Diodorus of Tarsus

In his own words on Romans

• Romans 5:13

  Sin was in the world before the law of Moses came, and it was counted, though not according to that law. Rather it was counted according to the law of nature, by which we have learned to distinguish good and evil. This was the law of which Paul spoke above.

  PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

• Romans 5:14

  Adam was a type of Christ not with respect to his sin or his righteousness—in this respect the two men were opposites—but with respect to the effects of what he did. For just as Adam's sin spread to all men, so Christ's life also spread to all men. Adam was also a type of Christ in another respect. For just as he was the head of Eve, in that he was her husband, so also Christ, being its bridegroom, is the head of the church.

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• Romans 5:15

  At first sight it may seem that this verse contradicts what Paul said [in verse 12] above, for there he spoke of death having come to all humanity, whereas here he says only that many have died. In fact there is no contradiction, because death, although it came upon all because we have all sinned, came only to test and to try everyone. Death does not destroy all sinners automatically but only those who persist in their sins. By saying that "many died" Paul shows merely that many turned out to be unrepentant in their sins.

  PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

• Romans 5:16

  Paul wants to say that it was because of Adam's sin, although it was only one, that God condemned many, on account of the fact that they copied Adam. But the grace of the Lord was measured not according to that one sin but according to the many sins which all had committed. Thus Christ transformed many sins into righteousness.

  PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

• Romans 5:18

  What was Adam's sin? Disobedience. What was Christ's righteousness? Obedience, by which he obeyed the Father in his incarnation and in his suffering for mankind, as the apostle says: "Being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross." Thus obedience overcame disobedience and the worse was condemned by the better.

  PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

• Romans 5:20

  Paul does not mean that the law increased the incidence of sin but rather that once it was given it uncovered sin and showed that it was more widespread than people had thought.

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• Romans 6:5

  Those who have been validly baptized into Christ's death have been united to him by faith.

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• Romans 6:10

  Paul is saying that if Christ had died for sinners two or three times, there would be no danger in going back to our old sinful ways. But as he only died once, we who have been buried and risen again with him will not die to sin again. There will be no second baptism, no second death of Christ. Therefore we must be careful to stay alive.

  PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

• Romans 6:12

  What sin is this? The sin committed before baptism, of course.

  PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

• Romans 7:7

  It is clear from Romans [2:14] that even without the law the Gentiles knew what was required of them. It must therefore be accepted that they knew, though they did not know everything. For there are things which some Gentiles regard as good and proper while others reject them as bad and unlawful. Therefore the giving of the law was necessary to define for us what should and should not be done, outlining for us and showing us what the behavior of a righteous person is.

  PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

• Romans 7:8

  By "sin," Paul presumably means the devil. For just as Scripture sometimes calls the Savior "life" and "righteousness" because he is the source of life and righteousness, so it calls the opposing power by what it causes—sometimes "sin," sometimes "lie," sometimes "death."

  PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

• Romans 7:9

  If sin "revived" it is clear that it must have been alive at some earlier point and then died. When was that? It was when the devil deceived and defeated Adam, who had received the commandment and knew what transgression meant. Cain too knew that he was sinning, having been commanded not to murder his brother. It was after that that there was no commandment and no law, and so sin was knocked out by the ignorance of those who committed it.

  PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

• Romans 7:14

  The law is spiritual and makes the person who keeps it spiritual as well. It was given by the Holy Spirit so that those who obeyed it might receive the Spirit and be cleansed by the law's teaching. Paul was not sold under sin by anyone else but by his own breaking of the law.

  PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

• Romans 7:15

  Paul is not condemning himself here but describing the common lot of mankind, which he sees in himself.

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• Romans 7:22

  Here Paul is describing the common lot of man. For the ordinary person can see in his mind what ought to be done but cannot achieve it. But the man who has believed in Christ with his mind can achieve it with the help of the Holy Spirit. Such a person is therefore called "spiritual."

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• Romans 8:1

  Paul shows here that those who are under the law, because they live according to the flesh, are under sin and condemnation. But those who are in Christ are not under condemnation because they do not walk according to the flesh.

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• Romans 8:11

  Having already mentioned the Spirit of Christ, Paul refers to him once more, calling him "the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead." By saying that the Spirit of Christ is also the Spirit of the Father, Paul teaches clearly that the Spirit of the Son partakes of the Father's divinity and that their power is one, because they share the same essence as the Father.

  PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

• Romans 8:15

  In reality, the spirit of slavery and the spirit of sonship were one and the same Spirit, who was given to people according to what they deserved, whether it was good or evil.

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• Romans 8:16

  Paul showed by this that he called the soul "spirit" when it was spiritual, and the gift of the Spirit "Spirit."

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• Romans 8:17

  Here "suffer with him" does not mean that we should sympathize and come to the aid of the sufferer, as it usually does in everyday parlance. Christ did not suffer in order to get attention, nor did he undergo weakness in order to gain the sympathy of those who felt sorry for him. To suffer with Christ means to endure the same sufferings that he was forced to suffer by the Jews because he preached the gospel.… If we suffer with him we shall be worthy to be glorified with him as well. This glory is the reward of our sufferings and is not to be regarded as a free gift. The free gift is that we have received remission of our former sins.

  PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

• Romans 8:19

  The Scriptures often suggest that the visible creation is animate and that the universe has a rational sensibility.

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• Romans 8:29

  This text does not take away our free will. It uses the word foreknew before predestined. Now it is clear that "foreknowledge" does not by itself impose any particular kind of behavior. What is said here would be clearer if we started from the end and worked backwards. Whom did God glorify? Those whom he justified. Whom did he predestine? Those whom he foreknew, who were called according to his plan, i.e., who demonstrated that they were worthy to be called by his plan and made conformable to Christ.

  PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

• Romans 9:6

  Because the promises which had been given to the Jews had been transferred to the Gentiles, Paul wanted to avoid the charge that God had lied about his promises, and so he shows how God remains faithful. The Scriptures make it clear that it was not those who were Israelites according to the flesh but those who by their godliness showed that they were worthy to be Israelites who were called children of Abraham.

  PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

• Romans 9:7

  Paul wants to say that it is not those who are of Abraham's flesh who are his children, but those who are of the promise, who are godly and just, whom God promised according to his foreknowledge would be children of Abraham, just as Isaac was made righteous by the promise.

  PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

• Romans 9:16

  God is not unjust simply because he does not give everyone what they deserve.

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• Romans 9:21

  Do not dare to condemn God or imagine that he showed mercy on one and hardened another by accident, for it was according to the power of his foreknowledge that he gave each one his due. Nor is he guilty because he knew in advance what would happen, but rather each of those who was foreknown in this way is responsible for his own actions, whether good or evil.

  PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

• Romans 10:5

  Paul says that the man who fulfilled the law would enjoy the good things promised by it, that is to say, "a land flowing with milk and honey."

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• Romans 10:7

  The Word of God leaves believers in no doubt either about the descent of the Lord from heaven for our sake or about the resurrection from the dead and the ascent into heaven.

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• Romans 10:21

  It appears from the holding out of his hands that God is calling the people to himself. It is also a sign pointing toward the form of the cross.

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• Romans 11:1

  Fearing once again that exaggerating the rejection of the Jews might lead to a choice of disobedience, Paul turns to the small remnant of the election—the apostles and their fellow believers.

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• Romans 11:3

  Paul takes these words of Elijah and applies them by analogy to the Savior, in that only a remnant obtained the grace of the promise.

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• Romans 11:6

  Grace shows the love for mankind of the one who gives it, but works demand compensation according to what they are worth.

  PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

• Romans 11:7

  What was Israel seeking? The promise that they would be made sons and heirs of the universe.

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• Romans 11:16

  "First fruits" and "root" both refer here to the patriarchs, the lawgiver and the prophets. "Lump" and "branches" refer to the whole of the Jewish people.

  PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

• Romans 11:26

  What does it mean to say that "all Israel will be saved?" Just as we say that the whole world and all the nations are being saved because everywhere and among all nations there are those who are coming to faith, so also "all Israel will be saved" does not mean that every one of them will be but that either those who were understood by Elijah or those who are scattered all over the world will one day come to faith.

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• Romans 12:6

  "Prophecy" means primarily the explanation of things which are unclear, whether future or past, whether present or hidden. "Prophecy" may also refer to the interpretation of a prophet's words.

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• Romans 12:8

  "Exhortation" means the type of sermon in which we call those who are still in ignorance to faith in Christ. We do not at that point lay out the full meaning of the Christian life but give them the hope that if they believe in Christ they will enjoy everlasting blessings.

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• Romans 12:13

  The point here is that we should honor the saints and take care of their needs until they no longer have them.

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• Romans 12:19

  Paul uses the word wrath to describe God's punishment, not because it is some kind of passion in God but because men would find it difficult to understand God's judgment if they did not hear it compared to wrath. For since men respond to those who sin against them in wrath and anger, Scripture uses the same words to describe God's reaction, because then the average person can hear and understand it.

  PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

• Romans 12:20

  Paul is not suggesting that we do anything wicked; on the contrary, he is wisely and cleverly checking and containing the violence of the one who is angry.

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• Romans 13:1

  The book of Proverbs teaches us that kings do not come to rule apart from the dispensation and will of God: "Through me kings reign and princes decree justice."

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• Romans 13:2

  Those who disobey the king have committed a crime and will face judgment.

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• Romans 13:11

  When we realized what the advantages of good works are, the message of salvation became easier to understand than it was when we first believed. For when we believed in Christ we did not immediately acquire an exact understanding of what we should be doing, nor was it clear to us what we should stop doing and what we should continue doing.

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• Romans 13:12

  The "day" is the time of this life which remains to us, in which we can do good works. The "night" is the future, in which it will no longer be possible to work. Then we shall lie in the darkness, having lost the chance to do good works.

  PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH

• Romans 13:14

  This means that we should imitate Christ in what we do and show him to others in the way we behave.

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• Romans 14:4

  A servant of Christ is anyone whom Christ has accepted. He is then no longer under the law. Who are you, therefore, to judge someone by the law when he is a stranger to it?

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• Romans 14:14

  This means that nothing is common or unclean when eaten with faith in Christ.

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• Romans 15:20

  Paul was not trying to avoid the other apostles, but he thought it was wrong and unfair to steal the credit for what someone else had done.

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