John Calvin Commentary Romans 16:7

"Salute Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen, and my fellow-prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also have been in Christ before me." — Romans 16:7 (ASV)

Salute Andronicus Although Paul was not accustomed to make much of kinship or other matters of the flesh, yet because the relationship Junia and Andronicus had with him might contribute somewhat to making them more fully known, he did not neglect this commendation.

There is more weight in the second commendation, when he calls them his fellow-prisoners; for among the honors of Christ's warfare, bonds are by no means the least. In the third place, he calls them Apostles: he does not use this word in its proper and common meaning but extends it more broadly, to all those who not only teach in one church but also labor in proclaiming the gospel everywhere.

Thus, in a general way, he here calls those individuals Apostles who planted churches by carrying the doctrine of salvation from place to place. For elsewhere, Paul restricts this title to that first order which Christ established at the beginning when He appointed the twelve disciples. Otherwise, it would have been strange for this dignity to be ascribed only to Andronicus and Junia and a few others. But since they had embraced the gospel by faith before Paul, he does not hesitate to rank them before himself on this account.