Our Family Portrait

Romans 16:1-16

Introduction

You may have heard us say more than once throughout this series that this church in Rome that Paul is writing to is a mixture of Jews and Gentiles. Throughout he has been laboring to make the glorious message of the gospel crystal clear to them.

After hearing about this church over and over again it can appear abstract. Who even are these people? That’s what we get in chapter 16. What can look like merely a list of names, is really a portrait of the family of God and not just some distant 1 century church. This is our family. These are the people we will spend eternity with!

It’s like what we’ve been reading in the first 15 chapters is Paul’s message to this church, and chapter 16 provides a window into the church. Likely there were multiple churches meeting in homes so we get a glimpse into those homes and see everyone sitting and listening. Or like during Christmas time when we take a family photo every year, we get to see a unified family represented by various members.

It seems like a Genealogy that we read in the OT and you may think that those things belong in the OT but as we will see, this is a glorious new testament genealogy.

Paul’s chief goal is to list the people who advanced the gospel throughout Rome and to display a commonality that they have through the blood of Jesus.

Not only does this portray loving Christians in community, but it strengthens our unity and it gives us a foretaste of future glory.

Main Points:

We’re going to note 3 observations in our text, then end with 4 reflections on the qualities that characterize a true, gospel church— a community of believers under the Lordship of Christ...

Historical Observation

It’s important to remember that the Apostle Paul is writing this to people whom he has not visited or met yet.

But he has made deep connections and deep knowledge about the people he was writing to. He will visit them about 3 years after writing this letter.

The thing to observe here are the individuals.

You can see various names that are gentile names, you see various Jewish names and Paul points those out.

You see those who had more prominent positions in the church and those who were new converts.

Likely these all had various socioeconomic backgrounds as well. You can tell this simply from looking at their names. Scholars and researchers have pointed out that you can tell something about someones social status simply by looking at their name. You have a few names in a row here that would be common names for slaves which would indicate that they were either former slaves or current slaves. Also, there are a few names that reveal that they were in prominent places in their household and society like Aristobolus and Narcissus.

You see men, and you see women. Paul mentions 9 women among the 26 names listed and in this time, this would be seen as aberrant. Some thought and maybe some think today that Paul minimized the roles of women in the church or that he flat out didn’t like them or didn’t esteem them.

This is the opposite of the truth. Paul first in verse 1-2 highlights Pheobe. He calls here a servant, one who played a big role in serving the needs of the church in Cenchrea (a place near East Corinth where Paul had most likely been) and played a big role in serving Paul. She was an assistant to his many ministry endeavors.

Did you know that she was the one who brought this letter to the church in Rome?

Like our Lord Jesus, Paul esteemed and valued Women and they played a vital role. Men and women play distinct roles but complimentary roles in the church for the flourishing of the body. The unity in such diversity is staggering here in a first century church.

These historical observations are significant because it shows that Paul is not just writing a theological treatise. He’s writing to real people, who he really loved, who lived in a real place, in real time.

And second, we see how people who were diverse on almost every level lived with such love, harmony, and unity. That would normally be impossible especially in our day.

Grammatical Observation

Something to take note of in the grammar of this passage is the adjectives. The descriptor words— the characterizations that Paul attaches to these fellow believers. There are many of them.

Saints- Verse 2 and verse 15-

Romans 1:7 (ESV)

To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

Paul views them as saints or as those who are holy and set apart.

Brothers and sisters- throughout- Connotes family. The church is deeply relational we’re not just a social club or those who gather for merely music and speaking. We’re more than that. We’re family members (more on that later).

Beloved in the Lord- Vs 8

Fellow workers- Vs 2, 3, 8, 12

A man named Rufus here in vs 13 who is called “chosen in the Lord”. In the Lord meaning that he is in relationship and union with Christ but also chosen here isn’t necessarily referring to election for salvation. This man was chosen by God to have a place of leadership or prominence in the church.

Approved in Christ- Vs 10- Apelles- a person who has been tested. Perhaps gone through trials in advancing the gospel. This shows that he has proven character before God and it is commendable.

Looking at these characterizations and seeing how Paul, not only remembered their names, but he describes almost every individual with something that is commendable and perhaps you can imagine them sitting there and listening to Pauls letter and hearing their name called out with an encouragement embedded into such a shout out.

Theological Observation

The Theological observation from this text is rooted in these 2 questions: How does the diversity and unity in this church reveal the Glory of Jesus Christ? And how does this give us a foretaste of future glory?

