Romans 1:11

1:11 For I long to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you,

Romans 10:21

10:21 But about Israel he says, “All day long I held out my hands to this disobedient and stubborn people!


sn Paul does not mean here that he is going to bestow upon the Roman believers what is commonly known as a “spiritual gift,” that is, a special enabling for service given to believers by the Holy Spirit. Instead, this is either a metonymy of cause for effect (Paul will use his own spiritual gifts to edify the Romans), or it simply means something akin to a blessing or benefit in the spiritual realm. It is possible that Paul uses this phrase to connote specifically the broader purpose of his letter, which is for the Romans to understand his gospel, but this seems less likely.

sn A quotation from Isa 65:2.