Bible Commentaries

PART SECOND

The Practical Theme: The calling of the Roman Christians, on the ground of their accomplished redemption, or the universal mercy of God (which will be extended to all), to represent the living worship of God in the completion of the real burnt-offering, and to form a universal Christian church-life for the realization of the call of all nations to praise and glorify God, so that they too may recognize and sustain the universal call of the Apostle. In correspondence with this is the recommendation of his companions, assistants, and friends, in sending his greetings to them; in contrast with which is his warning against Judaizing and paganizing false teachers; Romans 12:1 to Romans 16:20.—Conclusion. Salutations of friends. Amen ( Romans 12:21-21).

Literature.—Borger, Dissertatio de parte epistolœ ad Romanos parœnetica. Lugd. Bat, 1810.

FIRST DIVISION

THE CALLING OF THE ROMAN CHURCH TO A UNIVERSAL CHRISTIAN DEPORTMENT

Romans 12:1 to Romans 15:13

First Section.—The practical theme ( Romans 12:1-2). The proper conduct of Christians toward the fellowship of the brethren for the establishment of a harmonious church-life ( Romans 12:3-8).

Romans 12:1-8

1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye [to]¹ present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable [well-pleasing] unto God, which is your reasonable [rational] service. [,] 2And be not [And not to be]² conformed to this world: but be ye transformed [but to be transfigured]³ by the renewing of your⁴ mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God [or, what is the will of God, what is good, and well-pleasing, and perfect].⁵

3For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly [or, not to be high-minded above what he ought to be minded, but to be so minded as to be sober-minded],⁶ according as God hath dealt to every manthe measure of faith 4 For as we have many members in one body, and all 5 members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ,and every one⁷ members one of another 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy⁸ according 7 to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering; or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Summary.—The practical theme controlling the whole of the second part. The proper conduct of Christians, or the calling of (Roman) Christians to the living worship (service) of God,⁹ Romans 12:1-2; a. The proper conduct toward the fellowship of believing brethren, the Church (ecclesiastical duties), Romans 12:3-8; b. The proper conduct of Christians in all personal relations, Romans 12:9-21; c. Toward civil authorities (duties toward the government), Romans 13:1-6; d. Toward the world in general. Recognition of the rights of the world, and of legal fellowship with it. Separation, on the contrary, from the ungodliness of the world, Romans 12:7-14; e. The proper practice of the living worship of God, and its universality in the removing of the differences between the “weak” and the “strong,” Romans 14:1 to Romans 15:4; f. Exhortation to unanimity of all the members of the Church to the praise of God, on the ground of God’s grace, for realizing the destination of all nations to glorify God, Romans 15:5-13.

See also the headings of the sections. Meyer: “General exhortation to holiness.” But this “general” exhortation is very characteristically defined according to the characteristic, fundamental thought of the whole Epistle, in its essential as well as in its personal reference. According to the essential reference, the Apostle has shown, in the first part, that the corruption of the world consists in its having fallen from the living worship of God, and that therefore redemption is a restoration of the fundamental principles of this living worship. The entire holiness of Christians is, accordingly, portrayed as the development of a living spiritual worship. But in the personal reference, the Apostle shows how the Roman Christian congregation should be developed into a congregation of living worship, in order to be the instrument of its extension to all the world, to serve as a central organ for the Apostle, who has perceived his calling in the extension of this worship into all the world.

1. The practical theme ( Romans 12:1-2). A summons to develop the service restored by redemption. [Comp. here the third part of the Heidelberg Catechism, On Thankfulness to God for Redemption.—P. S.]

Romans 12:1. I beseech you therefore, brethren[Παρακαλῶ οὖν ὑμᾶς, ἀδελφοί]. According to Meyer and Tholuck, the οὖν does not introduce an inference from the whole of the previous didactic part (as Calvin, Bengel, De Wette, Philippi, and others, would have it), but from Romans 11:35-36. But it must be observed, that the conclusion of chap11. constitutes the organic apex of the entire doctrinal division; this is especially true of Romans 11:32, with which Rückert, and others, would connect this verse. Tholuck fails to perceive the Apostle’s practical theme, in saying: “The Apostle was accustomed to make some exhortations follow the chief, and therefore the didactic, contents.”

By the mercies of God [διὰ τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ] ( Romans 15:30; 1 Corinthians 1:10; 2 Corinthians 10:1). The objective ground of Divine mercy in their experience of salvation, is made the subjective ground of his admonition. He refers to the experience of Divine mercy, its consequence, and its light and right, as if he said, by the name of Divine mercy. The only difference is, that, in the asseveration διά, by, the speaker allows the subject of his asseveration itself to speak as motive and motor. The plural οἰκτιρμοί corresponds to the Hebrew רַחֲמִים; but the Apostle has also instituted, in the foregoing, a threefold gradation of the Divine demonstration of grace.

To present, παραστῆσαι. The expression, which was used of placing the sacrificial beast before the altar, conveys the thought of the complete resignation and readiness which, on the one hand, does not in the least hesitate, but, on the other, makes no intrusion by an arbitrary slaying of the offering.

Your bodies [τὰ σώματα ὑμῶν]. The holding of the body in readiness for an offering well-pleasing to God, is the expression for the highest measure of the renunciation of every thing earthly and temporal. Explanations:

1. Figurative designation of personality itself, according to the figure of the offering (Beza, De Wette, and Philippi [Stuart, Hodge]).

