Romans 1.12-Paul and Roman Believers Mutually Encouraged By One Another's Faith
Wednesday May 30, 2007
Romans: Romans 1:12-Paul and Roman Believers Mutually Encouraged By One Another’s Faith
Lesson # 17
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 1:1.
This evening we will continue with our study of the book of Romans.
By way of review, we have noted thus following thus far:
Romans 1:1-7 contains the salutation in the book of Romans, which identifies the writer as Paul (verse 1) and the recipients of the letter as being believers in Rome (verses 6 and 7) and the subject as being Jesus Christ (verse 1:2-5).
In Romans 1:8, we read where Paul relates to the believers in Rome that he makes it a habit to thank the Father for them in prayer because of their faith, which was well-know throughout the Rome Empire.
Then, in Romans 1:9-10, Paul also related to the believers in Rome that he prayed for them and that he might be able to visit them in the future.
Last evening we studied Romans 1:11, in which Paul writes to the believers in Rome that his purpose for wanting to visit them was that it had been his great desire for some time to impart some spiritual blessing to them that would strengthen their faith.
This evening we will note Romans 1:12, in which Paul qualifies his statement in Romans 1:11 by relating that his other purpose for wanting to visit the believers in Rome is that he and they would be mutually encouraged by one another’s faith.
Romans 1:1-7, “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 1:8, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.”
Romans 1:9-10, “For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.”
Romans 1:11-12, “For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established, that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine.”
“That” is the conjunction de (dev) (deh), which introduces an “explanatory” clause that qualifies Paul’s previous statement in Romans 1:11, presenting an additional purpose regarding his great desire to visit the believers in Rome and should be translated “namely.”
“That is” is composed of the demonstrative pronoun houtos (ou!to$), “that” and the 3rd person singular present active indicative form of the verb eimi (ei(miv), “is” which together introduce the statement to follow that qualifies Paul’s statement in Romans 1:11, providing an additional purpose regarding his great desire to visit the believers in Rome.
“I may be encouraged together with” is the aorist passive infinitive form of the verb sumparakaleo (sumparakalevw) (soom-par-ak-al-eh-o), which means, “to be encouraged together.”
The sumparakaleo is a compound word composed of the preposition sun (suvn), which means, “together” when used in compound words and the verb parakaleo (parakalevw), which means, “to cause someone to be encouraged.”
This verb is an “infinitive of purpose” indicating an additional purpose regarding Paul’s great desire to visit the believers in Rome, namely, that not only the believers in Rome would be encouraged but that Paul would as well.
The aorist tense is “ingressive” indicating that Paul desires that both he and the believers in Rome would “enter into the state” of being mutually encouraged and the passive voice means that they would act upon each other by the exercise of each other’s faith.
In Romans 1:12, the compound verb sumparakaleo denotes the doctrine of encouragement.
The believer can derive encouragement from the Word of God according to Romans 15:4-5.
Romans 15:4-5, “For whatever stands written were written for our instruction so that through the endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might possess confidence. Now may the God of confidence and encouragement provide all of you with the same mind toward each other according to Christ Jesus.”
The believer can also derive encouragement by assembling with other believers to hear the Word of God as it is taught by the pastor-teacher according to Hebrews 10:23-25.
Hebrews 10:23-25, “Let us keep holding to the unwavering confession of confidence for faithful is the One Who has promised and we should consider one another for provoking to divine-love and good works, never forsaking the assembling together of ourselves, even as is the custom of some but on the contrary encouraging one another by assembling to hear doctrine and intensifying your efforts as you see the day (the Rapture) drawing near.”
Believers are commanded to encourage the discouraged.
1 Thessalonians 5:14, “Now we request that all of you brothers, challenge the insubordinate, encourage the discouraged, support the immature, be patient towards all.”
The Scriptures teach that the believer receives encouragement from the communication of doctrine by the pastor-teacher.
1 Thessalonians 2:10-12, “You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers just as you know how we exhorted and encouraged and implored each of you as a father his own children so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.”
1 Thessalonians 3:1-2, “Therefore, when we could no longer endure we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone and we sent Timothy our brother and fellow worker of God even our fellow worker in the good news of Christ to stabilize all of you and to encourage all of you on behalf of your faith.”
Colossians 4:7-8, “Regarding all my circumstances, Tychicus will make known to all of you, our beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord whom I have sent to be face to face with all of you for this same thing that you might know our circumstances and might encourage your hearts.”
