1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.

Paul- a Hebrew name that means quiet in Greek and small in Latin.
servant- name for humility, so others may follow the same.
Jesus- the savior to those who are rightly servants.  To serve him is to reign.
called- by eternal election and temporal mission.
apostle- sent as ambassador and messenger.
separated- from the womb of the Synagogue in which he died.
for the Gospel- for proclaiming the Gospel.  This was his office.
St. Bede. In the Acts of the Apostles, it seems it was the thirteenth year after the Lord's passion that Saul received, with Barnabas, the office of apostle, and the name Paul.  In the fourteenth year, in accord with the agreement with James, Cephas, and John, Paul advanced to the office of teacher of the Gentiles.

St. Augustine. For no other reason Paul chose that name to show that he was small and the least of the apostles.  At first Saul, afterwards Paul: that is, at first proud, afterwards humble.

St. Ambrose. They say that Paul did this in the same way as the holy apostles did, who were called by a change of name after moving on in virtues, so that they became known by a new name, such as Cephas and the sons of Thunder.

St. Jerome. He is called Paul from his the first goods that he brought to the Church.  In other words from Sergius Paul, the proconsul whom he converted at Cyprus, he took the name himself.

Origen. In Scripture, we find others with 2 or 3 names, like Solomon, who is called Ecclesiastes and Idida, and Matthew as Levi.  Though according to this custom it appears that Paul was also called by two names, as seen in Acts (13:9), as it is written, "Saul who is also Paul."

St. Jerome. Paul means wonderful or elected.  The Lord Himself called him a vessel of election and his life and teaching made him wonderful. 



From a servant and humble man God made an apostle and exalted man, so you also may be humble, "and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted (Mt 23:12)."

Haimo, Origen. A servant in obedient affection and humility, not in fear, "For you have not received the spirit of bondage (Rom 8:15)."  Again, "Therefore, now he is not a servant, but a son (Gal 4:7)."  And again, "I will not now call you servants... But I have called you friends (Jn 15:15)."



St. Augustine. Messiah, in Hebrew; Christ, in Greek; in Latin, Anointed. Χρῖσμα is anointing in Greek; Christ, therefore, is the Anointed. He is peculiarly anointed, per-eminently anointed; Therefore, "thy God, hath anointed thee etc. (Heb 1:9)"

Tertullian. Now, of these two names (Jesus Christ), the former is the proper one, which was given to Him by the angel; and the latter is only an adjunct, predicable of Him from His anointing,— thus suggesting the proviso that Christ must be the Son, not the Father.

From the same... And that the virgin of whom it behooved Christ to be born (as we have above mentioned) must derive her lineage of the seed of David, —“and a flower shall ascend from his root: and there shall rest upon him the Spirit of God, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of discernment and piety, the spirit of counsel and truth; the spirit of God’s fear shall fill Him (Is 11:2-3).” For to none of men was the universal aggregation of spiritual credentials appropriate, except to Christ; paralleled as He is to a “flower” by reason of glory, by reason of grace; but accounted “of the root of Jesse,” whence His origin is to be deduced,—to wit, through Mary.

St. Ambrose. Haec autem seruitus dequa gloriatur Apostolus, gloriosa est, quando tali pretio aestimati sumus, ut sangame Domini redimeremur. (Exhortation to virgins)

St. Jerome. Concerning his humility it says, "O Lord, for I am your servant (Ps 115)."  Servant seems to imply a lowly office.  It is of great dignity and merit to be a servant of the Lord, and not a servant of sin.  Because men and not my masters, because sin is not my lord- for sin does not reign in my mortal body (Rm 6:12)- I am Your servant.  A privilege sublime!  Scripture in fact says of Moses: "Not so with my servant Moses! (Num 12:7)"  Abraham and Issac and Jacob are called servants of the Lord.  The Apostle, too, begins his letter "Paul, the servant of Jesus Christ."

St. Augustine, Haimo. By using both names he testifies that he is one person of both divine and human natures.  He uses one name for the Jews and another for the Gentiles.  For the name Christ was known to the Jews, which they knew the appointed Son of God, whom they heard promised in the Law.  And if Paul may have preached another, they would have not believed.  But to the gentiles, they had not read about Christ at all, so he gives it as a savior, that is, Jesus.  Even though Christ is not a proper name, but a sacramental title, such as prophet and priest, it is rightly used because it is also known to the Jews.  And if these names are given to others, they are only types, for He alone is the true king and priest.



Haimo. Not called by Himself but by God.  Or called by people and addressed with the privileged title.


See how its from humility!



Separated from the doctrine of the scribes and Pharisees, he stands opposed to the Jews.  Or separated from the other apostles in body but not in mind.  Therefore, "Separate me Saul and Barnabas, for the work whereunto I have taken them. (Acts 13:2)"



Haimo. Good news concerns salvation.  But these things are about faith and morals.


But not of human invention.






1:2 Which he had promised before, by his prophets, in the holy scriptures,

Which- approval of the Gospel for four reasons
he had promised- the divine author, God the Father, had promised as something good and necessary.
before- temporary, before its fulfilled
by his prophets- by witnesses, they were great because of God, not of themselves.
in the holy scriptures- not in spoken words alone, but recorded lest they fall into oblivion.



Haimo. Before its fulfillment.  He does not come unexpectedly, but was promised long before.  So the saying is true, that there is one who sows and another who reaps.


From Jeremiah, "Behold the days shall come, saith the Lord, and I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Juda (Jer 31:31)."  And from the same, "I will make an everlasting covenant (Jer 32:40),"  as well as others.


Not heathen writings.  Holy because they condemn sins and because they also contain, in the sacraments of the one God, the incarnation of the Son of God.