2. The bodies in the real sense, as the holiness of the νοῦς is added in the second verse (Fritzsche, Meyer).

3. The sensuous nature of man, which leads him to sin (Köllner, and others).

Against (1): The Apostle speaks, according to the apostolic standard, to believers, who, according to Romans 6 :, have already given their personal life to death. But the body is the organ and symbol of all the individual parts, which must be offered in consequence of this principial offering. Against (2), Cocceius: Non possumus offerre corpus sine anima. The real service performed in making the offering is, indeed, finished with the shedding of blood, or with the resignation of the body. But the heart, or the life of the spirit, is given to God as an expression that the body is offered. Against (3) Whatever is sinful is not fit, as such, for an offering.—The body is the organ and symbol of the present life in all its relations and parts. Comp. Romans 6:12-13, where the question under consideration is the active consecration of all the members of the body.¹⁰

Sacrifice. Θυσίαν. We hold that the Apostle has in mind the symbol of the central offering—that is, of the burnt-offering (comp. Tholuck, p651). But the burnt-offering was a symbol that the whole life, with all its powers, should be consumed in the fire of God’s sovereignty, for His service and glory. The predicates, living, ζῶσαν, &c, particularly the first, which the Apostle ascribes to this θυσία, are thought, by Meyer, to denote the antithesis of this New Testament offering to that of the Old Testament: “as an offering which lives (antithesis to the real offerings which lose their life).” Tholuck, on the other hand, says with propriety: “the thought that in the Old Testament only dead offerings were brought to God, is neither Jewish nor Pauline; to present not only dead offerings, but even sick ones, was an abomination before the Lord; Mai. Romans 1:8.” Yet this applies only to Meyer’s expression; his distinction in itself is well founded. The predicates, holy [ἁγίαν] and well-pleasing to God [εὐάρεστον τῷ Θεῷ], do not in themselves fully constitute an antithesis to the Old Testament. The antithesis is comprised: (1) In the designation, your bodies, human bodies; which is necessary to the idea of a spiritual offering; (2) In the emphasis on the presenting and holding in readiness for the Lord, as the Finisher of the real offering; in which all their own external self-offering on the part of the Roman Christians is absolutely precluded. By this means the predicates acquire a stronger meaning. The higher and real newness of life, the holiness of, and Divine pleasure in, the life of faith given up to the service of God, take the place of the symbolical newness of life, holiness of, and legal Divine pleasure in, the offering of the beast. Estius, Bengel, and others, have connected the τῷ Θεῷ with παραστῆσαι; this is correctly opposed by Meyer and Tholuck (see Philippians 4:18; comp. Romans 6:13; 1 Peter 2:5).

Which is your rational service. [Dr. Lange: Euer vernünftiger (geistiger) Gottesdienst.] The accusative τὴν λογικὴν λατρείαν is in apposition with the foregoing clause, characterizing more specifically what has been said, according to the New Testament conception of offering, in antithesis to that of the Old Testament. The λατρεία, service, worship, which, in its central idea, is everywhere an offering (see John 16:2). But this sacrificial worship of believers should be λογική (see John 4:21; Romans 1:9; 1 Peter 2:5). The λογικόν denotes that which is inspired by reason, in harmony with real reason, and consequently spiritual, real; in antithesis to merely external symbolical service (Melanchthon, cultus mentis),¹¹ but not in antithesis to the ζῶα ἄλογα (Theodoret, Grotius, and others); for, as Meyer observes, the question here is λατρεία, but not θυσία. Indirectly, indeed, the λογικὴ λατρεία is also an antithesis to the cultus commentitii; for if the symbolical service would establish itself beyond its time, against the real service, it would then become cultus commentitius.

Romans 12:2. And not to be conformed. On the difference of the readings, see Textual Note2. The infinitives must be referred to the παρακαλῶ. The συνσχηματίζεσθαι is passive, with a reflexive meaning, in eandem formam redigi, se conformare. Philippi: “The original difference between σχῆμα and μορφή may be, that the latter denotes rather the organic form, while the former denotes more the mechanical form, the external and adventitious habitus (σχῆμα from ἔχω, σκεῖν); comp. 1 Corinthians 7:31. Hence σκῆμα is also the external semblance, the pompa, and σκηματίζεσθαι, synonymous with προσποιεῖσθαι, to assume a form, a seeming shape, to appear, to take the shape of; comp. the passages cited by Wetstein; μορφή also the beautiful form, forma; comp. formosus. Thus μορφή more fitly designates the real inward form, while σχῆμα denotes rather the external and accidental appearance.” Comp. Philippians 2:6-8. See also Tholuck, p652. Meyer holds [as the E. V. assumes], that the antithesis of both verbs is comprised only in the prepositions; these, indeed, increase it. The σύν denotes the torpidity of the external form of the Church by uniformity with the world, worldliness; the μετά denotes the organic change and transformation of the organic shape, according to the new inward form. Meyer: “The present infinitives denote a continued action, while παραστῆσαι represents the presenting of the offering as a completed act.”

To this world [τῶ αἰῶνι τούτῳ]. הַוֶּה עוֹלָם . The pre-messianic and relatively anti-messianic form of the world in its perverted course. [Comp. Lange’s Comm., Galatians 1:4, p13.—R.]

But to be transfigured [ἀλλὰ μεταμορφοῦσθαι. The difference in preposition and verb is better preserved by transfigured, which also conveys the distinctions suggested above. See Five Anglican Clergymen.—R.] The μεταμ. is reflexive, as συνσχ.

By the renewing of your mind; Romans 7:24; Ephesians 4:23. The καινότης πνεύματος ( Romans 7:6; comp. Romans 6:4), as an impelling principle, results in the ἀνακαίνωσις of the νοῦς; for the νοῦς, the conscious, thoughtful, or reflective moral and religious spiritual life (disposition) is constantly renewed, in part restored, and in part developed, in its mastery over the natural part of life. The transformation and shaping of the life of the Christian are determined not by external worldly forms, but by this inward renewing, or renewing ascending to the whole of the external life (ἀνακαίνωσις) through the productive power of the Spirit. The νοῦς, as such, does not then receive the new μορφή (Tholuck), but rather the whole Christian life from the νοῦς outward.¹²

