Bible Commentaries
Romans 16

Verse 1

Romans 16:1

Romans 16:1

I commend unto you Phoebe our sister,—Tradition says this letter was carried by Phoebe from Corinth to the church in Rome. This commendation would agree well with the idea that she carried the letter, and that it introduced and com­mended her to the Christians at Rome. Cenchreae was a short distance southeast of Corinth.

who is a servant of the church that is at Cenchreae:—Some think she was a publicly recognized deaconess, but we find no recognition in the Scriptures of any such class. Many women did, however, voluntarily devote themselves in a womanly way to teaching and helping those who preached, waiting on the sick and doing whatever work presented itself for them to do. Phoebe was one of this class. Paul com­mended her as a Christian to the brethren at Rome.

Verse 2

Romans 16:2

Romans 16:2

that ye receive her in the Lord, worthily of the saints,— Receive her as servants of God should receive a worthy sister in a foreign land.

and that ye assist her in whatsoever matter she may have need of you:—She had gone on some business, and a woman in a strange city might need help; and he asks them to give it, for she is worthy.

for she herself also hath been a helper of many, and of mine own self.—She had succored Paul when he was in need, and many others. This indicates the character of service she gave to the church.

Verse 3

Romans 16:3

Romans 16:3

Salute Prisca and Aquila my fellow-workers in Christ Jesus,—Paul first met this couple at Corinth, shortly after they had come from Rome in consequence of an order of Claudius commanding all Jews to leave Rome. “And he came unto them; and because he was of the same trade, he abode with them, and they wrought; for by their trade they were tent-makers.” (Acts 18:2-3). On the departure of Paul from Corinth, eighteen months later, Prisca and Aquila accom­panied him to Ephesus on his way to Syria. There they re­mained; and when Apollos came to Ephesus, “knowing only the baptism of John,” “they took him unto them, and ex­pounded unto him the way of God more accurately.” (Acts 18:24-26). At what time they became Christians is uncer­tain. At the time of the writing of the First Epistle to the Corinthians they were still in Ephesus, and had a church in their house. (1 Corinthians 16:19). Now they are in Rome again.

Verse 4

Romans 16:4

Romans 16:4

who for my life laid down their own necks;—At some time they had imperiled their lives for the sake of Paul. Christ died for them; they were ready to die that his servant might live.

unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles:—Paul gives thanks to them. Their services in building up the churches among the Gentiles had been such that all the churches of the Gentiles felt grateful to them. The frequent mention of Prisca’s name first has sug­gested the idea to some that she was the more earnest and intelligent of the two.

Verse 5

Romans 16:5

Romans 16:5

and salute the church that is in their house.—In the be­ginnings of the gospel the disciples of the Lord assembled in private houses, and this worthy and laborious couple, them­selves intelligent Christians and teachers, furnished in their own house room for the assembling of the saints for worship. So Paul sent salutations to those who met in their house. It is possible that there were other Christians and teachers be­longing to their household that constituted the nucleus of a church wherever they went. Paul may have met with some of these at other places.

Salute Epaenetus my beloved, who is the firstfruits of Asia unto Christ.—Epaenetus was likely one of these, as he says he was the first in Asia to become a Christian. Paul had been instrumental in converting him at Ephesus when he first went there to preach. Nothing further is known of Epaenetus than what is stated here.

Verse 6

Romans 16:6

Romans 16:6

Salute Mary, who bestowed much labor on you.—We know nothing of this Mary save what is here said of her. She had rendered herself particularly useful in the Roman church.

Verse 7

Romans 16:7

Romans 16:7

Salute Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen,—It is most likely that they were his actual kinsmen, members of his family, not merely that they were Jews.

and my fellow-prisoners,—On some occasion they had been imprisoned with him. [This is not at all improbable, for twice (2 Corinthians 6:5; 2 Corinthians 11:23) he speaks of imprisonments as if they were common with him.]

who are of note among the apostles,—They were well and favorably known by the apostles, and regarded as worthy of their affection and confidence.

who also have been in Christ before me.—They preceded him in their obedience to the gospel.

