fruit among them, as among other Gentiles. To have fruit, commonly means to derive advantage from; ch. 6 : 21,22, " what fruit had ye," i. e. w\yd.t advantage had ye. Many give the words this sense here, and understand the apostle as referring to personal benefits of some kind, which he wished to derive from preaching to them. But it is much more natural to understand him as referring to that fruit which, as Calvin remarks, the apostles were sent to gather. John 15 : 16, "I have chosen you that ye might go and bring forth fruit (i. e. produce great results), and that your fruit should remain."
(14) I am debtor both to the Greeks and the Barbarians, both the wise ana the unwise. That is, " I am officially bound to preach to all classes of men." Those whom he calls in the first clause Greeks and Barbarians, he calls in the second wise and unwise. As the Greeks called all fo- reigners Barbarians, and as most other nations were uncivilized, the term barbarian was often used as equivalent to rude, uncultivated. Pro- perly, however, it means a foreigner, one of another language, especially in reference to the Greeks : for the Romans were called and called them- selves barbarians, until the Greek language and literature prevailed among them. Paul uses it in its original sense in 1 Cor. 14: 11, "I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me," i. e. we shall be as foreigners to each other, if one uses a tongue unknown to the other. It is used, as here, for those destitute of Roman or Jewish culture. Acts 28: 2, 4, and Col. 3: 11. It is said to have been first employed as a term of reproach by the Greeks in reference to the Persians after their wars with that people.
(15) So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. As the apostle's obligation extended to all classes, he was prepared to preach even at Rome, where he might expect the great- est opposition and contempt. Our translation of the first clause of this verse is the same as that given by Grotius. It may, however, be ren- dered so, my desire is, or so, lam ready.
(16) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth ; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. We have here the theme of the whole epistle. The gos- pel proposes salvation on the condition of faith ; and it is universally applicable to the Greek as well as the Jew. These ideas are presented more fully in the two following verses. Thus naturally does the apostle introduce the great topics of discussion, the method of salvation, and the persons to whom it may be proposed. The connexion between this and the preceding verse is obvious. The reason why he was ready to preach the gospel, even in the proud capital of the world, was that it is divinely efficacious in securing the salvation of men. It does what no other sys- tem ever did or can accomplish. The words rendered the power of God may be taken for divinely efficacious ; better, however, as expressing the idea of that through which the power of God is manifested. Acts 8:10. 1 Cor. 1 : 18, 24. 'The gospel is an instrument, in the hands of God,