Right now I want to show you how a text like this contributes to the overarching message of the bible. Have you ever asked the question How does this story contribute? What would be lacking if this story were absent?

This genealogy-like passage is similar to OT Geneologies but not for the same reasons. We will see this is a genealogy that displays God’s gospel promises in a unique way.

We can call this a New Covenant genealogy but one that has roots all the way in the garden of eden.

Let’s go back to the garden. After Adam and Eve sinned, God promised in the garden of Eden that from the seed of the women would come someone who would end up crushing the serpents (the devils) head. He would destroy Satans work and in essence, bring break his victorious hold on sinners bringing deliverance. Genesis 3:15

After Genesis 3 and all throughout the old testament you’ll see various genealogies and what are they? They trace a line of decent from one single ancestor and it was always the jewish people. These lists of names are often skipped but what we forget is the reason Jews were so obsessed with recording these names is because they were trying to trace the seed of the women. Who is this person that will come to deliver us?

And These names all had something in common- Bloodline. They were all blood relatives and had a common ancestry.

But remember, even though God chose Abraham and raised up the kingdom of Israel, God’s plan A was always the inclusion of the nations into God’s family. That was the original mission of Adam in the garden. Do you recall?

“And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Ge 1:28.

He was called to take his seed to the ends of the earth so that God’s temple, or sanctuary would cover the entire globe, bringing every nation under God’s loving Rule.

Chapter 16 is situated in Paul’s thoughts about the Gentiles being brought into God’s redemptive plan.

Let me put it to you this way: this chapter in front of us reveals Jesus took His seed where Adam failed to take His. Adam failed in His global mission when he rebelled but now, as Galatians 4:4 says, “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His son, born of a women (you hear Gen. 3:15 there?) born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law.”

By Christ’s blood He redeems a people from every nation, tribe and tongue and as Hebrews says in chapter 2 Christ is “bringing many sons to glory.” Whereas God chose 1 Jewish family to represent Him, from that jewish line came the promised messiah whose blood creates a global family to represent him.

These people in this chapter have 1 thing in common amid all the diversity- The bloodline of our Savior Jesus. They are united around His blood poured out on the cross and His victorious resurrection from the grave, not their own physical blood that can be traced back to one ancestor. God’s saving grace and rule extends to all peoples from all walks of life.

This, the church, is God’s presence on the earth. This is precisely how God dwells on the earth. The church is where Christs post-ascension glory and His gospel is seen most visibly. And it’s only a foretaste of what’s to come in the future...

Revelation 21:3 (ESV) And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

We will be brought back to Eden but it will be a better Eden then before. Jesus Himself will be the greater Adam who fulfills the commission of Genesis 1:28 when He finally fills the whole globe with His glory and wipes out all evil doers. When He does, all Christians everywhere will be gathered around His throne in unity.

The gathered church of Jesus Christ, the church we see in this passage, is a foretaste of that future glory.

What does a true, gospel church look like? What should mark the family of God and our family here? A gospel church...

Views one another rightly

Saints

beloved

Approved

When I’m interacting with my son, I try to remind myself of who he is to me: my son. When I view him as “son” that may change the way I treat him.

Imagine if we viewed each other on Sundays the way Paul viewed the church?

What if we put on gospel lenses and when we saw one another we didn’t automatically see each others flaws or differences but we see our new identity in Christ?

The culture teaches us that our fundamental identity are the things that mark us outwardly like our skin color or our family, or looking inward to see how we feel then our feelings become who we are. What the current culture teaches is that depending on those identity markers, you’ll have a judgement cast upon you based on whether you belong to a group that is oppressed or a group of oppressors. Then your marked for life.

That’s wrong. That completely destroys unity. The church in Rome lived with such unity because they knew that what was most fundamental thing about them was that Christ saved them and now they have a new identity. It wasn’t an identity that they strived to attain. It’s not an identity that can be changeable or taken from them. It was a new identity given to them by faith in the redeemers work.

Is an organism and institution

We see these 2 things in harmony in this chapter. The church is a living breathing organism created by Christ and has natural functions and when it functions properly there is growth and we build each other up in love.

But it is also an institution.

They are inseparable. What do we mean by institution? We see structure. We see family roles used here right? Brother/sister relationships. That makes sense because the New Testament elsewhere calls us the people the “household of God”. In a house hold there are rules. There’s structure. An institution is simply an established society that is united around the same purpose and values.

