TEXT [Commentary]
C. Personal Greetings and Final Instructions (16:1-24)
1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a deacon in the church in Cenchrea. 2 Welcome her in the Lord as one who is worthy of honor among God’s people. Help her in whatever she needs, for she has been helpful to many, and especially to me.
3 Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in the ministry of Christ Jesus. 4 In fact, they once risked their lives for me. I am thankful to them, and so are all the Gentile churches. 5 Also give my greetings to the church that meets in their home.
Greet my dear friend Epenetus. He was the first person from the province of Asia to become a follower of Christ. 6 Give my greetings to Mary, who has worked so hard for your benefit. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia,[*] my fellow Jews,[*] who were in prison with me. They are highly respected among the apostles and became followers of Christ before I did. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys.
10 Greet Apelles, a good man whom Christ approves. And give my greetings to the believers from the household of Aristobulus. 11 Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew.[*] Greet the Lord’s people from the household of Narcissus. 12 Give my greetings to Tryphena and Tryphosa, the Lord’s workers, and to dear Persis, who has worked so hard for the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, whom the Lord picked out to be his very own; and also his dear mother, who has been a mother to me.
14 Give my greetings to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters[*] who meet with them. 15 Give my greetings to Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and to Olympas and all the believers[*] who meet with them. 16 Greet each other with a sacred kiss. All the churches of Christ send you their greetings.
17 And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them. 18 Such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words they deceive innocent people. 19 But everyone knows that you are obedient to the Lord. This makes me very happy. I want you to be wise in doing right and to stay innocent of any wrong. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus[*] be with you.
21 Timothy, my fellow worker, sends you his greetings, as do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my fellow Jews.
22 I, Tertius, the one writing this letter for Paul, send my greetings, too, as one of the Lord’s followers.
23 Gaius says hello to you. He is my host and also serves as host to the whole church. Erastus, the city treasurer, sends you his greetings, and so does our brother Quartus.[*]
NOTES
16:1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe. It is possible that Phoebe carried this letter with her when she traveled to Rome.
a deacon in the church. Or, “who serves the church” (TEV). It is not clear whether diakonon [TG1249, ZG1356] is used here as a general term (i.e., “servant”) or as a specific technical term for an office in the church (“deacon,” as in Phil 1:1; 1 Tim 3:8, 12; so Cranfield 1981:781; Bruce 1985:252; Dunn 1988b:886-887). First Timothy 3:11 may suggest that women, as well as men, functioned in this office if “the women” are to be understood as deacons.
Cenchrea. One of the two seaports of Corinth, just a few miles away on the eastern (Aegean) side of the isthmus (cf. Acts 18:18). The church there was probably a daughter church of the church in Corinth.
16:2 Welcome her in the Lord. The common phrase “in the Lord” (en kuriō [TG2962, ZG3261]) is an ambiguous phrase that, in this case, could mean “as a Christian sister” (because of Phoebe’s relationship to the Lord), or “as Christian brothers and sisters” (because of the Roman Christians’ relationship to the Lord), or “in a Christian way.”
as one who is worthy of honor among God’s people. Lit., “in a way that is worthy of saints” (axiōs tōn hagiōn [TG516/40A, ZG547/41]). The phrase modifies the verb but could be understood as a reference to the saintliness either of Phoebe (cf. NLT) or of the believers in Rome (cf. TEV: “as God’s people should”); Moo (1996:915) suggests that Paul may have been thinking of both. It was considered important for believers to extend hospitality to fellow believers visiting or traveling through their area.
Help her in whatever she needs. This presumably includes financial assistance.
she has been helpful to many, and especially to me. Lit., “a helper (prostatis [TG4368, ZG4706]) of many, and of me myself.” See note on the related term proistamenos [TG4291A, ZG4613] in 12:8. Exactly how she helped Paul is not clear, but the term may well suggest hospitality and financial assistance.
16:3 Priscilla and Aquila. A Jewish Christian couple, originally expelled from Rome by the edict of Claudius against Jews (in AD 49), whom Paul first met and with whom he stayed in Corinth (as a fellow leatherworker or tentmaker) during his original evangelistic work there. They then relocated in Ephesus, where a church met in their home; later, they returned to Rome. They are mentioned together in Acts 18:2, 18, 26; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tim 4:19. The unusual fact that Priscilla’s name precedes Aquila’s in four of the six instances may imply that she was a Christian before him (and perhaps instrumental in his conversion), or that she was the more active of the two in Christian work, or simply that hers was the dominant personality (cf. Cranfield 1981:784). Paul used the name Prisca, while Luke used the more familiar form, Priscilla, in Acts.
my co-workers in the ministry of Christ Jesus. Lit., “my fellow-workers in Christ Jesus.” The ambiguous phrase “in Christ Jesus” may refer either to Priscilla and Aquila or to their ministry (as in the NLT).
