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Romans Chapter
Fifteen
I.
Content of the Chapter
Conditions that Believers Should Have Among
Them
A. We should bear with the weakness of one
another (v.1-4).
B. We should be like-minded toward one another (v.5-6).
C. We should receive one another (v.7-13).
The Fellowship in the End
A. Paul described his ministry:
1. Be a minister
ministering
the gospel of God to the Gentiles
(v.14-19);
2. Be unwilling to build on another man's foundation (v.20-21).
B. Paul foreshowed his journey:
1. He desired to go to
2. He now went to
3. He requested for prayers for his whereabouts
(v.30-33).
II.
Verse by Verse commentary
Rom.
15:1 “We then who are strong ought to bear
with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves.”
YLT: “And we ought -- we who are strong --
to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves;”
Meaning of Words:
“strong”: powerful; “bear”: carry, take up, lift;
Literal Meaning: “we who are strong”,
it refers those who think “they may eat all things” in the previous chapter (
“Ought to bear with the scruples of the weak”, “bear”, it means
“bearing” the burdens of others (Gal. 6:2) ---- it is not only patience and
longsuffering, but support and service in love furthermore (Gal. 5:13). “The
weak”, it refers to those who are weak in faith ---- they eat vegetables only (
“Not to please ourselves”, one is not self-centered and does not live
for his own favor or profit.
Paul uses three “for”s to explain why we do not please ourselves in
verse two to four, but the first “for” in verse two and the last one in verse
four are missed in Chinese Union Version :
1)
“For” let each of us
please his neighbor for his good, leading to
edification (v.2).
2)
“For
even Christ did not please Himself; but as what
is written in the Scriptures (v.3).
3)
“For
whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we
through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope (v.4).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) If one has not stooped down himself first,
he can not bear with the scruples of others. If he who
is strong in faith is always too proud to be unwilling to humble himself, he
cannot bear with the weakness of others.
2) If one desires to bear with others, he must
put down the burden of himself in him (to give up his own ideas) and does not
seek others to do anything for him, but only seeks to lower his shoulder.
Rom.
15:2 “Let each of us please his neighbor
for his good, leading to edification.”
YLT: “for let each one of us please the
neighbor for good, unto edification,”
Literal Meaning: “let each of us
please his neighbor for his good”, “neighbor” refers to those who are near.
Here, it is brothers and sisters in the church.
“Leading to edification”, when believers get along with each other in
the church, everyone should not cause others to fall, but seek to edify others.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The life of Christians is a life of
sacrificing oneself but benefiting others. The goal of Christian’s life is not
exalting oneself, but perfecting the whole body.
2) The building of the church is in love, not
in knowledge, and by life, not by methods (Eph. 4:15-16).
Rom.
15:3 “For even Christ did not please
Himself; but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached You
fell on Me." ”
YLT: “for even the Christ did not please
himself, but, according as it hath been written, `The reproaches of those
reproaching Thee fell upon me;'”
Literal Meaning: “for even Christ did
not please Himself”, Christ fell on the earth and was completely misunderstood,
mocked and despised by man, but He still took the good will of God as His
satisfaction (Matt. 11:26). He said, “The Son of man did not come to be served,
but to serve” (Matt. 20:28). Before going to the cross, He still prayed,
“nevertheless not as I will, but as You will (Matt. 26:39). He did not please
Himself at all.
“As it is written”, the following
Scriptures are quoted from the Book of Psalm (69:9).
“The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me”, “You” refers to
God; “Me” relates to the righteous in affliction, here is Christ. Paul quotes
this Old scripture to explain that how willing the Lord Jesus is to endure the
enmity of men towards God. This is the proof of His not pleasing Himself.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The nature of the flesh is always seeking to
please oneself ---- to walk according to one’s own ideas and habits and lust
for one’s own gain. The nature of Christ is “not pleasing Himself” ---- give up
his own ideas, and not insist on his own interest and disregard his own gain
and etc.
