Saved to Serve, Part Three

Romans 16:5b-16
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, October 28, 2012
Copyright © 2012, P. G. Mathew

The purpose of salvation is to serve the Lord. In our study of Romans 16, we have learned how sister Phoebe of the church of Cenchrea served our Lord Jesus Christ. We also learned how a Christian couple, Aquila and Priscilla, served their Savior throughout their busy lives.

Paul, as an apostle and pastor, loved the saints of God and deeply cared for them. So in this concluding chapter of his epistle to the Romans, he greets many people of the church in Rome: Aquila and Priscilla, Epenetus, Mary, Andronicus, Junias, Urbanus, Persis, Rufus, and so on. The word “greet” appears twenty-one times in this chapter. It is not mere repetition. All Scripture being God’s word is profitable for us, so this section is also written for our profit.

We are reminded of the greeting of Boaz to his people. He said, “The Lord be with you!” And the people returned the greeting by saying, “The Lord bless you!” (Ruth 2:4). So also we greet our Lord Jesus daily as we worship him, and he greets us by blessing us.

Have you heard our Lord greeting you by name? God cares for each one of us as our heavenly Father. In the same way, Paul cared for the saints of God, those who trusted in Jesus Christ. He tells us that he cared for them as a mother and a father, as he wrote to the Thessalonians: “But we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. . . . For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children” (1 Thess. 2:7, 11).

Friends, we are God’s family, members of one body of Christ. So we love one another deeply and serve our living God and his holy people. Yes, there is both unity and diversity in the church of God. There are Jews and Gentiles, men and women, masters and slaves, weak and strong, vegetarians and non-vegetarians, a few rich and many poor. But all are members of God’s one family.

The church is God’s large family. Paul alludes to this several times in his epistles. He wrote to Timothy, “If I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). He also said, “Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity” (1 Tim. 5:1–2).

Dr. John Stott says, “Heterogeneity is of the essence of the church, since it is the one and only community in the world in which Christ has broken down all dividing walls. [The church of God is] drawn from ‘every nation, tribe, people, and language’, who are all singing God’s praises in unison.”1 John speaks of this in the book of Revelation: “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb’” (Rev. 7:9–10). Peter also speaks of it: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Pet. 2:9–10).

Most of God’s people come from the lower classes of society, as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1: “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him” (1 Cor. 1:26–29). So in Romans 16, when Paul sends greetings from God to the households of Aristobulus and Narcissus, he is greeting, not the masters, but the slaves of these masters. The masters themselves were not greeted because they were not believers.

The most important point is that the church of God, this heterogeneous society, is in the Lord. We all are in Christ, irrespective of our background, and we all serve the Lord with gladness. Let us, then, examine Paul’s greetings to the family of God in Rome.

Greeting “My Beloved”

First, we note that Paul greets three of the saints as “my beloved one” (ton agapêton mou). Paul knew these saints personally, and they helped him much in the service of the Lord.

This word “beloved” is used of Jesus Christ himself. He is God’s beloved Son, as the voice from heaven declared: “This is my Son, whom I love” (Matt. 3:17). And we are all God’s beloved in Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:6). In fact, God loves each one of us even as he loves his only Son. So Jesus prayed that his disciples may be one as he and the Father are one: “I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:23).

In verse 5b Paul greets Epenetus, which means “praiseworthy,” as his dear one. Epenetus was one of the first to believe in Asia. It is possible he was won to the Lord through the ministry of Aquila and Priscilla, and went with them when they moved to Rome. He is similar to brother Stephanas, who was among the first fruits of Achaia (1 Cor. 16:15). What a blessing it is to believe in Jesus Christ as the first one! We have greater opportunity to serve God in our lives. God takes note of such people.

Paul uses the same phrase (ton agapêton mou) in reference to Ampliatus and Stachys, who were also very dear to him (vv. 8, 9). And in verse 12 he calls a sister from Persia named Persis “the beloved” (tên agapetên). Sister Persis was beloved of all people in the Roman church.

May we look upon all God’s people as beloved of the Lord and therefore beloved to us! Christ loved us and gave himself for us by his death on the cross.

