1 Paul, a servant/slave of Christ Jesus, called (to be) an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures,
3 concerning his Son born from the seed of David according to the flesh,
4 designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
5 through whom we received grace and apostleship for obedience of faith among all the nations for the sake of his name,
6 among whom you also are called of Jesus Christ,
7 to all those being in Rome, [beloved of God,] called saints/holy, grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
My translation
Submitted by andrew on Thu, 19/04/2007 - 11:45.
Paul presents himself as an apostle set apart for the gospel of God. This gospel is an announcement about his Son – physically descended from David, but designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead.
For both Jewish and Greek-Roman thought the word 'gospel' carried overtones of a public proclamation about the accession of a ruler. On the one hand, good news is proclaimed to Jerusalem that YHWH reigns, that he is about to defeat the Babylonians, deliver his people from their captivity, and return to Zion (Is. 40:9 and 52:7). On the other, in the Greek-Roman world the term is part of the rhetoric of public announcements concerning the accession or birthday of a ruler or emperor (Wright, Romans, 415).
Paul and those working with him have received grace and apostleship for the specific purpose of eliciting an obedience of faithfulness among all the nations for the sake of his name. More will be said on this later, but for now we should note that this is consistent with an Old Testament expectation that the salvation of Israel would have an impact on the nations.
The letter is addressed to all the beloved of God in Rome, called saints. In Isaiah 4:3 LXX, following judgment on Israel, the ‘remnant’ of the people, ‘all that are appointed to life in Jerusalem’, will be ‘called holy’ (hagioi klēthēsontai). Later an announcement is made to the end of the earth concerning the salvation of Jerusalem: ‘Say to the daugher of Zion, Behold, the saviour comes near to you, having his reward and the work before his face; and he will call it a holy people (kalesei auton laon hagion), redeemed by the Lord…’ (Is. 62:11-12 LXX). It is likely that Paul’s phrase is a recollection of this sort of usage, though we should also keep in mind the community of the ‘saints of the Most High’ who are oppressed by the little horn in Daniel 7:25, 27.
1 Paul, a servant/slave of Christ Jesus, called (to be) an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures,
3 concerning his Son born from the seed of David according to the flesh,
4 designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
5 through whom we received grace and apostleship for obedience of faith among all the nations for the sake of his name,
6 among whom you also are called of Jesus Christ,
7 to all those being in Rome, [beloved of God,] called saints/holy, grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul presents himself as an apostle set apart for the gospel of God. This gospel is an announcement about his Son – physically descended from David, but designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead.
For both Jewish and Greek-Roman thought the word 'gospel' carried overtones of a public proclamation about the accession of a ruler. On the one hand, good news is proclaimed to Jerusalem that YHWH reigns, that he is about to defeat the Babylonians, deliver his people from their captivity, and return to Zion (Is. 40:9 and 52:7). On the other, in the Greek-Roman world the term is part of the rhetoric of public announcements concerning the accession or birthday of a ruler or emperor (Wright, Romans, 415).
Paul and those working with him have received grace and apostleship for the specific purpose of eliciting an obedience of faithfulness among all the nations for the sake of his name. More will be said on this later, but for now we should note that this is consistent with an Old Testament expectation that the salvation of Israel would have an impact on the nations.
The letter is addressed to all the beloved of God in Rome, called saints. In Isaiah 4:3 LXX, following judgment on Israel, the ‘remnant’ of the people, ‘all that are appointed to life in Jerusalem’, will be ‘called holy’ (hagioi klēthēsontai). Later an announcement is made to the end of the earth concerning the salvation of Jerusalem: ‘Say to the daugher of Zion, Behold, the saviour comes near to you, having his reward and the work before his face; and he will call it a holy people (kalesei auton laon hagion), redeemed by the Lord…’ (Is. 62:11-12 LXX). It is likely that Paul’s phrase is a recollection of this sort of usage, though we should also keep in mind the community of the ‘saints of the Most High’ who are oppressed by the little horn in Daniel 7:25, 27.