Romans 1:11 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Some spiritual gift— That the Jews were the outward worshippers of the true God, and had been for many ages his people nominally, could not be denied by the Christians; whereupon the former were apt to persuade their convert Gentiles, that the Messiah was promised and sent to the Jewish nation alone, and that the Gentiles could claim or have no benefit by him; or if they were to receive any benefit by the Messiah, they were yet bound to observe the law of Moses, which was the way of worship prescribed by God to his people. This in several places very much shook the Gentile converts. St. Paul makes it his business in this epistle (as we have observed in the introduction) to prove that the blessings of the Messiah were intended for the Gentiles as well as the Jews; and that to make any one partaker of the benefits and privileges of the Gospel, there was nothing more required than to believe and obey it: and accordingly here, in the entrance of the epistle, he wishes to come to Rome, that, by imparting some miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost to them, they might be established in the true notion of Christianity, against all attempts of Jews, who would either exclude them from the privileges of it, or bring them under the law of Moses. So where St. Paul expresses his care that the Colossians should be established in the faith, it is visible by the context that what he opposed was Judaism. The Corinthians, who had enjoyed the presence of St. Paul, abounded in spiritual gifts. See 1 Corinthians 1:7; 1 Corinthians 12:1; 1 Corinthians 12:31; 1 Corinthians 14:1; 1 Corinthians 14:40. So did the Galatians likewise; and indeed all those churches, which had enjoyed the presence of any of the apostles,had peculiar advantages in this from the laying on of their hands; for it was the particular office of the apostles to bestow miraculous gifts by this method (Acts 8:17; Acts 8:40; Acts 19:6.). But as yet the Romans were greatly inferior to other churches in this respect; for which reason the Apostle, in the 12th chapter, makes a very beautiful mention of their spiritual gifts. He therefore desires to impart some, that they might be established; for by these the testimony of Christ was strongly confirmed among them. See Locke, Bengelius, and Bos.