That ye may prove. Literally: εἰς τὸ δοκιμάζειν. [Infinitive clause of design (Meyer).—R.] The Christian life should not receive its development by means of an external legislation, but by the inward one, which is directed by spiritual proving and self-determination (see Galatians 6:4; Ephesians 5:10; Philippians 1:10, and other passages). Meyer appropriately says: “In the unrenewed man this proving is altogether foreign to the activity of his conscience. Comp. Ephesians 5:10.” But with this there is also connected the being able to prove (Rückert, Köllner [Hodge, apparently]), although the actual proving is conjoined with it. Meyer: “The regenerate one proves by the verdict of his conscience, aroused and illuminated by the Spirit.” The νόμος of the Spirit, the Christian principle of life, is an infinitude, whose explanation and concrete application to life is committed to the proving of Christian illumination and Wisdom of Solomon 13

The will of God [τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ]. That which is willed by God in every relation of life. The reference of the definitions τὸ ἀγαθόν, καὶ εὐάρεστον καὶ τέλειον, as adjectives, to God’s will (Vulgate, Chrysostom, the most of the early expositors, Luther, Rückert, &c.), is opposed, first of all, by the εὐάρεστον, but, in general, by the tautology that would be contained in the expression. Therefore Erasmus, Castalio, Tholuck, Meyer, and the most of the early commentators, have regarded the additions as a substantive apposition.

What is good, &c. We may ask whether a climax of three members is designed [Meyer], or whether we should render explicit that double relation of the good, by which, on the one hand, it is that which is well-pleasing to God, and, on the other, that which is perfect in itself, because it arises from the righteousness of faith, the principle of perfection. We prefer the latter rendering. The repetition of the article would, of course, not be necessary with the first interpretation.¹⁴

2. The proper conduct of Christians toward the community of brethren for the establishment of a harmonious church-life ( Romans 12:3-8). Tholuck is correct in finding, in what follows, a reference to the different spheres of activity in the Church. Meyer speaks only of an exhortation to individual duties.¹⁵

Romans 12:3. For I say (say definitely). The γάρ is rendered namely, by Tholuck and Meyer. [Alford also takes it as resumptive.] First of all, namely appears as inappropriate as for. If it is the matter of the self-proving and self-determination of believers, how they should act toward each other, how can the Apostle lay down his precepts immediately afterward? The answer lies in the fact, that their subjective judgment should be subordinated to the known objective will of God. This requirement, that they should be certain as to whether their conduct corresponds to God’s perfect will, is so great, that it causes the Apostle to lay down regulations for it. Therefore we may also translate the γάρ by for. The λέγειν is used in the sense of injunction.

Through the grace, &c. [διὰ τῆς χάριτος, κ.τ.λ.] Even here διά. He will not prescribe for them by virtue of his subjective opinion or authority, but by virtue of the grace which is given to him (see Romans 1:5), which establishes his office, and is at the same time the element of life common to his office and their church-life (see Romans 15:15; 1 Corinthians 3:10; Ephesians 3:7-8).

To every man that is among you [παντὶ τῶ ὄντι ἐν ὑμῖν. Alford: “A strong bringing out of the individual application of the precept.”—R.] This would therefore have applied to Peter also, if he had been in Rome, or Paul would not have spoken thus, or, indeed, would not have written to them at all.

Not to think of himself [μὴ ὑπερφρονεῖν. See the text, and Textual Note6.—R.] Tholuck: φρονεῖν is here not “to strive after,” and also not “to be disposed, to think,” but “to think (of himself)” (see p654).

Soberly, σωφρονεῖν. It is wise conduct or good behavior, especially as moderation.—Proper self-knowledge and esteem, apart from over-estimation, should, by modesty, come to proper and wise moderation in the reciprocity of the personal life with the society. Meyer understands φρονεῖν as to be disposed, and explains the details accordingly; the Vulgate, Calvin, and others, interpret in the same way. The mode of thinking and feeling is undoubtedly connected here with the holding and demeaning, which is proved by the σωφρονεῖν.

According as God hath dealt to every man [ἑκάστῳ ὡς ὁ θεὸς ἐμέρισεν]. The ἑκάστῳ is dependent on ἑμέρισε: According as God hath dealt to every man, &c, is therefore made antecedent by inversion (see 1 Corinthians 3:5).—The idea of a different distribution of the measure of faith leads to the idea of the gift ( Romans 12:6). No one should apply more than the gift of grace, for what lies beyond this is presumption; but the whole of the gift of grace should be applied, for if this be not done, something would be withheld from the society which is designed for it. Comp. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6; 1 Corinthians 12:11; Hebrews 2:4.

The measure of faith [μέτρον πίστεως]. When Meyer maintains that faith here means only faith in the ordinary sense, he overlooks the fact that the measure of faith is spoken of in concrete unity; or rather, he interprets this measure erroneously, by understanding only different degrees of the strength of faith, and, accordingly, he not only rejects the reference of the expression to Christian knowledge (Beza, and others), or to the power of working miracles (Theophylact), but also to the gift of grace (Chrysostom, and most other commentators). The purely Divine element in the gift is undoubtedly emphasized here, for what is not of faith is sin. [Alford explains the phrase: “The receptivity of χαρίσματα, itself no inherent congruity. It is, in fact, the subjective designation of ‘the grace that is given unto us;’ Romans 12:6.” He rightly distinguishes it from the gifts and graces themselves. So Philippi in substance. The objective sense of “faith,” which is implied in the view of Beza, is open to decided objection.—R.]

Romans 12:4. For as we have many members in one body [καθάπερ γάρ ἐν ἑνὶ σώματδ πολλὰ μέλη ἔχομεν]. Establishment of the foregoing. The individual Christian is only a member of Christ’s body, and should conduct himself as a member, avow himself as a member, and should permit himself to be strengthened as a member; Christ alone is the Head.¹⁶ “On the commonness of the parallels between a human body and a corpus sociale ( 1 Corinthians 12), even among the ancients, see Grotius and Wetstein in loco;” Meyer.

Romans 12:5. So we, being many. In antithesis to the unity of the body.

In Christ. The head is the organic vital centre of the whole, in which (not to which) every thing in respect to dominion and glory is comprised ( Ephesians 1:22, and other passages).

And every one. Τὸ δὲ καθ̓ εἷς is a solecism of the later Greek, instead of τὸ δὲ καθ̓ ἕνα; Mark 14:19; John 8:9, and other passages.

