Paul’s Explanation of His Ministry and Apology (Romans 15:14–19)

It is composed of:

A) certain announcements;

B) greetings; and

C) an admonition, after which is appended:

D) a postscript with additional greetings.

All breathes warm love and friendly feeling.

a) Announcements (Rom. 15:14–33)

Aa) After apologizing for writing somewhat “boldly” (Rom. 15:14–16), the holy Paul:

Bb) tells them what the Lord has accomplished for him in the work of preaching (Rom. 15:17–22); and:

Cc) what plans he has for the future in this regard, promising to visit them as well (Rom. 15:23–29); and finally:

Dd) asks them to help him in prayer (Rom. 15:30–33).

Aa) The Apology (Rom. 15:14–16)

Rom. 15:14. And I myself am convinced about you, my brethren, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another..

He praises them—and by praise moves them to fulfill what he had written about: “for he who hears himself praised usually makes an effort to justify it and show it to be earnest,” says Ambrosiaster. He had rebuked them for a certain discord among them, which revealed a lack of good will, and for an inability to comport themselves in these circumstances, which revealed lack of understanding. Now he softens this rebuke, saying: I am convinced that you are both good-willed and wise—so that even you can instruct others, νουθετεΤν. The holy Chrysostom depicts the Apostle’s thoughts thus: “The Apostle earlier said: ‘I am the Apostle to the Gentiles, and I make much of my ministry’ (Rom. 11:13); also: ‘But also you may not be spared’ (Rom. 11:21); and further: ‘Do not be conceited in your own estimation’ (Rom. 12:16); and then: ‘But you, why do you judge your brother?’ (Rom. 14:10). And again: ‘Who are you to judge the servant of another?’ (Rom. 14:4). And besides these expressions, he used many similar ones. And so, having expressed in his Epistle much that was stern, at the end he heals the wounds inflicted and, as he began, so he concludes. At the beginning he said: ‘I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world’ (Rom. 1:8). And here he says: ‘I am convinced about you that you yourselves are full of goodness’ and so forth. — And in this place it is said even more fully than in the first. He did not say: I have heard—but ‘I am convinced’: I do not need to inquire of others but I myself am sure of you—I myself, who have rebuked and accused you. ‘You are full of goodness’: this refers to the recently given exhortation. The Apostle is as if saying: I did not consider you harsh and brothers who hate one another when I advised you to receive one another, not to abandon or destroy God’s work. For I know that you are ‘full of goodness.’ By goodness, I think, he here means the fullness of virtue (goodness). And he did not say: you have goodness—but ‘you are full of goodness.’ With the same emphasis he continues: ‘filled with all knowledge.’ What good would it be if, with all their love, they did not know how they should deal with those they love? Therefore the Apostle added: ‘filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another’—not only to learn but to teach others as well.”

All our commentators read: others, άλλους,—to teach, except for Ambrosiaster, with whom others read: αλλήλους — to teach one another mutually, or to admonish one another.

Rom. 15:15. But I have written to you very boldly in part, as reminding you, because of the grace that was given to me from God..

Someone might say or think: if you are convinced we are wise, why then do you write so sternly and teach? I do not teach, answers the holy Paul, but only remind you, ώς έπαναμιμνήσκων,—I lightly bring to mind. It happens that you know something well and then forget it, says Ambrosiaster. So I am just lightly reminding you. Someone might think: and what is it your concern to remind us? The holy Paul adds: I have a responsibility: for I have been set to be a servant of Jesus Christ among the Gentiles. So, although I see that from your perspective—from the capital city’s perspective—this may seem out of place, I could not help but lightly remind you. The holy Chrysostom marvels here at the humility and wisdom of the holy Paul. “Notice Paul’s humble wisdom, notice his wisdom—how, after dealing a deep wound earlier, when he had already achieved what he wanted, he applies various remedies to it. One statement alone would have sufficed to comfort them; but the Apostle even admits he was excessively bold. He does the same thing in the Epistle to the Hebrews, saying: ‘But we are confident of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, even though we speak in this way’ (Heb. 6:9). Similarly he writes to the Corinthians: ‘Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you’ (1 Cor. 11:2). And in the Epistle to the Galatians he says: ‘I am confident about you … that you will come to no other judgment’ (Gal. 5:10). And in all of Paul’s epistles you will find this thought more than once, but especially here; because the Romans enjoyed great respect, and their arrogant understanding had to be humbled not only by stern but also by gentle measures. The Apostle employs both. Therefore he also says to them here: ‘I have written to you very boldly’; even, not content with that, he adds: ‘in part’—somewhat. But he does not stop there either; what does he say? ‘As reminding you.’ He did not say: teaching you or reminding you—but ‘reminding,’ that is, lightly reminding. — Do you notice how the end of the Epistle corresponds to the beginning? Both there and here he descends from the teacher’s chair and converses with them as with brothers, as with friends, as with equals. And this is the chief virtue of a teacher—to vary his discourse for the benefit of his listeners. Notice also that the Apostle, after saying: ‘I have written to you very boldly,’ then ‘in part’—and furthermore: ‘as reminding you’—not satisfied with that, expressing himself even more humbly, added: ‘because of the grace that was given to me from God.’ And at the beginning he said: ‘I am obligated’ (Rom. 1:14), as if to say: I have not seized this honor for myself, I did not undertake this work myself, but God commanded me to do this, and moreover, by grace, not because He found me worthy of it. Therefore, do not be grieved: I am not rising against you, it is God who commands. And as the Apostle said there: ‘to whom I am serving… in the gospel of His Son’ (Rom. 1:9), so here too, having said: ‘because of the grace that was given to me from God,’—he added:”

Rom. 15:16. So that I might be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit..