2) Those who live according to the principle of
pleasing themselves, they will naturally judge and stumble one another. Those
who do not live for pleasing themselves, they will naturally “edify one
another” (v.2) and be “like-minded toward one
another” (v.5), and “receive one another” (v.7).
Therefore, whether the condition of a church is normal is decided by whether
the whole members are willing to live in the principle of Christ.
Rom.
15:4 “For whatever things were written
before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort
of the Scriptures might have hope.”
YLT: “for, as many things as were written
before, for our instruction were written before, that through the endurance,
and the exhortation of the Writings, we might have the hope.”
Meaning of Words:
“comfort”: encouragement;
Literal Meaning: “for whatever things
were written before were for our learning”, it explains that why Paul quotes
words in the Old Testament to prove Christ does not please Himself, because
what were written in the Scriptures were examples for us in the last days
(1Cor. 10:6, 11). The value of the Scriptures is to reveal we Christians what
life we should lead.
“That we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have
hope”, it suggests that we shall learn to imitate the example of Christ’s
patience and suffering from the teachings in the Scriptures so that we shall
obtain comfort and have hope for Christ and future.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) All Scripture is given by inspiration of
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly
equipped for every good work (2Tim. 3:16-17).
2) Tribulations works patience and comfort, and
patience and comfort finally bring about hope (see
3) The one who lives for others and denies
himself more seems to be afflicted, but he really rejoices, for he will obtain
hope before God finally. On the contrary, he who profits himself more but lets
others suffer loss seems to be glad, but is really troubled, for he loses hope.
Rom.
15:5 “Now may the God of patience and
comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ
Jesus,”
YLT: “And may the God of the endurance,
and of the exhortation, give to you to have the same mind toward one another,
according to Christ Jesus;”
Meaning of Words:
“comfort”: encouragement;
Literal Meaning: “may the God of
patience and comfort”, our patience and comfort produced from the Scriptures
are of God.
“Grant you to be like-minded toward one another”, it shows that the
oneness of believers is of God (John 17:11, 21-23; Eph. 4:3).
“According to Christ Jesus”, it is not according to reasons or
knowledge, but taking Christ Jesus as the example of the church life and
minding what is also in Christ Jesus.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) If we believers want to be
like-minded toward one another, we should overcome the difficulty resulted
from the dissimilarities. It needs patience and comfort, and patience and
comfort are of God.
2) “Be like-minded toward one another”, it is
not say believers should not have different ideas about knowledge and things,
but should consider others in love instead of insisting on their views ----
this is according to Christ Jesus.
Rom.
15:6 “that you may with one mind and one
mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
YLT: “that with one accord -- with one
mouth -- ye may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ;”
Literal Meaning: “you
may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God”,
“one mind”: have the same mind inside; “one mouth”:
speak the same word in mouth. If we want to have one mouth, we should firstly
have one mind. If we want to have one mind, we should firstly mind what Christ
Jesus minds (see v.5; Phil. 2:5).
“And Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ”, “Father” particularly emphasizes that God
is the origin of life. Through the Lord Jesus, we can obtain His life and
disposition.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The best testimony of the church in the
world is “one mind and one mouth”, for it is exactly opposite to the condition
of
2) What believers can glorify God most is “one
mind and one mouth” ---- it is because they are according to Christ Jesus (see
v.5) so that Christ Jesus shall be manifested on us (see John 17:23).
3) Only when we let Christ Jesus reign in our
mind and mouth ---- think what he desires us to think and say what he desires
us to say ---- can we be “one mind and one mouth”.
Rom.
15:7 “Therefore receive one another, just
as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.”
YLT: “wherefore receive ye one another,
according as also the Christ did receive us, to the glory of God.”
Literal Meaning: “therefore, receive
one another”, “therefore”, it indicates that this verse is a conclusion drawn
from previous verses. “Receive one another”, it is difficult to receive one
another by our nature, for we have great differences in thinking and things
that we please. However, the example of Christ Jesus makes us not seek our own
pleasure and receive one another without caring for ourselves.
“Receive one another”, it
points that he who is strong in faith receive he who is weak (Rom. 14:1) and he
who is weak in faith shall receive he who is strong.
“Just as Christ also received us”, we are
truly unworthy of being received by Christ according to our nature, but he has
received the reproaches that should be fallen upon us (see
v.3) and even has risen from the dead for us (Rom. 14:9). He has received us
unconditionally. We should also receive one another as Christ received us.
The acceptance of Christ is the acceptance
of God (
“To the glory of God”, there are two
meanings: 1) Believers shall receive one another so that they can glorify God.
2) Believers’ receiving one another should be like the receiving of Christ so
that they can glorify God.
Rom.
15:8 “Now I say that Jesus Christ has
become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the
promises made to the fathers,”
YLT: “And I say Jesus Christ to have
become a ministrant of circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the
promises to the fathers,”
Meaning of Words:
“truth”: reality, verity;
Literal Meaning: “I say that Jesus
Christ… for the truth of God”, all that is fulfilled by Christ who came into
the world is to declare God (John 1:18) and to perfectly manifest the truth and
faithfulness of God.
“Has become
a servant to the circumcision”, “the
circumcision” refers to the Jews; “servant” is the
servant who serves them. When the Lord Jesus was on the earth, He regarded
serving the Jews as the chief mission (see Matt. 15:24).
“To confirm
the promises made to the fathers”, “promises
made to the fathers” refer to the promises of God to Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob. That Christ has become the servant of the Jews has confirmed
the promises of God to their fathers, thus manifesting the truth and
faithfulness of God.
Rom.
15:9 “and that the Gentiles might glorify
God for His mercy, as it is written: "For this reason I will confess to
You among the Gentiles, And sing to Your name." ”
YLT: “and the nations for kindness to
glorify God, according as it hath been written, `Because of this I will confess
to Thee among nations, and to Thy name I will sing praise,'”
Literal Meaning: “and
that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy”,
Christ was not only the servant of the Jews as well
as that of the gentiles (who are truly of the circumcision, see
Note that “glorify God” is
mentioned the third time in the short four verses.
“As it is
written”, the following words are quoted from the second
Book of Samuel (22:50) and the Book of Psalm (18:49).
“For this
reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, And sing to Your name.” ---- “I” refers to
David and his seed, namely the anointed one (2Sam. 22:51; Ps. 18:50), which
refers to the Jews in a broad sense and Christ in a narrow sense. “You” refers
to God. It means that the gentiles and the Jews are gathered together and
praise God and sing to God and glorify God.
Rom.
15:10 “And again he says: "Rejoice, O
Gentiles, with His people!" ”
YLT: “and again it saith, `Rejoice ye
nations, with His people;'”
Literal Meaning: “and again
he says”, the following words are quoted from the Book of
Deuteronomy (32:43).
“Rejoice,
O Gentiles, with His people!” ---- “His
people” refers to the Jews.
Rom.
15:11 “And again: "Praise the LORD,
all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!" ”
YLT: “and again, `Praise the Lord, all ye
nations; and laud Him, all ye peoples;'”
Literal Meaning: “and again”, the following
words are quoted from the Book of Psalm (117:1).
“Praise
the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!” ---- “All you
peoples” refer to all the nations, namely, the Gentiles.
Rom.
15:12 “And again, Isaiah says: "There
shall be a root of Jesse; And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In
Him the Gentiles shall hope." ”
YLT: “and again, Isaiah saith, `There
shall be the root of Jesse, and he who is rising to rule nations -- upon him
shall nations hope;'”
Literal Meaning: “again,
Isaiah says”, the following words are quoted from the Book of
Isaiah (11:10).
“There shall be a root of Jesse”, “Jesse”, the
father of king David (Matt. 1:6), here represents the Jews. On one hand, Christ
is the seed of David and is begotten by Jesse. On the other hand, He is “a root
of Jesse”, and He is the hope for the Jews ---- a big tree that is cut off ----
if they want to sprout and bear fruit again (see Is. 10:32-11:1).