2 Timothy 4:1-2, “I (Paul) solemnly command you (Timothy) in the presence of the God, even Christ Jesus, who is about to judge the living and the dead by His brilliant spectacular appearance and His kingdom. Publicly proclaim the Word as a herald of the King of kings and Lord of lords in a dignified and authoritative manner which commands the respect and attention of those who hear the Word, prepare and stay ready in good times and bad times, convince of sin and evil with the Word for the purpose of correction, reprimand, encouragement and challenging by means of great patience and instruction.”
The intercessory prayers of other believers can be a source of encouragement.
Colossians 2:1-2, “For I desire for all of you to know how great a battle I have (in prayer) on behalf of all of you and those in Laodicea and as many as have never seen my face in person in order that your hearts might be encouraged, by having been united by means of divine-love and for all the riches of the full assurance from understanding with reference to the knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ, in Whom are all the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
The Scriptures teach that the believer can derive encouragement from his knowledge of being in union with Jesus Christ.
Philippians 2:1, “Therefore, if...and there is any encouragement in Christ, if...and there is any motivation from divine-love, if...and there is any fellowship through the Spirit, if...and there is any compassionate affections.”
The Scriptures also teach that the believer can receive encouragement through occupation with Christ.
Hebrews 12:3, “For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart.”
The knowledge of the immanency of the Rapture is a source of encouragement for believers.
1 Thessalonians 4:13, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.”
1 Thessalonians 4:14, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 4:15, “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.”
1 Thessalonians 4:16, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of {the} archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.”
1 Thessalonians 4:17, “Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.”
1 Thessalonians 4:18, “Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
1 Thessalonians 5:1, “Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:2, “For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.”
1 Thessalonians 5:3, “While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.”
1 Thessalonians 5:4-6, “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.”
1 Thessalonians 5:7, “For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night.”
1 Thessalonians 5:8, “But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.”
1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.”
1 Thessalonians 5:11, “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”
The character and nature of God and His promises are a source of encouragement.
Hebrews 6:17-18, “Because God desiring to demonstrate more abundantly towards the heirs of the promise, the immutability of His counsel (in eternity past), interposed through an oath that by two immutable things through which it is impossible for God to lie so that we might have strong encouragement those who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the confidence set before us.”
The advancing believer can gain encouragement that he will receive rewards for his faithfulness (Matthew. 25:21-23; Luke 16:10-12; James 1:12; Revelation 2:10; 3:11; 2 Timothy 4:8; 1 Peter 5:4).
Romans 1:11-12, “For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established, that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine.”
“While among you” is composed of the preposition en (e)n) and 2nd person plural dative (of association) form of the personal pronoun humin (u(min) and together, they denote personal association between Paul and Roman believers.
The prepositional phrase en humin denotes the “companionship” aspect of Christian “fellowship” in that Paul and the believers in Rome would be encouraged by interacting with each other.
“Each of us by the other's faith” is composed of the following: (1) Preposition dia (diaV) (dee-ah) (2) Genitive feminine singular definite article tes (th$) (tace) (3) Preposition en (e)n) (4) Dative masculine 1st person plural form of the reciprocal pronoun allelon (a)llhvlwn) (al-lay-lone) (5) Genitive feminine singular form of the noun pistis (pivsti$) (pis-tis).
The prepositional phrase dia…tes pisteos, “by…faith” indicates that the faith of Paul and the Roman believers would be the “means” by which they would be mutually encouraged.
“Faith” refers to faith in the Word of God after salvation, which is demonstrated by obedience to the Word of God and is reflected in one’s conduct and the manifestation of Christ-like character.
The prepositional en allelois, “each of us…the other’s” denotes the interaction and fellowship between Paul and the Roman believers.
The definite article tes functions grammatically as a “substantiver” meaning it nominalizes (i.e. converts to a noun) the prepositional phrase en allelois and thus we can translate it with the noun phrase “each other’s.”
The reciprocal pronoun allelon means “the quality or state by which there is a mutual exchange between others and ourselves.”
The term “reciprocal” means, “mutual, shared, shown or felt alike by both sides; united in feelings, actions, responsibilities, and attitudes.”
“Reciprocal” implies a return in due measure by each side in the matter discussed.
Therefore, Paul greatly desires to visit the Roman believers because he wants to experience the “mutual exchange” of each other’s faith, which expresses the concept of Christian fellowship.
