Roma 1:5

1:5 Through him ¹  we have received grace and our apostleship ²  to bring about the obedience ³  of faith ⁴  among all the Gentiles on behalf of his name.

Roma 1:11

1:11 For I long to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift ⁵  to strengthen you,

Roma 2:8

2:8 but ⁶  wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition ⁷  and do not obey the truth but follow ⁸  unrighteousness.

Roma 4:4

4:4 Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited due to grace but due to obligation. ⁹ 

[1:5]  ¹ tn Grk “through whom.”

[1:5]  ² tn Some interpreters understand the phrase “grace and apostleship” as a hendiadys, translating “grace [i.e., gift] of apostleship.” The pronoun “our” is supplied in the translation to clarify the sense of the statement.

[1:5]  ³ tn Grk “and apostleship for obedience.”

[1:5]  ⁴ tn The phrase ὑπακοὴν πίστεως has been variously understood as (1) an objective genitive (a reference to the Christian faith, “obedience to [the] faith”); (2) a subjective genitive (“the obedience faith produces [or requires]”); (3) an attributive genitive (“believing obedience”); or (4) as a genitive of apposition (“obedience, [namely] faith”) in which “faith” further defines “obedience.” These options are discussed by C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans (ICC), 1:66. Others take the phrase as deliberately ambiguous; see D. B. Garlington, “The Obedience of Faith in the Letter to the Romans: Part I: The Meaning of ὑπακοὴ πίστεως (Rom 1:5; 16:26),” WTJ 52 (1990): 201-24.

[1:11]  ⁵ sn Paul does not mean here that he is going to bestow upon the Roman believers what is commonly known as a “spiritual gift,” that is, a special enabling for service given to believers by the Holy Spirit. Instead, this is either a metonymy of cause for effect (Paul will use his own spiritual gifts to edify the Romans), or it simply means something akin to a blessing or benefit in the spiritual realm. It is possible that Paul uses this phrase to connote specifically the broader purpose of his letter, which is for the Romans to understand his gospel, but this seems less likely.

[2:8]  ⁶ tn This contrast is clearer and stronger in Greek than can be easily expressed in English.

[2:8]  ⁷ tn Grk “those who [are] from selfish ambition.”

[2:8]  ⁸ tn Grk “are persuaded by, obey.”

[4:4]  ⁹ tn Grk “not according to grace but according to obligation.”