Commentary on Romans, Biblical exegesis 1 · Chapter 1 · Section 2 – Section 3
2. The Argument and parts of the Chapter.
IN this Chapter the Apostle after the salutation, and exordium of the Epistle, falleth to prooue iustification by faith against the Gentiles: first, shewing their manifold sinnes, and bad works, whereby they were so farre from beeing iustified, that thereby they incurred euerlasting damnation.
The parts are 1. the inscription to v. 8. 2. the exordium or introduction to the matter, to v. 17. 3. the proposition and argument concerning iustification by faith, v. 17.18.4. the confirmation or proofe, tow. 31.
1. The inscription or salutation sheweth, 1. the person that saluteth and sendeth greeting, which is Paul, described by his office and calling, in generall, a seruant of Iesus Christ: in speciall an Apostle, to what ende, to preach the Gospel, v. 1. which is set forth, 1. by the antiquitie, v. 2.2. the excellencie of the subiect thereof, Christ Iesus: who is described by the singularitie of his person, God and man, v. 3.4. and by his office set forth in generall, by the worke of our redemption, which was finished by his sanctification and resurrection, v. 4. and in speciall, he was the author of the conuersion and calling of the Apostle, v. 5.3. by the effect of the Gospel, to winne obedience to the faith among the Gentiles.
2. The persons saluted are the Romanes, whom he setteth forth by their externall condition, generall, they were Gentiles, speciall, at Rome, and spirituall, what they were, called, by whom, by Christ, to what, to be Saints, v. 6.7.
3. The salutation it selfe, v. 7. he wisheth vntounto them grace, and peace.
2. In the exordium or proeme. 1. there is his gratulation or giuing of thanks for their faith, v. 8.2. the testification of his louelove toward them confirmed by an oath: in which his louelove is expressed by two effects, 1. his earnest prayer to God to come vntounto them, v. 9.10. 2. his longing desire in himselfe to see them, v. 11. with the ende, v. 12.3. a preoccupation of a question, or purgation of himselfe, that he yet came not vntounto them: where he sheweth 1. the lets of his purpose v. 13.2. his purpose, which yet he continued to come vntounto thē: which is confirmed both by the end, to hauehave some fruit among them, v. 13.2. and by his calling, in generall, he was a debter to all the Gentiles, who are set forth by distribution, v. 14. in speciall, and so consequently he was readie to preach the Gospel vntounto them: And by this mention made of the Gospel, he taketh occasion to passe vntounto the matter.
3. The third part is the proposition: that iustification is by faith: where we hauehave first the occasion, whereupon he bringeth it in: I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: then the proposition it selfe: that the Gospell is the power of God to saluation to euerie one that beleeueth, v. 16. and the proofe thereof taken from the Prophet Habacuke, v. 17.
4. The fourth part is the confirmation of this proposition, that men are iustified by faith: which he sheweth by this disiunction: they are either iustified by faith, or by workes: but not by workes: which he prooueth by this distribution: first that the Gentiles cannot be iustified by workes, in this chapter to the 17. v. of the next: then, that neither the Iewes can chalenge any thing by their workes, thence to the ende of the 2. chapter: the Gentiles cannot be iustified by their workes, because by their workes beeing full of impietie and iniquitie, they are made guiltie of eternall death, and of the wrath of God: the argument standeth thus: they which are full of impietie and iniquitie, are subiect to the wrath of God: this proposition is expressed, v. 18. But the Gentiles are such, full of impietie and iniquitie: Ergo: the assumption or second part is prooued distributiuely: first their impietie is shewed toward God, to v. 28. then their iniquitie toward men. v. 32.
In the proofe of their impietie: first the sinne is shewed, then the punishment: their sinne, in that wittingly and against their knowledge, they depraued the worship of God: their knowledge is set forth both by the light of nature in them, v. 19. and by the creatures, v. 20. their deprauation of Gods worship, is expressed, in the causes, their vnthankefulnesse, which brought forth vanitie of minde, and foolishnesse, v. 21.22. the effect, in worshipping corruptible things in stead of God, v. 23. then the punishment followeth, they were giuen vp to their hearts lusts, v. 24.
