Romans 1:5

By whom. Or, “through whom.” Paul claims that his apostolic commission was from Christ Himself, not from men.

We have received. The plural is probably used for the singular, a not uncommon practice for men in authority. However, it is also possible that Paul is including the other apostles.

Grace and apostleship. Many interpreters take these two terms together as the equivalent of the grace, or favor, of apostleship. Paul often speaks of his call to apostleship as the “grace that was given” to him by God (Rom. 15:15, 16; Gal. 2:7-9; Eph. 3:7-9). Others, however, prefer to understand “grace” as referring especially to the personal grace of salvation, which Paul had first accepted on the Damascus road (Acts 9:1-16; cf. 15:10). For the meanings of the term “grace” see on Rom. 3:24.

To Paul, his conversion and call to apostleship, occurring almost simultaneously, must have seemed as one event. From being “a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious” (1 Tim. 1:13) he was called immediately to preach “the faith which once he destroyed” (Gal. 1:23). No wonder Paul could exclaim, “By the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Cor. 15:10), not only a converted Christian, but also a commissioned apostle.

Obedience to the faith. The Greek phrase thus translated occurs again in ch. 16:26, where the KJV translates it “the obedience of faith.” This is the more literal rendering, for the definite article is not present in the Greek. In the absence of the article, “faith” is probably not equivalent here to “the faith,” that is, to a body of doctrine to be received and believed (see Acts 6:7; Jude 3, where the article does occur). Faith means rather that habit and attitude of mind by which the Christian shows his loyalty and devotion to Christ and his dependence on Him. Such faith produces obedience.

“Obedience of faith” may be understood as meaning either obedience to faith as a controlling principle or the obedience that characterizes or springs from faith. Either way, the significant fact is that Paul associates faith with obedience. The great message of the Epistle to the Romans is that righteousness comes by faith (ch. 3:22; etc.). This is the good news that Paul has been called to make known. He regards his apostleship as a commission to bring about the obedience that springs from faith among all the nations.

All nations. This phrase commonly refers to Gentiles as distinguished from Jews, and may point to Paul’s own special apostleship to the heathen (see Acts 22:21; Gal. 1:16; 2:7-9; Eph. 3:1, 8). Here, however, the phrase may reflect the original commission that Jesus gave to His disciples (Matt. 28:19, 20; Mark 16:15, 16), and the charge to Paul at the time of his conversion (Acts 9:15) to carry the gospel to the whole world.

For his name. Meaning, probably, “for the sake of his name.” The ultimate purpose of Paul’s mission was to promote the knowledge and glory of Christ. Particularly would the name of Christ be magnified by the obedience that comes from faith in Him. Paul was ready to risk his life for such a cause (Acts 15:26; 21:13; cf. Acts 9:16).