He explains what grace was given him by God—the grace of Apostleship among the Gentiles. I am a minister, λειτουργός,—that is, a priest performing the Liturgy—I am a minister of Jesus Christ, and my service to Him is proclaiming His gospel among the Gentiles. This is my Liturgy, which I strive to perform with all diligence and reverence. Therefore I cannot be indifferent to what is happening among you; my Apostolic conscience compels me to take a part in it. And I do take part, wishing to help advance your progress in Christianity. So do not complain against me that I wrote to you somewhat sternly. I had no choice: it is my duty.

Remarkably he defines the gospel as priesthood. The Apostle is a liturgist—the preaching of the Gospel—the Liturgy. What then is the sacrifice? The sacrifice is the believers. By self-denial and commitment to the Lord they slay themselves; the grace of the Holy Spirit, descending upon them through the mysteries, sanctifies them and makes them an acceptable sacrifice to God. The holy Chrysostom says: “The Apostle turns his discourse to the highest dignity of his Apostleship and calls it not simply a ministry, as at the beginning, but a sacred ministry, a priesthood. For me to preach and proclaim the gospel is priesthood, it is a sacrifice I offer. And no one will blame a priest for his care that the sacrifice he offers be unblemished. By such words the Apostle both inspires the minds of believers, showing them that they are a sacrifice, and justifies himself, suggesting that this is what he has been commanded to do. My sacrificial knife, he says, is the Gospel and the word of preaching, and my purpose is not to glorify myself and become famous, but ‘that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit,’—that is, that the souls of those I teach might be pleasing to God. God, sending me to this work, wished not so much to glorify me as to have care for you. How can the offering become acceptable? By the Holy Spirit. Faith alone is not enough, but also a spiritual life is needed, so that we might keep in ourselves the Spirit given once for all. The wood, the fire, the altar, and the knife—the Spirit replaces all these for us. Therefore I strive by every means that this fire not be extinguished. For this has been entrusted to me. As in the Old Testament the priest stood before God, kindling the fire, so I serve God, stirring up your zeal by reminding. And notice, he did not say: may the offering from you—but ‘the offering of the Gentiles’ become acceptable. And by the word ‘of the Gentiles’ he means the universe, that is, all the earth and sea; and thereby he humbles the pride of the Romans, so that they not regard it as low to have as their teacher one whose work extends to the ends of the universe. He said the same thing at the beginning of the Epistle: ‘as also among the rest of the Gentiles’ (that is, I might have fruit among you too). ‘I am indebted both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish’ (Rom 1:13; Rom. 1:14).”

“In the words ‘that the offering of the Gentiles might be sanctified by the Holy Spirit’—there is hidden the thought that if he wrote sternly it was out of concern for their perfection. I am concerned, he says, that the offering of the Gentiles be sanctified by the Holy Spirit. I have the same concern regarding you. “True, having believed and been baptized, you have received the Spirit; but if you do not also live spiritually, the grace will be extinguished,” says Oecumenius and the blessed Theophylact. Since I noticed in you something that is harmful to spiritual life, I reminded you to correct what is defective, lest otherwise, if you remain in this defect, the Spirit depart from you and you cease to be an offering sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”

Bb) About the Work of Preaching (Rom. 15:17–22)

Why does the holy Paul relate what the Lord accomplished in his Apostolic ministry up to now? His mention of his assignment to be an Apostle to the Gentiles might have led to this, to show that this grace was not “in vain” in him (1 Cor. 15:10), and to conclude: now I have completed everything here, I will go further, to Spain, and on the way I will visit you, as I have long desired. Or thus: having mentioned the grace given him, he was going to say that in the power of this grace I am planning to go to Spain and visit you on the way. But since the question arose: why then have you delayed until now? — he anticipates it, saying: there was work here; I labored in preaching and sowed the word of the gospel from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum. Having finished here, I am going there. Since this account might have appeared like boasting, the Apostle begins his discourse by removing this supposition, saying as if: certainly, there is something to boast of; but the boast belongs not to me but to God and His grace, which showed its power in the preaching by signs and bent minds to obedience to the Gospel.

Rom. 15:17. Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in those things which pertain to God..