16:4 they once risked their lives for me. Though we have no account of the details, this may have happened at a crisis during Paul’s difficult, two- or three-year stay in Ephesus (described in Acts 19:1-41); cf. 2 Cor 1:8-9.
16:5 the church that meets in their home. The Christians to whom this letter is addressed may, in fact, comprise a number of small house churches (see “Audience” in the Introduction).
the province of Asia. Western Turkey.
16:6 Mary. One of seven women named Mary in the NT; there appears to be no other reference to her in the NT.
16:7 Andronicus and Junia. In Greek, Iounian is frequently taken to be the accusative of Junias (which may be the short form of Junianus [TG2458A, ZG2687], a man’s name) but is perhaps better taken as the accusative of Junia [TG2458, ZG2686] (a woman’s name). The name Junia occurs often in Gr. writings, but the name Junias occurs nowhere else. A few mss (
46 copbo, some Old Latin mss) read Ioulian [TG2456, ZG2684], the accusative of Julia. Junia is probably to be understood as the wife of Andronicus. The names suggest that the two were Hellenistic Jews—that is, native Greek-speaking Jews (see Cranfield 1981:788-789; Dunn 1988b:894-895).
my fellow Jews. A phrase (sungeneis mou [TG4773, ZG5150]) also found in 9:3; 16:21; cf. 16:11.
who were in prison with me. Perhaps during Paul’s tumultuous two- or three-year ministry in Ephesus. (Cf. 2 Cor 11:23, written shortly after Paul left Ephesus. See note on 16:4.)
highly respected among the apostles. This means either “well known (episēmoi [TG1978, ZG2168]) among the apostles” (i.e., highly respected by the apostles; cf. TEV) or (less likely) “outstanding [or prominent] among the apostles,” with the implication that Andronicus and his wife Junia (or Junias, if a man) were considered apostles themselves (so NRSV, REB, NAB, NJB, NIV). The term “apostles” (apostoloi [TG652, ZG693]) may be understood either in the more limited, early sense (as in “the Twelve”) or—more likely—in the wider, later sense of commissioned missionary evangelists (see note on 1:1).
16:8 Ampliatus. Possibly a slave or freedman; a common slave name.
16:9 Urbanus. Possibly a slave or freedman; a common slave name. The fact that he is spoken of as “our co-worker” (instead of “my co-worker”) may imply that Paul knew him only by reputation.
Stachys. Nothing is known about this person.
16:10 Apelles, a good man whom Christ approves. Or, “one whose loyalty [faithfulness, commitment] to Christ has been proved” (cf. TEV). Lit., “the approved one in Christ.”
the believers from the household of Aristobulus. Lit., “the ones from [the people of] Aristobulus.” The fact that Aristobulus himself is not greeted may imply that he was not a Christian or that he was dead; it’s possible that he is to be identified as Aristobulus the grandson of Herod the Great and brother of Agrippa I, a friend of the Emperor Claudius; see the following reference to Herodion (Cranfield 1981:791-792).
16:11 Herodion, my fellow Jew. Possibly a slave or freedman who may have served Herod.
the Lord’s people from the household of Narcissus. Lit., “the ones from [the people of] Narcissus.” The fact that Narcissus himself is not greeted may imply that he was not a Christian or that he was dead; it’s possible that he is to be identified with Narcissus, the influential freedman of the Emperor Claudius, who had been forced to commit suicide shortly before Paul wrote this letter (Cranfield 1981:792-793).
16:12 Tryphena and Tryphosa. The names of two women, possibly sisters or twins who were slaves or freedwomen. (Twins were often given names deriving from the same root; Bruce 1985:260.)
the Lord’s workers. Those “who work in the Lord’s service” (TEV).
dear Persis, who has worked so hard for the Lord. Possibly a slave or freedwoman; a common slave name meaning “Persian woman.”
16:13 Rufus. Possibly the same Rufus referred to by Mark as the son of Simon of Cyrene, who carried the cross of Jesus, and the brother of Alexander (Mark 15:21). The fact that Mark alone of the Gospel writers makes mention of Rufus may imply that Rufus was known to the Christians in Italy to whom Mark (according to the earliest tradition, the anti-Marcionite prologue to the Gospel) was writing (see Cranfield 1981:793-794).
whom the Lord picked out to be his very own. Lit., “chosen in [or by] the Lord.” Some suggest this implies he was a “choice” or “outstanding” follower of the Lord (REB).
his dear mother, who has been a mother to me. When and where her motherly care for Paul would have been expressed is not clear. If Simon of Cyrene (Rufus’s father, according to Mark 15:21) is the same as Simeon “the black man” (Acts 13:1), his wife may have included Paul in their family during Paul’s early days in Syrian Antioch (Bruce 1985:261).
16:14 Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas. Nothing is known about these men; Hermas was a common slave name.
the brothers and sisters. Gr., adelphoi [TG80, ZG81] (brothers). These were fellow members of the same house church.
16:15 Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister. Julia is probably the wife of Philologus, or his sister. In the Gr. text, the phrase “Philologus and Julia” and the following phrase “Nereus and his sister” are parallel. The latter may have been children of Philologus and Julia.
Olympas. Nothing is known about this person, the only one named of those who met in the same house church with Philologus and Julia, and Nereus and his sister.
16:16 with a sacred kiss. Lit., “with a holy kiss” (also in 1 Cor 16:20; 2 Cor 13:12; 1 Thess 5:26); cf. “with a kiss of love” (1 Pet 5:14, NASB). The “kiss of peace,” which to this day is a part of the liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox Church, is first mentioned as a regular practice in Christian gatherings in Justin Martyr’s First Apology 65: “When we have ceased from our prayers, we greet one another with a kiss.”
All the churches of Christ send you their greetings. Paul may be thinking especially of the churches represented by those who were about to accompany him to Jerusalem (some of whom are listed in Acts 20:4) with their gift for the poor.
16:17 I make one more appeal. Cf. the use of the same word (parakalō [TG3870, ZG4151], “I plead,” “I urge,” “I implore,” “I beg”) in 12:1; 15:30.
my dear brothers and sisters. Gr., adelphoi [TG80, ZG81] (brothers).
people who cause divisions. “Divisions” (dichostasiai [TG1370, ZG1496]) are listed among the works of evil that exclude people from the Kingdom of God in Gal 5:19-21. Elsewhere Paul has strong warnings against those who are divisive (14:20-21; 1 Cor 1:10-11; 3:3-4; Titus 3:9-11; cf. 1 Cor 11:17-22; Gal 5:19-21; 1 Tim 6:3-5).
upset people’s faith. Or, “lead others astray” (REB). Lit., “do things that cause stumbling (ta skandala [TG4625, ZG4998])”—i.e., things that lead others into sin or away from true faith in Christ (cf. 14:13, 20).
by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Paul does not specify the teaching or behavior that concerns him, but its substance may be similar to what he criticizes elsewhere (cf. 1 Cor 5:11; 6:9; 10:21; Gal 1:6-9; 5:19-21; Eph 5:3-7; Phil 3:2, 18-19; Col 2:4, 8, 16-23; 1 Thess 4:3-8; 1 Tim 1:19-20; 4:1-3; 6:3-5, 20; 2 Tim 2:14-26; 3:1-9; Titus 1:10-16; 3:9-10).
Stay away from them. Several times Paul instructs Christians not to associate with those in the church who are causing moral or theological problems (1 Cor 5:1-13; 2 Thess 3:6, 14; 2 Tim 3:1-5; Titus 3:9-11). The point is to make both them and the church aware of their sin. In extreme cases, the offending person is to be excluded from the fellowship (1 Cor 5:3, 5; cf. Matt 18:17).
16:18 they are serving their own personal interests. Lit., “they are serving their own belly” (“serving . . . their own appetites,” TEV; cf. Phil 3:19). Though some understand this as a reference to eating meat when it might offend others (see 14:1-6, 14-23; cf. 1 Cor 8:4-13; 10:14-33), it is probably best taken in a nonliteral sense: to serve one’s “belly” is to serve oneself or one’s own desires. On a deeper level, such people serve the cause of Satan (2 Cor 11:13-15).
glowing words. Or, “flattery” (NRSV).
16:19 I want you to be wise in doing right and to stay innocent of any wrong. This verse is parallel to 1 Cor 14:20: “Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind.”
16:20 The God of peace. Or, “God, our source of peace” (TEV; see note on 15:33)—in contrast to Satan, the instigator of dissension in the church (cf. 16:17).
will soon crush Satan under your feet. Satan is understood as the instigator of those who teach wrong things (16:17; cf. 2 Cor 11:13-15). The imagery derives from Gen 3:15, where the snake is told, “He will strike your head.”
our Lord Jesus. This is the reading of 46 א B. Some Gr. mss (A C 33 M), followed by the KJV and NKJV, read, “our Lord Jesus Christ”; a few mss (D*vid F G) omit the entire sentence (see “Canonicity and Textual History” in the Introduction).