“And He who
shall rise to reign over the Gentiles”, it is “being set as
the great banner for the Gentiles” in the original of the Old Testament. That
is to say, being raised is a sign of showing kindness to the Gentiles. Paul
here implies that Christ shall rise to be the Savior of the whole world and the
Gentiles shall bend theirs knees before Him.
“In Him the
Gentiles shall hope”, it is “the
Gentiles shall seek Him” in the original of the Old
Testament. “Hope Him” is “seeking Him” ---- take Him as the hope in hopelessness
and help of helplessness.
Enlightenment in the Word: Christ has become the servant to join the
Jews and the Gentiles (see v.8-11). He is the Lord of all (Acts. 10:36) and the
Savior of all (1Tim. 4:10). If we really magnify Him, we should receive all
believers that are different from us.
Rom.
15:13 “Now may the God of hope fill you
with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power
of the Holy Spirit.”
YLT: “and the God of the hope shall fill
you with all joy and peace in the believing, for your abounding in the hope in
power of the Holy Spirit.”
Meaning of Words:
“all”: any, every, the whole;
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Many believers lack joy and peace, for they
do not know the God they believe ---- who is not only a God who redeems us, but
also a God who gives us hope. God is not only concerned about our future, but
also our life today.
2) God is a God
of hope. Therefore, He creates the morning in a day,
Sunday in a week, the first day of a month, and the first day of a year so that
we have new beginning and new hope.
Rom.
15:14 “Now I myself am confident concerning
you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all
knowledge, able also to admonish one another.”
YLT: “And I am persuaded, my brethren -- I
myself also -- concerning you, that ye yourselves also are full of goodness,
having been filled with all knowledge, able also one another to admonish;”
Literal Meaning: “I myself am
confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness”, “be
full of goodness”, it means that one has obtained the good and divine nature in
the new life because of believing the Lord.
“Filled with all knowledge”, it refers to
the spiritual knowledge obtained through learning to live a normal church life.
“Admonish one another”, it relates to the
behaviors in love that all believers of the Lord must have (see Heb. 10:24).
Rom.
15:15 “Nevertheless, brethren, I have
written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the
grace given to me by God,”
YLT: “and the more boldly I did write to
you, brethren, in part, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is
given to me by God,”
Literal Meaning: “I
have written more boldly to you on some points”, “you” refers to
saints in
“As
reminding you”, Paul had never been
to
“Because of
the grace given to me by God”, it indicates that the apostleship of Paul
is of God’s grace (Gal. 2:9; Eph. 3:8).
Enlightenment in
the Word:
1) Our service should be fulfilled through the
grace of God. The work of God can only be done by the provision of God.
2) The strength of our service is not decided
by our strength or weakness, but by whether we have drawn the divine grace
sufficiently (2Cor. 12:9-10).
YLT: “for my being a servant of Jesus
Christ to the nations, acting as priest in the good news of God, that the
offering up of the nations may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy
Spirit.”
Meaning of Words:
“minister”: minister who
serves in the sanctuary (Heb. 8:2); “priest”: a man who offers sacrifices;
“offer”: the actions of sacrifices; (the above-mentioned three words are in
connection with offering).
Literal Meaning: “that
I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles”,
Christ Jesus directly revealed to Paul and
entrusted the mission of preaching to the Gentiles to Paul (Acts 9:15; 22:21;
26:18).
“Ministering
the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles”, Paul, the bondman
of Christ Jesus, chiefly preached the gospel to the Gentiles.
Such service of him was “ministering the gospel of
God” ---- to offer the Gentiles he had gained in his preachment of the gospel
as the offering to God.
“Might be
acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit”, the Gentiles were filthy and unclean (see
Acts 11:8-9, 18). However, they are sanctified and have become the offering
acceptable to God due to the work of the Holy Spirit.
