A STUDY OF ROMANS 16:
Relationship of Christians to One Another Demonstrated
Dr.
Jerry A. Collins
Discipleship is an individual thing—a life on a life, leading toward greater Christlikeness. It is the missing word in the ministry of the church. Biblical discipleship is intentionally impacting the life of someone in the direction of Christlikeness. Romans ends with the evidence of the fruit of a discipleship ministry. The kind of ministry and fruit we should be striving for in our own lives.
DISCIPLESHIP IS BASED
ON RELATIONSHIP
A Commendation for Phoebe
(16:1-2)
Verse 1: I commend to
you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea. Paul described Phoebe as, (1) our sister, probably
in the sense of a fellow believer, not personal family, and (2) as a (diakonon) a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea. Cenchrea is a
seaport a few miles east of Corinth (Acts 18:18). The word (diakonon)
is used for the office of deacon (Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:8, 10, 12), but
more commonly as one who serves (Romans 15:8; 1 Corinthians 3:5). The context
does not give us enough information to determine which is in mind here. Phoebe
may be the one who delivered this letter to Rome.
Verse 2: That you receive
her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and that you help her in
whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a
helper of many, and of myself as well. Paul wanted the church to
welcome [or receive] her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints. That is,
they were to house her, feed her, show her warm hospitality, and send her on
her way with provisions. They were to assist her (lit. stand with her) in whatever matter she may need help
from the believers in Rome. She deserves such treatment because she has proved
to be a patroness [or, helper] to many and even to Paul.
An Application—So, there is a manner worthy that represents the
Christian way. It involves receiving
one another that looks like helping
each other. It has to do with service that is superior in expression from
believer to believer. This is a distinctive of the Christian way. Since God
is intensely interested in my needs, I can then be entirely focused on
addressing those of my Christian brethren. Am I available for such service? Don’t
reverse this.
Special Greetings for Special
Friends (16:3-16)
Paul greets fifteen distinct groups of believers in Rom 16:3-15. Each use of aspazomai
(“greet”) distinguishes an autonomous assembly. The fifteen uses are Romans
16:3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (2×), 11 (2×), 12 (2×), 13, 14, 15. Paul greets more people by
name here than in any other epistle. Though he had not been to Rome, he was
acquainted with a host of people there, having met (during his various
missionary journeys) many of those he mentions.
Verse 3: For example, Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ
Jesus. Acts 18:2, 18, and 26 document
Priscilla and Aquila’s prior association with Paul in Corinth and Ephesus. They
traveled extensively and remained associated with him whether when accompanying
Paul or when separated from him. Additionally, here in Rome, its said that people met in their house. This is not specifically
stated of the others greeted. Possibly the other fourteen greeted were churches
who met in tiny tenement rooms (about 10 feet by 10 feet) in contrast with the
larger house churches. That may seem like only a small number of believers in
the city. But four factors could expand this
to a much larger group: 1. Paul seems only to greet leaders and sponsors
(not congregants) of fifteen assemblies known to him. 2. Each leader (and
sponsors) would meet with small congregations weekly. 3. Leaders may meet at different times and places with
multiple groups a week. 4. The named leaders might not be exhaustive, but
only those known to Paul. Because of the order of their names, it is likely
that Priscilla was the most forthright in active ministry.
Verse 4: who for my life
risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the
churches of the Gentiles. At great
risk to themselves they worked in ministry, discipled young Christians, and
opened their home for the church to meet in. They risked their very lives
in an effort to protect his life (cf. Acts 19:23-40 for a possible situation in
which they did this). Paul indicates that not only is he thankful for them, but
so also are all the churches of the
gentiles since they would have benefited from Paul’s life being spared.
Verse 5: also greet the
church that is in their house. The early church had no church buildings. All
church meetings took place in homes or tenements until the third century or so.
Since Priscilla and Aquila are mentioned first, and since he refers to the
church that is in their house, their assembly of believers may have been a
leading group of the churches in Rome.
PT— A word about church. For the apostles, the assembly
of the believers (church) was not an institution that needed a doctrinal
statement or a mission statement, or its own belief statement. It was not an
entity, an organization, a command post that needed to have a life of its own,
defend itself, and grow. True believers are the real church, not the
organization they may create. The solution to personal problems, like marriage,
parenting, and disputes, is not a program of an organization. Personal problems
are solved by people becoming more mature. What the apostles had in mind as the
church, brought people to repentance and growth toward Christlikeness.
When people came to Christ
in the first century, it was with the idea of glorifying God and serving
Christ, often with only the promise of persecution in this life. It was
God-oriented, not people-oriented. So it focused on
bringing people to stronger faith, greater obedience, with a focus on
Christlikeness (John 15:10). Most “local churches” today serve to keep
believers out of chaos by promoting spiritual order and accountability. The
church the apostles envisioned and ministered to was those moving beyond order
to maturity. Christ and the apostles described a church of individual believers
who were individually gifted, individually called, and individually judged and
rewarded (Colossians 1:28).
Greet Epaenetus, my beloved,
who is the first convert to Christ from Asia. There was Paul's first convert in Asia—Epenetus.
This
figurative use of convert refers to Epenetus as the first Christian believer in the region.
Achaia
was the region in Greece next to Macedonia. The Roman province of Asia made up
about one-third of modern Asia Minor and was on the western side of it.
PT—I had
opportunity to meet the very first Christian believer in a Moslem city in Kosova. Very rare.
Verse 6-7: Greet Mary,
who has worked hard for you. She labored and exhausted herself on behalf of the
Roman believers. Greet
Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen and my fellow
prisoners, who are outstanding among the apostles, who also were in Christ
before me. Note 4 things: (1) Andronicus
and Junia were kinsman in the sense of fellow compatriots. (2) They were fellow
prisoners which may mean that they were imprisoned
together. (3) They were outstanding
among the apostles in the sense of being well known by them and commended by them. If someone was well known
to the apostles, they were also well known among the apostles. (4) They were born again before Paul was in Christ before me. Paul came to faith
one to two years after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection (i.e., in AD 34 or
35). They came to faith in Christ at an even earlier point, possibly even
during Jesus’ earthly ministry,
Verse 8-9: Greet Ampliatus, my beloved [much loved] in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our fellow
worker in Christ, and Stachys my beloved. Paul calls Amplias my beloved in the Lord and Stachys my beloved. These intimate designations suggest that they traveled
outside of Rome and spent time with Paul. Urbanus is
called by Paul his fellow worker in
Christ, a term reserved for outstanding
partnership with Paul in ministry. Such a commendation would require close association with Paul.
Verse 10-12: Greet
Apelles, the approved in Christ. This is a new description of one who is in a
current state of approval or accepted and pleasing in Christ. It’s
possible for every believer to live with Chris’s approval in this life which will
pay dividends at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Our works are imperfect and we
also tend to be spiritually hard on ourselves, but we can pursue Christs approval and then let each one’s praise… come
from God (1 Corinthians 4:5) the Bema. Stay
focused upon pleasing Christ and nothing else and let the Bema Seat work itself
out for you.
Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus. Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet those of the household of
Narcissus, who are in the Lord. He does not say of either the household of Aristobulus or the household of Narcissus what
he said of Priscilla and Aquila in v 5—likewise greet the church that is in
their house. This might suggest that these churches met not in homes, but
in tenements (very small apartments on the upper floors of buildings owned by
wealthy persons).
Greet Tryphaena and
Tryphosa, workers in the Lord. These two women might have been sisters, since they
are mentioned together and their names are similar who toiled in [on
behalf of] the Lord. Notice the emphasis of in the Lord coming
up. Ministry is eternal in focus. It keeps eternity in view. Christ is the
focus and purpose. Its done
in the Lord not in my name.
Greet Persis the beloved, who has worked hard in
the Lord. Like Mary and Tryphaena and Tryphosa, Persis
put in hard labor for the kingdom, not that she necessarily toiled much harder.
It could be, too, that Paul is simply varying his style in his brief comments
about various people.
Verse 13: Greet Rufus, a
choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine. Paul means that Rufus is an outstanding person in Christ.
This probably is the same Rufus whom Mark mentions—then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian,
the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and
passing by, to bear His cross (Mark 15:21). The father of Rufus had
carried the cross for Jesus. The mother of Rufus had been a mother to the
apostle Paul also his mother and mine.
At some time, she had displayed motherly affection
and extended hospitality to Paul. What a family!
Verse 14-15: Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brethren
with them. As Paul is winding down those whom he is greeting, he has less to say
about people. Likely this is because these were people about whom Paul had less
knowledge. Paul mentions five men and the brothers who are with them
suggesting that these men and the unnamed brothers were part of a house church
together.
Greet Philologus and Julia,
Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the
saints who are with them. Philologus and Julia could be husband
and wife (or brother and sister). Nereus and his sister might be their
children. Olympas was another person in their house
church, and so were all the saints who are with them.
Verse 16: Greet one
another with a holy kiss. No case is
made for this by the apostles as a preferred Christian mark of love and
friendship. Many customs today of believers greeting
each other and sharing the peace come dangerously close to overstepping bounds
of propriety at least in the West. Men kissed men; women kissed women, as a
Near-Eastern expression of love and unity. Today we might high five or fist pump. Greeting someone with a kiss
was also common among Jesus’ disciples when they walked with Him. This is
evident in that Judas greeted Jesus with a kiss when he betrayed Him at
Gethsemane (Matt 26:29). All the churches of Christ greet you in the sense of being bound together due to belonging to and serving the
Lord Jesus Christ.
PT—Paul did not have a lone
ranger ministry mentality. He did not hate women as many are prominent with him
in the work of ministry. There is a
network of believers scattered across the empire who knew each other quite
well. The work is associated
with the Lord. The ministry is difficult.
DISCIPLESHIP WARNS
AGAINST FALSE TEACHERS
Verse 17: Now I urge
you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary
to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. Unity is a great thing, but it is not to be maintained at
the cost of truth. Its unity based on the truth to the teaching which you learned, not according to what you all
can agree upon. In other words, what you
learned from the apostles. False teaching about what is true always meant
teaching things contrary to what Paul, Peter, James, John, and the other
apostles taught. There were people causing divisions and scandals contrary to sound
doctrine, not necessarily personal opinions or preferences. These troublemakers
were to be avoided turn away from them,
not try to get agreement from them or stay connected to them (compare 2 Thess.
3:6; Titus 3:10; and 2 John 1:10). Divisive people like this may have smooth
talk and flattery, but their message is false. The specific form of these
descriptions suggests that Paul had something definite in mind--and they would
know it.
PT— Identify and avoid those who don’t follow biblical teaching. The issue for avoiding people is not personality or the kind of music they like or their race or wealth or dress, but their teaching. What is it they are teaching? Don’t hang around them. Turn off the TV. Change the radio station. Don’t purchase their books. Stay away from them. Don’t associate with them. Their teaching and beliefs will only place obstacles and snares in your path. Don’t dialogue or try to understand them.
Verse 18: For such men
are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their
smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. Paul gives their motives. These people do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but
instead their own belly and all that entails. That is, they are saying things that
will bring them money so they can eat well. So they
can satisfy themselves. They are not in it for the Lord. And with their false
teaching they deceive the hearts of the
unsuspecting (or simple). The church must protect its people by not
allowing these with contrary teaching to spread their false doctrines. Doctrine
matters and must not be overlooked.
Verse 19: For the report
of your obedience has reached to all; therefore, I am rejoicing over you. The believers in Rome whom Paul is greeting were not
like the divisive people about whom he is warning them. The report of the
readers’ is that their obedience has
reached to all. That is, their godly behavior and sound doctrine is well
known among all the Gentile churches. Thus Paul
rejoices over them. Yet he is still concerned about them and wants them to be wise in what is good and innocent
in what is evil. That is, to ensure that sound doctrine is taught in
the church. To keep defective doctrine from being taught. To warn the flock
about false teachers and false doctrines when necessary (cf. Acts 20:28-32; Hebrews
13:17).
PT—Its never better to have sinned and then experience its consequences. It’s a better testimony to not have an experience of sin and its consequences—and be innocent in evil. Become wise about good by nature, as God intended, and innocent in evil. In other words, develop the skill to discern what is good biblically and by nature. The world can never teach you that. Don’t become worldly-wise. Don’t think that it is better to sin and then repent.
Verse 20: The God of
peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be
with you. Who knows? While being alert to the truth, God’s power
will destroy false teachers. If they heed Paul’s warning to identify and avoid
them, then God will crush Satan’s action speedily. False teachers are under
Satan’s influence, but God destroys and then brings peace to replace the
dissension and division their false teaching produced. God is ready to judge the false teaching and teachers, but it requires
believers being aware of the falseness of it all.
THE GOSPEL, CHRIST AND THE
WORD OF GOD ARE CENTRAL TO DISCIPLESHIP
Special Final Greetings
from Special Friends (16:21-24)
Verse 21: Timothy my
fellow worker greets you, and so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen. Timothy, of course,
is well-known to us (cf. 1 Cor 4:17; 16:10-11; Phil 1:1; 2:19-23; 1 Timothy
1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2). The name Lucius is
only found one other time in the NT (Acts 13:1). Jason is a common Jewish name
often used as a substitute for Jesus. This could be the Jason from Thessalonica
mentioned in Acts as having been associated with Paul (cf. Acts 17:5-9).
Sosipater is likely the same person who accompanied Paul to Asia and who is called
“Sopater of Berea” in Acts 20:4.