Fellowship means being a part of a group, a body of people. It is opposed to isolation, solitude, loneliness, and our present-day independent kind of individualism. Of course, it does not stop there because we can be in a crowd of people and even share certain things in common, but still not have fellowship.
Fellowship means having or sharing with others certain things in common such as interest, goals, feelings, beliefs, activities, labor, privileges and responsibilities, experiences, and concerns.
Fellowship can mean a partnership that involves working together and caring for one another as a company of people, like a company of soldiers or members of a family.
In the Greek New Testament, the noun koinonia denotes Christian Fellowship in four areas:
Relationship with Christ: We are all permanently united together by the common (eternal) life that we share as a result of regeneration and the Baptism of the Spirit (Acts 2:42; 1 C. 1:9; 1 Jn. 1:3).
Partnership: We are to work together for a common purpose to obtain common objectives for the glory of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ (cf. Phil 1:27; Phlp. 1:5; Gal. 2:9; Heb. 1:9).
Companionship: We are to communicate with one another and have fellowship with one another sharing with one another the viewpoint and thinking of Christ (Acts. 2:42; Heb. 10:25; 2 Tim. 2:2; 1 Thess. 5:11; Rom. 1:11-12; 2 Tim. 2:2).
Stewardship: Believers must recognize that all they have belongs to the Lord and has been given to them as trusts from God to invest for His purposes and so they must be willing to share their material possessions for the promotion of the gospel and to help those in need (Rom. 12:13; 15:27; Gal. 6:6; Phil. 4:15; Rom. 15:26; 2 Cor. 8:4; 9:13; Heb. 13:16; 1 Tim. 6:18).
In Romans 1:12, Paul is speaking of the “companionship” aspect of fellowship, which is the interchange or communication (communion) that exists among companions, those associated together through a relationship they hold in common.
The key ingredient in companionship is communication and the key words that describe companionship are “interchange, communion, sharing.”
Communication is the sharing of concepts, feelings, ideas, information, needs, etc. through words or other symbols like body language and actions so that all members of the relationship hold these things in common.
In the Christian community, companionship includes communicating on a spiritual level through a mutual sharing of the viewpoint and thinking of Christ: the Word, the filling of the Holy Spirit, and the ministries and gifts of the various members of the body of Christ.
Companionship through communication would include: (1) The Vertical: This is our communion and fellowship with the Lord. (2) The Horizontal: This is our communion and fellowship with the body of Christ.
This includes: (1) Assembling together as a whole body (Acts. 2:42; Heb. 10:25). (2) Assembling in smaller groups (Matt. 18:20). (3) Meeting together one-on-one (1 Thess. 5:11). (4) Sharing and communicating truth together and building up one another (Rom. 1:11-12; Col. 3:15-16); (5) Sharing together in worship.
Sharing together in worship involves taking part together in the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 10:16-17), the singing of hymns, psalms and spiritual songs (Ephesians 5:19), praying together (Acts 1:1-14).
It also involves sharing together as partners in the needs, burdens, concerns, joys, and blessings for the purpose of encouragement, comfort, challenge or exhortation, praise, prayer and physical help according to the needs and ability (cf. Phil. 1:5 with 1:19, 2:4, 1:27; also 4:3; Rom. 12:15; and 1 Thess. 5:11,14,15; Heb. 10:33).
In Romans 1:11, Paul expresses his great desire to impart a spiritual blessing to the believers in Rome that would strengthen their faith.
But in Romans 1:12 he qualifies this statement, which taken by itself, could be interpreted to make him appear conceited.
Therefore, Paul is saying that when he is together with the believers in Rome that they will be mutually encouraged by one another’s faith.
He is saying I will encourage you and you will encourage me by the exercise of our spiritual gifts and fellowship with one another.
Paul is saying to the Romans that your faith encourages me and I am a stronger Christian as a result.
Romans 1:12 reveals that Paul had a great appreciation for the spiritual life of other believers and sought to profit from the faith of other believers even though he held the office of apostle and possessed authority over them.
It manifests the great humility of the apostle Paul and his absence of pride since he did not think he was so far above others that he could not benefit from the faith of other Christians so as to further his spiritual growth.
This passage reveals that Paul did not want to set himself up on a pedestal and he did not want to patronize the believers in Rome but rather considered himself another member of the body of Christ who is the same as each member having a particular role to fulfill and who is in need of the other members (See 1 Corinthians 12).