This verse has mentioned seven great
elements of the service of Christian:
1) The reason for service is grace
“given to me”
by God (see v.15).
2) The content of service is the gospel of God.
3) The status of service is to be the
minister of Jesus Christ and the priest of God.
4) The object of service is the Gentiles
(unbelievers).
5) The work of service is to gain the Gentiles
and make them sanctified and offer them as the offering of God.
6) The power of service is the Holy Spirit.
7) The goal of service is to be acceptable by
God.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Today we are bondmen of Christ Jesus (
2) Priests are those who stand between God and
men ---- they bring God to men, and also bring men to God. Therefore, we shall
preach the gospel and bear witness to men for God and make men turn to God.
3) The ministry of priests in the New Testament
is wider than the Old Testament, including the preachment of the gospel. Paul
says he is not only “an apostle separated to God's glad tidings” (
4) Many Christians pay attention to the matter
of offering, but they seldom observe whether the sacrifice they offered is
acceptable to God (see Lev. 10:1-3).
Rom.
15:17 “Therefore I have reason to glory in
Christ Jesus in the things which pertain to God.”
YLT: “I have, then, a boasting in Christ
Jesus, in the things pertaining to God,”
Literal Meaning: “I
have reason to glory in Christ Jesus”, from this verse to verse seventeen, Paul
mentioned the accomplishments among the Gentiles when he preached the gospel.
But he did not boast of himself, but that how Christ and the Holy Spirit
enabled him to fulfill the ministry.
Rom.
15:18 “For I will not dare to speak of any
of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed,
to make the Gentiles obedient--”
YLT: “for I will not dare to speak
anything of the things that Christ did not work through me, to obedience of
nations, by word and deed,”
Literal Meaning: “to
make the Gentiles obedient”, Paul chiefly worked for
the obedience of faith among all the
nations (
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Though Paul had full wisdom and strength and
was profound and extensive in learning, he even did not dare to boast about
anything which Christ had
not accomplished through him, let alone us who fall
further short of Paul in every aspect. Therefore, we should not boast of any
cleverness or intelligence of ourselves. He that boasts, let him boast in Lord
(see 1Cor. 1:31).
2) Christians are vessels of God in His hand,
not agents of God. If we have some fulfillments in our service, we should give
glory to God.
3) If we want to work for the Lord, we shall
wait for the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8).
4) “If one lets the Holy Spirit work without
any reservation, he will be fully used by the Lord.” Muddy was deeply moved by
these words and finally became an evangelist that was greatly used by God.
Rom.
15:19 “in mighty signs and wonders, by the
power of the Spirit of God, so that from
YLT: “in power of signs and wonders, in
power of the Spirit of God; so that I, from
Literal Meaning: “and
round about to Illyricum”, “Illyricum” was
located in the northwestern part of
“I have
fully preached the gospel of Christ”, “have fully
preached”, have preached the gospel of Christ everywhere.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) We possibly need not go to a place as far as
“
2) And besides, the gospel of Christ should not
be restricted in the environment that we live around, but be spread over the
whole world.
Rom.
15:20 “And so I have made it my aim to
preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another
man's foundation,”
YLT: “and so counting it honour to
proclaim good news, not where Christ was named -- that upon another's foundation
I might not build --”
Literal Meaning: “to
preach the gospel, not where Christ was named”,
this was a principle of Paul’s ministry, but he did
not insist on this principle. For example, there had been already church in
1) He was entrusted by the Lord to preach the
gospel to the Gentiles mainly.
2) At that time, the area that had not been
covered by the gospel was rather large.
3) He was unwilling to reach the measure of the
rule which God had distributed to him (2Cor. 10:13).
4) “Lest he
should build on another man's foundation”.
“Lest I
should build on another man's foundation”, in the negative
aspect, it was in order to avoid unnecessary conflicts with other workers. In
positive aspect, by the grace of God given to him, he focused on laying the
foundation as an architect (see 1Cor. 3:10) instead of building upon the
foundation. In other words, he paid more attention to planting than watering
(see 1Cor. 3:6). However, it did not mean that Paul lacked the grace of
building the church and watering believers.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Paul on one hand had great ambition before
the Lord and on the other he did not dare to boast of himself before men. This
is a great example of balance of the Lord’s workers.
2) The workers of God shall be beside
themselves to God, and be sober to men (see 2Cor. 5:13).
Rom.
15:21 “but as it is written: "To whom
He was not announced, they shall see; And those who have not heard shall
understand." ”
YLT: “but according as it hath been
written, `To whom it was not told concerning him, they shall see; and they who
have not heard, shall understand.'”
Literal Meaning: “but
as it is written”, the verse behind is quoted from the Book
of Isaiah (52:15).
“To whom He
was not announced, they shall see; And those who have not heard shall
understand”. ---- Paul quoted
this verse to show that his aim of preach the
gospel not where Christ was named was just according
to God’s will of preaching the gospel.
Rom.
15:22 “For this reason I also have been
much hindered from coming to you.”
YLT: “Wherefore, also, I was hindered many
times from coming unto you,”
Literal Meaning: please see the first
chapter of this book, verse thirteen.
Rom.
15:23 “But now no longer having a place in
these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come to you,”
YLT: “and now, no longer having place in
these parts, and having a longing to come unto you for many years,”
Literal Meaning: “but
now no longer having a place in these parts”, “now”: when Paul
wrote this book. “These parts” referred to both the east and north sides of the
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) “Fully
preached” (v.19) and “no longer
having a place in these parts” present the faithful attitude of Paul’s
service ---- he was on the run everywhere and preached the gospel diligently.
2) This verse reveals us two spiritual
principles of serving the Lord: 1) he who serves the Lord should not more to
other places until he has fully fulfilled what God has entrusted to him at that
time and in that place. 2) If he who serves the Lord has fulfilled his
ministration in one place, he shall receive further burden and guidance and
preach Christ to further places. One should not mechanically linger in one
place and hold closely what he has done.
Rom.
15:24 “whenever I journey to
YLT: “when I may go on to Spain I will
come unto you, for I hope in going through, to see you, and by you to be set
forward thither, if of you first, in part, I shall be filled.”
Literal Meaning: “
“To be
helped on my way there by you”, this is an implicative way of speaking.
He hoped that the church in
Rom.
15:25 “But now I am going to
YLT: “And, now, I go on to
Meaning of Words:
“minister”: serve;
Rom.
15:26 “For it pleased those from
YLT: “for it pleased
Meaning of Words:
“make”: do, fulfill; “contribution”: fellowship;
Literal Meaning: “
“It pleased …to
make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Paul had fellowship with the Gentiles in the
spiritual fullness that would be given to the Jews, and then the riches of
gentile believers were distributed to the Jews. What good fellowship! Since it
is out of love in life, it can be regarded as fellowship of love.
2) The devotion of substance is a kind of
fellowship in Christ. Since it is fellowship, there must be giving and gaining.
Possibly, one gives now for the lack of others, and later others give for the
lack of oneself (2Cor. 8:14). Another condition is that one gives material
things and receives spiritual blessings (Phil. 4:16-17).
Rom.
15:27 “It pleased them indeed, and they are
their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual
things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things. ”
YLT: “for it pleased well, and their
debtors they are, for if in their spiritual things the nations did participate,
they ought also, in the fleshly things, to minister to them.”
Meaning of Words:
“partaker”: fellowship; “minister”: to serve as a
minister;
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) There are several debts that Christian must
repay: a) the debt of forgiving others (Matt. 18:32-35); b) the debt of
preaching the gospel (Rom. 1:14-15); c) the debt of sharing spiritual things,
which can be paid by sharing material things.
2) Though spiritual grace cannot be bought or
sold, those who have been saved by grace are willing to share their possessions
with those who have helped them for the sake of the Lord. It is reasonable and
acceptable to God.
