Romans 16-- “One fascinating thing about Romans 16 is what it reveals about Paul. Some have the idea that people who are interested in ideas, in this case those who are interested in Christian theology, are not interested in people. They are supposed to immerse themselves in books. They are not ‘relational,’ as we say. There are people like this, of course, but Paul is refutation of the idea that those who are interested in doctrine cannot be interested in those for whom the doctrine has been given. No one could be more interested in the great truths of God than Paul. The entire epistle to the Romans has been an unfolding of them. But here we see that Paul was also intensely interested in people. In fact, to judge by this chapter, Paul can be said to show more interest in people than anyone else in the bible except Jesus.” [BSF]
Rom 16:1-2 I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she has need of you; for indeed she has been a helper of many and of myself also.
“The chapter begins with a commendation of Phebe, the woman who many feel brought this epistle to Rome.”She was a Gentile, as her name indicates… She was named for the Greek goddess, Artemis or Diana, who in Greek mythology was the goddess of the moon, as her brother, Apollo, was the god of the sun. Many believers adopted new names at baptism, but Phebe kept her heathen name for some reason… [Perhaps it was a part of her testimony.] She is called a ‘servant of the church,’ which means she was a deaconess. The Greek word diakonos is the same word used for deacon. It reveals the fact that women occupied a very prominent place in the early church.” [J Vernon McGee]
Rom 16:3-4 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.
“Priscilla and Aquila were a Jewish couple. How had Paul met them, and in what way were they his helpers? Well, there had been a wave of anti-Semitism that had swept over the city of Rome, and Priscilla and Aquila had had to leave. They came to the city of Corinth while Paul was there and set up shop. Corinth was a good commercial center, and Paul was also plying his trade there. Since they were all tentmakers, this drew them together (see Acts 18:1–3), and Paul led them to the Lord. Then they were with Paul at Ephesus. Perhaps they had gone over there to open up a branch store. In Acts 18:26, we find that they were able to be helpful to Apollos: ‘And he [Apollos] began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.’ Notice that when we first meet them it is ‘Aquila and Priscilla.’ Now here in Romans it is Priscilla and Aquila. Why are the names reversed? Well, I think here is a case when the woman became dominant in spiritual matters. Spiritually she became the leader, although they were both outstanding workers for Christ.” [J Vernon McGee]
Rom 16:5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia to Christ.
The local church met in private homes at the very beginning. (See Acts 12:12; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Philem. 2.) Sanday writes, ‘There is no decisive evidence until the third century of the existence of special buildings used for churches.’ It is the belief of many folk today, and I have found this belief for years, that the church which began in the home will return to meeting in the home. Many of these great big buildings we call churches, with great steeples on them, are nothing more than a pile of brick, stone, and mortar. They are mausoleums, not living churches that contain a real, living body of believers. The church was never intended to be spoken of as a building. For the first three centuries the church was the body of believers and met in homes… Epaenetus is a Greek name meaning ‘praised.’ Evidently he was Paul’s first convert in the Roman province of Achaia.” [J Vernon McGee]
Rom 16:6 Greet Mary, who labored much for us.
“Mary is a Jewish name, the same as Miriam, meaning ‘rebelliousness.’ She ‘bestowed much labor on us’ means that she labored to the point of exhaustion. What a change had taken place in her life! Before becoming a believer, she was in rebellion, but now she ‘knocks herself out’ for the sake of other believers, because she is now obedient to Christ.”[J Vernon McGee]
Rom 16:7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my countrymen and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.
“Andronicus is a Greek name, and the name has been identified with a slave. Junia is a Roman name and can be either masculine or feminine. Paul calls them ‘my fellow countrymen,’ which may mean that they belonged to the tribe of Benjamin as did Paul…. Paul says, they were ‘my fellow prisoners.’ Evidently Paul had met them in one of the numerous prisons of the Roman Empire…” [J Vernon McGee]
Rom 16:8-9 Greet Amplias, my beloved in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys, my beloved.
“Amplias is a common slave name and occurs in the tombs of the early Christians in the catacombs, always in a place of honor. He evidently was one of Paul’s converts and dear to his heart. Urbane means ‘city bred.’ In other words, his name actually means ‘city-slicker.’ This was also a common slave name, and it may mean that he was brought up in the city rather than in the country. He is identified as a real worker among believers. Stachys has been found listed in the royal household. It is a masculine name. He was beloved not only to Paul but to the church.” [J Vernon McGee]
Rom 16:10 Greet Apelles, approved in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus.
“Apelles is the approved one. His is either a Greek or a Jewish name—the name was a common one among the Jews. He had stood some outstanding test. Tradition identifies him as bishop either of Smyrna or Heracleia. Aristobulus has been identified by Bishop Lightfoot as the grandson of Herod the Great. Or possibly he was a slave who took the name of his master—we can’t be sure of this.” [J Vernon McGee]
Rom 16:11 Greet Herodion, my countryman. Greet those who are of the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.