Romans 12:6. Having then gifts differing according to the grace [ἕχοντες δὲ χαρίσματα κατὰ τὴν χάριν τὴν δοθεῖσαν ἡμῖν διάφορα]. Different constructions here enter into consideration.

1. With ἔχοντες a new sentence begins, which continues in a succession of elliptical exhortations (Beza, Olshausen, Philippi, and others). Meyer: “The elliptical expression after κατὰ τὴν ἀναλ. τ. πίστ. may be supplied by προφητεύωμε; by ὦμεν after ἐν τῇ διακονίᾳ by ἔστω after ἐν τῆ διδασκαλίᾳ; by the same after ἐν τῇ παρακήσει; and, finally, by the imperatives of the corresponding verbs (μεταδιδότω, &c.) after the three following parts, ἐν ἁπλότητι, &c. [So E. V, Hodge, &c.] Comp. the analogous mode of expression in 1 Peter 4:10 f.

2. The ἔχοντες is connected with the foregoing, but in such a way that the following clauses are, according to Meyer, all ellipses (Erasmus, and others). Meyer also places Tholuck here, but Tholuck declares now for (1).

3. The ἔχοντες δὲ is joined with ἐσμεν ( [This δέ is rendered by Alford: “and not only Song of Solomon, but.”—R.]

As for the apparent fluctuations in the construction, they resolve themselves into regular forms, if we observe the subdivisions,¹⁷ The Apostle distinguishes, first of all, two principal categories: a. προφητεία; b. διακονία. The διακονία is then divided into the διδάσκων and the πραικαλῶν; this latter is again divided into the μεταδιδούς, the προϊστάμενος, and the ἐλεῶν. This is proved by the forms:

1. The antithesis of the abstract nouns, προφητεία and διακονία. The latter, in its broader meaning, was evidently a church office; while, on the other hand, the προφητεία was, in the fullest sense, also an office.

2. εἴτε ὁ διδάσκων, εἴτε ὁ παρακαλῶν. This παρακαλῶν must, at all events, be regarded as a superintendent of the society, presbyter, or man having the gifts of the presbyter, whether, as ὁ μεταδιδούς, he devoted himself to the care of the poor; as ὁ προϊστάμενος, to the κυβέρνησις, in the narrower sense; or, as ὁ ἐλεῶν, to the healing of the sick and casting out of devils.¹⁸—Gifts differing according to the grace. Gifts; that is, modifications of the one Divine grace in the differences of the human individual talent (see 1 Corinthians 12:4 ff.).

Whether prophecy. Prophecy, in the Old Testament as well as in the New, is the gift and calling to declare, by the prompting and communication of God’s Spirit, what is new—that which concerns the future, and the development of God’s kingdom; in order, like the compass, to direct aright, in the present, the ship of the kingdom. The reason why it appears more in the foreground in the Old Testament than in the New, is, that the former was the time of expectation and longing, and the latter the time of fulfilment and satisfaction.¹⁹

According to the proportion (harmony) of faith [κατὰ τὴν ἀναλογίαν τῆς πίστεως]. The expression defines exactly: according to the relation, the proportion, or harmony of faith; that is, according to the proportion defined by faith. Explanations:

1. Subjective faith, including the measure of faith, is meant (the early commentators; Origen, Chrysostom, Ambrose, and others; Bengel and Meyer [Alford, De Wette]. Tholuck: “The prophet keeps within the limits of his prophetical gift, assigned him by his individuality ”).

2. The objective rule of faith (Abelard, Aquinas, Hervæus, &c.; Flatt, Klee, Philippi, and others). Tholuck, on the contrary, observes, that we may ask whether Paul could have appealed already to such a regula fidei. But, in reality, Moses has already established the features of the analogia fidei, Deuteronomy 18:18 ff. It is well known that the Jews crucified Christ by a false application of this rule; but it is equally well known that the New Testament proofs of faith from the Old Testament, which first introduced Christianity into the Jewish world, have only been a living application of this rule. At all events, Paul could not yet appeal to ecclesiastical confessions, but he could appeal to a fundamental canon of truth; see Galatians 1:8; Galatians 6:16; Philippians 3:16; 2 Timothy 3:15-16, &c. However, Tholuck has other grounds for preferring the explanation, that the prophet keeps within the sphere of his calling; namely, because the deacon should remain within the sphere of his diaconate, &c. But is the sphere of the prophet described by the measure of his subjective faith, or would not this be here rather a nugatory generality?²⁰ The sphere of the prophet, who reveals what is new for the enlargement of the old Revelation, is just the real character of the revelation itself, harmonizing with itself through all the stages of development. Yet the Apostle does not say ἀποκαλύψεως, but πίστεως, because the faith of the Church is also called to the office of watchman, in order that the development of the truth be not corrupted by false prophets. The application of this rule to the exposition of the Scriptures in the early period (see Tholuck, p664) is not explicatio, but applicatio; but it cannot be denied that this applicatio itself is made κατὰ τὴν ἀναλογίαν τῆς πίστεως.

Romans 12:7. Or ministry [εἴτε διακονίαν, das Dienstamt (Lange). Governed by ἔχοντες, like the preceding accusative]. A threefold idea of the διακονία can be distinguished in the New Testament1. The most comprehensive idea understands by διακονία the ecclesiastical office in general; see 1 Corinthians 12:5. There, prophecy is designated as a diaconate; here, it is distinguished from it2. Therefore, the special office for a definite congregation. So here. [Dr. Lange apparently includes here all the permanent offices in a single church, as he makes διακονία a category, under which the five following terms fall. If, however, it be considered as coördinate with what follows, then the still more restricted view must be adopted.—R.] 3. The diaconate, in distinction from the presbyterial episcopacy, 1 Timothy 3:8. At the time when this Epistle was written, the ecclesiastical distinctions were less developed than when the First Epistle to Timothy was written, but yet more so than in the First Epistle to the Corinthians.

