Study of ROMANS 15:6-15

Verse 6. That ye may with one mind. The word here used is translated "with one accord," Acts 1:14; 2:1; 4:24. It means unitedly, with one purpose, without contentions, and strifes, and jars.

And one mouth. This refers, doubtless, to their prayers and praises. That they might join, without contention and unkind feeling, in the worship of God. Divisions, strife, and contention in the church prevent union in worship. Though the body may be there, and the church professedly engaged in public worship, yet it is a divided service; and the prayers of strife and contention are not heard, Isaiah 58:4.

Glorify God. Praise or honour God. This would be done by their union, peace, and harmony; thus showing the tendency of the gospel to overcome the sources of strife and contention among men, and to bring them to peace.

Even the Father, etc. This is an addition designed to produce love.

(1.) He is a Father; we then, his children, should regard him as pleased with the union and peace of his family.

(2.) He is the Father of our LORD; our common Lord; our Lord who has commanded us to be united, and to love one another. By the desire of honouring such a Father, we should lay aside contentions, and be united in the bands of love.

{i} "one mind" Acts 4:24,32

Verse 7. Wherefore. In view of all the considerations, tending to produce unity and love, which have been presented. He refers to the various arguments in this and the preceding chapter.

Receive ye one another. Acknowledge one another as Christians, and treat one another as such, though you may differ in opinion about many smaller matters. See Romans 14:3.

As Christ also received us. That is, received us as his friends and followers. See Romans 14:3.

To the glory of God. In order to promote his glory. He has redeemed us, and renewed us, in order to promote the honour of God. Comp. Ephesians 1:6. As Christ has received us in order to promote the glory of God, so ought we to treat each other in a similar manner for a similar purpose. The exhortation in this verse is to those who had been divided on various points pertaining to rites and ceremonies; to those who had been converted from among Gentiles and Jews; and the apostle here says that Christ had received both. In order to enforce this, and especially to show the Jewish converts that they ought to receive and acknowledge their Gentile brethren, he proceeds to show, in the following verses, that Christ had reference to both in his work. He shows this in reference to the Jews Romans 15:8 and to the Gentiles Romans 15:9-12. Thus he draws all his arguments from the work of Christ.

{k} "received us" Ephesians 1:6


Verse 8. Now I say. I affirm, or maintain. I, a Jew, admit that his work had reference to the Jews; I affirm also that it had reference to the Gentiles.

That Jesus Christ. That the Messiah. The force of the apostle's reasoning would often be more striking if he would retain the word Messiah, and not regard the word Christ as a mere surname. It is the name of his office; and to a Jew the name Messiah would convey much more than the idea of a mere proper name.

Was a minister of the circumcision. Exercised his office--the office of the Messiah--among the Jews, or with respect to the Jews, for the purposes which he immediately specifies. Hie was born a Jew; was circumcised; came to that nation; and died in their midst, without having gone himself to any other people.

For the truth of God. To confirm or establish the truth of the promises of God. He remained among them in the exercise of his ministry to show that God was true, who had said that the Messiah should come to them.

To confirm the promises, etc. To establish, or to show that the promises were true. See Barnes "Acts 3:25", also Acts 3:26. The promises referred to here, are those particularly which related to the coming of the Messiah. By thus admitting that the Messiah was the minister of the circumcision, the apostle conceded all that the Jew could ask, that he was to be peculiarly their Messiah. See Barnes "Luke 24:47".

{l} "confirm the promises" Acts 3:25,26

Verse 9. And that the Gentiles, etc. The benefits of the gospel were not to be confined to the Jews; and as God designed that those benefits should be extended to the Gentiles, so the Jewish converts ought to be willing to admit them, and treat them as brethren. That God did design this, the apostle proceeds to show.

Might glorify God. Might praise, or give thanks to God. This implies that the favour shown to them was a great favour.

For his mercy. Greek, On account of the mercy shown to them.

