7.17.2016 ~ Romans 16:21-27, “The Mystery of God, in Christ, Made Known.”
Today is our final study in Romans, our first began on April 19, 2015, fifteen months ago. This has been a rigorous and challenging experience for me, somewhat like a strenuous hike that leads to extreme exhaustion, yet has times of almost euphoric exaltation; sometimes it was like a spiritual wrestling match and other times, it was like a deep spiritual massage.
My admiration for Paul has deepened and expanded, but more importantly, my trust in God and my desire to obey and to proclaim His Word has been elevated to new heights, and I pray the same is true for you.
Last week we looked at Paul’s greetings to a variety of friends in Rome, by name. Today we will look (vv. 21-24) at greetings from those who are with Paul in Corinth, and then (vv. 25-27) Paul’s benedictory doxology to the Christians in Rome about the mystery of God revealed.
See Romans 16:21-23... Paul first mentions Timothy, “my fellow worker” [lit. my co-laborer, who toils with me], Timothy [Greek timotheos, “to honor God”]. Timothy is mentioned in several of Paul’s letters, as he is Paul’s son in the faith, his number one disciple, and his dear friend (1Corinthians 4:16-17; Philippians 2:19-22; 1Thessalonians 3:1-2).
Next Paul mentions Lucius, and there are a couple of possibilities for who this might be: 1) Acts 13:1-3 records several prophets in the church at Antioch who are moved by God’s Spirit to set Barnabas and Saul (Paul) apart for a special work and mission (one named Lucius).
2) The author of the Gospel According to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, was the only Greek to write any of the Bible [Latin, Lucius; Greek, Lucas; Hebrew, Luke], traveled extensively with Paul, and is mentioned in Colossians 4:14, 2Timothy 4:11; Philemon 24.
Then Paul mentions Jason & Sosipater, saying they are his kinsmen [most likely meaning that they were fellow Jews]. There is a Jason mentioned in Acts 17:5-9, who hosted Paul and Silas in his house in Thessalonica, before they went to Berea. We also know (Acts 20:1-6) of a man named Sopater (a shortened form of Sosipater) who was from Berea and was among several men who joined Paul in Troas.
It is very likely then that the Jason and Sopater mentioned in Acts, who were from towns that Paul frequently visited, might very well be the Jason and Sosipater mentioned here in Romans 16:21, who are with Paul in Corinth as he writes this letter to Rome.
Next, in verse 22, we read “I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.” Interesting? Yes, Paul wrote Romans, but Tertius served as his secretary or amanuenses, writing down what Paul dictated.
1Corinthians 16:21, “I Paul, write this greeting in my own hand,” (Galatians 6:11), “See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand.” Paul repeats this closing greeting in both Colossians 4:18 and 2Thessalonians 3:17; by doing this Paul guarded against forgery of his letters while providing validation of his authorship to those he was writing.
Most scholars agree that the apostle Paul probably suffered from a serious eye problem, perhaps even malaria, although we aren’t told exactly what it was.
In 2Corinthians 12:8 Paul writes, “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
In Galatians 4 Paul tells us how the believers there cared for him while he was ill, even though we don’t know what ailed him, but he said to them (v. 15), “if you could have done so, you would have torn out your own eyes and given them to me.”
So, perhaps it was an ailment of his eyes? We don’t know, but he did use an amanuenses to write several of his letters, and he made a point of signing off his letter with large letters, which may suggest an eye problem.
Paul gives greetings from several men in verse 23, first is Gaius, who evidently had a large house in which the church met, and perhaps, where Paul stayed. This Gaius is likely the same one mentioned in 1Corinthians 1:14, as one of the two men Paul baptized in Corinth.
Next is Erastus, the director of public works or city Steward. His position in Corinth suggests that he was a man with wealth and influence; he was also a generous man, e.g. in 1929, The American School of Classical Studies in Athens discovered a marble paving block in Corinth with the following inscription in Latin, ”Erastus, commissioner for public works, laid this pavement at his own expense.” Interesting, because that pavement was laid during the first century A.D., and may well have been laid by Paul’s friend, mentioned here in Romans 16.
Then lastly Paul sends greetings from Quartus, another special brother in the Lord.
You’ll now notice that we go from verse 23 to verse 25 in the NIV. The NASB has verse 24 in brackets, as follows [The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen], which is similar to the last part of verse 20. It is in brackets because it is not found in the earliest Greek manuscripts of Romans.
See Romans 16:25-26... The word for “to establish" used here is the Greek word sterizo which means: “to make firm, stable, secure and immovable.”
So, Paul is saying that it is God who will make these believers in Rome, all believers really, eternally steadfast because of Christ.
Paul preached Christ, crucified, resurrected and coming again. In 1Corinthians 1:23 he says, "we preach Christ crucified,” in 1Corinthians 2:2 Paul says he
proclaimed nothing “except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” In 2Corinthians 4:5 Paul says, "we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord."
The reason Paul calls the gospel “my gospel,” in Romans 16:25, is because he spent his life preaching and teaching this gospel (see Romans 1:1-7, 16-17; 3:22-26; 5:1-2, 6-8; 6:23; 8:1-2, 28-39; 10:9-13; 11:29; 12:1-2, 9-18; 13:8; 14:19; 15:1-2, 7).
The very heart of the Gospel is the good news about Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Who is both Lord and Savior.
Not only does the gospel of Christ establish those who believe and receive it, but it also reveals the mystery of God that was partly revealed in the Old Testament through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his twelve sons, and especially Judah through whom Christ would come, the Lamb of God, to be crucified for our sins and resurrected that we might receive forgiveness, eternal life, and the very presence of God in us, as the body of revelation provided in the New Testament proclaims (see Ephesians 1:3-10, 13-14; 2:11-22; 3:1-11; 4:3-6).
So, what is “the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey Him” (verses 25-27)?
Is it that God was going to send a Savior to take the penalty and punishment for our sins? Or that Gentiles, along with Jews, were to be saved? No, for both of those truths are repeatedly taught in the Old Testament.
I believe the “mystery” Paul is speaking of here in Romans 16, is clearly expressed in Colossians 1:25-27, where Paul tells us his purpose as God’s servant is, “to present to you the word of God in its fullness— the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Paul says "the mystery is... Christ in you,” speaking to Gentiles here, he makes clear that there would no longer be a separation or chasm between Jew and Gentile, for in Christ all are one, united to form one new people, God’s people, the very dwelling place of God, in whom God lives by His Spirit and (Galatians 3:28), “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
No wonder Paul closes his letter to the Romans as he does (Romans 16:27), “to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.”
This is not only saying that Christ has glorified God, but that God is honored and glorified as we embrace and exemplify what God has done through Christ’s death and resurrection, and in fact all the claims made in Scripture about God’s Son, because that glory will never end, it is forever through Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior, Creator, Sustainer, and Judge over All (Ephesians 3:12), “In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” (20-21),
“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
Pastor Mike <‘(((><