“Herodion was evidently a Jew, as Paul calls him a fellow countryman. The name suggests the Herod family. He may have been a slave who adopted the name of the family to which he belonged. Narcissus is the name of a well-known freedman put to death by Agrippina. The one whose name appears here was probably a slave who formerly belonged to him and had taken his name.” [J Vernon McGee]
Rom 16:12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, who have labored in the Lord. Greet the beloved Persis, who labored much in the Lord.
“Tryphena and Tryphosa are euphonious names that mean ‘delicate’ and ‘dainty.’ I imagine these two little ladies were old maid sisters who came to know Christ. They may have been women of means, and they had supported the apostle Paul. Paul says that they labored ‘in the Lord’—they were real workers in the church at Rome. ‘The beloved Persis’ is another woman who ‘labored much in the Lord.’ Persis is the name of a freedwoman, and her position may have enabled her to do more than the preceding two sisters.
Rom 16:13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.
“Although this man seems to stand in the shadows in this chapter, actually we can know a great deal about him—[perhaps] even to the color of his hair! His name means ‘red.’ Red was the name by which he was called. However, there were many red-haired folk; it was not his hair that made him unusual. The thing that marks him out is the phrase that follows, ‘chosen in the Lord.’ I love that. ‘But,’ you may say, ‘were not the others in this chapter chosen in the Lord also?’ Yes, they were all wonderful saints, but this man was outstanding. Perhaps a better translation would be ‘distinguished in the Lord.’ He was a great saint of God.” Here is a possibility according to J Vernon McGee:
That Rufus was prominent in the church is inferred in the reference to his father. When John Mark wrote his gospel, he wrote it primarily for the Romans. In it he mentions the incident of a man by the name of Simon carrying the cross of Christ. ‘And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross’ (Mark 15:21). The Roman soldiers that day saw Jesus falling under the cross. Looking over the crowd they shouted, ‘Here!’ to a big double-fisted fellow, Simon of Cyrene. ‘You come here and carry it.’ And carry it he did—an act that has made him immortal. John Mark, writing to Rome, identifies Simon for them by adding, ‘the father of Alexander and Rufus’—all the saints at Rome would know Rufus because he was outstanding in the church.
Will you notice further that Paul’s greeting includes the mother of Rufus. ‘Salute Rufus … and his mother and mine.’ While we know nothing of the mother of Paul the apostle and nothing of his father, we learn here of a ] godly woman in the city of Jerusalem, [possibly] the wife of Simon the Cyrenian, who was like a mother to the apostle Paul. You may recall that the first time Paul came to Jerusalem following his conversion, the Christians feared him. They were unconvinced that this powerful Pharisee was genuine; they suspected trickery. Yet the mother of Rufus took Paul in, ‘You just come in and stay with Rufus in his room.’ Looking back to that time, Paul writes concerning her, ‘She is Rufus’ mother, but she is mine also.’ What a lovely tribute to this warmhearted Christian mother!” [Through the Bible with J Vernon McGee]
Rom 16:14-16 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren who are with them. Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you.
These are two small groups within the church at Rome. Paul tells them to greet one another with a holy kiss. This is a perfect end to discussion on the division we have spoken on between weak and strong Christians. John Stott says: One of the most interesting and instructive aspects of church diversity in Rome is that of gender. Nine out of twenty six persons greeted are women…. Paul evidently thinks highly of them all. He singles out four (Mary, Tryphena, Tryphosa and Persis) as having ‘worked hard’. The verb kopiao implies strong exertion, is used of all four of them, and is not applied to anybody else on the list. Paul does not specify what kind of hard work they did. Two names call for special attention. The first is Priscilla, who in verse 3 and in three other New Testament verses is names in front of her husband. (Acts 18:18; 26; 2 Tim 4:19). Whether the reason was spiritual (that she was converted before him or was more active in Christian service than he) or social (that she was the dominant personality), Paul appears to recognize and not criticize her leadership.”— “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Gal 3:27-29)
“greet one another with a holy kiss” Paul concludes this list of individual greetings with universals. Stott says: “… although only a few of them have been greeted by name, they must all greet one another with a holy kiss (16a). The apostles Paul and Peter both insisted on this (1 Cor 16:20; 2 Cor 13:12; 1 Thes 5:26; 1 Pet 5:14), and the church fathers took it up. Justin Martyr wrote that ‘on finishing the prayers we greet each other with a kiss’ [Apology I.65], and Tertullian seems to be the first to have called for a ‘kiss of peace’ [On Prayer, 14]. The logic is that our verbal greeting needs to be confirmed by visible and tangible gesture, although what form the ‘kiss’ should take will vary according to the culture. For those of us who live in the West, J. b. Phillips paraphrases: ‘Give one another a hearty handshake all round for my sake.’”