2. As they depraued Gods worship wittingly against their knowledge, so they did it willingly: their sinne is shewed, in their voluntarie forsaking of the Creator, v. 25. their punishment, in beeing giuen ouer both women and men to vile affections, v. 26.27.
Then followeth the demonstration of their iniquitie: which consisted, 1. both in doing things not comely, which is declared, both by shewing the cause thereof, then beeing giuen ouer to a reprobate mind, procured by their contempt, and wilfull neglect of the knowledge of God, v. 28. and by a particular enumeration of the diuerse sinnes, which they committed: the seuerall distribution whereof see afterwards, qu. 72. 2. they did not onelyonly commit such things themselues, but they also fauoured and patronized such as did them, v. 32. so then the conclusion must followe, that the Gentiles made themselues, by those their euill workes worthie of death, and so consequently thereby depriued themselues of life and saluation.
3. The questions and doubts discussed.
Quest. 1. Why Paul setteth his name before this epistle.
1. Chrysostome giueth this reason, why neither Moses prefixeth his name before his bookes, not yet the Euangelists, Mathew, Marke, Luke, Iohn, before their gospels, ille quippe praesentibus scribentes, &c. for they writing vntounto these which were present, had no cause to set to their names: But Paul, quia longe remotis scribebat, &c. because he did write to those, which were a farre off, had reason to set to his name, after the manner of epistles. 2. But Paul for an other reason doth suppresse his name, writing to the Hebrewes, quia non erunt amico in Paulum animo, because they had no friendly minde toward Paul: and therefore as soone as they had heard his name, they would presently hauehave reiected the whole epistle, Chrysostome. 3. And S. Paul beeing appointed to be the doctor of the Gentiles, vseth rather to instruct them by epistles, then by sermons, as the Prophets, or commentaries, as the Euangelists, or dialogues, as lob: because he did write vntounto many Churches: And so as the forme of epistles requireth, he setteth his name in the inscription, that it may be knowne whose epistle it was. Hyperius.
Quest. 2. Of the two names of the Apostle, Saul, and Paul, what they signifie.
1. Concerning Saul: Ambrose in his commentarie thinketh it signifieth vnquiet, restles, alluding vntounto the Greeke word foreign, which signifieth the troublesome motion of the waues of the Sea: and the letter υ beeing put vntounto it, it maketh foreign, Erasm. annot. But Saul beeing an Hebrewe name, the deriuation thereof must be taken from the Hebrewe: Saul then is deriued of the Hebrewe word, shaal, and it signifieth asked or begged, Erasm. ibid. Tolet.
2. Of the deriuation of the name Paul, there are diuerse opinions. 1. Hierome sometime thinketh, that it should come of the Hebrewe word pelah, which signifieth wonderfull, comment. in Philemon. 2. Some will hauehave it rather deriued of paghal, which signifieth to doe, or worke, because he was Gods workman, and the Lord wrought by him as his instrument, Tolet. 3. Remigius saith, it signifieth in the Hebrewe os tuba, the mouth of a trumpet: for so S. Paul was the Lords trumpet to found forth the gospell, Gorrham. but Aretius saith well, ex proprijs linguis derinatio nominum petenda, that the deriuation of names must be fetched from the proper languages: from the Hebrewe tongue then, words which are not Hebrewe, cannot take their deriuation. 4. Some doe make it a Greeke name, and to be deriued of foreign, quietnes, of the word foreign, to rest, to be quiet. But Aretius well noteth, that Paul is found to be no proper name among the auncient Greek writers, Homer, Hesiode, Herodotus, Thucydides: but onelyonly in the late Greeke historians, Plutarke, Appion, Dion, which turned the Latine histories into Greeke. 5. Augustine thinketh that it is a Latine name deriued of the aduerbe paulum, little: whereby S. Paul signified his humilitie: and herein Bed… followeth Augustine. 6. But their coniecture is best, that take it to be a proper name vsed among the Romanes: as Paulus Aemilius and other famous Romanes were called by this name, Beza.