Romans 16:21-27 (WEL) Timothy, my fellow worker, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my countrymen, greet you. 22 I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord. 23 Gaius, my host, and the whole congregation greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, greets you as well as Quartus, our brother. 24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
25 Now to him who is able to establish you according to my Good News and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery and kept secret since the world began, 26 Now is clearly seen and through the prophetic Scriptures, according to the commandment of the eternal God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith. 27 To God, who alone is wise, be praise forever through Jesus Christ. Amen.
V21 Timothy, my fellow worker, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my countrymen, greet you.
Timothy had a Jewish mother and a Gentile father. His mother and grandmother are godly and raised Timothy to be godly. Paul circumcised him. He was a faithful servant of Jesus in many capacities.
The others are Messianic Jews.
Paul’s team consisted of many individuals, which is good because each believer has a different spiritual gift needed for ministering. See 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 and 1 Corinthians 12:12.
V22 I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord.
Tertius is the scribe for Paul.
A note from Constable’s Commentary:
“A crucial and debated question is the degree of freedom that a letter writer might give to his or her scribe in the choice of wording. A reasonable conclusion is that the freedom given to an amanuensis would have differed depending on the skill of the amanuensis and the nature of the relationship between the writer and the amanuensis. It may be, for instance, that when Paul used a close and trusted companion for his amanuensis, he gave that person some degree of freedom to choose the exact wording of the letter—always, we can assume, checking the letter over and attesting to its accurate representation of his thoughts with his closing greeting. Many scholars think that the influence of various amanuenses may explain the differences in Greek style among the Pauline letters, rendering it difficult, if not impossible, to draw conclusions about authorship based on such criteria.” [Note #702: Carson and Moo, pp. 334-35.]”
V23 Gaius, my host, and the whole congregation greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, greets you as well as Quartus, our brother.
Paul is staying at Gaius’ house. Note, all the believers gave their greetings to the Roman believers.
If you are a Christian, you can be in politics. Erastus was the city treasurer. Other references: Acts 19:22, 2 Timothy 4:20, and here.
Note the family feeling of believers with believers and the hospitality by offering their house for the gathering of believers.
V24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Paul prays for God’s assisting grace upon all. See 2 Corinthians 12:9.
V25 Now to him who is able to establish you according to my Good News and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery and kept secret since the world began.
Some translations leave out verses 25-27 or place it elsewhere as a footnote in the Majority Standard Bible: “Some manuscripts place the text of verses 25-27 after Romans 14:23 or after Romans 15:33.”
God is able to secure us. Jude 1:24-25 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy— 25 to the only wise God our Savior be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority both now and for all eternity. Amen.
This is the blessing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed to Paul, which is what Jesus and the Apostles preach. The Gospel of Jesus’s life and ministry was a mystery and poorly understood until He was born.
V26 Now is clearly seen and through the prophetic Scriptures, according to the commandment of the eternal God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.
The Gospel of Jesus is clearly seen in the prophets beginning with Moses in Genesis 15:6. The Gospel is God’s command. Even though it was a mystery (v25), it is now known from the ministry and life of the Lord Jesus and the preaching of the Apostles and others.
V27 To God, who alone is wise, be praise forever through Jesus Christ. Amen.
God has the perfect plan executed at the perfect time. The best wisdom is from Him. That is a good reason to seek His wisdom. Compare James 1:5, Isaiah 28:29, and 1 Samuel 2:3.
We learn:
- We are a Christian family.
- God gives assisting grace.
Questions:
- How have you helped your fellow Christ-followers?
- Have you obeyed the Gospel by your faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone?