"among all the Gentiles for His names sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;"
The first part of this posting, "among all the Gentiles" touches upon the command that the Lord Jesus gives frequently both before and after his resurrection to wit Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15f, Acts 1:8, Luke 24:47 and the sum of all of those verses (and elsewhere I am sure) is that we are to proclaim the gospel (which comes from the Greek work euaggelion) which is to say "the good news" everywhere and to every one; as Paul writes, "For I delivered to you as of fist importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to thee Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). That is the best news anyone could ever have. Whether a person believes unto salvation is not really our business for we are not commanded anywhere to save people from their sins; only Jesus Christ can do that through His Holy Spirit. That is not to say that we should not pray fervently for the salvation of those to whom we witness.
Paul was commissioned especially to reach the Gentiles. In Acts 9:15, the Lord Jesus is explaining to His slave Ananias, "But the Lord said to him, 'Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;'". All these first six verses of this chapter have been Paul presenting his credentials because, if you remember from earlier posts, he did not found the fellowship of believes by planting a church in Rome. Also he was not only looking to visit the brethren there to share blessings but also he was looking to spring-board from there to Spain so that he might preach the gospel and establish churches in heretofore unreached territory. It was always Paul's custom to never go to a place where the gospel had already been preached, "And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another mans foundation; but as it is written, [in Isaiah 52:15]"They who had no news of Him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand."
The last part of verse 5, "for His name's sake," which in its most basic form is to say that it is for the magnification of God's glory and greatly expressive of His joy; for it is written, "In the same way there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."(Luke 15:10) This verse comes right after the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin in which the common element is "Rejoice with me, for I have found that which I had lost!" Anyone who thinks it is dull in Heaven is dead wrong: there is a constant party going with God almighty cheering the loudest each and every time one sinner repents and it saved. Can you imagine? There is one party after another and no one every gets bored with partying. It is just like being around someone who is so happy, it cannot help but spread; even more than that this is God we are talking about. His rejoicing is infinitely greater than we can imagine and it is always new and fresh. However, everything God does is to bring Himself glory for His own sake. God glorifies Himself in everything He does for it is right an proper that He should do so. To God along belongs all of the glory.
Verse six is a short little thought, "among whom you are the called of Jesus Christ;" The first part that bears notice is, "the called", the word called comes from the Greek kletos (klay-tos) which you may remember is exactly the same word that Paul uses to describe his office "Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus called as an apostle set apart for the gospel of God,". In that context the word is used to indicate a divine selection and appointment. Just like when Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesian church, "For it is by grace you have been save through faith; so that it is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works , so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9) "Wait," you might say, "but I prayed to accept the salvation of Jesus Christ. Is that not worth anything?" Consider Jesus words in John 3:3, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again [or from above] he cannot see the kingdom of God." That is to say no one is able to be saved until he or she is born again (I prefer born from above as I think it is clearer). Also Ephesians 2:1 (c.f. 2:5, Col 2:13), "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,"(emphasis mine) I think that speaks to the spiritual deadness that we inherited from Adam as it is written, "but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." After Adam ate the forbidden fruit he did not physically die (although he deserved to), instead shame and terror of God was brought into the world. So Adam and Eve tried to hide form God (smart I know). Of course, because of sin Adam died later but the immediate effect was that he died spiritually. Whereas Adam once walked with God in close fellowship, now he is at enmity with God. With that in mind, can you imagine a corpse willing himself to live? How then can someone who is spiritually dead chose to become spiritually alive through salvation?
Finally to wrap it all up Jesus Christ is the first and the last the beginning and the end and the only hope for our justification before a holy and righteous God. What Jesus did makes it so God can be both just and the justifier of him who has faith in Christ Jesus. That is what separates Christianity from every other religion. God can have mercy upon sinners without sacrificing His justice, grace without setting aside righteousness.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of your lovingkindness,
Because of your truth.
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