Romans 16
Note: Paul ended his letter in the last chapter, but then he added a P.S. In this P.S., Paul is going to say hello to 35 different people that were members of the Roman church. Paul had met many of these believers during his four missionary journeys. Knowing 35 different believers by name in a church across the Mediterranean Sea, that Paul had never visited, demonstrates the amount of influence that Paul's apostleship had on the Roman world. He met all of these people with limited transportation, only because the Holy Spirit was leading the way. Paul was an example of what a spirit-filled believer can accomplish through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Personal Greetings
1 Now I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea,
The Greek word for "servant" is διάκονον (diakonon), the feminine form of deacon, or servant. There are some who misuse this verse to claim that the early church ordained female deacons. However, this word does not always mean the office of deacon. It can also mean that she was a servant of the church. She assisted the church in a non-official role. The qualifications of the office of deacon are mentioned in 1 Timothy 3 and in Titus 1. One of the qualifications of a deacon was that he was to have one wife. This rules out women deacons. Many churches run their church with a deacon board. This is also unbiblical. The church is to be run by ruling elders. The deacons are to assist the elders. Phoebe had a gift that allowed her to serve the church in an unofficial capacity.
2 so that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and provide her with whatever help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many, including me.
Paul asked the Roman church to welcome her as a sister-in-Christ and provide her with whatever she needed. The reason was the Phoebe had been a great help to many, including Paul.
3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,
Priscilla and Aquila were fellow workers of Paul. They had at one time lived in Rome, but they were most likely expelled by the Emperor Claudius. There seems to have been a problem in Rome between the messianic Jews and the Jews of Judaism. Claudius responded by kicking all of the Jews out of Rome. Apparently, the ban had been lifted, so Priscilla and Aquila were allowed to return to Rome. Priscilla and Aquila had assisted Paul in Ephesus. They both had the gift of teaching.
4 who risked their own necks for my life? Not only I, but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.
There are no details of this event in Scriptures. This goes to show that Paul had many experiences that were not written down in the Bible.
5 Also greet the church in their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.
Priscilla and Aquila opened a home church on Rome. Epenetus was the first convert of Asia, maybe even in Ephesus. His name suggests that he was most likely a Gentile.
6 Greet Mary, who has worked very hard for you.
Mary possessed a Jewish name (meaning "rebel"), so she was most likely Jewish.
7 Greet Andronicus and Junias, my compatriots and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me.
Compatriots are fellow Jews. Not only were they fellow Jews with Paul, but they were also fellow prisoners. This means that they must have been active in spreading the gospel. Since they were well known by all of the apostles, they most likely originated from Jerusalem.
8 Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.
Ampliatus was a famous slave name. It is found in many of the catacombs of Rome. The catacombs of Rome are full of believers in Christ, proving that Christ did exist.
9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my good friend Stachys.
Urbanus is a Latin name, meaning "city-bred". He was a real city slicker. He was most likely born in Rome.
The name Stachys has been found in the royal household.
10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.
Apelles means "the approved one." It was neither a Jewish or Greek name. It was a very common Jewish name. Church tradition identifies him as bishop of either Smyrna or Heracleia. He may have been part of the house of Herod, as this was a common name in Herod's house.
Aristobulus has been identified by Bishop Lightfoot as the grandson of Herod the Great. Another possibility is that he was a slave who took the name of his master.
11 Greet Herodion, my compatriot. Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.
Herodion was a compatriot, or fellow Jew. His name suggests that he may have been part of Herod's family.
Narcissus was the name of a well-known freedman who was put to death by Agrippina. He may have been a slave who took his name.
12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, laborers in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord.
The Greek name for Tryphena was "luxurious". The Greek name for Tryphosa was "voluptuous". The parents gave them these names, possibly meaning that the parents were on the immoral side. They were able to overcome the influence of their names and become servants of Christ and friends of Paul.
Persis is the name of a freed-woman.
13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother who was also a mother to me.
Rufus means "red". The Greek word for "chosen" is ἐκλεκτός (eklektos), meaning to be chosen as a very deeply personal choice to perform a mission for God. God chose Rufus for a very special purpose. If this is the same Rufus in Mark 15:21, then he could have possibly been the son of Simon of Cyrene, the man who carried the cross of Jesus. The Book of Mark was written for the Romans, so this very well could have been the same man. The people in Rome would have recognized Rufus. His father had firsthand knowledge of Christ's ascension to the crucifixion.
When Paul first went to Jerusalem after his conversion, all of the messianic Jews were afraid of him. However, the mother of Rufus took him into her house and cared for him. Everyone else suspected Paul of trickery. The mother of Rufus had enough spiritual discernment to know that he was for real.
14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters with them.
There is nothing known about these four names. Paul most likely met them on his missionary journeys and led them to Christ. Now, they were all together in Rome, beginning a church that no apostle had established.
15 Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the believers who are with them.
This is another list that modern believers know nothing about, but Paul knew them all. It is important to point out again that Paul never visited this church. This church was across the Mediterranean Sea, but Paul personally knew at least 35 members of this church.
16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.
Many charismatics claim to know the meaning of a "holy kiss". No one knows how a holy kiss is different from any other type of kiss. It was mentioned four times in Scripture, so it must be important. Believers were commanded to greet other believers in this way. Many Bible teachers like to claim that this is cultural, and not doctrinal. However, the text does not say it is cultural. Many times, teachers will take a verse that they do not want to obey and make it "cultural". Many Bible teachers do this with the wearing of the head-covering.
17 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who create dissensions and obstacles contrary to the teaching that you learned. Avoid them!
Paul gave a warning to the Roman church. They were to beware of those who desired to create dissensions, meaning those who were attempting to divide the church. They were warned to beware of obstacles contrary to what they had learned. They had learned sound Bible doctrine. The obstacles were false doctrines. In almost every one of Paul's letters, he warned the churches about false teachers coming into the church and attempting to slip in false doctrine.
The Greek word for "avoid" is ἐκκλίνω (eklinow), a present active imperative verb, meaning a command to reject, exclude, and turn these people out. If there are members and visitors attending a local church with false doctrine, then they are to be asked to leave.
18 For these are the kind who do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By their smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of the naive.
These false teachers were not serving the Lord Jesus Christ. They were teaching to feed their stomachs. They were teaching for profit. They were teaching as a mode of making a living, and not for the glory of Christ. They talked smoothly, as they tickled the ears of their congregation. They did not teach the full gospel, but mixed it and replaced it with words and thoughts of the satanic world system. They flattered their congregation, not teaching them about their ugly sin nature, but telling them how nice and good they were. They were telling the naive what they wanted to hear. The naive do not want to hear verse-by-verse Bible doctrine from the entire counsel of the Word of God. They would rather hear flowery stories and inspirational words of wisdom. Many seeker churches have followed this route. They teach some Bible doctrine, but the sermon is mostly ear-tickling, music concerts, skits, plays, and entertainment. Paul warned all of his churches through letters to avoid these types of teacher.
19 Your obedience is known to all and thus I rejoice over you. But I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.
Paul was on the other side of the Roman world, but he had heard about the obedience of the Roman church. This means that the Roman church was a mature church.
The believer should not mix with evil. He should desire to learn about good things.
20 The God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
Satan was attacking the Roman church, because they were a mature church who was applying Bible doctrine. The God of peace is the Lord Jesus Christ, who will crush Satan, purge evil out of the world, and bring in the peace of the Millennial Kingdom. This future event is called "Project Footstool". Christ will return and place Satan under his foot. This is what a conquering king would do to the losing king. Paul gave a second benediction. If Satan was going to attack the Roman church, then they needed the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to be with them. In the meantime, believers are commanded to resist the devil, as according to Ephesians 6.
21 Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my compatriots.
Paul adds another P.S.S. He adds a hello to Timothy. Timothy was mentored by Paul to become the pastor of the very mature Ephesian church. 1 and 2 Timothy were written by Paul to Timothy about these issues of pastoring a mature church.
The three mentioned are compatriots of Paul, meaning fellow-Jews. Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater were mentioned in Acts 17, 18, and 20.
22 I, Tertius, who am writing this letter, greet you in the Lord.
Tertius was Paul's secretary who wrote Romans. Paul had secretaries who wrote all of his letters, except for Galatians. Paul may have had bad eyesight as his thorn in the flesh. The Philippians wished that they could give Paul their eyes.
23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus the city treasurer and our brother Quartus greet you.
Paul was staying in the home of Gaius, one that he may have baptized in 1 Corinthians 1:14. Erasturs was the city treasurer, which was a very high position in city government. Quartus was a spiritual brother of Paul.
24 [[EMPTY]]
25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that had been kept secret for long ages,
Paul ended with a doxology of praise to the Lord Jesus Christ. , "My gospel" is the revelation that Paul received directly from the Lord Jesus Christ in the Arabian Desert. The mystery is new revelation that was given directly to Paul, and not to the other apostles. The mystery was not the church, because the church was revealed in the Old Testament and by Jesus himself. the mystery was the Jews and Gentiles forming one body in unity. This mystery had been kept a secret until it was revealed to Paul.
26 but now is disclosed, and through the prophetic scriptures has been made known to all the nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith –
This mystery had now been disclosed through the prophetic scriptures, meaning the New Testament scriptures. This new revelation was not revealed in the Old Testament. Now, all nations, not just the Jews, possess this knowledge. It was now time for all of the Gentiles to leave their paganism and become obedient to the one true faith.
27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be glory forever! Amen.
Paul closed with his final benediction.
