1I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: 2that ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also.
This last chapter of Paul’s letter to the believers in Rome is a very personal one. His first word is one of commendation of a sister in the faith whose name is Phebe. The fact that Paul introduces her to the Roman believers tells us that she had newly arrived. It is thought that Phebe may have been the person who delivered this letter to the Roman believers. Paul said that Phebe was a servant of the church at Cenchrea, which was the seaport of Corinth on the eastern side of the isthmus. He said that she had provided help to many, including to Paul himself, and asked that the believers in Rome stand with her in whatever she might need.
3Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: 4who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. 5Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.
Acts 18 tells us that Aquila was a Jew from Pontus who had lived in Rome but moved to Corinth with his wife Priscilla when the emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome. Paul met Priscilla and Aquila when he came to Corinth. Since Paul and Aquila were both tentmakers, they worked together. Because of Paul’s witness in Corinth, he faced great opposition from the Jews. It may have been then that Priscilla and Aquila risked their lives for him. Later, all three of them left Corinth and went to Ephesus. Then, when Paul continued his journey, Aquila and Priscilla remained in Ephesus. While there, they had ministry to a Jewish believer from Alexandria named Apollos. As we understand from Romans 16, Priscilla and Aquila at some point returned to Rome, and there was a church in Rome that met in their home.
Paul also sent greetings to a beloved believer named Epaenetus. Though some translations say “Asia” instead of “Achaia,” the clear majority of the Greek manuscripts say that he is a firstfruit of “Achaia.” In I Corinthians 16:15, Paul says, “ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia.” In both cases, there is no article “the” before “firstfruits.” In I Corinthians 1:14,16, Paul says that he baptized Crispus, Gaius, and the household of Stephanas. According to Acts 18:8, Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized. Thus, it is likely that there were a number of individuals who could be spoken of as “a firstfruit of Achaia.” If Epaenetus had left Corinth and moved to Rome, it is not surprising that Paul did not speak of him in his letter to the church in Corinth.
6Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us. 7Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.
We don’t know much about this believer named Mary, but God has given her honor in His Word as one who toiled to help those who were proclaiming the Gospel. Paul calls Andronicus and Junia his “kinsmen,” probably indicating that they also were Jewish. In II Corinthians 11:23, Paul spoke of having been in prisons frequently. In at least one of those times of arrest, Andronicus and Junia were in prison with him. Paul says that they had believed in Christ before he did and that the apostles held them in high esteem.
8Greet Amplias my beloved in the Lord. 9Salute Urbane, our helper in Christ, and Stachys my beloved. 10Salute Apelles approved in Christ. Salute them which are of Aristobulus' household. 11Salute Herodion my kinsman. Greet them that be of the household of Narcissus, which are in the Lord. 12Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labour in the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis, which laboured much in the Lord. 13Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine. 14Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them. 15Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them. 16Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.
In these 9 verses, Paul sends greetings to 18 people whom he calls by name. He also sends greeting to those who are associated with two others whom he names and to other unnamed believers. He speaks of them as “my beloved,” “our helper,” “approved,” “my kinsman,” ones “who labor” and who “labored much,” and as “chosen.” Seven times he says that the ones he mentions are “in the Lord” or “in Christ.” These are people that we won’t meet until heaven, but Paul knew and loved them as individual brothers and sisters in Christ. One of them, the mother of Rufus, he calls his mother, too. This woman surely had given Paul encouragement in his spiritual life and ministry. Then, he says, “the churches of Christ salute you.” From this statement we understand that Paul felt confident in speaking for the churches; this statement also confirms to us that Paul had not yet visited the believers he is writing to, because he did not include them among the churches that he knew.
17Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 18For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. 19For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. 20And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
Perhaps prompted by his remembrance of believers that he knew and loved in Rome, Paul now gives them both a word of warning and a word of encouragement. In his word of warning, he speaks of people who would take advantage of the love and trust among Christians. These deceivers cause divisions and lay stumbling blocks by introducing false doctrine with words that seem kind and good in order to draw away those whom they can. Paul says to keep an eye out for them and to turn away from them. Paul says that these deceivers do not serve Christ; rather, they serve their own belly. They want to use unsuspecting Christians for their own profit.
In verse 19, Paul encourages the believers in Rome that their obedience to Christ is known in the other churches. He says that he rejoices concerning them. He exhorts them to be “wise unto that which is good and simple concerning evil.” The words translated “simple” in verses 18 and 19 are not the same word. The word in verse 18 means “simple” in the sense of “unsuspecting.” The word in verse 19 means “simple” in the sense of “pure” and “unmixed with evil.” In verse 20, he says, “the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.” In Revelation 2:27, this word “bruise” is translated broken to shivers. “Shortly” is translated “speedily” and “quickly” in Luke 18:8 and in Acts 12:7. At the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, Satan will quickly be broken. He will never again be allowed to harm God’s people. It is striking that Paul says that the God of peace will break Satan under our feet. There will be no lasting peace in this world until the false god of this age is judged. At the close of verse 20, Paul says, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”
21Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you. 22I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord. 23Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, and Quartus a brother. 24The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
It may have been Paul’s first intent to close this letter with verse 20, but instead he allows those with him to add their greetings, too. We know the identity of Timothy, but that of the others is less certain. Jason may be the believer from Thessalonica spoken of in Acts 17:1-9. Gaius may be the person mentioned in I Corinthians 1:14 whom Paul baptized. In verse 22, Paul gives opportunity to the person penning this letter to send greetings; this person’s name was Tertius. In Galatians 4:13-15, Paul wrote: “Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first. And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.” Thus, Paul may have had weak eyesight and for this reason needed someone to write down his words. In verse 24, Paul repeats his wish in verse 20 that the grace of Christ be with the believers in Rome.
25Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, 26but 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: 27To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.
The clear majority of the Greek manuscripts place these verses at the end of chapter 14. Their position there provides a bridge between Paul’s discussion in that chapter of disagreements between Jewish and Gentile believers in Rome, and his wish and plea in the next chapter for a likemindedness by which the saints may “with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
In verses 25-27, the main structure of Paul’s sentence is: “Now to him that is of power to stablish you...to God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.” He desires that God firmly establish the Roman believers according to the Gospel Paul preached and the full proclamation of Jesus Christ. He says that the message of this proclamation is in accord with the revelation of a mystery which had been hidden since eternity past. This mystery was brought into the open in Paul’s time both by proclamation and through “prophetic writings.” Thus, these prophetic writings must be the New Testament Scriptures, including Paul’s own letters. The truth of this mystery is in accord with the decree of God. This truth was made known to all the nations with the intent that they may come to the obedience of faith.
What is this mystery, which was kept secret throughout the Old Testament but was made known in the New Testament? Paul states the truth of this mystery in Ephesians 3:1-6:
“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel....”
Paul said that the secret truth that God has now revealed is that in Christ, through the Gospel, the Gentiles are now joint heirs with Israel and belong to the same body as Israel and are sharers together with Israel in God’s promise. This is the same truth that Paul spoke of in Romans 11 when he said that Gentile believers are grafted into the olive tree of blessing whose root is in the promises God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. There Paul said, “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (11:25).
The truth that Gentile believers have been made sharers in God’s promise is also that which would bring a foundation of harmony in the disagreements between the Jewish and Gentile believers in Rome. We also today say with Paul, “To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.”
Note: All Scriptures are quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.