Verse 22: I, Tertius,
who write this letter, greet you in the Lord. Tertius
was apparently Paul’s stenographer.
Paul’s eyesight may not have allowed him to pen it personally. Tertius is the man who wrote down the letter Paul was
dictating. Paul did not write out his epistles himself. In the Lord suggests he realize he was used by the Lord to record
Scripture.
Verse 23: Gaius, host to
me and to the whole church, greets you. Gaius was evidently a fairly wealthy man as he was
Paul’s host in Corinth as he wrote this letter and he was the host of the whole
church. Most likely the man who is here greeting the Roman believers is the
Gaius of 1 Corinthians 1:14.
Erastus, the city treasurer greets you. Gaius is probably the
Gaius of 1 Corinthians 1:14. Ryrie says: Erastus’ name has been found on a
pavement that he donated to Corinth. In
1929, this inscription was found, mentioning Erastus as the one who paid for
the paving of the street in return for his appointment as a city officer. It is
likely that this is the same Erastus mentioned by Paul as sending greetings to
the church at Rome (Romans 16:23). If so, Paul’s influence apparently extended
to wealthy and influential Roman citizens of Corinth. And Quartus, the brother. The final greeting comes
from Quartus, whom Paul simply calls a brother. He is not mentioned anywhere
else in the NT.
Verse 24: [The grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.] is not in some manuscripts.
A Benediction (16:25-27)
Verse 25: Now to Him who
is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus
Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret
for long ages past. The Gospel is a mystery (something unknown in
the Old Testament, which was revealed to the apostles – Ephesians 3:3-9) which
has been kept secret for long ages. The
mystery is the present age of the gospel when God is taking both Jew and
Gentile and fashioning them into one body. That mystery is the gospel and Paul
is its ambassador. Now to Him who is
able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ reveals the means by which God changes lives. This is what the work of ministry is—the
establishing of believers in sound doctrine, in the faith. No longer
infants tossed to and fro as to truth. This has been
Paul's concern in much of the book, as indeed in much of his ministry.
Verse 26: but now is
manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment
of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience
of faith. So, when we talk about the
Christian faith, it is the faith of the
prophets and the apostles. That is what we believe—what the apostles and
prophets taught. Besides the Gospel of
the apostles (what is for us the New Testament), we are also established by the
Scriptures of the prophets (what we call the Old Testament). This is the work of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; therefore,
the “prophets” mentioned here as “now” revealing this truth are likely the New
Testament writers.
Verse 27: to the only
wise God. Paul then returns to his
theme of the wisdom of God—all of it,
from beginning to end, is the divine plan that is beyond our comprehension. We
can only stand amazed at the wisdom of God. It means that God sets the
standards of wisdom. In fact, the cross is the wisdom of God, even though
it seems foolishness to mankind. Paul affirmed that he preached Christ the
power of God and the wisdom of God, for
the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger
than men (1 Cor. 1:21-25).
—through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen. What is a bit different in the final benediction is
the absence of Paul’s usual emphasis on the grace of our Lord Jesus.
SO WHAT?
1. Ministry comes at a cost. Assistance in time of distress. Risking. Working hard. Sacrifice. Prisoners. Workers. Tested and approved. Ministry by it’s very nature is sacrificial and costly. All of these people knew of or at least heard of the cost of ministry in the life of Paul. He modeled that for them and so they were determined to serve Christ in costly ministry as well.
2. A ministry is characterized by reproduction. 26 different individuals are mentioned in this greeting. In one way or another, Paul’s ministry was being reproduced through the lives of other committed individuals. In some cases, he was physically with them. This led to reproducing himself through them. They in turn were willing to count the cost themselves in their service for Christ. Let ministry happen and as it runs its course over time the impact is impressive.
3. Ministry is for both men and women. It is interesting to note that at least four women were said to have ‘worked hard’. One risked her own neck. Another may have been a fellow prisoner. Men and women both are responsible to serve Christ with their own God given giftedness and capacities and should be encouraged to do so without violating the specific leadership roles scripture identifies.
4. Ministry is best done one on one or in smaller groups. It was not the fact that these people were associated with some kind of group or congregation or class or denomination, but that they were connected relationally with other believers. This made ministry personal enough to make an impact in their lives. The Word of God is central.
5. Ministry is focused on people. When you boil it all down,
it is that life on life impact that changes the lives of people. This has
profound implications for the discipling of your wife or your children or extended
family. People are eternal. Programs are temporal. Maintain priorities here. You
only have so much time so use it to impact a few people that will impact a few
more for the kingdom of God.