Let us wait on our ministering [ἐν τῇ διακονίᾳ. We must supply an imperative, either let us be in, remain in, or wait on (as E. V.). The sense is the same.—R.] Meyer thus explains the ἐν: The one who was “diaconally endowed” shall not wish to be of authority beyond the sphere assigned him by this endowment, but to be active within it. But it is not necessary to understand the εἶναι ἐν quantitatively; it can also be understood qualitatively. And since all the apostolic functions of the Church were diaconal, qualitative ministering is undoubtedly the meaning. The proof of the true office is, that it consists simply in service; just as, inversely, pure divine service becomes the true office, even if it had no human official seal. With the positive filling of his sphere, it is always supposed that he does not commit improprieties beyond his sphere.

Or he that teacheth, on teaching [εἴτε ὁ διδάσκων, ἐν τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ]. According to Meyer, Paul should have continued uniformly, εἴτε διδασκαλίαν (sc. ἔχοντες), “as [Cod.] A. actually has.” We have seen, in the arrangement of the gifts (see above), what grounds he had for not thus continuing.²¹ Thus he has his gift in his labors as teacher. This appears self-evident; but how many, who would be deemed teachers, are mere babblers!

Romans 12:8. Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation [ὁ παρακλῶν, ἐν τῇ παρακλήσει]. As the παρακαλῶν here is definitely distinguished from the διδάσκων, nothing else can be understood by it than a fraction within the more general presbyterate. Evidently the more definite distinction, in 1 Timothy 5:17, between presbyters who devote themselves to teaching, and ruling presbyters, thus begins to take shape; while, on the other hand, the diaconate is developed in a presbyterate from the date of Acts 11:30, and has not yet positively been separated from it. The exhorter, according to what follows, comprises the different sides of the subsequently developed presbyterial office; he is undoubtedly synonymous with the pastors, Ephesians 4:11. The division of his office appears in the following statements.²²

He that giveth [ὁ μεταδιδούς]. According to Meyer, the official functions to the Church cease with the εἴτε. We have, on the contrary, laid down further subdivisions here. Every Christian is indeed a μεταδιδδος, and not less an ἐλεῶν; but as here there stands midway between the two a προϊστάμενος, which not every one can be, special functions recognized by the Church are evidently meant. Meyer argues against such functions, by observing: a. The diaconal gift could not be thus analyzed; b. The position of the προϊστάμενος as the presbyter between two deaconal employments, would be inappropriate. Instead, therefore, of bearing in mind the growing relations, he does violence to them by preconceived opinions; a presbyter is a presbyter, a deacon is a deacon, &c.; and then, according to him, Paul casts the presbyter right in the midst of the membership.²³

With simplicity. This term is characteristic of the penetration of the Apostle, since accessory views might be easily connected with all exercise of beneficence.²⁴

He that ruleth, προϊστάμενος. According to Meyer, the presbyter, but not the presbyter exclusively. See 1 Corinthians 12:28. The order there laid down by the apostles is as follows: 1. Prophets; 2. Teachers; 3. Miraculous powers; then healing of the sick, then bestowals of help, then κυβερνήσεις, and finally γένη γλωσσῶν. Therefore the bestowals of help would thus fall under the rubric of the present παρακαλῶν, and especially of the μεταδιδούς. Undoubtedly the κυβερνήσεις there stands in the same line with the προϊστάμενος here. The ones concerned as having care of the external affairs of the Church, had, at the beginning, no great things to manage. We then find the parallel of the ἐλεῶν in the gift of specific miracles: the healing of those possessed with devils, and the restoration of the sick.²⁵

With diligence. Σπουδή may mean haste, zeal, or diligence. But the latter idea is most definite; zeal was a common duty of all.

With cheerfulness [ἐν ἱλαρότητν, i. e., hilarity]. “With gladness and friendliness,” says Meyer, “the opposite of unwilling and ill-humored behavior.” But the question here is not a conventional good conduct, but that cheerfulness from heaven which, in a despondent world, among other duties, must conquer and banish the demons of sadness.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. On Romans 12:1 ff. As man’s ideal destination was to perceive God aright in His works, and to praise and glorify Him, and, accordingly, the fall consisted in the omission of this living worship, according to Romans 1:20-21; then, as human corruption consisted fundamentally in the false worship of heathen idolatry and of Jewish zeal for the letter, according to chaps1. and2.; as, further, redemption was instituted that God might effect and manifest the real atonement in Christ as the mercy-seat of the Holy of Holies sprinkled with His own blood, according to Romans 3:25; as then, consequently, also Christian saving faith consisted (according to Romans 5:1-2) of free access to God into the Holy of Holies, and is developed in the most varied features of a New Testament call to worship; Song of Solomon, according to the practical part of this Epistle, should believers begin the development of their worship ( Romans 12:1), by finishing the real burnt-offering by the pure presentation of their own bodily life to God’s service. On the passages of heathen and Jewish wise men relating to the moral consecration to God as a self-offering, quoted in Wetstein and Koppe, see Meyer, p453. See the same author on the “rational service,” p453; Tholuck, p 651 ff.; Philippi, p500. It is noteworthy that the “rational service” is recommended to the Roman Church. On the συσχηματίζσθαι and μεταμορφοῦσθαι, see the Exeg. Notes. On αἰὼν οὗτος, see Philippi, p202.

2. Just as the First Epistle of Peter appears as an evangelical prophecy, in opposition to the later false image of Peter, so is it with the Epistle to the Romans; and especially does the expression of the living offering and the reasonable service stand in opposition to the later picture of the life of the Romish Church. The same assertion holds good of the expression with which Paul prescribes for all Christians in Rome, that every one should not think too highly of himself, that we are all members one of another, &c.

3. The first application which the Christian has to make of the principle of his new life is, that he should not arrogantly abuse his charism [gift] in a hierarchical or sectarian way, but should exercise it purely for the service of the Church, by adapting himself to the requirements of the community, and yet preserve his evangelical freedom. The rule is: (1) The whole gift for the Church; (2) Nothing but the gift; see 1 Corinthians12. On the idea of the charism, see the Exeg. Notes; also Tholuck, p655 ff.; p661.—The difference between the ἐλεῶν and him that giveth, applies to an early period in the Church. The support of the poor brethren in the first period was not the alms of charity. On the disposition and character of the increasing offices in the Church, see the Exeg. Notes. For fuller information on the gifts, see my Gesch. des apostol. Zeitalters, p555 ff.; and on the offices, p535 ff.

4. The defective understanding, which is still apparent in many ways, in reference to the rule that prophecy is according to the measure of faith, arises from the want of perception of the lawfulness of organic development in the department of spiritual as well as of natural life. With the lawfulness of development there is combined the development of lawfulness in all the spheres of life. But in the ecclesiastical department of faith, many will know nothing of the development expressed in prophecy, and, in contrast to them, many will know nothing of the lawfulness expressed by the measure of faith. Hence arise such foolish, noisy decisions of the day as this: The confessions of the Church are no longer obligatory! Every one must know what is obligatory for him, according to his own conscience and calling. But no one has any right to deny the validity of what the Church of God, in its real development of life, regards as its duty. At all events, it follows most from the Apostle’s rule, that the meaning of confessions is thoroughly dependent on the meaning of the Holy Scriptures. But then it may be asked, whether a legal development has been committed to the Church in its essential and substantial life, or whether the custom of declaiming against the boundless culpability of the Church, now in doctrine and now in life, has arisen because the tradition of bishops’ caps and doctors’ hats is regarded as the most exact history of the Church.

5. On church polity, as taught in this section. The most remarkable fact is, that so little is said. The doctrines of grace are fully treated; the practical theme is distinctly announced. Then, after an exhortation to humility, comes an exhortation apparently to church officers, yet so indistinct in its distinctions that nothing definite as to the usages of the Roman Church can be based upon it. A warning against the hierarchy of Rome can readily be found in it; but is it not also suggestive of a certain “freedom of adaptation” in the external polity of Christ’s Church? To one who has puzzled over this and parallel passages with the honest purpose of finding out what is the form of church government given jure divino, and failed to discover, in any present form, the counterpart of the apostolic Church, it gives a happy relief from perplexity to conclude that church polity was purposely sketched by the apostles only in “silhouette;” that the details are to be of ecclesiastical rather than of Divine enactment; that, while despotism and anarchy are excluded, both by the nature of the case and the hints given in the New Testament, the external form of the Church of the future may be as different from any organization at present existing, as its spirit will transcend that of mere ecclesiasticism. Mayhap, when the Church shall return to the apostolical spirit, it will find in its outward form the true exegesis of these disputed passages. He who reads prelacy here, reads through colored glasses; and he who finds ruling elders alluded to, must first derive his knowledge of their existence from other sources, and then make his exegesis correspond. If, however, any will not be satisfied until a jure divino form is found, a search into later Epistles will be more profitable; yet that fact of itself admits development in the apostolic age, and who shall say when that development shall cease? Comp. Schaff, History of the Christian Church, i. pp130 ff, and the list of authors there referred to; also a discussion on Lay and Primitive Eldership, in the Amer. Presbyterian Review, Drs. R. D. Hitchcock and E. F. Hatfield, vol. vi. pp253–268, 506–531.—R.]

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

[In the original, the Homiletical Notes are inserted at the close of the chapter.—R.]

Romans 12:1-2. Our thank-offering for God’s mercy1. What sort of a sacrifice should it be? a. Living; b. Holy; c. Well-pleasing to God2. With what disposition should it be presented? a. Not so that we should conform to the world, and therefore not with unconverted hearts; but, b. That our minds should be renewed, that we may continually perceive God’s will aright.—Our rational service1. The sacrifice which is presented, is not the sacrifice of slain beasts, but the living sacrifice of our bodies2. The sanctuary is not the tabernacle or temple, but the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ3. The priests are not Levites, but all believing Christians whose mind is renewed.—The restoration of rational service was a prime advantage conferred by our Reformers.—How rational service, in conformity with its nature, should not be limited to the celebration of Sundays and holy days, but should embrace the whole life.—The exhortation to rational service is still necessary1. In opposition to the Catholic Church; 2. In opposition to certain sects.—Paul exhorts to reasonable worship, but not to the worship of reason.—Reasonable service is not subtilizing service1. The former is living and inspiring; 2. The latter, dead and cold.

Luther: St. Paul here calls all offerings, works, and worship, unreasonable, when performed without faith and the knowledge of God.—The law has a sacrifice of many kinds of irrational beasts, all of which are combined in one sacrifice, in order that we ourselves may become reasonable men.

Starke: Nothing so urges us to what is good as the sense of God’s sweet grace and mercy.—The death of the old man is the life of the new man; where Adam’s wrath ceases, Christ’s meekness begins; and where Adam’s pride goes down, Christ’s humility rises.—Cramer: The Christians of the New Testament are spiritual priests, and bound to sacrifices, but they should sacrifice themselves: laying their obedience ( 1 Samuel 15:22), their lips ( Hosea 14:3), faith ( Philippians 2:17), alms ( Philippians 4:18), mercy ( Hosea 6:6), and all such things, on Jesus Christ, the golden altar, God will accept them.

Spener: It is not enough to do good and leave evil undone, but the Christian must present himself a complete sacrifice to God.—If, in short, we would know at what we should aim in Christianity, it is the Divine will, and therefore the Divine word. Whatever this forbids must be evil, though even the whole world should permit and praise it; and whatever it enjoins is good, though it should be displeasing to every one.—Bengel: They very improperly shirk from this perfect will who are always in search of what they, as they think, are at liberty to do without sin. But their course is just like that of a voyager, who, having lost his reckoning, is constantly in search of the most distant shore ( Romans 12:2).

Roos: God wills every thing that is good, every thing that is well-pleasing to Him, and every thing that is perfect. That is good which harmonizes with God’s commandments; and it is good (καλόν) in so far as it is well-pleasing to Him; and it is perfect if presented to the extent of our capacity ( Romans 12:2).