Yes, I have a boast—I am praised—or I am able to boast, I have whereof, but not for anything earthly, human, but: “in those things which are toward God”,—for the divine work, for that I proclaim to all the word of God and bring all to God, tearing them away from the earthly, perishable and created to the heavenly, eternal and divine. But I do not appropriate this boast to myself, but ascribe all to Christ Jesus my Lord. In myself I have nothing boastworthy: the Lord accomplishes all. To Him be the glory. Holy Chrysostom sees such an impulse to these words: “since the Apostle humbled himself greatly before this, he again elevates his word and does this so that the Romans might not consider him contemptible. Elevating himself and saying: ‘I have a boast’,—he does not change his nature. I boast, he says, not by myself, not by my efforts, but by the grace of God. It cannot be said that I was appointed by God but did not fulfill the entrusted task. I fulfilled it, but not I, but Christ. Therefore I boast in Him, I boast not in some trifling works, but in spiritual ones. This very thing is meant by the words: ‘in those things which are toward God’”.

Rom. 15:18, 19. For I dare not speak of any things except those which Christ has worked through me, for the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God.

I dare not, ου τολμήσω,—speak of anything Christ the Lord has not done through me, because that would be a base lie and empty boasting,—I dare not from reverence before God, who is truth. But here also is contained such a thought: but I dare not and do not speak of what the Lord accomplished through me: for since these works are in sight of all and were done through me, they might think that I myself accomplished them. And that would again be a lie; for not I did them, but Christ through me. For this reason I speak of these works; but, speaking of them, I do not ascribe them to myself, but openly refer them to their source,—to Christ the Lord, that He alone might be glorified in all—our Saviour and Lord. Perhaps in this way one can also repel all self-boasting, awakening awareness and feeling that the good which provokes it comes from the Lord: for all good truly comes from Him, and is not merely thought up by the mind from piety that it is so.

The Apostle testifies that all which he has done, Christ accomplished through him. “See how he strives to prove that all belongs to God, not to him. Whether I speak or act or work miracles,—all is wrought by Christ, all is wrought by the Holy Spirit” (Holy Chrysostom), “using me as an instrument” (Blessed Theophylact). The Lord Christ granted me the grace of the All-Holy Spirit for working signs and wonders, so that by them the Gentiles might be caught and receive the ray of the knowledge of God (Blessed Theodoret). Under: “by word”—is understood the gospel preaching and explanation of the mysteries of faith, and under: “by deed”—life according to faith, confirming the sincerity of conviction in what is preached. “The power” of “signs and wonders”—encompasses all supernatural actions that accompanied the gospel preaching, to assure the listeners that the one preaching is truly a messenger of God and his word is God’s word, to whom creation must submit. Holy Chrysostom says: “saying: ‘by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders’,—the Apostle understands by this teaching, philosophy concerning the Kingdom of God and striving for it, the manifestation of deeds and life, the raising of the dead, the casting out of demons, the opening of the eyes of the blind, the leaping of the lame and all other miraculous actions which the Holy Spirit wrought through him”. Blessed Theophylact sets forth a distinction even between signs and wonders. “Between a sign and a wonder there is a difference. In a sign is accomplished that which is accomplished according to nature, only in an unusual manner. Such is the sudden healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, who was sick with a fever. Here the healing of the fever is an action according to nature; but it was accomplished in an unusual manner: as soon as Christ touched her, the fever departed (Matt. 8:14, 15). But a wonder is an action accomplished over that which is contrary to nature. Such is the healing of a man born blind (Jn. 9:1–7)”. I was clothed by the Lord in such a complete armour of the grace of the Holy Spirit for the purpose of bringing the Gentiles to obedience of faith,—“for the obedience of the Gentiles”: in which the Lord granted me to succeed.

Rom. 15:19. Even as from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

The Roman Jews who had been in Jerusalem, as well as those who were in relations with Asia by commercial affairs, among whom could be both Gentiles and those who had recently returned to Rome from exile, could know what a vast expanse of lands and peoples the Apostle had traversed and what he had enlightened with the gospel, and could explain this to others who did not know. The general impression these words should have left was such that Holy Paul is the universal Apostle, whom all should listen to, consequently also the Romans; for he is such by God’s election. “Speaking thus, the Apostle was far from any boasting, he spoke it for the Romans, so that they might not think too much of themselves” (Holy Chrysostom). And perhaps also he said this to inspire them in faith, elevating it in their eyes. For by these words he speaks as it were: our faith, the Gospel of Christ, is not known in some obscure corner of the world. It has already occupied such an expanse; and this is not yet the end of its success: it will go further and encircle all the earth. From this it directly follows that if you Romans consider your Rome the ruling center of the world, then you did well not to let others get ahead of you in faith; stand firm in it, to serve in it as an example for all.

The word: “fully preached”—gives such a meaning that the gospel not only the hearing of the mentioned peoples was enlightened, but that it was received by them and took root among them: so that all the mentioned lands are not only in word filled with the gospel, but are filled and inhabited by believers. What an affecting assurance in the divinity of the faith of Christ?!