PAUL INTRODUCES HIMSELF

Romans 1:1-15

DIMENSION ONE: WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

Answer these questions by reading Romans 1:1-15

1. Identify the three expressions of Paul's self-identity in verses 1 and 5.

In verse 1, Paul refers to himself as "a servant of Christ Jesus" and "called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God." In verse 5, Paul says he has "received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith."

2. Locate the description of the audience of the letter, the so-called "address" (1:7)

Paul addresses his letter "to all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people."

3. Read the opening verses of the other Pauline letters (First and Second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, First and Second Thessalonians, First and Second Timothy, Titus). Which openings contain a reference to the "gospel of God" promised through Scripture (1:1-2) or the creed concerning Jesus (1:3-4)?

Of 1 Corinthians 1:1-3, 2 Corinthians 1:1-2, Galatians 1:1-5, Ephesians 1:1-2, Philippians 1:1-2, Colossians 1:1-2, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:1-2, 1 Timothy 1:1-2, 2 Timothy 1:1-2, and Titus 1:1-4, only Titus contains something similar to these references in Romans.

4. What does Paul mention as the content of his prayers in the "thanksgiving section"? (1:8-12)

Paul reveals that he gives thanks for the faith of the Romans (1:8) and prays that he may visit them (1:10-11).

5. In the "narration section" (1:13-15) Paul explains both his motivation in visiting Rome and the reason he has not visited earlier. Identify both points.

Paul's motivation is to "preach the gospel" (1:15) because he is "obligated" (1:14) to all the Gentiles. His earlier plans to visit Rome "have been prevented" (1:13).

DIMENSION TWO: WHAT DOES THE BIBLE MEAN?

The Problem of Teaching Romans

Romans is one of the most difficult books in the New Testament to teach, for several reasons. It does not fit the model of the other Pauline letters, which makes Romans hard to understand. For example, when people interpret Romans on the model of the Corinthian letters, they look at Romans as offering theological advice to a congregation that knows and respects Paul. This interpretation is obviously difficult because Paul did not found the church at Rome. Sometimes people interpret Romans on the model of Paul's letter to the Galatians, which is a defense of the gospel. When Romans is viewed this way, it is seen as a polemical letter, defending the true faith. The consequence of this view is that a particular approach to Romans, shaped perhaps by the Protestant or perhaps by the Roman Catholic tradition, is assumed to be the standard by which all other forms of the faith are being criticized by the Book of Romans. The crucial thrust of Romans as a document of early Christian pluralism is lost when the letter is approached in this way.

Many students of Romans, aware of the unique quality of the letter, understand it to be something of a theological treatise. They view Romans as a statement of pure doctrine, unrelated to any congregational situation. Since Paul had not been to Rome before writing the letter, people holding this view assume that Paul is summarizing his general teachings in a way that he thinks might be useful to the congregation. When this approach is taken, the missionary goal that Paul reveals in writing the letter is overlooked.

The peculiar abstraction of Romans also presents a barrier to understanding. That is, Romans is a formal writing with a large number of theological terms. These terms were each understandable in their original setting, but we easily become bogged down in a line-by-line and word-for-word debate on Romans. The problem of abstraction will prove particularly difficult for people in your group who think more concretely, who enjoy pictures and parables, and who lack formal philosophical or theological training.

The approach I suggest is to place Romans in a vivid historical situation and to relate this situation to each section of the letter. The basic purpose of Romans was to gain support from the Roman house churches for Paul's mission to Spain. To achieve this purpose, Paul had to deal with the conflicts between the branches of the house churches in Rome. When these house churches are unified in purpose, free of conflict, and in harmony, then Paul can seek their support for organizing his proposed mission to a difficult portion of the Roman Empire, Spain. Keeping this concrete situation in mind may provide a lively accessibility to this complex letter.

The Structure of the Passage

The questions in Dimension One aim to make participants aware of the structure of Paul's introduction. When they compare the letter opening in Romans with the openings of other Pauline letters, the differences are going to become apparent. A grasp of these differences will help participants understand the unique purpose of Romans. You may want to write an outline of a typical letter opening on a whiteboard or on a large piece of paper. Your outline might look like this:

Sender — "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus"

Recipient — "to all in Rome who are loved by God"

Greeting — "grace and peace to you"

This basic letter opening sometimes has slight expansions, but in no other letter are the expansions as large as in Romans.

Verses 1-7 reveal that Paul is introducing himself with considerable care to demonstrate the orthodoxy of his gospel and the authenticity of his apostolic calling. You will note that the expansions in the letter opening are in sections 1 and 2. Themes of "apostle" and "gospel of God" announced in verse 1 are developed in reverse order before Paul gets to the address of the letter. Part of this expansion involves the citation of an early Christian creed in verses 3-4. Quite likely, this creed is a composite of the viewpoints of conservative and liberal Christians in Rome; and many commentators feel that the creed was actually being used in the Roman house churches.

