Ver. 15 f. τολμηροτέρως . . . ἀπὸ µέρους: the description does not apply to the letter as a whole, but only to parts of it: Gifford refers to vi. 12-21, xi. 17 ff., xii. 3, and especially chap. xiv. throughout. ὡς ἐπαναμιμνήσκων ἡμᾶς: here only in N.T. There is the same courteous tone as in i. 11 f. He does not presume to teach them what they do not know, but only to suggest to their memory what they must know already but may be overlooking. διὰ τὴν χάριν τὴν δοθεῖσάν por: this is the real justifi- cation of his writing. As ini. 5, xii. 3, the χάριν is that of Apostleship. It is not wantonly, but in the exercise of a Divine vocation, and a divinely-bestowed competence for it, that he writes. eis τὸ εἶναί µε λειτουργὸν Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ εἰς τὰ ἔθνη: there is a certain emphasis on
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τὴν δοθεῖσάν por ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ, 16. eis τὸ εἶναί µε λειτουργὸν Ιησοῦ
i Here only. On the verse cf. Phil. Z
Χριστοῦ εἰς τὰ ἔθνη, ' ἱερουργοῦντα τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵνα γένηται ἡ προσφορὰ τῶν ἐθνῶν εὐπρόσδεκτος, ἡγιασμένη ἐν Πνεύματι Ἁγίῳ.
k Ch. v.7; 17. ἔχω οὖν ” καύχησιν ἐν Χριστῷ ᾿Ιησοῦ τὰ πρὸς Θεόν: 18. οὐ γὰρ
2 Cor. x. 12; Xi. 21.
* rohujow ὃ λαλεῖν τι ὧν οὐ κατειργάσατο Χριστὸς δι’ ἐμοῦ, ets ὑπακοὴν
1 For γενηται Weiss, against all edd., reads γενηθη with B. The change of this into the commoner form γενηται is an emendation current in all the groups into
which the MSS. can be classified.
2 After ουν ins. την BCDF; om. ALP; W. and H. bracket.
For προς θεον
tead προς τον θεον with ΝΑΒΟΡΕΙ, and all edd.
3 For τολµησω B has τολµω, which W. and Ἡ. put in margin. The fut. is re- tained by most edd. with SACDFGLP. For Aadew ti read tt λαλειν with SABCDF,
eis τὰ ἔθνη, and the whole sentence would be inept, as a justification of Paul fer writing to Rome, unless the Roman Church had been essentially Gentile. For λειτουργὸν see note on xiii. 6. The word here derives from the context the priestly associations which often attach to it in the LXX. But obviously it has no bearing on the ques- tion as to the “sacerdotal’’ character of the Christian ministry. The offering which Paul conceives himself as present- ing to God is the Gentile Church, and the priestly function in the exercise of which this offering is made is the preach- ing of the Gospel. Paul describes him- self as ἱερουργοῦντα τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ θεοῦ sacerdotis modo evangelium ad- ministvantem. Fritzsche (on whose note all later expositors depend) explains the sacervdotis modo by accurate et religiose ; just as a Levitical offering was not acceptable to God unless the prescribed ceremonial was precisely observed, so the. offering of the Gentiles at God’s altar would be unacceptable unless Paul showed a priestlike fidelity in his minis- try of the Gospel. But this is to wring trom a word what an intelligent appre- ciation of the sentence as a whole, and especially of its pictorial character, re- fuses to yield: the clause ἵνα γένηται . +» εὐπρόσδεκτος depends not on ἵερουρ- γοῦντα, but on the whole conception of Paul’s ministry, i.¢., on εἰς τὸ εἶναί µε λειτουργὸν κ.τ.λ. For ἤ προσφορὰ τῶν ἐθνῶν, genitive of object, cf. Heb. x. το. This great offering is acceptable to God (x Pet. ii. 5) because it is ἡγιασμένη consecrated to Him ἐν wvevpati ἁγίφ. Those who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, as the result of Paul’s sacred ministry of the Gospel, received the Holy Spirit: this (as distinct from the ceremonial ‘‘ without spot or blemish’’)
was the ground of their acceptance (cf. κα, τι].
Ver. 17. ἔχω οὖν καύχησιν: I have therefore ground of boasting. In spite of the apologetic tone of ver. 14 f. Paul is not without confidence in writing to the Romans. But there is no personal as- sumption in this; for he has it only in Christ Jesus, and only τὰ πρὸς τὸν θεόν in his relations to God. Cf. Heb. ii. 17, σος