Apollinaris of Laodicea — Commentary on Scripture

Romans 10:14

Paul says that salvation by the calling of the Lord is common to all but that the above mentioned rejection of this universal grace hardened the Jews, making them unable to receive the common good. As a result the mission and the message did not go to them but to the Gentiles, along with the hearing, the faith and the calling. For just as the light is by nature common to all but becomes something else to those who are blinded, so that the blind cannot see the sun, nor can the deaf hear the message when it is proclaimed, so those who have been sent to preach to the Jews have had little effect. They cannot hear the message because they have become deaf to God’s calling.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 10:15

It is clear even from the prophets that it is impossible to believe if nobody preaches the gospel.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 11:8

This quotation was taken directly from the Hebrew by the apostle himself. The Septuagint edition has “God has put a spirit of stupor in you.” The version of Aquila more clearly has “virulence” and that of Symmachus has “pride.” … In effect, because of the ignorance of the people, the prophetic writings will be a sealed book to them, and they will be incapable of reading them.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 12:2

This is what the prophet Jeremiah meant when he talked about writing the law of God on the heart. For in the pursuit of God the spiritually minded heart will know what is good and acceptable and perfect, and it will only like the things which are pleasing to God. Filled with the goodness of the good Father it will want to do his will and will try to encourage everyone to do good.However, it is not enough merely to do good; one must resist evil as well. For it is the rejection of evil which represents true progress toward the good.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 12:6

Paul is saying here that if someone has the gift of prophecy, then he has the greatest gift, after that of apostleship. For God placed in the church first apostles and second prophets, and thus such a person, knowing that the apostleship comes first, ought to recognize the limitations of prophecy and accept that he is a servant who must follow the rule of service laid down by his superiors, just as the hands must do the bidding of the head.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 12:7

The teacher must remain in subjection to the prophets, according to the established order, for the prophets are second (after the apostles) and the teachers are third. In fact, teachers are interpreters of the prophetic word, because they have heard and understood it with their ears and seen it with their eyes. For the prophets themselves called those whom they had taught to serve in the ministry of teaching.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 13:1

“Judas the Galilean revolted in the days of the census,” says Gamaliel in the Acts of the Apostles, and “drew away some of the people after him,” refusing to obey the order of the Romans and register their goods, for which reason Quirinius had been sent to Syria.… But as Judas’s decision was the cause of domestic murders and of a rebellion against the authorities which did much harm to the people, it seems to me that here the apostle is condemning any attempt to imitate him based on the illusion that it is a godly thing to disobey rulers. He has a good deal to say about this, condemning it as a mistaken way of thinking.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

Romans 14:1

As far as matters of indifference are concerned, Paul says that it does not matter whether we do them or not, but when it comes to loving our neighbor, they cease to be matters of indifference. Any regulation concerning food is a matter of indifference, because everything has been sanctified by the power of Christ. But not everyone is so strong in his faith that he is in no danger of being corrupted by these things. Whether we injure such a person or do not injure him is not to be regarded as a matter of indifference, but we are to take great care to ensure that no one loses his soul by eating something which he thinks it might be wrong to eat.

PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH