CHAPTER 16
1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea. |
servant. The Greek word is deacon, which
proves that women held offices in the early church. |
| 2 I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way
worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she
has been a great help to many people, including me. |
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| 3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers
in Christ Jesus. |
Priscilla and Aquila. They were a married
couple and were co-pastors. |
| 4 They risked their lives for me. Not only I but
all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. |
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| 5 Greet also the church that meets at their
house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in
the province of Asia. |
church that meets at their house. The
church met in their home; it appears that the wife was the spiritual leader
in the church. This again proves that women held offices in the church. |
| 6 Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you. |
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| 7 Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who
have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and
they were in Christ before I was. |
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| 8 Greet Ampliatus, whom I love in the Lord. |
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| 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ,
and my dear friend Stachys. |
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| 10 Greet Apelles, tested and approved in
Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. |
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| 11 Greet Herodion, my relative. Greet those in
the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. |
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| 12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who
work hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has
worked very hard in the Lord. |
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| 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his
mother, who has been a mother to me, too. |
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| 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas,
Hermas and the brothers with them. |
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| 15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his
sister, and Olympas and all the saints with them. |
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| 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the
churches of Christ send greetings. |
Paul greets the church in Rome, and
incidentally, Peter is not mentioned. Paul’s visit to Rome was quite late in
his career and it seems a stretch for the Catholic Church to make a claim
that Peter was the first Bishop of Rome. |
| 17 I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those
who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the
teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. |
urge. Paul begins by pleading, or
beseeching the church to watch out for those who were destroying Christian
love. You cannot force unity. You cannot threaten others with the stake or
fire or beheading if they don’t want to be in unity. Paul does not command
it but exhorts the church for unity. A danger discovered is half prevented.
Watch out: Greek word skopeo (skop-eh'-o) means to take aim at as
a spy, but better understood to mean "keep a view of them." Don't let them
sneak behind you. This word contains the idea of someone who is a look out.
Keep away from them. Matthew Henry, "Shun all unnecessary communion
and communication with them." Reason: To make them feel ashamed and To keep
oneself from being infected by them. |
| 18 For such people are not serving our Lord
Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive
the minds of naive people. |
they deceive the minds of naive people.
Naïveté (not bad), innocent, unfamiliar, nescience, inexperience. Greatest
heartache is to see divisive people contaminate good people who are simply
naïve.
not serving our Lord Christ. They pretend to be active Christians,
but they are not acting as such.
their own appetites. They are dividing the church for their own
profit.
Method of their division: smooth talk. Lit, good words. Plausible
arguments.
Flattery. eulogia (yoo-log-ee'-ah); it means to say good about
in order to get a person on your side.
Henry Matthew: "It is an easy thing to be godly from the teeth outward." |
| 19 Everyone has heard about your obedience, so
I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and
innocent about what is evil. |
wise about what is good. A naïve person
is not wise about anything, much less good.
innocent about what is evil. Do not overly focus on what the evil
people are doing. An apologist whose ministry is consumed with understanding
and exposing false teaching usually becomes divisive. The best people who
can stop counterfeit money is the teller, not because she has seen a lot of
it, but because she has seen and felt a lot of real money. The best
way to keep from being deceived is to be acquainted with the gospel, not
with the cults. |
| 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under
your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. |
God of peace. Peace with God
helps gain our victory. Rarely does making war with others crush Satan, but
making peace. Soon. Soldiers are encouraged to know that the
victory is around the corner.
under your feet. Many wonder why Satan seems to win when God has
promised us victory, but our feet must win the victory. God works through
us. Where is Satan? Under your feet! |
| 21 Timothy, my fellow worker, sends his
greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my relatives. |
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| 22 I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet
you in the Lord. |
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| 23 Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole
church here enjoy, sends you his greetings. Erastus, who is the city's
director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings. |
Proof that some Christians were influential,
though not many. |
| 25 Now to him who is able to establish you by
my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation
of the mystery hidden for long ages past, |
my gospel. Paul felt passionately about
the gospel that he makes it personal. This statement should not be construed
to mean that his gospel was different than Peter’s and the others.
mystery hidden... now made known. There is no excuse for people, the
gospel clearly shows God’s way for salvation. |
| 26 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-- |
prophetic writings. Paul did not invent
the gospel, but simply revealed it through the Old Testament writings. It
was hidden because the prophets were never given the entire puzzle, but only
pieces of the puzzle. might believe and obey him. Faith is always
manifested in a change life. |
| 27 to the only wise God be glory forever through
Jesus Christ! Amen. |
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Romans 
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