Romans 15:1-2 Overview Romans 15:1-13 completes the sixth major section in the book of Romans, which began in Romans 12:1. Romans 15:14 begins the seventh and final major section of this epistle. First six sections of the book of Romans: (1) 1:1-17: Introduction and Presentation of the Theme of the Epistle (2) 1:18-3:19: Both Jew and Gentiles are in need of the righteousness of God (3) 3:20-5:21: How to receive the righteousness of God (4) 6-8: How to live in the righteousness of God (5) 9-11: God s righteousness is vindicated in His relationship to Israel (6) Romans 12:1-15:13: The righteousness of God manifested through believers in Jesus Christ. Romans 15:1-13 completes the sixth major section in the book of Romans, which began in Romans 12:1 and emphasizes that the righteousness of God is to be manifested through believers in their relationships with each other and the rest of humanity. In Romans 12:1-21, Paul discusses God s righteousness being manifested in believers in the local assembly by their dedication to God (12:1-2) and in their use of their spiritual gift (12:3-8) and in the sincerity of their love for each other (12:9-21). In Romans 13:1-14, Paul teaches his readers that the righteousness of God is manifested in the believer s conduct in relation to civil government (13:1-7) and towards the unbeliever (13:8-10) and their conduct in view of their eschatological confident expectation (13:11-14). In Romans 14:1-15:13, the apostle Paul instructs his readers that the righteousness of God is manifested in their conduct in relation to Christian freedom. He instructs them to not judge each other in relation to eating and drinking and teaches them the principle of Christian freedom (14:1-12). He also exhorts strong believers to not put up stumbling blocks for weak believers by what they eat or drink and exhorts them to walk according to the principle of love (14:13-23). In Romans 15:1-13, the apostle Paul closes this sixth major section of the epistle by exhorting the strong to maintain unity by avoiding selfishness and imitating Christ by demonstrating self-sacrificial love toward each other and putting each other first and receiving one another. The final section of the Roman epistle is contained in 15:14-16:27 where he discusses his ministry to the Gentiles (15:14-22), and his intention to visit Rome (15:23-33). Also, he commends Phoebe (16:1-2), and sends greetings to several believers (16:3-16) and warns against false teachers (16:17-20) and ends with a doxology (16:25-27). 2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 1
In Romans 15:1-13, the apostle Paul s exhorts the Roman believers to maintain unity by avoiding selfishness and imitating Christ by demonstrating self-sacrificial love toward each other and putting each other first and receiving one another. Romans 15:1-13, Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me. For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written, Therefore I will give praise to You among the Gentiles, and I will sing to Your name. Again he says, Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people. And again, Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise Him. Again Isaiah says, There shall come the root of Jesse, and He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles hope. Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. In Romans 15:14, we enter into the seventh and final section of the epistle. In verses 14-15, Paul expresses his confidence that the Roman believers were living the spiritual life and relates his purpose for things he wrote in the epistle. Romans 15:14-15, And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another. But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God. The apostle in verses 16-22 discusses his ministry to the Gentiles. Romans 15:16-22, To be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God. For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the 2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 2
gospel of Christ and thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man s foundation. But as it is written, They who had no news of Him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand. For this reason I have often been prevented from coming to you. In verses 23-29, Paul relates to the Romans his future plans to visit Rome and Spain after going to Jerusalem. Romans 15:23-29, But now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have had for many years a longing to come to you. Whenever I go to Spain for I hope to see you in passing, and to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for a while. But now, I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things. Therefore, when I have finished this, and have put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will go on by way of you to Spain. I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ. In Romans 15:30-33, Paul requests that the Roman believers pray for his safety while in Jerusalem and that he may come to visit them. Romans 15:30-33, Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company. Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. 2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 3
Romans 15:1-The Strong Have An Obligation To Bear The Weaknesses Of Those Who Are Not Strong And Not Please Themselves The apostle Paul teaches in Romans 15:1 that the strong have an obligation to bear the scruples of those who are not strong, i.e. the weak and not just please themselves. Romans 15:1, Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Now is the transitional use of the post-positive conjunction de (δέ) (theh), which marks a transition to a new section within the main division that appears in Romans 12:1-15:13. Paul employs the conjunction de to mark a transition to a new section, which is within the main division in Romans 12:1-15:13. It marks the transition from a discussion in Romans 14:13-23, which instructs the strong to conduct themselves according to love and not exercising their freedom in the presence of the weak to a discussion in Romans 15:1-13 that emphasizes the strong imitating Christ s selfdenial and self-sacrifice resulting in unity. The word marks a transition to a new stage in the discussion that appeared in Romans 14:13-23 and advances this discussion further by emphasizing with the strong the importance of imitating Christ s self-denial and self-sacrifice, which will result in unity between the weak and the strong. We will translate de, now. We is the nominative first person plural form of the personal pronoun ego (ἐγώ) (eh-go), which refers of course to Paul and the strong emphasizing the comparative contrast between the strong and the weak. The personal pronoun hemeis functions as the nominative subject indicating that the word performs the action of the verb opheilo, ought. We will translate hemeis we. Who are strong is the articular nominative masculine plural form of the adjective dunatos (δυνατός) (thee-nah-toce), The adjective dunatos describes someone who possesses the ability to perform some function. In classical Greek of the fifth century B.C. the adjective first appears in the writings of Pindar and Herodotus. We do not know the etymology of the word. However, the intent of the word is clear in that it means, strong, mighty, powerful or able. It appears over 160 times in the Septuagint and translates 25 different Hebrew terms. Dunatos describes someone who magnifies himself, behaves proudly, acts boldly and audaciously, demonstrating valor or even acts like a tyrant and is used to describe Nimrod (Genesis 10:8-9) as well as the Lord (Deuteronomy 10:17). The word occurs 32 times in the Greek New Testament where it has three separate usages: (1) It ascribes power to a person s being or attributes as well as 2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 4
assigning power to things such as weapons, commandments and works of creation. (2) It shows the ability of someone by virtue of personal effort or position to do something or wield power to effect change. (3) Used as a neuter adjective meaning, it is possible, practical, or can happen. The Analytical Greek Lexicon Revised lists the following, able, having power, powerful, mighty; to be able; the Mighty One, God; power; valid, powerful, efficacious; distinguished for rank, authority or influence; distinguished for skill or excellence; possible, capable of being done (Page 108). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature-Third Edition lists the following meanings for the adjective: (1) pertaining to being capable or competent (a) in general sense, able, capable, powerful of beings and their attributes, especially political power or influence (b) specifically with reference to an area of competence or skill (2) pertaining to being possible (Page 264). Louw and Nida list the following usages: (1) pertaining to being possible, with the implication of power or ability to alter or control circumstances possible. (71.2). (2) pertaining to having the ability to perform some function able, can. (74.2). (3) pertaining to having special competence in performing some function particularly capable, expert, competent. (74.4). (4) a title for God, literally the one who is able ) one who is capable of doing anything the Mighty One, Mighty God, the Almighty. (74.3) (5) important persons, based upon their power or influence important, influential. (87.43) (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based upon Semantic Domains) Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament lists the following: (1) of one who possesses power, powerful, mighty, strong (a) substantivally as an attribute of God, (b) substantivally, as a designation for God (c) as an attribute of persons able, strong (d) of persons, as being in a position to do something be able, be capable; substantivally important, influential people (2) neuter, of what is possible it is possible, it can be (Page 122). Dunatos appearance in Romans 15:1 marks the fifth time that we have seen this word in the Roman epistle. In Romans 4:21, the adjective dunatos is used to describe God as possessing the ability to fulfill that which He promises to men. Romans 4:21, Also, he was being fully assured that what He had promised to do in the future, He is also, as an eternal spiritual truth, able to fulfill. In Romans 9:22, the adjective dunatos functions as a substantive and means, power referring to God s omnipotence as made known through the communication of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Romans 9:22, In fact, if-and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that because God the Father, as an eternal spiritual truth does 2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 5
choose to demonstrate His righteous indignation and in addition to make known publicly and explicitly His power, endured with much patience vessels destined for righteous indignation which are prepared for destruction. In Romans 11:23, dunatos is used to describe the Father as possessing the inherent ability or power to unite those Jews who do not persist in unbelief by having faith in His Son with born-again Jews and Gentiles who compose the branches of the olive tree, which is analogous to Israel. Romans 11:23, However, if they also, as an eternal spiritual truth, do not continue in the sphere of unbelief then they will be grafted in because God the Father is, as an eternal spiritual truth able to graft them in again. In Romans 12:18, the adjective describes that there continues to exist the possibility of the Roman believers continuing to live peaceably with all people because of the omnipotence of the indwelling Spirit since He provides them the capacity to execute the command to be at peace with all people. Romans 12:18, If and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that there continues to exist a possibility to continue to live peaceably with all people as far as it depends on all of you and we agree that there continues to be that possibility then all of you continue to make it your habit to live peaceably with all people. In Romans 15:1, the adjective dunatos means strong with respect to conviction. It is used to describe those Gentile and Jewish Christians like Paul who have been fully convinced by the Holy Spirit and have accepted the Spirit s revelation concerning their new freedom in Christ. Those who are strong in faith are those who are knowledgeable of the teaching of the Word of God and put it into practice and experience their freedom in Christ. The strong were convinced by the Spirit and fully understood the implications of dying with Christ to the Law and being in union with Christ and identified with Him. In Romans 7:1-6, Paul taught specifically the Jewish Christians in Rome that they are dead to the Law through Christ s death. The implication of being dead to the Law through Christ s death is that they were no longer governed by the Law and did not have to adhere to the ceremonial aspect of the Law, which Christ was the substance of. The strong were convinced by the Holy Spirit through the teaching of the Lord Jesus that they did not have to adhere to the dietary regulations or honor the special days prescribed for Israel in the Law. They do not observe the dietary restrictions of the Law, or honor the special days prescribed by the Law and partake of wine offered in pagan rituals because they are fully convinced by the Spirit through the Lord and the apostles teaching that it is the Father s will to do so. Therefore, because they have been fully convinced by the Spirit through the teaching of the Lord and His apostles, their conscience does not condemn them when they don t 2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 6
observed the ceremonial aspect of the Law or partake of wine offered in pagan sacrifices. Paul teaches in Romans 14:13-23 and 15:1-13 that they are not to abuse their freedom of conscience in Christ to eat all foods to influence their weak brother to go against their convictions that they can only adhere to a kosher diet since it will cause the weak to sin in their own mind. The strong must not exercise their freedom inconsiderately by placing an obstacle or a temptation in the life of the weak causing them to go against their convictions and sin in their own mind because serving in God s kingdom is by no means characterized by food but rather righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. By exercising their freedom in Christ from the ceremonial aspect of the Law without regard for the weak, the strong would be losing their perspective and making an issue out of a nonessential, namely the observance or non-observance of the dietary regulations in the Law and their freedom from Law. If the strong insist on exercising their freedom in Christ without regard for the weak and cause their weak brother to live by theirs and as a result sin in their own mind, then the strong have lost perspective on what is essential in the kingdom of God, namely righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The strong believer is to conduct his or her life according to God s love and not exercise their freedom with respect to food when in the presence of the weak believer. They are no longer conducting their lives according to God s love if because of the exercise of their freedom with respect to food they cause their fellow weak believer to go against their conviction to eat only kosher foods and thus sin in their own mind and lose fellowship with God. They are not cause the weak believer on behalf of whom Christ died spiritually and physically as a substitute to suffer loss of fellowship with God because of the inconsiderate use of their freedom with regards to food. Therefore, the strong are to operate in divine love by not exercising their freedom when in the presence of the weak so that they do not sin against their conscience and so that the weak won t speak evil of their freedom. They are to operate in divine love by not exercising their freedom with respect to the dietary regulations of the Law when in the presence of the weak so that they do not sin against their conscience and lose fellowship because the one who serves Christ in this manner (love) is acceptable to God and approved by men. The articular construction of the adjective dunatos converts the word into a substantive, thus we can employ with it he relative phrase who are. The word functions as a nominative in simple apposition meaning that it stands in apposition to the nominative subject, which is the first person plural form of the personal pronoun ego, we indicating it is describing Paul and his fellow Christian readers in Rome as being strong with respect to conviction. We will translate the articular form of dunatos, who are strong. 2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 7
Corrected translation thus far of Romans 15:1, Now, we who are strong Romans 15:1, Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Ought is the first person plural present active indicative form of the verb opheilo (ὀφείλω) (owe-feel-owe). The verb opheilo was originally a legal term in classical Greek. It expressed a person s legal and economic responsibilities and duties and then later moral responsibility to the gods and men. Opheilo goes back to the Mycenaean period of Greek history. The verb opheilo first meant, to owe someone something such as money. When used with an infinitive, it means, to owe in the sense of being indebted. Pindarus used the word in the sense of owing someone a song. The word was used in both a figurative and literal sense. But whether used literally or figuratively, the term indicates an obligation that has not been accomplished or fulfilled. A figurative sense in expressions of desires or wishes came from this meaning. The verb was used often in relation to revenge and law. The verb opheilo appears as in classical Greek, in both a literal and figurative sense. It occurs 22 times and 