Rom.
15:28 “Therefore, when I have performed
this and have sealed to them this fruit, I shall go by way of you to
YLT: “This, then, having finished, and
having sealed to them this fruit, I will return through you, to
Meaning of Words: “seal”: seal
up, stamp;
Literal Meaning: “have sealed to them
this fruit”, “this fruit” refers to the contribution; “them” refers to
the poor among the saints in
Enlightenment in the Word: Christians should provide for things honest
before men in regards to money, lest we are spoken of
as evil (2Cor. 8:20-21).
Rom.
15:29 “But I know that when I come to you,
I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.”
YLT: “and I have known that coming unto
you -- in the fulness of the blessing of the good news of Christ I shall come.”
Enlightenment in
the Word:
1) The full grace is in Christ. In Christ,
there is full grace. The presence of the Lord is in the fellowship with
brothers (Matt. 18:20). Therefore, living in the fellowship with brothers is
the way of enjoying the full grace of Christ.
2) Paul had not only said about the full gospel
of Christ to the saints in
Rom.
15:30 “Now I beg you, brethren, through the
Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together
with me in prayers to God for me,”
YLT: “And I call upon you, brethren,
through our Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, to strive
together with me in the prayers for me unto God,”
Literal Meaning: “that
you strive together with me in prayers to God for me”, “with”: to work
together; “strive”: struggle in company
with, exert one’s full strength;
Enlightenment in
the Word:
1) The love of the Holy Spirit is the original
power of our striving to do the work of the Lord. Without the love of the Holy
Spirit, we shall not strive to work, nor have true prayers.
2) If the workers of the Lord strive to preach
the gospel and look after the saints and believers strive to pray for the
workers of the Lord, such striving will produce surpassing power and amazing
result.
3) Even the great apostle Paul does need
prayers of brothers and sisters. And we can clearly see that there is no true
service without prayers behind. All of us should pray for evangelists so that
the works of God can be fulfilled smoothly.
4) Any worker that has great gifts can not live
without the support of the members of the Lord’s body. In spiritual battle
field, no one shall fight the battles alone.
YLT: “that I may be delivered from those
not believing in Judea, and that my ministration, that for
Meaning of Words:
“service”: ministry, aid;
Literal Meaning: this verse and the
next verse reveal the three matters that Paul requests for their prayers:
1) “That I may be delivered
from those in
2) “And that my service for
3) To pray for his journey and service in the
future (v.32).
YLT: “that in joy I may come unto you,
through the will of God, and may be refreshed with you,”
Enlightenment in
the Word: those who carry the
full grace of Christ (v.29), wherever they go, can always bring “rest” to those
who are with them. The Lord Jesus has peace Himself, so He calls others to come
to Him and receive peace (see Matt. 11:25-30). Therefore, if one he has no rest
when he is getting along with other saints, he can not refresh others and even
bring heavier burden to others. All of these prove that they lack the reality
of the fullness of Christ
Rom.
15:33 “Now the God of peace be with you
all. Amen. ”
YLT: “and the God of the peace with you
all. Amen.”
Enlightenment in
the Word: God is not only a
God who gives peace, and He Himself is our eternal peace. It is an extremely
great blessing for us that we have such a “peace of God” who dwells in us and
is with us.
III. Outlines of the Spiritual
Lessons
The Virtues of
Christians
A. To please one another (v.1-2);
B. To be like-minded toward one another (v.5);
C. To receive one another (v.7);
D. To prove the words of God (v.8-13);
E. To admonish one another (v.14-19);
F. To supply one another (v.20-29);
G. To pray for one another (v.30-33);
How Do Christians
Imitate Christ?
A. To imitate Him who did not please Himself (v.1-3);
B. To learn from Him who obtained patience,
comfort and hope from God in the Scriptures (v.4-5);
C. To imitate Him who served in the world for
the sake of glorifying God (v.6-9);
D. To imitate Him who brought both the Jews and
the Gentiles unto God (v.8-12);
The Ideal Condition
of Building the Church
A. He who is strong is faith shall bear with
those who are weak (v.1-3).
