Courtesy and Christianity go together. Acknowledgment of favors and greetings of love are returns we should make to our fellow laborers in the Gospel for their joy and encouragement.
Romans 16
1 I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:
2 That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also.
3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus:
4 Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.
5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.
6 Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us.
7 Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.
8 Greet Amplias my beloved in the Lord.
9 Salute Urbane, our helper in Christ, and Stachys my beloved.
10 Salute Apelles approved in Christ. Salute them which are of Aristobulus’ household.
11 Salute Herodion my kinsman. Greet them that be of the household of Narcissus, which are in the Lord.
12 Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labour in the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis, which laboured much in the Lord.
13 Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.
14 Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them.
15 Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them.
16 Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.
17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
19 For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.
20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
21 Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you.
22 I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord.
23 Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, and Quartus a brother.
24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:
27 To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.
¶ Written to the Romans from Corinthus, and sent by Phebe servant of the church at Cenchrea.
Romans 16 Intro – J. Vernon McGee
Romans 16:1-2 – J. Vernon McGee
Romans 16:3-4 – J. Vernon McGee
Romans 16:5-7 – J. Vernon McGee
Romans 16:8-16 – J. Vernon McGee
Romans 16:17-27 – J. Vernon McGee
Romans 16:1-16 – Personal Interest in Fellow-Christians
Here is a window into Paul’s heart. He was apparently disowned by his own kindred, yet, as the Lord had promised, He had mothers, sisters, and brothers a hundred-fold. What a contrast there is between the spirit of this chapter and that of the mere disputant or theologian, the stoic or monk. We see also the courtesy, purity, thoughtfulness, and tenderness of Christian relationships.
Women are here—Phoebe, Priscilla, Mary, Junia, Persis, Julia, and others. The Apostle realized the immense help that holy women could furnish in the ministry of the gospel. Men are here—old and young, fathers, brothers, and sons. Lovely titles are given with a lavish, though a discriminating hand–succorer, helpers, beloved, approved in Christ, saints. How especially beautiful the appellation, the beloved Persis, which labored much in the Lord! The kiss was the common mode of greeting, but there was to be a new sanctity in it, as though Christ were between. This church in Rome was a model for other churches. Would that we could realize the same spiritual unity that presided over the gatherings of these early saints! —Through the Bible Day by Day
Romans 16:17-27 – Receive Helpers: Shun Hinderers
Those who cause divisions on obscure points of doctrine are to be avoided, lest they lead us away from the fundamentals. We need to be wise in heavenly wisdom and guileless in regard to evil. The pure, childlike heart is quick to discern the right and wrong, because of the breath that evil leaves on its clear mirror.
In the ease of each believer, however weak and helpless, God is pledged to fulfill to us Genesis 3:15. Not merely will He help us to do it, but He will do it for us. It is a remarkable conjunction; God against the devil and peace bruising.
These postscripts, from Romans 16:17, were probably written by Paul’s own hand. See I Corinthians 16:21. We are not all, as were Gaius and Erastus, men of note and wealth, but we can all resemble Quartus, “a brother.” The mystery or secret with which the Epistle closes refers to the redemption wrought out by Jesus during His earthly ministry, I Timothy 3:16. But this was no new thing, as it had been in the mind of God from times eternal, Revelation 13:8. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Romans 16:23—Quartus a brother.
That is all we know about him. The others whose names are written here are more or less famous. Tertius wrote the Epistle; Gaius was evidently a man of influence; Erastus was the treasurer of the city, and so on. But Quartus was just a humble, simple Christian, who had no handle to his name, save his brotherliness and his desire to assure his Roman brethren, whom probably he had never seen, of his love to them. “So he begs a little corner in Paul’s letter, and gets it; and there, in his little niche, like some statue of a forgotten saint scarce seen amidst the glories of a great cathedral, ‘Quartus the brother’ stands to all time.”
What a lesson in humility! Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not. Be content to live and die unknown, except for the love that breathes through thy life, not to those of thine own circle merely, but for those across the sea, with whom thou wouldst fain strike hands. Thy one joy, that thou hast been born into the family of God. Thy creed, that all regenerate souls, of every name and sect, are members of the same family, children of the same Father, and therefore one in ties of peculiar tenderness and strength.
What a revelation this slight reference is to the new binding forces of the Gospel! At the Advent the world was split by great gulfs of national hatred; fierce enmities of race, language, and religion; wide separations far profounder than anything that we know. And then the Gospel came, which began to gather men of every race into one family, in Jesus Christ, the Divine Elder-brother; and from this, uniting influences of brotherhood began to permeate the world. —Our Daily Homily