Romans 12.12a-Paul Commands Romans To Continue To Rejoice With Respect To Their Confident Expectation
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday November 4, 2009
Romans: Romans 12:12a-Paul Commands Romans To Continue Rejoicing With Respect To Their Confident Expectation
Lesson # 417
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 12:9.
This evening we will study Romans 12:12 and in this passage Paul issues three commands to his readers.
First of all, with respect to their confident expectation of blessing, he commands them to continue to rejoice.
Also, with respect to adversity, he commands them to continue to persevere.
Lastly, with respect to prayer, he commands them to continue to make it their habit to be devoted to prayer.
Romans 12:9-12, “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor. Not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer.”
“In hope” is the articular dative feminine singular form of the noun elpis (e)lpi$) (el-pece), which means “confident expectation” of blessing.
Now, most commentators consider the confident expectation of blessing in Romans 12:12 as relegated to the future in the form of deliverance from sin, Satan and his cosmic system when the believer receives a resurrection body at the rapture of the church.
They also contend that this word is referring to rewards for faithful service and enduring underserved suffering.
Both of these help to compose the believer’s confident expectation here in Romans 12:12.
However, the context does not indicate that this confident expectation is simply restricted to the resurrection body and rewards.
Rather, a survey of the usage of the noun elpis and its cognate verb elpizo in the Pauline epistles reveals that the believer’s confident expectation entails more than just the resurrection body and rewards.
In Romans 12:12, the noun elpis, “confident expectation” entails the following: (1) God (Acts 24:15; 1 Peter 3:15; 1 Timothy 5:5; 1 Peter 3:5). (2) Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:3; 1 Timothy 1:1; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 7:19). (3) Indwelling of Christ (Colossians 1:27). (4) Immanency of the rapture (1 John 3:3). (5) The believer’s union and identification with Christ (Romans 15:4). (6) Receiving a resurrection body (Acts 23:6; 26:6; Romans 5:2; 8:24-25). (7) Rewards (Colossians 1:23; 1 Thessalonians 2:19; Titus 1:2; 3:7; 1 Peter 1:3). (8) The believer’s election to privilege (Ephesians 1:18; 4:4). (9) Deliverance out of adversity (Romans 5:4-5; 2 Corinthians 1:10). (10) Spirit’s ministry of conforming the believer into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:17).
So we can see that this confident expectation is related to blessing bestowed upon the believer.
However, this blessing is not restricted to the future but is also related to his present.
In relation to the believer’s election to privilege in eternity past, elpis means “confident expectation” of blessing in the future that is produced by the Holy Spirit in the believer who has been enlightened by the Spirit as to his election to privilege in eternity past.
The believer’s election to privilege guarantees blessing in the present and in the future.
Paul commands his readers to rejoice with regards to this.
In relation to the believer’s present, elpis means “confident expectation” of blessing in relation to experiencing fellowship with the Trinity.
It is related to the blessing of having the character of Christ being formed in the believer through various adversities and undeserved suffering.
This blessing is related to deliverance experientially from the sin nature, Satan and his cosmic system.
It is also related to the immanency of the rapture, which if the believer lives his life in light of this will result in joy and holy living, i.e. their sanctification.
Paul commands his readers to rejoice with regards to this as well.
Then, lastly, in relation to the believer’s future, elpis means “confident expectation” of blessing in the future in the sense of being blessed with a resurrection body and rewards for enduring undeserved suffering and faithful service.
Paul commands his readers to rejoice with regards to this as well.
Romans 12:12, “Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer.”
“Rejoicing” is the nominative masculine plural present active participle form of the verb chairo (xaivrw) (khi-ro), which means “to rejoice.”
The word is used with the noun elpis, “confident expectation” of blessing in the present and future, which is used as a dative of reference indicating that Paul is commanding the Romans to rejoice with respect to their confident expectation of blessing.
This confident expectation of blessing as we noted in our study of elpis is related to the believer’s present as well as his future.
The Roman believers were to continue rejoicing because their election to privilege in eternity past guarantees that they will be blessed not only in the present but also in the future.
They were to continue rejoicing because they are experiencing fellowship with the Trinity.
The Roman believers were to continue rejoicing because the Holy Spirit was reproducing the blessing of Christ-like character in them through various adversities and undeserved suffering, which will result in rewards for them in the future.
They were to continue rejoicing because they were being delivered experientially from the sin nature, Satan and his cosmic system.
The Roman believers were to continue rejoicing because they were living in light of the immanency of the rapture, which enables them to experience sanctification in the present and will result in rewards at the Bema Seat.
They were to continue rejoicing because at the rapture of the church they will receive a resurrection body.
Lastly, the Roman believers were to rejoice because they will receive rewards at the Bema Seat Evaluation of the church as a result of enduring undeserving suffering and for faithful service.
The second person plural form of the verb chairo refers to all the Roman believers without exception.
The verb functions as an imperatival participle, which indicates that Paul is commanding his readers that they must continue to rejoice with respect to their confident expectation of blessing in the present and future.
This is a “customary present imperative,” which is a command for action to be continued, action that may or may not have already been going on and is often a character building command to the effect of “make this your habit.”
The present imperative of the verb is used of a general precept for habits that should characterize one’s attitude and behavior.
Therefore, it denotes that the Roman believers’ were continue to make it their habit to rejoice with respect to their confident expectation of blessing in the present and future.
Again, Paul’s statement in Romans 15:14-15 implies that they were.
Romans 15:14-15, “And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another. But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God.”
Furthermore, Paul wrote in Romans 1:8 that he gave thanks to the Father for them because their faith was being proclaimed everywhere throughout the Roman Empire.
Romans 1:8, “First and foremost indeed, I make it a habit to give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ concerning all of you because your faith is at the present time being proclaimed everywhere throughout the entire world.”
Therefore, in Romans 12:12, the present imperatival participle form of the verb chairo indicates that Paul is commanding the Roman believers to continue making it their habit to rejoice with respect to their confident expectation of blessing in the present and future.
The active voice indicates that this command is directed towards all the believers in Rome without exception and is thus their responsibility to obey it.