16:21 Timothy, my fellow worker. Timothy was a native of Lystra and a convert of Paul who became Paul’s close assistant (Acts 16:1-3). Of him Paul said to the Philippians, “I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. . . . Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News” (Phil 2:20, 22). Compare what is said of him in 1 and 2 Timothy.
Lucius. Probably not to be confused with the one Paul calls “Luke, the . . . doctor,” in Col 4:14.
Jason. Perhaps the Jason with whom Paul stayed in Thessalonica (Acts 17:6-9).
Sosipater. Perhaps the Sopater of Berea mentioned in Acts 20:4.
my fellow Jews. This phrase (sungeneis mou [TG4773, ZG5150]) is found also in 9:3; 16:7; cf. 16:11.
16:22 I, Tertius, the one writing this letter for Paul. Here is evidence that Paul used secretaries to write his letters (see “Author” in the Introduction). In some letters, Paul wrote the final words himself to authenticate the letter (1 Cor 16:21; Col 4:18; 2 Thess 3:17; cf. Gal 6:11; Phlm 1:19).
send my greetings, too, as one of the Lord’s followers. Or, “I send my Christian greetings, too.” Lit., “I greet you in the Lord.” The ambiguous phrase “in the Lord” may be connected either with “the one writing this letter” or with “send my greetings.”
16:23 Gaius. One of Paul’s first converts in Corinth (1 Cor 1:14). If he is to be identified with the Titius Justus who took Paul in when he was first rejected by the synagogue in Corinth (Acts 18:7), his full name would then be Gaius Titius Justus (Bruce 1985:265).
He is my host and also serves as host to the whole church. Paul was staying in his home, and the church met in his home.
Erastus, the city treasurer. This is very possibly the Erastus mentioned in a late first-century stone inscription found at Corinth, which speaks of him as the commissioner of public works. Whether he is to be identified with the Erastus of Acts 19:22 or 2 Tim 4:20 is unclear; the name was a common one (Bruce 1985:266).
16:24 This verse is not included in the NLT (cf. NIV) because it is not found in the earliest Gr. mss (46 61 א A B C). In “Western” mss (D F G) the verse is added as, “May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” The Western text, which omits 16:25-27 (the final doxology), ends here.
COMMENTARY [Text]
In this closing section, after asking the Romans to warmly receive Phoebe, a deacon coming to visit them from the church in Cenchrea, Paul sent his greetings to a number of individuals he knew personally in the church in Rome. These personal regards are followed by (1) greetings from several Christians who are working together with Paul or who are key people in the church in Corinth, (2) a final warning to beware of people who cause problems and divisions, and (3) a final word of praise to God, the source of all the blessings proclaimed in the Good News.
The inclusion of such a long list of personal names in a letter addressed to a church Paul had never visited has led some scholars to question whether chapter 16 was really a part of the original letter sent to Rome. Some have suggested that the chapter might be better understood as an attachment to a later copy of the letter addressed to the Christians in Ephesus, where Paul spent more than two years (see “Canonicity and Textual History” in the Introduction).[14] But with the widespread travel that was common in the Roman Empire, it is very possible that a good number of Christians whom Paul had known elsewhere had traveled to the capital city, for a variety of reasons. After Claudius’s death in AD 54, his earlier decree expelling the Jews from Rome in AD 49 (cf. Acts 18:2) was relaxed and former residents with Jewish backgrounds who were on the list (like Priscilla and Aquila) could have returned to their homes then. If the greetings were indeed addressed to people in Rome, the omission of Peter’s name would seem to imply that Peter was not in Rome at that time.
Paul’s Endorsement of Phoebe and Greetings to Christians in Rome. Paul’s encouragement of the church to give a warm reception to the visiting Phoebe (who may have carried this letter with her when she traveled to Rome) shows something of the warm bond of Christian love that is to distinguish the Christian fellowship from all others. She is to be welcomed not simply as an ordinary guest, as people of the world would welcome one another, but “in the Lord”—that is, in a way that shows the deep appreciation and respect that Christian people are to feel for one another and the loving, Christlike care that is to characterize all relationships among the people of God. The church is to be the place where God’s love is showcased and felt in tangible ways.
From the detailed personal greetings that Paul gives to a number of individuals in the church (16:3-16), we can learn several things. First, life was not easy for the early Christians; there was occasional persecution and imprisonment of those who openly bore witness to Christ (16:4, 7). The shared experience of suffering for Christ would have bound them together as a fellowship of the persecuted.
Second, many Christians—not just the apostles—were considered active workers in the service of the Lord, including a number of women (16:1-3, 6-7, 12-13, 15). Note the way Paul speaks of people as “co-workers” or “the Lord’s workers” (16:3, 9, 12) and his special appreciation of those who have “worked so hard” for the Lord and his people (16:6, 12). Exactly what kind of work they did for the Lord (evangelism, ministry, or practical service of others) is often not clear, but it is evident that they took their work for the Lord seriously. The fact that nine of the twenty-six names in this section are names of women shows the important role women played in the ministry of the early church, and Paul’s appreciation of their hard work and commitment to the gospel.
Third, many early Christians undertook extensive travel. Though Paul had never been to Rome, he seems to have had a personal acquaintance with many of the people he greeted. How much of the travel was due to business or family interests and how much to persecution or more specifically Christian interests (evangelism and ministry) is not clear.
Fourth, the Christians were probably divided up into a number of smaller groups meeting in people’s homes (16:5, 14, 15, 23), perhaps along ethnic lines. These groups would not have centered around a single pastor or priest, as many churches do today, but would have engaged in the mutual sharing of their various gifts, probably according to the pattern of 1 Cor 14:26-33.
Fifth, the early Christians viewed one another as family, and the expression of warmth and closeness was considered important. Paul spoke of Phoebe as “our sister” (16:1), and he called Rufus’s mother his own “mother” (16:13). He spoke of several as “dear” to him (16:5, 8-9, 12). Christians were to show their affection for one another with a sacred kiss (16:16). The entire family is to live together as a fellowship of love. It is clear that the warm regard Paul felt for specific believers is determined not by their social status or secular credentials but by the intensity of their love for Christ and by their service to him. Whatever their different backgrounds and ethnicity, it was their devotion to the Savior that united them in the family of Christ. For Paul, there was nothing else ultimately important in life. Jesus Christ makes all other interests and concerns relative—he is the sole reason for living (Phil 1:21). Devotion to Christ is the measure of all else.
One Final Warning. Before ending his letter, Paul felt he had to warn his readers of one specific danger: the threat posed by people who upset others’ faith and cause divisions by the wrong things they teach. Though the people Paul had in mind are not precisely identified, it is clear that their smooth and ingratiating words had the potential to mislead the gullible. These deceivers, Paul cautioned, were driven by their own personal interests and agendas, not by a genuine concern for Jesus Christ and the welfare of his church (16:17-18). (The true shepherds of God’s people are driven by a selfless concern for the work of the Savior and for his sheep.) It is this problem that Paul seems to have anticipated when he cautioned the elders of the Ephesian church, “So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock. . . . I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock” (Acts 20:28-29).
For Paul, true faith and genuine love are the key elements of the Christian life (1:8) and thus the hallmarks of a healthy Christian community. Those who seek to undermine these cornerstones are to be strictly avoided: “Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith. . . . Stay away from them” (16:17; cf. his other strong warnings against those who are divisive in 14:20; 1 Cor 1:10; 3:3; Titus 3:9). Christians who seriously seek to be obedient to Christ must learn to be discerning (16:19) and protect themselves from the subtle and persuasive influence of such people; for behind such influence lies the evil one himself, who seeks to destroy the faith and unity of Christ’s church. Our protection lies in the power of God, who will soon destroy Satan, and in the grace and blessing that the Lord Jesus Christ pours out on his people (16:20).
The twin concerns to maintain true faith and Christian unity require a fine balance, for they often appear to pull in opposite directions. Those most concerned to maintain the purity and truth of the Good News are often prone to be divisive. Those who most value the unity of the church, on the other hand, are often prone to compromise the truth of the message in order to avoid discord. Christians must always remember that both truth and unity are important to God. God’s people must work hard to preserve the unity of the church, even as they strive to uphold the truth of the Good News. Both faith and love are dear to God, and both are to be held dear by the people of God, too. In the Christian community, faith and love are always married—and “let no one split apart what God has joined together.”
Final Greetings. The final greetings were sent by those with Paul at the time of writing. These greetings reflect his practice of working with a team rather than on his own (cf. Acts 20:4). The mention of Tertius as the one who actually penned the letter (16:22) reveals Paul’s use of secretaries. (For the implications of such a practice, see “Author” in the Introduction.) The greetings sent from Erastus, the city treasurer of Corinth, suggest that at least some prominent and well-to-do people were among the believing community in Corinth (cf. 1 Cor 1:26).
In many of the Greek manuscripts, the letter is closed—as it began—with the invocation of Christ’s grace upon his people (16:20, 24; cf. 1:7; for the manuscript differences, see “Canonicity and Textual History” in the Introduction). Christians live and die by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ—and that is what this letter is all about.