1._Paul, etc. _(11) — With regard to the word Paul, as it is a subject of no such moment as ought to detain us, and as nothing can be said which has not been mentioned by other expounders, I should say nothing, were it not proper to satisfy some at small expense without being tedious to others; for... [ Continue Reading ]
2._Which he had before promised_, _etc. _— As the suspicion of being new subtracts much from the authority of a doctrine, he confirms the faith of the gospel by antiquity; as though he said, “Christ came not on the earth unexpectedly, nor did he introduce a doctrine of a new kind and not heard of be... [ Continue Reading ]
3._Concerning his own Son, etc. _— This is a remarkable passage, by which we are taught that the whole gospel is included in Christ, so that if any removes one step from Christ, he withdraws himself from the gospel. For since he is the living and express image of the Father, it is no wonder, that he... [ Continue Reading ]
4._Declared _(19) _the Son of God_, _etc._: or, if you prefer, determined (definitus); as though he had said, that the power, by which he was raised from the dead, was something like a decree by which he was proclaimed the Son of God, according to what is said in Psalms 2:7, “I have this day begotte... [ Continue Reading ]
5._Through whom we have received, etc. _— Having completed his definition of the gospel, which he introduced for the recommendation of his office, he now returns to speak of his own call; and it was a great point that this should be proved to the Romans. By mentioning grace and apostleship apart, he... [ Continue Reading ]
7._To all of you who are at Rome, etc. _By this happy arrangement he sets forth what there is in us worthy of commendation; he says, that first the Lord through his own kindness made us the objects of his favor and love; and then that he has called us; and thirdly, that he has called us to holiness:... [ Continue Reading ]
8_. I first _(28) _indeed_, _etc. _Here the beginning commences, altogether adapted to the occasion, as he seasonably prepares them for receiving instruction by reasons connected with himself as well as with them. What he states respecting them is, the celebrity of their faith; for he intimates that... [ Continue Reading ]
9._For God is my witness, etc. _He proves his love by its effects; for had he not greatly loved them, he would not have so anxiously commended them to the Lord, and especially he would not have so ardently desired to promote their welfare by his own labors. His anxiety then and his ardent desire wer... [ Continue Reading ]
10._Requesting, if by any means, etc. _As it is not probable that we from the heart study his benefit, whom we are not ready to assist by our labors, he now adds, after having said that he was anxious for their welfare, that he showed by another proof his love to them, as before God, even by request... [ Continue Reading ]
11._For I greatly desire to see you _He might, indeed, while absent, have confirmed their faith by his doctrine; but as advice is better taken from one present, he had a desire to be with them. But he explains what his object was, and shows that he wished to undertake the toil of a journey, not for... [ Continue Reading ]
12.Being not satisfied with this modest statement, he qualifies it, and shows, that he did not so occupy the place of a teacher, but that he wished to learn also from them; as though he said, “I desire so to confirm you according to the measure of grace conferred on me, that your example may also ad... [ Continue Reading ]
13._I would not that you should be ignorant_. What he has hitherto testified — that he continually requested of the Lord that he might visit them, might have appeared a vain thing, and could not have obtained credit, had he neglected to seize the occasion when offered: he therefore says, that the ef... [ Continue Reading ]
14._I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians_, etc. Those whom he means by the Greeks and the Barbarians, he afterwards explains by adding, _both to the wise and to the foolish; _which words Erasmus has not rendered amiss by “learned and unlearned,” (_eruditos et rudes _,) but I prefer... [ Continue Reading ]
15._I am therefore ready_, (37) _etc. _He concludes what he had before said of his desire — that as he knew it to be his duty to spread the gospel among them, in order to gather fruit for the Lord, he was anxious to fulfill God’s calling, as far as he was allowed to do so by the Lord.... [ Continue Reading ]
16._I am not indeed ashamed, etc. _This is an anticipation of an objection; for he declares beforehand, that he cared not for the taunts of the ungodly; and he thus provides a way for himself, by which he proceeds to pronounce an eulogy on the value of the gospel, that it might not appear contemptib... [ Continue Reading ]
17._For _(39) _the righteousness of God, etc. _This is an explanation and a confirmation of the preceding clause — that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. For if we seek salvation, that is, life with God, righteousness must be first sought, by which being reconciled to him, we may, throu... [ Continue Reading ]
