմ Աստուծմէս Յիսուս Քրիստոսի ձեռքով ձեր ամենուն համար, վասն զի ձեր հաւատքը բոլոր աշխարհի մէջ կը պատմուի։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:88: Прежде всего благодарю Бога моего через Иисуса Христа за всех вас, что вера ваша возвещается во всем мире.
1:8  πρῶτον μὲν εὐχαριστῶ τῶ θεῶ μου διὰ ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ περὶ πάντων ὑμῶν, ὅτι ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν καταγγέλλεται ἐν ὅλῳ τῶ κόσμῳ.
1:8. Πρῶτον (To-most-before) μὲν (indeed) εὐχαριστῶ (I-goodly-grant-unto) τῷ (unto-the-one) θεῷ (unto-a-Deity) μου (of-me) διὰ (through) Ἰησοῦ (of-an-Iesous) Χριστοῦ (of-Anointed) περὶ (about) πάντων ( of-all ) ὑμῶν, (of-ye,"ὅτι (to-which-a-one) ἡ (the-one) πίστις (a-trust) ὑμῶν (of-ye) καταγγέλλεται (it-be-messaged-down) ἐν (in) ὅλῳ (unto-whole) τῷ (unto-the-one) κόσμῳ. (unto-a-configuration)
1:8. primum quidem gratias ago Deo meo per Iesum Christum pro omnibus vobis quia fides vestra adnuntiatur in universo mundoFirst, I give thanks to my God, through Jesus Christ, for you all: because your faith is spoken of in the whole world.
8. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world.
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world:

8: Прежде всего благодарю Бога моего через Иисуса Христа за всех вас, что вера ваша возвещается во всем мире.
1:8  πρῶτον μὲν εὐχαριστῶ τῶ θεῶ μου διὰ ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ περὶ πάντων ὑμῶν, ὅτι ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν καταγγέλλεται ἐν ὅλῳ τῶ κόσμῳ.
1:8. primum quidem gratias ago Deo meo per Iesum Christum pro omnibus vobis quia fides vestra adnuntiatur in universo mundo
First, I give thanks to my God, through Jesus Christ, for you all: because your faith is spoken of in the whole world.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ mh▾ tb▾ all ▾
А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
8-17: Писать к римлянам побуждает Апостола его любовь к ним, а также сознание своей обязанности, какую он имеет по отношению к ним, как Апостол и учитель язычников. Послание же это имеет целью - укрепить римлян в христианской вере и жизни. Оно заменяет собою устную беседу, какую Апостол хотел бы вести с римлянами, но не мог доселе. Если они думают, что он не явился к ним до сих пор потому, что стеснялся выступать с проповедью о распятом Христе в столице мира, то ошибаются. Он не стыдится благовествовать Евангелие, потому что оно есть сила Божия, спасающая людей, и потому что в нем открывается правда Божия.

8: Апостол почти все свои послания начинает благодарением Богу за процветание той церкви, к которой он пишет послание. Особенно выдвигает он на вид при этом то обстоятельство, что об обращении многих римлян к вере во Христа говорят во всем мире. Апостол этим указывает на великую пользу, какую этот факт должен иметь в деле распространения христианства: провинции, очевидно, будут следовать примеру столичного города! [Дейсман, впрочем, видит здесь указание только на мир христианский, на общество верующих во Христа, которое живо интересовалось тем, как принято Евангелие в Риме... с. 40]. - Бога моего. Этим выражением Апостол указывает на личный свой опыт, каким он убедился в любви Божией, в частности, к нему, извергу (1Кор.15:8). - Чрез Иисуса Христа. Апостол воссылает Богу благодарение через Христа, как Главу Церкви и как своего Главу.
Matthew Henry: Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible - 1706
Paul's Love to the Roman Christians.A. D. 58.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; 10 Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; 12 That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. 13 Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. 14 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. 15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

We may here observe,

I. His thanksgivings for them (v. 8): First, I thank my God. It is good to begin every thing with blessing God, to make that the alpha and omega of every song, in every thing to give thanks.--My God. He speaks this with delight and triumph. In all our thanksgivings, it is good for us to eye God as our God; this makes every mercy sweet, when we can say of God, "He is mine in covenant."--Through Jesus Christ. All our duties and performances are pleasing to God only through Jesus Christ, praises as well as prayers.--For you all. We must express our love to our friends, not only by praying for them, but by praising God for them. God must have the glory of all the comfort we have in our friends; for every creature is that to us, and no more, which God makes it to be. Many of these Romans Paul had no personal acquaintance with, and yet he could heartily rejoice in their gifts and graces. When some of the Roman Christians met him (Acts xxviii. 15), he thanked God for them, and took courage; but here his true catholic love extends itself further, and he thanks God for them all; not only for those among them that were his helpers in Christ, and that bestowed much labour upon him (of whom he speaks ch. xvi. 3, 6), but for them all.--That your faith is spoken of. Paul travelled up and down from place to place, and, wherever he came, he heard great commendations of the Christians at Rome, which he mentions, not to make them proud, but to quicken them to answer the general character people gave of them, and the general expectation people had from them. The greater reputation a man hath for religion, the more careful he should be to preserve it, because a little folly spoils him that is in reputation, Eccl. x. 1.--Throughout the whole world, that is, the Roman empire, into which the Roman Christians, upon Claudius's edict to banish all the Jews from Rome, were scattered abroad, but had now returned, and, it seems, left a very good report behind them, wherever they had been, in all the churches. There was this good effect of their sufferings: if they had not been persecuted, they had not been famous. This was indeed a good name, a name for good things with God and good people. As the elders of old, so these Romans, obtained a good report through faith, Heb. xi. 2. It is a desirable thing to be famous for faith. The faith of the Roman Christians came to be thus talked of, not only because it was excelling in itself, but because it was eminent and observable in its circumstances. Rome was a city upon a hill, every one took notice of what was done there. Thus those who have many eyes upon them have need to walk circumspectly, for what they do, good or bad, will be spoken of. The church of Rome was then a flourishing church; but since that time how is the gold become dim! How is the most fine gold changed! Rome is not what it was. She was then espoused a chaste virgin to Christ, and excelled in beauty; but she has since degenerated, dealt treacherously, and embraced the bosom of a stranger; so that (as that good old book, the Practice of Piety, makes appear in no less than twenty-six instances) even the epistle to the Romans is now an epistle against the Romans; little reason has she therefore to boast of her former credit.

II. His prayer for them, v. 9. Though a famous flourishing church, yet they had need to be prayed for; they had not yet attained. Paul mentions this as an instance of his love to them. One of the greatest kindnesses we can do our friends, and sometimes the only kindness that is in the power of our hands, is, by prayer to recommend them to the loving-kindness of God. From Paul's example here we may learn, 1. Constancy in prayer: Always without ceasing. He did himself observe the same rules he gave to others, Eph. vi. 18; 1 Thess. v. 17. Not that Paul did nothing else but pray, but he kept up stated times for the solemn performance of that duty, and those very frequent, and observed without fail. 2. Charity in prayer: I make mention of you. Though he had not particular acquaintance with them, nor interest in them, yet he prayed for them; not only for all saints in general, but he made express mention of them. It is not unfit sometimes to be express in our prayers for particular churches and places; not to inform God, but to affect ourselves. We are likely to have the most comfort in those friends that we pray most for. Concerning this he makes a solemn appeal to the searcher of hearts: For God is my witness. It was in a weighty matter, and in a thing known only to God and his own heart, that he used this asseveration. It is very comfortable to be able to call God to witness to our sincerity and constancy in the discharge of a duty. God is particularly a witness to our secret prayers, the matter of them, the manner of the performance; then our Father sees in secret, Matt. vi. 6. God, whom I serve with my spirit. Those that serve God with their spirits may, with a humble confidence, appeal to him; hypocrites who rest in bodily exercise cannot. His particular prayer, among many other petitions he put up for them, was that he might have an opportunity of paying them a visit (v. 10): Making request, if by any means, &c. Whatever comfort we desire to find in any creature, we must have recourse to God for it by prayer; for our times are in his hand, and all our ways at his disposal. The expressions here used intimate that he was very desirous of such an opportunity: if by any means; that he had long and often been disappointed: now at length; and yet that he submitted it to the divine Providence: a prosperous journey by the will of God. As in our purposes, so in our desires, we must still remember to insert this, if the Lord will, James iv. 15. Our journeys are prosperous or otherwise according to the will of God, comfortable or not as he pleases.

III. His great desire to see them, with the reasons of it, v. 11-15. He had heard so much of them that he had a great desire to be better acquainted with them. Fruitful Christians are as much the joy as barren professors are the grief of faithful ministers. Accordingly, he often purposed to come, but was let hitherto (v. 13), for man purposeth, but God disposeth. He was hindered by other business that took him off, by his care of other churches, whose affairs were pressing; and Paul was for doing that first, not which was most pleasant (then he would have gone to Rome), but which was most needful--a good example to ministers, who must not consult their own inclinations so much as the necessity of their people's souls. Paul desired to visit these Romans,

1. That they might be edified (v. 11): That I may impart unto you. He received, that he might communicate. Never were full breasts so desirous to be drawn out to the sucking infant as Paul's head and heart were to be imparting spiritual gifts, that is, preaching to them. A good sermon is a good gift, so much the better for being a spiritual gift.--To the end you may be established. Having commended their flourishing he here expresses his desire of their establishment, that as they grew upward in the branches they might grow downward in the root. The best saints, while they are in such a shaking world as this, have need to be more and more established; and spiritual gifts are of special use for our establishment.

2. That he might be comforted, v. 12. What he heard of their flourishing in grace was so much a joy to him that it must needs be much more so to behold it. Paul could take comfort in the fruit of the labours of other ministers.--By the mutual faith both of you and me, that is, our mutual faithfulness and fidelity. It is very comfortable when there is a mutual confidence between minister and people, they confiding in him as a faithful minister, and he in them as a faithful people. Or, the mutual work of faith, which is love; they rejoiced in the expressions of one another's love, or communicating their faith one to another. It is very refreshing to Christians to compare notes about their spiritual concerns; thus are they sharpened, as iron sharpens iron.--That I might have some fruit, v. 13. Their edification would be his advantage, it would be fruit abounding to a good account. Paul minded his work, as one that believed the more good he did the greater would his reward be.

3. That he might discharge his trust as the apostle of the Gentiles (v. 14): I am a debtor. (1.) His receivings made him a debtor; for they were talents he was entrusted with to trade for his Master's honour. We should think of this when we covet great things, that all our receivings put us in debt; we are but stewards of our Lord's goods. (2.) His office made him a debtor. He was a debtor as he was an apostle; he was called and sent to work, and had engaged to mind it. Paul had improved his talent, and laboured in his work, and done as much good as ever any man did, and yet, in reflection upon it, he still writes himself debtor; for, when we have done all, we are but unprofitable servants.--Debtor to the Greeks, and to the barbarians, that is, as the following words explain it, to the wise and to the unwise. The Greeks fancied themselves to have the monopoly of wisdom, and looked upon all the rest of the world as barbarians, comparatively so; not cultivated with learning and arts as they were. Now Paul was a debtor to both, looked upon himself as obliged to do all the good he could both to the one and to the other. Accordingly, we find him paying his debt, both in his preaching and in his writing, doing good both to Greeks and barbarians, and suiting his discourse to the capacity of each. You may observe a difference between his sermon at Lystra among the plain Lycaonians (Acts xiv. 15, &c.) and his sermon at Athens among the polite philosophers, Acts xvii. 22, &c. He delivered both as debtor to each, giving to each their portion. Though a plain preacher, yet, as debtor to the wise, he speaks wisdom among those that are perfect, 1 Cor. ii. 6. For these reasons he was ready, if he had an opportunity, to preach the gospel at Rome, v. 15. Though a public place, though a perilous place, where Christianity met with a great deal of opposition, yet Paul was ready to run the risk at Rome, if called to it: I am ready--prothymon. It denotes a great readiness of mind, and that he was very forward to it. What he did was not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. It is an excellent thing to be ready to meet every opportunity of doing or getting good.
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:8: First, I thank my God - From this to the end of Rom 1:17 belongs to the preface, in which the apostle endeavors to conciliate the good opinion of the Christians at Rome, and to prepare their minds for his reproofs and exhortations.
Your faith is spoken - καταγγελλεται, is celebrated, throughout the whole world - in every place where the Christian religion is professed, through all parts of the Roman dominions; for in this sense we should understand the words, the whole world.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:8: First - In the first place, not in point of importance, but before speaking of other things, or before proceeding to the main design of the Epistle.
I thank my God - The God, whom I worship and serve. The expression of thanks to God for his mercy to them was suited to conciliate their feelings, and to prepare them for the truths which he was about to communicate to them. It showed the deep interest which he had in their welfare; and the happiness it would give him to do them good. It is proper to give thanks to God for his mercies to others as well as to ourselves. We are members of one great family, and we should make it a subject of thanksgiving that he confers any blessings, and especially the blessing of salvation, on any mortals.
Through Jesus Christ - The duty of presenting our thanks to God "through" Christ is often enjoined in the New Testament, Eph 5:20; Heb 13:15; compare Joh 14:14. Christ is the mediator between God and human beings, or the medium by which we are to present our prayers and also our thanksgivings. We are not to approach God directly, but through a mediator at all times, depending on him to present our cause before the mercy-seat; to plead for us there; and to offer the desires of our souls to God. It is no less proper to present thanks in his name, or through him, than it is prayer. He has made the way to God accessible to us, whether it be by prayer or praise; and it is owing to "his" mercy and grace that "any" of our services are acceptable to God.
For you all - On account of you all, that is, of the entire Roman church. This is one evidence that that church then was remarkably pure. How few churches have there been of whom a similar commendation could be expressed.
That your faith - "Faith" is put here for the whole of religion, and means the same as your piety. Faith is one of the principal things of religion; one of its first requirements; and hence, it signifies religion itself. The readiness with which the Romans had embraced the gospel, the firmness with which they adhered to it, was so remarkable, that it was known and celebrated everywhere. The same thing is affirmed of them in Rom 16:19, "For your obedience is come abroad unto all men."
Is spoken of - Is celebrated, or known. They were in the capital of the Roman Empire; in a city remarkable for its wickedness; and in a city whose influence extended everywhere. It was natural, therefore, that their remarkable conversion to God should be celebrated everywhere. The religious or irreligious influence of a great city will be felt far and wide, and this is one reason why the apostles preached the gospel so much in such places.
Throughout the whole world - As we say, everywhere; or throughout the Roman Empire. The term "world" is often thus limited in the scriptures; and here it denotes those parts of the Roman Empire where the Christian church was established. All the churches would hear of the work of God in the capital, and would rejoice in it; compare Col 1:6, Col 1:23; Joh 12:19. It is not improper to commend Christians, and to remind them of their influence; and especially to call to their mind the great power which they may have on other churches and people. Nor is it improper that great displays of divine mercy should be celebrated everywhere, and excite in the churches praise to God.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:8: I thank: Rom 6:17
through: Eph 3:21, Eph 5:20; Phi 1:11; Heb 13:15; Pe1 2:5, Pe1 4:11
that your: Rom 16:19; Th1 1:8, Th1 1:9
the whole: Mat 24:14; Luk 2:1; Act 11:28
Geneva 1599
1:8 (4) First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is (p) spoken of throughout the (q) whole world.
(4) He obtains their favourable patience, in that he points out what it is that they can be praised for, and his true apostolic good will toward them, confirmed by taking God himself as witness.
(p) Because your faith is such that it is spoken well of in all churches.
(q) In all churches.
John Gill
1:8 First, I thank my God, through Jesus Christ, for you all,.... After the inscription and salutation, follows a thanksgiving, which begins the epistle: it is usual with the apostle in all his epistles to make requests for the churches, with thanksgivings for mercies; his view in it was, to glorify God, to testify his affection to the saints, and to show that all they had must be referred to the grace of God. The object of thanksgiving is God not merely as a creator and preserver, but as a Father, the Father of Christ, and our Father in Christ; as the one God, and our God, Father, Son, and Spirit. The apostle styles him, my God; which distinguishes him from all others, points out his particular interest in him, expresses his knowledge of him and faith in him, and demonstrates that what he did now, he did in faith. The person through whom thanks are given is Jesus Christ. There is no coming to God but through Christ, nor is any sacrifice either of prayer or praise acceptable without him, and since all we have come through him, it is but reasonable that thanks for them should be returned by and through him; the persons for whom this thanksgiving is made were all the Romans, all the saints at Rome, the members of the church there, of whatsoever rank and degree, and in whatsoever, state and condition; the thing for which the apostle was thankful for particularly was, not that their city was mistress of the whole world, and their fame for power, wealth, and grandeur, was spread abroad far and near; but, says he,
that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world; which shows that faith is a grace of great account: God has put an honour upon it, by making it the receiver of all his gifts, and that gives glory to God, and without it nothing is acceptable to him; it answers many excellent uses and purposes in experience; it is that by which saints live upon Christ in this world, and look to the glories of another. This also shows that the saints at Rome did not hide their faith in their breasts, but declared it to others; a public profession both of the grace and doctrine of faith is to be made, and constantly held; both are to be shown forth to others, by deeds as well as words; which greatly redounds to the honour of such churches, causes joy in other churches, and in all the ministers of the Gospel, and is the occasion of many thanksgivings to God.
John Wesley
1:8 I thank - In the very entrance of this one epistle are the traces of all spiritual affections; but of thankfulness above all, with the expression of which almost all St. Paul's epistles begin. He here particularly thanks God, that what otherwise himself should have done, was done at Rome already. My God - This very word expresses faith, hope, love, and consequently all true religion. Through Jesus Christ - The gifts of God all pass through Christ to us; and all our petitions and thanksgivings pass through Christ to God. That your faith is spoken of - In this kind of congratulations St. Paul describes either the whole of Christianity, as Col 1:3, &c.; or some part of it, as 1Cor 1:5. Accordingly here he mentions the faith of the Romans, suitably to his design, Rom 1:12, Rom 1:17. Through the whole world - This joyful news spreading everywhere, that there were Christians also in the imperial city. And the goodness and wisdom of God established faith in the chief cities; in Jerusalem and Rome particularly; that from thence it might be diffused to all nations.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:8 your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world--This was quite practicable through the frequent visits paid to the capital from all the provinces; and the apostle, having an eye to the influence they would exercise upon others, as well as their own blessedness, given thanks for such faith to "his God through Jesus Christ," as being the source, according to his theology of faith, as of all grace in men.
1:91:9: Վկա՛յ է ինձ Աստուած, զոր պաշտեմն հոգւո՛վ իմով յաւետարանի Որդւոյ նորա, թէ ո՞րպէս զյիշատակս ձեր առնեմ[3283]. [3283] Ոմանք. Պաշտեմ հոգ՛՛... Որդւոյն նորա... զյիշատակ ձեր. եւ օրինակ մի. Զյիշատակսն նորա առնեմ։
9 Վկայ է ինձ Աստուած, որին պաշտում եմ ես իմ հոգով նրա Որդու Աւետարանի քարոզութեամբ,
9 Քանզի վկայ է ինծի Աստուած, որ ես կը պաշտեմ իմ հոգիովս անոր Որդիին աւետարանին մէջ,
Վկայ է ինձ Աստուած, զոր պաշտեմն հոգւով իմով յաւետարանի Որդւոյ նորա, թէ ո՛րպէս զյիշատակս ձեր [1]առնեմ:

1:9: Վկա՛յ է ինձ Աստուած, զոր պաշտեմն հոգւո՛վ իմով յաւետարանի Որդւոյ նորա, թէ ո՞րպէս զյիշատակս ձեր առնեմ[3283].
[3283] Ոմանք. Պաշտեմ հոգ՛՛... Որդւոյն նորա... զյիշատակ ձեր. եւ օրինակ մի. Զյիշատակսն նորա առնեմ։
9 Վկայ է ինձ Աստուած, որին պաշտում եմ ես իմ հոգով նրա Որդու Աւետարանի քարոզութեամբ,
9 Քանզի վկայ է ինծի Աստուած, որ ես կը պաշտեմ իմ հոգիովս անոր Որդիին աւետարանին մէջ,
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:99: Свидетель мне Бог, Которому служу духом моим в благовествовании Сына Его, что непрестанно воспоминаю о вас,
1:9  μάρτυς γάρ μού ἐστιν ὁ θεός, ᾧ λατρεύω ἐν τῶ πνεύματί μου ἐν τῶ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, ὡς ἀδιαλείπτως μνείαν ὑμῶν ποιοῦμαι
1:9. μάρτυς (A-witness) γάρ (therefore) μού (of-me) ἐστιν (it-be) ὁ (the-one) θεός, (a-Deity,"ᾧ (unto-which) λατρεύω (I-serve-of) ἐν (in) τῷ (unto-the-one) πνεύματί (unto-a-currenting-to) μου (of-me) ἐν (in) τῷ (unto-the-one) εὐαγγελίῳ (unto-a-goodly-messagelet) τοῦ (of-the-one) υἱοῦ (of-a-Son) αὐτοῦ, (of-it,"ὡς (as) ἀδιαλείπτως (unto-un-remaindered-through) μνείαν (to-a-memorying-of) ὑμῶν (of-ye) ποιοῦμαι ( I-do-unto ,"
1:9. testis enim mihi est Deus cui servio in spiritu meo in evangelio Filii eius quod sine intermissione memoriam vestri facioFor God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make a commemoration of you:
9. For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of his Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers
For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers:

9: Свидетель мне Бог, Которому служу духом моим в благовествовании Сына Его, что непрестанно воспоминаю о вас,
1:9  μάρτυς γάρ μού ἐστιν ὁ θεός, ᾧ λατρεύω ἐν τῶ πνεύματί μου ἐν τῶ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, ὡς ἀδιαλείπτως μνείαν ὑμῶν ποιοῦμαι
1:9. testis enim mihi est Deus cui servio in spiritu meo in evangelio Filii eius quod sine intermissione memoriam vestri facio
For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make a commemoration of you:
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ tb▾ all ▾
А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
9: Апостол подтверждает призыванием Бога во свидетели, что он непрестанно, при всех своих многообразных занятиях, вспоминает о римлянах. Служу - греч. слово, здесь поставленное (latreuw), обозначает собственно богослужебное действие (ср. 15:16). Так высоко ставит Апостол дело проповедания о Христе! - Духом моим, т. е. всем своим внутренним существом. - В благовествовании Сына Его, т. е. (служу) проповедуя о Сыне Божием.
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:9: Whom I serve with my spirit - λατπευω Whom I worship with the profoundest religious reverence; for so the original certainly means: I not only employ all the powers of my body in this service, but all those of my soul; being thoroughly convinced of the absolute truth of the religion I preach. Probably St. Paul opposes, in this place, the spiritual worship of the Gospel to the external, or what some call the carnal, worship of the Jews. Mine is not a religion of ceremonies, but one in which the life and power of the eternal Spirit are acknowledged and experienced.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:9: For God is my witness - The reason of this strong appeal to God is, to show to the Romans the deep interest which he felt in their welfare This interest was manifested in his prayers, and in his earnest desires to see them. A deep interest shown in this way was well suited to prepare them to receive what he had to say to them.
Whom I serve - See Rom 1:1; compare Act 17:23. The expression denotes that he was devoted to God in this manner; that he obeyed him; and had given himself to do his will in making known his gospel.
With my spirit - Greek, ἐν en, in my spirit, that is, with my "heart." It is not an external service merely; it is internal, real, sincere. He was really and sincerely devoted to the service of God.
In the gospel of his Son - In making known the gospel, or as a minister of the gospel.
That without ceasing - ἀδιαλείπτως adialeiptō s. This word means constantly, always, without intermission. It was not only once, but repeatedly. It had been the burden of his prayers. The same thing he also mentions in regard to other churches, Th1 1:3; Th1 2:13.
I make mention - I call you to remembrance, and present your case before God. This evinced his remarkable interest in a church which he had never seen, and it shows that Paul was a man of prayer; praying not for his friends and kindred only, but for those whom he had never seen. If with the same intensity of prayer all Christians, and Christian ministers, would remember the churches, what a different aspect would the Christian church soon assume!
Always - This word should be connected with the following verse, "Always making request," etc.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:9: God: Rom 9:1; Job 16:19; Co2 1:23, Co2 11:10, Co2 11:11, Co2 11:31; Gal 1:20; Phi 1:8; Th1 2:5-10; Ti1 2:7
whom: Act 27:23; Phi 2:22; Col 1:28, Col 1:29; Ti2 1:3
with: or, in, Joh 4:23, Joh 4:24; Act 19:21; Co1 14:14, Co1 14:15; Phi 3:3
the: Mar 1:1; Act 3:26; Jo1 5:9-12
that: Sa1 12:23; Luk 18:1; Act 12:5; Eph 6:18; Th1 3:10, Th1 5:17; Ti2 1:3
I make: Eph 1:16-19, Eph 3:14-21; Phi 1:4, Phi 1:9-11; Col 1:9-13; Th1 1:2; Plm 1:4
Geneva 1599
1:9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my (r) spirit in the (s) gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
(r) Very willingly and with all my heart.
(s) In preaching his Son.
John Gill
1:9 For God is my witness, whom I serve,.... These words are an appeal to God, and carry in them the nature and form of an oath; the reason of the apostle's using it was, because he was personally unknown to the Romans, and they to him, and so might doubt of his affectionate regard unto them; and therefore for the confirmation thereof he uses it: this was a case which was only known to God and himself, and hence he appeals to him for the truth of it. The object of his oath or appeal, or by which he speaks, is not himself, or anything that belonged to him, nor any creature in heaven or on earth, but God; who in a solemn oath is only to be appealed to and sworn by: he describes him as the God "whom he served", to distinguish him from all false gods, and to show that he that takes an oath, should be one that fears and serves the Lord; what he served him in was not the law, but
the Gospel of his Son; Jesus Christ, who is the author, minister, and subject matter of it: he served him in it, by preaching, spreading, and defending it. This is a service, and a very laborious one, and makes for the honour and glory of God. The manner in which he served him was, as he says,
with my Spirit; either with the Spirit of God, which was given to him; or in a spiritual manner, in opposition to the carnal worship of the Jews; internally, in opposition to bodily exercise only, and voluntarily, with his whole heart, soul, and spirit. The matter or substance of his appeal or oath was,
that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; whence may be observed, that prayer to God ought to be constant; and that we should be concerned for others as well as for ourselves; all the saints should share therein.
John Wesley
1:9 God, whom I serve - As an apostle. In my spirit - Not only with my body, but with my inmost soul. In the gospel - By preaching it.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:9 For God . . . whom I serve--the word denotes religious service.
with my spirit--from my inmost soul.
in the gospel of his Son--to which Paul's whole religious life and official activity were consecrated.
is my witness, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers--so for the Ephesians (Eph 1:15-16); so for the Philippians (Phil 1:3-4); so for the Colossians (Col 1:3-4); so for the Thessalonians (Th1 1:2-3). What catholic love, what all-absorbing spirituality, what impassioned devotion to the glory of Christ among men!
1:101:10: յամենայն ժամ յաղօթս իմ աղաչելով, զի թե՛րեւս երբէք յաջողեսցի՛ ինձ կամօքն Աստուծոյ գա՛լ առ ձեզ։
10 թէ ինչպէս եմ անդադար յիշում ձեզ՝ ամենայն ժամ իմ բոլոր աղօթքներում աղաչելով, որ թերեւս երբեւէ ինձ յաջողուի, Աստծու կամքով, գալ ձեզ մօտ.
10 Թէ անդադար ձեզ կը յիշեմ, ամէն ատեն իմ աղօթքներուս մէջ10 խնդրելով՝ որ թերեւս անգամ մը Աստուծոյ կամքովը յաջողիմ ձեզի գալու։
յամենայն ժամ յաղօթս իմ աղաչելով` զի թերեւս երբեք յաջողեսցի ինձ կամօքն Աստուծոյ գալ առ ձեզ:

1:10: յամենայն ժամ յաղօթս իմ աղաչելով, զի թե՛րեւս երբէք յաջողեսցի՛ ինձ կամօքն Աստուծոյ գա՛լ առ ձեզ։
10 թէ ինչպէս եմ անդադար յիշում ձեզ՝ ամենայն ժամ իմ բոլոր աղօթքներում աղաչելով, որ թերեւս երբեւէ ինձ յաջողուի, Աստծու կամքով, գալ ձեզ մօտ.
10 Թէ անդադար ձեզ կը յիշեմ, ամէն ատեն իմ աղօթքներուս մէջ
10 խնդրելով՝ որ թերեւս անգամ մը Աստուծոյ կամքովը յաջողիմ ձեզի գալու։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:1010: всегда прося в молитвах моих, чтобы воля Божия когда-нибудь благопоспешила мне придти к вам,
1:10  πάντοτε ἐπὶ τῶν προσευχῶν μου, δεόμενος εἴ πως ἤδη ποτὲ εὐοδωθήσομαι ἐν τῶ θελήματι τοῦ θεοῦ ἐλθεῖν πρὸς ὑμᾶς.
1:10. πάντοτε (all-to-the-one-which-also) ἐπὶ (upon) τῶν (of-the-ones) προσευχῶν (of-goodly-holdings-toward) μου, (of-me) δεόμενος (being-binded) εἴ (if) πως (unto-whither) ἤδη (which-then) ποτὲ (whither-also) εὐοδωθήσομαι (I-shall-be-goodly-en-wayed) ἐν (in) τῷ (unto-the-one) θελήματι (unto-a-determining-to) τοῦ (of-the-one) θεοῦ (of-a-Deity) ἐλθεῖν (to-have-had-came) πρὸς (toward) ὑμᾶς. (to-ye)
1:10. semper in orationibus meis obsecrans si quo modo tandem aliquando prosperum iter habeam in voluntate Dei veniendi ad vosAlways in my prayers making request, if by any means now at length I may have a prosperous journey, by the will of God, to come unto you.
10. making request, if by any means now at length I may be prospered by the will of God to come unto you.
Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you:

10: всегда прося в молитвах моих, чтобы воля Божия когда-нибудь благопоспешила мне придти к вам,
1:10  πάντοτε ἐπὶ τῶν προσευχῶν μου, δεόμενος εἴ πως ἤδη ποτὲ εὐοδωθήσομαι ἐν τῶ θελήματι τοῦ θεοῦ ἐλθεῖν πρὸς ὑμᾶς.
1:10. semper in orationibus meis obsecrans si quo modo tandem aliquando prosperum iter habeam in voluntate Dei veniendi ad vos
Always in my prayers making request, if by any means now at length I may have a prosperous journey, by the will of God, to come unto you.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ tb▾ all ▾
А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
10: Когда-нибудь - точнее с греч. (hdh pote) = хоть теперь, наконец (ср. Флп 4:10).
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:10: Making request, etc. - By this we see how earnestly the apostle longed to see Rome. It had long been a subject of continual prayer to God, that he might have a prosperous journey to, or rather meeting with, them, for so we should understand the word ευοδωθησμαι· that he had a prosperous meeting with them we cannot doubt; that he had a disastrous journey to them the 27th of the Acts fully proves.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:10: Making request - It was his earnest desire to see them, and he presented the subject before God.
If by any means - This shows the earnest desire which he had to see them, and implies that be had designed it, and had been hindered; see Rom 1:13.
Now at length - He had purposed it a long time, but had been hindered. He doubtless cherished this purpose for years. The expressions in the Greek imply an earnest wish that this long-cherished purpose might be accomplished before long.
A prosperous journey - A safe, pleasant journey. It is right to regard all success in traveling as depending on God, and to pray for success and safety from danger. Yet all such prayers are not answered according to the letter of the petition. The prayer of Paul that be might see the Romans was granted, but in a remarkable way. He was persecuted by the Jews, and arraigned before King Agrippa. He appealed to the Roman emperor, and was taken there in chains as a prisoner. Yet the journey might in this way have a more deep effect on the Romans, than if he had gone in any other way. In so mysterious a manner does God often hear the prayers of his people; and though their prayers are answered, yet it is in his own time and way; see the last chapters of the Acts .
By the will of God - If God shall grant it; if God will by his mercy grant me the great favor of my coming to you. This is a proper model of a prayer; and is in accordance with the direction of the Bible; see Jam 4:14-15.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:10: request: Rom 15:22-24, Rom 15:30-32; Phi 4:6; Th1 2:18, Th1 3:10, Th1 3:11; Plm 1:22; Heb 13:19
a prosperous: Act 19:21, Act 27:1-28:31
by the will: Act 18:21, Act 21:14; Co1 4:19; Jam 4:15
John Gill
1:10 Making request, if by any means now at length,.... A principal thing, which be incessantly and importunately requested at the throne of grace, was, that he might have an opportunity of coming to them; that God in his providence would open a way for him; and that he might have a safe and comfortable journey in a very little time; all which he submits to the will of God, as a good man ought to do; and which he thus expresses,
I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God, to come unto you; see Jas 4:13.
John Wesley
1:10 Always - In all my solemn addresses to God. If by any means now at length - This accumulation of particles declares the strength of his desire.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:10 Making request, if by any means now at length I may have a prosperous journey by the will of God, to come to you--Though long anxious to visit the capital, he met with a number of providential hindrances (Rom 1:13; Rom 15:22; and see on Acts 19:21; Acts 23:11; Acts 28:15); insomuch that nearly a quarter of a century elapsed, after his conversion, ere his desire was accomplished, and that only as "a prisoner of Jesus Christ." Thus taught that his whole future was in the hands of God, he makes it his continual prayer that at length the obstacles to a happy and prosperous meeting might be removed.
1:111:11: Քանզի անձկացեա՛լ եմ տեսանել զձեզ, զի փոխեցի՛ց ՚ի ձեզ շնորհս ինչ հոգեւորս՝ առ ՚ի հաստատե՛լ զձեզ[3284]. [3284] Յօրինակին պակասէր. Շնորհս ինչ։
11 որովհետեւ խիստ կարօտել եմ ձեզ տեսնել, որպէսզի ձեզ փոխանցեմ որոշ հոգեւոր շնորհներ՝ ամրապնդելու ձեզ,
11 Քանզի կը փափաքիմ ձեզ տեսնել, որ ձեզի հոգեւոր շնորհք մը հաղորդեմ, որպէս զի հաստատուիք.
Քանզի անձկացեալ եմ տեսանել զձեզ, զի փոխեցից ի ձեզ շնորհս ինչ հոգեւորս առ ի հաստատել զձեզ:

1:11: Քանզի անձկացեա՛լ եմ տեսանել զձեզ, զի փոխեցի՛ց ՚ի ձեզ շնորհս ինչ հոգեւորս՝ առ ՚ի հաստատե՛լ զձեզ[3284].
[3284] Յօրինակին պակասէր. Շնորհս ինչ։
11 որովհետեւ խիստ կարօտել եմ ձեզ տեսնել, որպէսզի ձեզ փոխանցեմ որոշ հոգեւոր շնորհներ՝ ամրապնդելու ձեզ,
11 Քանզի կը փափաքիմ ձեզ տեսնել, որ ձեզի հոգեւոր շնորհք մը հաղորդեմ, որպէս զի հաստատուիք.
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:1111: ибо я весьма желаю увидеть вас, чтобы преподать вам некое дарование духовное к утверждению вашему,
1:11  ἐπιποθῶ γὰρ ἰδεῖν ὑμᾶς, ἵνα τι μεταδῶ χάρισμα ὑμῖν πνευματικὸν εἰς τὸ στηριχθῆναι ὑμᾶς,
1:11. ἐπιποθῶ (I-yearn-upon-unto) γὰρ (therefore) ἰδεῖν (to-have-had-seen) ὑμᾶς, (to-ye,"ἵνα (so) τι (to-a-one) μεταδῶ (I-might-have-had-given-with) χάρισμα (to-a-granting-to) ὑμῖν (unto-ye) πνευματικὸν (to-currenting-to-belonged-of) εἰς (into) τὸ (to-the-one) στηριχθῆναι (to-have-been-stablished-to) ὑμᾶς, (to-ye,"
1:11. desidero enim videre vos ut aliquid inpertiar gratiae vobis spiritalis ad confirmandos vosFor I long to see you that I may impart unto you some spiritual grace, to strengthen you:
11. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;
For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established:

11: ибо я весьма желаю увидеть вас, чтобы преподать вам некое дарование духовное к утверждению вашему,
1:11  ἐπιποθῶ γὰρ ἰδεῖν ὑμᾶς, ἵνα τι μεταδῶ χάρισμα ὑμῖν πνευματικὸν εἰς τὸ στηριχθῆναι ὑμᾶς,
1:11. desidero enim videre vos ut aliquid inpertiar gratiae vobis spiritalis ad confirmandos vos
For I long to see you that I may impart unto you some spiritual grace, to strengthen you:
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ tb▾ all ▾
А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
11-12: Дарование духовное. Апостол хочет послужить им одним из многочисленных духовных дарований, какими он владел (ср. 1Кор.12:26). - К утверждению вашему - точнее с греч.: "чтобы вам утвердиться". Павел, употребляя здесь форму страд. залога, этим самым отодвигает свою личность в тень и выдвигает на вид только самый результат своей деятельности, потому что, по его убеждению, укрепляет христиан сам Бог. - То есть = "или, чтобы выразиться правильнее..." Утешиться с вами. Укрепляя других в вере, Апостол вместе с этим укреплял и себя самого. Такое укрепление ему, вероятно, нужно было тогда, ввиду некоторых его неудач (ср. Деян 28:15). Общею - греч. слово, здесь стоящее (en allhloiV), указывает на взаимодействие, в силу которого вера Апостола должна была действовать на веру римлян и вера римлян - на веру Апостола.
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:11: Some spiritual gift - This probably means some of the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit, which, being given to them, might tend greatly to establish their faith in the Gospel of Christ; and it is very likely that such gifts were only conferred by means of apostles; and as the apostle had not yet been at Rome, consequently the Roman Christians had not yet received any of these miraculous gifts, and thus they differed widely from all the other Churches which had been raised by the apostle's ministry.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:11: For I long to see you - I earnestly desire to see you; compare Rom 15:23, Rom 15:32.
That I may impart - That I may "give," or communicate to you.
Some spiritual gift - Some have understood this as referring to "miraculous gifts," which it was supposed the apostles had the power of conferring on others. But this interpretation is forced and unnatural. There is no instance where this expression denotes the power of working miracles. Besides, the apostle in the next verse explains his meaning, "That I may be comforted together by the mutual faith," etc. From this it appears that he desired to be among them to exercise the office of the ministry, to establish them in the gospel and to confirm their hopes. He expected that the preaching of the gospel would be the means of confirming them in the faith; and he desired to be the means of doing it. It was a wish of benevolence, and accords with what he says respecting his intended visit in Rom 15:29, "And I am sure that when I come, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ." To make known to them more fully the blessings of the gospel, and thus to impart spiritual gifts, was the design he had in view.
To the end ... - With the design, or purpose.
Ye may be established - That is, that they might be "confirmed" in the truths of the gospel. This was one design of the ministry, that Christians may be established, or strengthened, Eph 4:13. It is not to have dominion ever their faith, but to be "helpers of their joy," Co2 1:24. Paul did not doubt that this part of his office might be fulfilled among the Romans, and he was desirous there also of making full proof of his ministry. His wish was to preach not simply where he must, but where he might. This is the nature of this work.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:11: I long: Rom 15:23, Rom 15:32; Gen 31:30; Sa2 13:39, Sa2 23:15; Co2 9:14; Phi 1:8, Phi 2:26, Phi 4:1
that: Rom 15:29; Act 8:15-19, Act 19:6; Co1 12:1-11; Co2 11:4; Gal 3:2-5; Eph 4:8-12
to the: Rom 16:25; Ch2 20:20; Act 16:5; Co2 1:21; Th1 3:2, Th1 3:13; Th2 2:17, Th2 3:3; Heb 13:9; Pe1 5:10, Pe1 5:12; Pe2 1:12, Pe2 3:17, Pe2 3:18
John Gill
1:11 For I long to see you,.... Not the city of Rome, which was one of Austin's three wishes to have seen in its glory; nor the emperor of it, nor the senate in it, nor its populous inhabitants, fine buildings, riches and grandeur; but the poor saints there, which were the excellent men of the earth, of the whole Roman empire, and in whom was his delight: his desire to see them was not to gratify his curiosity, nor to spend his time in idle chat with them, nor with a view to enrich himself by them; but, says he,
that I may impart some spiritual gift: not any extraordinary gift of the Spirit; but spiritual light, knowledge, peace, and comfort, through the exercise of his ministerial gift: whence it may be observed, that that which qualities men for the preaching of the word to the profit of others, is a gift, a gift by grace; a spiritual one, which comes from the Spirit of God, and may be, and is to be imparted to others in the free use and exercise of it; and that,
to the end that saints may be established; for such who are called by grace, need establishing. They are indeed in a safe state and condition; they are encircled in the arms of everlasting love, they are fixed in the hands of Christ, secured in an everlasting covenant, established on the rock of ages, and settled in a state from whence they can never fall: yet, notwithstanding this, they are sometimes very unstable in their hearts, in their frames, in the exercise of grace, and the discharge of duty, and in professing and adhering to the doctrines of the Gospel; wherefore they need establishing, as to a more firm persuasion of interest in the love of God, and in the covenant of grace, as to a more stable exercise of grace in Christ, and as to a more constant discharge of duty, and steady profession of adherence to the truths of the Gospel; to all which the ministration of the word has a tendency, with a divine blessing.
John Wesley
1:11 That I may impart to you - Face to face, by laying on of hands, prayer, preaching the gospel, private conversation. Some spiritual gift - With such gifts the Corinthians, who had enjoyed the presence of St. Paul, abounded, 1Cor 1:7; 1Cor 12:1; 1Cor 14:1. So did the Galatians likewise, Gal 3:5; and, indeed, all those churches which had had the presence of any of the apostles had peculiar advantages in this kind, from the laying on of their hands, Acts 19:6; Acts 8:17, &c., Ti2 1:6. But as yet the Romans were greatly inferior to them in this respect; for which reason the apostle, in the twelfth chapter also, says little, if any thing, of their spiritual gifts. He therefore desires to impart some, that they might be established; for by these was the testimony of Christ confirmed among them. That St. Peter had no more been at Rome than St. Paul, at the time when this epistle was wrote, appears from the general tenor thereof, and from this place in particular: for, otherwise, what St. Paul wishes to impart to the Romans would have been imparted already by St. Peter.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift--not any supernatural gift, as the next clause shows, and compare 1Cor 1:7.
to the end that ye may be established.
1:121:12: ա՛յսինքն է, մխիթարակի՛ց լինել ձեզ վասն ընդ միմեանց՝ իմո՛յ եւ ձերդ հաւատոց[3285]։ [3285] Ոմանք. Վասն ընդ միմեանս իմոց եւ ձերոյդ հաւատոց։
12 այսինքն՝ մխիթարակից լինելու ձեզ հասարակաց հաւատի համար, որ իմն է, ինչպէս եւ ձերը:
12 Այսինքն ձեզի հետ ես ալ մխիթարուիմ իմ ու ձեր փոխադարձ հաւատքին միջոցով։
այսինքն է մխիթարակից լինել ձեզ վասն ընդ միմեանս իմոյ եւ ձերդ հաւատոց:

1:12: ա՛յսինքն է, մխիթարակի՛ց լինել ձեզ վասն ընդ միմեանց՝ իմո՛յ եւ ձերդ հաւատոց[3285]։
[3285] Ոմանք. Վասն ընդ միմեանս իմոց եւ ձերոյդ հաւատոց։
12 այսինքն՝ մխիթարակից լինելու ձեզ հասարակաց հաւատի համար, որ իմն է, ինչպէս եւ ձերը:
12 Այսինքն ձեզի հետ ես ալ մխիթարուիմ իմ ու ձեր փոխադարձ հաւատքին միջոցով։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:1212: то есть утешиться с вами верою общею, вашею и моею.
1:12  τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν συμπαρακληθῆναι ἐν ὑμῖν διὰ τῆς ἐν ἀλλήλοις πίστεως ὑμῶν τε καὶ ἐμοῦ.
1:12. τοῦτο (the-one-this) δέ (moreover) ἐστιν (it-be) συνπαρακληθῆναι (to-have-been-called-beside-together-unto) ἐν (in) ὑμῖν (unto-ye) διὰ (through) τῆς (of-the-one) ἐν (in) ἀλλήλοις ( unto-one-to-other ) πίστεως (of-a-trust) ὑμῶν (of-ye) τε (also) καὶ (and) ἐμοῦ. (of-ME)
1:12. id est simul consolari in vobis per eam quae invicem est fidem vestram atque meamThat is to say, that I may be comforted together in you by that which is common to us both, your faith and mine.
12. that is, that I with you may be comforted in you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.
That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me:

12: то есть утешиться с вами верою общею, вашею и моею.
1:12  τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν συμπαρακληθῆναι ἐν ὑμῖν διὰ τῆς ἐν ἀλλήλοις πίστεως ὑμῶν τε καὶ ἐμοῦ.
1:12. id est simul consolari in vobis per eam quae invicem est fidem vestram atque meam
That is to say, that I may be comforted together in you by that which is common to us both, your faith and mine.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ all ▾
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:12: That I may be comforted together with you - He here, with great address, intimates that he longs for this opportunity, as well on his own account as on theirs, and to show them that he arrogates nothing to himself; for he intimates that it will require the conjoint action of their faith as well as his own, to be the means of receiving those blessings from God to which he refers.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:12: That I may be comforted ... - It was not merely to confirm them that Paul wished to come. He sought the communion of saints; he expected to be himself edified and strengthened; and to be comforted by seeing their strength of faith, and their rapid growth in grace. We may remark here,
(1) That one effect of religion is to produce the desire of the communion of saints. It is the nature of Christianity to seek the society of those who are the friends of Christ.
(2) nothing is better suited to produce growth in grace than such communion. Every Christian should have one or more Christian friends to whom he may unbosom himself. No small part of the difficulties which young Christians experience would vanish, if they should communicate their feelings and views to others. Feelings which they suppose no Christians ever had, which greatly distress them, they will find are common among those who are experienced in the Christian life.
(3) there is nothing better suited to excite the feelings, and confirm the hopes of Christian ministers, than the firm faith of young converts, of those just commencing the Christian life, Jo3 1:4.
(4) the apostle did not disdain to be taught by the humblest Christians. He expected to be strengthened himself by the faith of those just beginning the Christian life. "There is none so poor in the church of Christ, that he cannot make some addition of importance to our stores," Calvin.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:12: that I may: Rom 15:24, Rom 15:32; Act 11:23; Co2 2:1-3, Co2 7:4-7, Co2 7:13; Th1 2:17-20, Th1 3:7-10; Ti2 1:4; Jo2 1:4; Jo3 1:3, Jo3 1:4
with you: or, in you
by the mutual: Eph 4:5; Tit 1:4; Pe2 1:1; Jde 1:3
Geneva 1599
1:12 That is, that (t) I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
(t) Though Paul was ever so excellent, yet in teaching the church, he might be instructed by it.
John Gill
1:12 That is, that I may be comforted together with you,.... This is a further explanation of his view, in being desirous of coming to them, and preaching: the Gospel among them; for what makes for establishment, makes for comfort; and what makes for comfort, makes for establishment; and when souls are established, ministers are comforted as well as they; and whilst ministers are imparting their spiritual gifts for the use of others, they themselves are sometimes comforted of God in their work, and particularly when they find there is an agreement between their doctrine, and the experience of the saints:
by the mutual faith both of you and me. The grace of faith is the same in all the saints, and so is the doctrine of it, as dispensed by Christ's faithful ministers, and experimentally received and embraced by his people; the consideration of which has a very great influence on the comfort and establishment of each other; nor are any so perfect, but they may receive benefit from others, even though inferior to them.
John Wesley
1:12 That is, I long to be comforted by the mutual faith both of you and me - He not only associates the Romans with, but even prefers them before, himself. How different is this style of the apostle from that of the modern court of Rome!
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:12 That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me--"Not wishing to "lord it over their faith," but rather to be a "helper of their joy," the apostle corrects his former expressions: my desire is to instruct you and do you good, that is, for us to instruct and do one another good: in giving I shall also receive" [JOWETT]. "Nor is he insincere in so speaking, for there is none so poor in the Church of Christ who may not impart to us something of value: it is only our malignity and pride that hinder us from gathering such fruit from every quarter" [CALVIN]. How "widely different is the apostolic style from that of the court of Papal Rome!" [BENGEL].
1:131:13: Ո՛չ կամիմ եթէ տգէտք իցէք ե՛ղբարք. զի բազո՛ւմ անգամ յօժարեցի գալ առ ձեզ, եւ արգելա՛յ մինչեւ ցայժմ. զի եւ ՚ի ձե՛զ գտից պտուղ ինչ՝ որպէս եւ յա՛յլ հեթանոսս։
13 Չեմ կամենում, եղբայրնե՛ր, որ դուք անտեղեակ լինէք, թէ շա՜տ անգամ կամեցայ գալ ձեզ մօտ, որպէսզի ձեր մէջ էլ որեւէ պտուղ գտնեմ, ինչպէս այլ հեթանոսների մէջ, բայց այդ արգելուեց ինձ մինչեւ այժմ:
13 Սակայն չեմ ուզեր որ չգիտնաք, եղբայրնե՛ր, որ շատ անգամ ուզեցի գալ ձեզի, եւ մինչեւ հիմա արգիլուեցայ, որպէս զի ձեր մէջ ալ պտուղ մը ունենամ, ինչպէս ուրիշ հեթանոսներու մէջ ալ։
Ոչ կամիմ եթէ տգէտք իցէք, եղբարք, զի բազում անգամ յօժարեցի գալ առ ձեզ, եւ արգելայ մինչեւ ցայժմ. զի եւ ի ձեզ գտից պտուղ ինչ որպէս եւ յայլ հեթանոսս:

1:13: Ո՛չ կամիմ եթէ տգէտք իցէք ե՛ղբարք. զի բազո՛ւմ անգամ յօժարեցի գալ առ ձեզ, եւ արգելա՛յ մինչեւ ցայժմ. զի եւ ՚ի ձե՛զ գտից պտուղ ինչ՝ որպէս եւ յա՛յլ հեթանոսս։
13 Չեմ կամենում, եղբայրնե՛ր, որ դուք անտեղեակ լինէք, թէ շա՜տ անգամ կամեցայ գալ ձեզ մօտ, որպէսզի ձեր մէջ էլ որեւէ պտուղ գտնեմ, ինչպէս այլ հեթանոսների մէջ, բայց այդ արգելուեց ինձ մինչեւ այժմ:
13 Սակայն չեմ ուզեր որ չգիտնաք, եղբայրնե՛ր, որ շատ անգամ ուզեցի գալ ձեզի, եւ մինչեւ հիմա արգիլուեցայ, որպէս զի ձեր մէջ ալ պտուղ մը ունենամ, ինչպէս ուրիշ հեթանոսներու մէջ ալ։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:1313: Не хочу, братия, [оставить] вас в неведении, что я многократно намеревался придти к вам (но встречал препятствия даже доныне), чтобы иметь некий плод и у вас, как и у прочих народов.
1:13  οὐ θέλω δὲ ὑμᾶς ἀγνοεῖν, ἀδελφοί, ὅτι πολλάκις προεθέμην ἐλθεῖν πρὸς ὑμᾶς, καὶ ἐκωλύθην ἄχρι τοῦ δεῦρο, ἵνα τινὰ καρπὸν σχῶ καὶ ἐν ὑμῖν καθὼς καὶ ἐν τοῖς λοιποῖς ἔθνεσιν.
1:13. οὐ (Not) θέλω (I-determine) δὲ (moreover) ὑμᾶς (to-ye) ἀγνοεῖν, (to-un-consider-unto," ἀδελφοί , ( Brethrened ,"ὅτι (to-which-a-one) πολλάκις (much-oft) προεθέμην ( I-had-placed-before ) ἐλθεῖν (to-have-had-came) πρὸς (toward) ὑμᾶς, (to-ye,"καὶ (and) ἐκωλύθην (I-was-prevented) ἄχρι (unto-whilst) τοῦ (of-the-one) δεῦρο, (hitherto,"ἵνα (so) τινὰ (to-a-one) καρπὸν (to-a-fruit) σχῶ (I-might-have-had-held) καὶ (and) ἐν (in) ὑμῖν (unto-ye) καθὼς (down-as) καὶ (and) ἐν (in) τοῖς (unto-the-ones) λοιποῖς ( unto-remaindered ) ἔθνεσιν. (unto-nations)
1:13. nolo autem vos ignorare fratres quia saepe proposui venire ad vos et prohibitus sum usque adhuc ut aliquem fructum habeam et in vobis sicut et in ceteris gentibusAnd I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that I have often purposed to come unto you (and have been hindered hitherto) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.
13. And I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you ( and was hindered hitherto), that I might have some fruit in you also, even as in the rest of the Gentiles.
Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, ( but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles:

13: Не хочу, братия, [оставить] вас в неведении, что я многократно намеревался придти к вам (но встречал препятствия даже доныне), чтобы иметь некий плод и у вас, как и у прочих народов.
1:13  οὐ θέλω δὲ ὑμᾶς ἀγνοεῖν, ἀδελφοί, ὅτι πολλάκις προεθέμην ἐλθεῖν πρὸς ὑμᾶς, καὶ ἐκωλύθην ἄχρι τοῦ δεῦρο, ἵνα τινὰ καρπὸν σχῶ καὶ ἐν ὑμῖν καθὼς καὶ ἐν τοῖς λοιποῖς ἔθνεσιν.
1:13. nolo autem vos ignorare fratres quia saepe proposui venire ad vos et prohibitus sum usque adhuc ut aliquem fructum habeam et in vobis sicut et in ceteris gentibus
And I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that I have often purposed to come unto you (and have been hindered hitherto) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ tb▾ all ▾
А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
13-15: Читатели послания с некоторым правом могли спрашивать себя: как могло случиться, что Павел, уже лет двадцать бывший Апостолом, не нашел времени посетить столицу римской империи для возвещения здесь Евангелия? Апостол на этот предполагаемый вопрос и отвечает. Он много раз хотел прийти к ним, чтобы распространять в Риме Евангелие среди тех, кто еще не слыхал его, но встречал до сих пор серьезные препятствия для осуществления своего желания. А он очень хорошо сознает, что это его прямая обязанность - проповедовать в Риме, потому что он всем язычникам (народов 13: ст.), как еллинам, к которым он, очевидно, причисляет и римлян (Цицерон в своем соч. De finibus противопоставляет Грето и Италию - вместе - области, называемом у него Barbaria - 2:15), так и варварам, обязан благовествовать Христа. - Вам, находящимся в Риме. Здесь Апостол разумеет, очевидно, не одних христиан, а все вообще римское население, представителями которого для Павла являются читатели послания.
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:13: But was let hitherto - The word let, from the Anglo-Saxon to hinder, signifies impediment or hinderance of any kind: but it is likely that the original word, εκωλυθην, I was forbidden, refers to a Divine prohibition: - he would have visited them long before, but God did not see right to permit him.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:13: That oftentimes I purposed - See Rom 1:10. How often he had purposed this we have no means of ascertaining. The fact, however, that he had done it, showed his strong desire to see them, and to witness the displays of the grace of God in the capital of the Roman world; compare Rom 15:23-24. One instance of his having purposed to go to Rome is recorded in Act 19:21, "After these things were ended (namely, at Ephesus), Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia to go to Jerusalem; saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome." This purpose expressed in this manner in the Epistle, and the Acts of the Apostles, has been shown by Dr. Paley (Horae Paulinae on Rom 1:13) to be one of those undesigned coincidences which strongly show that both books are genuine; compare Rom 15:23-24, with Act 19:21. A forger of these books would not have thought of such a contrivance as to feign such a purpose to go to Rome at that time, and to have mentioned it in that manner. Such coincidences are among the best proofs that can be demanded, that the writers did not intend to impose on the world; see Paley.
But was let hitherto - The word "let" means to "hinder," or to "obstruct." In what way this was done we do not know, but it is probable that he refers to the various openings for the preaching of the gospel where he had been, and to the obstructions of various kinds from the enemies of the gospel to the fulfillment of his purposes.
That I might have some fruit among you - That I might be the means of the conversion of sinners and of the edification of the church in the capital of the Roman Empire. It was not curiosity to see the splendid capital of the world that prompted this desire; it was not the love of travel, and of roaming from clime to clime; it was the specific purpose of doing good to the souls of human beings. To "have fruit" means to obtain success in bringing men to the knowledge of Christ. Thus, the Saviour said Joh 15:16," I have chosen you, and ordained you that you should bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain."
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:13: None, Rom 11:25; Co1 10:1, Co1 12:1; Co2 1:8; Th1 4:13
that oftentimes: Rom 15:23-28; Act 19:21; Co2 1:15, Co2 1:16
but: Rom 15:22; Act 16:6, Act 16:7; Th1 1:8, Th1 2:18; Th2 2:7
that I: Isa 27:6; Joh 4:36, Joh 12:24, Joh 15:16; Col 1:6; Phi 4:17
among: or, in
even: Rom 15:18-20; Act 14:27, Act 15:12, Act 21:19; Co1 9:2; Co2 2:14, Co2 10:13-16; Th1 1:9, Th1 1:10, Th1 2:13, Th1 2:14; Ti2 4:17
John Gill
1:13 Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren,.... The apostle calls them brethren, because many of them were Jews, his brethren and kinsmen according to the flesh, and all of them were his brethren in a spiritual relation; and this he does to express his affection to them, and engage their attention and credit to him, and particularly to this matter which he now acquaints them with, being unwilling they should be ignorant of it;
that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you: it was not a sudden start of mind, or a desire that lately arose up in him, but a settled resolution and determination, and which he had often made:
but was let hitherto; either by God, who had work for him to do in other places; or by Satan, who sometimes by divine permission has had such power and influence; see Th1 2:18, or through the urgent necessities of other churches, which required his stay with them longer than he intended: his end in taking up at several times such a resolution of coming to them was, says he,
that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles: by fruit he means, not any reward of his labour, either temporal or eternal; but the conversion of sinners, the edification of saints, and the fruitfulness of believers in grace and works. The apostle seems to allude to the casting of seed into the earth: Christ's ministers' are husbandmen, who sow the seed of the word, which lies some time under the clods; wherefore patience is necessary to wait its springing up, first in the blade, and then in the ear, then in the full corn in the ear, when it brings forth fruit; all which depend on the blessing of God: and when he adds, "as among other Gentiles", his design is not so much to let them know that they were as other Gentiles, upon a level with them, had no pre-eminence as citizens of Rome, over other saints, being all one in Christ Jesus; as to observe to them his success in other places, where he had been preaching the Gospel of the grace of God.
John Wesley
1:13 Brethren - A frequent, holy, simple, sweet, and yet grand, appellation. The apostles but rarely address persons by their names; 'O ye Corinthians," "O Timotheus." St. Paul generally uses this appellation, " Brethren;" sometimes in exhortation, " My beloved," or, " My beloved brethren;" St. James, "Brethren," "My brethren," My beloved brethren;" St. Peter and Jude always, " Beloved;" St. John frequently, " Beloved;" once, " Brethren;" oftener than once, My little children." Though I have been hindered hitherto - Either by
business, see Rom 15:22; or
persecution, Th1 2:2; or
the Spirit, Acts 16:7.
That I might have some fruit - Of my ministerial labours. Even as I have already had from the many churches I have planted and watered among the other gentiles.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:13 oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, but was let--hindered.
hitherto--chiefly by his desire to go first to places where Christ was not known (Rom 15:20-24).
that I might have some fruit--of my ministry
among you also, even as among other Gentiles--The GENTILE origin of the Church at Rome is here so explicitly stated, that those who conclude, merely from the Jewish strain of the argument, that they must have been mostly Israelites, decide in opposition to the apostle himself. (But see on Introduction to this Epistle.)
1:141:14: Քանզի Յունաց եւ բարբարոսաց, իմաստնո՛ց եւ անմտից պարտապա՛ն եմ.
14 Ես պարտական եմ ե՛ւ յոյներին ու բարբարոսներին, ե՛ւ իմաստուններին ու անգէտներին.
14 Յոյներուն ու բարբարոսներուն, իմաստուններուն ու անմիտներուն ալ պարտական եմ։
Քանզի Յունաց եւ Բարբարոսաց, իմաստնոց եւ անմտից պարտապան եմ:

1:14: Քանզի Յունաց եւ բարբարոսաց, իմաստնո՛ց եւ անմտից պարտապա՛ն եմ.
14 Ես պարտական եմ ե՛ւ յոյներին ու բարբարոսներին, ե՛ւ իմաստուններին ու անգէտներին.
14 Յոյներուն ու բարբարոսներուն, իմաստուններուն ու անմիտներուն ալ պարտական եմ։
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1:1414: Я должен и Еллинам и варварам, мудрецам и невеждам.
1:14  ἕλλησίν τε καὶ βαρβάροις, σοφοῖς τε καὶ ἀνοήτοις ὀφειλέτης εἰμί·
1:14. Ἕλλησίν (Unto-Hellians) τε (also) καὶ (and) βαρβάροις , ( unto-aliened ," σοφοῖς ( unto-wisdomed ) τε (also) καὶ (and) ἀνοήτοις ( unto-un-considered ) ὀφειλέτης (a-debtor) εἰμί: (I-be)
1:14. Graecis ac barbaris sapientibus et insipientibus debitor sumTo the Greeks and to the barbarians, to the wise and to the unwise, I am a debtor.
14. I am debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.
I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise:

14: Я должен и Еллинам и варварам, мудрецам и невеждам.
1:14  ἕλλησίν τε καὶ βαρβάροις, σοφοῖς τε καὶ ἀνοήτοις ὀφειλέτης εἰμί·
1:14. Graecis ac barbaris sapientibus et insipientibus debitor sum
To the Greeks and to the barbarians, to the wise and to the unwise, I am a debtor.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
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Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:14: I am a debtor both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians - It has been remarked before that all the nations of the earth, themselves excepted, were termed barbarians by the Greeks. See the origin of the word barbarous in the note on Act 28:2 (note). The apostle considers himself, by his apostolical office and call, under obligation to preach the Gospel to all people, as far as the providence of God might open his way; for this is implied in the Divine commission: - Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature - to the wise and the unwise; to the learned and cultivated as well as to the unlearned and uncultivated. This evidently appears to be the import of the terms.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:14: I am debtor - This does not mean that they had conferred any favor on him, which bound him to make this return, but that he was under obligation to preach the gospel to all to whom it was possible. This obligation arose from the favor that God had shown him in appointing him to this work. He was specially chosen as a vessel to bear the gospel to the Gentiles Act 9:15; Rom 11:13, and he did not feel that he had discharged the obligation until he had made the gospel known as far as possible among all the nations of the earth.
To the Greeks - This term properly denotes "those who dwelt in Greece." But as the Greeks were the most polished people of antiquity, the term came to be synonymous with the polished, the refined, the wise, as opposed to barbarians. In this place it doubtless means the same as "the wise," and includes the Romans also, as it cannot be supposed that Paul would designate the Romans as barbarians. Besides, the Romans claimed an origin from Greece, and Dionysius Halicarnassus (book i.) shows that the Italian and Roman people were of Greek descent.
Barbarians - All who were not included under the general name of Greeks. Thus, Ammonius says that "all who were not Greeks were barbarians." This term "barbarian," Βάρβαρος Barbaros, properly denotes one who speaks a foreign language, a foreigner, and the Greeks applied it to all who did not use their tongue; compare Co1 14:11, "I shall be unto him that speaketh, a barbarian, etc. that is, I shall speak a language which he cannot understand. The word did not, therefore, of necessity denote any rusticity of manners, or any lack of refinement.
To the wise - To those who esteemed themselves to be wise, or who boasted of their wisdom. The term is synonymous with "the Greeks," who prided themselves much in their wisdom. Co1 1:22, "the Greeks seek after wisdom;" compare Co1 1:19; Co1 3:18-19; Co1 4:10; Co2 11:19.
Unwise - Those who were regarded as the ignorant and unpolished part of mankind. The expression is equivalent to ours, 'to the learned and the unlearned.' It was an evidence of the proper spirit to be willing to preach the gospel to either. The gospel claims to have power to instruct all mankind, and they who are called to preach it, should be able to instruct those who esteem themselves to be wise, and who are endowed with science, learning, and talent; and they should be willing to labor to enlighten the most obscure, ignorant, and degraded portions of the race. This is the true spirit of the Christian ministry.
So, as much as in me is - As far as opportunity may be offered, and according to my ability.
I am ready ... - I am prepared to preach among you, and to show the power of the gospel, even in the splendid metropolis of the world. He was not deterred by any fear; nor was he indifferent to their welfare; but he was under the direction of God. and as far as he gave him opportunity, he was ready to make known to them the gospel, as he had done at Antioch, Ephesus, Athens, and Corinth.
This closes the introduction or preface to the Epistle. Having shown his deep interest in their welfare, he proceeds in the next verse to state to them the great doctrines of that gospel which he was desirous of proclaiming to them.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:14: debtor: Rom 8:12, Rom 13:8 *Gr: Act 9:15, Act 13:2-4, Act 22:21, Act 26:17, Act 26:18; Co1 9:16-23; Ti2 2:10
Greeks: Act 28:4; Co1 14:11; Col 3:11
both to: Rom 1:22, Rom 11:25, Rom 12:16, Rom 16:19; Mat 11:25; Luk 10:21; Co1 1:19-22, Co1 2:13, Co1 3:18; Co1 9:16; Co2 10:12, Co2 11:19; Eph 5:15-17; Jam 3:17, Jam 3:18
to the unwise: Pro 1:22, Pro 8:5; Isa 35:8; Co1 14:16, Co1 14:23, Co1 14:24; Tit 3:3
John Gill
1:14 I am a debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians,.... The meaning is, that he was obliged by the call he had from God, the injunction that was laid upon him by him, and the gifts with which he was qualified, to preach the Gospel to all sorts of men; who are here distinguished into Greeks and Barbarians: sometimes by Greeks are meant the Gentiles in general, in opposition to the Jews; see Rom 1:16; but here they design only a part of the Gentiles, the inhabitants of Greece, in opposition to all the world besides; for the Greeks used to call all others that were not of themselves Barbarians (e): or else by Greeks are meant the more cultivated nations of the world, and by Barbarians the ruder and more uncivil parts of it; to which agrees the next division of mankind,
both to the wise and to the unwise. The Gospel was to be preached "to the wise"; such who thought themselves to be so, and were so with respect to human wisdom and knowledge; though it should be despised by them, as it was, and though few of them were called by it, some were, and still are, though not many; and such wisdom there is in the Gospel, as the wisest of men may learn by it, will be entertaining to them, is far beyond their contempt, and what will serve to exercise their talents and abilities, to search into the knowledge of, and rightly to understand; and it must be preached "to the unwise"; for such God has chosen to confound the wise; these he calls by his grace, and reveals his Gospel to, whilst he hides it from the wise and prudent; and there is that in the Gospel which is plain and easy to the weakest mind, enlightened by the Spirit of God.
(e) Cornel. Nepos, l. 1. c. 2, 7. & 2, 3. & 3. 6. & 4. 1. & passim. Quint. Curtius, l. 3. c. 4, 7. & 6. 5. & passim.
John Wesley
1:14 To the Greeks and the barbarians - He includes the Romans under the Greeks; so that this division comprises all nations. Both to the wise, and the unwise - For there were unwise even among the Greeks, and wise even among the barbarians. I am a debtor to all - I am bound by my divine mission to preach the gospel to them.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:14 I am debtor both to the Greeks--cultivated
and to the Barbarians--rude.
1:151:15: այնպէս որչափ իմովսա՛նն յօժարութեամբ, եւ ձե՛զ որ ՚ի Հռոմդ էք աւետարանել[3286]։ [3286] Ոմանք. Այնչափ, որպէս իմովսան յօժա՛՛։
15 այդպէս էլ, որչափ իմ ուժերը ներեն, ես պատրաստ եմ յօժարութեամբ աւետարանելու նաեւ ձեզ, որ Հռոմում էք:
15 Ուստի որչափ որ ձեռքէս կու գայ, յօժարութիւն ունիմ ձեզի ալ, որ Հռովմի մէջ էք, աւետարանը քարոզել։
այնպէս` որչափ իմովսանն յօժարութեամբ, եւ ձեզ որ ի Հռովմդ էք` աւետարանել:

1:15: այնպէս որչափ իմովսա՛նն յօժարութեամբ, եւ ձե՛զ որ ՚ի Հռոմդ էք աւետարանել[3286]։
[3286] Ոմանք. Այնչափ, որպէս իմովսան յօժա՛՛։
15 այդպէս էլ, որչափ իմ ուժերը ներեն, ես պատրաստ եմ յօժարութեամբ աւետարանելու նաեւ ձեզ, որ Հռոմում էք:
15 Ուստի որչափ որ ձեռքէս կու գայ, յօժարութիւն ունիմ ձեզի ալ, որ Հռովմի մէջ էք, աւետարանը քարոզել։
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1:1515: Итак, что до меня, я готов благовествовать и вам, находящимся в Риме.
1:15  οὕτως τὸ κατ᾽ ἐμὲ πρόθυμον καὶ ὑμῖν τοῖς ἐν ῥώμῃ εὐαγγελίσασθαι.
1:15. οὕτω (of-which-unto-the-one) τὸ (the-one) κατ' (down) ἐμὲ (to-ME) πρόθυμον (passioned-before) καὶ (and) ὑμῖν (unto-ye) τοῖς (unto-the-ones) ἐν (in) Ῥώμῃ (unto-a-Rome) εὐαγγελίσασθαι . ( to-have-goodly-messaged-to )
1:15. ita quod in me promptum est et vobis qui Romae estis evangelizareSo (as much as is in me) I am ready to preach the gospel to you also that are at Rome.
15. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you also that are in Rome.
So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also:

15: Итак, что до меня, я готов благовествовать и вам, находящимся в Риме.
1:15  οὕτως τὸ κατ᾽ ἐμὲ πρόθυμον καὶ ὑμῖν τοῖς ἐν ῥώμῃ εὐαγγελίσασθαι.
1:15. ita quod in me promptum est et vobis qui Romae estis evangelizare
So (as much as is in me) I am ready to preach the gospel to you also that are at Rome.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ac▾ all ▾
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:15: I am ready to preach - προθυμον; I have a ready mind. I was only prevented by the providence of God from visiting you long ago. His time is best: in the mean time I write, by his direction, to comfort and instruct you.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:15: so: Rom 12:18; Kg1 8:18; Mar 14:8; Co2 8:12
I: Isa 6:8; Mat 9:38; Joh 4:34; Act 21:13; Co1 9:17; Co2 10:15, Co2 10:16
Geneva 1599
1:15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at (u) Rome also.
(u) He means all those who dwell at Rome, though some of them were not Romans; see the end of the epistle.
John Gill
1:15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready,.... This explains what he was a debtor to one and another for, namely,
to preach the Gospel; expresses the readiness of his mind to that work, whatever difficulties lay in his way; and declares what a willing mind he had to preach it also to the Romans, as elsewhere:
to you that are at Rome also; the metropolis of the Roman empire, a very public place, the seat of Satan, and where was the heat of persecution.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also--He feels himself under an all-subduing obligation to carry the gospel to all classes of mankind, as adapted to and ordained equally for all (1Cor 9:16).
1:161:16: Զի ո՛չ եթէ ամօթ ինչ համարիմ զաւետարանն. քանզի զօրութիւն Աստուծոյ է ՚ի փրկութիւն ամենայն հաւատացելոց. նախ Հրէի՝ եւ ապա՛ հեթանոսի[3287]։ [3287] Ոմանք. Հրէին՝ եւ ապա հեթանոսին։
16 Որովհետեւ ամօթ չեմ համարում աւետարանելը, քանի որ այն Աստծու զօրութիւնն է՝ ի փրկութիւն բոլոր հաւատացեալների. նախ՝ հրեայի, ապա եւ՝ հեթանոսի.
16 Վասն զի ես ամօթ չեմ սեպեր աւետարանը* քանզի Աստուծոյ զօրութիւնն է ան՝ բոլոր հաւատացեալներուն փրկութեան համար՝ առաջ Հրեային ու ետքը Յոյնին։
Զի ոչ եթէ ամօթ ինչ համարիմ զաւետարանն, քանզի զօրութիւն Աստուծոյ է ի փրկութիւն ամենայն հաւատացելոց. նախ Հրէի եւ ապա հեթանոսի:

1:16: Զի ո՛չ եթէ ամօթ ինչ համարիմ զաւետարանն. քանզի զօրութիւն Աստուծոյ է ՚ի փրկութիւն ամենայն հաւատացելոց. նախ Հրէի՝ եւ ապա՛ հեթանոսի[3287]։
[3287] Ոմանք. Հրէին՝ եւ ապա հեթանոսին։
16 Որովհետեւ ամօթ չեմ համարում աւետարանելը, քանի որ այն Աստծու զօրութիւնն է՝ ի փրկութիւն բոլոր հաւատացեալների. նախ՝ հրեայի, ապա եւ՝ հեթանոսի.
16 Վասն զի ես ամօթ չեմ սեպեր աւետարանը* քանզի Աստուծոյ զօրութիւնն է ան՝ բոլոր հաւատացեալներուն փրկութեան համար՝ առաջ Հրեային ու ետքը Յոյնին։
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1:1616: Ибо я не стыжусь благовествования Христова, потому что [оно] есть сила Божия ко спасению всякому верующему, во-первых, Иудею, [потом] и Еллину.
1:16  οὐ γὰρ ἐπαισχύνομαι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, δύναμις γὰρ θεοῦ ἐστιν εἰς σωτηρίαν παντὶ τῶ πιστεύοντι, ἰουδαίῳ τε πρῶτον καὶ ἕλληνι·
1:16. οὐ (Not) γὰρ (therefore) ἐπαισχύνομαι ( I-beshame-upon ) τὸ (to-the-one) εὐαγγέλιον, (to-a-goodly-messagelet,"δύναμις (an-ability) γὰρ (therefore) θεοῦ (of-a-Deity) ἐστὶν (it-be) εἰς (into) σωτηρίαν (to-a-savioring-unto) παντὶ (unto-all) τῷ (unto-the-one) πιστεύοντι, (unto-trusting-of,"Ἰουδαίῳ (unto-Iouda-belonged) τε (also) [πρῶτον] "[to-most-before]"καὶ (and) Ἕλληνι: (unto-a-Hellian)
1:16. non enim erubesco evangelium virtus enim Dei est in salutem omni credenti Iudaeo primum et GraecoFor I am not ashamed of the gospel. For it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth: to the Jew first and to the Greek.
16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek:

16: Ибо я не стыжусь благовествования Христова, потому что [оно] есть сила Божия ко спасению всякому верующему, во-первых, Иудею, [потом] и Еллину.
1:16  οὐ γὰρ ἐπαισχύνομαι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, δύναμις γὰρ θεοῦ ἐστιν εἰς σωτηρίαν παντὶ τῶ πιστεύοντι, ἰουδαίῳ τε πρῶτον καὶ ἕλληνι·
1:16. non enim erubesco evangelium virtus enim Dei est in salutem omni credenti Iudaeo primum et Graeco
For I am not ashamed of the gospel. For it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth: to the Jew first and to the Greek.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
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А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
16: Павел не потому не приходил в Рим, что стыдился являться сюда со своим слишком простым благовестием, как могли подумать римские христиане. Нет, он нисколько не стесняется выступать с Евангелием пред еллинами и мудрецами, потому что это Евангелие - есть сила во спасение, а если человек приносит другим людям спасение, то они, конечно, не станут обращать внимание на форму, в какой им сообщается спасение, какою бы странною и несовершенною она им ни представлялась. - Спасение (swthria). Это слово заключает в себе две идеи: идею об освобождении от зла, погибели, и идею сообщения блага, вечной жизни в общении с Богом. Обладание этими обоими благами мыслимо, как состояние душевного здоровья (от swV - здоровый, нормальный). Вполне это спасение получат христиане только при втором пришествии Господнем, на последнем суде (Рим 13:11, Флп 1:19; ср. 1Кор.3:15; 5:5; Рим 5:9), но отчасти спасение это подается и теперь: христианин в принципе уже им обладает (2Кор. 6:2; Рим 3:24: [ "Евангелие, то есть прежде всего религиозная духовная сила, - не только известное мировоззрение, но обновляющая все ваше внутреннее существо реальность. Оно не политическая программа, не церковный лозунг, не вид на жительство в земном государстве, а чисто духовная величина... Оно имеет значение при рассуждении о нашем отношении к Богу, о вашей душе и вечности. Но в то же время Евангелие приносит с собою высочайшую культуру, превышающую все, что могло бы в культурной области создать само человечество. Доказательство истинности слов Апостола дала история: Рим с его культурою погиб, а христианство распространилось и продолжает распространяться, оживляя повсюду человеческое творчество" (сокращение из Mayer a Neue Testameni fur mod. Bedurfniss) ]). Всякому верующему. Условием получения спасения является вера. Спасение не было бы возможно получить всем, если бы для этого требовалось что-нибудь еще, помимо веры, напр., исполнение закона Моисеева. Вера, о какой здесь говорит Апостол, есть не иное что, как простое принятие предлагаемого проповедниками Евангелия спасения. Человек только должен принять, поверить Евангелию - и он сразу же начинает пользоваться спасительными плодами искупления, совершенного Христом. Таков первоначальный смысл часто употребляющегося у Ап. Павла выражения веровать (pisteuein). Это принятие Евангелия основывается не на каких-либо логических данных, а на сердечном доверии к правдивости проповедника Евангелия (Рим 4:18; 10:16; 14:17: и др.), - доверии, какое производит в душе человека особая благодать Божия. Впоследствии, конечно, вера должна оказаться и в других многочисленных проявлениях - в добрых делах, в жизни по вере, но здесь Апостол говорит только о первом же моменте, когда она есть простое принятие истин Евангелия. - Во-первых, Иудею, потом и Еллину. Слово во-первых (prwton), по изъяснению Иоанна Златоуста, указывает "только порядок в получении благодати", который, по словам блаж. Феодорита, основан на том, что от иудеев - Христос, апостолы, и на том еще, что иудеям были даны обетования о спасении (ср. Мф Х:6). - Так как еллин здесь противопоставляется иудею, то под еллинами нужно разуметь не только образованных язычников (как в 14-м стихе), а всех неиудеев или язычников вообще. Еллинами же названы здесь язычники потому, что еллины, без сомнения, составляли самую выдающуюся нацию среди языческих народов.
Matthew Henry: Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible - 1706
Paul's Discourse on Justification.A. D. 58.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Paul here enters upon a large discourse of justification, in the latter part of this chapter laying down his thesis, and, in order to the proof of it, describing the deplorable condition of the Gentile world. His transition is very handsome, and like an orator: he was ready to preach the gospel at Rome, though a place where the gospel was run down by those that called themselves the wits; for, saith he, I am not ashamed of it, v. 16. There is a great deal in the gospel which such a man as Paul might be tempted to be ashamed of, especially that he whose gospel it is was a man hanged upon a tree, that the doctrine of it was plain, had little in it to set it off among scholars, the professors of it were mean and despised, and every where spoken against; yet Paul was not ashamed to own it. I reckon him a Christian indeed that is neither ashamed of the gospel nor a shame to it. The reason of this bold profession, taken from the nature and excellency of the gospel, introduces his dissertation.

I. The proposition, v. 16, 17. The excellency of the gospel lies in this, that it reveals to us,

1. The salvation of believers as the end: It is the power of God unto salvation. Paul is not ashamed of the gospel, how mean and contemptible soever it may appear to a carnal eye; for the power of God works by it the salvation of all that believe; it shows us the way of salvation (Acts xvi. 17), and is the great charter by which salvation is conveyed and made over to us. But, (1.) It is through the power of God; without that power the gospel is but a dead letter; the revelation of the gospel is the revelation of the arm of the Lord (Isa. liii. 1), as power went along with the word of Christ to heal diseases. (2.) It is to those, and those only, that believe. Believing interests us in the gospel salvation; to others it is hidden. The medicine prepared will not cure the patient if it be not taken.--To the Jew first. The lost sheep of the house of Israel had the first offer made them, both by Christ and his apostles. You first (Acts iii. 26), but upon their refusal the apostles turned to the Gentiles, Acts xiii. 46. Jews and Gentiles now stand upon the same level, both equally miserable without a Saviour, and both equally welcome to the Saviour, Col. iii. 11. Such doctrine as this was surprising to the Jews, who had hitherto been the peculiar people, and had looked with scorn upon the Gentile world; but the long-expected Messiah proves a light to enlighten the Gentiles, as well as the glory of his people Israel.

2. The justification of believers as the way (v. 17): For therein, that is, in this gospel, which Paul so much triumphs in, is the righteousness of God revealed. Our misery and ruin being the product and consequent of our iniquity, that which will show us the way of salvation must needs show us the way of justification, and this the gospel does. The gospel makes known a righteousness. While God is a just and holy God, and we are guilty sinners, it is necessary we should have a righteousness wherein to appear before him; and, blessed be God, there is such a righteousness brought in by Messiah the prince (Dan. ix. 24) and revealed in the gospel; a righteousness, that is, a gracious method of reconciliation and acceptance, notwithstanding the guilt of our sins. This evangelical righteousness, (1.) Is called the righteousness of God; it is of God's appointing, of God's approving and accepting. It is so called to cut off all pretensions to a righteousness resulting from the merit of our own works. It is the righteousness of Christ, who is God, resulting from a satisfaction of infinite value. (2.) It is said to be from faith to faith, from the faithfulness of God revealing to the faith of man receiving (so some); from the faith of dependence upon God, and dealing with him immediately, as Adam before the fall, to the faith of dependence upon a Mediator, and so dealing with God (so others); from the first faith, by which we are put into a justified state, to after faith, by which we live, and are continued in that state: and the faith that justifies us is no less than our taking Christ for our Saviour, and becoming true Christians, according to the tenour of the baptismal covenant; from faith engrafting us into Christ, to faith deriving virtue from him as our root: both implied in the next words, The just shall live by faith. Just by faith, there is faith justifying us; live by faith, there is faith maintaining us; and so there is a righteousness from faith to faith. Faith is all in all, both in the beginning and progress of a Christian life. It is not from faith to works, as if faith put us into a justified state, and then works preserved and maintained us in it, but it is all along from faith to faith, as 2 Cor. iii. 18, from glory to glory; it is increasing, continuing, persevering faith, faith pressing forward, and getting ground of unbelief. To show that this is no novel upstart doctrine, he quotes for it that famous scripture in the Old Testament, so often mentioned in the New (Hab. ii. 4): The just shall live by faith. Being justified by faith he shall live by it both the life of grace and of glory. The prophet there had placed himself upon the watch-tower, expecting some extraordinary discoveries (v. 1), and the discovery was of the certainty of the appearance of the promised Messiah in the fulness of time, not withstanding seeming delays. This is there called the vision, by way of eminence, as elsewhere the promise; and while that time is coming, as well as when it has come, the just shall live by faith. Thus is the evangelical righteousness from faith to faith--from Old-Testament faith in a Christ to come to New-Testament faith in a Christ already come.

II. The proof of this proposition, that both Jews and Gentiles stand in need of a righteousness wherein to appear before God, and that neither the one nor the other have nay of their own to plead. Justification must be either by faith or works. It cannot be by works, which he proves at large by describing the works both of Jews and Gentiles; and therefore he concludes it must be by faith, ch. iii. 20, 28. The apostle, like a skilful surgeon, before he applies the plaster, searches the wound--endeavours first to convince of guilt and wrath, and then to show the way of salvation. This makes the gospel the more welcome. We must first see the righteousness of God condemning, and then the righteousness of God justifying will appear worthy of all acceptation. In general (v. 18), the wrath of God is revealed. The light of nature and the light of the law reveal the wrath of God from sin to sin. It is well for us that the gospel reveals the justifying righteousness of God from faith to faith. The antithesis is observable. Here is,

1. The sinfulness of man described; he reduceth it to two heads, ungodliness and unrighteousness; ungodliness against the laws of the first table, unrighteousness against those of the second.

2. The cause of that sinfulness, and that is, holding the truth in unrighteousness. Some communes notitæ, some ideas they had of the being of God, and of the difference of good and evil; but they held them in unrighteousness, that is, they knew and professed them in a consistency with their wicked courses. They held the truth as a captive or prisoner, that it should not influence them, as otherwise it would. An unrighteous wicked heart is the dungeon in which many a good truth is detained and buried. Holding fast the form of sound words in faith and love is the root of all religion (2 Tim. i. 13), but holding it fast in unrighteousness is the root of all sin.

3. The displeasure of God against it: The wrath of God is revealed from heaven; not only in the written word, which is given by inspiration of God (the Gentiles had not that), but in the providences of God, his judgments executed upon sinners, which do not spring out of the dust, or fall out by chance, nor are they to be ascribed to second causes, but they are a revelation from heaven. Or wrath from heaven is revealed; it is not the wrath of a man like ourselves, but wrath from heaven, therefore the more terrible and the more unavoidable.
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:16: I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ - This text is best illustrated by Isa 28:16; Isa 49:23, quoted by the apostle, Rom 10:11 : For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him, shall not be ashamed; i.e. they shall neither be confounded, nor disappointed of their hope. The Jews, by not believing on Jesus Christ, by not receiving him as the promised Messiah, but trusting in others, have been disappointed, ashamed, and confounded, from that time to the present day. Their expectation is cut off; and, while rejecting Christ, and expecting another Messiah, they have continued under the displeasure of God, and are ashamed of their confidence. On the other hand, those who have believed on Christ have, in and through him, all the blessings of which the prophets spoke; every promise of God being yea and amen through him. Paul, as a Jew, believed on Christ Jesus; and in believing he had life through his name; through him he enjoyed an abundance of grace; so that, being filled with that happiness which an indwelling Christ produces, he could cheerfully say, I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. And why? Because he felt it to be the power of God to the salvation of his believing soul. This appears to be the true sense of this passage, and this interpretation acquires additional strength from the consideration that St. Paul is here most evidently addressing himself to the Jews.
It is the power of God unto salvation - δυναμις γαρ θεου εστιν· The almighty power of God accompanies this preaching to the souls of them that believe; and the consequence is, they are saved; and what but the power of God can save a fallen, sinful soul?
To the Jew first - Not only the Jews have the first offer of this Gospel, but they have the greatest need of it; being so deeply fallen, and having sinned against such glorious privileges, they are much more culpable than the Gentiles, who never had the light of a Divine revelation.
And also to the Greek - Though the salvation of God has hitherto been apparently confined to the Jewish people, yet it shall be so no longer, for the Gospel of Christ is sent to the Gentiles as well as the Jews; God having put no difference between them; and Jesus Christ having tasted death for Every man.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:16: For I am not ashamed ... - The Jews had cast him off, and regarded him as an apostate; and by the wise among the Gentiles he had been persecuted, and despised, and driven from place to place, and regarded as the filth of the world, and the offscouring of all things Co1 4:13, but still he was not ashamed of the gospel. He had so firm a conviction of its value and its truth; he had experienced so much of its consolations; and had seen so much of its efficacy; that he was so far from being ashamed of it that he gloried in it as the power of God unto salvation. People should be ashamed of crime and folly. They are ashamed of their own offences, and of the follies of their conduct, when they come to reflect on it. But they are not ashamed of what they feel to be right, and of what they know will contribute to their welfare, and to the benefit of their fellow-men. Such were the views of Paul about the gospel; and it is one of his favorite doctrines that they who believe on Christ shall not be ashamed, Rom 10:11; Rom 5:5; Co2 7:14; Ti2 1:12; Phi 1:20; Rom 9:33; Ti2 1:8; compare Mar 8:38; Pe1 4:16; Jo1 2:28.
Of the gospel - This word means the "good news," or the glad intelligence; see the note at Mar 1:1. It is so called because it contains the glad annunciation that sin may be pardoned, and the soul saved.
Of Christ - The good news respecting the Messiah; or which the Messiah has brought. The expression probably refers to the former, the good news which relates to the Messiah, to his character, advent, preaching, death, resurrection, and ascension. Though this was "to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness," yet he regarded it as the only hope of salvation, and was ready to preach it even in the rich and splendid capital of the world.
The power of God - This expression means that it is the way in which God exerts his power in the salvation of people. It is the efficacious or mighty plan, by which power goes forth to save, and by which all the obstacles of man's redemption are taken away. This expression implies,
(1) That it is God's plan, or his appointment. It is not the device of man.
(2) it is adapted to the end. It is suited to overcome the obstacles in the way. It is not merely the instrument by which God exerts his power, but it has an inherent adaptedness to the end, it is suited to accomplish salvation to man so that it may be denominated power.
(3) it is mighty, hence, it is called power, and the power of God. If is not a feeble and ineffectual instrumentality, but it is "mighty to the pulling down of strongholds," Co2 10:4-5. It has shown its power as applicable to every degree of sin, to every combination of wickedness. It has gone against the sins of the world, and evinced its power to save sinners of all grades, and to overcome and subdue every mighty form of iniquity, compare Jer 23:29, "Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?" Co1 1:18, "the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness, but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God."
Unto salvation - This word means complete deliverance from sin and death, and all the foes and dangers that beset man. It cannot imply anything less than eternal life. If a man should believe and then fall away, he could in no correct sense be said to be saved. And hence, when the apostle declares that it is the power of God unto salvation "to everyone that believeth," it implies that all who become believers "shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation" (see Pe1 1:5), and that none shall ever fall away and be lost. The apostle thus commences his discussion with one of the important doctrines of the Christian religion, the final preservation of the saints. He is not defending the gospel for any temporary object, or with any temporary hope. He looks through the system, and sees in it a plan for the complete and eternal recovery of all those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. When he says it is the power of God unto salvation, he means that it is the power of God for the attainment of salvation. This is the end, or the design of this exertion of power.
To everyone that believeth - Compare Mar 16:16-17. This expresses the condition, or the terms, on which salvation is conferred through the gospel. It is not indiscriminately to all people, whatever may be their character. It is only to those who confide or trust in it; and it is conferred on all who receive it in this manner. If this qualification is possessed, it bestows its blessings freely and fully. All people know what "faith" is. It is exercised when we confide in a parent, a friend, a benefactor. It is such a reception of a promise, a truth, or a threatening, as to suffer it to make its appropriate impression on the mind, and such as to lead us to act under its influence, or to act as we should on the supposition that it is true. Thus, a sinner credits the threatenings of God, and fears. This is faith. He credits his promises, and hopes. This is faith. He feels that he is lost, and relies on Jesus Christ for mercy. This is faith. And, in general, faith is such an impression on the mind made by truth as to lead us to feel and act as if it were true; to have the appropriate feelings, and views, and conduct under the commands, and promises, and threatenings of God; see the note at Mar 16:16.
To the Jew first - First in order of time, Not that the gospel was any more adapted to Jews than to others; but to them had been committed the oracles of God; the Messiah had come through them; they had had the Law, the temple, and the service of God, and it was natural that the gospel should be proclaimed to them before it was to the Gentiles. This was the order in which the gospel was actually preached to the world, first to the Jews, and then to the Gentiles. Compare Acts 2 and Acts 10; Mat 10:6; Luk 24:49; Act 13:46, "It was necessary that the Word of God should first have been spoken to you; but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles." Compare Mat 21:43.
And also to the Greek - To all who were nor Jews, that is, to all the world. It was nor confined in its intention or efficacy to any class or nation of people. It was adapted to all, and was designed to be extended to all.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:16: I am: Psa 40:9, Psa 40:10, Psa 71:15, Psa 71:16, Psa 119:46; Mar 8:38; Luk 9:26; Co1 2:2; Ti2 1:8, Ti2 1:12, Ti2 1:16; Pe1 4:16
the gospel: Rom 15:19, Rom 15:29; Luk 2:10, Luk 2:11; Co1 9:12, Co1 9:18; Co2 2:12, Co2 4:4 *Gr: Co2 9:13; Gal 1:7; Ti1 1:11
for it is: Rom 10:17; Psa 110:2; Isa 53:1; Jer 23:29; Co1 1:18-24, Co1 2:4, Co1 14:24, Co1 14:25; Co1 15:2; Co2 2:14-16, Co2 10:4, Co2 10:5; Col 1:5, Col 1:6; Th1 1:5, Th1 1:6, Th1 2:13; Heb 4:12
to every: Rom 4:11
to the Jew: Rom 2:9
Geneva 1599
1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: (5) for it is the (x) power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the (y) Greek.
(5) This is the second part of the epistle, until the beginning of chapter nine. Now the whole end and purpose of the discussion is this: that is to say, to show that there is but one way to attain unto salvation (which is displayed to us by God in the gospel, and that equally to every nation), and this way is Jesus Christ apprehended by faith.
(x) God's mighty and effectual instrument to save men by.
(y) When this word "Greek" is contrasted with the word "Jew", then it signifies a Gentile.
John Gill
1:16 For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ,.... The reason why he was so ready and willing to preach it, even where he ran the greatest risk of his character and life, was, because it was "the Gospel of Christ" he preached, and he was not ashamed of it. This supposes that some were, though the apostle was not, ashamed of the Gospel; as all such are who hide and conceal it, who have abilities to preach it, and do not: or who preach, but not the Gospel; or who preach the Gospel only in part, who own that in private, they will not preach in public, and use ambiguous words, of doubtful signification, to cover themselves; who blend the Gospel with their own inventions, seek to please men, and live upon popular applause, regard their own interest, and not Christ's, and cannot bear the reproach of his Gospel. It expresses, that the apostle was not ashamed of it; that is, to preach it, which he did fully and faithfully, plainly and consistently, openly and publicly, and boldly, in the face of all opposition: and it designs more than is expressed, as that he had the utmost value for it, and esteemed it his highest honour that he was employed in preaching it: his reasons for this were, because it was "the Gospel of Christ"; which Christ himself preached, which he had learnt by revelation from him, and of which he was the sum and substance: and because
Tit is the power of God; not essentially, but declaratively; as the power of God is seen in making men ministers of it, in the doctrines held forth in it, in the manner in which it was spread in the world, in the opposition it met with, in the continuance and increase of it notwithstanding the power and cunning of men, and in the shortness of time, in which so much good was done by it in the several parts of the world: it is the power of God organically or instrumentally; as it is a means made use of by God in quickening dead sinners, enlightening blind eyes, unstopping deaf ears, softening hard hearts, and making of enemies friends; to which add, the manner in which all this is done, suddenly, secretly, effectually, and by love, and not force: the extent of this power is,
unto salvation; the Gospel is a declaration and revelation of salvation by Christ, and is a means of directing and encouraging souls to lay hold upon it. The persons to whom it is so, are in general,
everyone that believeth: this does not suppose that faith gives the Gospel its virtue and efficacy; but is only descriptive of the persons to whom the Gospel, attended with the power and grace of God, is eventually efficacious: and particularly it was so,
to the Jew first; who as they had formerly the advantage of the Gentiles, much every way, through the peculiar privileges which were conferred on them; so the Gospel was first preached to them by Christ and his disciples; and even when it was ordered to be carried into the Gentile world, it was to begin with them, and became effectual for the salvation of many of them:
and also to the Greek; to the Gentile; for after the Jews had rejected it, as many being called by it as Jehovah thought fit, at that time, it was preached to the Gentiles with great success; which was the mystery hid from ages and generations past, but now made manifest.
John Wesley
1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel - To the world, indeed, it is folly and weakness, 1Cor 1:18; therefore, in the judgment of the world, he ought to be ashamed of it; especially at Rome, the head and theatre of the world. But Paul is not ashamed, knowing it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth - The great and gloriously powerful means of saving all who accept salvation in God's own way. As St. Paul comprises the sum of the gospel in this epistle, so he does the sum of the epistle in this and the following verse. Both to the Jew, and to the gentile - There is a noble frankness, as well as a comprehensive sense, in these words, by which he, on the one hand, shows the Jews their absolute need of the gospel; and, on the other, tells the politest and greatest nation in the world both that their salvation depended on receiving it, and that the first offers of it were in every place to be made to the despised Jews.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel--(The words, "of Christ," which follow here, are not found in the oldest and best manuscripts). This language implies that it required some courage to bring to "the mistress of the world" what "to the Jews was a stumbling-block and to the Greeks foolishness" (1Cor 1:23). But its inherent glory, as God's life-giving message to a dying world, so filled his soul, that, like his blessed Master, he "despised the shame."
for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth--Here and in Rom 1:17 the apostle announces the great theme of his ensuing argument; SALVATION, the one overwhelming necessity of perishing men; this revealed IN THE GOSPEL MESSAGE; and that message so owned and honored of God as to carry, in the proclamation of it, GOD'S OWN POWER TO SAVE EVERY SOUL THAT EMBRACES IT, Greek and Barbarian, wise and unwise alike.
1:171:17: Զի արդարութիւն Աստուծոյ նովա՛ւ յայտնի հաւատոց ՚ի հաւատս. որպէս եւ գրեալ է, թէ արդարն ՚ի հաւատոց կեցցէ[3288]։[3288] Ոմանք. Արդարութիւնն Աստուծոյ նովաւ յայտնեսցի ՚ի հաւատոց ՚ի հա՛՛։
17 որովհետեւ Աստծու արդարութիւնը, որ հաւատից է, հաւատի՛ համար է յայտնւում, ինչպէս որ գրուած է, թէ՝ արդարը հաւատով է ապրելու:
17 Վասն զի անով Աստուծոյ արդարութիւնը, որ է հաւատքէն, հաւատքի համար կը յայտնուի. ինչպէս գրուած է թէ՝ ‘Արդարը հաւատքէն պիտի ապրի’։
Զի արդարութիւնն Աստուծոյ նովաւ յայտնի հաւատոց ի հաւատս. որպէս եւ գրեալ է թէ` Արդարն ի հաւատոց կեցցէ:

1:17: Զի արդարութիւն Աստուծոյ նովա՛ւ յայտնի հաւատոց ՚ի հաւատս. որպէս եւ գրեալ է, թէ արդարն ՚ի հաւատոց կեցցէ[3288]։
[3288] Ոմանք. Արդարութիւնն Աստուծոյ նովաւ յայտնեսցի ՚ի հաւատոց ՚ի հա՛՛։
17 որովհետեւ Աստծու արդարութիւնը, որ հաւատից է, հաւատի՛ համար է յայտնւում, ինչպէս որ գրուած է, թէ՝ արդարը հաւատով է ապրելու:
17 Վասն զի անով Աստուծոյ արդարութիւնը, որ է հաւատքէն, հաւատքի համար կը յայտնուի. ինչպէս գրուած է թէ՝ ‘Արդարը հաւատքէն պիտի ապրի’։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:1717: В нем открывается правда Божия от веры в веру, как написано: праведный верою жив будет.
1:17  δικαιοσύνη γὰρ θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῶ ἀποκαλύπτεται ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν, καθὼς γέγραπται, ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται.
1:17. δικαιοσύνη (a-course-belongedness) γὰρ (therefore) θεοῦ (of-a-Deity) ἐν (in) αὐτῷ (unto-it) ἀποκαλύπτεται (it-be-shrouded-off) ἐκ (out) πίστεως (of-a-trust) εἰς (into) πίστιν, (to-a-trust,"καθὼς (down-as) γέγραπται (it-had-come-to-be-scribed," Ὁ ( The-one ) δὲ ( moreover ) δίκαιος ( course-belonged ) ἐκ ( out ) πίστεως ( of-a-trust ) ζήσεται . ( it-shall-life-unto )
1:17. iustitia enim Dei in eo revelatur ex fide in fidem sicut scriptum est iustus autem ex fide vivitFor the justice of God is revealed therein, from faith unto faith, as it is written: The just man liveth by faith.
17. For therein is revealed a righteousness of God by faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith.
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith:

17: В нем открывается правда Божия от веры в веру, как написано: праведный верою жив будет.
1:17  δικαιοσύνη γὰρ θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῶ ἀποκαλύπτεται ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν, καθὼς γέγραπται, ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται.
1:17. iustitia enim Dei in eo revelatur ex fide in fidem sicut scriptum est iustus autem ex fide vivit
For the justice of God is revealed therein, from faith unto faith, as it is written: The just man liveth by faith.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ tb▾ all ▾
А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
17: Самое содержание Евангелия уже служит к объяснению его чудесного действия в мире. В нем именно открывается праведность Божия, дотоле сокрытая. Из Евангелия мы узнаем, что Бог - праведен и в чем именно состоит Его праведность. Мы узнаем это все своим собственным опытом, потому что праведность Божию мы усвояем и утверждаем в себе. Раньше же возможность усвоения этой праведности была сокровенною тайной (14:24). - Что правда Божия (dikaiosunh Qeou) означает здесь именно "праведность Божию" - это видно из того, что этому выражению соответствует в следующем стихе выражение: "гнев Божий" по-гречески orgh qeoϋ, где qeoϋ (Бога) есть несомненно родит. принадлежности. Отсюда необходимо заключать, что и в выражении dikaiosunh qeou слово qeou есть также родит. принадлежности (ср. 3:5: и 24). - От веры в веру. Эти слова относятся к выражению открывается, как к ближайшему, по положению в греческом тексте. Апостол хочет сказать, что в Евангелии не все люди усматривают и усвояют праведность Божию, а только те, кто имеет веру (от веры), т. е. веру во Христа умершего и воскресшего. Те, действительно, вступают в новую жизнь и идут к полной и спасительной уверенности в будущей судьбе своей (8:38) или доходят до высшей степени веры (в веру). - Как написано. И прор. Аввакум, на которого Апостол ссылается, как на выразителя ветхозаветного мировоззрения, также говорит, что человек может оправдаться, спастись только верою в Бога или, что то же, только усвоив в себе праведность Божию. Другой праведности, другого способа спасения не знал и Аввакум! Таким образом, слово "верою" лучше всего, сообразно с контекстом речи, относить к выражению "праведный", а слова "жив будет" понимать в смысле "спасется".
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:17: For therein - In the Gospel of Christ.
Is the righteousness of God - God's method of saving sinners.
Revealed from faith to faith - Shown to be by faith, and not by the works of any law; for Abraham, the father and founder of the Jewish people, was justified by faith, before even the law was given; and by believing, in reference to the spiritual object held forth in the various ordinances of the law, and now revealed under the Gospel, he and all his believing descendants have been justified. And thus the faith of the old covenant led on to the faith of the new covenant, which shows that salvation has been by faith from the call of Abraham to the present time. And, from the beginning, all that were just or righteous in the earth became such by faith, and by this principle alone they were enabled to persevere; as it is written, The just shall live by faith. That δικαιοσυνη, which we translate righteousness in this verse, signifies God's method of saving mankind by faith in Christ, is fully evident from the use of the term in Rom 9:30 : The Gentiles which followed not after Righteousness - who had no knowledge by revelation, of God's method of justifying and saving sinners, have attained to Righteousness - have had imparted to them God's method of salvation by faith in Christ. Rom 9:31 : But Israel, the Jews, which followed after the law of righteousness - that law, the end or object of which is Christ, and through him justification to all that believe (Rom 10:4), have not attained to the law of righteousness - have not found out the genuine plan of salvation, even in that law which so strongly and generally proclaims justification by faith. And why have they not found it? Rom 9:32 : Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law - they did not discern that even its works or prescribed religious observances were intended to lead to faith in that glorious Mediator of whom they were the types and representatives; but the Jews trusted in the observances themselves, hoping to acquire justification and final salvation by that means. For they stumbled at the stumbling-stone - at the doctrine of Christ crucified as the only sure ground on which the expectation of future salvation can be founded. Therefore, being ignorant of God's righteousness - God's method of saving sinners, and going about to establish their own righteousness - their own method of salvation, by the observance of those rites and ceremonies which should have led them by faith to Christ, they did not submit themselves to the righteousness of God - they would not submit to be saved in God's way, and therefore rejected, persecuted, and crucified the Lord Jesus; see Rom 10:3. This collation of passages most evidently shows that the word righteousness here means simply God's method of saving sinners, or God's way of salvation, in opposition to the ways and means invented by the fancies or prejudices of men.
There are few words in the sacred writings which are taken in a greater variety of acceptations than the word צדקה tsedakah in Hebrew, and δικαιοσυνη in Greek, both of which we generally translate righteousness. Our English word was originally rightwiseness, from the Anglo-Saxon justice, right, and to know; and thus the righteous man was a person who was allowed to understand the claims of justice and right, and who, knowing them, acted according to their dictates. Such a man is thoroughly wise; he aims at the attainment of the best end by the use of the best means. This is a true definition of wisdom, and the righteous man is he that knows most and acts best. The Hebrew צדק tsadak, in its ideal meaning, contains the notion of a beam or scales in equipoise, what we call even balance; and it is well known that in all the personifications of Justice, both ancient and modern, she is represented as a beautiful female with a bandage on her eyes, and a beam and scales in her hand, so perfectly poised that neither end preponderates.
The Greek word δικαιοσυνη has been derived from διχαζω, to divide; and hence δικη, justice, because it is the property of this virtue to divide to each his due. With other etymologies it is useless to trouble the reader. Both the noun δικαιοσυνη and the verb δικαιοω have a great variety of meaning in the New Testament; but they are all reducible to this original idea, acting according to the requisitions of justice or right. It may not be improper to notice some of the chief of these acceptations in this place.
1. The act of distributing to each man his due is the sense of the word, Act 17:31 : He will judge the world in Righteousness, i.e. according to the principles of eternal justice and rectitude. See also Rev 19:2 : In Righteousness doth he judge and make war.
2. It signifies a holy life, as proceeding from piety towards God. Luk 1:75 : Might serve him in holiness and Righteousness all the days of our life.
3. It signifies benignity, liberality, and particularly almsgiving, as justice and righteousness require us, being only stewards of God's bounty, to share it with the necessitous. Mat 6:1 : Take heed that ye do not your Alms, δικαιοσυνην, your Righteousness, before men. Rom 3:5 : But if our unrighteousness commend the Righteousness, the benignity of God. Co2 9:10 : Increase the fruits of your Righteousness, i.e. of your liberality.
4. It signifies God's method of saving sinners; the way which is agreeable to his righteousness and liberality. See the former part of this note, and the scriptures there referred to.
5. It signifies the reward or issue of liberality. Co2 9:9 : He hath scattered abroad; he hath given to the poor; his Righteousness - the reward of his bounty, remaineth for ever. See Psa 112:9.
6. It signifies the whole collection of graces, which constitute the complete Christian character. Mat 5:6 : Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after Righteousness - they who ardently long for the full salvation of God. Mat 5:10, Mat 5:20 : If your Righteousness exceed not the righteousness, etc. Mat 6:33 : Seek the kingdom of God and his Righteousness.
7. It signifies the result of faith in God and submission to his will, exemplified in a holy and useful life. Heb 11:7 : By faith Noah prepared an ark, and became heir of the Righteousness which is by faith - he escaped the deluge and became the instrument of repeopling the world.
8. It signifies an exact observance of religious ordinances and precepts. Phi 3:6 : Touching the Righteousness which is of the law, blameless - having lived in an exact conformity to all the Mosaic precepts. In this sense it is to be understood, Mat 3:15 : Thus it becomes us to fulfill all Righteousness - to observe every precept of the law.
9. It signifies the favor or pardoning mercy of God. Rom 4:6 : The blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth Righteousness - without works - the man is happy to whom God has granted the remission of sins, without respect to his observance of the law of Moses.
10. In Co2 5:21, δικαιοσυνη, righteousness, is put for δικαιος, righteous: That we might become the righteousness of God - that we might receive such a righteousness or holiness, such a salvation, as is worthy of God's grace to impart, and such as the necessities of mankind require.
A few of the leading acceptations of the verb δικαιοω, which we translate to justify, may be here properly subjoined, as this verb is so repeatedly used in this epistle.
1. It signifies so declare or pronounce one just or righteous; or, in other words, to declare him to be what he really is. Ti1 3:16 : He was Justified in the Spirit. - By the almighty power of the Spirit he was proved to be the True Messiah.
2. To esteem a thing properly. Mat 11:19 : Wisdom is Justified of her children. - Wisdom, propriety of conduct, is properly estimated by wise men.
3. It signifies to approve, praise, and commend. The publicans Justified God, Luk 7:29; praised him for calling them to such a state of salvation. Luk 16:15 : Ye are they which Justify yourselves before men - Ye are self-commended, self-applauded, and self-praised. In this sense it is often used in the Greek apocryphal books. Ecclus. 7:5: Justify not thyself before the Lord - Do not applaud thyself in the presence of thy - Maker. Ecclus.10:29: Who will Justify (praise or applaud) him that sinneth against his own soul. Ecclus 18:2: The Lord only is righteous, δικαιωθησεται, shall be Justified, i.e. praised, because there is none other but he.
4. The verb δικαιοομαι is used to clear from all sin. Co1 4:4 : For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby Justified - A man's own consciousness of integrity is not a proof that he is clear from all sin in the sight of God.
5. A judge is said to justify not only when he condemns and punishes, but also when he defends the cause of the innocent. See Eurip. Heraclid. ver. 190. Thucyd. iii. p. 200. Polyb. iii. 31, and Schleusner on δικαιοω. Hence δικαιουσθαι is taken in a forensic sense, and signifies to be found or declared righteous, innocent, etc. Mat 12:37 : By thy words shalt thou be Justified - thou shalt be declared to be righteous. Rom 3:4 : That thou mightest be Justified in thy saying - that thou mightest be proved to be true in what thou hast said.
6. It signifies to set free, to escape from. Act 13:39 : And by him all that believe are Justified from all things, from which ye could not be Justified by the law - by faith in Christ a man escapes those evils which, otherwise, the law of Moses would inflict upon him. Rom 6:7 : For he that is dead, δεδικαιωται, is Justified, properly rendered by our translators, is Freed from sin.
7. It signifies also to receive one into favor, to pardon sin. Rom 8:30 : Whom he called, them he also Justified - he received them into favor and pardoned their sins. Luk 18:14 : This man went down to his house Justified - he humbled himself, repented of his iniquity, and God forgave his sin. Rom 3:20 : By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be Justified - no soul can have his sins forgiven through the observance of the Mosaic law. Rom 4:2 : If Abraham were Justified (had his sin pardoned) by works. Co1 6:11 : Such were some of you, but ye are Justified - ye are received into the Divine favor, and have your sins forgiven. See Jam 2:21-25; Rom 3:24, Rom 3:28; Rom 5:1, Rom 5:9; Gal 2:16, Gal 2:17; Gal 3:11, Gal 3:24; Gal 5:4; Tit 3:7. In all these texts the word justify is taken in the sense of remission of sins through faith in Christ Jesus; and does not mean making the person just or righteous, but treating him as if he were so, having already forgiven him his sins.
The just shall live by faith - This has been understood two ways:
1. That the just or righteous man cannot live a holy and useful life without exercising continual faith in our Lord Jesus: which is strictly true; for He only who has brought him into that state of salvation can preserve him in it; and he stands by faith.
2. It is contended by some able critics that the words of the original text should be pointed thus: 'ο δε δικαιος εκ πιστεως, ζησεται. The just by faith, shall live; that is, he alone that is justified by faith shall be saved: which is also true; as it is impossible to get salvation in any other way. This last meaning is probably the true one, as the original text in Hab 2:4, speaks of those who believed the declarations of God when the Chaldeans besieged Jerusalem, and, having acted conformably to them, escaped with their lives.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:17: For - This word implies that he is now about to give a "reason" for what he had just said, a reason why he was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. That reason is stated in this verse. It embodies the substance of all that is contained in the Epistle. It is the doctrine which he seeks to establish; and there is not perhaps a more important passage in the Bible than this verse; or one more difficult to be understood.
Therein - In it, ἐν οὕτῳ en houtō, that is, in the gospel.
Is the righteousness of God - δικαιοσύνη Θεοῦ dikaiosunē Theou. There is not a more important expression to be found in the Epistle than this. It is capable of only the following interpretations.
(1) some have said that it means that the attribute of God which is denominated righteousness or justice, is here displayed. It has been supposed that this was the design of the gospel to make this known; or to evince his justice in his way of saving people. There is an important sense in which this is true Rom 3:26. But this does not seem to be the meaning in the passage before us. For,
(a) The leading design of the gospel is not to evince the justice of God, or the attribute of justice, but the love of God; see Joh 3:16; Eph 2:4; Th2 2:16; Jo1 4:8.
(b) The attribute of justice is not what is principally evinced in the gospel. It is rather mercy, "or mercy in a manner consistent with justice," or that does not interfere with justice.
(c) The passage, therefore, is not designed to teach simply that the righteousness of God, as an attribute, is brought forth in the gospel, or that the main idea is to Rev_eal his justice.
(2) a second interpretation which has been affixed to it is, to make it the same as goodness, the benevolence of God is Rev_ealed, etc. But to this there are still stronger objections. For.
(a) It does not comport with the design of the apostle's argument.
(b) It is a departure from the established meaning of the word "justice," and the phrase "the righteousness of God."
(c) If this had been the design, it is remarkable that the usual words expressive of goodness or mercy had not been used. Another meaning, therefore, is to be sought as expressing the sense of the phrase.
(3) the phrase "righteousness of God" is equivalent to God's "plan of justifying people; his scheme of declaring them just in the sight of the Law; or of acquitting them from punishment, and admitting them to favor." In this sense it stands opposed to man's plan of justification, that is, by his own works: God's plan is by faith. The way in which that is done is Rev_ealed in the gospel. The object contemplated to be done is to treat people as if they were righteous. Man attempted to accomplish this by obedience to the Law. The plan of God was to arrive at it by faith. Here the two schemes differ; and the great design of this Epistle is to show that man cannot be justified on his own plan, to wit, by works; and that the plan of God is the only way, and a wise and glorious way of making man just in the eye of the Law. No small part of the perplexity usually attending this subject will be avoided if it is remembered that the discussion in this Epistle pertains to the question, "how can mortal man be just with God?" The apostle shows that it cannot be by works; and that it "can be" by faith. This latter is what he calls the "righteousness of God" which is Rev_ealed in the gospel.
To see that this is the meaning, it is needful only to look at the connection; and at the usual meaning of the words. The word to "justify," δικαιόω dikaioō, means properly "to be just, to be innocent, to be righteous." It then means to "declare," or treat as righteous; as when a man is charged with an offence. and is acquitted. If the crime alleged is not proved against him, he is declared by the Law to be innocent. It then means to "treat as if innocent, to regard as innocent;" that is, to pardon, to forgive, and consequently to treat as if the offence had not occurred. It does not mean that the man did not commit the offence; or that the Law might not have held him answerable for it; but that the offence is forgiven; and it is consistent to receive the offender into favor, and treat him as if he had not committed it. In what way this may be done rests with him who has the pardoning power. And in regard to the salvation of man, it rests solely with God. and must be done in that way only which he appoints and approves. The design of Paul in this Epistle is to show how this is done, or to show that it is done by faith. It may be remarked here that the expression before us does not imply any particular manner in which it is done; it does not touch the question whether it is by imputed righteousness or not; it does not say that it is on legal principles; it simply affirms "that the gospel contains God's plan of justifying people by faith."
The primary meaning of the word is, therefore, "to be innocent, pure, etc." and hence, the name means "righteousness" in general. For this use of the word, see Mat 3:15; Mat 5:6, Mat 5:10, Mat 5:20; Mat 21:32; Luk 1:75; Act 10:35; Act 13:10; Rom 2:26; Rom 8:4, etc.
In the sense of pardoning sin, or of treating people as if they were innocent, on the condition of faith, it is used often, and especially in this Epistle; see Rom 3:24, Rom 3:26, Rom 3:28, Rom 3:30; Rom 4:5; Rom 5:1; Rom 8:30; Gal 2:16; Gal 3:8, Gal 3:24; Rom 3:21-22, Rom 3:25; Rom 4:3, Rom 4:6, Rom 4:13; Rom 9:30, etc.
It is called "God's" righteousness, because it is God's plan, in distinction from all the plans set up by people. It was originated by him; it differs from all others; and it claims him as its author, and tends to his glory. It is called his righteousness, as it is the way by which he receives and treats people as righteous. The same plan was foretold in various places where the word "righteousness" is nearly synonymous with "salvation;" Isa 56:5 "My righteousness is near, my salvation is gone forth;" Isa 56:6, "My salvation shall be foRev_er, and my righteousness shall not be abolished;" Isa 56:1, "My salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be Rev_ealed;" Dan 9:24, "To make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness."
(There is yet another sense lying on the very surface of the passage, and adopted by nearly all the evangelical expositors, according to which "the righteousness of God" is that righteousness, which Christ worked out in his active and passive obedience. This is a righteousness which God hath devised, procured, and accepted. It is therefore eminently His. It is imputed to believers, and on account of it they are held righteous in the sight of God. It is of the highest importance that the true meaning of this leading expression be preserved; for if it be explained away, the doctrine of imputed righteousness is materially affected, as will appear in a subsequent note.
That the phrase is to be understood of the righteousness which Christ has procured by his obedience and death, appears from the general sense of the original term δικαιοσύνη dikaiosunē. Mr. Haldane in a long and elaborate comment on Rom 3:21, has satisfactorily shown that it signifies "righteousness in the abstract, and also conformity to law," and that "WheRev_er it refers to the subject of man's salvation, and is not merely a personal attribute of Deity, it signifies that righteousness which, in conformity with his justice, God has appointed and provided."
Besides, if the expression be understood of "God's plan of justifying men," we shall have great difficulty in explaining the parallel passages. They will not bend to any such principle of interpretation, In Rom 5:17, this righteousness is spoken of as a "gift" which we "receive," and in the Rom 5:18 and Rom 5:19 verses, the "righteousness of one" and "the obedience of one," are used as convertible terms. Now it is easy to understand how the righteousness which Christ has procured by his obedience, becomes "a gift," but "a plan of justification" is appropriately said to be declared, or promulgated. It cannot be spoken of in the light of a gift received. The same observation applies with still greater force to the passage in Co2 5:21, "For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." How would this passage appear, if "plan of justification" were substituted for righteousness of God?
In Phi 3:9, Paul desires to be found in Christ, "not having his own righteousness, which is of the land, but what is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." Is not his own righteousness what he could attain to by his works or obedience, and is not the righteousness of Christ what Jesus had procured by his obedience?
Lastly, in Rom 10:3, the righteousness of God is thus opposed to the righteousness of man, "they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God." Now what is that righteousness which natural people seek to establish, and which is especially called "their own?" Doubtless it is a righteousness founded on their own works, and therefore what is here properly opposed to it is a righteousness founded on the "work of God. See Haldane, Hodge, Scott, Guyse, etc." This meaning of the term furnishes a key to unlock "all" the passages in which it is used in connection with the sinner's justification, whereas any other sense, however it may suit a few places, will be found generally inapplicable.)
In regard to this plan it may be observed;
(1) That it is not to declare that people are innocent and pure. That would not be true. The truth is just the Rev_erse; and God does not esteem men to be different from what they are.
(2) it is not to take part with the sinner, and to mitigate his offences. It admits them to their full extent; and makes him feel them also.
(3) it is not that we become partakers of the essential righteousness of God. That is impossible.
(4) it is not that his righteousness becomes ours. This is not true; and there is no intelligible sense in which that can be understood.
(It is true indeed that the righteousness of Christ cannot be called ours in the sense of our having actually accomplished it in our own persons. This is a view of imputation easily held up to ridicule, yet there is a sense in which the righteousness of Christ may be ours. Though we have not achieved it, yet it may be so placed to our account that we shall be held righteous, and treated as such. I have said, first, we shall be held righteous, and then treated as such; for God treats none as righteous who in some sense or other are not really so. See the note at Rom 4:3.)
But it is God's plan for pardoning sin, and for treating us as if we had not committed it; that is, adopting us as his children, and admitting us to heaven on the ground of what the Lord Jesus has done in our stead. This is God's plan. People seek to save themselves by their own works. God's plan is to save them by the merits of Jesus Christ.
Rev_ealed - Made known, and communicated. The gospel states the fact that God has such a plan of justification; and shows the way or manner in which it might be done. The fact seems to have been understood by Abraham, and the patriarchs Heb. 11, but the full mode or manner in which it was to be accomplished, was not Rev_ealed until it was done in the gospel of Christ. And because this great and glorious truth was thus made known, Paul was not ashamed of the gospel. Nor should we be.
From faith - ἐκ πίστεως ek pisteō s. This phrase I take to be connected with the expression, "the righteousness of God." Thus, the righteousness of God, or God's plan of justifying people by faith, is Rev_ealed in the gospel. Here the great truth of the gospel is brought out, that people are justified by faith, and not by the deeds of the Law. The common interpretation of the passage has been, that the righteousness of God in this is Rev_ealed from one degree of faith to another. But to this interpretation there are many objections.
(1) it is not true. The gospel was not designed for this. It did not "suppose" that people had a certain degree of faith by nature which needed only to be strengthened in order that they might be saved.
(2) it does not make good sense. To say that the righteousness of God, meaning, as is commonly understood, his essential justice, is Rev_ealed from one degree of faith to another, is to use words without any meaning.
(3) the connection of the passage does not admit of this interpretation. The design of the passage is evidently to set forth the doctrine of justification as the grand theme of remark, and it does not comport with that design to introduce here the advance from one degree of faith to another, as the main topic.
(4) the Epistle is intended clearly to establish the fact that people are justified by faith. This is the grand idea which is kept up; and to show how this may be done is the main purpose before the apostle; see Rom 3:22, Rom 3:30; Rom 9:30; Rom 9:32; Rom 10:6, etc.
(5) the passage which he immediately quotes shows that he did not speak of different degrees of faith, but of the doctrine that people are to be justified by faith.
To faith - Unto those who believe (compare Rom 3:22); or to everyone that believeth, Rom 1:16. The abstract is here put for the concrete. It is designed to express the idea, "that God's plan of justifying people is Rev_ealed in the gospel, which plan is by faith, and the benefits of which plan shall be extended to all that have faith, or that believe."
As it is written - See Hab 2:4.
The just shall live by faith - The Septuagint translate the passage in Habakkuk, 'If any man shall draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him, but the just by my faith," or by faith in me, "shall live." The very words are used by them which are employed by the apostle, except they add the word "my," μοῦ mou, my faith. The Syriac renders it in a similar manner, "The just by faith shall live." The meaning of the Hebrew in Habakkuk is the same. It does not refer originally to the doctrine of justification by faith; but its meaning is this, "The just man, or the righteous man, shall live by his confidence in God." The prophet is speaking of the woes attending the Babylonish captivity. The Chaldeans were to come upon the land and destroy it, and remove the nation, Rom 1:6-10. But this was not to be perpetual. It should have an end Rom 2:3, and they who had confidence in God should live Rom 1:4; that is, should be restored to their country, should be blessed and made happy. Their confidence in God should sustain them, and preserve them. This did not refer primarily to the doctrine of justification by faith, nor did the apostle so quote it, but it expressed a general principle that those who had confidence in God should be happy, and be preserved and blessed. This would express the doctrine which Paul was defending. It was not by relying on his own merit that the Israelite would be delivered, but it was by confidence in God, by his strength and mercy. On the same principle would men be saved under the gospel. It was not by reliance on their own works or merit; it was by confidence in God, by faith, that they were to live.
Shall live - In Habakkuk this means to be made happy, or blessed; shall find comfort, and support, and deliverance. So in the gospel the blessings of salvation are represented as life, eternal life. Sin is represented as death, and man by nature is represented as dead in trespasses and sins, Eph 2:1. The gospel restores to life and salvation, Joh 3:36; Joh 5:29, Joh 5:40; Joh 6:33, Joh 6:51, Joh 6:53; Joh 20:31; Act 2:28; Rom 5:18; Rom 8:6. This expression, therefore, does not mean, as it is sometimes supposed, the "justified by faith" shall live; but it is expressive of a general principle in relation to people, that they shall be defended, preserved, made happy, not by their own merits, or strength, but by confidence in God. This principle is exactly applicable to the gospel plan of salvation. Those who rely on God the Saviour shall be justified, and saved.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:17: For therein: Rom 3:21
from faith: Rom 3:3
The just: Hab 2:4; Joh 3:36; Gal 3:11; Phi 3:9; Heb 10:38, Heb 11:6, Heb 11:7
Geneva 1599
1:17 (6) For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from (z) faith to faith: (7) as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
(6) The confirmation of the former proposition: we are taught in the gospel that we are instituted before God by faith, which increases daily, and therefore also saved.
(z) From faith, which increases daily. (7) The proof of the first as well as of the second proposition, out of Habakkuk, who attributes and gives to faith both justice and life before God.
John Gill
1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed,.... By "the righteousness of God", is not meant the essential righteousness of God, the rectitude of his nature, his righteousness in fulfilling his promises, and his punitive justice, which though revealed in the Gospel, yet not peculiar to it; nor the righteousness by which Christ himself is righteous, either as God, or as Mediator; but that righteousness which he wrought out by obeying the precepts, and bearing the penalty of the law in the room of his people, and by which they are justified in the sight of God: and this is called "the righteousness of God", in opposition to the righteousness of men: and because it justifies men in the sight of God; and because of the concern which Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit, have in it. Jehovah the Father sent his Son to work it out, and being wrought out, he approves and accepts of it, and imputes it to his elect: Jehovah the Son is the author of it by his obedience and death; and Jehovah the Spirit discovers it to sinners, works faith in them to lay hold upon it, and pronounces the sentence of justification by it in their consciences. Now this is said to be "revealed" in the Gospel, that is, it is taught in the Gospel; that is the word of righteousness, the ministration of it; it is manifested in and by the Gospel. This righteousness is not known by the light of nature, nor by the law of Moses; it was hid under the shadows of the ceremonial law, and is brought to light only by the Gospel; it is hid from every natural man, even from the most wise and prudent, and from God's elect themselves before conversion, and is only made known to believers, to whom it is revealed:
from faith to faith; that is, as say some, from the faith of God to the faith of men; from the faith of preachers to the faith of hearers; from the faith of the Old to the faith of the New Testament saints; or rather from one degree of faith to another; for faith, as it grows and increases, has clearer sights of this righteousness, as held forth in the Gospel. For the proof of this, a passage of Scripture is cited,
as it is written, Hab 2:4;
the just shall live by faith: "a just", or righteous man is, not everyone who thinks himself, or is thought by others to be so; nor are any so by their obedience to the law of works; but he is one that is made righteous by the righteousness of Christ imputed to him, which is before said to be revealed in the Gospel. The life which this man lives, and "shall live", does not design a natural or corporeal life, and a continuance of that, for such die a natural death, as other men; nor an eternal life, for though they shall so live, yet not by faith; but a spiritual life, a life of justification on Christ, of holiness from him, of communion with him, and of peace and joy; which spiritual life shall be continued, and never be lost. The manner in which the just lives, is "by faith". In the prophet Habakkuk, the words are, "the just shall live" "by his faith" Hab 2:4); which the Septuagint render, "by my faith": and the apostle only reads, "by faith", omitting the affix, as well known, and easy to be supplied: for faith, when given by God, and exercised by the believer, is his own, and by it he lives; not upon it, but by it upon Christ the object of it; from whom, in a way of believing, he derives his spiritual life, and all the comforts of it.
John Wesley
1:17 The righteousness of God - This expression sometimes means God's eternal, essential righteousness, which includes both justice and mercy, and is eminently shown in condemning sin, and yet justifying the sinner. Sometimes it means that righteousness by which a man, through the gift of God, is made and is righteous; and that, both by receiving Christ through faith, and by a conformity to the essential righteousness of God. St. Paul, when treating of justification, means hereby the righteousness of faith; therefore called the righteousness of God, because God found out and prepared, reveals and gives, approves and crowns it. In this verse the expression means, the whole benefit of God through Christ for the salvation of a sinner. Is revealed - Mention is made here, and Rom 1:18, of a twofold revelation, - of wrath and of righteousness: the former, little known to nature, is revealed by the law; the latter, wholly unknown to nature, by the gospel. That goes before, and prepares the way; this follows. Each, the apostle says, is revealed at the present time, in opposition to the times of ignorance. From faith to faith - By a gradual series of still clearer and clearer promises. As it is written - St. Paul had just laid down three propositions:
Righteousness is by faith, Rom 1:17.
Salvation is by righteousness, Rom 1:16.
Both to the Jews and to the gentiles, Rom 1:16. Now all these are confirmed by that single sentence, The just shall live by faith - Which was primarily spoken of those who preserved their lives, when the Chaldeans besieged Jerusalem, by believing the declarations of God, and acting according to them. Here it means, He shall obtain the favour of God, and continue therein by believing. Hab 2:4
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed--that is (as the whole argument of the Epistle shows), GOD'S JUSTIFYING RIGHTEOUSNESS.
from faith to faith--a difficult clause. Most interpreters (judging from the sense of such phrases elsewhere) take it to mean, "from one degree of faith to another." But this agrees ill with the apostle's design, which has nothing to do with the progressive stages of faith, but solely with faith itself as the appointed way of receiving God's "righteousness." We prefer, therefore, to understand it thus: "The righteousness of God is in the gospel message, revealed (to be) from (or 'by') faith to (or 'for') faith," that is, "in order to be by faith received." (So substantially, MELVILLE, MEYER, STUART, BLOOMFIELD, &c.).
as it is written-- (Hab 2:4).
The just shall live by faith--This golden maxim of the Old Testament is thrice quoted in the New Testament--here; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:38 --showing that the gospel way of "LIFE BY FAITH," so far from disturbing, only continued and developed the ancient method.
On the foregoing verses, Note (1) What manner of persons ought the ministers of Christ to be, according to the pattern here set up: absolutely subject and officially dedicated to the Lord Jesus; separated unto the gospel of God, which contemplates the subjugation of all nations to the faith of Christ: debtors to all classes, the refined and the rude, to bring the gospel to them all alike, all shame in the presence of the one, as well as pride before the other, sinking before the glory which they feel to be in their message; yearning over all faithful churches, not lording it over them, but rejoicing in their prosperity, and finding refreshment and strength in their fellowship! (2) The peculiar features of the gospel here brought prominently forward should be the devout study of all who preach it, and guide the views and the taste of all who are privileged statedly to hear it: that it is "the gospel of God," as a message from heaven, yet not absolutely new, but on the contrary, only the fulfilment of Old Testament promise, that not only is Christ the great theme of it, but Christ in the very nature of God as His own Son, and in the nature of men as partaker of their flesh--the Son of God now in resurrection--power and invested with authority to dispense all grace to men, and all gifts for the establishment and edification of the Church, Christ the righteousness provided of God for the justification of all that believe in His name; and that in this glorious Gospel, when preached as such, there resides the very power of God to save Jew and Gentile alike who embrace it. (3) While Christ is to be regarded as the ordained Channel of all grace from God to men (Rom 1:8), let none imagine that His proper divinity is in any respect compromised by this arrangement, since He is here expressly associated with "God the Father," in prayer for "grace and peace" (including all spiritual blessings) to rest upon this Church (Rom 1:7). (4) While this Epistle teaches, in conformity with the teaching of our Lord Himself, that all salvation is suspended upon faith, this is but half a truth, and will certainly minister to self-righteousness, if dissociated from another feature of the same truth, here explicitly taught, that this faith in God's own gift--for which accordingly in the case of the Roman believers, he "thanks his God through Jesus Christ" (Rom 1:8). (5) Christian fellowship, as indeed all real fellowship, is a mutual benefit; and as it is not possible for the most eminent saints and servants of Christ to impart any refreshment and profit to the meanest of their brethren without experiencing a rich return into their bosoms, so just in proportion to their humility and love will they feel their need of it and rejoice in it.
1:181:18: Քանզի յայտնելո՛ց է բարկութիւն Աստուծոյ յերկնից ՚ի վերայ ամենայն ամպարշտութեա՛ն եւ անիրաւութեան մարդկան. որք զճշմարտութիւնն անիրաւութեամբ ունին[3289]. [3289] Ոմանք. Բարկութիւնն Աստուծոյ... ՚ի վերայ ամբարշտութեան։ Ոսկան յաւելու. Զճշմարտութիւնն Աստուծոյ անիրա՛՛։
18 Արդարեւ Աստծու բարկութիւնը երկնքից յայտնուելու է մարդկանց ամբողջ անհաւատութեան եւ անիրաւութեան վրայ, քանի որ նրանք ճշմարտութիւնը անիրաւութեամբ են բռնած պահում:
18 Քանզի Աստուծոյ բարկութիւնը երկնքէն կը յայտնուի մարդոց բոլոր ամբարշտութեանը եւ անիրաւութեանը վրայ, որոնք ճշմարտութիւնը անիրաւութեամբ բռներ են։
Քանզի յայտնելոց է բարկութիւն Աստուծոյ յերկնից ի վերայ ամենայն ամպարշտութեան եւ անիրաւութեան մարդկան, որք զճշմարտութիւնն անիրաւութեամբ ունին:

1:18: Քանզի յայտնելո՛ց է բարկութիւն Աստուծոյ յերկնից ՚ի վերայ ամենայն ամպարշտութեա՛ն եւ անիրաւութեան մարդկան. որք զճշմարտութիւնն անիրաւութեամբ ունին[3289].
[3289] Ոմանք. Բարկութիւնն Աստուծոյ... ՚ի վերայ ամբարշտութեան։ Ոսկան յաւելու. Զճշմարտութիւնն Աստուծոյ անիրա՛՛։
18 Արդարեւ Աստծու բարկութիւնը երկնքից յայտնուելու է մարդկանց ամբողջ անհաւատութեան եւ անիրաւութեան վրայ, քանի որ նրանք ճշմարտութիւնը անիրաւութեամբ են բռնած պահում:
18 Քանզի Աստուծոյ բարկութիւնը երկնքէն կը յայտնուի մարդոց բոլոր ամբարշտութեանը եւ անիրաւութեանը վրայ, որոնք ճշմարտութիւնը անիրաւութեամբ բռներ են։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:1818: Ибо открывается гнев Божий с неба на всякое нечестие и неправду человеков, подавляющих истину неправдою.
1:18  ἀποκαλύπτεται γὰρ ὀργὴ θεοῦ ἀπ᾽ οὐρανοῦ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν ἀσέβειαν καὶ ἀδικίαν ἀνθρώπων τῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐν ἀδικίᾳ κατεχόντων,
1:18. Ἀποκαλύπτεται (It-be-shrouded-off) γὰρ (therefore) ὀργὴ (a-stressing) θεοῦ (of-a-Deity) ἀπ' (off) οὐρανοῦ (of-a-sky) ἐπὶ (upon) πᾶσαν (to-all) ἀσέβειαν (to-an-un-revering-of) καὶ (and) ἀδικίαν (to-an-un-coursing-unto) ἀνθρώπων (of-mankinds) τῶν (of-the-ones) τὴν (to-the-one) ἀλήθειαν (to-an-un-secluding-of) ἐν (in) ἀδικίᾳ (unto-an-un-coursing-unto) κατεχόντων , ( of-holding-down ,"
1:18. revelatur enim ira Dei de caelo super omnem impietatem et iniustitiam hominum eorum qui veritatem in iniustitiam detinentFor the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and injustice of those men that detain the truth of God in injustice:
18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold down the truth in unrighteousness;
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness:

18: Ибо открывается гнев Божий с неба на всякое нечестие и неправду человеков, подавляющих истину неправдою.
1:18  ἀποκαλύπτεται γὰρ ὀργὴ θεοῦ ἀπ᾽ οὐρανοῦ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν ἀσέβειαν καὶ ἀδικίαν ἀνθρώπων τῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐν ἀδικίᾳ κατεχόντων,
1:18. revelatur enim ira Dei de caelo super omnem impietatem et iniustitiam hominum eorum qui veritatem in iniustitiam detinent
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and injustice of those men that detain the truth of God in injustice:
18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold down the truth in unrighteousness;
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
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А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
18-32: Чтобы еще яснее представить величие Евангелия, Апостол далее изображает то бедственное состояние, в каком пребывало человечество до Христа. До конца первой главы он, прежде всего, рисует жизнь язычников, которые хотя и могли иметь некоторые познания о Боге, но намеренно подавили в себе свет истины, чтобы безвозбранно жить по желаниям своего сердца, и, кроме того, изобрели себе ложных богов (18-23). Прогневанный Бог наказал их двояко. Так как они лишили Творца подобающей Ему чести и променяли Его на творения, то Бог попустил им дойти до крайней степени порочности и обесчестить самих себя разными противоестественными пороками (24-27). А так как они пренебрегли возможным для них Богопознанием, то Бог допустил им упасть в такую темную бездну безнравственности, что они не только сами совершали безнравственные поступки, но и одобряли других, совершавших то же самое (28-32).

18: Евангелие необходимо ввиду того, что без него, прежде всего язычникам, оставалось бы только нести на себе суровую кару от Бога за свои грехи. - Открывается. Откровение гнева Божия не привязано у Апостола к какой-либо одной эпохе: Господь наказывал за грехи с тех самых пор, как люди стали грешить. Однако нет сомнения, что Апостол имел в виду изобразить преимущественно падение язычества в его время, - падение, до какого допустил язычников прогневавшийся на них Бог. - Гнев Божий (orgh Q). Гнев Божий собственно есть тоже праведность Божия, но проявляющаяся в отрицательном направлении. Он имеет своим предметом то, что есть неправедного в человеке, вызывается именно нравственною аномалиею человека, а не столько оскорблением Божественной личности. Греки также приписывали гнев своим богам, но гнев этих богов (mhniV) был собственно не то, что Павел называет гневом Божиим (orgh Q). Он имел характер непримиримости, зависти и ненависти. Боги оскорблялись на людей главным образом за неуважение, какое люди проявляли в отношении к их личности, и успокаивались тогда, когда человек уплачивал им за это приношениями, не обращая внимания на внутреннее состояние человека, приносящего жертву. Истинный же Бог может преложить свой гнев на милость только тогда, когда человек совершенно изменится в нравственном отношении и к лучшему (Евр 10:5-6, ср. Пс 39:7-8). С неба. Это прибавляет Апостол для того, чтобы показать, что указанные ниже явления были действительно результатами гнева Божия, а не только естественными последствиями заблуждений язычников. (Выражение гнев Божий иначе могло бы быть истолковано в переносном смысле...) Под небом же здесь разумеется, конечно, не атмосферическое или звездное небо, а таинственное местопребывание престола Вечного Судии; видимое же небо служит для нас только символом этого высшего неба. Блудный сын, исповедуя свой грех пред небом и отцом своим (Лк 15:18), очевидно, смотрел на небо, как на мстителя за поруганные священные чувства. - На всякое нечестие и неправду человеков, т. е. против тех, которые не признают истинного Бога и не хотят руководиться Его законами в жизни (это и есть нечестие - asereia), в чем является виновною их злая воля, по которой они собственное я ставят выше Бога (это - неправда - adikia). Т. е. неправда является причиною нечестия. - Подавляющих истину неправдою. Эти слова точнее определяют, в чем была вина язычников. Они, как видно из 19-го ст., могли познать Бога в природе и найти хотя некоторую часть великой истины, т. е. уверовать в бытие Вечного Судьи мздовоздаятеля, но они упорно старались потушить в своем сознании этот спасительный свет (katecontaV) и делали это, опять замечает Апостол, именно в силу дурных побуждений своей испорченной воли, которая не хотела признавать высших законов жизни, божественных, чтобы не отказаться от своих порочных стремлений (неправдою - en adikia). Здесь, очевидно, та же мысль, какая высказана Господом в беседе с Никодимом: "люди возлюбили более тьму, нежели свет, потому что дела их были злы" (Ин 3:19).
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:18: For the wrath of God is revealed - The apostle has now finished his preface, and comes to the grand subject of the epistle; namely, to show the absolute need of the Gospel of Christ, because of the universal corruption of mankind; which was so great as to incense the justice of God, and call aloud for the punishment of the world
1. He shows that all the heathen nations were utterly corrupt, and deserved this threatened punishment. And this is the subject of the first chapter, from Rom 1:18 to the end (Rom 1:18-32).
2. He shows that the Jews, notwithstanding the greatness of their privileges, were no better than the Gentiles; and therefore the wrath of God was revealed against them also. This subject he treats in29 and19.
3. He returns, as it were, on both, Rom 3:20-31, and proves that, as the Jews and Gentiles were equally corrupt, they could not be saved by the deeds of any law; that they stood equally in need of that salvation which God had provided; that both were equally entitled to that salvation, for God was the God of the Gentiles as well as of the Jews.
By οργη θεου, the wrath of God, we are not to understand any uneasy passion in the Divine Being; but the displeasure of his righteousness, which is expressed by the punishments inflicted on the ungodly, those who retain not God in their knowledge; and the unrighteous, those whose lives are profligate.
As, in the Gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed for the salvation of the ungodly, so is the wrath of God revealed against the workers of iniquity. Those who refuse to be saved in the way revealed by his mercy must be consumed in the way revealed by his justice.
Ungodliness - ασεβειαν, from α , negative, and σεβω or σεβομαι, I worship, probably intended here to express atheism, polytheism, and idolatry of every kind.
Unrighteousness - αδικιαν from α, negative, and δικη, justice; every thing contrary to strict morality; all viciousness and profligacy of conduct.
Who hold the truth in unrighteousness - In what sense could it be said that the heathen held the truth in unrighteousness, when they really had not that truth? Some think this refers to the conduct of their best philosophers, such as Socrates, Plato, Seneca, etc., who knew much more of the Divine nature than they thought safe or prudent to discover; and who acted in many things contrary to the light which they enjoyed. Others think this to be spoken of the Gentiles in general, who either did know, or might have known, much of God from the works of creation, as the apostle intimates in the following verses. But Rosenmuller and some others contend that the word κατεχειν here does not signify to hold, but to hinder; and that the place should be translated, who through maliciousness hinder the truth; i.e. prevent it from taking hold of their hearts, and from governing their conduct. This is certainly a very usual acceptation of the verb κατεχειν, which Hesychius interprets κρατειν, κωλυειν, συνεχειν, to retain, hinder, etc.; these men hindering, by their vicious conduct, the truth of God from being propagated in the earth.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:18: For - This word denotes that the apostle is about to give a reason for what he had just said. This verse commences the argument of the Epistle. an argument designed to establish the proposition advanced in Rom 1:17. The proposition is, that God's plan of justification is Rev_ealed in the gospel. To show this, it was necessary to show that all other plans had failed; and that there was need of some new plan or scheme to save people. To this he devotes this and the two following chapters. The design of this argument is, to show that people were sinners. And in order to make this out, it was necessary to show that they were under law. This was clear in regard to the Jews. They had the Scriptures; and the apostle in this chapter shows that it was equally clear in regard to the Gentiles, and then proceeds to show that both had failed of obeying the Law. To see this clearly it is necessary to add only, that there can be but two ways of justification conceived of; one by obedience to law, and the other by grace. The former was the one by which Jews and Gentiles had sought to be justified; and if it could be shown that in this they had failed, the way was clear to show that there was need of some other plan.
The wrath of God - ὀργὴ Θεοῦ orgē Theou. The word rendered "wrath" properly denotes that earnest appetite or desire by which we seek anything, or an intense effort to obtain it. And it is particularly applied to the desire which a man has to take vengeance who is injured, and who is enraged. It is thus synonymous with Rev_enge. Eph 4:31, "let all bitterness, and wrath, etc.; Col 3:8, "anger, wrath, malice," etc.; Ti1 2:8; Jam 1:19. But it is also often applied to God; and it is clear that when we think of the word as applicable to him, it must be divested of everything like human passion, and especially of the passion of Rev_enge. As he cannot be injured by the sins of people Job 25:6, he has no motive for vengeance properly so called, and it is one of the most obvious rules of interpretation that we are not to apply to God passions and feelings which, among us, have their origin in evil.
In making a Revelation, it was indispensable to use words which people used; but it does not follow that when applied to God they mean precisely what they do when applied to man. When the Saviour is said Mar 3:5 to have looked on his disciples with anger (Greek, "wrath," the same word is here), it is not to be supposed that he had the feelings of an implacable man seeking vengeance. The nature of the feeling is to be judged of by the character of the person. So, in this place, the word denotes the "divine displeasure" or "indignation" against sin; the divine purpose to "inflict punishment. It is the opposition of the divine character against sin;" and the determination of the divine mind to express that opposition in a proper way, by excluding the offender from the favors which he bestows on the righteous. It is not an unamiable, or arbitrary principle of conduct. We all admire the character of a father who is opposed to disorder, and vice, and disobedience in his family, and who expresses his opposition in a proper way.
We admire the character of a ruler who is opposed to all crime in the community, and who expresses those feelings in the laws. And the more he is opposed to vice and crime, the more we admire his character and his laws; and why shall we be not equally pleased with God, who is opposed to all crime in all parts of the universe, and who determines to express it in the proper way for the sake of preserving order and promoting peace? The phrase "divine displeasure" or "indignation," therefore, expresses the meaning of this phrase; see Mat 3:7; Luk 3:7; Luk 21:23; Joh 3:36; Rom 2:5, Rom 2:8; Rom 3:5; Rom 4:15; Rom 5:9; Rom 9:22; Rom 12:19; Rom 13:4-5; Eph 2:3; Eph 5:6; Th1 1:10; Th1 2:16, etc. The word occurs 35 times in the New Testament.
Is Rev_ealed - That is, Rev_ealed to the Jews by their Law; and to the Gentiles in their reason, and conscience, as the apostle proceeds to show.
From heaven - This expression I take to mean simply that the divine displeasure against sin is made known by a divine appointment; by an arrangement of events, communications, and arguments, which evince that they have had their origin in heaven; or are divine. How this is, Paul proceeds to state, in the works of creation, and in the Law which the Hebrews had. A variety of meanings have been given to this expression, but this seems the most satisfactory. It does not mean that the wrath will be sent from heaven; or that the heavens declare his wrath; or that the heavenly bodies are proofs of his wrath against sin; or that Christ, the executioner of wrath, will be manifest from heaven (Origen, Cyril, Beza, etc.); or that it is from God who is in heaven; but that it is by an arrangement which shows that it had its origin in heaven. or has proofs that it is divine.
Against all ungodliness - This word properly means "impiety" toward God, or neglect of the worship and honor due to him. ἀσέβειαν asebeian. It refers to the fact that people had failed to honor the true God, and had paid to idols the homage which was due to him. Multitudes also in every age refuse to honor him, and neglect his worship, though they are not idolaters. Many people suppose that if they do not neglect their duty to their fellow-men, if they are honest and upright in their dealings, they are not guilty, even though they are not righteous, or do not do their duty to God; as though it were a less crime to dishonor God than man; and as though it were innocence to neglect and disobey our Maker and Redeemer. The apostle here shows that the wrath of God is as really Rev_ealed against the neglect of God as it is against positive iniquity; and that this is an offence of so much consequence as to be placed "first," and as deserving the divine indignation more than the neglect of our duties toward people; compare Rom 11:26; Ti2 2:16; Tit 2:12; Jde 1:15, Jde 1:18. The word does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament.
Unrighteousness of men - Unrighteousness, or iniquity toward people. All offences against our neighbor, our parents. our country, etc. The word "ungodliness" includes all crimes against God; this, all crimes against our fellow-men. The two words express what comprehends the violation of all the commands of God; "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, etc. and thy neighbor as thyself," Mat 22:37-40. The wrath of God is thus Rev_ealed against all human wickedness.
Who hold the truth - Who "keep back," or "restrain" the truth. The word translated "hold" here, sometimes means to "maintain," to "keep," to "observe" Co1 7:30; Co2 6:12; but it also means to "hold back, to detain, to hinder." Luk 4:42, "the people sought him (Jesus), and came to him, and stayed him." (Greek, the same as here.) Plm 1:13, "whom I would have "retained" with me," etc.; Th2 2:6, "and now ye know what "withholdeth," etc. In this place it means also that they held back, or restrained the truth, by their wickedness.
The truth - The truth of God, in whatever way made known, and particularly, as the apostle goes on to say, what is made known by the light of nature. The truth pertaining to his perfections, his Law, etc. They hold it back. or restrain its influence.
In unrighteousness - Or rather, by their iniquity. Their wickedness is the cause why the truth had had so little progress among them, and had exerted so little influence. This was done by their yielding to corrupt passions and propensities, and by their being therefore unwilling to retain the knowledge of a pure and holy God, who is opposed to such deeds, and who will punish them. As they were determined to practice iniquity, they chose to exclude the knowledge of a pure God, and to worship impure idols, by which they might give a sanction to their lusts. Their vice and tendency to iniquity was, therefore, the reason why they had so little knowledge of a holy God; and by the love of this, they held back the truth from making progress, and becoming diffused among them.
The same thing is substantially true now. People hold back or resist the truth of the gospel by their sins in the following ways.
(1) people of influence and wealth employ both, in directly opposing the gospel.
(2) people directly resist the doctrines of religion. since they know they could not hold to those doctrines without abandoning their sins.
(3) people who resolve to live in sin, of course, resist the gospel, and endeavor to pRev_ent its influence.
(4) pride, and vanity, and the love of the world also resist the gospel, and oppose its advances.
(5) Unlawful business - business that begins in evil, and progresses, and ends in evil - has this tendency to hold back the gospel. Such is the effect of the traffic in ardent spirits, in the slave-trade, etc. They begin in the love of money, the root of all evil Ti1 6:10; they progress in the tears and sorrows of the widow, the orphan, the wife, the sister, or the child; and they end in the deep damnation of multitudes in the world to come. Perhaps there has been nothing that has so much held back the influence of truth, and of the gospel, as indulgence in the vice of intemperance, and traffic in liquid fire.
(6) Indulgence in vice, or wickedness of any kind, holds back the truth of God. People who are resolved to indulge their passions will not yield themselves to this truth. And hence, all the wicked, the proud, and vain, and worldly are responsible, not only for their own sins directly, but for hindering, by their example and their crimes, the effect of religion on others. They are answerable for standing in the way of God and his truth; and for opposing him in the benevolent design of doing good to all people. There is nothing that pRev_ents the universal spread and influence of truth but sin. And people of wickedness are answerable for all the ignorance and wo which are spread over the community, and which have extended themselves over the world.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:18: the wrath: Rom 4:15
ungodliness: Rom 5:6
unrighteousness: Rom 6:13
who hold: Rom 1:19, Rom 1:28, Rom 1:32, Rom 2:3, Rom 2:15-23; Luk 12:46, Luk 12:47; Joh 3:19-21; Act 24:24, Act 24:25; Th2 2:10; Ti1 4:1, Ti1 4:2
Geneva 1599
1:18 (8) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against (a) all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the (b) truth in unrighteousness;
(8) Another confirmation of the principal question: all men being considered in themselves, or without Christ, are guilty both of ungodliness and also unrighteousness, and therefore are subject on condemnation: therefore they need to seek righteousness in someone else.
(a) Against all types of ungodliness.
(b) By "truth" Paul means all the light that is left in man since his fall, not as though they being led by this were able to come into favour with God, but that their own reason might condemn them of wickedness both against God and man.
John Gill
1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven,.... The apostle having hinted at the doctrine of justification by faith in the righteousness of Christ; and which he designed more largely to insist upon in this epistle, and to prove that there can be no justification of a sinner in the sight of God by the deeds of the law, in order to set this matter in a clear light, from hence, to the end of the chapter, and in the following ones, represents the sad estate and condition of the Gentiles with the law of nature, and of the Jews with the law of Moses; by which it most clearly appears, that neither of them could be justified by their obedience to the respective laws under which they were, but that they both stood in need of the righteousness of God. By "the wrath of God" is meant the displicency and indignation of God at sin and sinners; his punitive justice, and awful vengeance; the judgments which he executes in this world; and that everlasting displeasure of his, and wrath to come in another world, which all through sin are deserving of, some are appointed to, God's elect are delivered from, through Christ's sustaining it, in their room and stead, and which comes and abides on all impenitent and unbelieving persons. This is said to be "revealed", where? not in the Gospel, in which the righteousness of God is revealed; unless the Gospel be taken for the books of the four Evangelists, or for the Gospel dispensation, or for that part of the ministry of a Gospel preacher, which represents the wrath of God as the desert of sin, the dreadfulness of it, and the way to escape it; for the Gospel, strictly taken, is grace, good news, glad tidings, and not wrath and damnation; though indeed in Christ's sufferings for the sins of his people, which the Gospel gives us an account of, there is a great display of the wrath of God, and of his indignation against sin: but this wrath of God is revealed in the law, it is known by the light of nature, and to be perceived in the law of Moses, and may be observed in the Scriptures, where are many instances and examples of divine wrath and displeasure; as in the total destruction of the old world by a world wide flood, the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah, turning Lot's wife into a pillar of salt, the plagues of Egypt, and the several instances mentioned in this chapter. This wrath is said to be God's wrath "from heaven", by the awful blackness which covers the heavens, the storms and tempests raised in them, and by pouring down water or fire in a surprising manner, on the inhabitants of the world; or "from heaven", that is, openly, manifestly, in the sight of all; or from God who is in heaven, and not from second causes; and more especially it will be revealed from heaven, when Christ shall descend from thence at the day of judgment: the subject matter or object of it,
against, or "upon" which it is revealed, are,
all ungodliness, and unrighteousness of men; that is, all ungodly and unrighteous men; or all men who are guilty of ungodliness, the breach of the first table of the law, which respects the worship of God, and of unrighteousness, the breach of the second table of the law, which regards our neighbours' good: and these persons are further described as such,
who hold the truth in unrighteousness: meaning either such who know the Gospel, which is "the truth", and do not profess it openly, but hold and imprison it in their minds, which is a great piece of unrighteousness; or if they do profess it, do not live up to it in their lives: or rather the Gentile philosophers are designed, who are spoken of in the following verse; See Gill on Rom 1:22; who had some knowledge of the truth of the divine Being, and his perfections, and of the difference between moral good and evil; but did not like to retain it themselves, nor communicate all they knew to others, nor did they live according to that knowledge which they had.
John Wesley
1:18 For - There is no other way of obtaining life and salvation. Having laid down his proposition, the apostle now enters upon the proof of it. His first argument is, The law condemns all men, as being under sin. None therefore is justified by the works of the law. This is treated of Rom 3:20. And hence he infers, Therefore justification is by faith. The wrath of God is revealed - Not only by frequent and signal interpositions of divine providence, but likewise in the sacred oracles, and by us, his messengers. From heaven - This speaks the majesty of Him whose wrath is revealed, his all - seeing eye, and the extent of his wrath: whatever is under heaven is under the effects of his wrath, believers in Christ excepted. Against all ungodliness and unrighteousness - These two are treated of, Rom 1:23, &c. Of men - He is speaking here of the gentiles, and chiefly the wisest of them. Who detain the truth - For it struggles against their wickedness. In unrighteousness - The word here includes ungodliness also.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:18 WHY THIS DIVINELY PROVIDED RIGHTEOUSNESS IS NEEDED BY ALL MEN. (Rom 1:18)
For the wrath of God--His holy displeasure and righteous vengeance against sin.
is revealed from heaven--in the consciences of men, and attested by innumerable outward evidences of a moral government.
against all ungodliness--that is, their whole irreligiousness, or their living without any conscious reference to God, and proper feelings towards Him.
and unrighteousness of men--that is, all their deviations from moral rectitude in heart, speech, and behavior. (So these terms must be distinguished when used together, though, when standing alone, either of them includes the other).
THIS WRATH OF GOD, REVEALED AGAINST ALL INIQUITY, OVERHANGS THE WHOLE HEATHEN WORLD. (Rom 1:18-32)
who hold--rather, "hold down," "hinder," or "keep back."
the truth in unrighteousness--The apostle, though he began this verse with a comprehensive proposition regarding men in general, takes up in the end of it only one of the two great divisions of mankind, to whom he meant to apply it; thus gently sliding into his argument. But before enumerating their actual iniquities, he goes back to the origin of them all, their stifling the light which still remained to them. As darkness overspreads the mind, so impotence takes possession of the heart, when the "still small voice" of conscience is first disregarded, next thwarted, and then systematically deadened. Thus "the truth" which God left with and in men, instead of having free scope and developing itself, as it otherwise would, was obstructed (compare Mt 6:22-23; Eph 4:17-18).
1:191:19: վասն զի գիտութիւնն Աստուծոյ յայտնի՛ է ՚ի նոսա. քանզի Աստուա՛ծ իսկ յայտնեաց նոցա։
19 Ինչ որ կարելի է իմանալ Աստծու մասին, յայտնուած է նրանց, քանզի Աստուած ինքը յայտնեց այն նրանց.
19 Վասն զի ինչ որ Աստուծոյ մասին պէտք է գիտնալ՝ իրենց մէջ յայտնի է, որովհետեւ Աստուած անոնց յայտնեց։
վասն զի գիտութիւնն Աստուծոյ յայտնի է ի նոսա. քանզի Աստուած իսկ յայտնեաց նոցա:

1:19: վասն զի գիտութիւնն Աստուծոյ յայտնի՛ է ՚ի նոսա. քանզի Աստուա՛ծ իսկ յայտնեաց նոցա։
19 Ինչ որ կարելի է իմանալ Աստծու մասին, յայտնուած է նրանց, քանզի Աստուած ինքը յայտնեց այն նրանց.
19 Վասն զի ինչ որ Աստուծոյ մասին պէտք է գիտնալ՝ իրենց մէջ յայտնի է, որովհետեւ Աստուած անոնց յայտնեց։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:1919: Ибо, что можно знать о Боге, явно для них, потому что Бог явил им.
1:19  διότι τὸ γνωστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ φανερόν ἐστιν ἐν αὐτοῖς· ὁ θεὸς γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἐφανέρωσεν.
1:19. διότι (through-to-which-a-one) τὸ (the-one) γνωστὸν (acquaintable) τοῦ (of-the-one) θεοῦ (of-a-Deity) φανερόν (en-manifested) ἐστιν (it-be) ἐν (in) αὐτοῖς, (unto-them,"ὁ (the-one) θεὸς (a-Deity) γὰρ (therefore) αὐτοῖς (unto-them) ἐφανέρωσεν. (it-en-manifested)
1:19. quia quod notum est Dei manifestum est in illis Deus enim illis manifestavitBecause that which is known of God is manifest in them. For God hath manifested it unto them.
19. because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God manifested it unto them.
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed [it] unto them:

19: Ибо, что можно знать о Боге, явно для них, потому что Бог явил им.
1:19  διότι τὸ γνωστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ φανερόν ἐστιν ἐν αὐτοῖς· ὁ θεὸς γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἐφανέρωσεν.
1:19. quia quod notum est Dei manifestum est in illis Deus enim illis manifestavit
Because that which is known of God is manifest in them. For God hath manifested it unto them.
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jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ mh▾ tb▾ all ▾
А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
19: Здесь Апостол доказывает, что язычники действительно намеренно гасили свет истины, а не только заблуждались по неведению (ибо) - что можно знать о Боге (to gnwston tou q), т. е. знать всякому человеку, путем естественным, не получая особых откровений от Бога, а что это такое - об этом сказано в 20-м ст. - Явно для них - точнее: в них (en autoϊV), т. е. в их сознании (ср. 2:15). - Потому что Бог явил им. Апостол хочет этим сказать, что и естественное Богопознание имеет все-таки в своем основании волю Божию. Если язычники иногда хотели, так сказать, насильно завладеть высшими, божественными тайнами, то это было с их стороны бесполезным трудом; люди могут прийти к познанию о Боге только тогда, когда Бог захочет этого.
Matthew Henry: Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible - 1706
The Excellency of the Gospel.A. D. 58.
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

In this last part of the chapter the apostle applies what he had said particularly to the Gentile world, in which we may observe,

I. The means and helps they had to come to the knowledge of God. Though they had not such a knowledge of his law as Jacob and Israel had (Ps. cxlvii. 20), yet among them he left not himself without witness (Acts xiv. 17): For that which may be known, &c., v. 19, 20. Observe,

1. What discoveries they had: That which may be known of God is manifest, en autois--among them; that is, there were some even among them that had the knowledge of God, were convinced of the existence of one supreme Numen. The philosophy of Pythagoras, Plato, and the Stoics, discovered a great deal of the knowledge of God, as appears by abundance of testimonies. That which may be known, which implies that there is a great deal which may not be known. The being of God may be apprehended, but cannot be comprehended. We cannot by searching find him out, Job xi. 7-9. Finite understandings cannot perfectly know an infinite being; but, blessed be God, there is that which may be known, enough to lead us to our chief end, the glorifying and enjoying of him; and these things revealed belong to us and to our children, while secret things are not to be pried into, Deut. xxix. 29.

2. Whence they had these discoveries: God hath shown it to them. Those common natural notions which they had of God were imprinted upon their hearts by the God of nature himself, who is the Father of lights. This sense of a Deity, and a regard to that Deity, are so connate with the human nature that some think we are to distinguish men from brutes by these rather than by reason.

3. By what way and means these discoveries and notices which they had were confirmed and improved, namely, by the work of creation (v. 20); For the invisible things of God, &c.

(1.) Observe what they knew: The invisible things of him, even his eternal power and Godhead. Though God be not the object of sense, yet he hath discovered and made known himself by those things that are sensible. The power and Godhead of God are invisible things, and yet are clearly seen in their products. He works in secret (Job xxiii. 8, 9; Ps. cxxxix. 15; Eccl. xi. 5), but manifests what he has wrought, and therein makes known his power and Godhead, and others of his attributes which natural light apprehends in the idea of a God. They could not come by natural light to the knowledge of the three persons in the Godhead (though some fancy they have found footsteps of this in Plato's writings), but they did come to the knowledge of the Godhead, at least so much knowledge as was sufficient to have kept them from idolatry. This was that truth which they held in unrighteousness.

(2.) How they knew it: By the things that are made, which could not make themselves, nor fall into such an exact order and harmony by any casual hits; and therefore must have been produced by some first cause or intelligent agent, which first cause could be no other than an eternal powerful God. See Ps. xix. 1; Isa. xl. 26; Acts xvii. 24. The workman is known by his work. The variety, multitude, order, beauty, harmony, different nature, and excellent contrivance, of the things that are made, the direction of them to certain ends, and the concurrence of all the parts to the good and beauty of the whole, do abundantly prove a Creator and his eternal power and Godhead. Thus did the light shine in the darkness. And this from the creation of the world. Understand it either, [1.] As the topic from which the knowledge of them is drawn. To evince this truth, we have recourse to the great work of creation. And some think this ktisis kosmou, this creature of the world (as it may be read), is to be understood of man, the ktisis kat exochen--the most remarkable creature of the lower world, called ktisis, Mark xvi. 15. The frame and structure of human bodies, and especially the most excellent powers, faculties, and capacities of human souls, do abundantly prove that there is a Creator, and that he is God. Or, [2.] As the date of the discovery. It as old as the creation of the world. In this sense apo ktiseos is most frequently used in scripture. These notices concerning God are not any modern discoveries, hit upon of late, but ancient truths, which were from the beginning. The way of the acknowledgement of God is a good old way; it was from the beginning. Truth got the start of error.

II. Their gross idolatry, notwithstanding these discoveries that God made to them of himself; described here, v. 21-23, 25. We shall the less wonder at the inefficacy of these natural discoveries to prevent the idolatry of the Gentiles if we remember how prone even the Jews, who had scripture light to guide them, were to idolatry; so miserably are the degenerate sons of men plunged in the mire of sense. Observe,

1. The inward cause of their idolatry, v. 21, 22. They are therefore without excuse, in that they did know God, and from what they knew might easily infer that it was their duty to worship him, and him only. Though some have greater light and means of knowledge than others, yet all have enough to leave them inexcusable. But the mischief of it was that, (1.) They glorified him not as God. Their affections towards him, and their awe and adoration of him, did not keep pace with their knowledge. To glorify him as God is to glorify him only; for there can be but one infinite: but they did not so glorify him, for they set up a multitude of other deities. To glorify him as God is to worship him with spiritual worship; but they made images of him. Not to glorify God as God is in effect not to glorify him at all; to respect him as a creature is not to glorify him, but to dishonour him. (2.) Neither were they thankful; not thankful for the favours in general they received from God (insensibleness of God's mercies is at the bottom of our sinful departures from him); not thankful in particular for the discoveries God was pleased to make of himself to them. Those that do not improve the means of knowledge and grace are justly reckoned unthankful for them. (3.) But they became vain in their imaginations, en tois dialogismois--in their reasonings, in their practical inferences. They had a great deal of knowledge of general truths (v. 19), but no prudence to apply them to particular cases. Or, in their notions of God, and the creation of the world, and the origination of mankind, and the chief good; in these things, when they quitted the plain truth, they soon disputed themselves into a thousand vain and foolish fancies. The several opinions and hypotheses of the various sects of philosophers concerning these things were so many vain imaginations. When truth is forsaken, errors multiply in infinitum--infinitely. (4.) And their foolish heart was darkened. The foolishness and practical wickedness of the heart cloud and darken the intellectual powers and faculties. Nothing tends more to the blinding and perverting of the understanding than the corruption and depravedness of the will and affections. (5.) Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, v. 22. This looks black upon the philosophers, the pretenders to wisdom and professors of it. Those that had the most luxuriant fancy, in framing to themselves the idea of a God, fell into the most gross and absurd conceits: and it was the just punishment of their pride and self-conceitedness. It has been observed that the most refined nations, that made the greatest show of wisdom, were the arrantest fools in religion. The barbarians adored the sun and moon, which of all others was the most specious idolatry; while the learned Egyptians worshipped an ox and an onion. The Grecians, who excelled them in wisdom, adored diseases and human passions. The Romans, the wisest of all, worshipped the furies. And at this day the poor Americans worship the thunder; while the ingenious Chinese adore the devil. Thus the world by wisdom knew not God, 1 Cor. i. 21. As a profession of wisdom is an aggravation of folly, so a proud conceit of wisdom is the cause of a great deal of folly. Hence we read of few philosophers who were converted to Christianity; and Paul's preaching was no where so laughed at and ridiculed as among the learned Athenians, Acts xvii. 18-32. Phaskontes einai--conceiting themselves to be wise. The plain truth of the being of God would not content them; they thought themselves above that, and so fell into the greatest errors.

