Dr. Alexander Kurian

(All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New American Standard Bible).

Personal Introduction: Paul and the Romans (1:8-15)

In this personal introduction, Paul wants to tell his readers his reasons for wanting to come to Rome. In his thanksgiving prayer he remembers the Romans faith and his longing to minister to them. He was consumed by an eager desire to preach the Gospel in Rome. He believed that he was under divine obligation to minister the good news to them. 
In these opening verses we see Paul as a true spiritual leader exemplifying the nature of true spiritual service. John MacArthur summarizes it well: In verses 8-15, Paul’s words suggest nine marks of true spiritual service: a thankful spirit (v.8), a concerned spirit (v.9-10a), a willing and submissive spirit (v.10b), a loving spirit (v.11),a humble spirit (v.12), a fruitful spirit (v.13), an obedient spirit (v.14), an eager spirit (v.15). A tenth, a bold spirit, is mentioned in v.16  (Romans, 1-8, p. 34).

Paul’s relationship to the Romans:
 

1. Paul thanks God for the believers in Rome.
2. He prays for them.
3. He longs to see them.
4. He wants to minister to them and to be ministered by them for mutual blessing.
5. He hopes to win souls to Christ and lead saints to spiritual maturity.
6. He is a debtor to them in regard to the Gospel.
7. He is eager to preach the Gospel to them.
 

1:8: Paul expresses his thanks to God for his readers. The Christian faith of a group of people in the capital city of the empire was widely known. Though none of the apostles had as of yet visited Rome, Gospel had impacted Rome. Paul’s praise was not selfish. He was praising God for the faith of others. He is grateful to God for the work of God in a church with whom he had no personal contact. It is not easy for us to praise God when someone else gets the credit.
 

1:9-10: Prayer was a way of life for Paul. Preaching and praying go together in Paul’s ministry. Now he prays for the Roman believers. It was Paul’s earnest desire to be able to visit the church in Rome. This prayer was in submission to the will of God. The word Paul uses for serve is in the sense of worshipful service to God. Paul’s primary service to God was the preaching of the gospel of His Son. 
 

1:11-12: Paul’s purpose of going to Rome was to spiritually contribute to the blessing of the church that they may be established. Impart some spiritual gift does not mean that Paul would bestow some special charismatic gift on any one. The Holy Spirit is the source of all spiritual gifts and He sovereignly bestows the gifts according to His will (1 Cor.12:11; Eph.4:11). Paul’s desire was to exercise his gifts for their benefit. He was thinking of mutual encouragement and the reciprocal blessing of Christian fellowship (v.12). As a result believers will be established (to set fast, to secure as immovable). Ministry is for the mutual edification of the whole body of Christ.
 

1:13: Though he had prayed and planned many times to visit them, the plan had to be set aside or was delayed due to reasons not disclosed here. It is not because of Satanic opposition as in the case of the Thessalonian church (1 Thess.2:18). Rom.15:20-22 throws some light on the reason of this delay. It was because of his constant preoccupation with preaching the Gospel in other places. It was also in the plan of God. It was this delay that caused him to write this letter. He eventually went to Rome as a prisoner; indeed as guest of the Roman Empire. God’s ways are perfect!
 

Paul’s eagerness to go to them was to have some fruit among them, referring probably to new and maturing believers. Fruit in the missionary sense refers to the product of one’s labors in the mission field and gathering those fruits. Paul wanted to see new additions through evangelization, and also the maturing of the saints.
 

1:14: Paul was a passionate evangelist. He was burdened to reach all men with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel (1 Cor.9:16).
 

Greeks and Barbarians is a reference to all of Gentile humanity. Greeks spoke the Greek language and adopted Hellenistic culture. Barbarians are those who could not speak Greek, the language of culture (Greek was bar, bar or in our usage blah, blah to them). They were considered uncultured. It is also possible that Paul is carrying forward the term Gentiles (end of v.13) to v.14, in the sense of non-Jews (see 1:16).
 

Wise and to the foolish: Wise are those who prided themselves of intellectual attainment through education, and foolish are the simple uneducated people. Greeks and barbarians and wise and foolish seem to be parallel phrases. 
Paul was no respecter of persons. The Gospel was the great equalizer, because every human being is equally lost without it and equally saved by it (MacArthur, Romans 1-8, p. 47).
 

1:15: Paul was eager to preach the Gospel because he was under obligation to God and to others. He was in debt (KJV: v.14 -I am debtor).
We are to be passionate about the Gospel and its proclamation to a lost world. The Gospel is for all. We are debtors to God for having received the Gospel. It is a debt of love. The sincere motives Paul highlighted in this passage should also govern our service to God and His people. May the Lord give us abiding concern and interest in the spiritual well-being of others.

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