Romans 16:1-23
As we approach the end of this letter (epistle) to the holy and Godly-loved
people in Rome, Paul includes commendations and greetings.
Romans 16:1 and 2:
16:1But I commend to you
Phebe your sister being also a minister of the church, the
(church) in Cenchrea, .2in
order that you may accept her towards-yourselves in (the)
Lord worthily of the holy-people and you may stand-beside her in
what-ever matter she may have need of you, for she also was
caused-to-become a patroness both of many other-people and of me
myself.
Paul writes: I commend Phebe to you (I cause her to
stand in conjunction together with you, in the sense of favorably introducing
her to you)...
- your sister (she is your sister in the spirit category because she has received the same gift
of holy spirit as all of you who are also holy-people [some Greek texts read
"our sister" which would also be true])
- who is also being a minister (one who serves to benefit others, not
'being-subject' to them but doing work to bring others profit, one who
carries-out her day-by-day ministerial duties, her duties of service to/for
God)
- pertaining to the church,
- emphatically and specifically the church located in
Cenchrea (a port/harbor at the eastern side of
Corinth),
...for the purpose and result that...
- you would accept her towards yourselves (welcome
her, subjectively receive her, willingly take her to yourselves [some Greek
texts do not include the word "her" - however, it agrees with the context])
- within the cause and sphere of action of the Lord (emphasis is being
placed on the truth that the
Lord Jesus Christ is the Master,
and confirming the validity and authenticity of his lordship,
including dominion and authority, over and relative-to his slaves, plus
the respectful submission due to him by his slaves)
- worthily of the holy-people (in a manner that is of equal-value, of
like-worth with Christians, as being correctly weighed on a scales
and thus deserving)
- and you would stand near-by her (present yourselves beside her in the
sense of being supportive of her)
- in what ever matter (during any
performance, action, the result of something she practices, business,
fact, deed, event)
- she would have need of you (have a necessity for your useful help),
...in truth, emphatically she also came to pass to be (in Greek there is a definite word for “she” plus the verb meaning “she was
caused to become” giving emphasis – she became)...
- a patroness
(one who protects, helps, and supports others)
- both of many
other-people
- and emphatically of me.
Evidently Phebe was sent by Paul to deliver this letter.
In verse 1, the word "church" comes from
the Greek word ekklesia, which comes from two words meaning "out from"
and "called" - and so it means "called out from." A church is an assembly of
people called out from other people for any reason. It does not refer to a
particular type of building or a house, even though the church or assembly may
meet in a particular type of building or in a house. In this context the
"church" consists of all the holy-people in
Cenchrea (those
who had received the gift of holy spirit - the sanctified people, Christians, saints,
children of the only true God).
[Reference: Acts 18:18, 27:23; I
Corinthians 3:5; Ephesians 4:1; Philippians 1:1, 2:29; Colossians 1:10;
I Thessalonians 2:12; I Timothy
3:8 and 12, 4:6; II Timothy 4:17; III John 1:6.]
Verses 3-5:
.3You must greet Prisca
and Aquila - workers-together with me in
Christ Jesus, .4the-people-who put the neck of themselves
under(-risk) on behalf of
my soul, to whom not only I thank but also all the
churches of the Gentiles - .5and the church according to
their house. You must greet Epaenetus,
my loved-person1, who is from (the) beginning of
Asia into Christ.
You must greet Prisca and Aquila (salute them, draw this wife and husband to yourselves), who are...
- joint-workers with me (they expend their energy in conjunction with
me, my coworkers)
- in Christ Jesus (emphasis is being
place on the truth that the
Lord Jesus Christ is the Anointed-one - within the cause and sphere of
action, character, and attributes of Christ Jesus; all holy-people are limbs of
the one spiritual body of Christ, similar to an eye or arm or leg being in the
physical body),
- the people who put the neck of themselves under risk (they put
themselves in danger of execution)
- in the interests of my physical life (so that I can continue living my
everyday life in the natural realm as evidenced by my breathing, to keep me
from being killed by those who oppose me),
- to whom not only emphatically I thank
(in
Greek there is a definite word for “I” plus the verb meaning “I thank”
giving emphasis – not alone am I myself grateful to them)
- but also all the churches of the Gentiles (every one of the assemblies
of holy-people, who are of the Gentile background, are thankful to them; refer
to Romans 11:13 and 15:15-18)
...and also greet the church of holy-people who gather together in their house
periodically (to learn God's Word, pray, etc).
You must greet Epaenetus, who is...
- my loved-person1 (he is
Godly-loved by me),
- who is one of the first people from Asia who became a holy-person by
receiving the spirit of Christ in him [some Greek texts read
"first-fruit-offering" instead of "from (the) beginning"].
The word "love1" or the verb
"to love1" comes from the Greek word agape which is God’s kind
of love. To love with His love means to love the same way as God loves, to
manifest God's love towards another, whether it is towards God Himself, the Lord
Jesus Christ, yourself, your Christian neighbor, or towards anyone else. God
tells His children today (all who have the spirit of Christ within us) how to
Godly-love by means of His previously-revealed written Word and also via our
holy spirit-life whereby we receive information from Him regarding how to love
in different specific situations. It is the carrying out of God's commandments,
His Word, which is the correct usage or way to manifest God's kind of love
according to His will (refer to I Corinthians chapter 13 and I John 5:1-3). It
is not the same as the brotherly or friendly kind of love, nor is it the same as
the emotional/feelings/sexual kind of love.
[Reference: Acts 2:46, 5:42, 9:15,
13:46-48, 15:12, 18:1-3, 18,
19 and 26, 19:10, 20:20; 22:17-21, 26:13-23, 28:28; Romans 1:5 and 13, 11:13,
15:15-18; I Corinthians 16:15
and 19; II Corinthians 8:23, 12:15; Galatians 1:16, 2:8; Ephesians 3:1-8; Philippians 2:25, 4:3; Colossians
1:26-29, 4:15; I Timothy 2:7; II
Timothy 4:17 and 19; Philemon 1:1, 2 and 24; Hebrews 13:17.]
Verses 6-9:
.6You must greet Mary, she-who labored
many-things into you. .7You must greet
Andronicus and Junias, my family-kinsmen
and captives-together with me, the-people-who are signaled among the
apostles, who also became2 in Christ before me. .8You
must greet Ampliatos, the loved-person1
in (the) Lord. .9You must greet
Urbanus, a worker-together with us in
Christ, and Stachys, my loved-person1.
You must greet Mary [some Greek texts read Mariam, which is the Hebrew
rendering of this name]...
- specifically she is the woman who labored (she exerted wearisome effort, extended a
lot of effort, as if beating herself out physically by what she was doing,
she toiled)
- many things
- directed to (with a view to/for) you.
You must greet Andronicus and Junias [some
Greek texts read Junia or Julia], who are...
- my family-kinsmen (relatives)
- and captives-together with me (held captive as prisoners-of-war in
conjunction with me),
- these are the holy-people who are also signaled among the apostles
(they have the sign of authenticity of being apostles upon them and this
truth is noted by people as they carry out their apostleship; "apostles"
are holy-people sent forth or away
from the Lord Jesus Christ on a specific mission or assignment to a
person or people; this word places emphasis on being sent),
- who also became and continue to be
- in Christ (holy-people with the spirit of Christ within him
and they behave appropriately also; as verse 3 above)
- before me (in front of, in advance
of, ahead of, prior to the time when I become a holy-person, a
Christian).
You must greet Ampliatos [some Greek texts have
his name as Amplias], who is...
- the loved-person (as verse 5 above [some Greek texts include the word
"my"])
- in the Lord (as verse 2 above).
You must greet Urbanus, who is...
- a worker-together with us (as verse 3 above)
- in Christ (as verses 3 and 7 above),
...and Stachys, who is...
- my loved-person1 (as verses 5 and 8 above).
[Reference: Acts 23:16; Romans 8:1, 2 and 39, 12:5; II Corinthians 8:23,
12:12; Ephesians 4:11-15; Colossians 4:10; Philemon 1:23.]
Verses 10-12:
.10You must greet Apelles,
the approved-person in Christ. You must greet the (people)
from the (people) of Aristobulus.
.11You must greet Herodion,
my family-kinsman. You must greet the (people) from the
(people) of Narcissus, the (people) being in (the)
Lord. .12You must greet Tryphena
and Tryphosa, the (people)
laboring in (the) Lord. You must greet
Persis, the loved-person1, she-who labored
many-things in (the) Lord.