2. The outward acts of their idolatry, v. 23-25. (1.) Making images of God (v. 23), by which, as much as in them lay, they changed the glory of the incorruptible God. Compare Ps. cvi. 20; Jer. ii. 11. They ascribed a deity to the most contemptible creatures, and by them represented God. It was the greatest honour God did to man that he made man in the image of God; but it is the greatest dishonour man has done to God that he has made God in the image of man. This was what God so strictly warned the Jews against, Deut. iv. 15, &c. This the apostle shows the folly of in his sermon at Athens, Acts xvii. 29. See Isa. xl. 18, &c.; xliv. 10, &c. This is called (v. 25) changing the truth of God into a lie. As it did dishonour his glory, so it did misrepresent his being. Idols are called lies, for they belie God, as if he had a body, whereas he is a Spirit, Jer. xxiii. 14; Hos. vii. 1. Teachers of lies, Hab. ii. 18. (2.) Giving divine honour to the creature: Worshipped and served the creature, para ton ktisavta--besides the Creator. They did own a supreme Numen in their profession, but they did in effect disown him by the worship they paid to the creature; for God will be all or none. Or, above the Creator, paying more devout respect to their inferior deities, stars, heroes, demons, thinking the supreme God inaccessible, or above their worship. The sin itself was their worshipping the creature at all; but this is mentioned as an aggravation of the sin, that they worshipped the creature more than the Creator. This was the general wickedness of the Gentile world, and became twisted in with their laws and government; in compliance with which even the wise men among them, who knew and owned a supreme God and were convinced of the nonsense and absurdity of their polytheism and idolatry, yet did as the rest of their neighbours did. Seneca, in his book De Superstitione, as it is quoted by Aug. de Civit. Dei, lib. 6, cap. 10 (for the book itself is lost), after he had largely shown the great folly and impiety of the vulgar religion, in divers instances of it, yet concludes, Quæ omnia sapiens servabit tanquam legibus jussa, non tanquam diis grata--All which a wise man will observe as established by law, not imagining them grateful to the gods. And afterwards, Omnem istam ignobilem deorum turbam, quam longo ævo longa superstitio congessit, sic adorabimus, ut meminerimus cultum ejus magis ad morem quam ad rem pertinere--All this ignoble rout of gods, which ancient superstition has amassed together by long prescription, we will so adore as to remember that the worship of them is rather a compliance with custom than material in itself. Upon which Augustine observes, Coleb at quod reprehendebat, agebat quod arguebat, quod culpabat adorabat--He worshipped that which he censured, he did that which he had proved wrong, and he adored what he found fault with. I mention this thus largely because methinks it doth fully explain that of the apostle here (v. 18): Who hold the truth in unrighteousness. It is observable that upon the mention of the dishonour done to God by the idolatry of the Gentiles the apostle, in the midst of his discourse, expresses himself in an awful adoration of God: Who is blessed for ever. Amen. When we see or hear of any contempt cast upon God or his name, we should thence take occasion to think and speak highly and honourably of him. In this, as in other things, the worse others are, the better we should be. Blessed for ever, notwithstanding these dishonours done to his name: though there are those that do not glorify him, yet he is glorified, and will be glorified to eternity.

III. The judgments of God upon them for this idolatry; not many temporal judgments (the idolatrous nations were the conquering ruling nations of the world), but spiritual judgments, giving them up to the most brutish and unnatural lusts. Paredoken autous--He gave them up; it is thrice repeated here, v. 24, 26, 28. Spiritual judgments are of all judgments the sorest, and to be most dreaded. Observe,

1. By whom they were given up. God gave them up, in a way of righteous judgment, as the just punishment of their idolatry--taking off the bridle of restraining grace--leaving them to themselves--letting them alone; for his grace is his own, he is debtor to no man, he may give or withhold his grace at pleasure. Whether this giving up be a positive act of God or only privative we leave to the schools to dispute: but this we are sure of that it is no new thing for God to give men up to their own hearts' lusts, to send them strong delusions, to let Satan loose upon them, nay, to lay stumbling-blocks before them. And yet God is not the author of sin, but herein infinitely just and holy; for, though the greatest wickedness follow upon this giving up, the fault of that is to be laid upon the sinner's wicked heart. If the patient be obstinate, and will not submit to the methods prescribed, but wilfully takes and does that which is prejudicial to him, the physician is not to be blamed if he give him up as in a desperate condition; and all the fatal symptoms that follow are not to be imputed to the physician, but to the disease itself and to the folly and wilfulness of the patient.

2. To what they were given up.

(1.) To uncleanness and vile affections, v. 24, 26, 27. Those that would not entertain the more pure and refined notices of natural light, which tend to preserve the honour of God, justly forfeited those more gross and palpable sentiments which preserve the honour of human nature. Man being in honour, and refusing to understand the God that made him, thus becomes worse than the beasts that perish, Ps. xlix. 20. Thus one, by the divine permission, becomes the punishment of another; but it is (as it said here) through the lusts of their own hearts--there all the fault is to be laid. Those who dishonoured God were given up to dishonour themselves. A man cannot be delivered up to a greater slavery than to be given up to his own lusts. Such are given over, like the Egyptians (Isa. xix. 4), into the hand of a cruel lord. The particular instances of their uncleanness and vile affections are their unnatural lusts, for which many of the heathen, even of those among them who passed for wisemen, as Solon and Zeno, were infamous, against the plainest and most obvious dictates of natural light. The crying iniquity of Sodom and Gomorrah, for which God rained hell from heaven upon them, became not only commonly practised, but avowed, in the pagan nations. Perhaps the apostle especially refers to the abominations that were committed in the worship of their idol-gods, in which the worst of uncleannesses were prescribed for the honour of their gods; dunghill service for dunghill gods: the unclean spirits delight in such ministrations. In the church of Rome, where the pagan idolatries are revived, images worshipped, and saints only substituted in the room of demons, we hear of these same abominations going barefaced, licensed by the pope (Fox's Acts and Monuments, vol. 1, p. 808), and not only commonly perpetrated, but justified and pleaded for by some of their cardinals: the same spiritual plagues for the same spiritual wickednesses. See what wickedness there is in the nature of man. How abominable and filthy is man! Lord, what is man? says David; what a vile creature is he when left to himself! How much are we beholden to the restraining grace of God for the preserving any thing of the honour and decency of the human nature! For, were it not for this, man, who was made but little lower than the angels, would make himself a great deal lower than the devils. This is said to be that recompence of their error which was meet. The Judge of all the earth does right, and observes a meetness between the sin and the punishment of it.

(2.) To a reprobate mind in these abominations, v. 28.

[1.] They did not like to retain God in their knowledge. The blindness of their understandings was caused by the wilful aversion of their wills and affections. They did not retain God in their knowledge, because they did not like it. They would neither know nor do any thing but just what pleased themselves. It is just the temper of carnal hearts; the pleasing of themselves is their highest end. There are many that have God in their knowledge, they cannot help it, the light shines so fully in their faces; but they do not retain him there. They say to the Almighty, Depart (Job xxi. 14), and they therefore do not retain God in their knowledge because it thwarts and contradicts their lusts; they do not like it. In their knowledge--en epignosei. There is a difference between gnosis and epignosis, the knowledge and the acknowledgement of God; the pagans knew God, but did not, would not, acknowledge him.

[2.] Answerable to this wilfulness of theirs, in gainsaying the truth, God gave them over to a wilfulness in the grossest sins, here called a reprobate mind--eis adokimon noun, a mind void of all sense and judgment to discern things that differ, so that they could not distinguish their right hand from their left in spiritual things. See whither a course of sin leads, and into what a gulf it plunges the sinner at last; hither fleshly lusts have a direct tendency. Eyes full of adultery cannot cease from sin, 2 Pet. ii. 14. This reprobate mind was a blind scared conscience, past feeling, Eph. iv. 19. When the judgment is once reconciled to sin, the man is in the suburbs of hell. At first Pharaoh hardened his heart, but afterwards God hardened Pharaoh's heart. Thus wilful hardness is justly punished with judicial hardness.--To do those things which are not convenient. This phrase may seem to bespeak a diminutive evil, but here it is expressive of the grossest enormities; things that are not agreeable to men, but contradict the very light and law of nature. And here he subjoins a black list of those unbecoming things which the Gentiles were guilty of, being delivered up to a reprobate mind. No wickedness so heinous, so contrary to the light of nature, to the law of nations, and to all the interests of mankind, but a reprobate mind will comply with it. By the histories of those times, especially the accounts we have of the then prevailing dispositions and practices of the Romans when the ancient virtue of that commonwealth was so degenerated, it appears that these sins here mentioned were then and there reigning national sins. No fewer than twenty-three several sorts of sins and sinners are here specified, v. 29-31. Here the devil's seat is; his name is legion, for they are many. It was time to have the gospel preached among them, for the world had need of reformation.

First, Sins against the first table: Haters of God. Here is the devil in his own colours, sin appearing sin. Could it be imagined that rational creatures should hate the chief good, and depending creatures abhor the fountain of their being? And yet so it is. Every sin has in it a hatred of God; but some sinners are more open and avowed enemies to him than others, Zech. xi. 8. Proud men and boasters cope with God himself, and put those crowns upon their own heads which must be cast before his throne.

Secondly, Sins against the second table. These are especially mentioned, because in these things they had a clearer light. In general here is a charge of unrighteousness. This is put first, for every sin is unrighteousness; it is withholding that which is due, perverting that which is right; it is especially put for second-table sins, doing as we would not be done by. Against the fifth commandment: Disobedient to parents, and without natural affection--astorgous, that is parents unkind and cruel to their children. Thus, when duty fails on one side, it commonly fails on the other. Disobedient children are justly punished with unnatural parents; and, on the contrary, unnatural parents with disobedient children. Against the sixth commandment: Wickedness (doing mischief for mischief's sake), maliciousness, envy, murder, debate (eridos--contention), malignity, despiteful, implacable, unmerciful; all expressions of that hatred of our brother which is heart-murder. Against the seventh commandment: Fornication; he mentions no more, having spoken before of other uncleannesses. Against the eighth commandment: Unrighteousness, covetousness. Against the ninth commandment: Deceit, whisperers, back-biters, covenant-breakers, lying and slandering. Here are two generals not before mentioned--inventors of evil things, and without understanding; wise to do evil, and yet having no knowledge to do good. The more deliberate and politic sinners are in inventing evil things, the greater is their sin: so quick of invention in sin, and yet without understanding (stark fools) in the thoughts of God. Here is enough to humble us all, in the sense of our original corruption; for every heart by nature has in it the seed and spawn of all these sins. In the close he mentions the aggravations of the sins, v. 32. 1. They knew the judgment of God; that is, (1.) They knew the law. The judgment of God is that which his justice requires, which, because he is just, he judgeth meet to be done. (2.) They knew the penalty; so it is explained here: They knew that those who commit such things were worthy of death, eternal death; their own consciences could not but suggest this to them, and yet they ventured upon it. It is a great aggravation of sin when it is committed against knowledge (James iv. 17), especially against the knowledge of the judgment of God. It is daring presumption to run upon the sword's point. It argues the heart much hardened, and very resolutely set upon sin. 2. They not only do the same, but have pleasure in those that do them. The violence of some present temptation may hurry a man into the commission of such sins himself in which the vitiated appetite may take a pleasure; but to be pleased with other people's sins is to love sin for sin's sake: it is joining in a confederacy for the devil's kingdom and interest. Syneudokousi: they do not only commit sin, but they defend and justify it, and encourage others to do the like. Our own sins are much aggravated by our concurrence with, and complacency in, the sins of others.

Now lay all this together, and then say whether the Gentile world, lying under so much guilt and corruption, could be justified before God by any works of their own.
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:19: That which may be known of God - Dr. Taylor paraphrases this and the following verse thus: "Although the Gentiles had no written revelation, yet what may be known of God is every where manifest among them, God having made a clear discovery of himself to them. For his being and perfections, invisible to our bodily eyes, have been, ever since the creation of the world, evidently to be seen, if attentively considered, in the visible beauty, order, and operations observable in the constitution and parts of the universe; especially his eternal power and universal dominion and providence: so that they cannot plead ignorance in excuse of their idolatry and wickedness."
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:19: Because - The apostle proceeds to show how it was that the pagan hindered the truth by their iniquity. This he does by showing that the truth might be known by the works of creation; and that nothing but their iniquity pRev_ented it.
That which may be known of God - That which is "knowable" concerning God. The expression implies that there may be many things concerning God which cannot be known. But there are also many things which may be ascertained. Such are his existence, and many of his attributes, his power, and wisdom, and justice, etc. The object of the apostle was not to say that every thing pertaining to God could be known by them, or that they could have as clear a view of him as if they had possessed a Revelation. We must interpret the expression according to the object which he had in view. That was to show that so much might be known of God as to prove that they had no excuse for their crimes; or that God would be just in punishing them for their deeds. For this, it was needful only that his existence and his justice, or his determination to punish sin, should be known; and this, the apostle affirms, was known among them, and had been from the creation of the world. This expression. therefore, is not to be pressed as implying that they knew all that could be known about God, or that they knew as much as they who had a Revelation; but that they knew enough to prove that they had no excuse for their sins.
Is manifest - Is known; is understood.
In them - "Among" them. So the preposition "in" is often used. It means that they had this knowledge; or it had been communicated to them. The great mass of the pagan world was indeed ignorant of the true God; but their leaders, or their philosophers, had this knowledge; see the note at Rom 1:21. But this was not true of the mass, or body of the people. Still it was true that this knowledge was in the possession of man, or was "among" the pagan world. and would have spread, had it not been for the love of sin.
God hath showed it to them - Compare Joh 1:9. He had endowed them with reason and conscience Rom 2:14-15; he had made them capable of seeing and investigating his works; he had spread before them the proofs of his wisdom, and goodness, and power, and had thus given them the means of learning his perfections and will.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:19: that which: Rom 1:20; Psa 19:1-6; Isa 40:26; Jer 10:10-13; Act 14:16, Act 17:23-30
in them: or, to them
for God: Joh 1:9
Geneva 1599
1:19 (9) Because that which may be known of God is manifest in (c) them; for God hath shewed [it] unto them.
(9) By their ungodliness he proves that although all men have a most clear and evident mirror in which to behold the everlasting and almighty nature of God, even in his creatures, yet they have fallen away from those principles to most foolish and stupid ideas of their own brains, in their worship of God and of what God requires of them.
(c) In their hearts.
John Gill
1:19 Because that which may be known of God,.... There are some things which could not be known of God by the light of nature; as a trinity of persons in the Godhead; the knowledge of God in Christ as Mediator; the God-man and Mediator Jesus Christ; his incarnation, sufferings, death, and resurrection; the will of God to save sinners by a crucified Jesus; the several peculiar doctrines of the Gospel, particularly the resurrection of the dead, and the manner of worshipping of God with acceptance: but then there are some things which may be known of God, without a revelation. Adam had a perfect knowledge of him; and his sons, though fallen, even the very Heathens have some notion of him, as that there is a God; and by the light of nature it might be known that there is but one God, who is glorious, full of majesty, and possessed of all perfections, as that he is all powerful, wise, good and righteous: and this
is manifest in them, or "to them"; by the light that is given them: it is light by which that which may be known of God is manifest; and this is the light of nature, which every man has that comes into the world; and this is internal, it is in him, in his mind and conscience, and is communicated to him by God, and that by infusion or inspiration; see Job 32:8;
for God hath showed it unto them; what may be known of him by that light; and which is assisted and may be improved by a consideration of the works of creation and Providence.
John Wesley
1:19 For what is to be known of God - Those great principles which are indispensably necessary to be known. Is manifest in them; for God hath showed it to them - By the light which enlightens every man that cometh into the world.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:19 Because that which may be--rather, "which is."
known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them--The sense of this pregnant statement the apostle proceeds to unfold in Rom 1:20.
1:201:20: Զի աներեւոյթք նորա իսկզբանէ աշխարհի՝ արարածո՛վքս իմացեալ տեսանին. ա՛յսինքն է՝ մշտնջենաւորութիւն եւ զօրութիւն, եւ աստուածութիւն նորա. զի ո՛չ գտանիցեն ամենեւին տալ պատասխանի[3290]։ [3290] Յօրինակին. Իմացեալ տեսանի։ Ոմանք. Մշտնջենաւորութիւնն... եւ աստուածութիւնն։
20 արդարեւ ի սկզբանէ աշխարհի Աստծու աներեւոյթ յատկութիւնները, այն է՝ Նրա մշտնջենաւորութիւնը եւ զօրութիւնը[1], եւ աստուածութիւնը, իմանալի կերպով տեսանելի են Նրա ստեղծածների մէջ. այնպէս որ, ամենեւին արդարանալ չեն կարող.[1] Յունարէնը՝ մշտնջենաւոր զօրութիւնը:
20 Քանզի աներեւոյթ բաները աշխարհի սկիզբէն ստեղծուածներովը կ’իմացուին, կը տեսնուին, այսինքն իր մշտնջենաւոր զօրութիւնը ու աստուածութիւնը, որպէս զի անպատասխանի մնան։
Զի աներեւոյթք նորա ի սկզբանէ աշխարհի արարածովքս իմացեալ տեսանին, այսինքն է [2]մշտնջենաւորութիւն եւ զօրութիւն`` եւ աստուածութիւն նորա. զի ոչ գտանիցեն ամենեւին տալ պատասխանի:

1:20: Զի աներեւոյթք նորա իսկզբանէ աշխարհի՝ արարածո՛վքս իմացեալ տեսանին. ա՛յսինքն է՝ մշտնջենաւորութիւն եւ զօրութիւն, եւ աստուածութիւն նորա. զի ո՛չ գտանիցեն ամենեւին տալ պատասխանի[3290]։
[3290] Յօրինակին. Իմացեալ տեսանի։ Ոմանք. Մշտնջենաւորութիւնն... եւ աստուածութիւնն։
20 արդարեւ ի սկզբանէ աշխարհի Աստծու աներեւոյթ յատկութիւնները, այն է՝ Նրա մշտնջենաւորութիւնը եւ զօրութիւնը[1], եւ աստուածութիւնը, իմանալի կերպով տեսանելի են Նրա ստեղծածների մէջ. այնպէս որ, ամենեւին արդարանալ չեն կարող.
[1] Յունարէնը՝ մշտնջենաւոր զօրութիւնը:
20 Քանզի աներեւոյթ բաները աշխարհի սկիզբէն ստեղծուածներովը կ’իմացուին, կը տեսնուին, այսինքն իր մշտնջենաւոր զօրութիւնը ու աստուածութիւնը, որպէս զի անպատասխանի մնան։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:2020: Ибо невидимое Его, вечная сила Его и Божество, от создания мира через рассматривание творений видимы, так что они безответны.
1:20  τὰ γὰρ ἀόρατα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ κτίσεως κόσμου τοῖς ποιήμασιν νοούμενα καθορᾶται, ἥ τε ἀΐδιος αὐτοῦ δύναμις καὶ θειότης, εἰς τὸ εἶναι αὐτοὺς ἀναπολογήτους·
1:20. τὰ (The-ones) γὰρ (therefore) ἀόρατα ( un-discernable ) αὐτοῦ (of-it) ἀπὸ (off) κτίσεως (of-a-creating) κόσμου (of-a-configuration) τοῖς (unto-the-ones) ποιήμασιν (unto-doings-to) νοούμενα ( being-considered-unto ) καθορᾶται, (it-be-down-discerned-unto,"ἥ (which) τε (also) ἀΐδιος (along-private-belonged) αὐτοῦ (of-it) δύναμις (an-ability) καὶ (and) θειότης, (a-Deity-belongedness) εἰς (into) τὸ (to-the-one) εἶναι (to-be) αὐτοὺς (to-them) ἀναπολογήτους , ( to-un-fortheeable-off ,"
1:20. invisibilia enim ipsius a creatura mundi per ea quae facta sunt intellecta conspiciuntur sempiterna quoque eius virtus et divinitas ut sint inexcusabilesFor the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. His eternal power also and divinity: so that they are inexcusable.
20. For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse:
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

20: Ибо невидимое Его, вечная сила Его и Божество, от создания мира через рассматривание творений видимы, так что они безответны.
1:20  τὰ γὰρ ἀόρατα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ κτίσεως κόσμου τοῖς ποιήμασιν νοούμενα καθορᾶται, ἥ τε ἀΐδιος αὐτοῦ δύναμις καὶ θειότης, εἰς τὸ εἶναι αὐτοὺς ἀναπολογήτους·
1:20. invisibilia enim ipsius a creatura mundi per ea quae facta sunt intellecta conspiciuntur sempiterna quoque eius virtus et divinitas ut sint inexcusabiles
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. His eternal power also and divinity: so that they are inexcusable.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ tb▾ all ▾
А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
20: Невидимое Его. Так называет Апостол свойства существа Божия, для того чтобы показать, что люди нуждались в особенном руководстве Божием для узнания истины, не подлежащей обычному наблюдению. - Вечная сила Его и Божество. Это составляет ближайшее определение к выражению: невидимое Его. На первом плане стоит вечная сила - одна сторона или одно свойство Божества - именно всемогущество Божие. Действительно, Бог человеку первобытному прежде всего представляется, как Всемогущий. Всемогущество Божие названо вечным, так как нужно было отличить Первопричину всего от разных второстепенных причин и сил. Под Божеством (qeiothV ot qeioV) нужно разуметь совокупность божественных свойств - премудрость, благость, праведность, святость (Само Божество или Божеское существо обозначается у Павла другим словом - qeothV. Кол 2:9). - От создания мира чрез рассматривание творений видимы. Свойства Божии (невидимое Его) стали подлежать наблюдению с тех пор, как появились творения Божии. Уже Адам мог видеть в творениях Божиих проявление Божественной мудрости, всемогущества, благости. Такое же значение видимая природа должна иметь и для всякого человека, который смотрит на нее (kaqoraw) не как животное, но разумно, соображая, что в жизни природы является причиною и что следствием (nooumena от nouV = ум) [У Juticher'а этот стих переведен так. "с самого сотворения мира в Его (Бога) делах нечто из Его невидимого существа - именно Его вечную силу и величие - можно усматривать очами ума..."]. - Так что они безответны. Эти слова указывают на цель, какую имеет Бог, давая познавать Себя человечеству в природе (по греч. здесь поставлена частица eiV, а не wste, - последнее, действительно, значит: так что, а eiV, значит всегда: чтобы). Конечно, безответность язычников не была главною целью у Бога, когда Он раскрывал пред человеком картину мира, но все-таки несомненно, что Бог, желая этою картиною навести человека на путь истинного Богопознания, в то же время хотел, чтобы человек, в случае своего невнимания к откровению Божию в природе, осуждал бы уже не Бога, а самого себя, когда Бог стал бы наказывать его за это невнимание...
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:20: The invisible things of him - His invisible perfections are manifested by his visible works, and may be apprehended by what he has made; their immensity showing his omnipotence, their vast variety and contrivance, his omniscience; and their adaptation to the most beneficent purposes, his infinite goodness and philanthropy.
His eternal power - αιδιος αυτου δυναμις, That all-powerful energy that ever was, and ever will exist; so that, ever since there was a creation to be surveyed, there have been intelligent beings to make that survey.
And Godhead - θειοτης, His acting as God in the government and support of the universe. His works prove his being; the government and support of these works prove it equally. Creation and providence form a twofold demonstration of God,
1st. in the perfections of his nature; and,
2ndly. in the exercise of those perfections.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:20: For the invisible things of him - The expression "his invisible things" refers to those things which cannot be perceived by the senses. It does not imply that there are any things pertaining to the divine character which may be seen by the eye; but that there are things which may be known of him, though not discoverable by the eye. We judge of the objects around us by the senses, the sight, the touch, the ear, etc. Paul affirms, that though we cannot judge thus of God, yet there is a way by which we may come to the knowledge of him. What he means by the invisible things of God he specifies at the close of the verse, "his eternal power and Godhead." The affirmation extends only to that; and the argument implies that that was enough to leave them without any excuse for their sins.
From the creation of the world - The word "creation" may either mean the "act" of creating, or more commonly it means "the thing created," the world, the universe. In this sense it is commonly used in the New Testament; compare Mar 10:6; Mar 13:19; Mar 16:5; Rom 1:25; Co2 5:17; Gal 6:15; Col 1:15, Col 1:23; Heb 4:13; Heb 9:11; Pe1 2:13; Pe2 3:4; Rev 3:14. The word "from" may mean "since," or it may denote "by means of." And the expression here may denote that, as an historical fact, God "has been" "known" since the act of creation; or it may denote that he is known "by means of" the material universe which he has formed. The latter is doubtless the true meaning. For,
(1) This is the common meaning of the word "creation;" and,
(2) This accords with the design of the argument.
It is not to state an historical fact, but to show that they had the means of knowing their duty within their reach, and were without excuse. Those means were in the wisdom, power, and glory of the universe, by which they were surrounded.
Are clearly seen - Are made manifest; or may be perceived. The word used here does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament.
Being understood - His perfections may be investigated, and comprehended by means of his works. They are the evidences submitted to our intellects, by which we may arrive at the true knowledge of God.
Things that are made - By his works; compare Heb 11:3. This means, not by the original "act" of creation, but by the continual operations of God in his Providence, by his doings, ποιήμασιν poiē masin, by what he is continually producing and accomplishing in the displays of his power and goodness in the heavens and the earth. What they were capable of understanding, he immediately adds, and shows that he did not intend to affirm that everything could be known of God by his works; but so much as to free them from excuse for their sins.
His eternal power - Here are two things implied.
(1) that the universe contains an exhibition of his power, or a display of that attribute which we call "omnipotence;" and,
(2) That this power has existed from eternity, and of course implies an eternal existence in God.
It does not mean that this power has been exerted or put forth from eternity, for the very idea of creation supposes that it had not, but that there is proof, in the works of creation, of power which must have existed from eternity, or have belonged to an eternal being. The proof of this was clear, even to the pagan, with their imperfect views of creation and of astronomy; compare Psa 19:1-14. The majesty and grandeur of the heavens would strike their eye, and be full demonstration that they were the work of an infinitely great and glorious God. But to us, under the full blaze of modern science, with our knowledge of the magnitude, and distances, and Rev_olutions of the heavenly bodies, the proof of this power is much more grand and impressive. We may apply the remark of the apostle to the present state of the science, and his language will cover all the ground, and the proof to human view is continually rising of the amazing power of God, by every new discovery in science, and especially in astronomy. Those who wish to see this object presented in a most impressive view, may find it done in Chalmer's Astronomical Discourses, and in Dick's Christian Philosopher. Equally clear is the proof that this power must have been eternal. If it had not always existed, it could in no way have been produced. But it is not to be supposed that it was always exerted, any more than it is that God now puts forth all the power that he can, or than that we constantly put forth all the power which we possess. God's power was called forth at the creation. He showed his omnipotence; and gave, by that one great act, eternal demonstration that he was almighty; and we may survey the proof of that, as clearly as if we had seen the operation of his hand there. The proof is not weakened because we do not see the process of creation constantly going on. It is rather augmented by the fact that he sustains all things, and controls continually the vast masses of matter in the material worlds.
Godhead - His deity; divinity; divine nature, or essence. The word is not used elsewhere in the New Testament. Its meaning cannot therefore be fixed by any parallel passages. It proves the truth that the supremacy, or supreme divinity of God, was exhibited in the works of creation, or that he was exalted above all creatures and things. It would not be proper, however, to press this word as implying that all that we know of God by Revelation was known to the pagan; but that so much was known as to show his supremacy; his right to their homage; and of course the folly and wickedness of idolatry. This is all that the argument of the apostle demands, and, of course, on this principle the expression is to be interpreted.
So that they are without excuse - God has given them so clear evidence of his existence and claims, that they have no excuse for their idolatry, and for hindering the truth by their iniquity. It is implied here that in order that people should be responsible, they should have the means of knowledge; and that he does not judge them when their ignorance is involuntary, and the means of knowing the truth have not been communicated. But where people have these means within their reach, and will not avail themselves of them, all excuse is taken away. This was the case with the Gentile world. They had the means of knowing so much of God, as to show the folly of worshipping dumb idols; compare Isa 44:8-10. They had also traditions respecting his perfections; and they could not plead for their crimes and folly that they had no means of knowing him. If this was true of the pagan world then, how much more is it true of the world now?
And especially how true and fearful is this, respecting that great multitude in Christian lands who have the Bible, and who never read it; who are within the reach of the sanctuary, and never enter it; who are admonished by friends, and by the providences of God, and who regard it not; and who look upon the heavens, and even yet see no proof of the eternal power and Godhead of him who made them all! Nay, there are those who are apprized of the discoveries of modern astronomy, and who yet do not seem to reflect that all these glories are proof of the existence of an eternal God; and who live in ignorance of religion as really as the pagan, and in crimes as decided and malignant as disgraced the darkest ages of the world. For such there is no excuse, or shadow of excuse, to be offered in the day of doom. And there is no fact more melancholy in our history, and no one thing that more proves the stupidity of people, than this sad forgetfulness of Him that made the heavens, even amid all the wonders and glories that have come fresh from the hand of God, and that everywhere speak his praise.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:20: For the: Joh 1:18; Col 1:15; Ti1 1:17, Ti1 6:16; Heb 11:27
from the: Rom 1:19; Deu 4:19; Job 31:26-28; Psa 8:3, Psa 33:6-9, Psa 104:5, Psa 104:31, Psa 119:90, Psa 139:13; Psa 148:8-12; Mat 5:45
even his: Rom 16:26; Gen 21:33; Deu 33:27; Psa 90:2; Isa 9:6, Isa 26:4, Isa 40:26; Ti1 1:17; Heb 9:14
Godhead: Act 17:29; Col 2:9
so that they are: or, that they may be, Rom 2:1, Rom 2:15; Joh 15:22
without: Act 22:1 *Gr.
Geneva 1599
1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being (d) understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
(d) You do not see God, and yet you acknowledge him as God by his works; Cicero.
John Gill
1:20 For the invisible things of him,.... Not the angels, the invisible inhabitants of heaven: nor the unseen glories of another world; nor the decrees of God; nor the persons in the Godhead; but the perfections of God, or his "properties", as the Arabic version reads it; and which are explained by "his eternal power and Godhead": these,
from the creation of the world are clearly seen; this is no new discovery, but what men have had, and might, by the light of nature, have enjoyed ever since the world was created; these
being understood, in an intellectual way, by the discursive faculty of the understanding,
by the things that are made; the various works of creation; all which proclaim the being, unity, and perfections of God their Creator,
so that they are without excuse; the very Heathens, who have only the light of nature, and are destitute of a revelation, have no colour or pretext for their idolatrous practices, and vicious lives; nor have they, nor will they have anything to object to God's righteous judgment against them, or why they should not be condemned.
John Wesley
1:20 For those things of him which are invisible, are seen - By the eye of the mind. Being understood - They are seen by them, and them only, who use their understanding
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:20 For the invisible things of him from--or "since"
the creation of the world are clearly seen--the mind brightly beholding what the eye cannot discern.
being understood by the things that are made--Thus, the outward creation is not the parent but the interpreter of our faith in God. That faith has its primary sources within our own breast (Rom 1:19); but it becomes an intelligible and articulate conviction only through what we observe around us ("by the things which are made," Rom 1:20). And thus are the inner and the outer revelation of God the complement of each other, making up between them one universal and immovable conviction that God is. (With this striking apostolic statement agree the latest conclusions of the most profound speculative students of Theism).
even his eternal power and Godhead--both that there is an Eternal Power, and that this is not a mere blind force, or pantheistic "spirit of nature," but the power of a living Godhead.
so that they are without excuse--all their degeneracy being a voluntary departure from truth thus brightly revealed to the unsophisticated spirit.
1:211:21: Զի ծանեան զԱստուած, եւ ո՛չ իբրեւ զԱստուած փառաւորեցին՝ կամ գոհացան. այլ նանրացա՛ն ՚ի խորհուրդս իւրեանց, եւ խաւարեցա՛ն անմտութեամբ սիրտք նոցա[3291]. [3291] Ոմանք. Անմտութեամբք սիրտք նոցա։
21 որովհետեւ ճանաչեցին Աստծուն, բայց իբրեւ Աստուած չփառաւորեցին կամ գոհութիւն չմատուցեցին նրան, այլ իրենց մտածումների մէջ նանրացան, եւ նրանց սրտերը անմտութեամբ խաւարեցին:
21 Թէեւ իրենք Աստուած կը ճանչնային բայց Աստուծոյ պէս չփառաւորեցին կամ շնորհակալ չեղան. հապա իրենց խորհուրդներուն մէջ ունայնացան եւ սրտերնին անմտութիւնով* խաւարեցաւ։
Զի ծանեան զԱստուած, եւ ոչ իբրեւ զԱստուած փառաւորեցին կամ գոհացան. այլ նանրացան ի խորհուրդս իւրեանց, եւ խաւարեցան անմտութեամբ սիրտք նոցա:

1:21: Զի ծանեան զԱստուած, եւ ո՛չ իբրեւ զԱստուած փառաւորեցին՝ կամ գոհացան. այլ նանրացա՛ն ՚ի խորհուրդս իւրեանց, եւ խաւարեցա՛ն անմտութեամբ սիրտք նոցա[3291].
[3291] Ոմանք. Անմտութեամբք սիրտք նոցա։
21 որովհետեւ ճանաչեցին Աստծուն, բայց իբրեւ Աստուած չփառաւորեցին կամ գոհութիւն չմատուցեցին նրան, այլ իրենց մտածումների մէջ նանրացան, եւ նրանց սրտերը անմտութեամբ խաւարեցին:
21 Թէեւ իրենք Աստուած կը ճանչնային բայց Աստուծոյ պէս չփառաւորեցին կամ շնորհակալ չեղան. հապա իրենց խորհուրդներուն մէջ ունայնացան եւ սրտերնին անմտութիւնով* խաւարեցաւ։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:2121: Но как они, познав Бога, не прославили Его, как Бога, и не возблагодарили, но осуетились в умствованиях своих, и омрачилось несмысленное их сердце;
1:21  διότι γνόντες τὸν θεὸν οὐχ ὡς θεὸν ἐδόξασαν ἢ ηὐχαρίστησαν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐματαιώθησαν ἐν τοῖς διαλογισμοῖς αὐτῶν καὶ ἐσκοτίσθη ἡ ἀσύνετος αὐτῶν καρδία.
1:21. διότι (through-to-which-a-one) γνόντες ( having-had-acqainted ) τὸν (to-the-one) θεὸν (to-a-Deity) οὐχ (not) ὡς (as) θεὸν (to-a-Deity) ἐδόξασαν (they-reckoned-to) ἢ (or) ηὐχαρίστησαν, (they-goodly-granted-unto,"ἀλλὰ (other) ἐματαιώθησαν (they-were-en-folly-belonged) ἐν (in) τοῖς (unto-the-ones) διαλογισμοῖς (unto-fortheeings-through-of) αὐτῶν (of-them) καὶ (and) ἐσκοτίσθη (it-was-obscured-to) ἡ (the-one) ἀσύνετος (un-sent-together) αὐτῶν (of-them) καρδία: (a-heart)
1:21. quia cum cognovissent Deum non sicut Deum glorificaverunt aut gratias egerunt sed evanuerunt in cogitationibus suis et obscuratum est insipiens cor eorumBecause that, when they knew God, they have not glorified him as God or given thanks: but became vain in their thoughts. And their foolish heart was darkened.
21. because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened.
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened:

21: Но как они, познав Бога, не прославили Его, как Бога, и не возблагодарили, но осуетились в умствованиях своих, и омрачилось несмысленное их сердце;
1:21  διότι γνόντες τὸν θεὸν οὐχ ὡς θεὸν ἐδόξασαν ἢ ηὐχαρίστησαν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐματαιώθησαν ἐν τοῖς διαλογισμοῖς αὐτῶν καὶ ἐσκοτίσθη ἡ ἀσύνετος αὐτῶν καρδία.
1:21. quia cum cognovissent Deum non sicut Deum glorificaverunt aut gratias egerunt sed evanuerunt in cogitationibus suis et obscuratum est insipiens cor eorum
Because that, when they knew God, they have not glorified him as God or given thanks: but became vain in their thoughts. And their foolish heart was darkened.
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А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
21-23: В 19-20-м ст. Апостол разъяснил, что он понимал под истиною в стихе 18-м. В 21-23: стихах он точнее указывает, в чем состояло подавление истины, о котором он сказал в заключении 18-го стиха. Это подавление состояло в том, что язычники хотя и познали Бога (gnonteV), но не сумели удержать в себе этого познания, а, напротив, поспешили угасить в своем сознании свет истины. - Не прославили Его как Бога, т. е. не воздали Ему чести, как Высочайшему, Премирному Существу, не украсили Его в своем сознании подобающими Ему совершенствами - у них недостало для этого ума! - И не возблагодарили. У них не оказалось даже и сердечного влечения к Богу; они не отнеслись к Нему, как к своему Благодетелю. - Осуетились в умствованиях своих, т. е. стали людьми, которые в мыслях своих заняты вопросами ничтожными, низменными. Выражение "умствования" (dialogismoi) указывает на неупорядоченную деятельность ума. - Омрачилось несмысленное их сердце. Сердце, средоточие деятельности ума и воли, омрачилось, т. е. стало темным, лишившись света, какой разливает вокруг себя истинное Богопознание. Вследствие того, что люди в мыслях своих опустились, сердце их или, главным образом, умственная способность стала неразумной (asunetoV). В самом деле, чем более ум человека отвыкает от занятия высшими, божественными предметами, тем более ослабевает в нем и восприимчивость, способность к уразумению их: ум становится в этом отношении прямо несообразительным... - Обезумели, т. е. дошли до крайнего оглупения. Речь идет о народах, которые вообще гордились своим умственным развитием (египтяне, греки, римляне). - Славу нетленного Бога, т. е. величайшее совершенства Божественное, как оно явилось для людей в видимой природе (см. ст. 20-й). У язычников должен был первоначально сложиться в высшей степени блестящий образ Божества - образ, в котором сосредоточено было все совершеннейшее с точки зрения человеческого разума. - Изменили в образ..., т. е. заменили образом разных тварей тот образ Бога, какой выяснился первоначально в их сознании. Апостол имеет в виду разные истуканы, каким поклонялись язычники, - истуканы, изображавшие людей, зверей и птиц. Подобно этому и псалмопевец говорит о евреях: "и променяли славу свою (т. е. Иегову) на изображение осла, ядущего траву" (Пс C5:20). Конечно, Апостол не думает, что язычники считали эти истуканы за богов, но он все-таки хочет этим показать безумие язычников, которые не нашли ничего лучшего, как изобразить своих богов именно под такими образами. Даже и образ человека - неподходящее изображение для Божества, потому что человек есть существо тленное и не может изображать собою нетленного Бога... Заметить нужно, что, по воззрению Павла, служение идолам вовсе не было каким-то шагом вперед от фетишизма (почитания простых предметов природы - камней, деревьев и пр.). Напротив, он рассматривает политеизм с его идолослужением так же, как результат духовного вырождения человечества, как потемнение ума и сердца, приведшее в конце концов людей к грубейшему фетишизму. И современная наука подтверждает своими исследованиями это воззрение Апостола. Она показывает, что первоначальной религией был везде монотеизм и что язычники Индии и Африки падают все ниже и ниже в религиозном отношении. [О происхождении идолопоклонства говорит и книга Премудрости Соломона (напр. 13:1-8: и 14:11-20), но то, что там сказано, ни в каком случае нельзя признать источником того, что мы находим у Ап. Павла: так отличается поверхностное описание идолослужения в книге Премудрости от глубокого психологического анализа, какой дает нам здесь Ап. Павел!].
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:21: Because that when they knew God - When they thus acquired a general knowledge of the unity and perfections of the Divine nature, they glorified him not as God - they did not proclaim him to the people, but shut up his glory (as Bishop Warburton expresses it) in their mysteries, and gave the people, in exchange for an incorruptible God, an image made like to corruptible man. Wherefore God, in punishment for their sins, thus turning his truth into a lie, suffered even their mysteries, which they had erected for a school of virtue, to degenerate into an odious sink of vice and immorality; giving them up unto all uncleanness and vile affections.
They glorified him not - They did not give him that worship which his perfections required.
Neither were thankful - They manifested no gratitude for the blessings they received from his providence, but became vain in their imaginations, διαλογισμοις, in their reasonings. This certainly refers to the foolish manner in which even the wisest of their philosophers discoursed about the Divine nature, not excepting Socrates, Plato, or Seneca. Who can read their works without being struck with the vanity of their reasonings, as well as with the stupidity of their nonsense, when speaking about God? I might crowd my page with proofs of this; but it is not necessary to those who are acquainted with their writings, and to others it would not be useful. In short, their foolish, darkened minds sought God no where but in the place in which he is never to be found; viz. the vile, corrupted, and corrupting passions of their own hearts. As they did not discover him there, they scarcely sought him any where else.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:21: Because that - The apostle here is showing that it was right to condemn people for their sins. To do this it was needful to show them that they had the knowledge of God, and the means of knowing what was right; and that the true source of their sins and idolatries was a corrupt and evil heart.
When they knew God - Greek, "knowing God." That is, they had an acquaintance with the existence and many of the perfections of one God. That many of the philosophers of Greece and Rome had a knowledge of one God, there can be no doubt. This was undoubtedly the case with Pythagoras, who had traveled extensively in Egypt, and even in Palestine; and also with Plato and his disciples. This point is clearly shown by Cudworth in his Intellectual System, and by Dr. Warburton in the Divine Legation of Moses. Yet the knowledge of this great truth was not communicated to the people. It was confined to the philosophers; and not improbably one design of the mysteries celebrated throughout Greece was to keep up the knowledge of the one true God. Gibbon has remarked that "the philosophers regarded all the popular superstitions as equally false: the common people as equally true; and the politicians as equally useful." This was probably a correct account of the pRev_alent feelings among the ancients. A single extract from "Cicero" (de Natura Deorum, lib. ii. c. 6) will show that they had the knowledge of one God. "There is something in the nature of things, which the mind of man, which reason, which human power cannot effect; and certainly what produces this must be better than man. What can this be called but "God?" Again (c. 2), "What can be so plain and manifest, when we look at heaven, and contemplate heavenly things, as that there is some divinity of most excellent mind, by which these things are governed?"
They glorified him not as God - They did not "honor" him as God. This was the true source of their abominations. To glorify him "as God" is to regard with proper Rev_erence all his perfections and laws; to venerate his name, his power, his holiness, and presence, etc. As they were not inclined to do this, so they were given over to their own vain and wicked desires. Sinners are not willing to give honor to God, as God. They are not pleased with his perfections; and therefore the mind becomes fixed on other objects, and the heart gives free indulgence to its own sinful desires. A willingness to honor God as God - to Rev_erence, love, and obey him, would effectually restrain people from sin.
Neither were thankful - The obligation to be "thankful" to God for his mercies, for the goodness which we experience, is plain and obvious. Thus, we judge of favors received of our fellow-men. the apostle here clearly regards this unwillingness to render gratitude to God for his mercies as one of the causes of their subsequent corruption and idolatry. The reasons of this are the following.
(1) the effect of ingratitude is to render the heart hard and insensible.
(2) people seek to forget the Being to whom they are unwilling to exercise gratitude.
(3) to do this, they fix their affections on other things; and hence, the pagan expressed their gratitude not to God, but to the sun, and moon, and stars, etc., the mediums by which God bestows his favors upon people. And we may here learn that an unwillingness to thank God for his mercies is one of the most certain causes of alienation and hardness of heart.
But became vain - To "become vain," with us, means to be elated, or to be self-conceited, or to seek praise from others. The meaning here seems to be, they became foolish, frivolous in their thoughts and reasonings. They acted foolishly; they employed themselves in useless and frivolous questions, the effect of which was to lead the mind further and further from the truth respecting God.
Imaginations - This word means properly "thoughts," then "reasonings," and also "disputations." Perhaps our word, "speculations," would convey its meaning here. It implies that they were unwilling to honor God, and being unwilling to honor him, they commenced those speculations which resulted in all their vain and foolish opinions about idols, and the various rites of idolatrous worship. Many of the speculations and inquiries of the ancients were among the most vain and senseless which the mind can conceive.
And their foolish heart - The word "heart" is not infrequently used to denote the mind, or the understanding. We apply it to denote the affections. But such was not its common use, among the Hebrews. We speak of the head when we refer to the understanding, but this was not the case with the Hebrews. They spoke of the heart in this manner, and in this sense it is clearly used in this place; see Eph 1:18; Rom 2:15; Co2 4:6; Pe2 1:19. The word "foolish" means literally what is without "understanding;" Mat 15:16.
Was darkened - Was rendered obscure, so that they did not perceive and comprehend the truth. The process which is stated in this verse is,
(1) That people had the knowledge of God.
(2) that they refused to honor him when they knew him, and were opposed to his character and government.
(3) that they were ungrateful.
(4) that they then began to doubt, to reason, to speculate, and wandered far into darkness.
This is substantially the process by which people wander away from God now. They have the knowledge of God, but they do not love him; and being dissatisfied with his character and government, they begin to speculate, fall into error, and then "find no end in wandering mazes lost," and sink into the depths of heresy and of sin.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:21: when: Rom 1:19, Rom 1:28; Joh 3:19
they glorified: Rom 15:9; Psa 50:23, Psa 86:9; Hos 2:8; Hab 1:15, Hab 1:16; Luk 17:15-18; Ti2 3:2; Rev 14:7, Rev 15:4
but became: Gen 6:5, Gen 8:21; Kg2 17:15; Psa 81:12; Ecc 7:29; Isa 44:9-20; Jer 2:5; Jer 10:3-8, Jer 10:14, Jer 10:15, Jer 16:19; Eph 4:17, Eph 4:18; Pe1 1:18
their foolish: Rom 11:10; Deu 28:29; Isa 60:2; Act 26:18; Pe1 2:9
Geneva 1599
1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they (e) glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but became (f) vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
(e) They did not honour him with that honour and service which was appropriate for his everlasting power and Godhead.
(f) As if he said, became so corrupt in themselves.
John Gill
1:21 Because that when they knew God,.... Though they had such a knowledge of the being and perfections of God, yet
they glorified him not as God. They neither thought nor spoke honourably of him; nor did they ascribe those perfections to him, which belonged to him; they did not adhere to him as the one and only God, nor honour him as the Creator of all things out of nothing, and as the sole Governor of the universe; they did not glorify him by the internal exercise of fear of him, love to him, or trust in him, nor by any external worship suitable to his nature, and their own notions of him, Seneca is an instance of this, of whom Austin (f) says,
"that he worshipped what he found fault with, did what he reproved, and adored that which he blamed.''
Neither were thankful; neither for the knowledge of things they had, which they ascribed to themselves; nor for their mercies, which they imputed to second causes:
but became vain in their imaginations; the vanity or their minds was the spring and source of their evil conduct; which may design the wickedness of their hearts, and the imaginations thereof, which were evil, and that continually; the pride of their natures the carnality and weakness of their reasonings, and the whole system of their vain philosophy; and hence they ran into polytheism, or the worshipping of many gods:
and their foolish heart was darkened; where they thought their great wisdom lay: darkness is natural to the hearts and understandings of all men, which is increased by personal iniquity; Satan is concerned in improving it, and God sometimes gives up the hearts of persons to judicial blindness, which was the case of these men.
(f) De Civitate Dei, l. 6. c. 10.
John Wesley
1:21 Because, knowing God - For the wiser heathens did know that there was one supreme God; yet from low and base considerations they conformed to the idolatry of the vulgar. They did not glorify him as God, neither were thankful - They neither thanked him for his benefits, nor glorified him for his divine perfection. But became vain - Like the idols they worshipped. In their reasonings - Various, uncertain, foolish. What a terrible instance have we of this in the writings of Lucretius! What vain reasonings, and how dark a heart, amidst so pompous professions of wisdom!
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:21 Because that, when they knew God--that is, while still retaining some real knowledge of Him, and ere they sank down into the state next to be described.
they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful--neither yielded the adoration due to Himself, nor rendered the gratitude which His beneficence demanded.
but became vain--(compare Jer 2:5).
in their imaginations--thoughts, notions, speculations, regarding God; compare Mt 15:19; Lk 2:35; 1Cor 3:20, Greek.
and their foolish--"senseless," "stupid."
heart--that is, their whole inner man.
was darkened--How instructively is the downward progress of the human soul here traced!
1:221:22: զանձինս առ իմաստունս ունէին՝ յիմարեցա՛ն։
22 Իրենք իրենց իմաստունների տեղ էին դնում եւ յիմարացան:
22 Իրենք իմաստուն ենք ըսին ու յիմարացան
Զանձինս առ իմաստունս ունէին, յիմարեցան:

1:22: զանձինս առ իմաստունս ունէին՝ յիմարեցա՛ն։
22 Իրենք իրենց իմաստունների տեղ էին դնում եւ յիմարացան:
22 Իրենք իմաստուն ենք ըսին ու յիմարացան
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:2222: называя себя мудрыми, обезумели,
1:22  φάσκοντες εἶναι σοφοὶ ἐμωράνθησαν,
1:22. φάσκοντες ( asserting ) εἶναι (to-be) σοφοὶ ( wisdomed ) ἐμωράνθησαν, (they-were-dulled,"
1:22. dicentes enim se esse sapientes stulti facti suntFor, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.
22. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools:

22: называя себя мудрыми, обезумели,
1:22  φάσκοντες εἶναι σοφοὶ ἐμωράνθησαν,
1:22. dicentes enim se esse sapientes stulti facti sunt
For, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.
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Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:22: Professing themselves to be wise - This is most strikingly true of all the ancient philosophers, whether Greeks or Romans, as their works, which remain, sufficiently testify. The word φασκοντες signifies not merely the professing but the assumption of the philosophic character. In this sense the word φασκειν is used by the best Greek writers. See Kypke. A dispassionate examination of the doctrine and lives of the most famed philosophers of antiquity, of every nation, will show that they were darkened in their mind and irregular in their conduct. It was from the Christian religion alone that true philosophy and genuine philosophers sprang.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:22: Professing themselves to be wise - This was the common boast of the philosophers of antiquity. The very word by which they chose to be called, "philosophers," means literally "lovers of wisdom." That it was their boast that they were wise, is well known; compare Rom 1:14; Co1 1:19, Co1 1:20, Co1 1:22; Co1 3:19; Co2 11:19.
They became fools - Compare Jer 8:8-9. They became really foolish in their opinions and conduct. There is something particularly pungent and cutting in this remark, and as true as it is pungent. In what way they evinced their folly, Paul proceeds immediately to state. Sinners of all kinds are frequently spoken of as fools in the Scriptures. In the sense in which it is thus used, the word is applied to them as void of understanding or moral sense; as idolaters, and as wicked; Psa 14:1; Pro 26:4; Pro 1:17, Pro 1:22; Pro 14:8-9. The senses in which this word here is applied to the pagan are,
(1) That their speculations and doctrines were senseless; and,
(2) That their conduct was corrupt.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:22: Rom 11:25; Pro 25:14, Pro 26:12; Isa 47:10; Jer 8:8, Jer 8:9, Jer 10:14; Mat 6:23; Co1 1:19-21, Co1 3:18, Co1 3:19
Geneva 1599
1:22 (g) Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
(g) Or, thought themselves.
John Gill
1:22 Professing themselves to be wise,.... The learned men among the Gentiles first called themselves "Sophi", wise men: and afterwards, to cover their wretched pride and vanity, "Philosophers", lovers of wisdom; but notwithstanding all their arrogance, their large pretensions to wisdom, and boast of it
they became fools; they appeared to be so; they showed themselves to be such in those very things they prided themselves with the knowledge of: as, for instance, Socrates, after he had asserted the unity of God, and is said to die a martyr for the truth; yet one of the last actions of his life was sacrificing a cock to Aesculapius, at least he desired his friend Crito to do it.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:22 Professing themselves--"boasting," or "pretending to be"
wise, they became fools--"It is the invariable property of error in morals and religion, that men take credit to themselves for it and extol it as wisdom. So the heathen" (1Cor 1:21) [THOLUCK].
1:231:23: Եւ փոխեցին զփառս անեղծին Աստուծոյ՝ ՚ի նմանութիւն պատկերի եղծանելի՛ մարդոյ, եւ թռչնոց, եւ չորքոտանեաց, եւ սողնոց։
23 Եւ անեղծն Աստծու փառքը փոխեցին՝ այն նմանեցնելով մարդու եղծելի պատկերի եւ թռչունների եւ չորքոտանիների եւ սողունների:
23 Եւ անեղծ Աստուծոյ փառքը փոխեցին, նմանցնելով եղծանելի մարդու եւ թռչուններու ու չորքոտանիներու եւ սողուններու պատկերին։
Եւ փոխեցին զփառս անեղծին Աստուծոյ ի նմանութիւն պատկերի եղծանելի մարդոյ եւ թռչնոց եւ չորքոտանեաց եւ սողնոց:

1:23: Եւ փոխեցին զփառս անեղծին Աստուծոյ՝ ՚ի նմանութիւն պատկերի եղծանելի՛ մարդոյ, եւ թռչնոց, եւ չորքոտանեաց, եւ սողնոց։
23 Եւ անեղծն Աստծու փառքը փոխեցին՝ այն նմանեցնելով մարդու եղծելի պատկերի եւ թռչունների եւ չորքոտանիների եւ սողունների:
23 Եւ անեղծ Աստուծոյ փառքը փոխեցին, նմանցնելով եղծանելի մարդու եւ թռչուններու ու չորքոտանիներու եւ սողուններու պատկերին։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:2323: и славу нетленного Бога изменили в образ, подобный тленному человеку, и птицам, и четвероногим, и пресмыкающимся, --
1:23  καὶ ἤλλαξαν τὴν δόξαν τοῦ ἀφθάρτου θεοῦ ἐν ὁμοιώματι εἰκόνος φθαρτοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ πετεινῶν καὶ τετραπόδων καὶ ἑρπετῶν.
1:23. καὶ (and) ἤλλαξαν ( they-othered ) τὴν ( to-the-one ) δόξαν ( to-a-recognition ) τοῦ (of-the-one) ἀφθάρτου (of-un-degradable) θεοῦ (of-a-Deity) ἐν ( in ) ὁμοιώματι ( unto-an-en-along-belonging-to ) εἰκόνος (of-a-resemblance) φθαρτοῦ (of-degradable) ἀνθρώπου (of-a-mankind) καὶ (and) πετεινῶν ( of-flying-belonged-of ) καὶ (and) τετραπόδων ( of-four-footed ) καὶ (and) ἑρπετῶν. (of-creepers)
1:23. et mutaverunt gloriam incorruptibilis Dei in similitudinem imaginis corruptibilis hominis et volucrum et quadrupedum et serpentiumAnd they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the image of a corruptible man and of birds, and of fourfooted beasts and of creeping things.
23. and changed the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.
And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things:

23: и славу нетленного Бога изменили в образ, подобный тленному человеку, и птицам, и четвероногим, и пресмыкающимся, --
1:23  καὶ ἤλλαξαν τὴν δόξαν τοῦ ἀφθάρτου θεοῦ ἐν ὁμοιώματι εἰκόνος φθαρτοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ πετεινῶν καὶ τετραπόδων καὶ ἑρπετῶν.
1:23. et mutaverunt gloriam incorruptibilis Dei in similitudinem imaginis corruptibilis hominis et volucrum et quadrupedum et serpentium
And they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the image of a corruptible man and of birds, and of fourfooted beasts and of creeping things.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ all ▾
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:23: They changed the glory, etc. - The finest representation of their deities was in the human figure; and on such representative figures the sculptors spent all their skill; hence the Hercules of Farnese, the Venus of Medicis, and the Apollo of Belvidere. And when they had formed their gods according to the human shape, they endowed them with human passions; and as they clothed them with attributes of extraordinary strength, beauty, wisdom, etc., not having the true principles of morality, they represented them as slaves to the most disorderly and disgraceful passions; excelling in irregularities the most profligate of men, as possessing unlimited powers of sensual gratification.
And to birds - As the eagle of Jupiter among the Romans, and the ibis and hawk among the Egyptians; which were all sacred animals.
Four-footed beasts - As the apis or white ox among the Egyptians; from which the idolatrous Israelites took their golden calf. The goat, the monkey, and the dog, were also sacred animals among the same people.
Creeping things - Such as the crocodile and scarabeus, or beetle, among the Egyptians.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:23: And changed - This does not mean that they literally "transmuted" God himself; but that in their views they exchanged him; or they changed him "as an object of worship" for idols. They produced, of course, no real change in the glory of the infinite God, but the change was in themselves. They forsook him of whom they had knowledge Rom 1:21, and offered the homage which was due to him, to idols.
The glory - The majesty, the honor, etc. This word stands opposed here to the "degrading" nature of their worship. Instead of adoring a Being clothed with majesty and honor, they bowed down to reptiles, etc. They exchanged a glorious object of worship for what was degrading and humiliating. The glory of God, in such places as this, means his essential honor, his majesty, the concentration and expression of his perfections, as the glory of the sun, Co1 15:41 means his shining, or his splendor; compare Jer 2:11; Psa 106:20.
The uncorruptible God - The word "uncorruptible" is here applied to God in opposition to "man." God is unchanging, indestructible, immortal. The word conveys also the idea that God is eternal. As he is incorruptible, he is the proper object of worship. In all the changes of life, man may come to him, assured that he is the same. When man decays by age or infirmities, he may come to God, assured that he undergoes no such change, but is the same yesterday, today, and foRev_er; compare Ti1 1:17.
Into an image - An image is a representation or likeness of anything, whether made by painting, or from wood, stone, etc. Thus, the word is applied to "idols," as being "images" or "representations" of heavenly objects; Ch2 33:7; Dan 3:1; Rev 11:4, etc. See instances of this among the Jews described in Isa 40:18-26, and Eze 8:10.
To corruptible man - This stands opposed to the "incorruptible" God. Many of the images or idols of the ancients were in the forms of men and women. Many of their gods were heroes and benefactors, who were deified, and to whom temples, altars, and statues were erected. Such were Jupiter, and Hercules, and Romulus, etc. The worship of these heroes thus constituted no small part of their idolatry, and their images would be of course representations of them in human form. It was proof of great degradation, that they thus adored human beings with like passions as themselves; and attempted to displace the true God from the throne, and to substitute in his place an idol in the likeness of men.
And to birds - The "ibis" was adored with special Rev_erence among the Egyptians, on account of the great benefits resulting from its destroying the serpents which, but for this, would have overrun the country. The hawk was also adored in Egypt, and the eagle at Rome. As one great principle of pagan idolatry was to adore all objects from which important benefits were derived, it is probable that all birds would come in for a share of pagan worship, that rendered service in the destruction of noxious animals.
And fourfooted beasts - Thus, the ox, under the name "apis," was adored in Egypt; and even the dog and the monkey. In imitation of the Egyptian ox, the children of Israel made their golden calf, Exo 22:4. At this day, two of the most sacred objects of worship in Hindostan are the cow and the "monkey."
And creeping things - Reptiles. "Animals that have no feet, or such short ones that they seem to creep or crawl on the ground." "(Calmet.)" Lizards, serpents, etc. come under this description. The "crocodile" in Egypt was an object of adoration, and even the serpent so late as the second century of the Christian era, there was a sect in Egypt, called "Ophites" from their worshipping a serpent, and who ever claimed to be Christians, (Murdock's Mosheim, vol. i. p. 180, 181). There was scarcely an object, animal or vegetable, which the Egyptians did not adore. Thus, the leek, the onion, etc. were objects of worship, and people bowed down and paid adoration to the sun and moon, to animals, to vegetables, and to reptiles. Egypt was the source of the views of religion that pervaded other nations, and hence, their worship partook of the same wretched and degrading character. (See "Leland's" "Advantage and Necessity of Revelation.")
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:23: changed: Rom 1:25; Psa 106:20; Jer 2:11
an image: Deu 4:15-18, Deu 5:8; Psa 115:5-8, Psa 135:15-18; Isa 40:18, Isa 40:26, Isa 44:13; Eze 8:10; Act 17:29; Co1 12:2; Pe1 4:3; Rev 9:20
Geneva 1599
1:23 And changed the glory of the (h) uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
(h) For the true God they substituted another.
John Gill
1:23 And changed the glory of the incorruptible God,.... God is incorruptible and immortal in his nature, and so is opposed to all corruptible creatures and things: he has a glory which is essential to him, and a manifestative one in the creatures, and which is relative, and of right belongs to him: his absolute essential glory cannot be changed, cannot be taken away from him, nor given to another; but his relative glory may be said to be changed, when another is worshipped in his stead, and called by his name. So Philo the Jew (g) speaks of
"some, who, leaving the true God, make to themselves false ones, and impose the name of the eternal and incorruptible upon created and corruptible beings.''
Into an image made like to corruptible man; which was worshipped in different forms by the several nations of the world:
and to birds; as the dove by the Samaritans, the hawk, the ibis, and others by the Egyptians:
and fourfooted beasts; as the ox, and other creatures:
and creeping things; such as beetles, serpents, and others, by the same.
(g) De Vita Mosis, l. 3. p. 678, 679.
John Wesley
1:23 And changed - With the utmost folly. Here are three degrees of ungodliness and of punishment: the first is described, Rom 1:21-24; the second, Rom 1:25-27; the third, in Rom 1:28, and following verses. The punishment in each case is expressed by God gave them up. If a man will not worship God as God, he is so left to himself that he throws away his very manhood. Reptiles - Or creeping things; as beetles, and various kinds of serpents.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:23 And changed--or "exchanged."
the glory of the uncorruptible God into--or "for"
an image . . . like to corruptible man--The allusion here is doubtless to the Greek worship, and the apostle may have had in his mind those exquisite chisellings of the human form which lay so profusely beneath and around him as he stood on Mars' Hill; and "beheld their devotions." (See on Acts 17:29). But as if that had not been a deep enough degradation of the living God, there was found "a lower deep" still.
and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and to creeping things--referring now to the Egyptian and Oriental worship. In the face of these plain declarations of the descent of man's religious belief from loftier to ever lower and more debasing conceptions of the Supreme Being, there are expositors of this very Epistle (as REICHE and JOWETT), who, believing neither in any fall from primeval innocence, nor in the noble traces of that innocence which lingered even after the fall and were only by degrees obliterated by wilful violence to the dictates of conscience, maintain that man's religious history has been all along a struggle to rise, from the lowest forms of nature worship, suited to the childhood of our race, into that which is more rational and spiritual.
1:241:24: Վասն որոյ մատնեաց զնոսա Աստուած ՚ի ցանկութիւն սրտից նոցա ՚ի պղծութիւն, անարգե՛լ զմարմինս իւրեանց յանձինս իւրեանց[3292]. [3292] Օրինակ մի. Զմարմինս նոցա յանձինս իւրեանց։
24 Դրա համար, ըստ իրենց սրտերի ցանկութեան, Աստուած նրանց մատնեց պղծութեան, որ անարգեն իրենց մարմինները իրենք իրենց մէջ.
24 Անոր համար Աստուած ալ պղծութեան մատնեց զանոնք իրենց սրտերուն ցանկութիւններովը՝ իրենց մարմինները իրենց մէջ անարգելու։
Վասն որոյ մատնեաց զնոսա Աստուած ի ցանկութիւն սրտից նոցա ի պղծութիւն, անարգել զմարմինս իւրեանց յանձինս իւրեանց:

1:24: Վասն որոյ մատնեաց զնոսա Աստուած ՚ի ցանկութիւն սրտից նոցա ՚ի պղծութիւն, անարգե՛լ զմարմինս իւրեանց յանձինս իւրեանց[3292].
[3292] Օրինակ մի. Զմարմինս նոցա յանձինս իւրեանց։
24 Դրա համար, ըստ իրենց սրտերի ցանկութեան, Աստուած նրանց մատնեց պղծութեան, որ անարգեն իրենց մարմինները իրենք իրենց մէջ.
24 Անոր համար Աստուած ալ պղծութեան մատնեց զանոնք իրենց սրտերուն ցանկութիւններովը՝ իրենց մարմինները իրենց մէջ անարգելու։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:2424: то и предал их Бог в похотях сердец их нечистоте, так что они сквернили сами свои тела.
1:24  διὸ παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς ὁ θεὸς ἐν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις τῶν καρδιῶν αὐτῶν εἰς ἀκαθαρσίαν τοῦ ἀτιμάζεσθαι τὰ σώματα αὐτῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς,
1:24. Διὸ (Through-which) παρέδωκεν (it-gave-beside) αὐτοὺς (to-them,"ὁ (the-one) θεὸς (a-Deity,"ἐν (in) ταῖς (unto-the-ones) ἐπιθυμίαις (unto-passionings-upon-unto) τῶν (of-the-ones) καρδιῶν (of-hearts) αὐτῶν (of-them) εἰς (into) ἀκαθαρσίαν (to-an-un-cleansing-unto) τοῦ (of-the-one) ἀτιμάζεσθαι (to-be-un-valuated-to) τὰ (to-the-ones) σώματα (to-bodies) αὐτῶν (of-them) ἐν (in) αὐτοῖς, (unto-them,"
1:24. propter quod tradidit illos Deus in desideria cordis eorum in inmunditiam ut contumeliis adficiant corpora sua in semet ipsisWherefore, God gave them up to the desires of their heart, unto uncleanness: to dishonour their own bodies among themselves.
24. Wherefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts unto uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonoured among themselves:
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

24: то и предал их Бог в похотях сердец их нечистоте, так что они сквернили сами свои тела.
1:24  διὸ παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς ὁ θεὸς ἐν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις τῶν καρδιῶν αὐτῶν εἰς ἀκαθαρσίαν τοῦ ἀτιμάζεσθαι τὰ σώματα αὐτῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς,
1:24. propter quod tradidit illos Deus in desideria cordis eorum in inmunditiam ut contumeliis adficiant corpora sua in semet ipsis
Wherefore, God gave them up to the desires of their heart, unto uncleanness: to dishonour their own bodies among themselves.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
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А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
24-27: Первым проявлением гнева Божия, к изображению которого теперь приступает Апостол, было то, что Бог попустил людям дойти до крайней степени порочности: так как они изменили слову Бога, то и Бог попустил их до изменения или замены естественных отношений между мужчинами и женщинами не естественными или противоестественными! - Предал их. Древние толкователи согласно передают это выражение так: "допустил или попустил им". Блаж. Феодорит, напр., пишет: "Бог, увидев их не пожелавшими, чтобы тварь возводила их к Творцу..., лишил их Своего промышления, попустил им носиться подобно неоснащенной ладье, не восхотев управлять впадшими в крайнее нечестие, которое породило и беззаконную жизнь". Но, кроме попущения, которое собственно предполагает только пассивное отношение Бога к грешникам, в глаголе предал есть и указание на активное проявление гнева Божия. Бог этим преданием человека на волю его страстей наказывает человека (ср. Деян 7:42; 2: Сол 2:11: и сл.). Но можно ли соединить такой образ действий с понятием о Боге, как Существе Всесвятейшем? Можно. Бог здесь является мудрым воспитателем, который, чтобы воспитанник его вполне убедился во вреде известного своеволия, дает ему возможность дойти до крайнего проявления в этом своеволии, вслед за чем непременно уже должна начаться реакция: воспитанник, сознавши весь вред своеволия, обращается за указаниями к своему воспитателю. Пример этого обращения представляет собою приточный блудный сын (Лк XV:16-18). - В похотях сердец их. Похоти или желания, направленные ко всему мирскому, греховному, уносят человека, как волны оторвавшуюся от пристани ладью. - Нечистоте, т. е. грехам, оскверняющим человека (6:19) и преимущественно плотским (2Кор. 12:21; Гал 5:19). Это и есть та бездна, куда волны уносят ладью (по греч. поставлено: eiV akaqarsian = в нечистоту). - Так что они сквернили сами свои тела. Особенность грехов невоздержания состоит в том, что человек через них отдает на позор свое собственное тело, как это бывало в различных языческих культах (с греч. точнее: "так что у них лишались чести их тела"). - Они заменили истину Божью ложью... 25-й стих представляет собою вставочное замечание. Апостол здесь хочет дать более определенную мотивировку того решения Божия, какое приведено в 24-м стихе. Люди променяли истину Божию, т. е. правильное представление о Боге (qeou - родит, субъекта) на ложь или на ложных богов, на идолов (ср. Пс XLIV:20; Иер 3:10). - И поклонялись - (по греч. eserasqhsan) = чтили (указание преимущественно на внутреннее богопочтение). - Служили (по греч. elatreusan) = совершали жертвы и другие отправления, требовавшиеся языческим культом. - Твари вместо Творца. Язычество, по своему существу, есть обоготворение твари (ср. ст. 23), соединенное с забвением Творца Бога. - Который благословен... Апостол воссылает славу Богу, Который, несмотря на стремление язычников унизить Его, всегда будет благословляем, как Творец и Промыслитель мира. - Потому и предал... Здесь Апостол возвращается к мысли, высказанной им в 24-м ст. Бог прогневался на язычников и предал их на волю противоестественных пороков. Раньше они были в похотях (epiqumiai) - теперь в страстях (paqh), которые делают из человека совершенно утратившего свою волю раба. Страсти эти постыдные (atimiaV), т. е. позорные, состоящие в искажении порядка природы, унижающие человека. Существование указанных в 26: и 27: ст. противоестественных пороков в язычестве подтверждается свидетельствами современных Ап. Павлу греческих и римских писателей. - Получая в самих себе... За свое отступление от истинного Богопочитания (заблуждение ср. ст. 21-23, 25) язычники видимо для всех (в самих себе) получили от Бога должное возмездие или наказание, состоявшее именно в предании язычников Богом таким противоестественным порокам. Ясно, что, по Апостолу, нравственное чувство в человеке живо только до тех пор, пока в нем живет идея Всесвятейшего Существа Бога. Кто почитает Бога, тот облагораживает сам себя, а кто отвергает Его, тот падает все ниже и ниже в нравственном отношении. "Независимой" морали Апостол, очевидно, не признает.
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:24: God - gave them up, etc. - They had filled up the measure of their iniquities, and God, by permitting them to plunge into all manner of irregularities, thus, by one species of sin, inflicted punishment on another.
Dishonour their own bodies - Probably alluding here to what is more openly expressed, Rom 1:26, Rom 1:27.
Between themselves - εν εαυτοις, Of themselves, of their own free accord; none inciting, none impelling.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:24: Wherefore - That is, because they were unwilling to retain him in their knowledge, and chose to worship idols. Here is traced the practical tendency of paganism; not as an innocent and harmless system, but as resulting in the most gross and shameless acts of depravity.
God gave them up - He abandoned them, or he ceased to restrain them, and suffered them to act out their sentiments, and to manifest them in their life. This does not imply, that he exerted any positive influence in inducing them to sin, any more than it would if we should seek, by argument and entreaty, to restrain a headstrong youth, and when neither would pRev_ail, should leave him to act out his propensities. and to go as he chose to ruin. It is implied in this,
(1) That the tendency of man was to these sins;
(2) That the tendency of idolatry was to promote them; and,
(3) That all that was needful, in order that people should commit them, was for God to leave him to follow the devices and desires of his own heart; compare Psa 81:12; Th2 2:10, Th2 2:12.
To uncleanness - To impurity, or moral defilement; particularly to those impurities which he proceeds to specify, Rom 1:26, etc.
Through the lusts of their own hearts - Or, in consequence of their own evil and depraved passions and desires. He left them to act out, or manifest, their depraved affections and inclinations.
To dishonour - To disgrace; Rom 1:26-27.
Between themselves - Among themselves; or mutually. They did it by unlawful and impure connections with one another.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:24: God: Psa 81:11, Psa 81:12; Hos 4:17, Hos 4:18; Mat 15:14; Act 7:42, Act 14:16, Act 17:29, Act 17:30; Eph 4:18; Th2 2:10-12
through the lusts: Rom 6:12
to dishonour: Co1 6:13, Co1 6:18; Th1 4:4; Ti2 2:20-22
between: Rom 1:27; Lev 18:22
Geneva 1599
1:24 (10) Wherefore (i) God also (k) gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
(10) The unrighteousness of men he sets forth first in this, that following their lusts, even against nature, they defiled themselves one with another, by the just judgment of God.
(i) The contempt of religion is the source of all evil.
(k) As a just judge.
John Gill
1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness,.... Not by putting any into them, but by leaving them to the pollution of their nature; by withdrawing his providential restraints from them, and by giving them up to judicial hardness:
through the lusts of their own hearts. The heart of man is the source of all wickedness; the lusts that dwell there are many, and these tend to uncleanness of one sort or another: by it here is meant particularly bodily uncleanness, since it is said they were given up
to dishonour their own bodies between themselves; either alone, or with others; so that as they changed the glory of God, and dishonoured him, he left them to dishonour themselves by doing these things which were reproachful and scandalous to human nature.
John Wesley
1:24 Wherefore - One punishment of sin is from the very nature of it, as Rom 1:27; another, as here, is from vindictive justice. Uncleanness - Ungodliness and uncleanness are frequently joined, Th1 4:5 as are the knowledge of God and purity. God gave them up - By withdrawing his restraining grace.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:24 Wherefore God also--in righteous retribution.
gave them up--This divine abandonment of men is here strikingly traced in three successive stages, at each of which the same word is used (Rom 1:24, Rom 1:26; and Rom 1:28, where the word is rendered "gave over"). "As they deserted God, God in turn deserted them; not giving them divine (that is, supernatural) laws, and suffering them to corrupt those which were human; not sending them prophets, and allowing the philosophers to run into absurdities. He let them do what they pleased, even what was in the last degree vile, that those who had not honored God, might dishonor themselves" [GROTIUS].
1:251:25: որք փոխանակեցին զճշմարտութիւնն Աստուծոյ ընդ ստութեան. հնազանդեցան՝ եւ պաշտեցին զարարա՛ծս, եւ ո՛չ զԱրարիչն. որ է օրհնեալ յաւիտեանս. ամէն։
25 նրանք փոխանակեցին Աստծու ճշմարտութիւնը ստով, հնազանդուեցին ու պաշտեցին արարածներին եւ ոչ Արարչին, որ օրհնեալ է յաւիտեանս: Ամէն:
25 Որոնք Աստուծոյ ճշմարտութիւնը սուտի հետ փոխեցին ու երկրպագութիւն եւ պաշտօն մատուցանեցին ստեղծուածներուն քան թէ Ստեղծողին, որ յաւիտեան օրհնեալ է։ Ամէն։
որք փոխանակեցին զճշմարտութիւնն Աստուծոյ ընդ ստութեան. [3]հնազանդեցան եւ պաշտեցին զարարածս եւ ոչ զԱրարիչն, որ է օրհնեալ յաւիտեանս: Ամէն:

1:25: որք փոխանակեցին զճշմարտութիւնն Աստուծոյ ընդ ստութեան. հնազանդեցան՝ եւ պաշտեցին զարարա՛ծս, եւ ո՛չ զԱրարիչն. որ է օրհնեալ յաւիտեանս. ամէն։
25 նրանք փոխանակեցին Աստծու ճշմարտութիւնը ստով, հնազանդուեցին ու պաշտեցին արարածներին եւ ոչ Արարչին, որ օրհնեալ է յաւիտեանս: Ամէն:
25 Որոնք Աստուծոյ ճշմարտութիւնը սուտի հետ փոխեցին ու երկրպագութիւն եւ պաշտօն մատուցանեցին ստեղծուածներուն քան թէ Ստեղծողին, որ յաւիտեան օրհնեալ է։ Ամէն։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:2525: Они заменили истину Божию ложью, и поклонялись, и служили твари вместо Творца, Который благословен во веки, аминь.
1:25  οἵτινες μετήλλαξαν τὴν ἀλήθειαν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν τῶ ψεύδει, καὶ ἐσεβάσθησαν καὶ ἐλάτρευσαν τῇ κτίσει παρὰ τὸν κτίσαντα, ὅς ἐστιν εὐλογητὸς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας· ἀμήν.
1:25. οἵτινες (which-ones) μετήλλαξαν (they-othered-with) τὴν (to-the-one) ἀλήθειαν (to-an-un-secluding-of) τοῦ (of-the-one) θεοῦ (of-a-Deity) ἐν (in) τῷ (unto-the-one) ψεύδει, (unto-a-falsity,"καὶ (and) ἐσεβάσθησαν ( they-revered-to ) καὶ (and) ἐλάτρευσαν (they-served-of) τῇ (unto-the-one) κτίσει (unto-a-creating) παρὰ (beside) τὸν (to-the-one) κτίσαντα, (to-having-created-to,"ὅς (which) ἐστιν (it-be) εὐλογητὸς (goodly-fortheeable) εἰς (into) τοὺς (to-the-ones) αἰῶνας: (to-ages,"ἀμήν. (amen)
1:25. qui commutaverunt veritatem Dei in mendacio et coluerunt et servierunt creaturae potius quam creatori qui est benedictus in saecula amenWho changed the truth of God into a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
25. for that they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen:

25: Они заменили истину Божию ложью, и поклонялись, и служили твари вместо Творца, Который благословен во веки, аминь.
1:25  οἵτινες μετήλλαξαν τὴν ἀλήθειαν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν τῶ ψεύδει, καὶ ἐσεβάσθησαν καὶ ἐλάτρευσαν τῇ κτίσει παρὰ τὸν κτίσαντα, ὅς ἐστιν εὐλογητὸς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας· ἀμήν.
1:25. qui commutaverunt veritatem Dei in mendacio et coluerunt et servierunt creaturae potius quam creatori qui est benedictus in saecula amen
Who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
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Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:25: Changed the truth of God into a lie - In the place of the true worship of God, they established idolatry. In various places of Scripture idols are termed lies. Isa 44:20; Jer 10:14; Jer 13:25. The true God was known among the primitive inhabitants of the earth, those who first became idolaters literally changed the truth of God into a lie: they did know the true God, but they put idols in his place.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:25: Who changed the truth of God - This is a repetition of the declaration in Rom 1:23, in another form. The phrase, "the truth of God" is a Hebrew phrase, meaning "the true God." In such a case, where two nouns come together, one is employed as an adjective to qualify the other. Most commonly the latter of two nouns is used as the adjective, but sometimes it is the former, as in this case. God is called "the true God" in opposition to idols, which are called false gods. There is but one real or true God, and all others are false.
Into a lie - Into idols, or false gods. Idols are not infrequently called falsehood and lies, because they are not true representations of God; Jer 13:25; Isa 28:15; Jer 10:14; Psa 40:4.
The creature - Created things, as the sun, moon, animals, etc.
Who is blessed foRev_er - It was not uncommon to add a doxology, or ascription of praise to God, when his name was mentioned; see Rom 9:5; Co2 11:31; Gal 1:5. The Jews also usually did it. In this way they preserved veneration for the name of God, and accustomed themselves to speak of him with Rev_erence. "The Muslims also borrowed this custom from the Jews, and practice it to a great extent. Tholuck mentions an Arabic manuscript in the library at Berlin which contains an account of heresies in respect to Islamism, and as often as the writer has occasion to mention the name of a new heretical sect, he adds, 'God be exalted above all which they say'" (Stuart).
Amen - This is a Hebrew word denoting strong affirmation. So let it be. It implies here the solemn assent of the writer to what was just said; or his strong wish that what he had said might be - that the name of God might be esteemed and be blessed foRev_er. The mention of the degrading idolatry of the pagans was strongly calculated to impress on his mind the superior excellency and glory of the one living God. It is mentioned respecting the honorable Robert Boyle, that he never mentioned the name of God without a solemn pause, denoting his profound Rev_erence. Such a practice would tend eminently to pRev_ent an unholy familiarity and irRev_erence in regard to the sacred name of the Most High; compare Exo 20:7.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:25: changed: Rom 1:23
the truth: Rom 1:18; Th1 1:9; Jo1 5:20
into a lie: Isa 44:20; Jer 10:14, Jer 10:15, Jer 13:25, Jer 16:19; Amo 2:4; Joh 2:8; Hab 2:18
the creature: Rom 1:23; Mat 6:24, Mat 10:37; Ti2 3:4; Jo1 2:15, Jo1 2:16
more: or, rather, who is, Rom 9:5; Psa 72:19, Psa 145:1, Psa 145:2; Co2 11:31; Eph 3:21; Ti1 1:11, Ti1 1:17
John Gill
1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie,.... Not the truth of the Gospel, which they were unacquainted with; but that which might be known of God as true, and was known of them by the light of nature; or the true God himself, whom they "changed into a lie"; by ascribing to false deities, which were lying vanities, those things which were known of God; and by worshipping them instead of him: for they
worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator; or "above him" or "against him", in opposition to him, or "besides him", others along with him; or neglecting him, and not worshipping him at all; which is aggravated in that what they worshipped was a creature, either of their own, or of God's making, and whom they neglected was the Creator of them:
who is blessed for ever, Amen; is blessed in himself, and the fountain of all blessedness to his creatures; which is so glaring a truth, that everyone ought to say and set his "Amen" to it.
John Wesley
1:25 Who changed the truth - The true worship of God. Into a lie - False, abominable idolatries. And worshipped - Inwardly. And served - Outwardly.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie--that is, the truth concerning God into idol falsehood.
and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator--Professing merely to worship the Creator by means of the creature, they soon came to lose sight of the Creator in the creature. How aggravated is the guilt of the Church of Rome, which, under the same flimsy pretext, does shamelessly what the heathen are here condemned for doing, and with light which the heathen never had!
who is blessed for ever! Amen--By this doxology the apostle instinctively relieves the horror which the penning of such things excited within his breast; an example to such as are called to expose like dishonor done to the blessed God.
1:261:26: Վասն այնորիկ մատնեաց զնոսա Աստուած ՚ի կարի՛ս անարգութեան. զի է՛գք նոցա փոխանակեցի՛ն զպէտս բնականս ՚ի պէտս անբնականս[3293]։ [3293] Ոսկան. Վասն այսորիկ մատնեաց։
26 Ահա թէ ինչու Աստուած նրանց մատնեց անարգ կրքերի. որովհետեւ նրանց էգերը բնական կարիքները փոխանակեցին անբնական կարիքներով:
26 Անոր համար Աստուած զանոնք անարգ կրքերու մատնեց։ Իրենց էգերն անգամ բնական պէտքը բնութեան դէմ եղող պէտքի փոխեցին։
Վասն այնորիկ մատնեաց զնոսա Աստուած ի կարիս անարգութեան, զի էգք նոցա փոխանակեցին զպէտս բնականս ի պէտս անբնականս:

1:26: Վասն այնորիկ մատնեաց զնոսա Աստուած ՚ի կարի՛ս անարգութեան. զի է՛գք նոցա փոխանակեցի՛ն զպէտս բնականս ՚ի պէտս անբնականս[3293]։
[3293] Ոսկան. Վասն այսորիկ մատնեաց։
26 Ահա թէ ինչու Աստուած նրանց մատնեց անարգ կրքերի. որովհետեւ նրանց էգերը բնական կարիքները փոխանակեցին անբնական կարիքներով:
26 Անոր համար Աստուած զանոնք անարգ կրքերու մատնեց։ Իրենց էգերն անգամ բնական պէտքը բնութեան դէմ եղող պէտքի փոխեցին։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:2626: Потому предал их Бог постыдным страстям: женщины их заменили естественное употребление противоестественным;
1:26  διὰ τοῦτο παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς ὁ θεὸς εἰς πάθη ἀτιμίας· αἵ τε γὰρ θήλειαι αὐτῶν μετήλλαξαν τὴν φυσικὴν χρῆσιν εἰς τὴν παρὰ φύσιν,
1:26. Διὰ (Through) τοῦτο (to-the-one-this) παρέδωκεν (it-gave-beside) αὐτοὺς (to-them,"ὁ (the-one) θεὸς (a-Deity,"εἰς (into) πάθη (to-experiences) ἀτιμίας: (of-an-un-valuating-unto) αἵ (the-ones) τε (also) γὰρ (therefore) θήλειαι ( female ) αὐτῶν (of-them) μετήλλαξαν (they-othered-with) τὴν (to-the-one) φυσικὴν (to-spawn-belonged-of) χρῆσιν (to-an-affording) εἰς (into) τὴν (to-the-one) παρὰ (beside) φύσιν, (to-a-spawning,"
1:26. propterea tradidit illos Deus in passiones ignominiae nam feminae eorum inmutaverunt naturalem usum in eum usum qui est contra naturamFor this cause, God delivered them up to shameful affections. For their women have changed the natural use into that use which is against nature.
26. For this cause God gave them up unto vile passions: for their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature:
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

