Romans 1:16 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Romans 1:16
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.
a good message · noun — accusative singular neuter
Christ
χριστοῦ·christou
G5547
anointed · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
for
γὰρgar
G1063
properly · conjunction
is
ἐστίestí
G2076
he (she or it) is
power
δύναμιςdunamis
G1411
force (literally or figuratively) · noun — nominative singular feminine
God
θεοῦtheou
G2316
figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
unto
εἰςeis
G1519
to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
salvation
σωτηρίανsōtērian
G4991
rescue or safety (physically or morally) · noun — accusative singular feminine
one
παντὶpanti
G3956
all · adjective — dative singular masculine
that
τὸto
G3588
the (sometimes to be supplied · article — accusative singular neuter
believeth
πιστεύοντι,pisteuonti
G4100
to have faith (in · verb — present active participle, dative singular masculine
Jew
ἸουδαίῳIoudaiō
G2453
Judæan · noun — dative singular masculine, a people name
first
πρῶτονprōton
G4412
firstly (in time
and
τεte
G5037
both or also (properly · conjunction
also
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
Greek
Ἕλληνι.Hellēni
G1672
a Hellen (Grecian) or inhabitant of Hellas · noun — dative singular masculine, a people or place name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Mark 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ash…
2 Timothy 1:8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel ac…
1 Peter 4:16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
2 Timothy 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is…
Psalms 40:9-10 I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest.
Luke 9:26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in hi…
1 Thessalonians 1:5-6 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of me…
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Romans 1:16-18
Paul here enters upon a large discourse of justification, in the latter part of this chapter laying down his thesis, and, in order to the proof of it, describing the deplorable condition of the Gentile world. His transition is very handsome, and like an orator: he was ready to preach the gospel at Rome, though a place where the gospel was run down by those that called themselves the wits; for, saith he, I am not ashamed of it, Rom 1:16. There is a great deal in the gospel which such a man as Paul might be tempted to be ashamed of, especially that he whose gospel it is was a man hanged upon a tree, that the doctrine of it was plain, had little in it to set it off among scholars, the professor…
For I am not ashamed of the gospel--(The words, "of Christ," which follow here, are not found in the oldest and best manuscripts). This language implies that it required some courage to bring to "the mistress of the world" what "to the Jews was a stumbling-block and to the Greeks foolishness" (Co1 1:23). But its inherent glory, as God's life-giving message to a dying world, so filled his soul, that, like his blessed Master, he "despised the shame."
for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth--Here and in Rom 1:17 the apostle announces the great theme of his ensuing argument; SALVATION, the one overwhelming necessity of perishing men; this revealed IN THE GOSPEL ME…
I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ - This text is best illustrated by Isa 28:16; Isa 49:23, quoted by the apostle, Rom 10:11 : For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him, shall not be ashamed; i.e. they shall neither be confounded, nor disappointed of their hope. The Jews, by not believing on Jesus Christ, by not receiving him as the promised Messiah, but trusting in others, have been disappointed, ashamed, and confounded, from that time to the present day. Their expectation is cut off; and, while rejecting Christ, and expecting another Messiah, they have continued under the displeasure of God, and are ashamed of their confidence. On the other hand, those who have believed on…
The Church Fathers
Paul says that even if, in the very largest of cities, the preacher of the cross of Christ will be mocked by the ignorant, he is not to be ashamed. For if the Son of God bore the shame of the cross on our behalf, how could it not be out of place for us to be ashamed at the Lord's suffering for us?
And so in the passage where he says: "I am not ashamed of the gospel (of Christ): for it is the power of god unto salvation to every one that beheveth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek; for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith," he undoubtedly ascribes both the gospel and salvation to Him whom (in accordance with our heretic's own distinction) I have called the just God, not the good one.
Those who objected to the Christian gospel ridiculed it, mocking it because of its absurdity. For there is nothing more ridiculous than the word of someone who preaches that the Son of God was born and brought up by Jews, who rejects neither the cross nor death, who says moreover not only that Christ rose from the dead but that he ascended to heaven as Lord of all, that he will raise everyone else from the dead, and other things the apostles preached. The pagans mocked these things and ridiculed them, thinking that they would make the apostles shut up. Therefore St. Paul, feeling obliged to reply to this opinion of the apostles, began his teaching thus: "I am not ashamed of the gospel."
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Fall of man — An expression probably borrowed from the Apocryphal Book of Wisdom, to express the fact of the revolt of our first parents from God, and the consequent sin and misery in which they and all their…
Gospel — A word of Anglo-Saxon origin, and meaning “God’s spell”, i.e., word of God, or rather, according to others, “good spell”, i.e., good news. It is the rendering of the Greek evangelion, i.e., “good…
Jew — The name derived from the patriarch Judah, at first given to one belonging to the tribe of Judah or to the separate kingdom of Judah (2 Kings 16:6; 25:25; Jer. 32:12; 38:19; 40:11; 41:3), in…
Romans, Epistle to the — This epistle was probably written at Corinth. Phoebe (Rom. 16:1) of Cenchrea conveyed it to Rome, and Gaius of Corinth entertained the apostle at the time of his writing it (16:23; 1 Cor. 1:14), and…
For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ,.... The reason why he was so ready and willing to preach it, even where he ran the greatest risk of his character and life, was, because it was "the Gospel of Christ" he preached, and he was not ashamed of it. This supposes that some were, though the apostle was not, ashamed of the Gospel; as all such are who hide and conceal it, who have abilities to preach it, and do not: or who preach, but not the Gospel; or who preach the Gospel only in part, who own that in private, they will not preach in public, and use ambiguous words, of doubtful signification, to cover themselves; who blend the Gospel with their own inventions, seek to please men, and l…
Romans 1:16-17
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.
16. Non enim pudet me Evangelii Christi, quandoquidem potentia est Dei, in salutem omni credenti, Iud?oprimum, deinde Gr?co.
17. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
17. Nam justitia Dei in eo revelatur ex fide in fidem, sicut scriptum est, Justus ex fide sua vivet.
16. I am not indeed ashamed, etc. This is an anticipation of an objection; for he declares beforehand, that he cared not for the taunts of the ungodly; and he thus provid…
Paul consistently emphasizes that the Good News is for everyone. He also insists that God first chose the Jews to be his people, made promises to them, and gave them a unique place in the continuing plan of God (3:1-8; 9:1-5). They have a special responsibility to respond to the Good News and will be judged first if they turn away (2:9-10).
Salvation · The gospel is the power of God to — The gospel is the power of God to
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