Rom 16:17-18 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.
The church today seems to feel that “doctrine divides.” But as we have learned in this epistle, “doctrine saves.” This warning of Paul is not against some who bring up the doctrine of Christ, but against those who teach another doctrine. This precept run alongside of Paul’s exhortation to the Galatians: “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.” (Gal 1:8) Obedience is required here.
Rom 16:17-20 For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil. And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
Stott explains: Paul begins his exortation with the same words which he has used to introduce an earlier one: I urge you, brothers (17, cf 21:1) He issues a threefold appeal—to vigilance, to separation and to discernment.
Stott breaks it down:
First, Paul pleads for vigilance: watch out for(JB ‘be on guard against’) those who cause division and put obstacles in your way, hindering your progress that are (both of them) contrary to the teaching you have learned. (17)… Paul urges the Romans to look out for those who cause them because they contradict the teaching of the apostles. He takes it for granted, even thus early in the church’s history, that there is doctrinal and ethical norm which the Romans[ and the church universal] must follow [ and preserve], not contradict; it is preserved for us in the New Testament.
Secondly, Paul calls for separation from those who deliberately depart from the apostolic faith. Keep away from them, he writes… Why is this? What is the essence of their deviation? Paul tells us. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. (18a) literally ‘their own belly’ (AV). This is very unlikely to be an allusion to the controversy over Jewish food laws. It is rather a graphic metaphor of self-indulgence (as in Phil 3:19, ‘their god is their stomach’). The expression is used ‘in thesence of serving oneself, of being the willing slave of one’s egotism’ [Cranfield Vol II pg 800]. These false teachers have no love for Christ, and no wish to be His willing slaves. Instead, they are ‘utterly self-centered’ (JBP), and also have a baneful effect on the gullible. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naïve people (18b). Better, ‘they seduce the minds of simple people with smooth and specious words’ (REB).
Thirdly, Paul urges the Romans to grow in discernment …. There are two kinds of obedience, blind and discerning, and he longs for them to develop the latter: but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. (19b) To be wise in regard to good is to recognize it, love it and follow it. With regard to evil, however, he wants them to be unsophisticated, even guileless, so completely should they shy away from any experience of it. J. B. Phillips captures the contrast of it well: ‘I want to see you experts in good, and not even beginners in evil.’ Here then are three valuable tests to apply to different systems of doctrine and ethics—biblical, Christological and moral tests. We could put them in the form of questions about any kind of teaching we come across. Does it agree with Scriptures? Does it glorify the Lord Christ? Does it promote goodness?”
“And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” Stott writes: “Probably there is an allusion to Genesis 3:15, where God promised that the seed of the woman (namely Christ) would crush the serpent’s head. But there is surely a further reference to man, male and female, whom God created and to whom he gave dominion. As the psalmist put it, God has put everything under His feet’ (Ps 8:6) So far this has been fulfilled only in Christ, since God has put all things under His feet.’ (Eph 1:22; Heb 2:8) Yet still His exaltation is incomplete, for, while He reigns, He also waits for His enemies to be made His footstool (Ps 110:1 and its many New Testament applications to Christ). That this will happen ‘soon’ is not necessarily a time reference, but rather a statement that God has planned nothing to occupy the space between ascension and parousia. The parousia is the very next event on His calendar. Meanwhile the Romans [and we] should expect regular victories over Satan, partial crushings of him under their feet.” This implies our active participation through the working of the Holy Spirit.
Rom 16:21 Timothy, my fellow worker, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my countrymen, greet you.
Now Paul sends greetings from those who were with him as he was writing this Epistle to the Romans. All of these were companions of Paul. They send greetings to their fellow believers in Rome.
Rom 16:22 I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord.
Paul, you see, had an amanuensis, a secretary, to write his letters. (The Epistle to the Galatians is the exception.)
Rom 16:23 Gaius, my host and the host of the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, and Quartus, a brother.
Paul was staying in the home of Gaius who wanted to send his salutations also.
Rom 16:24-27 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. 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 kept secret since the world began but now has been made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures has been made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith-- to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.
“‘The mystery’ means that it had not been revealed in the Old Testament. It refers to the present age when God is taking both Jew and Gentile and fashioning them into one body, the church. ‘But now is made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith’ Here we see the obedience of faith. When you trust Christ, you will obey Him, my friend. The Lord Jesus said, ‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me’ (John 10:27). Obedience is the work and fruit of faith. My favorite hymn is ‘Trust and Obey’ by John H. Sammis: ‘When we walk with the Lord, In the Light of His Word, What a glory He sheds on our way!— While we do His good will, He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey.— Then in fellowship sweet, We will sit at His feet, Or we’ll walk by His side in the way— What He says we will do, Where He sends we will go; Never fear, only trust and obey. Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.’” [J Vernon McGee]
“To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen”