“Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed… to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.”
— Romans 16:25, 27
Context & Key Themes
Chapter sixteen is Paul’s closing chapter, and at first glance it looks like a long list of greetings more suited to the end of a personal letter than the end of one of the great theological works of the New Testament. A casual reader can skim past the names without noticing what is actually on display. But this chapter rewards slow reading, because it shows the community Paul has been writing to — a living network of people, many of whom Paul has labored with personally across years and cities, and many of whom are stationed in Rome, waiting for a letter from the apostle they have not yet met.
The chapter has three parts. First, the commendation of Phoebe, the courier of the letter, and a long sequence of personal greetings — twenty-six individuals named, alongside several households and whole communities. Second, a sudden pointed warning against divisive teachers, followed by greetings from Paul’s companions in Corinth including the scribe Tertius, who actually wrote down the letter as Paul dictated it. Third, the final doxology — one of the most elaborate benedictions in the New Testament, and the proper theological close to the letter Paul has been building for sixteen chapters.
Summary
Paul opens by commending Phoebe, a servant — the Greek is diakonos, the same word translated elsewhere as deacon — of the church at Cenchreae, the port city near Corinth. She is apparently the one carrying the letter to Rome. Paul asks the Romans to welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints and to help her in whatever she may need, because she has been a patron of many, including Paul himself.
Then the long list of greetings begins. Greet Prisca and Aquila, Paul’s fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for Paul’s life, to whom not only Paul but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks — and greet the church that meets in their house. Epaenetus, the first convert to Christ in Asia. Mary, who worked hard for the Romans. Andronicus and Junia, Paul’s kinsmen and fellow prisoners, well known among the apostles, who were in Christ before Paul himself was. Ampliatus, beloved in the Lord. Urbanus, a fellow worker. Stachys, beloved. Apelles, approved in Christ. Those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. Herodion, Paul’s kinsman. Those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who work hard in the Lord. Persis the beloved, who has worked hard in the Lord. Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to Paul as well. Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers with them. Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. Paul tells them to greet one another with a holy kiss, and he says all the churches of Christ send their greetings.
Then, without transition, Paul pivots into warning. He urges them to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine they have been taught. Avoid them. Such persons do not serve the Lord Christ but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. Paul notes that the Romans’ obedience is known to all, and he rejoices over them, but he wants them to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. Then the promise: the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Greetings from Paul’s end of the pen follow. Timothy, Paul’s fellow worker, greets them, as do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, Paul’s kinsmen. Then a striking personal insertion: I, Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. Tertius is the scribe Paul has been dictating to. Gaius, who hosts Paul and the whole church, greets them. Erastus, the city treasurer, and Quartus, a brother, add their greetings. The scene is suddenly vivid — a room in Corinth, Paul dictating, Tertius writing, Gaius hosting the apostle and presumably the gathered believers, Erastus the civic official among them.
And then the doxology. Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to Paul’s gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and made known to all nations through the prophetic writings, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith — to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Reflection
The greetings list is easy to skim, but it deserves attention because of what it shows about the early church. The names include Jews and Gentiles, men and women, enslaved persons and free, some of noble household and some from the humblest positions. Several women are named with language of serious labor — Mary worked hard, Tryphaena and Tryphosa work hard in the Lord, Persis has worked hard. Prisca is named before her husband Aquila, which was unusual and suggests her leadership prominence. Phoebe, the letter’s courier, is named with an official title. Junia is described as outstanding among the apostles — a phrase that has provoked centuries of scholarly discussion but reads naturally as a recognition of her apostolic standing. The Roman church that received this letter was not a male-only operation, and Paul had no hesitation naming and honoring the women who had poured out their labor for the gospel.
The sudden warning in the middle of the greetings is jarring on first read but makes pastoral sense. Paul is about to sign off, and he knows this letter is going to be read aloud in the Roman congregations. A letter this substantial will attract attention from teachers who are not aligned with its theology. Before he closes, he wants to prepare the Roman believers to recognize divisive teachers when they appear. The diagnostic he gives is specific: they serve their own appetites, not the Lord Christ, and they use smooth talk and flattery to deceive the naive. Doctrinal deviation rarely announces itself as such. It comes wrapped in charm. Paul’s instruction is not to debate them but to avoid them.
The promise tucked into the warning — the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet — is one of the most quietly powerful sentences in the chapter. It echoes Genesis 3, the first promise of the gospel, where the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. Paul is telling the Romans that this ancient promise is being fulfilled through the very churches they belong to. Every community that stands in the gospel is part of the crushing. The final victory is not theirs to accomplish; it is the God of peace who will do it. But their faithful endurance until then is itself part of how the promise plays out.
And the closing doxology is the proper end to Romans. Paul has spent sixteen chapters tracing the gospel from universal guilt through justification, sanctification, glorification, the mystery of Israel and the nations, and the ethics of life in the Spirit. The doxology gathers it all up. The strengthening of the Roman believers is according to the gospel. The gospel is the revelation of a mystery kept secret for long ages and now disclosed. The disclosure is made known to all nations. The purpose of the disclosure is the obedience of faith. And the glory belongs only and finally to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ. Amen. The letter that opened with the gospel of God, promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures closes with that same gospel, now made known to the nations, doing its work. The arc is complete.