he rest of the Gentiles. I am
debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the
foolish. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to
you also that are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it
is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the
Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is revealed a
righteousness of God by faith unto faith: as it is written, But the
righteous shall live by faith.

1. Origen's comment on the words 'through Jesus Christ' (at the
beginning of this section) is very interesting. 'To give God thanks is
to offer a sacrifice of praise, and therefore he adds "through Jesus
Christ," as through the great high priest.' Indeed, the doctrine of
the high priesthood of Christ, if it is not mentioned in St. Paul's own
epistles, is implied there from the first.

2. St. Paul, we notice, expresses his intention to come to Rome with
reserve, 'if by any means by the will of God' ... 'so much as lies in
me.' And this reserve was no matter of mere words. He was going up to
Jerusalem with an offering of money, about which he felt the greatest
anxiety, and he knew not how he would be received, or what would befall
him[5].

3. It is not possible to decide what sort of {61} 'spiritual gift' St.
Paul is thinking of. We know that as an apostle he was qualified to
impart the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and that certain
'gifts' frequently accompanied His inward presence. Thus, 'when Paul
had laid his hands upon some men at Ephesus, the Holy Ghost came on
them; and they spake with tongues and prophesied.' We know, further,
that the Corinthian Church, whence St. Paul was writing this letter,
was specially rich in 'spiritual gifts,' such as 'tongues and
prophecy.' On the other hand, the Roman Christians had not yet
received an apostolic visit and they may have been lacking in such
endowments, while the reception of them would be calculated to
encourage them and strengthen their faith.

It is possible, therefore, that he refers to a gift of this kind, and
the exact language he uses certainly suggests some definite endowment,
for the bestowal of which his bodily presence was necessary. The
thought of the miraculous power working through him, 'the power of
signs and wonders, the power of the Holy Ghost[6],' was not far from
his mind when he wrote this epistle.

Origen's comment on this passage also is {62} interesting. 'Fi