18._For _(42) _revealed_, _etc. _He reasons now by stating things of a contrary nature, and proves that there is no righteousness except what is conferred, or comes through the gospel; for he shows that without this all men are condemned: by it alone there is salvation to be found. And he brings, as... [ Continue Reading ]
19._Inasmuch as what may be known of God, etc. _He thus designates what it behoves us to know of God; and he means all that appertains to the setting forth of the glory of the Lord, or, which is the same thing, whatever ought to move and excite us to glorify God. And by this expression he intimates,... [ Continue Reading ]
20._Since his invisible things_, (46) _etc. _God is in himself invisible; but as his majesty shines forth in his works and in his creatures everywhere, men ought in these to acknowledge him, for they clearly set forth their Maker: and for this reason the Apostle in his Epistle to the Hebrews says, t... [ Continue Reading ]
21._For when they knew God_, _etc. _He plainly testifies here, that God has presented to the minds of all the means of knowing him, having so manifested himself by his works, that they must necessarily see what of themselves they seek not to know — that there is some God; for the world does not by c... [ Continue Reading ]
22._While they were thinking, etc. _It is commonly inferred from this passage, that Paul alludes here to those philosophers, who assumed to themselves in a peculiar manner the reputation of wisdom; and it is thought that the design of his discourse is to show, that when the superiority of the great... [ Continue Reading ]
23._And changed_, _etc. _Having feigned such a God as they could comprehend according to their carnal reason, they were very far from acknowledging the true God: but devised a fictitious and a new god, or rather a phantom. And what he says is, that they _changed _the glory of God; for as though one... [ Continue Reading ]
24._God therefore gave them up, etc. _As impiety is a hidden evil, lest they should still find an evasion, he shows, by a more palpable demonstration, that, they cannot escape, but must be held fast by a just condemnation, since such fruits have followed this impiety as cannot be viewed otherwise th... [ Continue Reading ]
25._Who changed_, _etc. _He repeats what he had said before, though in different words, in order to fix it deeper in our minds. When the truth of God is turned to a lie, his glory is obliterated. It is then but just, that they should be besprinkled with every kind of infamy, who strive to take away... [ Continue Reading ]
26._God therefore gave them up_, _etc. _After having introduced as it were an intervening clause, he returns to what he had before stated respecting the judgment of God: and he brings, as the first example, the dreadful crime of unnatural lust; and it hence appears that they not only abandoned thems... [ Continue Reading ]
27._Such a reward for their error as was meet. _They indeed deserved to be blinded, so as to forget themselves, and not to see any thing befitting them, who, through their own malignity, closed their eyes against the light offered them by God, that they might not behold his glory: in short, they who... [ Continue Reading ]
28._And as they chose not, etc. _There is an evident comparison to be observed in these words, by which is strikingly set forth the just relation between sin and punishment. As they chose not to continue in the knowledge of God, which alone guides our minds to true wisdom, the Lord gave them a perve... [ Continue Reading ]
29.Understand by _unrighteousness, _the violation of justice among men, by not rendering to each his due. I have rendered πονηρίαν, according to the opinion of Ammonium, _wickedness; _for he teaches us that πονηρον, the wicked, is δραστίκον κακου, the doer of evil. The word (_nequitia _) then means... [ Continue Reading ]
30.The word θεοστυγεῖς, means, no doubt, _haters of God_; for there is no reason to take it in a passive sense, (hated of God,) since Paul here proves men to be guilty by manifest vices. Those, then, are designated, who hate God, whose justice they seem to resist by doing wrong. _Whisperers _(_susur... [ Continue Reading ]
31._Without the feelings of humanity _are they who have put off the first affections of nature towards their own relations. As he mentions the want of _mercy _as an evidence of human nature being depraved, [Augustine ], in arguing against the Stoics, concludes, that mercy is a Christian virtue.... [ Continue Reading ]
32._Who, knowing the judgement _(61) _of God_, _etc. _Though this passage is variously explained, yet the following appears to me the correctest interpretation, — that men left nothing undone for the purpose of giving unbridled liberty to their sinful propensities; for having taken away all distinct... [ Continue Reading ]