Paul, bondman of Jesus Christ, [a] called apostle, separated to God's glad tidings,
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The Apostle's Threefold Title
Romans opens not with greeting but with credentials. In a single verse Paul stacks three descriptions of himself — bondman, called apostle, separated one — and ties each to the supreme subject of the letter: "the gospel of God."
A Bondman of Jesus Christ
Paul's first claim is one of total ownership. He belongs to a Person, not to an institution.
C. Stanley"Paul, a bond servant of Jesus Christ." He was not a bond servant of any society or party, but of Jesus Christ. How few can follow Paul in these seven words, and yet how important it should be so, if service is to be acceptable to Christ! Have you thought of this as to the whole course of your life and service? It will make all the difference in the day of reward.
This title was not Paul's alone; it should belong to every believer, even though it was lived out by him with a depth few have matched.
William Kelly"Bondman of Jesus Christ" is the boast of one who knew the true holy liberty of grace as perhaps no other heart was taught and enjoyed so well. This was a general designation and should be true, is true, of each Christian.
A Called Apostle
The next phrase, often translated "called to be an apostle," is more exactly "an apostle by calling." Paul's office did not come through human channels.
C. Stanley"Called to be an apostle" should be, "an apostle by calling." When the Lord Jesus called him, it was not that he might go to the other apostles, and be educated, or prepared, or ordained to be an apostle; no, he was constituted an apostle at once, and without any human authority whatever; he was called to act and preach as an apostle because he was one, not that he might be one.
Kelly underlines the same point by ruling out every counterfeit source of authority:
William KellyApostleship was not successional like a Jewish priest, nor elect of the assembly like the seven who cared for tables at Jerusalem: still less was it a question of self-assumption. He was an apostle by calling as the saints were called.
Hamilton Smith adds that this called office shaped the very character of Paul's work:
Hamilton SmithNot only was Paul the bondman of Jesus Christ in common with many others, but, by special calling, he was constituted an Apostle. Therefore his service had an apostolic character as one specially sent forth to announce glad tidings.
Separated Unto the Gospel of God
The third title points to a public setting-apart, which Stanley links with Acts 13 — Paul had already been an apostle when the Holy Spirit then separated him for a particular mission. The word "separated" carries great weight:
C. StanleyNow this word, "separated," goes a great way. Separated from the world, and from the law, from Judaism, to the glorious good news of God. It is not the subject of the church in this epistle, but the gospel of God. The church was not the subject of promise, but the gospel was… The gospel is not concerning, our feelings or doings, but "concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." May that blessed One be ever the beginning and the end of the gospel of God which we preach!
Kelly draws out the wonder of the phrase "God's gospel" itself:
William KellyGod's glad tidings is a precious truth, the direct and explicit contradiction of man's natural thought of Him who gives to all liberally and upbraids not. Doubtless this can only be in and through Christ; still it is God who loves, gives, sends, it is His gospel. What a blessed starting-point for the apostle! What an exhaustless fountain-head!
The Verse in the Frame of the Epistle
Verse 1 is the doorway into a sustained teaching of the gospel. As one writer notes, Paul does not merely preach it here — he unfolds it.
C. H. MackintoshI find teaching the gospel in Rom. 1 — 8, just as I find him preaching the gospel in Acts 13 or Acts 17. This is of the very last importance at all times, inasmuch as there are almost sure to be a number of what we call "exercised souls" at our public preachings, and these need an emancipating gospel — the full, clear, elevated, resurrection gospel.
Summary
- Bondman first. Paul belongs wholly to Jesus Christ — not to a society, party, or human authority — and this title should equally mark every Christian.
- Apostle by calling. His office came directly from the Lord, not by succession, election, or self-assumption; he was constituted an apostle to act, not to become one.
- Separated. The word reaches far — separated from the world, from the law, from Judaism, and unto the good news of God for service.
- God's gospel. The subject of the epistle is the gospel of God, promised in the Scriptures and centered wholly on His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord — not on our feelings or works.
- Doorway to Romans 1–8. Verse 1 introduces a sustained teaching of the gospel, an "emancipating," resurrection gospel for souls who need clear ground before God.