Acceptance Motif in Paul: Revisiting Romans 15:7–13 by Zakali Shohe

Author:Zakali Shohe
Format: epub
Publisher: Peter Lang AG

D. εἰς δόξαν τοῦ θεοῦ (Rom. 15:7)

The adverbial phrase εἰς δόξαν τοῦ θεοῦ in Romans 15:7 declares the purpose and is attached to the main clause προσλαμβάνω ἀλλήλους (Rom. 15:7). The theme of the glory of God that provides the climax in Romans 15:1–6 appears again in Romans 15:7b. In Romans 15:6, the believers are called to glorify God together with the “same mind.” This theme is repeated in Romans 15:9 where the Gentiles would glorify God. In both verses, i.e., Romans 15:6 and 9, the emphasis is on the glorification of God. Whereas Romans 15:6 refers to both the “strong” and the “weak,” in Romans 15:9, Paul mentions only the Gentiles. Furthermore, this theme is elaborated in Romans 15:11 with the Gentiles praising God in 15:11a, ultimately leading to its implication, i.e., “and let all the people praise Him” in Romans 15:11b.

The worship language of glorifying God is connected with citations from the Jewish Scripture in Romans 15:9b–12. Some scholars suggest that the purpose of Christ receiving the believers is for the glory of God,459 while others propose that it is the believers’ acceptance of each other that glorifies God.460 Still others attach the phrase to both the acceptance of one another and Christ’s receiving the believers.461 However, the phrase εἰς δόξαν τοῦ θεοῦ (Rom. 15:7) should be construed as the purpose for Christ’s receiving the believers, as it makes better sense. ← 131 | 132 → This will be further demonstrated in the following section on syntactical analysis. Although εἰς δόξαν τοῦ θεοῦ can also modify the main clause προσλαμβάνεσθε ἀλλήλους in Romans 15:7, the act of Christ to the Jews and the Gentiles in verse seven remains the core of the verse. As Ross Wagner suggests, the phrase εἰς δόξαν τοῦ θεοῦ “naturally connects” with the clause that immediately precedes it, i.e., “Christ received you.”462 In this case, if Christ is the subject, then Paul is saying that Christ’s acceptance of the believers is on behalf of God’s glory.

However, in considering the preceding verses, one can still argue that the link between acceptance and glorification does not support this interpretation. This is because the connection between “receiving one another” and “the glory of God” is already made in Romans 15:6, where Paul speaks of both the “weak” and the “strong” unanimously glorifying God in one accord. In addition, the entire section from Romans 14:1 deals with Paul’s ethic of acceptance in the context of community fellowship. Within this setting, Paul may be interpreted as reminding the Christ believing community at Rome that their acceptance of one another (weak/strong-Jew/Gentile) will bring glory to God. Nevertheless, such an interpretation creates a lacuna between the phrase εἰς δόξαν τοῦ θεοῦ (Rom. 15:7) that declares the purpose and the subject ὁ Χριστὸς (Rom. 15:7). This syntactical scheme construes καθὼς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς προσελάβετο ὑμᾶς (Rom. 15:7) as parenthetical. Taking into consideration the syntactical structure and scheme, the view that construes Christ’s acceptance of the believers is for the glory of God fits the syntax of the text best.

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