12 of which occur in the canonical books. The word is used in the literal sense of owing money. It is used with reference to a moral obligation only in the apocryphal books. The term is used in the canonical books primarily to express the speaker s desire for an event that is unattainable (Nm. 14:3; 20:3). The verb opheilo appears 35 times in the Greek New Testament. The word is used in the literal sense of to be indebted financially or figuratively to be indebted morally. The literal sense appears primarily in the Gospels (Mt. 18:28). The figure of debt is used in relation to man s spiritual bankruptcy before God meaning that sin separates mankind from God (Rm. 3:10, 23). Mankind has no capacity to pay this debt, thus, the need for a Savior. The figurative sense is used to express an obligation meaning something that one can reasonably expect or demand of another (cf. Rm. 13:8; 1 Jn. 3:16; 4:11). The New Thayer s Greek-English Lexicon (page 469): (1) To owe money, be in debt for (2) Metaphorically, to be a debtor, bound; followed by the infinitive, to be under obligation, bound by duty or necessity, to do something, it behooves, ought. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains: (1) To be under obligation to make a payment as the result of having previously received something of value to owe, to be in debt (57.219). (2) To be necessary or indispensable, with the implication of a contingency must, have to, it is necessary (71.35). (3) To be obligatory in view of some moral or legal requirement ought, to be under obligation (71.25). (4) To commit a sin against someone and thus to incur moral debt to sin against, to offend (88.298). 2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 8
The Analytical Greek Lexicon Revised: (1) To owe, be indebted (2) To incur a bond, to be bound to make discharge (3) To be bound or obliged by what is due or fitting or consequently necessary (4) To incur desert, to deserve (5) To be due or fitting (5) From the Aramaic, to be delinquent (Page 296). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature-Third Edition: (1) to be indebted to someone in a financial sense, owe something to someone, be indebted to (2) to be under obligation to meet certain social or moral expectations, owe (3) to be constrained by circumstance (Page 743). Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament: (1) To owe, to be indebted (2) Have to, necessity, ought to (3) To be obligated (volume 2, pages 550-552). Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament lists the following meanings: (1) literally, of financial indebtedness owe something to someone (2) figuratively; (a) of a sense of indebtedness to someone for something ought, be under obligation (b) predominately in the NT to express obligation, necessity, duty be obligated; with an infinitive following must, ought to (Page 289). This verb first appeared in the Roman epistle in Romans 13:8 where it meant to owe and is used in a prohibition with regards to the fulfillment of a financial obligation and in a command with regards to the fulfillment of a spiritual or moral obligation to love one s fellow human being regardless if they are a believer or not. The word is used in the prohibition in a financial sense of fulfilling one s financial obligations indicating that the Roman Christians were to fulfill their financial debts to everyone in addition to those they owe the governmental authorities as stated in Romans 13:7. Then, the verb is used in the command in a moral sense of fulfilling one s Christian obligation to love one s fellow human being as commanded in the Word of God (Matthew 22:34-40; Mark 12:28-34; Luke 10:25-28; John 13:34-35). Romans 13:8, All of you continue making it your habit to owe absolutely nothing to anyone except to continue making it your habit of divinely loving one another because the one who, at any time does divinely love the other person fulfills the Law. In Romans 15:1, the verb opheilo means to be under obligation and is used of the strong in the emphatic position of the sentence emphasizing with the strong that they are under obligation to love the weak by bearing with their scruples and have no choice in the matter. The strong are under obligation to love the weak by bearing with their scruples since both groups were created by God, according to His image, redeemed at the Cross, justified through faith in Christ and fellow members of the body of Christ. In Romans 12-14, Paul describes what it means to function according to God s love and how it manifests itself. 2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 9
First of all, in Romans 12:1, the apostle Paul appealed to his Christian readers in Rome on the basis of the merciful acts of the Father on their behalf to offer their bodies as a sacrifice-alive, holy, extremely pleasing to the Father, which their reasonable service to the Father, which is manifestation of love for the Father. Romans 12:1, Therefore, I appeal to each and every one of you spiritual brothers and sisters on the basis of the merciful acts produced by God the Father to offer your bodies as a sacrifice-alive, holy, extremely pleasing and beneficial to God the Father, which is your reasonable service. Then, in Romans 12:2, Paul prohibited his Christian readers in Rome from being conformed to the standards of the cosmic system of Satan. Romans 12:2a, Consequently, do not conform your behavior in accordance with the standards of this age. He then issued a command on the heels of this prohibition to be transformed in their character into the image of Christ by the renewing of their minds. He teaches that this transformation of the believer s character into the image of Christ by renovating their mind accomplishes what the Father intended in that it provides the believer the capacity to discern what the will of God is with regards to any situation. Romans 12:2b, On the contrary, permit yourselves to be transformed by renovating your mind in order that each and every