Homily 1 — Romans 1, verses 1 to 7

“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the good news of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.” [a]

Moses wrote five books, yet nowhere did he put his own name to them. Neither did those who came after him and put together the history of what happened after his time. No, nor did Matthew, nor John, nor Mark, nor Luke. But the blessed Paul sets his own name everywhere in his letters. Now why was this? Because they were writing for people who were present, and it would have been superfluous to announce themselves when they were there. But this man sent his writings from far away, in the form of a letter, and that is why adding his name was necessary.

If in the Letter to the Hebrews he does not do the same, this too comes from his own wise judgment. They were prejudiced against him, and he was afraid that if they heard his name at the very start, they would shut off every way into what he had to say; so he skillfully won their attention by concealing it. But why some of the prophets, and Solomon, did put their names to their books, while others did not wish to — this I leave to you as a subject to look into further later on. For you are not to learn everything from me. You must take pains yourselves too and inquire further, or you will grow duller in mind.

“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ.” Why did God change his name, and call him Paul when he had been Saul? It was so that even in this respect he would not fall short of the apostles, but would gain the same distinction that the chief of the disciples had (Mark 3, verse 16), and so have ground for a closer union with them. [c]

He calls himself the servant of Christ — and not merely in one sense, for there are many kinds of servitude. One comes from creation. In that sense Scripture says, “For all are your servants” (Psalm 119, verse 91), and, “Nebuchadnezzar, my servant” (Jeremiah 25, verse 9); for the work is the servant of the one who made it. Another kind comes from faith. Of this it says, “But thanks be to God that you were servants of sin, but you have obeyed from a pure heart that form of teaching which was handed on to you; and having been set free from sin, you became servants of righteousness” (Romans 6, verses 17 and 18). Another comes from civic subjection. In this sense it says, “Moses my servant is dead” (Joshua 1, verse 2). Indeed all the Jews were servants in this way, but Moses in a special way, since he shone most brightly in that community. Since, then, Paul was a servant in every form of this wonderful servitude, he puts this in place of the greatest title of honor and says, “a servant of Jesus Christ.”

And he sets out the names that belong to the plan of salvation, going upward from the lowest. For the angel came from heaven with the name Jesus when he was conceived by the Virgin; and he is called Christ from being anointed, and that too belonged to the flesh. And with what oil, someone may ask, was he anointed? It was not with oil that he was anointed, but with the Spirit. Scripture has instances of calling such people “christs,” since the Spirit is the main thing in anointing, the very thing the oil is used for. And where does it call people “christs” who were not anointed with oil? “Do not touch my anointed ones,” it says, “and do my prophets no harm” (Psalm 105, verse 15) — and at that time the practice of anointing with oil did not even exist yet.

“Called an apostle.” In all his letters he calls himself “called,” and so shows his right-mindedness: he did not find this by his own seeking, but when he was called, he came near and obeyed. The faithful he calls “called to be saints.” But while they had been called only so far as to become believers, he had been entrusted with something different besides: the apostleship, a thing full of countless blessings, both greater than all the gifts and containing them all.

What more need one say of it than this: whatever Christ was doing while he was present, he committed into their hands when he departed. Paul too cries this aloud, speaking of it and magnifying the dignity of the apostles’ office: “We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us” (Second Corinthians 5, verse 20) — that is, in Christ’s place. [h]

“Set apart for the good news of God.” As in a house each person is set apart for different tasks, so also in the church there are different assignments of service. And here he seems to me to hint that he was not simply appointed by lot, but that long ago, from the very first, he was ordained to this office — just as Jeremiah says God spoke concerning Jeremiah himself: “Before you came out of the womb I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1, verse 5). He was writing to a city given to empty glory and puffed up in every way, and so he uses every means of showing that his choosing was from God. God himself called him, and God himself set him apart. He does this to make the letter worthy of belief and to win it an easy reception.

“For the good news of God.” So Matthew, then, is not the only evangelist, nor Mark — just as this man was not the only apostle, but they were apostles too — even if he is said to be the one preeminently, and they the other. And he calls it good news not only because of the good things that have already come to pass, but also because of those that are to come.

And how can he say that the good news “of God” is preached by himself? For he says, “set apart for the good news of God” — and yet the Father had been made known even before the Gospels. Yes, but even if he was known, it was to the Jews only, and not even to all of them as it should have been. They did not know him as a Father, and they had many unworthy ideas about him. That is why Christ says that “the true worshipers” will come, and that “the Father seeks such people to worship him” (John 4, verse 23). But it was afterward that he himself, together with the Son, was unveiled to the whole world. Christ spoke of this too beforehand, saying, “that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17, verse 3).

But he calls it the “good news” of God to cheer the hearer at the very start. He did not come with tidings to make faces sad, as the prophets did with their accusations and charges and rebukes, but with glad tidings — “the good news of God,” countless treasures of lasting and unchanging blessings.

Verse 2: “Which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.” [j]

For the Lord, he says, “will give the word to those who bring good news with great power” (Psalm 68, verse 12, as the Greek Old Testament reads it); and again, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news of peace” (Isaiah 52, verse 7; Romans 10, verse 15). Here you see both the very name of the good news and its character laid down in the Old Testament. For we do not proclaim it by words only, he means, but also by deeds done; for it was not human, but divine and beyond words, surpassing all nature.

Now since they also charged it with being new, he shows that it is older than the Greeks, and was written down beforehand in the prophets. And if he did not give it from the beginning, because of those who were unwilling to receive it, still, those who were willing did hear it. “Your father Abraham,” he says, “rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8, verse 56). How, then, can he say, “Many prophets desired to see the things that you see, and did not see them” (Matthew 13, verse 17)? He means they did not see it in the way you see and hear: the flesh itself, and the very miracles before your eyes. But I beg you to look and see how very long ago these things were foretold. For when God is about to do some great things openly, he announces them long beforehand, to train people’s ears to receive them when they come.

“In the Holy Scriptures.” Because the prophets not only spoke, but also wrote down what they spoke; and they did not only write, but also sketched these things in advance by actions — as Abraham did when he led Isaac up, and Moses when he lifted up the serpent, and when he spread out his hands against Amalek, and when he offered the Passover lamb. [l]

Verse 3: “Concerning his Son, who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.”

What are you doing, Paul? You lifted our souls up so high and raised them; you made great and unspeakable things pass in procession before them; you spoke of the good news, and the good news of God at that; you brought in the chorus of the prophets and showed them all proclaiming, many years in advance, the things that were to come. Why do you bring us down again to David? Tell me, are you talking about some man, and giving him Jesse’s son for a father? And how are these things worthy of what you have just said? Yes, they are fully worthy. For he says: “It is not a mere man we are speaking of. That was my reason for adding ‘according to the flesh’: to hint that the same one also has a birth according to the Spirit.”

And why did he begin from that birth and not from this higher one? Because that is where Matthew and Luke and Mark began. Whoever would lead people by the hand to heaven must lead them upward from below. That is how the plan of salvation itself was arranged: first they saw him as a man on earth, and afterward they understood that he was God. So his disciple shaped the road that leads there in the same direction in which Christ himself had framed his teaching. That is why, in Paul’s account, the birth according to the flesh is placed first — not because it came first, but because he meant to lead the hearer from this one up to that.

Verse 4: “And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ.” What is said here has been made obscure by the tightly folded wording, so it has to be taken apart. What is it, then, that he is saying? We preach, he says, the one who was made of David. But this is plain. From what, then, is it plain that this person who took flesh was also the Son of God? [n]

First, it is plain from the prophets. That is why he says, “which he had promised beforehand through the prophets in the Holy Scriptures” (verse 2). And this way of proof is no weak one. Next, it is plain from the very manner of his birth, which he sets out by saying, “of the seed of David according to the flesh”; for he broke the rule of nature. Third, from the miracles he did, which gave proof of great power; for that is what “with power” means. Fourth, from the Spirit whom he gave to those who believe in him, and through whom he made them all holy; that is why he says, “according to the Spirit of holiness.” For only God could grant such gifts. Fifth, from the resurrection; for he first, and he alone, raised himself.

He himself said that this, above all, was a miracle sufficient to stop the mouths even of those who behaved shamelessly. “Destroy this temple,” he says, “and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2, verse 19); and, “When you have lifted me up from the earth, then you will know that I am he” (John 8, verse 28); and again, “This generation seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah” (Matthew 12, verse 39).

What, then, does being “declared” mean? Being shown, being made manifest, being judged, being confessed by the sense and verdict of all: by the prophets, by the wonderful birth according to the flesh, by the power that was in the miracles, by the Spirit through whom he gave holiness, and by the resurrection, through which he put an end to the tyranny of death.

Verse 5: “Through whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith.” [o]

See the servant’s right-mindedness! He wants nothing to be his own, but everything to be his Master’s. And in fact it was the Spirit who gave this. That is why Christ says, “I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16, verses 12 and 13); and again, “Set apart for me Paul and Barnabas” (Acts 13, verse 2). In the letter to the Corinthians Paul says that “to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge” (First Corinthians 12, verses 8 and 11), and that the Spirit distributes them all as he wills. And addressing the Milesians he says, “over which the Holy Spirit has made you shepherds and overseers” (Acts 20, verse 28). You see, he calls the things of the Spirit the Son’s, and the things of the Son the Spirit’s.

“Grace and apostleship”: that is, it was not we who achieved it for ourselves that we should become apostles. We did not have this dignity allotted to us for having toiled and labored much; we received grace, and the success of the work is part of the heavenly gift. “For obedience to the faith.” So it was not the apostles who achieved it, but grace that paved the way before them. Their part was to go about and preach; but to persuade belonged to God, who worked in them. As Luke also says, “he opened their heart” (Acts 16, verse 14); and again, “to whom it was given to hear the word of God.”

“For obedience” — he does not say “for questioning and displays of argument,” but “for obedience.” For we were not sent to argue, he means, but to hand on what had been entrusted to our hands. When the Master declares anything, those who hear should not be fussy and prying examiners of what they are told, but simply receive it. This is why the apostles were sent: to speak what they had heard, not to add anything from their own store; and for our part, that we should believe. Believe what? “Concerning his name.” Not that we should pry into his being, but that we should believe in his name; for it was his name that worked the miracles too. For it says, “In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk” (Acts 3, verse 6). And this too requires faith; no one can grasp any of these things by reasoning.

“Among all nations, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ.” What? Did Paul, then, preach to all the nations? That he ran through the whole stretch from Jerusalem to Illyricum, and from there went out again to the very ends of the earth, is plain from what he writes to the Romans. But even if he did not reach them all, what he says is still not false; for he is speaking not of himself alone, but of the twelve apostles and all who proclaimed the word after them. And in another sense too, one should find no fault with the phrase even if it is about himself, when one considers his eager mind, and how even after death he does not stop preaching in every part of the world.

And notice how he extols the gift and shows that it is great, and far loftier than the former one: the old things belonged to one nation, but this gift drew sea and land to itself. Pay attention to this too, how free Paul’s mind is from all flattery. When he is speaking to the Romans, who were seated, as it were, on a kind of summit of the whole world, he credits them with nothing more than the other nations. He does not say that because they were then in power and ruling, they have any advantage in spiritual things too. As we preach to all the nations, he means, so we preach to you — and he numbers them with Scythians and Thracians. If he had not wanted to show this, it would have been superfluous to say, “among whom you also are.” He does this to let the air out of their pride, to lay low the swelling vanity of their minds, and to teach them to honor others equally with themselves. And so he goes on to speak on this very point.

Verse 6: “Among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ.” [r]

That is, along with whom you too are. And he does not say that he called the others with you, but you with the others. For if in Christ Jesus there is neither slave nor free, much less is there king and private citizen. You too were called; you did not come over on your own.

Verse 7: “To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” See how constantly he uses the word “called”: “called to be an apostle,” “among whom you also are called,” “to all who are in Rome, called.” He does this not out of an excess of words, but because he wants to remind them of the benefit. Among those who believed there were likely to be some who had been consuls, and rulers, as well as poor and common people. So he casts aside the inequality of ranks and writes to them all under one title.

In the things that are more necessary, the spiritual things, everything is set out as common to slaves and free alike: for instance, the love from God, the calling, the good news, the adoption, the grace, the peace, the holiness, and all the rest. Then how could it be anything but the height of folly to divide, on account of earthly things, those whom God had joined together and made equal in honor in the greater things? It is on this ground, I presume, that from the very start this blessed apostle drives out this destructive disease and leads them to the mother of blessings, humility. This made slaves better, since they learned that their slavery would do them no harm while they had the true freedom. This would incline masters to be gentle, since they were taught that being free is of no advantage to them unless the good things of faith are given first place.

And so that you may learn that he was not doing this to throw everything into confusion by jumbling it all together, but still knew the best distinction, he did not write simply to all who were in Rome, but added a qualifying word: “beloved of God.” For this is the best distinction, and it shows where the holiness came from. Where, then, did the holiness come from? From love. For after saying “beloved,” he goes on to “called to be saints,” showing that this is the spring from which all blessings flow. By “saints” he means all the faithful.

“Grace to you and peace.” [s]

What a greeting, bringing us countless blessings! Christ too told the apostles to use this as their first word when they entered houses (Luke 10, verse 5). That is why Paul too everywhere takes his beginning from this, from grace and peace. For it was no small war that Christ brought to an end, but one of every shape and kind, and of long duration; and he ended it not through our labors, but through his grace. Since, then, love gave us grace, and grace gave us peace, he sets them down in their proper order as a greeting and prays over them that they may remain forever, unshaken, so that no other war may be fanned into flame again. And he begs the one who gave them to keep these things firmly settled, saying, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Notice that in this passage the word “from” is shared by the Son and the Father, and it is equivalent to “of whom.” For he did not say, “Grace to you and peace from God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ,” but, “from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” How astonishing! How mighty is the love of God! We who were enemies and in disgrace have all at once become saints and sons. For when he calls him Father, he shows them to be sons; and when he says sons, he has unveiled the whole treasure of blessings.

So let us keep showing a way of life worthy of the gift, and hold on in peace and holiness. Other dignities last only for a time. They come to an end along with this present life, and they can be bought with money — so that one might say they are not dignities at all, but only the names of dignities, whose strength lies in the fine clothes a man is invested with and the fawning of his attendants. But this one, given by God — the gift of holiness and adoption — is not broken even by death. Even here it makes people stand out, and it also goes with us on our journey to the life to come. [t]

The one who holds on to the adoption and keeps a careful watch over his holiness is far more brilliant and more blessed even than a man arrayed in the diadem itself and wearing the purple. He enjoys abundant peace in this present life, he is nourished on good hopes, he has no cause for anxiety and turmoil, but enjoys constant pleasure. As for good spirits and joy, it is not greatness of power that usually produces them, nor abundance of wealth, nor the pomp of authority, nor bodily strength, nor a lavish table, nor fine clothes, nor any other of the things within human reach, but spiritual success and a good conscience alone. And the one who keeps his conscience clean, even if he is dressed in rags and struggling with hunger, is in better spirits than those who live in luxury. So too the one who is conscious of wicked deeds, even if he gathers everyone’s goods to himself, is the most wretched of all people.

That is why Paul, living in constant hunger and nakedness and beaten every day, was full of joy, and lived more at ease than the emperors of his day. But Ahab, though he was a king and indulged in lavish luxury, groaned and was dejected when he had committed that one sin; his face was fallen both before the sin and after it.

If, then, we want to enjoy pleasure, let us above all else shun wickedness and pursue virtue; for it is not in the nature of things to have a share in it on any other terms, even if we were seated on the king’s throne itself. That is why Paul says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace” (Galatians 5, verse 22). So let us keep this fruit growing in us, so that we may enjoy joy here and obtain the kingdom to come, by the grace and love for humankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to the Father and to the Holy Spirit, now and always, and to all the ages. Amen.