[Having defined the faith-life as sacrificial and sanctified, the apostle next points out the principal virtues which it must manifest in the several spheres of its activities. The first sphere is the church, and the first virtue enjoined therein is humility.] 3 For I say ["For" is epexigetical; i. e., it introduces matter which further explains or elucidates the nature of the required living sacrifice; viz., that the Christian must humble himself. "I say" is mildly imperative], through [by right or authority of] the grace [the apostleship in Christ--1:5; 15:15, 16; Eph. 3:7, 8] that was given me, to every man that is among you [As apostle to the Gentiles, Paul divided his duties into evangelistic and didactic. In discharge of the former he founded churches, and in fulfillment of the latter we find him here instructing a church which he did not found. He addresses his instruction to each member without exception, and though his words in this section are more particularly meant for the more gifted, they also have the man with one talent in mind, and make allowance for no drones in the hive. "Among you" means "in your community"--Meyer], not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but so to think as to think soberly [It is evident that Paul anticipated a spirit of [490] presumption among the Christians at Rome, by reason of their spiritual gifts, like that which he rebuked at Corinth (1 Cor. 12 and 14). It is well known that for the guidance, edification, etc., of the church, and for the converting of the world, spiritual gifts abounded among Christians in that age, and many of these were markedly supernatural or miraculous. These latter were well calculated to excite a false pride in the vainglorious pagans, so recently converted to Christ. As such pride is contrary to the spirit of Christ, and prompts the one yielding to it to save his life for the ends of ambition, rather than to offer it as a living sacrifice on the altar of service, Paul first sets himself to correct it, by commanding each to give to himself that sober, fair self-inspection which will correct overestimates of self and underestimates of one's neighbor], according as God hath dealt to each man a measure of faith. [Here was another check to pride. Sober thought would remind the proud and puffed up that the miraculous gifts were not of their own acquiring, but were gifts of God, and were therefore matters for gratitude rather than for vainglory (comp. 1 Cor. 4:6, 7; 12:11); stewardships to be carefully and conscientiously administered for the benefit of the church and not for selfish display and aggrandizement. "Measure of faith" is an expositor's puzzle. As saving faith is belief in testimony, it is the product of a man's own action, and God does not deal it out, or give it to any one. If he did, how could he consistently condemn men for the lack of it (Mark 16:16), or how could he exhort men to believe (John 20:27)? But even those whose theological errors permit them to look upon faith as a gift, are still in a quandary, for Paul is evidently talking about measure of gifts, and not measure of saving faith, and the passage parallels 1 Cor. 12:11; Eph. 4:7. Barnes says that faith here means religion. Hodge, hitting nearer truth, says that faith is used metonymically for its effects; viz., the various graces or gifts mentioned: "that which is confided to any, [491] and equivalent to gift." Brown declares that it is "the receptive faculty of the renewed soul, the capacity to take gifts." Godet assigns it "the capacity assigned to each man in the domain of faith." These, and many similar passages which might be quoted, show that expositors are forced to recognize that faith here is employed in a very unusual sense, which is near akin to miraculous gifts. Now, as sound exegesis compels us to distinguish between the natural, perpetual gift of the Holy Spirit, bestowed upon every penitent believer at his baptism, and that miraculous gift which descended on the apostles at Pentecost and on the house of Cornelius, which passed away in the apostolic age; so we would here distinguish between natural, saving faith which is the possession of each Christian to this present hour, and miraculous faith, or faith which had power to work miracles, which was unquestionably dealt out as here described, so that different miraculous powers were displayed by different Christians. It was of this faith that Jesus spoke at Matt. 17:20; Luke 17:6, for had he meant the saving faith now possessed by us, it is evident that none of us possess a mustard-seed measure of it. This special, divinely bestowed (comp. Luke 17:5), miraculous faith also vanished with the apostolic age.] 4 For [also epexigetical. See verse 3] even as we have many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office: 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and severally members one of another. [As God gives to each member of the human body its several function for the good of the whole body, so he distributed the miraculous gifts of the Spirit to the different members of the Roman church for the good of the whole church. The gifts were intended to be held in common, so that each member should contribute to the needs of all the others, and in return receive from all the others in mutual helpfulness and interdependence. Difference in office or function, therefore, was not a matter for pride or boasting, for the gift was held in trust for [492] service, and was a gift to the whole body, through the individual member. There is no room for comparison or pride between the related members of one living organism. This comparison of the relationship of Christians to the mutual dependence of the members of the human body is a favorite one with Paul, and he elaborates it at 1 Cor. 12:4-31 and Eph. 4:1-16. See also Eph. 4:25; 5:30.] 