Romans chapter 16, verses 21 through 24. Greetings from Paul's fellow workers, verse 21, Timothy, my fellow worker, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, greet you. Timothy, of course, is a familiar figure to New Testament readers. He sometimes worked alongside Paul, yet just as often, he was serving on various missions on which Paul sent him. Origen reports that many early Christians thought that Lucius may be none other than Luke, another fellow worker of Paul who was the writer of Luke and Acts.
That is because Lucius, Greek Luchios, is simply the Roman form of Luke, Greek Lucas. Jason is probably the same brother with whom Paul and Silas stayed in Thessalonica, and who was arrested by the mob there. Once again, when Paul says the latter three men were his kinsmen, he probably means they were fellow Jews. Timothy is not included in this designation, for he was not a Jew. Verse 22," I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord." Tertius was the secretary to whom Paul dictated this letter.
In ancient times, such a secretary was known as an amanuensis. Paul graciously allowed Tertius to send his own personal greetings to the Romans, verse 23A. Gaius, my host and that of the whole church greets you.
Since Paul is writing from Corinth, Gaius is almost certainly the same man Paul speaks of when he told the Corinthians," I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius." His being the host of the whole church may mean that Gaius offered hospitality to many different ones in the church, or it may mean that at one time, the entire church in Corinth met at his house.
Theodoret comments," This is the greatest testimony of praise to have opened one's house to the new believers of the faith and together with all others and to have ministered even to the very teachers of the whole world." Erastus, the city steward, verse 23. B, Erastus, the city steward, greets you. And Quartus, a brother. These simple words of greeting have ended up being the subject of much controversy. Today, some Christians point to Erastus to argue that it is scriptural for Christians to hold political office.
However, their claims run into two obstacles. First, there is no evidence that City Steward was a political office. Second, it seems almost certain that this was a position that Erastus held in his past. Perhaps before he was a Christian. First, we do not know exactly what position Erastus held. Modern translations often refer to him as the treasurer of the city. However, the Greek word Paul uses is okonomos, which is nearly always translated as steward in other places in the New Testament.
In the Gospel of Luke, stewards are servants who have oversight over other servants or over their master's business affairs. Scholar Steve J. Friesen argues that Erastus was a low status steward of finance. So there is no evidence that his position was a political office. Theodoret simply describes his office with the words," He was someone fully entrusted with some responsibility." Second, it is almost certain that Erastus was no longer serving as a city steward when Paul wrote to the Romans.
The reason is that Erastus was one of Paul's traveling companions. If he were serving as a city steward, he would hardly have been free to travel about the empire as a companion of Paul. We first come across Erastus in Ephesus, where Paul spent two years and where Erastus ministered to him. So he, Paul, sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus. But he himself stayed in Asia for a time. So Paul sent Erastus as a missionary to Macedonia.
For Macedonia, Erastus traveled to Corinth to join Paul there. Paul would have never allowed one of his traveling companions to be weighed down with a full-time job like that of City Steward. In fact, he counseled Timothy," No soldier on duty entangles himself in the affairs of life that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier." For these reasons, one early Christian commentator, Pelagius, contends that Erastus' stewardship was a past position he had once held.
Perhaps before he was a Christian, Pelagius writes," Here Paul refers to the former steward as the steward, just as the scriptures still call Abigail the wife of Nabal, even though she had passed over in marriage to David after Nabal had died, 1 Samuel 35. Likewise, when we read the names of the 12 apostles in Matthew 10, we find the designation Matthew the Tax Collector. Yet Matthew was no longer a tax collector when Jesus appointed him as one of the 12.
Similarly, Paul refers to Luke as the beloved physician, even though Luke certainly was not maintaining a medical practice while he was traveling with Paul. Rahab is nearly always referred to as Rahab the harlot, even though she gave up harlotry when she came to faith in God. In short, there is no evidence that Erastus was still serving as city steward when he was a Christian. The Erastus inscription.
In April 1929, an archaeologist discovered an inscription by a paved area in Corinth near the ancient Roman theater. The inscription reads, Erastus, for his aedileship, paved this at his own expense. What was an aedile, an aedile, was a type of Roman official. Christians who were eager to find an archaeological reference to a person named in the New Testament began claiming that this was the same Erastus mentioned in Romans.
Politically active Christians were quick to claim this proved that Christians may hold public office. However, there are several problems in trying to identify this inscription with Paul's companion, Erastus. First, the inscription specifically states that this official was an aedile, which is quite different from a steward. The standard Greek word for the Latin official, aedile, was agoranomos, not Okonomos. The position of Steward was of lower standing than that of aedile.
The men who held the office of aedile were normally of high social standing, not likely to be one of Paul's traveling companions. Second, Erastus was a common name in antiquity. In a large city like Corinth, there would have been many men with that name. Finally, Paul does not state in which city Erastus had served as steward. Most modern commentators jump to the conclusion that Erastus served as steward in Corinth, since Paul wrote Romans from Corinth.
However, as we have seen, just a few months before, Erastus had been in Ephesus with Paul, then in Macedonia at Paul's behest. When Paul wrote Romans, Erastus had just accompanied Paul to Corinth. How likely is it that Erastus was suddenly serving as the steward of a city in which he had just arrived? Furthermore, if Erastus had deserted the mission field to take up the fixed secular job of city steward, he would certainly have incurred Paul's disfavor.
We know how angry Paul was at Mark when he deserted Paul on Paul's first missionary trip. We also know what he thought about Demas. So Paul would have hardly been passing on the greetings of someone who had deserted the ministry for a secular job. Verse 24," The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all." Amen. At the end of every one of his letters, Paul wishes grace to the recipients. It is particularly appropriate in this letter to the Romans, for he has written much about grace in it.
Romans chapter 16 verses 25 through 27. Closing doxology, verses 25 and 26." Now to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret since the world began, but now has been made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, has been made known to all nations for the obedience of faith. The revelation of the mystery.
What is the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret since the world began? Paul answers this question in his letter to the Ephesians. By revelation, the mystery was made known to me as I wrote before in a few words, which in other generations was not made known to the children of men. For it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of His promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
So the coming of salvation to the Gentiles is the mystery that has been kept secret since the world began. This salvation had been revealed in the writings of the prophets, but no one understood them until the coming of Christ. So even in his closing doxology, Paul alludes to the salvation of the Gentiles. For the obedience of faith, as we have discussed throughout this letter, many modern Christians falsely imagine that in Romans, Paul pits faith against works, obedience.
So it is fitting that at the close of his letter, Paul refers to the obedience of faith. In other words, he wants to make it clear that there is no conflict between faith and obedience. Both are essential. Chrysostom writes," Faith requires obedience, not inquisitiveness.
And when God commands, a person should obey instead of questioning." As Jesus had said," Not everyone who says to me,' Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." Hermas writes," He will bestow on them the blessing which he has promised them with much glory and joy, but only if they will keep the commandments of God, which they have received in great faith." Verse 27," To the only wise God, be glory through Jesus Christ forever." Amen.
Paul calls the Father the only wise God because human wisdom pales in comparison to God's. Unlike humans who are called wise, wisdom is not something God has acquired. Rather, it is an innate part of His very nature. It has always been with Him. Origen notes," He Himself is the author and begetter of wisdom." God has particularly displayed His wisdom in the way that He used one group of people, the Jews, to eventually bring salvation to another group of people, the Gentiles.
Furthermore, God brilliantly and masterfully used not a Gentile, but a Jew to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. As a Jew and a Pharisee, Paul had much greater standing to deal authoritatively with the Judaizers.