You must greet Apelles, who is...
- the approved-person (a holy-person who
has been proved by testing or examination and thereby approved regarding his
behavior, the way he conducts himself during his everyday living)
- in Christ (as verses 3, 7, and 9 above).
You must greet the holy-people who are from
Aristobulus' household.
You must greet Herodion who is my
family-kinsman (relative).
You must greet the holy-people who are from Narcissus' household...
- emphatically and specifically the people what are presently and
actively being
- in the Lord (as verses 2 and 8 above).
You must greet Tryphena and
Tryphosa (2 women), who are...
- the holy-people laboring (as verse 6 above)
- in the Lord (as verses 2, 8, and 11 above).
You must greet Persis (a woman), who is...
- the loved-person1 (as verses 5, 8, and 9 above),
- specifically she is the woman who labored many things (as verse 6
above)
- in the Lord (as verses 2, 8, and 11 above).
[Reference: Romans 14:18; I Corinthians 11:19; II Corinthians 10:18, 13:7;
II Timothy 2:15; James 1:12.]
Verses 13-16:
.13You must greet Rufus, the selected-person in
(the) Lord, and his mother and mine. .14You must
greet Asyncritus,
Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas,
Hermas and the brothers together with
them. .15You must greet Philologus,
and Berea, and Aoulian and his sister,
and Olympas and all the holy-people
together with them.
.16You must greet one-another in a holy kiss. All the
churches of Christ greet you.
You must greet Rufus, who is...
- the selected-person (chosen-out, elected;
Paul is specifically noting here that Rufus was chosen-out by God from
other people when he became a holy-person; refer to Romans 8:33)
- in the Lord (as verses 2, 8, 11,
and 12 above),
...and greet his mother and mine (I also receive her motherly affection
and care).
You must greet Asyncritus,
Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas,
Hermas...
- and the brothers (referring to those who have received the gift of
holy spirit - brothers in the spirit category)
You
must greet Philologus, and Berea, and
Aoulian and his sister, and
Olympas...
- and all the holy-people (sanctified people, Christians, saints)
- together with them.
- [Some Greek texts vary as regards the names listed in verses 14 and 15.]
You
must greet one-another (salute, draw each other towards yourselves)...
- in/by a holy kiss (a sanctified love-token, the considerate expression of your Godly-love
for one-another
within the sphere of action of the brotherly or friendly kind of love).
All the churches of Christ (as verse 1 above) greet you.
The
assemblies of holy-people belonging to Christ, in the area where Paul
was when he was writing this letter, sent their greetings to the
holy-people in Rome.
In some cultures today the literal act of kissing another may not be
acceptable - but what Paul wanted them to do was to greet one-another with
loving respectful consideration and affection, as is fitting of brothers and
sisters in Christ being children of God; perhaps in your culture it may be
demonstrated by a hand-shake or an embrace. This is applicable to all
holy-people today also because we are children of God having received exactly
the same holy spirit within us, which is the spirit
of Christ, the deposit of the new covenant.
[Reference: Acts 20:37; Romans 8:33; I Corinthians 16:20; II Corinthians
13:12; Ephesians 1:4, 22 and 23, 5:23 and 32; Colossians 1:24, 3:12; I
Thessalonians 5:26; I Timothy 5:2; II Timothy 2:10; Titus 1:1; I Peter 5:14.]
Verses 17 and 18:
.17But I encourage you, brothers, to scope the
(people) either saying or making the dissensions and the
offenses against the teaching which you learned, and you must
lean-out away-from them, .18for the-people-of-this-kind
do not serve-as-slaves to our Lord Christ but the belly of
themselves, and by means of the benevolent-wording and blessing they
wholly-deceive the hearts of the people-without-badness;
I encourage you (exhort you, call you beside me, as a concerned father or mother would call/invite
their children close to them under their arms so as to help them to do what is
right in the walk/behavior category)...
- brothers (again reminding you that
you are my brothers; all holy-people are brothers in the spirit
category because all of us have received the same gift of holy spirit and we
are therefore all children of God our Father),
...to scope (to watch, look
intensely at - as a target so as to determine your own action carefully – to
scope) the people who are...
