Romans 16

Romans 16:1

H. In Appreciative Recognition of Others (Chap. 16) At first glance the closing chapter of Romans seems to be an uninteresting catalog of names that have little or no meaning for us today. However, upon closer study this neglected chapter yields many important lessons for the believer. 16:1 Phoebe is introduced as a servant of the church in Cenchrea. We need not think of her as belonging to some special religious order. Any sister who serves in connection with a local assembly can be a deaconess.16:2 Whenever the early Christians traveled from one church to another, they carried letters of introduction. This was a real courtesy to the church being visited and a help to the visitor. So the apostle here introduces Phoebe and asks that she be welcomed as a true believer in a manner worthy of fellow-believers. He further asks that she be assisted in every way possible. Her commendation is that she has given herself to the ministry of helping others, including Paul himself. Perhaps she was the tireless sister who was forever showing hospitality to preachers and other believers in Cenchrea. 16:3 Next Paul sends greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, who had been such valiant fellow workers of his in the service of Christ Jesus. How we can thank God for Christian couples who pour themselves out in sacrificial labor for the cause of Christ! 16:4 On one occasion Priscilla and Aquila actually risked their lives for Paula heroic act of which no details are given. But the apostle is grateful, and so are the churches of converted Gentiles to whom he ministered. 16:5 Greet the church that is in their house. This means that an actual congregation of believers met in their house. Church buildings were unknown until the late second century. Earlier, when Priscilla and Aquila lived in Corinth, they had a church in their house also. Epaenetus means praiseworthy. No doubt this first convert in the province of Achaia was true to his name. Paul speaks of him as my beloved.16:6 The prominence of women’s names in this chapter emphasizes their wide sphere of usefulness (vv. 1, 3, 6, 12, etc.). Mary worked like a Trojan for the saints. 16:7 We do not know when Adronicus and Junia were fellow prisoners with Paul. We cannot be sure whether the word countrymen means that they were close relatives of the apostle or simply fellow Jews. Again, we do not know whether the expression of note among the apostles means that they were respected by the apostles or that they themselves were outstanding apostles. All we can know for certain is that they became Christians before Paul. 16:8 Next we meet Amplias, beloved by the apostle. We would never have heard of any of these people except for their connection with Calvary. That is the only greatness about any of us. 16:9 Urbanus wins the title fellow worker, and Stachys is called my beloved. Romans 16 is like a miniature of the Judgment Seat of Christ, where there will be praise for every instance of faithfulness to Christ. 16:10 Apelles had come through some great trial with flying colors and had won the seal of approved in Christ. Paul greets the household of Aristobulus, probably meaning Christian slaves belonging to this grandson of Herod the Great. 16:11 Herodion was probably a slave also. A countryman of Paul, he may have been the only Jewish slave belonging to the household of Aristobulus. Then some of the slaves belonging to Narcissus were also believers, and Paul includes them in his greetings. Even those who are lowest on the social ladder are not excluded from the choicest blessings of Christianity. The inclusion of slaves in this list of names is a lovely reminder that in Christ all social distinctions are obliterated because we are all one in Him. 16:12 Tryphena and Tryphosa had names that meant dainty and luxurious, but they were veritable workhorses in their service for the Lord. The beloved Persis was another of those women workers that are so needed in local churches but seldom appreciated until they are gone. 16:13 Rufus may be the son of Simon, who carried the cross for Jesus (Mat_27:32). He was chosen in the Lord not only as to his salvation but also as to his Christian character; that is, he was a choice saint. The mother of Rufus had shown maternal kindness to Paul, and this earned his affectionate title my mother.16:14, 15 Perhaps Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, and Hermes were active in a house church, like the one in the house of Priscilla and Aquila (16:3, 5). Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas may have been the nucleus of another house church. 16:16 The holy kiss was the common mode of affectionate greeting among the saints then and is still practiced in some countries today. It is designated as a holy kiss to guard against impropriety. In our culture, the kiss is generally replaced by the handshake. The churches in Achaia, where Paul was writing, joined in sending their greetings. 16:17 The apostle cannot close the letter without a warning against ungodly teachers who might worm their way into the church. The Christians should be on their guard against any such who form parties around themselves and set traps to destroy the faith of the unwary. They should be on the lookout for any whose teaching is contrary to the sound doctrine which the Christians had learned, and should avoid them completely. 16:18 These false teachers are not obedient to our Lord Jesus Christ. They obey their own appetites. And they are all too successful in hoodwinking the unsuspecting by their winsome and flattering speech.16:19 Paul was glad that his readers’ obedience to the Lord was well-known. But still he wanted them to be able to discern and obey good teaching and to be unresponsive to evil. 16:20 In this way, the God who is the source of peace would give them a swift victory over Satan. The apostle’s characteristic benediction wishes all needed enablement for the saints as they journey toward glory. 16:21 We know Timothy, Paul’s son in the faith and faithful co-worker. We know nothing of Lucius except that he, like Paul, was of Jewish parentage. We may have previously met Jason (Act_17:5) and Sosipater (Act_20:4), also Jews. 16:22 Tertius was the one to whom Paul had dictated this epistle. He takes the liberty of adding his personal well-wishes to the readers. 16:23 There are at least four men by the name of Gaius in the NT. This is probably the same one spoken of in 1Co_1:14. He was noted for his hospitality, not only to Paul but to any Christians who needed it. Erastus was treasurer of the city of Corinth. But was he the same person mentioned in Act_19:22 and/or 2Ti_4:20? We cannot be sure. Quartus is mentioned simply as a brother, but after all, what an honor, what a dignity! 16:24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all is Paul’s typical closing benediction. It is the same as v. 20b with the addition of all. As a matter of fact, in most manuscripts of Romans, this is the last verse, and the doxology in vv. 25-27 comes after chapter 14. The Alexandrian (NU) text omits v. 20. Both the benediction and the doxology are beautiful ways to end the book. And both end with Amen. 16:25 The Epistle closes with a doxology. It is addressed to the God who is able to make His people stand firm in accordance with the gospel which Paul preached and which he calls my gospel. There is only one way of salvation, of course; but it was entrusted to him as the Apostle to the Gentiles, whereas Peter, for example, preached it to the Jews. It is the public heralding of the message about Jesus Christ concerning the revelation of a marvelous truth kept secret since the world began. A mystery, in the NT is a truth never previously known, and a truth which human intellect could never discover, but one which has now been made known. 16:26 The particular mystery spoken of here is the truth that believing Jews and believing Gentiles are made fellow heirs, fellow members of the Body of Christ, and fellow partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel (Eph_3:6). It now has been made manifest by the writing of the prophetsnot the prophets of the OT but those of the NT period. It was unknown in the OT Scriptures but has been revealed in the prophetic Scriptures of the NT (see Eph_2:20; Eph_3:5). It is the gospel message which God has commanded to be made known to all nations in order that people might obey the faith and be saved. 16:27 God alone is the source and display of pure wisdom, and to Him belongs glory through Jesus Christ, our Mediator, forever. And so ends Paul’s magnificent Epistle. How indebted we are to the Lord for it! And how poor we would be without it! Amen.