6 And having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith [It would be as unreasonable and unwise to give all Christians the same gift as it would be to give all the members of the body the same function. Since, then, the gifts had to differ, and since God dealt them out, each member was to exercise humbly and contentedly that gift which God had portioned out to him, whether, compared with others, proportionately large or small, important or unimportant, for should the ear stubbornly refuse to hear, and set up a determined effort to smell or to see, it would produce anarchy in the body. Let each Christian, therefore, retain the place and station and discharge the work which God has designated as his by the proportion of faith, a miracle-working power, assigned to him. The power of Christ, operating through the Holy Spirit, awoke in Christians talents and endowments unexampled in the world's history. The greatest of these were bestowed upon the apostles. The next in order of importance were the gifts bestowed upon the prophet (1 Cor. 12:28; 14:29-32, 39). His gift was that inspiration of the Holy Spirit which enabled him to proclaim the divine truth, and make known the will and purpose of God, etc., whether as to past, present or future events. His work was supplementary to that of the apostles, and was greatly needed in the days when the New Testament was but partly written, and when even what was written was not yet diffused among the churches. Eventually the prophet ceased (1 Cor. 13:8, 9) and the Scripture took his place. In his day he was as the mouth of [493] God (Ex. 7:1; 4:16; Jer. 15:19; Deut. 18:18); he delivered a divine message at first-hand (Ezek. 2:7-10; 3:4-11; Luke 7:26-29) and was inspired of God--1 Pet. 1:10-12; Acts 2:2-4; 2 Pet. 1:19-21]; 7 or ministry, let us give ourselves to our ministry; or he that teacheth, to his teaching [Most of the spiritual gifts of Paul's day were either wholly supernatural or shaded into the miraculous, and, as miracles have ceased, it becomes hard for us to-day to accurately define gifts which have passed away. "Ministry" (diakonia) is derived from the Greek word for deacon, and probably described such services as deacons (Phil. 1:1; Rom. 16:1) then rendered. The order, "apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, then gifts of hearings, helps, governments" (1 Cor. 12:28), compared with the order here--viz., prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhorting, giving--suggests that miracles of healing may have been part of the ministry (comp. 1 Pet. 4:11), as well as caring for the poor, serving tables, etc. (Acts 6:1-6; 1 Tim. 3:8-13). Teaching was probably much the same as that of to-day, only the teacher had to remember the verbal instruction of the apostles and prophets (2 Thess. 2:15; 2 Tim. 1:13; 2:2; 3:10, 14) until the same was reduced to writing as we now have it in the Scriptures]; 8 or he that exhorteth, to his exhorting: he that giveth, let him do it with liberality [Exhortation is addressed to the feeling as teaching is to the understanding. It is used to stir or excite people, whether of the church or not, to do their duty. As endowed or spiritually gifted Christians of that day spoke with tongues (1 Cor. 12 and 14), both the teacher and the exhorter would be properly classed as among the workers of miracles. After mentioning the exhorter, Paul drops the word "or" (eite), and thus seems to make a distinction between the workers of miracles whom he has been admonishing, and the class of workers who follow, who evidently had no miraculous power whatever. "Liberality" (haplotes) signifies "the disposition not to turn back on oneself; and it is obvious that [494] from this first meaning there may follow either that of generosity, when a man gives without letting himself be arrested by any selfish calculation; or that of simplicity, when he gives without his left hand knowing what his right hand does--that is to say, without any vain going back on himself, and without any air of haughtiness" (Godet). The word may be correctly translated objectively "liberality" (2 Cor. 8:2; 9:11; 9:13; Jas. 1:5); but, used subjectively and more naturally, it signifies singleness of purpose, simplicity, sincerity (Matt. 6:22; Luke 11:34; 2 Cor. 1:12; 11:3; Eph. 6:5; Col. 3:22). The latter meaning is clearly indicated here by the context,^* for Paul is rebuking ostentation (comp. Matt. 6:1-4) and enforcing humility, sober self-thought, subjective investigation, simplicity. The giving was to be with honesty of aim, without ulterior or personal or selfish motive]; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness. [Whether they ruled as elders and deacons in the church, or as parents at home (1 Tim. 3:3-5, 12), they were to do so with a spirit of zealous attention to the work entrusted to them, not with a vainglorious desire to lord it, or to exalt or enrich themselves (1 Thess. 5:12, 13; 1 Tim. 3:4, 5, 12; 5:17; 1 Pet. 5:1-4). Showing mercy is probably best defined at Matt. 25:35, 36. Paul here directs that these acts be performed with cheerfulness. The context shows that he means inward joy, not outward simulation of it; for the whole passage is subjective, not objective. [495] (Comp. 2 Cor. 9:7.) Cheer, like love, must be without hypocrisy, for the one showing mercy has the better end of the blessing (Acts 20:35). The purpose of the entire passage is to enforce the spirit of contented humility upon Christians in all their actions, lest those having superior gifts be thereby betrayed into pride and self-exaltation, and those having inferior gifts be seduced by envy to fall into bitterness of spirit or idleness. "In the school of Christ," says Leighton, "the first lesson of all is, self-denial and humility; yea, it is written above the door, as the rule of entry or admission, 'Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.'"]

[TCGR 490-496]