Verses 8-12

Romans 16:8-12

Romans 16:8-12

Salute Ampliatus my beloved in the Lord. Salute Urbanus our fellow-worker in Christ, and Stachys my beloved. Salute Apelles the approved in Christ. Salute them that are of the household of Aristobulus. Salute Herodion my kins­man. Salute them of the household of Narcissus, that are in the Lord. Salute Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who labor in the Lord. Salute Persis the beloved, who labored much in the Lord.—Of the persons mentioned in these verses we know nothing, save what is here revealed. They were all his former fellow laborers in the gospel in the fields of labor. He compliments each as he thinks they deserve. They were men and women who had given up all for Christ and had gone to Rome to spread the gospel in that great capital city of the world.

Verse 13

Romans 16:13

Romans 16:13

Salute Rufus the chosen in the Lord,—As “chosen in the Lord” might be appropriately said of every faithful Christian, the special application of it to Rufus implies peculiar excel­lence.

and his mother and mine.—She had shown him on some occasion all the care of a mother, and, therefore, he felt for her all the affection of a son.

Verse 14

Romans 16:14

Romans 16:14

Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas,—Nothing whatever is known of any of these persons.

and the brethren that are with them.—This indicates that the Christians in Rome were separated into different bands, probably laboring in different points of the city to build up the Lord’s work.

Verse 15

Romans 16:15

Romans 16:15

Salute Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas,—Nothing is known of any of these Christians ex­cept their names.

and all the saints that are with them.—Possibly these, with others named in this verse, met together and worshiped. The number here mentioned that he had known in other places, with the fewness of the disciples in Rome when he reached the city, indicates that there had been a preconcerted move­ment among the Christians in Achaia, Macedonia, and Asia Minor for a large number of devoted men and women to go to Rome for the purpose of making a united effort to teach the people there the gospel. Paul would go by way of Jeru­salem, thence to Rome and into Spain. Others went directly to Rome to engage in the work. [It is highly probable that some of these beloved brethren formed a part of the two bands who, some three years later, went out on the Appian Way—the one thirty miles to The Three Taverns, and the other forty miles to The Market of Appius—to meet the beloved apostle, now coming to them as Christ’s “ambassador in chains.” It was natural that when he saw the little throng of Christians he should thank God and take courage from this proof of their affection and devotion, and that here at length his soul was filled with joy and his tired spirit found rest.]

Verse 16

Romans 16:16

Romans 16:16

Salute one another with a holy kiss.—This is regarded by some as a command to greet one another in meeting with a kiss. But no ordinance of God is so treated. All the com­mands and ordinances of God are commanded by Jesus Christ, repeated by the apostles, and then embodied in the main teach­ings of the Holy Spirit, not left simply to the salutations and greetings at the close of the letters to the churches. We have no example of the apostles practicing it. It is nowhere men­tioned in the body of the letters, but is given at the close, among the incidentals and the salutations to the individuals. Kissing was the salutation of the East, and the apostle cau­tioned that it should be a pure and holy kiss. He did not ordain kissing as a mode of salutation. He found it, and cautioned that it should be pure and holy among Christians.

All the churches of Christ salute you.—[Paul was in com­munication with most of the churches; all such would feel interested in the believers at Rome; and if, as is probable, his intention of going there was known, how natural that these churches should ask to be remembered to the brethren there! As he knew so well the believers at Rome, which he had not visited, how well qualified he was to speak for the many churches of Christ which he himself had planted!]

Verse 17

Romans 16:17

Romans 16:17

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them that are caus­ing the divisions and occasions of stumbling, contrary to the doctrine which ye learned:—No greater evil, according to the Scriptures, could befall the churches than the divisions arising from the introduction of teachings and practices not required by God. The fundamental truth of the Bible is that God alone has the right to direct and guide the faith and service of his children. Everything added to the work or worship of God by man is a usurpation in the sight of God, and ought to be resisted. Things that enter into the worship of God ought to be distinguished from the things indifferent and from mere expedients used to help men in performing the service of God that render them comfortable while doing the worship. These constitute no part of the service, but are helps to man while doing that service, not additions to it. All additions to the service of God are sinful and cause divisions. God has forbid­den anything to be added to what he has required. There can­not be a doubt but that the use of instrumental music in con­nection with the worship of God, whether used as a part of the worship or as an attractive accompaniment, is unauthor­ized by God and violates the oft-repeated prohibition to add nothing to, take nothing from, the commandments of the Lord. It destroys the difference between the holy and the unholy, counts the blood of the Son of God unclean, and tram­ples under foot the authority of the Son of God. It has not been authorized by God or sanctified with the blood of the Son.

and turn away from them.—Every one who adds to the ap­pointments of God causes divisions contrary to the word of God. Paul commands these brethren at Rome to mark, take note of, such, and avoid them—avoid them by refusing to rec­ognize and associate with them as brethren. This require­ment is imperative and necessary to preserve the harmony and unity of the churches of Christ.

