1:7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called [to be] saints: {o} Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
(o) God's free good will: by peace the Hebrews mean a prosperous success in all things.
1:7 To all that are in Rome. To all Christians in Rome. The letter is addressed to the church in the great imperial city. Rome was the capital of the world, the home of Nero, the emperor, the largest city on earth, supposed to contain about two million inhabitants.
Saints. All Christians were called saints by the New Testament writers. Any one consecrated to a holy life is a saint.
Grace to you and peace. This is the ordinary New Testament Christian salutation. It is the expression of a prayer that God the Father and our Lord may bestow favor and peace upon them. See 1Co 1:3 2Co 1:2 Ga 1:3 Eph 1:2 Col 1:2 1Th 1:1 2Th 1:2 Phm 1:3.
From God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. The Father is the source, and our Lord Jesus Christ the mediator and procurer of these blessings. It is plain that Paul was not a Unitarian. Let it be noted that this section, written, as admitted by skeptical critics, less than thirty years after the crucifixion, by Paul, to a body of believers at a distance from Judea, affirms the main facts of the Gospels: (1) That Jesus was the Son of God. (2) That he took upon himself our nature. (3) That he displayed divine power. (4) That he was raised from the dead. (5) That men are saved by the obedience of the faith.
1:7 To all that are in Rome - Most of these were heathens by birth, Ro 1:13, though with Jews mixed among them. They were scattered up and down in that large city, and not yet reduced into the form of a church. Only some had begun to meet in the house of Aquila and Priscilla. Beloved of God - And from his free love, not from any merit of yours, called by his word and his Spirit to believe in him, and now through faith holy as he is holy. Grace - The peculiar favour of God. And peace - All manner of blessings, temporal, spiritual, and eternal. This is both a Christian salutation and an apostolic benediction. From God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ - This is the usual way wherein the apostles speak, God the Father, God our Father. Nor do they often, in speaking of him, use the word Lord, as it implies the proper name of God, Jehovah. In the Old Testament, indeed, the holy men generally said, The Lord our God; for they were then, as it were, servants; whereas now they are sons: and sons so well know their father, that they need not frequently mention his proper name. It is one and the same peace, and one and the same grace, which is from God and from Jesus Christ. Our trust and prayer fix on God, as he is the Father of Christ; and on Christ, as he presents us to the Father.
1:1-7 The doctrine of which the apostle Paul wrote, set forth the fulfilment of the promises by the prophets. It spoke of the Son of God, even Jesus the Saviour, the promised Messiah, who came from David as to his human nature, but was also declared to be the Son of God, by the Divine power which raised him from the dead. The Christian profession does not consist in a notional knowledge or a bare assent, much less in perverse disputings, but in obedience. And all those, and those only, are brought to obedience of the faith, who are effectually called of Jesus Christ. Here is, 1. The privilege of Christians; they are beloved of God, and are members of that body which is beloved. 2. The duty of Christians; to be holy, hereunto are they called, called to be saints. These the apostle saluted, by wishing them grace to sanctify their souls, and peace to comfort their hearts, as springing from the free mercy of God, the reconciled Father of all believers, and coming to them through the Lord Jesus Christ.