one of you may discern what is, as an eternal spiritual truth, God the Father s will, that which is good as well as extremely pleasing and in addition perfect. Consequently, obedience to the prohibition in Romans 12:2a and the command in Romans 12:2b will be a manifestation of love for the Father. In Romans 12:3, Paul forbid his readers from thinking more highly of themselves than they were obligated to think. Romans 12:3a, In fact, by means of the spiritual gift, which was assigned to me for the benefit of myself and others I say for the benefit of each and every person, namely those who are at this particular time living among all of you not to think more highly of oneself than what one is, as an eternal spiritual truth, obligated to think. In contrast to this he commanded that they think properly about themselves, which is accomplished by obeying the command in Romans 12:2 to renovate one s mind. Thinking properly about themselves would be consistent with the objective standard that the Father distributed to each believer by which they can accurately and objectively form an opinion of themselves, namely justifying faith. Romans 12:3b, On the contrary, make it a habit to think so that you think properly about yourselves consistent with the objective standard God the Father distributed to each and every person without exception for their benefit, namely justifying faith. 2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 10
Obedience to the teaching in Romans 12:2 is again a manifestation of the love for the Father. Then, in Romans 12:4-5, Paul teaches that the reason why it is essential that the believer maintain a humble attitude toward self is that like the human body has many members with differing functions so they are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. Romans 12:4-5, Because in fact, just as in one body, we, as a physiological fact, possess many members however all the members, as a physiological fact, by no means possess the same function so in the same way, we, the many, as an eternal spiritual truth, exist as one body in union with Christ, thus logically are, as an eternal spiritual truth, members individually belonging to one another. There two verses form a comparative clause, which compares the different parts of the human body that have various functions that benefit the body as a whole with the individuals who compose the Christian community that also have various functions that benefit the community as a whole. The comparative clause in Romans 12:4-5 teaches that the Roman believers should obey his command in Romans 12:3 because just as the human body has many members with diverse functions so the Christian community is one body in union and identified with Christ and thus individually members of one another. The implication is that Paul s reader need to maintain a humble attitude about themselves and avoid being arrogant because they need each other to function effectively as a group since they have different functions which benefits the entire group just as the human body has different parts with different functions. Therefore, the implication of this is that maintaining a humble attitude is essential in order to serve the body of Christ and is a manifestation of love for the body. Now, in Romans 12:6, he advances upon the idea by teaching that because all Christians are one body in union with Christ and thus logically members individually belonging to one another, thus logically speaking they possess spiritual gifts that differ from each other according to God s grace policy. It is logical because just as the human body has different members with different functions that contribute to the proper function of the body as a whole so the Christian community has different members with different functions or spiritual gifts that contribute to the proper function of the Christian community as a whole. Romans 12:6a, Thus logically, as a result we, as an eternal spiritual truth, do possess and experience diverse spiritual gifts according to the grace which was given for the benefit of each and every one of us Therefore, Romans 12:6a is a continuation of the body metaphor in Romans 12:4-5 rather than a new sentence and a transition of thought as many commentators interpret this verse and many English translations do as well. In 2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 11
Romans 12:6a, he teaches that there is a diversity of spiritual gifts in the body of Christ according to God s grace. Then, in Romans 12:6b-8, Paul goes a step further in the progression and identifies the various spiritual gifts and their function. In Romans 12:6b, he presents the first of seven spiritual gifts, namely the temporary gift of prophecy. In this passage, Paul teaches that this gift was to function according to the absolute standard, which is the Christian faith. Romans 12:6b, If the function of prophesy, according to the standard, which is the Christian faith. Next, in Romans 12:7, Paul teaches that the function of the gift of service is manifested by serving the body of Christ and the function of the spiritual gift of teacher is manifested by teaching the body of Christ. Romans 12:7, Or the function of service, by service, or the one whose function it is to teach by teaching. The gift of service is a permanent gift meaning that unlike the gift of prophecy it was not discontinued with advent of the completed canon of Scripture. This gift is synonymous with helps in 1 Corinthians 12:28 and whoever serves in 1 Peter 4:11 and expresses itself in a variety of ways that aid the church and its members. The gift of teaching is also a permanent gift, which involved teaching or communicating the Word of God to the congregation. Then, the apostle in Romans 12:8 completes his list of seven spiritual gifts by noting the gifts of exhortation, giving, leadership and mercy. Romans 12:8, Or, the one whose function it is to encourage by encouragement or the one whose function it is to give sincerely or the one who devotes himself to exercising leadership diligently or the one whose function it is to demonstrate compassion cheerfully. The believer who operates in his or her spiritual gift is loving his fellow believer. Now, Paul in Romans 12:9 issued three commands. Romans 12:9, Your divine-love must continue to be characterized as being without hypocrisy. All of you continue to make it your habit to detest that which is evil in character. All of you continue to make it your habit to be devoted to that which is good. The first command requires that the Roman believers divine-love continued to be characterized as being without hypocrisy. This command serves as a heading for the rest of the chapter and refers to the commands to love God and one s fellow believer and fellow man. The second requires that they continue to detest that which is evil in character, i.e. anything that is contrary to the will of God, which will manifest their love for God. 2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 12
The third requires Paul s readers to continue to be devoted to that which is good, i.e. obedience to the Father s will, which is another manifestation of love for God. The second and third commands are related to the believer s vertical fellowship with God or in other words, his relationship to God since detesting evil involves rejecting anything that is contrary to the will of God and being devoted to that which is good is obedience to the will of God. In Romans 12:10, Paul issues two more commands but these are related to the believer s horizontal fellowship or in other words, his relationship with his fellow believer. Romans 12:10, Concerning affection among spiritual brothers and sisters, all of you must continue to make it your habit to be affectionate with one another. Concerning honor, all of you continue to make it your habit to regard one another more highly than yourselves. The first command in this passage requires the Romans believers to continue to make it their habit to be affectionate with one another, which is a manifestation of love for one s fellow believer. The second requires that they continue to make it their habit to regard each other as more important than themselves. These two commands are related to the believer s horizontal fellowship or in other words, his relationship with his fellow believer and if obey will manifest love for one s fellow believer. Then in Romans 12:11, the apostle Paul issues a prohibition and two commands. Romans 12:11, Concerning zeal, do not be lazy. All of you continue to make it your habit to be on fire by means of the omnipotence of the Spirit. All of you continue to make it your habit of conducting yourselves in total service to the Lord. In the prohibition, he forbids the Romans to be lazy. Then, he commands them continue to make it their habit to be on fire for the Lord by means of the power of the Spirit. Lastly, he commands them to continue to make it their habit to conduct themselves in total service to the Lord. In this passage, Paul is attempting to protect the vertical aspect of fellowship of his readers, which is related to God and their horizontal fellowship, which is with each other. Obedience to these commands will manifest love for God. Their service for the Lord who they can t see is manifested through their service on behalf of each other who they can see. The apostle Paul in Romans 12:12 issues three commands to his readers. Romans 12:12, Concerning your confident expectation, all of you continue to make it your habit to rejoice. Concerning adversity, all of you continue to 2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 13
make it your habit to persevere. Concerning prayer, all of you continue to make it your habit to be persistent. First of all, with respect to their confident expectation of blessing, he commands them to continue to rejoice. Also, with respect to adversity, he commands them to continue to persevere. Lastly, with respect to prayer, he commands them to continue to make it their habit to be persistent. Romans 12:13 contains two more commands that are related to the horizontal aspect of Christian fellowship, namely fellowship with other believers. Romans 12:13, All of you continue to make it your habit to contribute to the saints needs. All of you continue to make it your habit to eagerly seek out opportunities to practice hospitality. In this verse, Paul commands the Romans to continue to contribute to the needs of the saints. On the heels of this, he commands them to continue to make it their habit of eagerly seeking out opportunities to practice hospitality. Obedience to these two commands is an expression of not only the believer s love for his fellow believer but also his love for the Lord since the believer loves the Lord who he can t see through his fellow believer who he can see (Compare Matthew 25:40; Acts 9:4). Since Christ is the head and the Christian is a member of Christ s body, any act of love and service on behalf of one s fellow believer is equivalent to loving and serving the Lord. Obeying these two commands is a manifestation of the righteousness of God and the practice of it since practicing the righteousness of God means fulfilling one s obligations to love both God and one s fellow human being. Romans 12:14 contains two commands. Romans 12:14, All of you continue to make it your habit to bless those who persecute you. All of you continue to make it your habit to bless and do not curse. In Romans 12:14, Paul issues a command to the Roman believers to continue to make it their habit to bless those who persecute them and he repeats this for emphasis and to reinforce this command he issues the prohibition for them to not curse. Paul s statements in Romans 1:8 and 15:14-15 indicate that they were obeying this command and prohibition. Therefore, they are issued by Paul so as to protect their fellowship with God and their testimony to the unsaved community that they lived in the midst of. Obedience to this command manifests love for the unbeliever. In Romans 12:15, Paul issues yet two more commands. Romans 12:15, Continue to make it your habit to rejoice together with those who are rejoicing. Continue to make it your habit to weep together with those who are weeping. 2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 14
In this first command, the apostle directs his readers to continue rejoicing with those who rejoice and in the second he directs them to weep with those who weep. These two commands are related to the believer s fellowship with other believers and emphasize the importance of identifying in the sorrows and joys of our fellow believers since we are members belonging to one another. Obedience to these two commands manifests love for one s fellow believer. Paul in Romans 12:16 issues two commands and two prohibitions. Romans 12:16, All of you continue to make it your habit to have the same attitude toward each other. Do not think arrogant thoughts but rather all of you continue to make it your habit to associate with those who are insignificant. All of you do not become wise in the opinion of yourselves. These two commands and two prohibitions are interconnected with the each other, which is indicated in that in the first command, Paul wants his readers to continue to make it their habit to maintain the same attitude towards each other. He describes how they are to do this in the two prohibitions and command that follow it. In the first prohibition, Paul forbids his readers from thinking arrogant thoughts. He describes what he means in the command and prohibition that follows it. In the second command, Paul wants his readers to associate with those in the body of Christ who are insignificant in human society. If they fail to do this then they would be disobeying the first command to maintain the same attitude towards each other. They would also be disobeying the first prohibition to not think arrogant thoughts. In the second prohibition, the apostle forbids his readers from becoming wise in the opinion of themselves or in other words, considering themselves as superior to those who are of a lower economic or social status than they are. By obeying this second prohibition, Paul s readers would be obeying the second command to associate with those in the body of Christ who are insignificant in human society. Obedience to Paul s teaching in this verse will manifest love for one s Christian. Paul in Romans 12:17 issues a prohibition and a command that address the conduct of his readers in Rome in relation to the unsaved. Romans 12:17, All of you continue to make it your habit to never repay evil in exchange for evil to anyone. All of you continue to make it your habit to take into careful consideration words and actions, which are considered by all men to be virtuous for the purpose of manifesting them through your conduct. In the prohibition, Paul commands the Roman believers to continue making it their habit of never repaying evil in exchange for evil to anyone. The implication of this prohibition is that they were to continuing being magnanimous towards the unsaved. They were to continue practicing forgiving their enemies just as God in Christ had forgiven them and raised them up and seated them with Christ when 2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 15
they were His enemies (Romans 5:6-8; Ephesians 2:1-8; 4:30-32). Obedience to this prohibition would be a manifestation of the love of God towards the unbeliever. In the command, the apostle wants his readers to continue to make it their habit of taking into careful consideration words and actions which are considered by all men to be virtuous for the purpose of manifesting these virtuous words and actions through their conduct with the caveat that they are in according to the Father s will. This command refers to the function of the believer s royal ambassadorship, in which the believer through his words is to proclaim the gospel to the unsaved. Obedience to this command is another manifestation of the love of God to the unsaved. In Romans 12:18, Paul employs a first class condition to persuade his readers to respond to his command to continue to make it their habit to live peaceably with all men. Romans 12:18, If and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that there continues to exist a possibility to continue to live peaceably with all people as far as it depends on all of you and we agree that there continues to be that possibility then all of you continue to make it your habit to live peaceably with all people. In the protasis, he states that if and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that there continues to exist the possibility to continue to live peaceably with all people as far as it depends on the Roman believers and they would agree that there continues to be that possibility. They would agree that it is possible because they have already been doing it under the enabling power of the indwelling presence of the Spirit and could continue to doing it under the Spirit s power. Paul then infers the following in the apodasis, then continue to make it their habit to live peaceably with all men. Therefore, Paul s audience would have to come to his conclusion if they submit to this line of argumentation and continue to live peaceably with all people. He wants them to come to his line of argumentation because he wants his readers to continue to evangelize the unsaved in their personal periphery. Therefore, it is essential that they agree with him on this point since it will continue to contribute to the evangelization of Rome. This command refers to the function of the believer s royal ambassadorship, in which the believer through his words is to proclaim the gospel to the unsaved. Paul is also teaching in this passage that peace with others may not always be possible but believers should never be responsible for the lack of peace in their relationships with the unsaved. Obedience to this command will manifest one s love for the unsaved. Romans 12:19 contains a prohibition and a command. Romans 12:19, All of you do not avenge yourselves divinely loved ones but rather I solemnly charge all of you to give an opportunity for His righteous 2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 16
