Establishing Rapport
I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. Rom 1:14
I am debtor... Greek: opheiletes, one under an obligation or bound to some duty (Mat. 6:12; 18:24; Luke 13:4; Rom. 1:14; 8:12; 15:27).
to the Barbarians... note, Acts 28:2.
to the unwise... Greek: anoetos, unintelligent. Here; Luke 24:25; Gal. 3:1, 3:3; 1Tim. 6:9; Tit. 3:3.
Debtor: Paul had an obligation to God to fulfill His divine mandate to minister to Gentiles.
This is just another way of saying that God is no respecter of persons. God wants the wise Greeks and the unwise to know Him. The very educated Greeks thought all others to be barbarians. They were extremely proud of their schools of learning. Worldly education however, does not impress God. God's message is for those who believe themselves to be high and mighty and also for the lowly. I have observed through the years that it is more difficult for those who think themselves wise to receive the good news of Jesus Christ than it is for the humble uneducated person. The wise person must figure everything out with his or her mind. Christianity is of the heart.
As a result of his “apostleship” (Rom. 1:5) to the Gentiles Paul felt obligated (lit., “I am a debtor”) to the entire human race to proclaim God’s good news (Rom. 1:14-15). The word translated non-Greeks is literally, “barbarians,” all other human beings from the viewpoint of the Greeks (cf. Col. 3:11). Parallel to it is the word foolish (anoētois; cf. Tit. 3:3) in the next couplet, which has the significance of uncultured.
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