- either saying or (laying out a collection of words, speaking an account
of their inner-thoughts [some Greek texts omit
these words])
- making (doing, producing)
- the dissensions (discords, causing people or things to stand apart from each-other)
- and the offenses (the causes for stumbling, the trap-sticks, as when bait is attached and if it
is struck or hit against it springs the trap, an offense if a person did
not take heed to it)
- against the teaching (beside, beyond, alongside, in the sense of being aside-from,
contrary-to, to the exclusion-of the authoritative
instruction, the doctrine, the contents of what was taught to you
previously)
- which emphatically you learned (in Greek there is a definite word for “you” plus the verb meaning “you
learned” giving emphasis – you yourselves have already
become informed of
intellectually, knowledgeably and skillfully),
...and you must lean-out away from them
(bow out, bend outwards away from their line
of behavior, leave, depart, shun, turn-aside and keep away from them) -
why? - for...
- the people of this sort (such people) do not
serve in the position and capacity of
being slaves (bound-people carrying out the appropriate service)
- to/for our Lord Christ (emphasis
is being placed on the truth that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Master and
he is the Anointed-one, the Messiah)
- but on the contrary, the people of this sort serve as slaves
- to/for the belly of themselves (their
own hollow inner-parts, figuratively referring to their personal
appetites and the fleshly desires of their body and soul-life, which is
to the exclusion of holy spirit-life),
- and by means of (through, by way of)
- the
benevolent-wording (the speech, the
collection of words, the account of their inner-thoughts, the spoken
sentence which consists of words that are kind, supplying words that are
appropriately needed for use in a specific situation)
- and blessing (an account spoken
which consists of words that are good/well, a good wording, the speech that is
well)
- they wholly-deceive (they fully
delude, thoroughly beguile with false/lying statements)
- the hearts (the very center or core
of their beings, the seat of their whole personal selves and life)
- of the
people-without-badness (those who lack
anything that is contrary to God’s will, who do not have any bad
thing that would evidence badness).
It may be interesting to note here that those who wholly deceive
use benevolent and good-worded speech towards the hearers (not nasty
or abusive words - it would be more difficult to deceive with unkind or
cursing words). The serpent (the devil, satan) spoke words that were false and lying
words to Eve and thereby he wholly deceived her heart - she was
without badness at that time (refer to the
Appendix to Romans which is a
study of Genesis chapter 3; this event preceded
the fall of the first man, Adam).
[Reference: Matthew 4:3-11, 6:24; Acts
20:19; Romans 1:25, 3:12, 6:17, 7:11,
12:1-3, 8 and 11, 14:13 and 18, 15:30; I Corinthians 3:3 and 18, 6:13, 15:33; II
Corinthians 11:3 and 13-15; Galatians 1:8 and 9, 5:13 and 20; Ephesians 5:6, 6:7; Philippians 3:17-19; Colossians 3:24
and 25;
II Thessalonians 2:3, 3:6 and 14; I Timothy 2:14; II Timothy 3:1-7; Hebrews 7:26; I Peter 3:11.]
Verses 19 and 20:
.19for your obedience reached-from (you)
into all-people, therefore I joy on you and I also intend you to
be wise into the good-thing and unmixed into the bad-thing, .20and
the God of the peace will crush satan under your feet in quickness.
(May) the grace of our Lord Jesus (be) with you.
In truth, your obedience (hearing,
listening attentively to the good-message which was taught to you and then the
action carried out in accordance-with and resulting-from it is your obedience)...
- reached (came away) from you
- into all the holy-people in other areas,
...therefore I joy (rejoice) resting or
basing my joy upon you and I also intend you (I will, with active
volition and desire for you) to presently and actively be...
- wise (skillful or expert in the application of personal knowledge,
doing the most appropriate action
concerning a specific situation or circumstance even when complete knowledge
of it may not be available)
- into the good-thing (regarding that-which is good, that-which
issues from God; God is the One Who
issues His goodness and He sets the standard of/for what is good and to
be conformed to by you, what is perfectly admirable from God's
viewpoint, which is according to His words and intention because He is
the source of all true goodness)
- and unmixed (without even the
smallest kind of adulteration which would change a person into being mixed
with guile)
- into the bad-thing (regarding
that-which does not issue from the only true God, what is contrary to
His intention),
...and
the God of the peace (tranquil harmony, tranquility, peaceful wholeness, without any strife
or disagreement; God is the author and source of the only true peace, and
from Whom His peace issues and emanates)...