Verses 8-12 make up the "thanksgiving" section in the introduction to Romans. In most instances the thanksgiving of a Pauline letter announces the major themes of the letter and reveals Paul's purpose in writing. Note that the thanksgiving proper is only in verse 8 but that the themes of prayer and of the relationship between the believers before God continues. The thing that Paul stresses in this section is that he has long prayed to be able to travel to Rome in order to preach the gospel there. This reveals the most important reason why Paul is addressing this letter to a church that he does not know: He wishes to visit them in order to preach the gospel and to involve them in fulfilling the missional thrust of their faith that has already been "reported all over the world."

The final section in this lesson is the narration in verses 13-15. These verses explain the background of Paul's intended visit to Rome, stressing that his plans have repeatedly been frustrated. Paul's desire to preach in Rome is related in verse 14 to his feeling of obligation to preach the gospel to all persons everywhere. In verse 15 the narration ends on the theme of Paul's eagerness to preach the gospel to the Christians in Rome.

The unique structure and content of this introduction, thanksgiving, and narration serve to lead the congregation into Paul's letter and more importantly into the project for which he hopes to gain their cooperation, the mission to Spain. The content of this introduction is matched to some degree by the conclusion of the letter in Romans 15 and 16. Although we will not be dealing with these chapters until the next lesson, a knowledge of their content is essential for understanding Romans 1:1-15.

In Romans 15, Paul explicitly mentions the plan to carry his mission to Spain (15:24, 28). He also discusses some of the factors that have hindered his earlier arrival in Rome, including the difficulties in connection with the Jerusalem offering. Paul's great skill as a writer is shown as he lightly introduces these themes in Romans 1 and lays out his formal argument before returning to the precise details in Romans 15, details that might have alienated the congregation without the proper background.

Romans 1:1. The word servant in verse 1 is often translated "slave," which is sometimes felt to be far too humble for the high apostolic office that Paul claims in verses 1-5. Actually, the term slave had a formal bureaucratic meaning for the Roman audience. The Roman bureaucracy that was rapidly developing at the time Paul wrote this letter was made up of highly trained and highly paid slaves of Caesar. These persons were preferred in the imperial offices because they were loyal to the emperor alone, hoping for their freedom after some years of loyal service. Many of the slaves serving in the imperial bureaucracy became fabulously rich because of their handling of imperial finances. Also, during the time Paul wrote, the expression "slave of Caesar" was often used for imperial ambassadors or representatives of various kinds. Such persons carried the majesty and power of the emperor with them as they represented him in foreign courts.

The connotation that is most likely for 1:1 is, "Paul, an ambassador of Christ Jesus." In this way he was introduced to the Roman congregation with a term that had an official sound. Paul introduces himself as a representative of Christ, the one who advocates his gospel and promotes the cause of his Kingdom. The term apostle simply means a messenger or a person sent to deliver a specific message and/or to perform a specific mission. The term was often used in secular settings for a representative sent off on an errand by someone else. In this instance Paul qualifies the term apostle by the expression called, referring to his election to missionary activity at the time of his conversion.

Romans 1:3-4. The early Christian creed cited in verses 3 and 4 begins after the word Son. A literal translation is as follows:

Born from David's seed according to the flesh, appointed Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness, through the resurrection of the dead.

This confession likely originated in Jewish-Christian circles, with a stress on the messianic line from David and the appointment as Son of God through the Resurrection. This early creed is very close to some of the creeds found in the Book of Acts, stressing the seed of David and the adoption of Jesus as the Son of God on the basis of the Resurrection.

Apparently the liberal Hellenistic Christians had edited this creed. They would have wished to downplay the nationalistic component of David's seed and to stress the power of the Spirit. They inserted the lines "as to his earthly life" and "through the Spirit" in order to affirm that the business of David's seed was only on a fleshly and therefore human level, whereas the appointment of Jesus as the Son of God was by direct divine intervention, according to the Spirit. This addition made the creed universal, opening it up to people who were not of Jewish background and who were not loyal to the messianic hope of Israel.

Paul probably made the final change to the creed, adding the words "of holiness" to the phrase "through the Spirit." This revised phrase counters the tendency of those persons in the early church who liked to think in dualistic terms, opposing "flesh" to "spirit." As we know from the Corinthian letters in particular, the liberals who were most conscious of being in the Spirit tended at times to believe that they were superior to "fleshly" rules such as the Ten Commandments. The problem of libertinism, of believing that one is above the law, is countered at a number of other points in Romans, which indicates that this was something of a problem in the Roman house churches. By emphasizing holiness, Paul makes clear that the spirit of a new era is consistent with ethical responsibility.