26: Потому предал их Бог постыдным страстям: женщины их заменили естественное употребление противоестественным;
1:26  διὰ τοῦτο παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς ὁ θεὸς εἰς πάθη ἀτιμίας· αἵ τε γὰρ θήλειαι αὐτῶν μετήλλαξαν τὴν φυσικὴν χρῆσιν εἰς τὴν παρὰ φύσιν,
1:26. propterea tradidit illos Deus in passiones ignominiae nam feminae eorum inmutaverunt naturalem usum in eum usum qui est contra naturam
For this cause, God delivered them up to shameful affections. For their women have changed the natural use into that use which is against nature.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ all ▾
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:26: For this cause God gave them up, etc. - Their system of idolatry necessarily produced all kinds of impurity. How could it be otherwise, when the highest objects of their worship were adulterers, fornicators, and prostitutes of the most infamous kind, such as Jupiter, Apollo, Mars, Venus, etc.? Of the abominable evils with which the apostle charges the Gentiles in this and the following verse I could produce a multitude of proofs from their own writings; but it is needless to make the subject plainer than the apostle has left it.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:26: For this cause - On account of what had just been specified; to wit, that they did not glorify him as God, that they were unthankful, that they became polytheists and idolaters. In the pRev_ious verses he had stated their speculative belief. He now proceeds to show its practical influences on their conduct.
Vile affections - Disgraceful passions or desires. That is, to those which are immediately specified. The great object of the apostle here, it will be remembered, is to shew the state of the pagan world, and to prove that they had need of some other way of justification than the law of nature. For this purpose, it was necessary for him to enter into a detail of their sins. The sins which he proceeds to specify are the most indelicate, vile, and degrading which can be charged on man. But this is not the fault of the apostle. If they existed, it was necessary for him to charge them on the pagan world. His argument would not be complete without it. The shame is not in specifying them, but in their existence; not in the apostle, but in those who practiced them, and imposed on him the necessity of accusing them of these enormous offences. It may be further remarked, that the mere fact of his charging them with these sins is strong presumptive proof of their being practiced. If they did not exist, it would be easy for them to deny it, and put him to the proof of it. No man would venture charges like these without evidence; and the presumption is, that these things were known and practiced without shame. But this is not all. There is still abundant proof on record in the writings of the pagan themselves, that these crimes were known and extensively practiced.
For even their women ... - Evidence of the shameful and disgraceful fact here charged on the women is abundant in the Greek and Roman writers. Proof may be seen, which it would not be proper to specify, in the lexicons, under the words τριζὰς ὄλισβον trizas olisbon, and ἑταιρίστης hetairistē s. See also Seneca, epis. 95; Martial, epis. i. 90. Tholuck on the State of the pagan World, in the Biblical Repository, vol. ii.; Lucian, Dial. Meretric. v.; and Tertullian de Pallio.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:26: gave them: Rom 1:24
vile: Gen 19:5; Lev 18:22-28; Deu 23:17, Deu 23:18; Jdg 19:22; Co1 6:9; Eph 4:19; Eph 5:12; Ti1 1:10; Jde 1:7, Jde 1:10
John Gill
1:26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections,.... Because of their idolatrous practices, God left them to very dishonourable actions, sodomitical ones, both among the men and women:
for even the women did change the natural use into that which is against nature; either by prostituting themselves to, and complying with the "sodomitical" embraces of men, in a way that is against nature (h); or by making use of such ways and methods with themselves, or other women, to gratify their lusts, which were never designed by nature for such an use: of these vicious women, and their practices, Seneca (i) speaks, when he says,
"libidine veto nec maribus quidem cedunt, pati natae; Dii illas Deoeque, male perdant; adeo perversum commentae, genus impudicitiae, viros ineunt:''
also Clemens Alexandrinus (k) has respect to such, saying,
"gunaikev andrizontai para fusin, gamou men ai te kai .'
and such there were among the Jews, whom they call (l), and whom the priests were forbidden to marry.
(h) Vid. R. Sol Jarchi in Gen. xxiv. 16. (i) Epist. 95. (k) Paedagog. l. 3. p. 226. (l) T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 65. 2. Piske Tosaph. ib. artic. 266. Yevamot, fol. 76. 1. & Piske Tosaph. ib. art. 141. Maimonides in Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 4. & Hilchot Issure Bia, c. 21. sect. 8, 9.
John Wesley
1:26 Therefore God gave them up to vile affections - To which the heathen Romans were then abandoned to the last degree; and none more than the emperors themselves.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:26 For this cause God gave them up--(See on Rom 1:24).
for even their women--that sex whose priceless jewel and fairest ornament is modesty, and which, when that is once lost, not only becomes more shameless than the other sex, but lives henceforth only to drag the other sex down to its level.
did change, &c.--The practices here referred to, though too abundantly attested by classic authors, cannot be further illustrated, without trenching on things which "ought not to be named among us as become the saints." But observe how vice is here seen consuming and exhausting itself. When the passions, scourged by violent and continued indulgence in natural vices, became impotent to yield the craved enjoyment, resort was had to artificial stimulants by the practice of unnatural and monstrous vices. How early these were in full career, in the history of the world, the case of Sodom affectingly shows; and because of such abominations, centuries after that, the land of Canaan "spued out" its old inhabitants. Long before this chapter was penned, the Lesbians and others throughout refined Greece had been luxuriating in such debasements; and as for the Romans, TACITUS, speaking of the emperor Tiberius, tells us that new words had then to be coined to express the newly invented stimulants to jaded passion. No wonder that, thus sick and dying as was this poor humanity of ours under the highest earthly culture, its many-voiced cry for the balm in Gilead, and the Physician there, "Come over and help us," pierced the hearts of the missionaries of the Cross, and made them "not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ!"
1:271:27: Նո՛յնպէս եւ արուա՛ցն թողեալ զբնակա՛ն պէտս իգութեանն, բորբոքեցան ցանկութեամբք իւրեանց ՚ի միմեանս. արուք ընդ արո՛ւս զխայտառակութիւն գործէին, եւ զդա՛րձ փոխարինին որ պարտ էր մոլորութեանն նոցա՝ յանձի՛նս իւրեանց ընդունէին[3294]։ [3294] Ոմանք. Եւ արուաց թող՛՛... իգութեան... մոլորութեան նոցա։
27 Նոյնպէս եւ արուները, թողնելով էգի հանդէպ բնական կարիքները, իրենց ցանկութիւններով բորբոքուեցին միմեանց հանդէպ. արուները արուների հետ խայտառակութիւն էին գործում եւ փոխարէնը իրենք իրենց անձերի մէջ ընդունում էին իրենց մոլորութեան հատուցումը:
27 Նոյնպէս ալ արուները կնոջ բնական պէտքը թողուցած՝ իրենց ցանկութիւնովը իրարու հետ վառուեցան. արուները արուներու հետ խայտառակութիւն կը գործէին եւ իրենց մոլութեանը վայլած հատուցումը իրենց վրայ կ’ընդունէին։
Նոյնպէս եւ արուացն թողեալ զբնական պէտս իգութեանն, բորբոքեցան ցանկութեամբք իւրեանց ի միմեանս, արուք ընդ արուս զխայտառակութիւն գործէին, եւ զդարձ փոխարինին որ պարտ էր մոլորութեանն նոցա` յանձինս իւրեանց ընդունէին:

1:27: Նո՛յնպէս եւ արուա՛ցն թողեալ զբնակա՛ն պէտս իգութեանն, բորբոքեցան ցանկութեամբք իւրեանց ՚ի միմեանս. արուք ընդ արո՛ւս զխայտառակութիւն գործէին, եւ զդա՛րձ փոխարինին որ պարտ էր մոլորութեանն նոցա՝ յանձի՛նս իւրեանց ընդունէին[3294]։
[3294] Ոմանք. Եւ արուաց թող՛՛... իգութեան... մոլորութեան նոցա։
27 Նոյնպէս եւ արուները, թողնելով էգի հանդէպ բնական կարիքները, իրենց ցանկութիւններով բորբոքուեցին միմեանց հանդէպ. արուները արուների հետ խայտառակութիւն էին գործում եւ փոխարէնը իրենք իրենց անձերի մէջ ընդունում էին իրենց մոլորութեան հատուցումը:
27 Նոյնպէս ալ արուները կնոջ բնական պէտքը թողուցած՝ իրենց ցանկութիւնովը իրարու հետ վառուեցան. արուները արուներու հետ խայտառակութիւն կը գործէին եւ իրենց մոլութեանը վայլած հատուցումը իրենց վրայ կ’ընդունէին։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:2727: подобно и мужчины, оставив естественное употребление женского пола, разжигались похотью друг на друга, мужчины на мужчинах делая срам и получая в самих себе должное возмездие за свое заблуждение.
1:27  ὁμοίως τε καὶ οἱ ἄρσενες ἀφέντες τὴν φυσικὴν χρῆσιν τῆς θηλείας ἐξεκαύθησαν ἐν τῇ ὀρέξει αὐτῶν εἰς ἀλλήλους, ἄρσενες ἐν ἄρσεσιν τὴν ἀσχημοσύνην κατεργαζόμενοι καὶ τὴν ἀντιμισθίαν ἣν ἔδει τῆς πλάνης αὐτῶν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἀπολαμβάνοντες.
1:27. ὁμοίως (unto-along-belonged) τε (also) καὶ (and) οἱ (the-ones) ἄρσενες ( male ) ἀφέντες ( having-had-sent-off ) τὴν (to-the-one) φυσικὴν (to-spawn-belonged-of) χρῆσιν (to-an-affording) τῆς (of-the-one) θηλείας (of-female) ἐξεκαύθησαν (they-were-burned-out) ἐν (in) τῇ (unto-the-one) ὀρέξει (unto-a-reaching) αὐτῶν (of-them) εἰς (into) ἀλλήλους ( to-one-to-other ," ἄρσενες ( male ) ἐν (in) ἄρσεσιν , ( unto-male ,"τὴν (to-the-one) ἀσχημοσύνην (to-an-un-holdenedness) κατεργαζόμενοι ( down-working-to ) καὶ (and) τὴν (to-the-one) ἀντιμισθίαν (to-an-ever-a-one-paying-unto) ἣν (to-which) ἔδει (it-was-binding) τῆς (of-the-one) πλάνης (of-a-wandering) αὐτῶν (of-them) ἐν (in) αὑτοῖς (unto-themselves) ἀπολαμβάνοντες . ( taking-off )
1:27. similiter autem et masculi relicto naturali usu feminae exarserunt in desideriis suis in invicem masculi in masculos turpitudinem operantes et mercedem quam oportuit erroris sui in semet ipsis recipientesAnd, in like manner, the men also, leaving the natural use of the women, have burned in their lusts, one towards another: men with men, working that which is filthy and receiving in themselves the recompense which was due to their error.
27. and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another, men with men working unseemliness, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was due.
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet:

27: подобно и мужчины, оставив естественное употребление женского пола, разжигались похотью друг на друга, мужчины на мужчинах делая срам и получая в самих себе должное возмездие за свое заблуждение.
1:27  ὁμοίως τε καὶ οἱ ἄρσενες ἀφέντες τὴν φυσικὴν χρῆσιν τῆς θηλείας ἐξεκαύθησαν ἐν τῇ ὀρέξει αὐτῶν εἰς ἀλλήλους, ἄρσενες ἐν ἄρσεσιν τὴν ἀσχημοσύνην κατεργαζόμενοι καὶ τὴν ἀντιμισθίαν ἣν ἔδει τῆς πλάνης αὐτῶν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἀπολαμβάνοντες.
1:27. similiter autem et masculi relicto naturali usu feminae exarserunt in desideriis suis in invicem masculi in masculos turpitudinem operantes et mercedem quam oportuit erroris sui in semet ipsis recipientes
And, in like manner, the men also, leaving the natural use of the women, have burned in their lusts, one towards another: men with men, working that which is filthy and receiving in themselves the recompense which was due to their error.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ all ▾
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:27: Receiving in themselves that recompense, etc. - Both the women and men, by their unnatural prostitutions, enervated their bodies, so that barrenness prevailed, and those disorders which are necessarily attendant on prostitution and sodomitical practices.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:27: And likewise the men ... - The sin which is here specified is what was the shameful sin of Sodom, and which from that has been called sodomy. It would scarcely be credible that man had been guilty of a crime so base and so degrading, unless there was ample and full testimony to it. Perhaps there is no sin which so deeply shows the depravity of man as this; none which would so much induce one "to hang his head, and blush to think himself a man." And yet the evidence that the apostle did not bring a railing accusation against the pagan world; that he did not advance a charge which was unfounded, is too painfully clear. It has been indeed a matter of controversy whether paederastry, or the love of boys, among the ancients was not a pure and harmless love, but the evidence is against it. (See this discussed in Dr. Leland's Advantage and Necessity of Revelation, vol. i. 49-56.) The crime with which the apostle charges the Gentiles here was by no means confined to the lower classes of the people.
It doubtless pervaded all classes, and we have distinct specifications of its existence in a great number of cases. Even Virgil speaks of the attachment of Corydon to Alexis, without seeming to feel the necessity of a blush for it. Maximus Tyrius (Diss. 10) says that in the time of Socrates, this vice was common among the Greeks; and is at pains to vindicate Socrates from it as almost a solitary exception. Cicero (Tuscul. Ques. iv. 34) says, that "Dicearchus had accused Plato of it, and probably not unjustly." He also says (Tuscul. Q. iv. 33), that the practice was common among the Greeks, and that their poets and great men, and even their learned men and philosophers, not only practiced, but gloried in it. And he adds, that it was the custom, not of particular cities only, but of Greece in general. (Tuscul. Ques. v. 20.) Xenophon says, that "the unnatural love of boys is so common, that in many places it is established by the public laws."
He particularly alludes to Sparta. (See Leland's Advantage, etc. i. 56.) Plato says that the Cretans practiced this crime, and justified themselves by the example of Jupiter and Ganymede. (Book of Laws, i.) And Aristotle says, that among the Cretans there was a law encouraging that sort of unnatural love. (Aristotle, Politic. b. ii. chapter 10.) Plutarch says, that this was practiced at Thebes, and at Elis. He further says, that Solon, the great lawgiver of Athens, "was not proof against beautiful boys, and had not courage to resist the force of love." (Life of Solon.) Diogenes Laertius says that this vice was practiced by the Stoic Zeno. Among the Romans, to whom Paul was writing, this vice was no less common. Cicero introduces, without any mark of disapprobation, Cotta, a man of the first rank and genius, freely and familiarly owning to other Romans of the same quality, that this worse than beastly vice was practiced by himself, and quoting the authority of ancient philosophers in vindication of it. (De Natura Deorum, b. i. chapter 28.) It appears from what Seneca says (epis. 95) that in his time it was practiced openly at Rome, and without shame.
He speaks of flocks and troops of boys, distinguished by their colors and nations; and says that great care was taken to train them up for this detestable employment. Those who may wish to see a further account of the morality in the pagan world may find it detailed in Tholuck's "Nature and moral Influence of Heathenism," in the Biblical Repository, vol. ii., and in Leland's Advantage and Necessity of the Christian Revelation. There is not the least evidence that this abominable vice was confined to Greece and Rome. If so common there, if it had the sanction even of their philosophers, it may be presumed that it was practiced elsewhere, and that the sin against nature was a common crime throughout the pagan world. Navaratte, in his account of the empire of China (book ii. chapter 6), says that it is extremely common among the Chinese. And there is every reason to believe, that both in the old world and the new, this abominable crime is still practiced. If such was the state of the pagan world, then surely the argument of the apostle is well sustained, that there was need of some other plan of salvation than was taught by the light of nature.
That which is unseemly - That which is shameful, or disgraceful.
And receiving in themselves ... - The meaning of this doubtless is, that the effect of such base and unnatural passions was, to enfeeble the body, to produce premature old age, disease, decay, and an early death. That this is the effect of the indulgence of licentious passions, is amply proved by the history of man. The despots who practice polygamy, and keep harems in the East, are commonly superannuated at forty years of age; and it is well known, even in Christian countries, that the effect of licentious indulgence is to break down and destroy the constitution. How much more might this be expected to follow the practice of the vice specified in the verse under examination! God has marked the indulgence of licentious passions with his frown. Since the time of the Romans and the Greeks, as if there had not been sufficient restraints before, he has originated a new disease, which is one of the most loathsome and distressing which has ever afflicted man, and which has swept off millions of victims. But the effect on the body was not all. It tended to debase the mind; to sink man below the level of the brute; to destroy the sensibility; and to "sear the conscience as with a hot iron." The last remnant of reason and conscience, it would seem, must be extinguished it those who would indulge in this unnatural and degrading vice. See Suetonius' Life of Nere, 28.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:27: that recompense: Rom 1:23, Rom 1:24
Geneva 1599
1:27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that (l) recompence of their error which was meet.
(l) An appropriate reward and that which they deserved.
John Gill
1:27 And likewise also the men leaving the natural use of the women,.... The very sin of "sodomy" is here designed, so called from Sodom, the place where we first hear of it, Gen 19:5, the men of which place, because they
burned in their lust one towards another, as these Gentiles are said to do, God rained upon them fire and brimstone from heaven: an exceeding great sin this is, contrary to nature, dishonourable to human nature, and scandalous to a people and nation among whom it prevails, as it did very much in the Gentile world, and among their greatest philosophers; even those that were most noted for moral virtue are charged with it, as Socrates, Plato, Zeno, and others (m): it is a sin which generally prevails where idolatry and infidelity do, as among the Pagans of old, and among the Papists and Mahometans now; and never was it so rife in this nation as since the schemes of deism and infidelity have found such a reception among us. Thus God, because men dishonour him with their evil principles and practices, leaves them to reproach their own nature, and dishonour their own bodies:
men with men working that which is unseemly; and of which nothing like it is to be observed in the brutal world:
receiving in themselves the recompence of their error, which was meet: God punishes sin with sin; for as the Jews say (n), as
"one commandment draws on another, so one transgression draws on another; for the reward of the commandment is the commandment, and the reward of transgression is transgression.''
(m) A. Gellius Noct. Attic. l. 2. c. 18. Laert. Vit. Philosoph. l. 2. in Vit. Socrat. & l. 3. in Vit. Platon. (n) Pirke Abot, c. 4. sect. 2.
John Wesley
1:27 Receiving the just recompense of their error - Their idolatry being punished with that unnatural lust, which was as horrible a dishonour to the body, as their idolatry was to God.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:27 and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet--alluding to the many physical and moral ways in which, under the righteous government of God, vice was made self-avenging.
1:281:28: Եւ որպէս զի ո՛չ ընտրեցին զԱստուած ունել ՚ի գիտութեան, մատնեա՛ց զնոսա Աստուած ՚ի միտս անարգութեան՝ գործել զանարժա՛նս.
28 Եւ քանի որ չկամեցան ճանաչել Աստծուն, Աստուած նրանց մատնեց անարգ մտքերի, որ անվայել բաներ անեն՝
28 Քանի որ չուզեցին Աստուած իրենց գիտութեանը մէջ պահել, Աստուած ալ զանոնք անարգ խորհուրդներու մատնեց անվայել բաներ ընելու.
Եւ որպէս զի ոչ ընտրեցին զԱստուած ունել ի գիտութեան, մատնեաց զնոսա Աստուած ի միտս անարգութեան` գործել զանարժանս:

1:28: Եւ որպէս զի ո՛չ ընտրեցին զԱստուած ունել ՚ի գիտութեան, մատնեա՛ց զնոսա Աստուած ՚ի միտս անարգութեան՝ գործել զանարժա՛նս.
28 Եւ քանի որ չկամեցան ճանաչել Աստծուն, Աստուած նրանց մատնեց անարգ մտքերի, որ անվայել բաներ անեն՝
28 Քանի որ չուզեցին Աստուած իրենց գիտութեանը մէջ պահել, Աստուած ալ զանոնք անարգ խորհուրդներու մատնեց անվայել բաներ ընելու.
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:2828: И как они не заботились иметь Бога в разуме, то предал их Бог превратному уму--делать непотребства,
1:28  καὶ καθὼς οὐκ ἐδοκίμασαν τὸν θεὸν ἔχειν ἐν ἐπιγνώσει, παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς ὁ θεὸς εἰς ἀδόκιμον νοῦν, ποιεῖν τὰ μὴ καθήκοντα,
1:28. Καὶ (And) καθὼς (down-as) οὐκ (not) ἐδοκίμασαν (they-assessed-to) τὸν (to-the-one) θεὸν (to-a-Deity) ἔχειν (to-hold) ἐν (in) ἐπιγνώσει, (unto-an-acquainting-upon,"παρέδωκεν (it-gave-beside) αὐτοὺς (to-them,"ὁ (the-one) θεὸς (a-Deity,"εἰς (into) ἀδόκιμον (to-un-assessed-of) νοῦν, (to-a-mind) ποιεῖν (to-do-unto) τὰ (to-the-ones) μὴ (lest) καθήκοντα , ( to-arriving-down ,"
1:28. et sicut non probaverunt Deum habere in notitia tradidit eos Deus in reprobum sensum ut faciant quae non conveniuntAnd as they liked not to have God in their knowledge, God delivered them up to a reprobate sense, to do those things which are not convenient.
28. And even as they refused to have God in knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient:

28: И как они не заботились иметь Бога в разуме, то предал их Бог превратному уму--делать непотребства,
1:28  καὶ καθὼς οὐκ ἐδοκίμασαν τὸν θεὸν ἔχειν ἐν ἐπιγνώσει, παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς ὁ θεὸς εἰς ἀδόκιμον νοῦν, ποιεῖν τὰ μὴ καθήκοντα,
1:28. et sicut non probaverunt Deum habere in notitia tradidit eos Deus in reprobum sensum ut faciant quae non conveniunt
And as they liked not to have God in their knowledge, God delivered them up to a reprobate sense, to do those things which are not convenient.
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А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
28-32: Второе проявление гнева Божия. За то, что язычники не восхотели познание о Боге сделать руководящим началам в своей жизни, Бог отдал их во власть полного потемнения нравственного сознания. - Превратному уму. Ум превратный (adokimoV) - не в состоянии узнать, в чем зло и в чем добро. - Непотребства (ta mh kaqhkonta) = то, что считалось ранее безнравственным и у самих язычников и что они потом, с утратою правильно функционирующего ума, стали считать хорошим и потому безбоязненно совершать. - Так что они исполнены... Здесь Апостол дает более обстоятельное описание "непотребств" язычников. Перечень пороков у Ап. Павла дается еще в следующих местах; Рим 13:13; 1Кор.5:10-11; 6:9-10; 2Кор. 12:20-21; Гал 5:19-21; Еф 4:31; 5:3-4; Кол 3:5. 8; Тим 1:9-10; 2Тим. 3:2-5. Как там, так и здесь Апостол не держится строго логического распорядка: встречаются рядом понятия более широкие и более тесные, связываются родственные пороки и подобоименные (напр., fqonoV и fonoV). От перечня грехов, встречающегося в Ветхом Завете (напр., Исх XX-XXIII гл. ; Лев XIX гл. ; Втор ХXVII гл.) перечень Ап. Павла отличается тем, что в Ветхом Завете выступают, прежде всего, на вид отдельные действия и особо грубые грехи, а у Павла находятся на первом плане греховные настроения, как источник отдельных грехов. - Они знают праведный суд Божий (ст. 32-й), т. е. чего требует Бог, как Законодатель и Судия. Это - естественный закон нравственного сознания (2:15), который устанавливает такое положение, что делающие такие дела достойны смерти, т. е. вечной смерти. Нужно заметить, что и язычники имели понятие о вечных адских мучениях, ожидающих упорных грешников по смерти. - Делающих одобряют. В этих словах заключается указание на полное потемнение нравственного чувства в язычниках, бывшее результатом гневного попущения Божия. Общественное мнение в языческом мире стало одобрять порочных людей, как поступающих правильно. Известно, что и Калигула, и Нерон встречали себе поощрение в римском обществе. Конечно, это не исключало возможности иного отношения к порокам и порочным людям (см. 2, 14, 26: и сл.), но такое отношение было уже действительно исключением из общего правила в языческом обществе. Можно сказать даже, что язычники, умевшие понять и оценить, как должно, все зло порочности, шли в этом случае против общего течения...
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:28: They did not like to retain God - It would, perhaps, be more literal to translate ουκ εδοκιμασαν, They Did Not Search to retain God in their knowledge. They did not examine the evidences before them (Rom 1:19, Rom 1:20) of his being and attributes; therefore God gave them over to a Reprobate mind, εις αδοκιμον νουν, to an Unsearching or undiscerning mind; for it is the same word in both places. They did not reflect on the proofs they had of the Divine nature, and God abandoned them to the operations of a mind incapable of reflection. How men of such powers and learning, as many of the Greek and Roman philosophers and poets really were, could reason so inconsecutively concerning things moral and Divine is truly astonishing. But here we see the hand of a just and avenging God; they abused their powers, and God deprived them of the right use of these powers.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:28: And even as they did not like ... - This was the true source of their crimes. They did not choose to acknowledge God. It was not because they could not, but because they were displeased with God, and chose to forsake him, and follow their own passions and lusts.
To retain God ... - To think of him, or to serve and adore him. This was the first step in their sin. It was not that God compelled them; or that he did not give them knowledge; nor even is it said that he arbitrarily abandoned them as the first step; but they forsook him, and as a consequence he gave them up to a reprobate mind.
To a reprobate mind - A mind destitute of judgment. In the Greek the same word is used here, which, in another form, occurs in the pRev_ious part of the verse, and which is translated "like." The apostle meant doubtless to retain a reference to that in this place. "As they did not approve, ἐδοκιμασαν edokimasan, or choose to retain God, etc. he gave them up to a mind disapproved, rejected, reprobate," ἀδοκιμον adokimon, and he means that the state of their minds was such that God could not approve it. It does not mean that they were reprobate by any arbitrary decree; but that as a consequence of their headstrong passions, their determination to forget him, he left them to a state of mind which was evil, and which he could not approve.
Which are not convenient - Which are not fit or proper; which are disgraceful and shameful; to wit, those things which he proceeds to state in the remainder of the chapter.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:28: as they did: Rom 1:18, Rom 1:21; Job 21:14, Job 21:15; Pro 1:7, Pro 1:22, Pro 1:29, Pro 5:12, Pro 5:13, Pro 17:16; Jer 4:22, Jer 9:6; Hos 4:6; Act 17:23, Act 17:32; Rom 8:7, Rom 8:8; Co1 15:34; Co2 4:4-6, Co2 10:5; Th2 1:8, Th2 2:10-12; Pe2 3:5
retain: or, acknowledge
a reprobate mind: or, a mind void of judgment, Jer 6:30; Co2 13:5-7; Ti2 3:8; Tit 1:16
not convenient: Eph 5:4; Plm 1:8
Geneva 1599
1:28 (11) And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a (m) reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
(11) He proves the unrighteousness of man by referring to many types of wickedness, from which (if not from all, yet at the least from many of them) no man is altogether free.
(m) To a corrupt and perverse mind, by which it comes to pass that the conscience, having been removed by them, and they having almost no more remorse for sin, run headlong into all types of evil.
John Gill
1:28 And even as they did not like,.... This accounts for the justness of the divine procedure in leaving them to commit such scandalous iniquities; that since they had some knowledge of God by the light of nature, and yet did not care
to retain God in their knowledge; or to own and acknowledge him as God, to worship and glorify him as such; but took every method to erase this knowledge out of their minds, and keep it from others:
God gave them over to a reprobate mind; a vain empty mind, worthless, good for nothing devoid of all true knowledge and judgment; incapable of approving what is truly good, or of disapproving that which is evil; a mind that has lost all conscience of things, and is disapproved of by God, and all good men:
to do those things which are not convenient; which are neither agreeably to the light of nature, nor convenient to, or becoming the honour of human nature; things which the brutes themselves, who are destitute of reason, do not do.
John Wesley
1:28 God gave them up to an undiscerning mind - Treated of, Rom 1:32. To do things not expedient - Even the vilest abominations, treated of Rom 1:29-31.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:28 gave them over--or "up" (see on Rom 1:24).
to do those things which are not convenient--in the old sense of that word, that is, "not becoming," "indecorous," "shameful."
1:291:29: զլցեալսն ամենայն անիրաւութեամբ, պոռնկութեամբ, անզգամութեամբ, ագահութեամբ, չարութեամբ, լի՛ նախանձու, սպանութեամբ, հեռի՛ւ, նենգութեամբ, չարաբարութեամբ, շոգմո՛գք[3295], [3295] Ոսկան. Նենգութեամբ, չարաբարոյութեամբ։
29 լցուած լինելով ամենայն անիրաւութեամբ, պոռնկութեամբ, անզգամութեամբ, ագահութեամբ, չարութեամբ, կատարեալ նախանձով, սպանութեամբ, կռուազանցութեամբ, նենգութեամբ, չարասրտութեամբ.
29 Որոնք լեցուած էին ամէն անիրաւութիւնով, պոռնկութիւնով, անզգամութիւնով, ագահութիւնով, չարութիւնով, նախանձով, մարդասպանութիւնով, հակառակութիւնով եւ նենգութիւնով, չարասրտութիւնով եւ էին քսուներ,
զլցեալսն ամենայն անիրաւութեամբ, պոռնկութեամբ, անզգամութեամբ, ագահութեամբ, չարութեամբ, լի նախանձու, սպանութեամբ, հեռիւ, նենգութեամբ, չարաբարութեամբ. շոգմոգք:

1:29: զլցեալսն ամենայն անիրաւութեամբ, պոռնկութեամբ, անզգամութեամբ, ագահութեամբ, չարութեամբ, լի՛ նախանձու, սպանութեամբ, հեռի՛ւ, նենգութեամբ, չարաբարութեամբ, շոգմո՛գք[3295],
[3295] Ոսկան. Նենգութեամբ, չարաբարոյութեամբ։
29 լցուած լինելով ամենայն անիրաւութեամբ, պոռնկութեամբ, անզգամութեամբ, ագահութեամբ, չարութեամբ, կատարեալ նախանձով, սպանութեամբ, կռուազանցութեամբ, նենգութեամբ, չարասրտութեամբ.
29 Որոնք լեցուած էին ամէն անիրաւութիւնով, պոռնկութիւնով, անզգամութիւնով, ագահութիւնով, չարութիւնով, նախանձով, մարդասպանութիւնով, հակառակութիւնով եւ նենգութիւնով, չարասրտութիւնով եւ էին քսուներ,
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:2929: так что они исполнены всякой неправды, блуда, лукавства, корыстолюбия, злобы, исполнены зависти, убийства, распрей, обмана, злонравия,
1:29  πεπληρωμένους πάσῃ ἀδικίᾳ πονηρίᾳ πλεονεξίᾳ κακίᾳ, μεστοὺς φθόνου φόνου ἔριδος δόλου κακοηθείας, ψιθυριστάς,
1:29. πεπληρωμένους ( to-having-had-come-to-be-en-filled ) πάσῃ (unto-all) ἀδικίᾳ (unto-an-un-coursing-unto) πονηρίᾳ (unto-an-en-necessitating-unto) πλεονεξίᾳ (unto-a-holding-beyond-unto) κακίᾳ, (unto-a-disrupting-unto," μεστοὺς ( to-sated ) φθόνου (of-an-envying) φόνου (of-a-slaying) ἔριδος (of-a-wrangling) δόλου (of-a-guile) κακοηθίας, (of-a-disrupted-mannering-unto,"ψιθυριστάς, (to-whisperers,"
1:29. repletos omni iniquitate malitia fornicatione avaritia nequitia plenos invidia homicidio contentione dolo malignitate susurronesBeing filled with all iniquity, malice, fornication, avarice, wickedness: full of envy, murder, contention, deceit, malignity: whisperers,
29. being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers:

29: так что они исполнены всякой неправды, блуда, лукавства, корыстолюбия, злобы, исполнены зависти, убийства, распрей, обмана, злонравия,
1:29  πεπληρωμένους πάσῃ ἀδικίᾳ πονηρίᾳ πλεονεξίᾳ κακίᾳ, μεστοὺς φθόνου φόνου ἔριδος δόλου κακοηθείας, ψιθυριστάς,
1:29. repletos omni iniquitate malitia fornicatione avaritia nequitia plenos invidia homicidio contentione dolo malignitate susurrones
Being filled with all iniquity, malice, fornication, avarice, wickedness: full of envy, murder, contention, deceit, malignity: whisperers,
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Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:29: Being filled with all unrighteousness - αδικια, every vice contrary to justice and righteousness.
Fornication - Πορνειᾳ, all commerce between the sexes out of the bounds of lawful marriage. Some of the best MSS. omit this reading; and others have ακαθαρσιᾳ, uncleanness.
Wickedness - Πονηριᾳ, malignity, that which is oppressive to its possessor and to its object; from πονος, labor, toil, etc.
Covetousness - Πλεονεξιᾳ, from πλειον, more, and ἑξω, I will have; the intense love or lust of gain; the determination to be rich; the principle of a dissatisfied and discontented soul.
Maliciousness - Κακιᾳ, malice, ill-will; what is radically and essentially vicious.
Full of envy - Φθονου, from φθινω, to wither, decay, consume, pine away, etc.; "pain felt and malignity conceived at the sight of excellence or happiness in another." A fine personification of this vice is found in Ovid Metam. lib. ii. ver. 768-781, which I shall here insert, with Mr. Addison's elegant and nervous translation.
- Videt intus edentem
Vipereas carnes, vitiorum alimenta suorum
Invidiam: visaque oculos avertit. At illa
Surgit humo pigra: semesarumque relinquit
Corpora serpentum, passuque incedit inerti.
Utgue deam vidit formaque armisque decoram,
Ingemuit: vultumque ima ad suspiria duxit.
Pallor in Ore sedet: macies in Corpore toto:
Nusquam recta acies: livent rubigine dentes:
Pectora felle virent: lingua est suffusa veneno.
Risus abest, nisi quem visi movere dolores:
Nec fruitur somno, vigilacibus excita curis:
Sed videt ingratos, intabescitque videndo
Successus hominum; carpitgue et carpitur una;
Suppliciumque suum est.
- A poisonous morsel in her teeth she chewed,
And gorged the flesh of vipers for her food.
Minerva loathing, turned away her eye.
The hideous monster, rising heavily,
Came stalking forward with a sullen pace,
And left her mangled offals on the place.
Soon as she saw the goddess gay and bright,
She fetched a groan at such a cheerful sight.
Livid and meagre were her looks, her eye
In foul distorted glances turned awry;
A hoard of gall her inward parts possessed,
And spread a greenness o'er her canker'd breast;
Her teeth were brown with rust, and from her tongue
In dangling drops the stringy poison hung.
She never smiles but when the wretched weep;
Nor lulls her malice with a moment's sleep:
Restless in spite while watchful to destroy,
She pines and sickens at another's joy;
Foe to herself, distressing and distressed,
She bears her own tormentor in her breast.
Murder - Φονου, taking away the life of another by any means; mortal hatred; for he that hates his brother in his heart is a murderer.
Debate - Εριδος, contention, discord, etc. Of this vile passion the Greeks made a goddess.
Deceit - Δολου, lying, falsity, prevarication, imposition, etc.; from δελω, to take with a bait.
Malignity - Κακοηθειας, from κακος, evil, and ηθος, a custom; bad customs, founded in corrupt sentiment, producing evil habits, supported by general usage. It is generally interpreted, a malignity of mind, which leads its possessor to put the worst construction on every action; ascribing to the best deeds the worst motives.
Whisperers - ψιθυριστος, secret detractors; those who, under pretended secrecy, carry about accusations against their neighbors, whether true or false; blasting their reputation by clandestine tittle-tattle. This word should be joined to the succeeding verse.
The whispering is well expressed by the Greek word Ψιθυριστας, psithuristas.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:29: Being filled - That is, the things which he specifies were common or abounded among them. This is a strong phrase, denoting that these things were so often practiced as that it might be said they were full of them. We have a phrase like this still, when we say of one that he is full of mischief, etc.
Unrighteousness - ἀδικία adikia. This is a word denoting injustice, or iniquity in general. The particular specifications of the iniquity follow.
Fornication - This was a common and almost universal sin among the ancients, as it is among the moderns. The word denotes all illicit sexual intercourse. That this was a common crime among the ancient pagan, it would be easy to show, were it proper, even in relation to their wisest and most learned men. They who wish to see ample evidence of this charge may find it in Tholuck's "Nature and Moral Influence of Heathenism," in the Biblical Repository, vol. ii. p. 441-464.
Wickedness - The word used here denotes a desire of injuring others; or, as we should express it, malice. It is that depravity and obliquity of mind which strives to produce injury on others. (Calvin.)
Covetousness - Avarice, or the desire of obtaining what belongs to others. This vice is common in the world; but it would be particularly so where the other vices enumerated here abounded, and people were desirous of luxury, and the gratification of their senses. Rome was particularly desirous of the wealth of other nations, and hence, its extended wars, and the various evils of rapine and conquest.
Licentiousness - κακία kakia. This word denotes evil in general; rather the act of doing wrong than the desire which was expressed before by the word "wickedness."
Full of envy - "Pain, uneasiness, mortification, or discontent, excited by another's prosperity, accompanied with some degree of hatred or malignity, and often with a desire or an effort to depreciate the person, and with pleasure in seeing him depressed" (Webster). This passion is so common still, that it is not necessary to attempt to prove that it was common among the ancients. It seems to be natural to the human heart. It is one of the most common manifestations of wickedness, and shows clearly the deep depravity of man. Benevolence rejoices at the happiness of others, and seeks to promote it. But envy exists almost everywhere, and in almost every human bosom:
"All human virtue, to its latest breath,
Finds envy never conquered but by death."
Pope.
Murder - "The taking of human life with premeditated malice by a person of a sane mind." This is necessary to constitute murder now, but the word used here denotes all manslaughter, or taking human life, except what occurs as the punishment of crime. It is scarcely necessary to show that this was common among the Gentiles. It has pRev_ailed in all communities, but it was particularly pRev_alent in Rome. It is necessary only to refer the reader to the common events in the Roman history of assassinations, deaths by poison, and the destruction of slaves. But in a special manner the charge was properly alleged against them, on account of the inhuman contests of the gladiators in the amphitheaters. These were common at Rome, and constituted a favorite amusement with the people. Originally captives, slaves, and criminals were trained up for combat; but it afterward became common for even Roman citizens to engage in these bloody combats, and Nero at one show exhibited no less than four hundred senators and six hundred knights as gladiators.
The fondness for this bloody spectacle continued until the reign of Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor, by whom they were abolished about six hundred years after the original institution. "Several hundred, perhaps several thousand, victims were annually slaughtered in the great cities of the empire." Gibbon's Decline and Fall, chapter xxx. 404 a. d. As an instance of what might occur in this inhuman spectacle, we may refer to what took place on such an occasion in the reign of Probus (281 a. d.). During his triumph, near 700 gladiators were reserved to shed each other's blood for the amusement of the Roman people. But "disdaining to shed their blood for the amusement of the populace, they killed their keepers, broke from their place of confinement, and filled the streets of Rome with blood and confusion." Gibbon's Decline and Fall, chapter 12. With such views and with such spectacles before them, it is not wonderful that murder was regarded as a matter of little consequence, and hence, this crime pRev_ailed throughout the world.
Debate - Our word debate does not commonly imply evil. It denotes commonly discussion for elucidating truth; or for maintaining a proposition, as the debates in Parliament, etc. But the word in the original meant also contention, strife, altercation, connected with anger and heated zeal; Rom 13:13; Co1 1:11; Co1 3:3; Co2 12:20; Gal 5:20; Phi 1:15; Ti1 6:4; Tit 3:9. This contention and strife would, of course, follow from malice and covetousness, etc.
Deceit - This denotes fraud, falsehood, etc. That this was common is also plain. The Cretans are testified by one of the Greek poets to have been always liars. Tit 1:12. Juvenal charges the same thing on the Romans. (Sat. iii. 41.) "What," says he, "should I do at Rome? I cannot lie." Intimating that if he were there, it would follow, of course, that he would be expected to be false. The same thing is still true. Writers on India tell us that the word of a Hindu even under oath is not to be regarded; and the same thing occurs in most pagan countries.
Malignity - This word signifies here, not malignity in general, but that particular species of it which consists in misinterpreting the words or actions of others, or putting the worst construction on their conduct.
Whisperers - Those who secretly, and in a sly manner, by hints and inuendoes, detract from others, or excite suspicion of them. It does not mean those who openly calumniate, but that more dangerous class who give hints of evil in others, who affect great knowledge, and communicate the evil report under an injunction of secrecy, knowing that it will be divulged. This class of people abounds everywhere, and there is scarcely any one more dangerous to the peace or happiness of society.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:29: filled: Rom 3:10
whisperers: Psa 41:7; Pro 16:28, Pro 26:20; Co2 12:20
John Gill
1:29 Being filled with all unrighteousness,.... From hence, to the end of the chapter, follows a large and black list and catalogue of the sad characters of the Gentiles, and of the best men they had among them; for the apostle is all along speaking, not of the common people, but of their wise professors, and moral instructors; than which there never was a more wicked set of men that ever lived upon the face of the earth; who under the guise of morality were guilty of the greatest pride and covetousness, and of the most filthy debaucheries imaginable: they were "filled with all unrighteousness". This word includes in it all manner of sin and wickedness in general; fitly expresses the condition of fallen men, destitute of a righteousness; designs every violation of the law respecting our neighbour; and is opposed to that vain conceit of righteousness which these men had: particular branches of it follow; as,
fornication; which sometimes includes adultery and an unchastity; simple fornication was not reckoned a sin among the Gentiles:
wickedness; or mischief, which intends not so much the internal wickedness of the heart, as that particular vice, by which a man is inclined and studies to do hurt, to others, as Satan does:
covetousness; this may intend every insatiable lust, and particularly the sin which goes by this name, and is the root of all evil, and was a reigning sin among the Gentiles. Seneca, the famous moralist, was notoriously guilty of this vice, being one of the greatest usurers that ever lived:
maliciousness; the word denotes either the iniquity of nature in which men are conceived and born; or that desire of revenge in men, for which some are very notorious:
envy; at the superior knowledge and learning, wealth and riches, happiness, and outward prosperity of others:
murder: which sometimes arose from envy, wherefore they are put together. There is an elegant "paranomasia" in the Greek text:
debate; strife about words more than things, and more for vain glory, and a desire of victory, than for truth:
deceit; through their empty notions of philosophy; hence "philosophy and vain deceit" go together, Col 2:8; making large pretences to morality, when they were the vilest of creatures:
malignity; moroseness; having no courteousness nor affability in them, guilty of very ill manners; as particularly they were who were of the sect of the Cynics. Now they are said to be "filled with", and "full of", these things; not filled by God, but by Satan and themselves; and it denotes the aboundings of wickedness in them, and which was insatiable. The apostle goes on to describe them, as
whisperers; who made mischief among friends, by privately suggesting, and secretly insinuating things into the mind of one to the prejudice of another.
John Wesley
1:29 Filled with all injustice - This stands in the first place; unmercifulness, in the last. Fornication - Includes here every species of uncleanness. Maliciousness - The Greek word properly implies a temper which delights in hurting another, even without any advantage to itself.
1:301:30: չարախօսք, աստուածատեա՛ցք, թշնամանօղք, ամբարտաւա՛նք, ամբարհաւա՛ճք, գտի՛չք չարեաց, զծնօղս անարգո՛ւք.
30 բանսարկու, չարախօս, աստուածատեաց, նախատող, հպարտ, ամբարտաւան, պոռոտախօս, չարահնար, ծնողատեաց,
30 Չարախօսներ, Աստուած ատողներ, նախատողներ, հպարտներ, ամբարտաւաններ, չար բաներ հնարողներ, ծնողաց անհնազանդներ,
չարախօսք, աստուածատեացք, թշնամանողք, ամբարտաւանք, ամբարհաւաճք, գտիչք չարեաց, զծնողս անարգուք:

1:30: չարախօսք, աստուածատեա՛ցք, թշնամանօղք, ամբարտաւա՛նք, ամբարհաւա՛ճք, գտի՛չք չարեաց, զծնօղս անարգո՛ւք.
30 բանսարկու, չարախօս, աստուածատեաց, նախատող, հպարտ, ամբարտաւան, պոռոտախօս, չարահնար, ծնողատեաց,
30 Չարախօսներ, Աստուած ատողներ, նախատողներ, հպարտներ, ամբարտաւաններ, չար բաներ հնարողներ, ծնողաց անհնազանդներ,
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:3030: злоречивы, клеветники, богоненавистники, обидчики, самохвалы, горды, изобретательны на зло, непослушны родителям,
1:30  καταλάλους, θεοστυγεῖς, ὑβριστάς, ὑπερηφάνους, ἀλαζόνας, ἐφευρετὰς κακῶν, γονεῦσιν ἀπειθεῖς,
1:30. καταλάλους , ( to-spoken-down ," θεοστυγεῖς , ( to-deity-detested ,"ὑβριστάς, (to-abusers-to," ὑπερηφάνους , ( to-manifested-over ,"ἀλαζόνας, (to-braggers,"ἐφευρετὰς (to-finders-upon) κακῶν , ( of-disrupted ,"γονεῦσιν (unto-generators-of) ἀπειθεῖς , ( to-un-conduced )
1:30. detractores Deo odibiles contumeliosos superbos elatos inventores malorum parentibus non oboedientesDetractors, hateful to God, contumelious, proud, haughty, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
30. backbiters, hateful to God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents:

30: злоречивы, клеветники, богоненавистники, обидчики, самохвалы, горды, изобретательны на зло, непослушны родителям,
1:30  καταλάλους, θεοστυγεῖς, ὑβριστάς, ὑπερηφάνους, ἀλαζόνας, ἐφευρετὰς κακῶν, γονεῦσιν ἀπειθεῖς,
1:30. detractores Deo odibiles contumeliosos superbos elatos inventores malorum parentibus non oboedientes
Detractors, hateful to God, contumelious, proud, haughty, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
30. backbiters, hateful to God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ all ▾
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:30: Backbiters - Καταλαλους, from κατα, against, and λαλεω, I speak; those who speak against others; false accusers, slanderers.
Haters of God - Θεοστυγεις, atheists, contemners of sacred things, maligners of providence, scorners, etc. All profligate deists are of this class; and it seems to be the finishing part of a diabolic character.
Despiteful - Ὑβριστας, from ὑβριζω, to treat with injurious insolence; stormy, boisterous; abusing both the characters and persons of those over whom they can have any power.
Proud - Ὑπερηφανους, from ὑπερ, above or over, and φαινω, I show or shine. They who are continually exalting themselves and depressing others; magnifying themselves at the expense of their neighbors; and wishing all men to receive their sayings as oracles.
Boasters - Αλαζονας, from λαζομαι, to assume; self-assuming, vain-glorious, and arrogant men.
Inventors of evil things - Εφευρετας κακων. Those who have invented destructive customs, rites, fashions, etc.; such as the different religious ceremonies among the Greeks and Romans - the orgies of Bacchus, the mysteries of Ceres, the lupercalia, feasts of the Bona Dea, etc., etc. Multitudes of which evil things, destructive and abominable ceremonies, are to be found in every part of the heathen worship.
Disobedient to parents - Though filial affection was certainly more recommended and cultivated than many other virtues, yet there are many instances on record of the grossest violation of this great branch of the law of nature.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:30: Backbiters - Those Who calumniate, slander, or speak ill of those who are absent. Whisperers declare secretly, and with great reserve, the supposed faults of others. Backbiters proclaim them publicly and avowedly.
Haters of God - There is no charge which can be brought against people more severe than this. It is the highest possible crime; yet it is a charge which the conduct of people will abundantly justify, and the truth of which all those experience who are brought to see their true character. To an awakened sinner there is often nothing more plain and painful than that he is a hater of God. His heart rises up against Him, and his Law, and his plan of saving people; and he deeply feels that nothing can subdue this but the mighty power of the Holy One. This is a charge which is not unfrequently brought against people in the Bible; see Joh 7:7; Joh 15:18, Joh 15:24-25; Joh 3:19-20. Surely, if this be the native character of man, then it is "far gone from original righteousness." No more striking proof of depravity could be given; and in no creed or confession of faith is there a more painful and humiliating representation given of human wickedness, than in this declaration of an inspired apostle, that people are by nature haters of God.
Despiteful - This word denotes those who abuse, or treat with unkindness or disdain, those who are present. Whisperers and backbiters are those who calumniate those who are absent.
Proud - Pride is well understood. It is an inordinate self-esteem; an unreasonable conceit of one's superiority in talents, beauty, wealth, accomplishments, etc. (Webster). Of the existence of this everywhere, there is abundant proof. And it was particularly striking among the ancients. The sect of the Stoics was distinguished for it, and this was the general character of their philosophers. People will be proud where they suppose none are superior; and it is only the religion that Rev_eals a great and infinite God, and that teaches that all blessings are his gift, and that he has given us the station which we occupy, that will produce true humility. We may add, that the system of paganism did not disclose the wickedness of the heart, and that rids was a main reason why they were elevated in self-esteem.
Boasters - Those who arrogate to themselves what they do not possess, and glory on it. This is closely connected with pride. A man who has an inordinate self-conceit, will not be slow to proclaim his own merits to those around him.
Inventors of evil things - This doubtless refers to their seeking to find out new arts or plans to practice evil; new devices to gratify their lusts and passions; new forms of luxury, and vice, etc. So intent were they on practicing evil, so resolved to gratify their passions, that the mind was excited to discover new modes of gratification. In cities of luxury and vice, this has always been done. Vices change their form, people become satiated, and they are obliged to resort to some new form. The passions cease to be gratified with old forms of indulgence, and consequently people are obliged to resort to new devices to pamper their appetites, and to rekindle their dying passions to a flame. This was eminently true of ancient Rome; a place where all the arts of luxury, all the devices of passion, all the designs of splendid gratification, were called forth to excite and pamper the evil passions of people. Their splendid entertainments, their games, their theaters, their sports - cruel and bloody - were little else than new and ever-varying inventions of evil things to gratify the desires of lust and of pride.
Disobedient to parents - This expresses the idea that they did not show to parents that honor, respect, and attention which was due. This has been a crime of paganism in every age; and though among the Romans the duty of honoring parents was enjoined by the laws, yet it is not improbable that the duty was often violated, and that parents were treated with great neglect and even contempt. "Disobedience to parents was punished by the Jewish Law with death, and with the Hindus it is attended with the loss of the child's inheritance. The ancient Greeks considered the neglect of it to be extremely impious, and attended with the most certain effects of divine vengeance. Solon ordered all persons who refused to make due provision for their parents to be punished with infamy, and the same penalty was incurred for personal violence toward them." Kent's Commentaries on American Law, vol. ii. p. 207; compare Virg. AEniad, ix. 283. The feelings of pride and haughtiness would lead to disregard of parents. It might also be felt that to provide for them when aged and infirm was a burden; and hence, there would arise disregard for their wants, and probably open opposition to their wishes, as being the demands of petulance and age. It has been one characteristic of paganism every where, that it leaves children to treat their parents with neglect. Among the Sandwich islanders it was customary, when a parent was old, infirm, and sick beyond the hope of recovery, for his own children to bury him alive; and it has been the common custom in India for children to leave their aged parents to perish on the banks of the Ganges.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:30: Backbiters: Pro 25:23
haters: Rom 8:7, Rom 8:8; Num 10:35; Deu 7:10; Ch2 19:2; Psa 81:15; Pro 8:36; Joh 7:7; Joh 15:23, Joh 15:24; Tit 3:3
boasters: Rom 2:17, Rom 2:23, Rom 3:27; Kg1 20:11; Ch2 25:19; Psa 10:3, Psa 49:6, Psa 52:1, Psa 94:4, Psa 97:7; Act 5:36; Co2 10:15; Th2 2:4; Jam 3:5, Jam 4:16; Pe2 2:18; Jde 1:16
inventors: Psa 99:8, Psa 106:39; Ecc 7:29
disobedient: Deu 21:18-21, Deu 27:16; Pro 30:17; Eze 22:7; Mat 16:21, Mat 15:4; Luk 21:16; Ti2 3:2
John Gill
1:30 Backbiters,.... Who more publicly defamed the characters of their neighbours, and hurt their good name, credit and reputation, though behind their backs:
haters of God; some read it, "hated of God"; as all workers of iniquity are; but rather this expresses their sin, that they were deniers of the being and providence of God, and showed themselves to be enemies to him by their evil works:
despiteful; both by opprobrious words, and injurious actions:
proud; of their natural knowledge, learning, eloquence and vain philosophy:
boasters: of their parts, abilities, wisdom and works; all which they attributed to themselves, and to the sharpness of their wit, their sagacity and industry:
inventors of evil things; of evil schemes of morality and philosophy, and of evil practices, as well as principles:
disobedient to parents; which was acting contrary to the light of nature.
John Wesley
1:30 Whisperers - Such as secretly defame others. Backbiters - Such as speak against others behind their back. Haters of God - That is, rebels against him, deniers of his providence, or accusers of his justice in their adversities; yea, having an inward heart - enmity to his justice and holiness. Inventors of evil things - Of new pleasures, new ways of gain, new arts of hurting, particularly in war.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:30 haters of God--The word usually signifies "God-hated," which some here prefer, in the sense of "abhorred of the Lord"; expressing the detestableness of their character in His sight (compare Prov 22:14; Ps 73:20). But the active sense of the word, adopted in our version and by the majority of expositors, though rarer, agrees perhaps better with the context.
1:311:31: անմի՛տք, ուխտադրո՛ւժք, անագորո՛յնք, աննուէ՛րք, անողո՛րմք[3296]։ [3296] Ոմանք. Անագորոնք, աննու՛՛։
31 անմիտ, ուխտադրուժ, անագորոյն, անգութ, անողորմ.
31 Անմիտներ, ուխտ չպահողներ, անգութներ, անհաշտներ, անողորմներ։
անմիտք, ուխտադրուժք, անագորոյնք, [4]աննուէրք, անողորմք:

1:31: անմի՛տք, ուխտադրո՛ւժք, անագորո՛յնք, աննուէ՛րք, անողո՛րմք[3296]։
[3296] Ոմանք. Անագորոնք, աննու՛՛։
31 անմիտ, ուխտադրուժ, անագորոյն, անգութ, անողորմ.
31 Անմիտներ, ուխտ չպահողներ, անգութներ, անհաշտներ, անողորմներ։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:3131: безрассудны, вероломны, нелюбовны, непримиримы, немилостивы.
1:31  ἀσυνέτους, ἀσυνθέτους, ἀστόργους, ἀνελεήμονας·
1:31. ἀσυνέτους , ( to-un-sent-together ," ἀσυνθέτους , ( to-un-placeable-together ," ἀστόργους , ( to-un-affectioned ," ἀνελεήμονας : ( to-un-compassioned-of )
1:31. insipientes inconpositos sine affectione absque foedere sine misericordiaFoolish, dissolute: without affection, without fidelity, without mercy.
31. without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, unmerciful:
Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

31: безрассудны, вероломны, нелюбовны, непримиримы, немилостивы.
1:31  ἀσυνέτους, ἀσυνθέτους, ἀστόργους, ἀνελεήμονας·
1:31. insipientes inconpositos sine affectione absque foedere sine misericordia
Foolish, dissolute: without affection, without fidelity, without mercy.
31. without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, unmerciful:
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ all ▾
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:31: Without understanding - Ασυνετους, from α, negative, and συνετος, knowing; persons incapable of comprehending what was spoken; destitute of capacity for spiritual things.
Covenant-breakers - Ασυνθετους, from α, negative, and συντιθημυι, to make an agreement; persons who could be bound by no oath, because, properly speaking, they had no God to witness or avenge their misconduct. As every covenant, or agreement, is made as in the presence of God, so he that opposes the being and doctrine of God is incapable of being bound by any covenant; he can give no pledge for his conduct.
Without natural affection - Αστοργους; without that attachment which nature teaches the young of all animals to have to their mothers, and the mothers to have for their young. The heathens, in general, have made no scruple to expose the children they did not think proper to bring up, and to despatch their parents when they were grown old or past labor.
Implacable - Ασπονδους, from α, negative; and σπονδη, A Libation. It was customary among all nations to pour out wine as a libation to their gods, when making a treaty. This was done to appease the angry gods, and reconcile them to the contracting parties. The word here shows a deadly enmity; the highest pitch of an unforgiving spirit; in a word, persons who would not make reconciliation either to God or man.
Unmerciful - Ανελεημονας; those who were incapable, through the deep-rooted wickedness of their own nature, of showing mercy to an enemy when brought under their power, or doing any thing for the necessitous, from the principle of benevolence or commiseration.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:31: Without understanding - Inconsiderate, or foolish; see Rom 1:21-22.
Covenant breakers - Perfidious; false to their contracts.
Without natural affections - This expression denotes the lack of affectionate regard toward their children. The attachment of parents to children is one of the strongest in nature, and nothing can overcome it but the most confirmed and established wickedness. And yet the apostle charges on the pagan generally the lack of this affection. He doubtless refers here to the practice so common among pagans of exposing their children, or putting them to death. This crime, so abhorrent to all the feelings of humanity, was common among the pagan, and is still. The Canaanites, we are told Psa 106:37-38, "sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan." Manasseh among the Jews imitated their example, and introduced the horrid custom of sacrificing children to Moloch, and set the example by offering his own; Ch2 33:6.
Among the ancient Persians it was a common custom to bury children alive. In most of the Grecian states, infanticide was not merely permitted, but actually enforced by law. The Spartan lawgiver expressly ordained that every child that was born should be examined by the ancient men of the tribe, and that if found weak or deformed, should be thrown into a deep cavern at the foot of Mount Taygetus. Aristotle, in his work on government, enjoins the exposure of children that are naturally feeble and deformed, in order to pRev_ent an excess of population. But among all the nations of antiquity, the Romans were the most unrelenting in their treatment of infants. Romulus obliged the citizens to bring up all their male children, and the oldest of the females, proof that the others were to be destroyed. The Roman father had an absolute right over the life of his child, and we have abundant proof that that right was often exercised.
Romulus expressly authorized the destruction of all children that were deformed, only requiring the parents to exhibit them to their five nearest neighbors, and to obtain their consent to their death. The law of the Twelve Tables enacted in the 301st year of Rome, sanctioned the same barbarous practice. Minucius Felix thus describes the barbarity of the Romans in this respect: "I see you exposing your infants to wild beasts and birds, or strangling them after the most miserable manner." (chapter xxx.) Pliny the older defends the right of parents to destroy their children, upon the ground of its being necessary in order to preserve the population within proper bounds. Tertullian, in his apology, expresses himself boldly on this subject. "How many of you (addressing himself to the Roman people, and to the governors of cities and provinces) might I deservedly charge with infant murder; and not only so, but among the different kinds of death, for choosing some of the cruelest for their own children, such as drowning, or starving with cold or hunger, or exposing to the mercy of dogs; dying by the sword being too sweet a death for children."
Nor was this practice arrested in the Roman government until the time of Constantine, the first Christian prince. The Phoenicians and Carthaginians were in the habit of sacrificing infants to the gods. It may be added that the crime is no less common among modern pagan nations. No less than 9000 children are exposed in Pekin in China annually. Persons are employed by the police to go through the city with carts every morning to pick up all the children that may have been thrown out during the night. The bodies are carried to a common pit without the walls of the city, into which all, whether dead or living, are promiscuously thrown. (Barrow's Travels in China, p. 113, Amos ed.) Among the Hindus the practice is perhaps still more common. In the provinces of Cutch and Guzerat alone the number of infantile murders amounted, according to the lowest calculation in 1807, to 3, 000 annually; according to another calculation, to 30, 000.
Females are almost the only victims. (Buchanan's Researches in Asia, Eng. ed. p. 49. Ward's View of the Hindus.) In Otaheite, pRev_iously to the conversion of the people to Christianity. it was estimated that at least two-thirds of the children were destroyed. (Turnbull's Voyage round the World in 1800, 2, 3, and 4.) The natives of New South Wales were in the habit of burying the child with its mother, if she should happen to die. (Collins' Account of the Colony of New South Wales, p. 124, 125.) Among the Hottentots, infanticide is a common crime. "The altars of the Mexicans were continually drenched in the blood of infants." In Peru, no less than two hundred infants were sacrificed on occasion of the coronation of the Inca. The authority for these melancholy statements may be seen in Beck's Medical Jurisprudence, vol. i. 18-197, ed. 1823; see also Robertson's History of America, p. 221, ed. 1821. This is a specimen of the views and feelings of the pagan world; and the painful narrative might be continued to almost any length. After this statement, it cannot surely be deemed a groundless charge when the apostle accused them of being destitute of natural affection.
Implacable - This word properly denotes those who will not be reconciled where there is a quarrel; or who pursue the offender with unyielding Rev_enge. It denotes an unforgiving temper; and was doubtless common among the ancients, as it is among all pagan people. The aborigines of America have given the most striking manifestation of this that the world has known. It is well known that among them, neither time nor distance will obliterate the memory of an offence; and that the avenger will pursue the offender over hills and streams, and through heat or snow, happy if he may at last, though at the expiration of years, bury the tomahawk in the head of his victim, though it may be at the expense of his own life. See Robertson's America, book iv. Section lxxiii. - lxxxi.
Unmerciful - Destitute of compassion. As a proof of this, we may remark that no provisions for the poor or the infirm were made among the pagan. The sick and the infirm were cast out, and doomed to depend on the stinted charity of individuals. Pure religion, only, opens the heart to the appeals of want; and nothing but Christianity has yet expanded the hearts of people to make public provisions for the poor, the ignorant, and the afflicted.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:31: Without understanding: Rom 1:20, Rom 1:21, Rom 3:11; Pro 18:2; Isa 27:11; Jer 4:22; Mat 15:16
covenantbreakers: 2Kings 18:14-37; Isa 33:8; Ti2 3:3
without natural affection: or, unsociable
Geneva 1599
1:31 Without understanding, (n) covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
(n) Not caring if they keep their covenants and bargains.
John Gill
1:31 Without understanding,.... Of God, of his nature and worship, of things divine and even moral, being given up to a reprobate mind:
covenant breakers; had no regard to private or public contracts:
without natural affection; to their parents, children, relations and friends:
implacable; when once offended there was no reconciling of them:
unmerciful; had no pity and compassion to persons in distress.
John Wesley
1:31 Covenant - breakers - It is well known, the Romans, as a nation, from the very beginning of their commonwealth, never made any scruple of vacating altogether the most solemn engagement, if they did not like it, though made by their supreme magistrate, in the name of the whole people. They only gave up the general who had made it, and then supposed themselves to be at full liberty. Without natural affection - The custom of exposing their own new - born children to perish by cold, hunger, or wild beasts, which so generally prevailed in the heathen world, particularly among the Greeks and Romans, was an amazing instance of this; as is also that of killing their aged and helpless parents, now common among the American heathens.
1:321:32: Ոյք հասեա՛լ էին յԱստուծոյ իրաւանցն վերայ, եթէ ոյք զայսպիսիսն գործեն արժանի՛ են մահու. եւ ո՛չ միայն որ զա՛յն առնեն, այլ եւ որ կամակի՛ցն լինին գործելեացն[3297]։[3297] Ոմանք. Որք հասեալ էին... թէ ո՛յք զայնպիսիսն. կամ՝ զայսպիսին գործեն... որ զայնն առնեն... կամակից լինին։
32 նրանք գիտէին Աստծու արդար դատաստանը, թէ այսպիսի բաներ գործողները մահուան են արժանի. եւ ոչ միայն նրանք, որ անում են այդ բաները, այլ նաեւ նրանք, որ գործողներին հաւանութիւն են տալիս:
32 Անոնք գիտնալով հանդերձ Աստուծոյ դատաստանը, թէ անոնք որ այսպիսի բաներ կ’ընեն՝ մահուան արժանի են, ո՛չ միայն այն բաները կ’ընեն, հապա ընողներուն ալ հաւանութիւն կու տան։
որք հասեալ էին յԱստուծոյ իրաւանցն վերայ եթէ ոյք զայսպիսիսն գործեն արժանի են մահու. եւ ոչ միայն որ զայն առնեն, այլ եւ որ կամակիցն լինին գործելեացն:

1:32: Ոյք հասեա՛լ էին յԱստուծոյ իրաւանցն վերայ, եթէ ոյք զայսպիսիսն գործեն արժանի՛ են մահու. եւ ո՛չ միայն որ զա՛յն առնեն, այլ եւ որ կամակի՛ցն լինին գործելեացն[3297]։
[3297] Ոմանք. Որք հասեալ էին... թէ ո՛յք զայնպիսիսն. կամ՝ զայսպիսին գործեն... որ զայնն առնեն... կամակից լինին։
32 նրանք գիտէին Աստծու արդար դատաստանը, թէ այսպիսի բաներ գործողները մահուան են արժանի. եւ ոչ միայն նրանք, որ անում են այդ բաները, այլ նաեւ նրանք, որ գործողներին հաւանութիւն են տալիս:
32 Անոնք գիտնալով հանդերձ Աստուծոյ դատաստանը, թէ անոնք որ այսպիսի բաներ կ’ընեն՝ մահուան արժանի են, ո՛չ միայն այն բաները կ’ընեն, հապա ընողներուն ալ հաւանութիւն կու տան։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
1:3232: Они знают праведный [суд] Божий, что делающие такие [дела] достойны смерти; однако не только [их] делают, но и делающих одобряют.
1:32  οἵτινες τὸ δικαίωμα τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπιγνόντες, ὅτι οἱ τὰ τοιαῦτα πράσσοντες ἄξιοι θανάτου εἰσίν, οὐ μόνον αὐτὰ ποιοῦσιν ἀλλὰ καὶ συνευδοκοῦσιν τοῖς πράσσουσιν.
1:32. οἵτινες (which-ones) τὸ (to-the-one) δικαίωμα (to-an-en-course-belonging-to) τοῦ (of-the-one) θεοῦ (of-a-Deity) ἐπιγνόντες , ( having-had-acquainted-upon ) ὅτι (to-which-a-one) οἱ (the-ones) τὰ (to-the-ones) τοιαῦτα (to-the-ones-unto-the-ones-these) πράσσοντες ( practicing ) ἄξιοι ( deem-belonged ) θανάτου (of-a-death) εἰσίν, (they-be,"οὐ (not) μόνον (to-alone) αὐτὰ (to-them) ποιοῦσιν (they-do-unto) ἀλλὰ (other) καὶ (and) συνευδοκοῦσιν (they-goodly-thinketh-together-unto) τοῖς (unto-the-ones) πράσσουσιν . ( unto-practicing )
1:32. qui cum iustitiam Dei cognovissent non intellexerunt quoniam qui talia agunt digni sunt morte non solum ea faciunt sed et consentiunt facientibusWho, having known the justice of God, did not understand that they who do such things, are worthy of death: and not only they that do them, but they also that consent to them that do them.
32. who, knowing the ordinance of God, that they which practise such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but also consent with them that practise them.
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them:

32: Они знают праведный [суд] Божий, что делающие такие [дела] достойны смерти; однако не только [их] делают, но и делающих одобряют.
1:32  οἵτινες τὸ δικαίωμα τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπιγνόντες, ὅτι οἱ τὰ τοιαῦτα πράσσοντες ἄξιοι θανάτου εἰσίν, οὐ μόνον αὐτὰ ποιοῦσιν ἀλλὰ καὶ συνευδοκοῦσιν τοῖς πράσσουσιν.
1:32. qui cum iustitiam Dei cognovissent non intellexerunt quoniam qui talia agunt digni sunt morte non solum ea faciunt sed et consentiunt facientibus
Who, having known the justice of God, did not understand that they who do such things, are worthy of death: and not only they that do them, but they also that consent to them that do them.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ all ▾
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
1:32: Who, knowing the judgment of God - Δικαιωμα, the grand rule of right which God has revealed to every man, the knowledge of which he has, less or more, given to every nation of the world, relative to honouring parents, taking care of their own offspring, keeping their engagements, etc., etc. In the worst states of heathenism this great principle has been acknowledged; but, through the prevalence of corruption in the heart, this law, though acknowledged, was not obeyed; and the corruption increased so that those were highest in repute who had cast off all restraints of this kind; so that they even delighted in them; συνευδοκουσι, highly applauded, and gladly associated with those transgressors: which argues the very highest pitch of moral depravity.
1. The preceding chapter gives us one of the finest views of the Gospel of Christ, to be met with any where. It is God's method of saving a lost world, in a way which that world could never have imagined: there is nothing human in it; it is all truly and gloriously Divine; essentially necessary to the salvation of man, and fully adequate to the purposes of its institution. Though it is an extension of the old covenant, yet it is almost wholly dissimilar; being as different from that as the person is from the picture which represents it, and as the substance is from the shadow projected by it. It is a scheme as worthy of God as it is necessary for man; hence there are no excluding clauses in it - it is for the Jew and for the Greek; for the wise and for the unwise; for all the nations of the universe, and for all the individuals of those nations. He blasphemes God who holds the contrary.
2. As God never does any thing that is not fitting, suitable, and necessary to be done, he has not made an unnecessary display of his mercy and goodness in the incarnation and death of his Son - all this was necessary, else it had not been done. But how does the necessity appear? In the deep-rooted and widely extended corruption and profligacy of the nations of the earth. Of these the apostle gives a most affecting and distressing picture.
1. Almost every trace of original righteousness had been obliterated.
2. The proofs of God's eternal power and providence, so manifest in the creation and preservation of the universe, were wholly disregarded.
3. A vain philosophy, without right, principle, or end, was substituted for those Divine truths which had been discovered originally to man.
4. Their hearts were contaminated with every vice which could blind the understanding, pervert the judgment, corrupt the will, and debase the affections and passions.
5. This was proved in the most unequivocal manner, by a profligacy of conduct which had debased them far, far below the beasts that perish; and the apostle here gives a list of their crimes, every article of which can be incontrovertibly proved from their own history and their own writers: crimes which, even bad as the world is now, would shock common decency to describe. See the whole of the second, third, sixth, and ninth Satires of Juvenal.
3. So completely lost were the heathens to a knowledge of the influence of God on the souls and the necessity of that influence, that they asserted, in the most positive manner, that man was the author of his own virtue and wisdom. Cicero, Nat. Deor., lib. iii. c. 36, declares it a general opinion that, although mankind received from the gods the outward conveniencies of life - virtutem autem nemo unquam acceptam Deo retulit - "virtue none ever thought they received from the Deity." And again: - "This is the persuasion of all, that fortune is to be had from the gods; wisdom from ourselves." And again: - "Whoever thanked the gods for his being a good man? Men pray to Jupiter, not that he would make them just, temperate, and wise; but rich and prosperous."
Juvenal, on this point, speaks thus: -
Monstro, quod ipse tibi possis dare:
Semita certe Tranquillae per virtutem patet unica vitae.
Sat. x. v. 363.
The path to peace is virtue; which, I show,
Thyself may fully on thyself bestow.
In the same stain, Horace, Epist. lib. i. E. xviii. v. penult.
Haec satis est orare Jovem, qui donat et aufert:
Det vitam det opes: aequum mi animum ipse parabo.
To Jove for life and wealth I pray,
These Jove may give or take away;
But, for a firm and tranquil mind,
That blessing for myself I find.
Thus, they became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened; and professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. See Madan's Juvenal, vol. ii. p. 53.
4. By all this we see what the world was, and what it would have continued to be had not God sent a Divine revelation of his will, and established a public ministry to proclaim and enforce it. Were man left to the power and influence of his fallen nature he would be, in all places of his dispersion on the earth, what the apostle describes in the 29th, 30th, and 31st verses of this chapter. (Rom 1:29-31) Reader, magnify God, who has called thee from such deep darkness, to the marvellous light of the glorious Gospel of his Son; and walk as a child of the light and of the day, in whom there shall be no cause of stumbling.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
1:32: Who knowing - That the Gentiles had a moral sense, or were capable of knowing the will of God in this case, is clear from Rom 2:14-15. The means which they had of arriving at the knowledge of God were, their own reason, their conscience, and an observation of the effects of depravity.
The judgment of God - The word "judgment" here denotes the declared sentiment of God that such things deserved death. It does not mean his inflictions, or his statutes or precepts; but it means that God thought or judged that they which did such things ought to die. As they were aware of this, it showed their guilt in still persevering in the face of his judgments, and his solemn purpose to inflict punishment.
Were worthy of death - The word "death" in the Scriptures is often used to denote punishment. But it does not mean here that these deserved capital punishment from the civil magistrate, but that they knew they were evil, and offensive to God, and deserving of punishment from his hand; see Joh 8:51; Rom 5:12-19.
Have pleasure ... - They delight in those who commit sin; and hence, encourage them in it, and excite them to it. This was a grievous aggravation of the offence. It greatly heightens guilt when we excite others to do it, and seduce them from the ways of innocence. That this was the case with the pagan there can be no doubt. People do not commit sin often alone. They need the countenance of others. They "join hand in hand," and become confederate in iniquity. All social sins are of this class; and most of those which the apostle mentioned were sins of this character.
If this Rev_olting and melancholy picture of the pagan world was a true representation, then it was clear that there was need of some other plan of religion. And that it was true has already in part been seen. In the conclusion of this chapter we may make a few additional observations.
1. The charges which the apostle makes here were evidently those which were well known. He does not even appeal to their writings, as he does on some other occasions, for proof; compare Tit 1:12. So well known were they, that there was no need of proof. A writer would not advance charges in this manner unless he was confident that they were well-founded, and could not be denied.
2. They are abundantly sustained by the pagan writers themselves. This we have in part seen In addition we may adduce the testimony of two Roman writers respecting the state of things at Rome in the time of the apostle. Livy says of the age of Augustus, in some respects the brightest period of the Roman history, "Rome has increased by her virtues until now, when we can neither bear our vices nor their remedy." Preface to his History. Seneca, one of the purest moralists of Rome, who died in 65 a. d., says of his own time, "All is full of criminality and vice; indeed much more of these is committed than can be remedied by force. A monstrous contest of abandoned wickedness is carried on. The lust of sin increases daily; and shame is daily more and more extinguished. Discarding respect for all that is good and sacred, lust rushes on wheRev_er it will. Vice no longer hides itself. It stalks forth before all eyes. So public has abandoned wickedness become, and so openly does it flame up in the minds of all, that innocence is no longer seldom, but has wholly ceased to exist." Seneca de Ira, ii. 8. Further authorities of this kind could be easily given, but these will show that the apostle Paul did not speak at random when he charged them with these enormous crimes.
3. If this was the state of things, then it was clear that there was need of another plan of saving people. It will be remembered that, in these charges, the apostle speaks of the most enlightened and refined nations of antiquity; and especially that he speaks of the Romans at the very height of their power, intelligence, and splendor. The experiment whether man could save himself by his own works, had been fairly made. After all that their greatest philosophers could do, this was the result, and it is clear that there was need of some better plan than this. More profound and laborious philosophers than had arisen, the pagan world could not hope to see; more refinement and civilization than then existed, the world could not expect to behold under paganism. At this time, when the experiment had been made for four thousand years, and when the inefficacy of all human means, even under the most favorable circumstances, to reform mankind, had been tried, the gospel was preached to people. It disclosed another plan; and its effects were seen at once throughout the most abandoned states and cities of the ancient world.
4. If this was the state of things in the ancient pagan world, the same may be expected to be the state of paganism still. And it is so. The account given here of ancient pagans would apply substantially still to the pagan world. The same things have been again and again witnessed in China, and Hindostan, and Africa, the Sandwich islands, and in aboriginal America. It would be easy to multiply proofs almost without end of this: and to this day the pagan world is exhibiting substantially the same characteristics that it was in the time of Paul.
5. There was need of some better religion than the pagan. After all that infidels and deists have said of the sufficiency of natural religion, yet here is the sad result. This shows what man can do, and these facts will demonstrate foRev_er that there was need of some other religion than that furnished by the light of nature.
6. The account in this chapter shows the propriety of missionary exertions. So Paul judged; and so we should judge still. If this be the state of the world, and if Christianity, as all Christians believe, contains the remedy for all these evils, then it is wisdom and benevolence to send it to them. And it is not wisdom or benevolence to withhold it from them. Believing as they do, Christians are bound to send the gospel to the pagan world. It is on this principle that modern missions to the pagan are established; and if the toils of the apostles were demanded to spread the gospel, then are the labors of Christians now. If it was right, and wise, and proper for them to go to other lands to proclaim "the unsearchable riches of Christ," then it is equally proper and wise to do it now. If there was danger that the pagan world then would perish without the gospel, there is equal danger that the pagan world will perish now.
7. If it should be said that many of these things are practiced now in nations which are called Christian, and that, therefore, the charge of the apostle that this was the effect of paganism could not be well-founded, we may reply,
(1) That this is true, too true. But this very fact shows the deep and dreadful depravity of human nature. If such things exist in lands that have a Revelation, what mush have been the state of those countries that had none of its restraints and influences? But,
(2) These things do not exist where religion exerts its influence. They are not in the bosom of the Christian church. They are not practiced by Christians. And the effect of the Christian religion, so far as it has influence, is to call off people from such vices, and to make them holy and pure in their life. Let religion exert its full influence on any nominally Christian nation, and these things would cease. Let it send its influence into other lands, and the world, the now polluted world, would become pure before God.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
1:32: knowing: Rom 1:18, Rom 1:21, Rom 2:1-5, Rom 2:21-23
worthy: Rom 6:21
have pleasure in them: or, consent with them, Psa 50:18; Hos 7:3; Mar 14:10, Mar 14:11
Geneva 1599
1:32 Who knowing the (o) judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but (p) have pleasure in them that do them.
(o) By the "judgment of God" he means that which the philosophers called the "law of nature", and the lawyers themselves termed the "law of nations".
(p) Are companions and partakers with them in their wickedness, and beside that, commend those who do wrong.
John Gill
1:32 Who knowing the judgment of God,.... Either of the law of God, the law and light of nature, by which they might in some measure know the difference between good and evil, and what was right and wrong; or the judiciary sentence of God against sin:
that they which commit such things are worthy of death; at least of corporeal death:
not only do the same, but have pleasure in those that do them; all which greatly aggravated their wickedness, since they sinned against light and knowledge, with approbation and good liking of their own sins, and took pleasure in the sins of others. The Jews have a saying (p),
"that no man is suspected of a thing but he has done it; and if he has not done the whole of it, he has done part of it, and if he has not done part of it, he has thought in his heart to do it, and if he has not thought in his heart to do it, , "he has seen others do it, and has rejoiced".''
And if such a man is a wicked man, how much more wicked are such who commit sin themselves, and delight in the sins of others? now from this whole account we see the insufficiency of the light of nature to guide persons in the way of salvation; what need there was of a divine revelation; and how impossible it is that such men should ever be justified before God, by any works of seeming righteousness done by them; which the apostle had in view, in giving this account of the depraved nature and conduct of the Gentiles, and of those among them who professed to be, and were the wisest and most knowing of them.
(p) T. Bab. Moed Katon, fol. 18. 2.
John Wesley
1:32 Not only do the same, but have pleasure in those that practise them - This is the highest degree of wickedness. A man may be hurried by his passions to do the thing he hates; but he that has pleasure in those that do evil, loves wickedness for wickedness' sake. And hereby he encourages them in sin, and heaps the guilt of others upon his own head.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
1:32 Who knowing--from the voice of conscience, Rom 2:14-15
the judgment of God--the stern law of divine procedure.
that they which commit such things are worthy of death--here used in its widest known sense, as the uttermost of divine vengeance against sin: see Acts 28:4.
not only do the same--which they might do under the pressure of temptation and in the heat of passion.
but have pleasure in them that do them--deliberately set their seal to such actions by encouraging and applauding the doing of them in others. This is the climax of our apostle's charges against the heathen; and certainly, if the things are in themselves as black as possible, this settled and unblushing satisfaction at the practice of them, apart from all the blinding effects of present passion, must be regarded as the darkest feature of human depravity.
On this section, Note (1) "The wrath of God" against sin has all the dread reality of a "revelation from heaven" sounding in the consciences of men, in the self-inflicted miseries of the wicked, and in the vengeance which God's moral government, sooner or later, takes upon all who outrage it; so this "wrath of God" is not confined to high-handed crimes, or the grosser manifestations of human depravity, but is "revealed" against all violations of divine law of whatever nature--"against all ungodliness" as well as "unrighteousness of men," against all disregard of God in the conduct of life as well as against all deviations from moral rectitude; and therefore, since no child of Adam can plead guiltless either of "ungodliness" or of "unrighteousness," to a greater or less extent, it follows that every human being is involved in the awful sweep of "the wrath of God" (Rom 1:18). The apostle places this terrible truth in the forefront of his argument on justification by faith, that upon the basis of universal condemnation he might rear the edifice of a free, world-wide salvation; nor can the Gospel be scripturally preached or embraced, save as the good news of salvation to those that are all equally "lost." (2) We must not magnify the supernatural revelation which God has been pleased to make of Himself, through Abraham's family to the human race, at the expense of that older, and, in itself, lustrous revelation which He has made to the whole family of man through the medium of their own nature and the creation around them. Without the latter, the former would have been impossible, and those who have not been favored with the former will be without excuse, if they are deaf to the voice and blind to the glory of the latter (Rom 1:19-20). (3) Wilful resistance of light has a retributive tendency to blunt the moral perceptions and weaken the capacity to apprehend and approve of truth and goodness; and thus is the soul prepared to surrender itself, to an indefinite extent, to error and sin (Rom 1:21, &c.). (4) Pride of wisdom, as it is a convincing evidence of the want of it, so it makes the attainment of it impossible (Rom 1:22; and compare Mt 11:25; 1Cor 3:18-20). (5) As idolatry, even in its most plausible forms, is the fruit of unworthy views of the Godhead, so its natural effect is to vitiate and debase still further the religious conceptions; nor is there any depth of degradation too low and too revolting for men's ideas of the Godhead to sink to, if only their natural temperament and the circumstances they are placed in be favorable to their unrestrained development (Rom 1:23, Rom 1:25). The apostle had Greece and Egypt in his eye when he penned this description. But all the paganisms of the East at this day attest its accuracy, from the more elaborate idolatry of India and the simpler and more stupid idolatry of China down to the childish rudiments of nature worship prevalent among the savage tribes. Alas! Christendom itself furnishes a melancholy illustration of this truth; the constant use of material images in the Church of Rome and the materialistic and sensuous character of its entire service (to say nothing of the less offensive but more stupid service of the Greek Church,) debasing the religious ideas of millions of nominal Christians, and lowering the whole character and tone of Christianity as represented within their immense pale. (6) Moral corruption invariably follows religious debasement. The grossness of pagan idolatry is only equalled by the revolting character and frightful extent of the immoralities which it fostered and consecrated (Rom 1:24, Rom 1:26-27). And so strikingly is this to be seen in all its essential features in the East at this day, that (as HODGE says) the missionaries have frequently been accused by the natives of having forged the whole of the latter part of this chapter, as they could not believe that so accurate a description of themselves could have been written eighteen centuries ago. The kingdoms of Israel and Judah furnish a striking illustration of the inseparable connection between religion and morals. Israel corrupted and debased the worship of Jehovah, and the sins with which they were charged were mostly of the grosser kind--intemperance and sensuality: the people of Judah, remaining faithful to the pure worship, were for a long time charged mostly with formality and hypocrisy; and only as they fell into the idolatries of the heathen around them, did they sink into their vices. And may not a like distinction be observed between the two great divisions of Christendom, the Popish and the Protestant? To test this, we must not look to Popery, surrounded with, and more or less influenced by, the presence and power of Protestantism; nor to Protestantism under every sort of disadvantage, internal and external. But look at Romanism where it has unrestrained liberty to develop its true character, and see whether impurity does not there taint society to its core, pervading alike the highest and the lowest classes; and then look at Protestantism where it enjoys the same advantages, and see whether it be not marked by a comparatively high standard of social virtue. (7) To take pleasure in what is sinful and vicious for its own sake, and knowing it to be such, is the last and lowest stage of human recklessness (Rom 1:32). But (8) this knowledge can never be wholly extinguished in the breast of men. So long as reason remains to them, there is still a small voice in the worst of men, protesting, in the name of the Power that implanted it, "that they which do such things are worthy of death" (Rom 1:32).