Gerlach: The Apostle compares the worship of Christians in spirit and in truth ( John 4:24), which he accordingly calls reasonable (comp. 1 Peter 2:2), with the typical and figurative sacrificial worship of the Old Testament ( Romans 12:1-2).

Heubner: The love and mercy of God should be the incentive and source of the Christian sense. This constitutes the characteristic difference between Christian piety and every other kind: it flows from faith and the experience of Divine love in Christ.—The mutual devotedness of God and pious people.—The holiness of the first commandment.—Christian faith is the foundation of Christian piety ( Romans 12:1).—Mastery over the fashion of the world: love for God, and the wish to have only His grace, conquers.—Proper and improper accommodation to circumstances.—Christian life must be something in motion, otherwise it will stink. Accipiunt vitium, ni moveantur, aquœ.

Besser: A Christian man presents his body as a daily offering, when Hebrews, 1. Crucifies that which impedes the spirit willing for God’s service; 2. When he offers all the powers of his body and soul for God’s honor and his neighbor’s good ( Romans 12:1).—Our service is reasonable (“logical”) when it consists in Christian self-sacrifice, because this service is worthy of God, and well-pleasing to Him; just as the pure milk of the gospel ( 1 Peter 2:2) is called reasonable (sincere) because it is the proper nourishment for God’s children.—Paul Speratus preached at Vienna, from this apostolical text, his powerful Reformation sermon on “The Glory of the reasonable Gospel Worship, and the Punishment of the unreasonable Popish Worship” ( Romans 12:1).—We should flee from conformity to the world ( Romans 12:2).

Romans 12:3-8. Humility as the fundamental law of reasonable service in the Church1. It should show itself in no one’s thinking too highly of himself, but in every one’s thinking soberly of himself2. It should be manifested by patient consecration of gifts to the service of the Church ( Romans 12:3-8).—True Christian humility: 1. Its nature; 2. Its source ( Romans 12:3).—The figure of the body and the members; comp 1 Corinthians12. ( Romans 12:4-5).—Healthy church-life. To this belong two things: 1. Unity in Christ; 2. Diversity of gifts ( Romans 12:4-8).—Proof of the necessary connection of unity and diversity in the Church1. Unity without diversity is death; 2. Diversity without unity is disorder ( Romans 12:4-8).—The gift of prophecy1. In what does it consist? 2. What purpose should it serve? Comp. 1 Corinthians 14:3 ( Romans 12:7).—Has any one an office, let him wait on his office. This is said, first of all, of the special care of the poor (διακονία); but then it applies to every office ( Romans 12:7).—What belongs to waiting on our teaching? 1. The appropriation of the material for teaching2. Observation of the proper mode of teaching (method). 3. The consecration of our own persons ( Romans 12:7).—We should give with simplicity—that is: 1. From an unselfish heart; 2. With a single eye ( Matthew 6:22); 3. With a pure hand ( Romans 12:8).—Proper care in government1. It protects order; 2. It regards freedom ( Romans 12:8).—Christian mercy1. Its nature; 2. Its exercise ( Romans 12:8).

Luther: However precious be all prophecy which leads to works, and not simply to Christ, as our comfort, it is nevertheless not like faith; since those who practise it seek the revelation of hobgoblins, and masses, pilgrimages, fasts, and the worship of saints ( Romans 12:7).—Let those be taught who do not know it, and those be admonished who know it already ( Romans 12:7-8).

Starke: Man—a little world; such a glorious, artistic masterpiece of the Almighty Creator, that it cannot be too much contemplated and wondered at ( Romans 12:4).—If you are appointed to the office of preacher, take your hand from the oxen, from the plough, and from your worldly business! Every one to the work to which God has assigned him! Sirach 38:25 ( Romans 12:8).—Cramer: Let no one think that he knows, and can do, every thing alone. If that had been designed, God would only have created one member to the body; Proverbs 22:2 ( Romans 12:4).—The proper touchstone of all exposition of the Holy Scriptures, is the constant and impregnable harmony of the writings of the prophets and apostles; Acts 26:22 ( Romans 12:7).—Hedinger: Not out of the nest! How will you fly without feathers, judge without understanding, boast without a reason, be called pious without proof, be skilful without God? God does every thing, and you nothing. Therefore glorify Him, but not yourself. Be still and humble ( Romans 12:3).—Listen! You are your neighbor’s servant. Happy Hebrews, who, as the servant of his neighbor, lives in love ( Romans 12:4).—Many rules, little work. What may it be? Great cry, little wool. Perform your office well, and regard yourself as unworthy of praise and reward ( Romans 12:7).—Müller: Teaching instructs and lays the foundation, exhortation builds upon the foundation ( Romans 12:8).

Spener: God has given one kind of faith to all—that is, as far as the matter itself is concerned. Therefore Peter says: They who have obtained like (ἰσότιμον) precious faith with us ( 2 Peter 1:1). Therefore we must regard ourselves, mutually, as members of one body ( Romans 12:3).—On Romans 12:7 : Here belong preaching and catechetical instruction (characteristic of Spener).

Roos: Every one should act according to the proportion of his faith, and especially deliver Divine truths—that is, prophesy. That which is beyond them is the work of nature, and is worth nothing ( Romans 12:4).—To the words, “he that teacheth,” and “he that exhorteth,” &c, we must mentally add, “because he has received his gift to do it from the Lord.” Now he should exercise himself in this employment ( Romans 12:7—9).

Gerlach: True humility is, to be conscious of what God gives to it; and it is not a self-acquired possession, but a free gift, and therefore is most intimately one with sobriety and clearness of spirit; while false patience, with an apparently deep self-humiliation, gives man a sullen look at his own heart, and in his gloom it increases the dark spirit of selfishness and pride ( Romans 12:3).—The gift of prophecy should not draw the Christian into the sphere of obscure feelings, where he can no longer distinguish the truth revealed by God from the imaginations of his own mind, but should have a guiding star and rule of conduct for common Christian faith ( Romans 12:7).