As it is written. Psalms 18:49. The expression there is one of David's. He says that he will praise God for his mercies among the heathen, or when surrounded by the heathen; or that he would confess and acknowledge the mercies of God to him, as we should say, to all the world. The apostle, however, uses it in this sense, that the Gentiles would participate with the Jew in offering praise to God, or that they would be united. This does not appear to have been the original design of David in the psalm, but the words express the idea of the apostle.

And sing, etc. Celebrate thy praise. This supposes that benefits would be conferred on them, for which they would celebrate his goodness.

{m} "For this cause" Psalms 18:49

Verse 10. And again, etc. Deuteronomy 32:43. In this place, the nations or Gentiles are called on to rejoice with tile Jews, for the interposition of God in their behalf. The design of the quotation is to show that the Old Testament speaks of the Gentiles as called on to celebrate the praises of God; of course, the apostle infers that they are to be introduced to the same privileges as his people.

{n} "Rejoice, ye Gentiles" Deuteronomy 32:43

Verse 11. And again. Psalms 117:1. The object in this quotation is the same as before. The apostle accumulates quotations to show that it was the common language of the Old Testament, and that he was not depending on a single expression for the truth of his doctrine.

All ye Gentiles. In the psalm, "all ye nations; but the original is the same.

And laud him. Praise him. The psalm is directly in point. It is a call on all nations to praise God; the very point in the discussion of the apostle.

{o} "Praise the Lord" Psalms 117:1.

Verse 12. Esaias saith. Isaiah 11:1,10.

There shall be a root. A descendant, or one that should proceed from him when he was dead. When a tree dies, and falls, there may remain a root which shall retain life, and which shall send up a sprout of a similar kind. So Job says, (Job 14:7,) "For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease." So in relation to Jesse. Though he should fall, like an aged tree, yet his name and family should not be extinct. There should be a descendant who should rise, and reign over the Gentiles. The Lord Jesus is thus called also the "root and the offspring of David," Revelation 22:16; 5:5.

Of Jesse. The father of David, 1 Samuel 17:58. The Messiah was thus descended front Jesse.

He that shall rise. That is, as a sprout springs up from a decayed or fallen tree. Jesus thus rose from the family of David, that had fallen into poverty and humble life in the time of Mary.

To reign over the Gentiles. This is quoted from the Lxx. of Isaiah 11:10. The Hebrew is, "Which shall stand up for an ensign of the people;" that is, a standard to which they shall flock. Either the Septuagint or the Hebrew would express the idea of the apostle. The substantial sense is retained, though it is not literally quoted. The idea of his reigning over the Gentiles is one that is fully expressed in the second psalm.

In him, etc. Hebrew, "To it shall the Gentiles seek." The sense, however, is the same. The design of this quotation is the same as the preceding, to show that it was predicted in the Old Testament that the Gentiles should be made partakers of the privileges of the gospel. The argument of the apostle is, that if this was designed, then converts to Christianity from among the Jews should lay aside their prejudices, and receive them as their brethren, entitled to the same privileges of the gospel as themselves. The fact that the Gentiles would be admitted to these privileges, the apostle had more fully discussed in chapters 10 and 11.

{p} "There shall be" Isaiah 11:1,10
{q} "of Jesse" Revelation 5:5; 22:16

Verse 13. Now the God of hope. The God who inspires, or produces the Christian hope.

All joy and peace. Romans 14:17. If they were filled with this, there would be no strife and contention.

In believing. The effect of believing is to produce this joy and peace.

That ye may abound, etc. That your hope may be steadfast and strong.

Through the power, etc. By means of the powerful operation of the Holy Spirit. It is by his power alone that the Christian has the hope of eternal life. See Ephesians 1:13,14; Romans 8:24.

{r} "all joy" Romans 14:17

Verse 14. And I myself also. The apostle here proceeds to show them why he had written this epistle, and to state his confidence in them. He had exhorted them to peace; he had opposed some of their strongest prejudices; and in order to secure their obedience to his injunctions, he now shows them the deep interest which he had in their welfare, though he had never seen them.