Greeting Relatives

Paul also greets relatives in this passage. They were Jews and probably also related to him. He writes, “Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was” (v. 7). Andronicus and Junias probably were two Jewish men, related to Paul, who trusted in Christ before Paul did. They may have became believers on the day of Pentecost and went back to Rome to minister the gospel there. They were possibly part of the founding members of the Roman church. They were known to the apostles and probably were apostles themselves in the secondary sense of the word “apostle.”

We see this secondary sense in several places in the New Testament. For example, Paul writes, “As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brothers, they are [“apostles,” in the Greek] of the churches and an honor to Christ” (2 Cor. 8:23). These were not the Twelve, but they were missionaries sent with a mission. He calls Epaphroditus an apostle from the church of Philippi: “But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger [“apostle,” in the Greek], whom you sent to take care of my needs” (Phil. 2:25). It is entirely possible that Andronicus and Junias were also apostles in this sense.

Paul indicates that he knows some other facts about these people. Andronicus and Junias were fellow prisoners for the gospel of Christ. Paul had been in prison often (2 Cor. 11:23). These people were in prison along with him. So he says, “Please give my greetings in the Lord to them, who are my relatives.”

In verse 11 Paul also mentions another relative named Herodion. He was also a member of the Roman church, a Hebrew Christian.

Greeting Fellow Workers

Next, Paul greets his fellow workers in the Lord. He had called Aquila and Priscilla his fellow workers in verse 3 because they worked together with him in the gospel ministry. In verse 9 Paul greets Urbanus (from which we have “urbane,” which means civilized, cultured) and calls him a fellow worker. He was a member of the Roman church, but at some time he worked with Paul in the gospel ministry. Here Paul remembers to greet him.

Greeting Apelles

Next, Paul greets brother Apelles, another member of the Roman church: “Greet Apelles, tested and approved in Christ” (v. 10). His name means “called.” Apelles was not only effectually called, but he was also tested and approved by the Lord through some serious trial of his faith. He passed the test by confessing Christ, not denying him. In the same way, Abraham was tested and approved, as were Daniel and the three Hebrew children, Stephen, James, and Peter. Paul himself came through the fire of testing with flying colors.

Paul says Apelles is dokimon (“tested and approved”). In contrast, in Romans 1:28 he wrote that unbelievers have an adokimon noun (a depraved, unapproved, corrupt mind) that says there is no God.

An approved pastor must interpret the word of God correctly. Paul exhorts Timothy, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved [dokimon], a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). Pastors who misinterpret Scripture are a shame to God.

We must all run the Christian race with the goal of being approved by Christ, that we may be found dokimon. Paul says as much in 1 Corinthians 9:27. He begins, “No, I beat my body.” In other words, “I will not live by my body’s urges.” He goes on, “No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be [adokimon] disqualified for the prize.” I pray that we may hear the words of approval from the lips of Christ: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21, 23); not the words of disapproval: “I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers!” (Matt. 7:23).

Keep this in mind: Every Christian will be tested in this life, just as gold is tested in the fire. Such tested gold is precious. So Peter says of trials, “These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Pet. 1:7). We go through fiery testing, knowing that suffering produces endurance; endurance produces dokimon (character, divine approval); anddokimon produces hope that will not make us ashamed (Rom. 5:3–4).

Jesus himself was tested and approved. So Paul writes, “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest placeand gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Phil. 2:8–10). May God help us to stand the test, so that we may be like Apelles, receiving God’s approval and being called dokimon, God-approved.

Greeting Laborers for the Lord

Then Paul greets those who are laborers for the Lord. Four women members of the Roman church were greeted by Paul because they labored untiringly for the Lord. This word kopiaô, “toil,” is not used of men in this epistle to the Romans.

First, he mentions Mary (Miriam), a Jewish Christian and probably a founding member of the Roman church: “Greet Mary, who labored much for you” (v. 6). He does not say that she “worked much,” but that she “toiled much for the saints.” Mary did not labor for herself, in other words, but she labored much for these Roman Christians.

Faith always works. Elsewhere Paul writes, “We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 1:3).

Mary reminds me of my own mother who, filled with the Holy Spirit, would labor much day and night for the Lord. “Mary . . . labored much.” Notice, “labored” is in the past tense. That tells us Mary was not laboring much anymore. She was now infirm. But Paul remembers her past work for the Lord.

God ever remembers our labor of love. (PGM) Mary was not trying to get; she self-sacrificingly gave. Love always gives. It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Then Paul greets two sisters, Tryphena and Tryphosa, who were probably twins from a rich, aristocratic family. They were single women in the service of the Lord. Their names mean “dainty” and “delicate.” Before they became Christians, these women just luxuriated lazily, like the rich man of Luke 16:9, “who was dressed in purple and fine linen, and lived in luxury every day.” But now Paul says they were sweating, toiling hard for God. They were not trying to “look pretty,” to have every hair in its proper place. “Greet them,” Paul says, “for they are working hard in the Lord.” They expended their money and muscle power for the work of God’s kingdom, even as many women in this church do every day. Saints of the Lord, I want you to know the Lord is pleased with you, and he greets you today.

The fourth hardworking woman Paul greets is Persis, who was from Persia. “Persis” means Persia. Persis had been an idol-worshiper, but when she heard the gospel, she was completely converted. She also served much for the Lord. But notice the past tense. Paul says she was “another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord” (v. 12). Like Mary, Persis was now infirm. But God does not forget his infirm saints. As we noted before, she is also called “the beloved.” She was a beloved mother to all the saints of Rome. Everyone loved Persis. So let us not forget God’s infirm saints. They served us; now let us serve them in the Lord.

True Christians are not lazy. They labor six days a week, imitating their Lord. Jesus worked hard doing the will of God, saying, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working” (John 5:17). Jeremiah said of those who were lazy, “A curse on him who is lax in doing the LORD’s work!” (Jer. 48:10). Paul himself writes, “Tell Archippus: ‘See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord’” (Col. 4:17). He also says, “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need” (Eph. 4:28). To the Corinthians he declares, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58). And, speaking about himself, he says, “To this end I labor, struggling [agonizing] with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me” (Col. 1:29).

Yet how can we do Lord’s work? We do it in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told us, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). We need the Holy Spirit to do God’s work. Jesus also told us, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13).

We do not have the Holy Spirit power because we do not ask. May God help us to ask and to receive. May God the Father and God the Son pour out the Holy Spirit in abundance upon us that we too may labor much for the Lord. Then we can say with Paul, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Eph. 3:20–21).

Laboring for the Lord is a blessing. Consider what happened to David when he refused to labor for the Lord by going off to war. “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, . . . David remained in Jerusalem” and sinned greatly (2 Sam. 11:1). Lazy people sin.

Please also note that Mary, Persis, Tryphena, and Tryphosa did not have any titles. They just labored for God, and God took note.

Greetings to Slaves and Saints

Paul greets slaves and saints. “Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus” (v. 10b). This Aristobulus was a grandson of Herod the Great. He lived in Rome in style and luxury. He was not greeted by Paul, for, like his grandfather, he did not trust in Jesus Christ. But his slaves did, and Paul greets these brothers and sisters. It is possible that the church gathered in the house of Aristobulus to worship.

Paul also greets the slaves of Narcissus (v. 11), a very wealthy freedman who was later put to death by Nero. Like Aristobulus, Narcissus was also not a Christian. Yet his slaves became believers in Jesus Christ and gathered to worship, I believe, in his large house.

In verse 14 Paul greets Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers with them. It appears they also met together as an assembly in Rome. And in verse 15 he greets Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, Olympas, and all the saints with them. This seemed to be another house church in Rome.

Greeting to Rufus

Finally, Paul writes, “Greet Rufus and his mother” (v. 13). Rufus means “redhead.” Mark wrote his gospel in Rome and mentions Simon of Cyrene (from North Africa), who was pressed to carry the cross of Jesus to Calvary. Jesus had been carrying the cross, but because he was beaten so severely, he was unable to carry this forty-pound crossbeam all the way to Golgotha. Simon lived in Jerusalem at the time and attended the synagogue of the Jews of Cyrene that we read about in Acts 6:9. He finished carrying the cross of Jesus to Calvary, but he did not then quickly go home. It is possible Jesus looked at Simon in love and gratitude as he helped him. So Simon stayed and watched the crucifixion. He heard what the believing thief prayed to Jesus, and what Jesus promised him. He heard all the words Jesus spoke from the cross. He heard Jesus’ prayer for sinners, and he heard the confession of the centurion that Jesus truly was the Son of God.

The truth is, Jesus saved Simon, and with joy he went home and spoke of his salvation. His wife and two sons, Alexander and Rufus, also became believers. It is possible that Paul stayed with them whenever he visited Jerusalem after his own conversion. In time, Simon and his son Alexander died, and Simon’s wife and his son Rufus the redhead moved to Rome and became members of the Roman church.

So Paul greets Rufus. He calls him “the elect,” ton eklekton. Since every child of God is God’s elect, we must understand this term in a special sense of being “the choice one.” In some way he had distinguished himself in the Roman church. The apostle remembers this and calls him “the elect one.”

Paul also greets Rufus’ mother. After Paul became a Christian, it is safe to assume that his family forsook him. Rufus’ mother would treat Paul as her own son whenever he stayed with them.

Let us, therefore, serve the Lord while it is day, while we have opportunity. It does not matter whether others notice our labor and commend us or not. God notices all our good works, and he promises to reward us. Yet it is also biblical for us to notice and appreciate the service of God’s holy people.

 

Greet with a Holy Kiss

In verse 16 Paul requests the Roman church to greet one another for him with a holy kiss. This verse is proof that the holy kiss, also called kiss of love, was a practice in the church from the very beginning. It was in keeping with the customs of the time. For example, in Luke 7 we read that Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus to his home. This Pharisee failed to kiss Jesus, pour perfume on his head, or give him water for his feet. But the sinful woman, who was weeping because of her sins, kissed his feet and wiped them with her hair, having poured out perfume on them.

Judas also kissed Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:47–48). But the kiss of Judas was a kiss of betrayal. It was an unholy kiss.

But in Romans 16:16 Paul tells the Roman saints, “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” The saints are to kiss one another—women kissing women, men kissing men—because we are members of God’s one family and we love one another. These Roman believers were accustomed to give and receive the holy kiss.

Justin Martyr in 158 AD writes that that the holy kiss was a regular part of the worship service in his day. It was also the practice of the church in which I grew up in South India. A kiss is a family token of love, unity, peace, and purity.

The kiss was a common form of greeting in the ancient world generally and in Judaism especially. Professor John Murray spoke about this: “It betrays an unnecessary reserve, if not loss of the ardour of the church’s first love, when the holy kiss is conspicuous by its absence in the Western church.” 2 Professor F. F. Bruce says, “The ‘kiss of peace’, which plays a part to this day in the liturgy of the Eastern Church, is first mentioned as a regular feature of Christian worship in Justin Martyr’sFirst Apology, 65.” Martyr says, “When we have ceased from our prayers, we greet one another with a kiss.”3

After prayers, the early Christians would mutually greet one another with a kiss and then they brought forth the bread and cup. This osculum pacis (“kiss of peace”) took place before partaking of the Lord’s Supper to indicate that there was nothing separating them, that they loved one another, there was no unconfessed sin. The kiss was the token of the Christian fellowship. Then they received the holy communion, without hypocrisy. Everyone took care of any sin when they examined themselves. Everyone was united, and finally they took holy communion.

We read in Psalm 133: “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! . . . It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore” (Ps. 133:1, 3).

Friends, let us be busy in the work of the Lord. Our time is limited. Redeem the time. Soon we will become infirm, but now we are not. Let us, then, work for the Lord!

 

1 John R. W. Stott, Romans: God’s Good News for the World (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1994), 397–98.

2 John Murray, The Epistle to the Romans, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, reprinted 1979), 232.

3 F. F. Bruce, The Letter of Paul to the Romans, rev. ed., 1985, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, reprinted 2000), 262.