Romans 1:5. In verse 5, Paul shifts from the first person singular to the first person plural: "We received grace and apostleship." Paul often speaks of himself in the first person plural, and in many instances he is referring to himself and his coworkers. Paul had a shared sense of missionary obligation. He wrote most of his letters in collaboration with his missionary colleagues. Since the Romans did not know Paul and his missionary team, it was inappropriate in this instance to mention them in the opening chapter. But it is worth observing that in Romans 16, Paul mentions greetings from Timothy and a number of other close colleagues.

Romans 1:6-7. You and the group members may notice a conspicuous omission in verse 7. Unlike the other letters addressed to Pauline congregations, this opening does not refer to a "church." This omission is perhaps due to the fact that only one of the five house churches mentioned in Romans 16 referred to itself as "church." Keep in mind that Romans was written at a time before a standard set of terms had come into use for early Christians. Each congregation probably called itself something different, especially in a place where the church was as decentralized as it was in Rome.

The suggestion in the participant book is that Paul uses two typical names for church members in verses 6 and 7. He refers to one group as "called to belong to Jesus Christ," probably used for liberals and Gentile Christians. The title "called to be his holy people" probably is used for conservatives and Jewish Christians. Paul is being sensitive to the fact that not everyone has a consciousness of being in a "church." Therefore I think it is significant that the title of church membership that he places between the first and third titles is unique to Romans, namely, "all ... who are loved by God." Paul wishes to stress that all Christians in Rome, whether conservative or liberal, whether Jewish Christian or Gentile Christian, are equal in God's love.

Romans 1:8-12. The stress on inclusivity is carried on in verse 8 where Paul gives thanks "for all of you" in his prayers. Sensitivity to congregational feelings is also shown in verses 11 and 12. In verse 11, Paul boldly states that he wishes to impart a "spiritual gift" or blessing, which might have been taken to imply that Paul did not feel that the congregation had spiritual power and fell short in some way. Paul immediately adds the tactful words in verse 12 to make clear that he expects to learn as much as he teaches when he comes to Rome.

Romans 1:13. In verse 13, where Paul describes the events behind his planned visit, he refers to the hindrances that have prevented his earlier arrival. Read 2 Corinthians 11:24-28 for an example of the kind of hindrances Paul had in mind. This section of the Corinthian correspondence was probably written not too long before Paul wrote Romans. By correlating the details of 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 with the indications of the problem in collecting the Jerusalem offering, we can see that the discord in Corinth set Paul's plan back for at least a year. Also, he was imprisoned more than once during this time. Acts 20:1-3 indicates other reasons for delays, namely, the hostility of Jewish zealots against Paul who were behind some of Paul's other imprisonments and troubles as well. His hope, as shown inRomans 15, had been to complete his work in the eastern mission field, deliver the offering, and arrive in Rome in order to get to Spain as quickly as possible. Paul's plans were delayed at least two and perhaps three years by the various forms of adversity that he experienced in his mission work.

Romans 1:14-15. In verse 14 "the wise and the foolish" probably relates to educational level. One might think of "the wise" as the highly educated and "the foolish" as working-class people and slaves who did not have the benefit of higher education.

Paul stresses he is obligated to both sides of this stereotype. Paul makes it clear, therefore, that in the church, stereotypes like this are of no effect any longer. Paul implies in verse 15 that all these groups (Greeks and non-Greeks, wise and foolish) are represented in Rome and that his broad sense of responsibility is what leads him to include everyone.

DIMENSION THREE: WHAT DOES THE BIBLE MEAN TO ME?

In light of the problem of abstraction in dealing with Romans discussed earlier, I suggest that you spend a fair amount of time in the opening session dealing with the question of what the Roman church situation means to us today.

The Unique Circumstances of a Congregation

In connection with the unique history of the Roman house churches, marked by adversity and conflict, reflect on the parallels with the experience of your local congregation. Tensions between conservatives and liberals may be relevant for your particular situation. The experience of serious disruption in the life of the congregation caused by external circumstances may be appropriate in case of fire, natural disasters, and so on. The growing divide among people of different political persuasions is also played out in local churches. The competition among church leaders and groups loyal to particular leaders is also widely experienced in the modern church. The situation in Rome of having too many leaders of the congregation in competition for spaces might be similar to a situation of a denomination having too many ministerial members for the number of churches available. The conflicts caused by changes in liturgy, hymns, and location of worship services may parallel experiences your congregation has had in the past. If your congregation is trying to find its way in the midst of internal conflict, addressing it may be helpful, though with Paul's intentional and careful tact.