B. Every believer can obtain learning from the
Scriptures (v.4).
C. All believers can be like-minded toward one
another, to
the glory of God (v.5-6).
D. All believers can receive one another,
without any difference (v.7-12).
E. Every believer is filled with the God of
hope (v.13).
God
A. The God of patience and comfort (v.5);
B. The God of hope
(v.13);
C. The God of peace
(v.33);
Life in Christ ----
Live in a Brighter Way (v.13)
A. For we are filled with hope for our future;
1. Christians have the hope of “a better
tomorrow” because of the guidance of God.
2. Christians can practically experience the
presence and guidance of God through honoring Him, trusting in Him and having
initiate fellowship with Him.
B. For we are filled with joy and peace;
1. Faith enables man to be filled with joy and
peace in abominable environment.
2. He who does not believe sees only the
environment, but he who believes can see the God behind the difficulty.
3. How will we have firm faith?
a. Ask God to give us faith;
b. Faith comes from the word of God;
C. For we have strength to overcome the
environment;
1. The power of the Holy Spirit gives us great
hope in us.
2. How does the Holy Spirit help us to overcome
our environment?
a. The comfort of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16);
b. The guidance of the Holy Spirit (
3. How do we let the Holy Spirit work His power
in us?
a. We shall walk by the Spirit and not quench
the Spirit (1Thess. 5:19).
b. We should not grieve the Spirit of God (Eph.
4:30).
The Growth in Christ
---- the Secret of Making Oneself Increase More (v.14)
A. One shall “be full of goodness” ---- have a good heart and bright walking;
1. “Good” is “as guileless as the doves”.
Goodness is the fruit that the Holy Spirit bears in believers.
2. Christians should have the virtue of “being
full of good”, which includes two meanings:
a. Christians shall have good hearts.
b. Christians shall have good works.
B. One shall be willing to “be filled with all knowledge” ---- be willing to lay up knowledge and
believe and obey the truth;
1. The “knowledge” here refers to the knowledge
and pursuit of the truth and obedience to the truth.
2. Christians should lay up the knowledge about
the truth (Pro. 10:14).
3. Christians should believe and obey the
knowledge about the truth.
C. One shall desire to “be able also to admonish one another” ---- desire to admonish others and be willing to
receive admonishments.
1. Christians shall have wisdom to admonish
others (Pro. 12:18; 10:13).
2. Christians shall be humble to receive the
admonishments of others (Pro. 10:15).
The Example of the
Worker of the Lord
A. He treats others graciously (v.14).
B. He is bold to remind others (v.15).
C. He is called to serve God in the gospel of
Him (v.16).
D. He has reason to glory in the things which pertain to God (v.17-19).
E.
He aims to preach the gospel, not
where Christ was named (v.20-21).
F.
He
completely fulfills his ministry everywhere he goes (v.22-23).
G. He has vast vision ---- the whole world is
his working place (v.24).
H. He has not forsaken the responsibility that
he should assume at present (v.25-27).
I. He serves in the fullness of the grace of Christ (v.28-29).
J. He values the prayers of all the saints
(v.30-32).
K. He prays for all the saints (v.33).
The Works of Service
A. The content of the works ---- things of God
(v.17);
B. The sphere of the works ---- in Christ Jesus
(v.17);
C. Men in the works ---- Christ…through me
(v.18) ---- the vessel of God;
D. The ways of the works ---- word and deed
(v.18);
E. The power of the works ---- the power of mighty signs and wonders (the power of the hands of God), the power of the Spirit
of God (v.18);
F. The result of the works ---- make… obedient (v.18);
G. The places of the works ---- have fully preached (v.19);
──
Caleb Huang《Christian Digest Bible
Commentary Series》
Translated by Mary Zhou