Verse 18

Romans 16:18

Romans 16:18

For they that are such serve not our Lord Christ,— Things not taught in the Scriptures cannot be taught in the worship or work of the church as service to Jesus Christ. To bring things not taught into the service is to place them with their authors on a par with the commandments of God and with God himself.

but their own belly;—Those who bring things not com­manded by God into the services of God must do it to make themselves popular or to build up a strong worldly church. This is to serve their fleshly desires.

and by their smooth and fair speech they beguile the hearts of the innocent.—[These makers of divisions and offenses, however fair and fine their pretensions and speeches might be, were not sincerely serving Christ, but rather serving their own sensual and selfish ends, and the aim of all their kind and plausible words is only to deceive those innocent ones who are slow to suspect it in others.]

Verse 19

Romans 16:19

Romans 16:19

For your obedience is come abroad unto all men.—The report of the obedience of the Christians in Rome had spread abroad through all portions of the Roman Empire.

I rejoice therefore over you:—He rejoiced because they had attained such a splendid reputation.

but I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple unto that which is evil.—He cautions that he would have them wise and skilled in that which is good, while he would have them ignorant and unskilled in the evil. Sin is of such hideous mien that it is not good to be too familiar with it. [Be deep in the wisdom of humble faith; be con­tented to be unacquainted with a wisdom which at its root is evil; for a man need not be evil, and needs no personal experience in the practice of it, to be wise about it. The pure life, begotten of a pure faith, knows best what sin is. Darkness cannot reveal darkness.]

Verse 20

Romans 16:20

Romans 16:20

And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.—If you do as directed in avoiding those who cause divisions, and will avoid those skilled in the evil, be wise and skilled in the good, then God will speedily bruise Satan under your feet. I do not understand this as referring to any spe­cial time of triumph, but to a general truth that if a congre­gation of Christians would avoid the teachers that are not faithful to God and will be wise and faithful to his service, then God will quickly enable them to triumph over the evil one.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.—He prays that the favor that pertained to Jesus Christ should abide with them.

Verse 21

Romans 16:21

Romans 16:21

Timothy my fellow-worker saluteth you;—Timothy was the well-known companion of Paul, who accompanied him in his journeys and shared with him all his dangers; hence, he styles him his “fellow-worker.”

and Lucius—Lucius of Cyrene is mentioned (Acts 13:1) as one of the prophets and teachers at Antioch who were called upon to separate Paul and Barnabas for the work among the Gentiles. This is probably the same.

and Jason—This is probably the same person who was the host of Paul and Silas at Thessalonica, and who, on that ac­count, was accused to the magistrates as harboring seditious persons.

and Sosipater, my kinsmen.—This is supposed to be the same as Sopater of Berea, mentioned in Acts 20:4.

Verse 22

Romans 16:22

Romans 16:22

I Tertius, who write the epistle, salute you in the Lord.—Tertius seems to have been Paul’s amanuensis. He seldom wrote his epistles with his own hand. He refers to his having written the letter to the Galatians as something unusual: “See with how large letters I write unto you with mine own hand.” (Galatians 6:11). At the close of his letters, in order to authenti­cate them, he usually wrote with his own hand the salutation: “The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand” (1 Corinthians 16:21); “The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write” (2 Thessalonians 3:17).

Verse 23

Romans 16:23

Romans 16:23

Gaius my host, and of the whole church, saluteth you.—Gaius is mentioned as one baptized at Corinth by his own hands. (1 Corinthians 1:14). With him Paul was abiding when the letter was written. It is probable that he entertained Chris­tian travelers who came to Corinth.

Erastus the treasurer of the city saluteth you,—While this might mean the treasurer of the city government, it may also mean the steward of the church in the city. The whole con­text is so directly concerning church matters that this would seem more reasonable, and, as we shall find by further con­sideration, more in harmony with what else we know of Erastus and of the relation of the government to the church. This letter was written while the government was persecut­ing the church, and it is unreasonable to contend that the government, while seeking to annihilate the church, should, in so prominent and influential city as was Corinth, having communication with all parts of the empire, tolerate such an active and earnest Christian as the history shows Erastus was in so important office as treasurer of the city. Besides this, Erastus is introduced to us at the time Paul “sent into Mace­donia two of them that ministered unto him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.” (Acts 19:22). From this it is evident that Erastus, with Timothy, was traveling with Paul on his missionary tours. We know not how long they remained on the Macedonian mission, but doubtless some time, as their trip seems to have been to supplement an intended visit of Paul, which was for the time delayed. After dispatching them, he remained in Asia for a season, doubtless through the winter and until the next season for navigation. After his escape from the mob at Ephesus, “he departed to go into Macedonia” (Acts 20:1), where he doubtless was joined by Timothy and Erastus. Thence he proceeded to Greece, of which Corinth is the chief city. Erastus most likely accompanied him to Corinth and was with him during his three months’ sojourn (Acts 20:3), at which time this letter was written, in which he is called “the treasurer of the city.” Is anyone so credulous as to believe that, after a two years’ absence on a tour preaching the gos­pel, within three months after his arrival in this heathen city he would have been made its treasurer? Some years after this Paul said: “Erastus remained at Corinth.” (2 Timothy 4:20). This would not likely have been said if Corinth had been his home, but it indicates that after traveling as a min­ister of the gospel he made his final stopping place at Corinth. If the expression really means the treasurer of the city organization, it must have been in consequence of his having held that position prior to his conversion, as we call a judge by his title after the expiration of his term of office. But I think it simply means that he was the steward of the church in the city of Corinth.

and Quartus the brother.—Quartus is not mentioned else­where. He may have been known to the brethren in Rome.

Verse 25

Romans 16:25

Romans 16:25

Now to him that is able to establish you—He commends them to God, who has power to render them steadfast, un­movable from Christ and from the truth as it is in him. [This is the end to which Paul wished to impart unto them some spiritual gift. (Romans 1:11-12).]

according to my gospel—When the Romans became finally fixed and settled in their faith, Paul hoped to see that faith in exact parallel with his gospel. He had already called the gospel a “form,” or “mold.” (Romans 6:17). God is able through it to put his stamp upon their thinking, feeling, and living, so that in all these there will never be any divergence from it. A church is established when it reverently believes and says of everything—God, Christ, sin and Satan, salvation, death and life—just what the gospel reveals. [The heart is unstable, there is so much false teaching, and Satan is so persistently seeking to undermine that God alone is of power to establish so that there is no swerving. (Romans 1:16; 1 Peter 1:5; Judges 1:24-25).]

a`sxcv bmn

nd the preaching of Jesus Christ,—[Not the preaching which Christ did, but the preaching which respects him, or has him for its object—“Christ Jesus, and him q

crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2).]

according to the revelation of the mystery—The preaching of Jesus Christ accorded with the revelation by God to Paul of a mystery. A mystery was a spiritual truth which could not be explained except by direct revelation. But after it was explained by an inspired man, it was no longer a mystery. The sum of the mystery embraced the union of the Jew and Gentile on the same level in Christ. The relation of the Jew and Gentile was the burning question in the church in Paul’s day. [Nothing could be settled until it was settled. This question well-nigh wrecked the churches in Galatia.]

which hath been kept in silence through times eternal,—The numerous ages that have elapsed between the creation of man and the appearing of the Christ.

Verse 26

Romans 16:26

Romans 16:26

but now is manifested, and by the scriptures of the prophets,—[“Now” is in contrast with the time in which the mystery was kept secret. “Which in other generations was not made known unto the sons of men, as it hath now been revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to wit, that the Gentiles are fellow-heirs, and fellow-members of the body, and fellow-partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” (Ephesians 3:5-6). The apostles here are called “prophets,” in as much as they are bearers of a new revelation. Their writings, then, certainly are prophetical; for a prophet is not primarily, but only accidentally, one who foretells the future, being rather one who, having been taught of God, speaks out his will. (Deuteronomy 18:18). Paul feels that the letter he has just written has this character, and that it ranks among the means which God is using to carry out the publication of the new revelation. It is, therefore, of this very letter, as well as of the others which had proceeded from his pen, that he is speaking in this passage.]

according to the commandment of the eternal God,— [This commandment of God was the command to carry out his eter­nal purpose in the word of his Son when he said: “All author­ity hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:18-19). The mystery of the oneness of Jew and Gentile in Christ was not only manifested to the apostles, but made known authoritatively.]

is made known unto all the nations unto obedience of faith: —For the obedience to which faith in God leads.