Paul,
a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel
of God, ...
Romans 1:1, Modern English Version (MEV)
From Clarke’s Commentary we learn that “The word δουλος, which we translate servant, properly means a slave, one who is the entire property of his master and is used here by the apostle with great propriety. He felt he was not his own, and that his life and powers belonged to his heavenly owner, and that he had no right to dispose of or employ them but in the strictest subserviency to the will of his Lord. In this sense, and in this spirit, he is the willing slave of Jesus Christ; and this is, perhaps, the highest character which any soul of man can attain on this side eternity. "I am wholly the Lord's; and wholly devoted in the spirit of sacrificial obedience, to the constant, complete, and energetic performance of the Divine will." A friend of God is high; a son of God is higher; but the servant, or, in the above sense, the slave of God, is higher than all; - in a word, he is a person who feels he has no property in himself, and that God is all and in all.”
It is imperative, as we read these words, we set aside the ideas of slavery we have learned from our national disgrace and allow Scripture to speak to us in the understanding in which it was written. If we don’t, we'll never truly understand what God is telling us.
Again, from Clarke’s Commentary, we learn that, “The word αποστολος, apostle, from αποστελλειν, to send, signifies simply a messenger or envoy; one sent on a confidential errand: but here it means an extraordinary messenger; one sent by God himself to deliver the most important message on behalf of his Maker; - in a word, one sent by the Divine authority to preach the Gospel to the nations. The word κλητος, called, signifies here the same as constituted, and should be joined with αποστολος, as it is in the Greek, and translated thus: Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, constituted an apostle, c. This sense the word called has in many places of the sacred writings e. g. Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us, that we should be called, κληθωμεν, CONSTITUTED, or made the sons of God. As it is likely that no apostle had been employed in founding the Church of Rome, and there was need of much authority to settle the matters that were there in dispute, it was necessary he should show them that he derived his authority from God, and was immediately delegated by him to preach and write as he was now doing.”
As a Pharisee, Paul was already separated (set
apart) unto the Law and to the study of the Law. Now, he was literally being
separated from his separation unto the Law, to be separated unto the gospel of
God. It can be a bit confusing to us, but if we can understand Paul’s frame of
reference, which was his status as a Pharisee, then it’ll be easier to
understand the scope of what he is saying.
The phrase, "the gospel of God," could have
a couple of meanings. One would be, "the good news about God," while
the other could be, "the good news that God brings." Given the
context it would be quite proper for us to believe that Paul intends a
combination of both. In that case we could read it as, "the good news
about God that he brings." The truth is, if God hadn't brought to us this
Good News about himself, we would never have known.
Romans 1:1, Modern English Version (MEV)
From Clarke’s Commentary we learn that “The word δουλος, which we translate servant, properly means a slave, one who is the entire property of his master and is used here by the apostle with great propriety. He felt he was not his own, and that his life and powers belonged to his heavenly owner, and that he had no right to dispose of or employ them but in the strictest subserviency to the will of his Lord. In this sense, and in this spirit, he is the willing slave of Jesus Christ; and this is, perhaps, the highest character which any soul of man can attain on this side eternity. "I am wholly the Lord's; and wholly devoted in the spirit of sacrificial obedience, to the constant, complete, and energetic performance of the Divine will." A friend of God is high; a son of God is higher; but the servant, or, in the above sense, the slave of God, is higher than all; - in a word, he is a person who feels he has no property in himself, and that God is all and in all.”
It is imperative, as we read these words, we set aside the ideas of slavery we have learned from our national disgrace and allow Scripture to speak to us in the understanding in which it was written. If we don’t, we'll never truly understand what God is telling us.
Again, from Clarke’s Commentary, we learn that, “The word αποστολος, apostle, from αποστελλειν, to send, signifies simply a messenger or envoy; one sent on a confidential errand: but here it means an extraordinary messenger; one sent by God himself to deliver the most important message on behalf of his Maker; - in a word, one sent by the Divine authority to preach the Gospel to the nations. The word κλητος, called, signifies here the same as constituted, and should be joined with αποστολος, as it is in the Greek, and translated thus: Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, constituted an apostle, c. This sense the word called has in many places of the sacred writings e. g. Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us, that we should be called, κληθωμεν, CONSTITUTED, or made the sons of God. As it is likely that no apostle had been employed in founding the Church of Rome, and there was need of much authority to settle the matters that were there in dispute, it was necessary he should show them that he derived his authority from God, and was immediately delegated by him to preach and write as he was now doing.”
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