For us as a church, we have structure in place. We have leadership structures, things like church membership because they are like the organized structure of a trellis that causes a vine to grow into something beautiful. No body likes a tangled vine all over the ground, no body likes a body that has no bones.

Both are needed.

What we see in this text are people who are in a covenant relationship with one another. There is a deep commitment and somehow some way they are all known by Paul and by each other.

Authentic relationships is what we are after and its an amazing thing to have. But some people think before they commit to church membership they have to “try before you buy”.

I would venture to say this church or these house churches had a formalized way of recognizing who represented Christ and who didn’t.

Relationships thrive on commitment and when Jesus saved you He didnt save you to be alone, He saved you into a household, a family. I know of people who went from church to church and only when they found a church with a meaningful way of recognizing members did they find deep commitment, accountability, and the authentic relationships they were longing for.

Is composed of “fellow workers”

What you see multiple times throughout the chapter is this idea of partnership.

Remember we’ve talked about before that people often times treat the church as a cruise ship where I come to enjoy the ride and all these other people are serving me. Paul never says in the chapter- I thank all of you consumers. No, He calls them fellow workers.

Rather it’s this idea of a battle ship where everyone has a role and all hands are on deck to make the mission happen.

Related to this organism Idea, membership is simply saying that you’re committed to loving this particular people and are committed to getting behind the mission of this church as it is faithful to Christ. “The New Testament doesn't treat Christians as consumers who need to become providers as they mature. Instead, it assumes that all Christians act as providers--that all Christians commit deeply to a local church in ways that are meaningful, sometimes painful, and quite deliberate… to follow Christ is to love other Christians...love between believers isn't a sign of maturity; it's a sign of saving faith.”

A pastor Friend of mine also once said, “Part of bearing the family resemblance is to be a servant.”

We are all called to be servants whether that’s a deliberate way of serving on Sundays when we gather or serving in an informal way.

Displays sacrificial love

What we see throughout the chapter that is related to this idea of being a “fellow worker” is sacrificial love that is displayed.

Paul greets Aquila and Priscilla. A couple that we find throughout Paul’s writings and specifically in the book of Acts we find them serving the local Church.

Paul says in vs 3-4 that they risked their life for Paul. We don’t know when this happened or where but we know that beyond what we see written, they loved Paul enough to almost die for him.

What God produces in us by His Spirit us a love for one another that is sincere, genuine and sacrificial. This is what displays the beauty of our savior. And one of the reasons we need one another and the Love we display here on Sundays and throughout the week, is because you are being used by God as agents of divine rescue and grace in another persons life.

You showing me sacrificial love can actually rescue me from myself.

(Illustration: Tell story of Andy and Richard- Richard standing in the road…)

Conclusion

Don’t you want this? Don’t you desire to be used by God in someone else’s life this way?

You can.

And if you’re wondering how a person becomes a part of this family, if you’re wondering how someone becomes a “brother” or a “sister”, One of my best friends, Joe when preaching on this passage reminded me that there is something crucial to remember about the family of God. The only way, according to the bible to be brought into the family of God is by adoption.

This word is so important and we’ve discussed this as we’ve taught through the book of Romans. It’s popular in our day for people to say “we’re all children of God!” but that is false. It’s a lie. The bible says Ephesians 2 that we are by nature children of wrath. We are traitors in a different family and are naturally opposed to God and living apart from God and simply serving ourselves only leads us to an eternity in hell separated from God forever because that’s what we want. We naturally want to be outside of the family.

But Jesus Christ has come to rescue sinner and not just die to take upon Him the wrath of God against sin, He DID do that, but it was also to bring sinners into the family of God as adopted sons and daughters. When we receive Jesus and rest upon Him, entrusting our lives to Him, we can now know God as father and have the privileges of knowing our brothers and sisters in full unity. It’s not dependent upon anything you could do to earn his love. It’s impossible. No one now can be better than anyone or be looked at as lesser because of status, gender or ethnicity. We can have unity because at the foot of the cross no one has the ability to look down on anyone.

“Adoption is the highest privilege of the gospel. The traitor is forgiven, brought in for supper, and given the family name. To be right with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater” Packer

My prayer is that if you’re not a Christian you would become apart of the family and if you are a Christian and a member of this family you would come every week thankful for your status as an adopted son or daughter and come with joyful anticipation of getting a foretaste of heaven. You will experience the care of your good shepherd as He provides for you safety in a hostile world.