- will crush satan (will rub together
and shatter satan - figuratively referring to the fact that satan will be
destroyed; satan
is
the name that emphasizes the devil's opposing and adversarial attributes
being in total opposition to the only true God; it is one of the many names
used in the Bible to describe his characteristics, qualities, etc)
- under your feet (figuratively referring to satan being legally
subject or in submission to you)
- in quickness (with speed, swiftly).
The ultimate and final crushing of satan
(his complete destruction) will take place after Christ will gather the church
together and God's wrath will come-to-pass upon all that is against God and
against His Christ - which was foretold by God in Genesis 3:15 and is detailed
in Revelation chapter 20.
Paul's opening address in this letter included grace (refer to Romans
1:5 and 7), and here he closes it by expressing his prayerful desire:
- May it be that
- the grace (what is freely bestowed without any merit on the
recipient's part, the undeserved favor)
- proceeding from our Lord Jesus (our Master who is Jesus)
- be in company and association with you during the everyday
living of your lives.
[Reference: Matthew 10:16; Luke 4:16-21; John 19:36;
Romans 1:5 and 7, 2:10, 5:1, 6:16, 8:28, 14:17, 15:2, 13, 18 and 33; I
Corinthians 1:31, 12:7-14, 15:25 and 27, 16:23; II Corinthians 5:10, 13:13;
Galatians 6:10 and 18; Ephesians 1:22, 4:28, 6:8 and 24; Philippians 2:12-16,
4:9 and 23; Colossians 4:18;
I Thessalonians 5:15, 23 and 28; II Thessalonians 3:18; I Timothy 6:21; II
Timothy 4:22; Titus 3:15; Philemon 1:25; Hebrews 13:20 and 25; I Peter 3:11; III
John 1:11; Revelation 1:1, 2:26-28, and chapter 20.]
Verse 21:
.21Timothy, the worker-together with me, greets
you, and Lucius and Jason and
Sosipater, my family-kinsmen.
Verse 21 is an addendum (postscript) added
by Paul telling those to whom he is writing that Timothy, who is his coworker
(as verses 3 and 9 above), greets them. Also,
Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, his relatives,
greet them.
[Reference: Acts 13:1, 16:1-3, 17:5-9,
20:1-4; I Corinthians 4:17, 16:10; II Corinthians 1:1; Philippians 1:1;
Colossians 1:1; I Thessalonians 1:1, 3:2; II Thessalonians 1:1; I Timothy 1:2
and 18, 6:20; II Timothy 1:2; Philemon 1:1; Hebrews 13:23.]
Verses 22 and 23:
.22I, Tertius, the
(person) having written the letter, greet you in (the)
Lord. .23Gaius, my host, greets you and the whole church.
Erastus, the steward of the city, greets
you and Quartus, the brother.
Verses 22 and 23 contain an addendum
(postscript) added by the person who had the
writing pen and paper, and actually wrote down the words that Paul
spoke by revelation onto the paper - Paul's assistant
(amanuensis, secretary, stenographer, scribe). He writes:
- Emphatically I, Tertius,
- the person who physically wrote this letter (epistle),
- greet you
- in the Lord (as verses 2, 8, 11,
12, and 13 above).
- Gaius,
- my host (he is showing hospitality towards me - I am lodging in his house as a
guest/stranger),
- and the whole church (the entire assembly of holy-people who gather
regularly in Gaius' house - everyone greets you; refer to verses 1 and 5
above).
- Erastus,
- the steward of the city (the city house-manger,
administrator of the city matters, treasurer),
- and Quartus,
- the brother (he is our brother in the spirit category because he
has also received the same gift of holy spirit within him).
[Reference: Acts 19:22; Romans 12:13; II Timothy 4:20.
There are
other references to holy-people having the name of “Gaius” in Acts 19:29
(Macedonia), in Acts 20:4 (Derbe), in I Corinthians 1:14 (Corinth), and in III
John 1:1.]
The verse usually labeled as Romans 15:24 is omitted by most texts.
The verses usually labeled as
Romans 16:25-27 are at the end of Romans chapter 15.
[Note: verbs with a superscript 2 (2) immediately following
them indicate the "perfect" tense - details are provided in the
"Relevant Notes" link of this study.]
(May) the grace of our Lord Jesus (be) with you.