indignation because it stands written for all of eternity, Vengeance, as an eternal spiritual truth, belongs to Me, I myself will exact retribution, says the Lord. In the prohibition, he warns his readers to not avenge themselves of their enemies. Then, in the command, he makes a strong contrast between the Roman believers avenging themselves of their enemies and the Lord Jesus Christ exercising His righteous indignation against their enemies by exacting retribution upon them. He solemnly charges the Roman believers to make it their top priority to give an opportunity for the Lord Jesus Christ exercise His righteous indignation on their behalf against their enemies. He cites Deuteronomy 32:35 to support this command, which states vengeance belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ and that He will exact retribution upon the enemies of God s people. The apostle Paul in Romans 12:20 quotes from the Septuagint translation of Proverbs 25:21-22, which contains the commands to feed one s enemy when they are hungry, give them a drink when they are thirsty so as to heap burning coals on their head. Heaping burning coals on the head of one s enemy means that performing acts on behalf of one s enemy in response to the evil they ve practiced to you will produce in your enemy intense guilt and shame, which could possibly lead to a change of mind about you and maybe even the Lord Jesus Christ. Obedience to this prohibition and command will manifest the love of God towards one s neighbor. Romans 12:20, On the contrary, if your enemy is, at any time, hungry, then continue to make it your habit to feed him. If, he is, at any time, thirsty, then continue to make it your habit to give him a drink because as a result of doing this very thing, you will, as a certainty, heap burning coals on his head. In this verse, Paul uses a fifth class condition to teach his readers a spiritual principle. There are two commands in the fifth class condition, namely, if their enemy is hungry, then feed him and if he is thirsty, give him a drink. These commands stand in direct contrast with the idea presented in Romans 12:19 of Paul s readers avenging themselves of their enemies. They are followed by a causal clause that presents the reason for the two commands. Paul wants them to obey the commands because by doing so it will produce guilt and shame in the conscience of their enemy, which could possibly lead to a change of mind about them and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Obedience to these two commands is another manifestation of the love of God towards the unsaved. Paul completes Romans chapter twelve in Romans 12:21 by issuing a prohibition and command. Romans 12:21, Continue making it your habit to not be overcome by the evil one. On the contrary, continue to make it your habit to overcome the evil one by means of good, which is divine in quality and character. 2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 17
In the prohibition, he wants them to continue making it their habit to not be overcome by Satan and on the heels of this he commands them to continue to make it their habit to overcome Satan by means of divine good. This passage makes clear that the ultimate agency behind the evil committed by human beings against one another is Satan since he deceives the entire world and is the god of this world and the author of evil, which is independence from God. Obedience to the teaching in this passage will manifest the love of God as well. Paul in Romans 13:8 issues a prohibition that is related to the believer s financial obligations. He also issues a command that is related to his moral or spiritual obligation to his fellow human being, both believer and unbeliever. The prohibition should always be met whereas the command is a debt that can never be fulfilled since it is the royal family of God s honor code and is the Christian way of life. Romans 13:8, All of you continue making it your habit to owe absolutely nothing to anyone except to continue making it your habit of divinely loving one another because the one who, at any time does divinely love the other person fulfills the Law. Paul s statement in Romans 13:9 serves to advance upon and intensify his statement at the end of verse 8 that loving one s neighbor fulfills the requirement of the Mosaic Law. Romans 13:9, In fact, this group of commandments: You must never commit adultery, you must never commit murder, you must never steal, you must never covet, (and if, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that there does exist any other commandment and we know that one does) is, as an eternal spiritual truth summarized by this command: You must love your neighbor as yourself. In Romans 13:9, Paul cites four of the Ten Commandments that are related to the believer s conduct in relation to the entire human race and alludes to a fifth and does explicitly mention it that also is related to the believer s conduct in relation to the entire human race. Therefore, he is citing these commandments to advance and intensify his argument from verse 8 that loving one s neighbor fulfills the Law in that obedience to these prohibitions is a manifestation of loving one s neighbor. The apostle is teaching in Romans 13:9 that when the believer obeys these four commandments, he is manifesting the fact that he loves his fellow human being as he would himself or herself. Consequently, the implication is that if they do not obey any one of these commandments then they don t love their neighbor as they would their own selves. Romans 13:10 teaches that divine-love never commits evil against a neighbor, therefore, love fulfills the Law. 2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 18