Heubner: God has given us, in the human body, an eloquent picture of human society, and of the inward union of all men. [Comp. the address of Menenius Agrippa to the people in monte sacro, Livy2:32] ( Romans 12:4-6).—The sense of Romans 12:7 is: Let no one manifest or affect more fervency or enthusiasm than he has, according to the measure of his faith, according to the degree of his strength and religious conviction. How common it is for one to wish to appear more than he is, or can be! Even religion is brought out for a show, and perverted to a desire to please ( Romans 12:7).—Nothing beyond the Christian’s office is required of him; that is the first thing for him.—Christian fidelity to office as the fruit of faith ( Romans 12:7).

Besser: It is very important to distinguish the measure of faith, and yet not to separate from the measure of gifts ( Romans 12:3).—To prophesy, means to declare God’s mysteries, impelled by the Holy Spirit ( Romans 12:7).—The prophecy of an unbelieving preacher and expositor can, indeed, resemble faith; but we pray the Lord for prophets whose measure of faith holds the rule of faith alive within them, who preach, with hearts believing according to the received measure of faith, the faith which the Church confesses ( Romans 12:7).

The Pericopes. Romans 12:1-6 for the first Sunday after Epiphany. Heubner: The sacred obligations of the Christian as a member of a holy community.—Every Christian should be a minister1. Proof; 2. Blessing.—Christian piety1. Its nature; 2. Its effects.—Buddeus: The real fruits of faith. They are shown: 1. In true service, or proper conduct toward God; 2. In proper conduct toward the world; and, 3. In proper conduct toward ourselves.—Kapff: What is necessary for the offering of a sacrifice well-pleasing to God? 1. That we should no longer seek salvation in ourselves or in the world; 2. That we should fully appropriate Christ as the perfect sacrifice; 3. That we should wholly surrender ourselves to the perfect will of God.—Standt: How far a true Christian must alienate himself from the world1. As a sacrifice on the Lord’s altar; 2. As a work of the Lord’s hand; 3. As a member of the Lord’s body.—Burk: The Christian’s life a daily priestly service1. In the feeling which pervades him; 2. In the denial which he exercises; 3. In the service which he renders.

[Bishop Hall, on Romans 12:2 : Sermon on the fashions of the world. Outline: I. The world. II. The forbidden fashions1. The head2. The eyes: (1) The adulterous eye; (2). The covetous eye; (3) The proud eye; (4) The envious eye3. The forehead—the seat of impudence4. The ear: (1) The deaf ear; (2) The itching ear5. The tongue: (1) The false tongue; (2) The malicious tongue; (3) The ribaldrous tongue6. The palate, or belly7. The back8. The neck and shoulders9. The heart10. The hands and feet. III. The ugliness and disgustiveness of worldly fashions in God’s sight.

[Farindon, on Romans 12:6 : On the proportion of faith. Plato, when asked what God does in heaven, how He busies and employs himself there, how He passes away eternity, answered: “He works geometrically.” So is the “proportion of faith6,” as St. Paul calls it, also geometrical; where we must not compare sum with sum, as they do in a market, or value the gift more or less by telling it; but argue thus: “As what He bestows is in proportion to his estate, so is what I bestow unto mine.” And in this sense, the widow’s two mites were recorded as a more bountiful and a larger present than if Solomon had thrown the wealth of his kingdom into the treasury. It was the faith, therefore, from which their liberality proceeded, which cheered the Apostle in all his distresses; not the gift itself.

[Leighton, on Romans 12:1 : On the sacrifice of the godly. The children of God delight in offering sacrifices to Him; but if they might not know that they were well taken at their hands, it would discourage them much. How often do the godly find it their experience, that, when they come to pray, He welcomes them, and gives them such evidence of His love as they would not exchange for all worldly pleasures! And when this doth not appear as at other times, they ought to believe it. He accepts themselves and their ways when offered in sincerity, though never so mean; though they sometimes have no more than a sigh or a groan, it is most properly a spiritual sacrifice.

[Jeremy Taylor: Religion teaches us to present to God our bodies as well as our souls; for God is the Lord of both; and if the body serves the soul in actions natural, and civil, and intellectual, it must not be eased in the only offices of religion, unless the body shall expect no portion of the rewards of religion, such as are resurrection, reunion, and glorification.

[Charnock, on Romans 12:1 : God, who requires of us a reasonable service, would work upon us by a reasonable operation. God therefore works by way of a spiritual illumination of the understanding, in propounding the creature’s happiness by arguments and reasons, and in a way of a spiritual impression upon the will, moving it sweetly to the embracing that happiness, and the means to it, which He proposes; and, indeed, without this work preceding, the motion of the will could never be regular.

[J. Howe, on Romans 12:1 : Sermon on self-dedication. I. Explanation of the terms in the text. II. How the act enjoined must be performed1. With knowledge and understanding; 2. With serious consideration; 3. With a determined judgment that it ought to be done; 4. With liberty of spirit; 5. With full bent of heart and will; 6. With concomitant acceptance of God; 7. With explicit reference to Christ; 8. With deep humility and self-abasement; 9. With joy and gladness of heart; 10. With candor and simplicity; 11. With full surrender to God; 12. With solemnity. III. Inducements to self-dedication.

[Bishop Hopkins, on Romans 12:2 : On God’s will. This is all contained in the Holy Scriptures, which are a perfect system of precepts given us for the government of our lives here, and for the attaining of eternal life hereafter; and therefore it is likewise called His revealed will; whereas the other, namely, the will of purpose, is God’s secret will, until it be manifested unto us by the events and effects of it.—To be governed by our own or other men’s wills, is usually to be led by passion, and blind, headlong affections; but to give up ourselves wholly to the will of God, is to be governed by the highest reason in the world; for His will cannot but be good, since it is the measure and rule of goodness itself; for things are said to be good because God wills them. And whatsoever He requires of us is pure and equitable, and most agreeable to the dictates of right and illuminated reason; so that we act most like men when we act most like Christians, and show ourselves most rational when we show ourselves most religious.—J. F. H.]

Footnotes