Am persuaded. He had never seen them, (Romans 1:10-13,)but he had full confidence in them. This confidence he had expressed more fully in the first chapter.

Of you. Concerning you. I have full confidence in you.

My brethren. An address of affection; showing that he was not disposed to assume undue authority, or to lord it over their faith.

Are full of goodness. Filled with kindness or benevolence. That is, they were disposed to obey any just commands; and that consequently any errors in their opinions and conduct had not been the effect of obstinacy or perverseness. There was indeed danger, in the city of Rome, of pride and haughtiness; and among the Gentile converts there might have been some reluctance to receive instruction from a foreign Jew. But the apostle was persuaded that all this was overcome by the mild and humbling spirit of religion, and that they were disposed to obey any just commands. He made this observation, therefore, to conciliate respect to his authority as an apostle.

Filled with all knowledge. That is, instructed in the doctrines and duties of the Christian religion. This was true; but there might be still some comparatively unimportant and non-essential points, on which they might not be entirely clear. On these the apostle had written; and written, not professedly to communicate new ideas, but to remind them of the great principles on which they were before instructed, Romans 15:15.

Able also, etc. That is, you are so fully instructed in Christian principles, as to be able to give advice and counsel, if it is needed. From this verse we may learn,

(1.) that when it is our duty to give instruction, admonition, or advice, it should be in a kind: conciliating manner; not with harshness, or with the severity of authority. Even an apostle did not assume harshness or severity in his instructions.

(2.) There is no impropriety in speaking of the good qualities of Christians in their presence; or even of commending and praising them when they deserve it. The apostle Paul was as far as possible from always dwelling on the faults of Christians. When it was necessary to reprove them, he did it, but did it with tenderness and tears. When he could commend, he preferred it; and never hesitated to give them credit to the utmost extent to which it could be rendered. He did not flatter, but he told the truth; he did not commend to excite pride and vanity, but to encourage, and to prompt to still more active efforts. The minister who always censures and condemns, whose ministry is made up of complaints and lamentations, who never speaks of Christians but in a strain of fault-finding, is unlike the example of the Saviour and of Paul, and may expect little success in his work. Comp. Romans 1:8; 16:19; 1 Corinthians 1:6; 2 Corinthians 8:7; 9:2; Philippians 1:8-7; Hebrews 6:9; 2 Peter 1:12.

{s} "persuaded of you" Hebrews 6:9; 2 Peter 1:12
{t} "able also to admonish" 1 Corinthians 8:1,7,10

Verse 15. Nevertheless. Notwithstanding my full persuasion of your knowledge, and your purpose to do right. Perhaps he refers also to the fact that he was a stranger to them.

The more boldly. More boldly than might have been expected from a stranger. The reason why he showed this boldness in declaring his sentiments he immediately states--that he had been specially called to the office of instructing the Gentiles.

In some sort, (\~apo merouv\~). In part. Some have supposed that he referred to a party at Rome--the Gentile party. (Whitby.) Some refer it to different parts of his epistle--on some subjects. (Stuart.) Probably the expression is designed to qualify the phrase more boldly. The phrase, says Grotius, diminishes that of which it is spoken, as 1 Corinthians 13:9,12; 2 Corinthians 1:14; 2:5; and means the same as "somewhat more freely;" that is, I have been induced to write the more freely, partly because I am appointed to this very office. I write somewhat more freely to a church among the Gentiles than I even should to one among the Jews, because I am appointed to this very office.

As putting you in mind. Greek, Calling to your remembrance, or reminding you. Comp. 2 Peter 1:12,13. This was a delicate way of communicating instruction. The apostles presumed that all Christians were acquainted with the great doctrines of religion; but they did not command, enjoin, or assume a spirit of dictation. How happy would it be if all teachers would imitate the example of the apostles in this, and be as modest and humble as they were.

Because of the grace, etc. Because God has conferred the favour on me of appointing me to this office. See Barnes "Romans 1:5".

{u} "because of the grace" Ephesians 3:7,8.