Romans 1:2Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Do you see how clearly the name and manner of the Gospel are expressed in the Old Testament? It is proclaimed, he says, not only by words, but also by deeds.

Then, the Gospel is not something human, but divine, ineffable, and beyond every nature. Since they called it an innovation, Paul proves that the Gospel is older than the Greeks, that is, than paganism, and had already been described by the prophets.

If God did not reveal it from the beginning, this was the fault of those who would not attend to it. Whoever wished to hear did hear. "Your father Abraham," it is said, "rejoiced that he would see My day; he saw it and was glad" (Jn 8:56).

"Which God promised beforehand through His prophets." Since that preaching was reviled as an innovation, he shows that it is older than paganism and had already been described by the prophets.

Even the word "gospel" is found in David, who says: "The Lord will give the word; great is the company of those who proclaim the good tidings" (Ps 67:12). It is also in Isaiah: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who proclaims peace" (Is 52:7).

"In the holy Scriptures." The prophets not only spoke, but also wrote and depicted things by actions. Abraham did so through Isaac, Moses through the serpent, the lifting up of his hands, and the slaying of the lamb.

The preaching concerning Christ is not something recent. On the contrary, it was preserved in the foreknowledge of the Father and was foretold by the voice of the saints, in the Psalms, in the book of Isaiah, and in the good tidings given through Gabriel. For God foretold and proclaimed the birth of Christ, and the word concerning Him among the holy prophets was long-standing.

Here it is testified that the prophets were from the Jewish people, through whom the Gospel had been promised beforehand. By faith in this Gospel, believers are justified.

There were also prophets who were not His. In them too one may find things they had heard about Christ and had prophesied. Such things are said about the Sibyl, though I find this hard to believe.

By speaking of the holy Scriptures, Paul wants to make clear that the writings of the pagans are full of superstitious idolatry. They should not be accepted as holy, even if something relating to Christ is found in them.

The Sibyl was an ancient Greek cultic prophetess, to whom some authors attributed prophecies about Christ; compare Virgil, Eclogues 4.4.

As this is so, Romans, the Gospel is one, and the Evangelist is one. From of old the sacred books of the prophets bore witness to Him, giving the promise concerning the Son.

"Which He promised beforehand." To show that the unshakable and indestructible hope of faith has been given in Christ, Paul says that His Gospel was promised by God.

And in order to teach them before his arrival that Christ is the perfect guarantor of life, the Apostle shows that testimony has been given concerning Him. The Apostle Peter bears witness to the same thing: "There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

"Through His prophets." To indicate more clearly that the coming of Christ is saving, he also named the men through whom God gave His promise. Through them it might be seen how true and great the promise is.

For no one announces a trivial matter through great heralds.

For the Old Testament is full of predictions concerning the Lord. The Apostle did not simply say "holy," but first teaches that he acknowledges the Old Testament Scripture as divine. Then he recognizes every other writing as alien. For only the Scripture inspired by God is profitable. He also declares the distinctive features of the promise.

Paul said, "through His prophets," because there are also prophets of idols. By using the word "His," he separated prophets from prophets, and the Gospel from gospels. There are many gospels, but they are mortal and passing. The Gospel of Christ, through the holy Scriptures, promises the tasting of eternal good things. Therefore they are the prophets of Him, and not of another god, the prophets of the Father of Christ.

Further, lest anyone think that he is preaching something other than what had already been preached to the Romans, the Apostle says that his gospel is precisely what God promised to men through His prophets (1 Pet. 1:10-12).

The inscription: "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an Apostle, set apart for the gospel of God," promised beforehand in the prophetic writings, concerning the God-man, "who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh. And was declared the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." This inscription recalls the similar one in the Epistle to the Galatians: "I, Paul, chosen not by men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ."

Following the example of the other Apostles, the Apostle Paul begins the epistle by giving his name and apostolic dignity. He does not exalt himself by this, but points to his right to preach concerning that Messiah whom the prophets had foretold.

They proclaimed Him as the One who would be born of the seed of David (Is 53), and who appeared in the world as the Only-begotten Son of God. By His holiness He not only did not see corruption, but rose from the dead.

By this He showed the fullness of His majesty. Thus the Apostle writes not in his own name, but as a servant of Christ the Savior, who came to call all nations to salvation.

All these words may be replaced by this phrase: in the gospel promised beforehand.

Attention has already been sufficiently awakened by what he said of himself, namely that he was chosen from above and sent for the gospel of God. Now the Apostle strengthens it by saying that his gospel is not new, but was appointed from of old.

The thought that a teaching is new shakes confidence in it and requires stronger proofs from the one who offers it. By contrast, the indication that it was foretold long ago disposes the mind to obedience.

For this reason it has always been, and remains, one of the strongest proofs of the divinity of Christian revelation that it was foretold by the Prophets. Saint Paul often used this proof.