Not boasting of things without our measure... — The words are not merely defensive. He presses home the charge of intrusion. They, not he, were finding ground for their boasts in other men’s labours. The context leads, however, to the conclusion that it was a charge that had been brought against him. They had spoken of him as pushing on from point to point, as with a measureless ambition. Perhaps the fact that he had worked at Antioch, where the gospel had been preached by men of Cyprus and Cyrene (Acts 11:20), at Troas, where it had been preached by St. Luke (see Notes on 2 Corinthians 2:12; Acts 16:8), to the Romans whom he found at Corinth, and who, like Aquila and Priscilla, had been already converted (see Notes on Acts 18:2), were thought to give a colour to the charge that he was boasting in other men’s labours.
Having hope, when your faith is increased. — The verb is in the present tense, and should be translated, as your faith grows. The words are spoken in the spirit of one —
“Nil actum reputans si quid superesset agendum”
[“Who thinks nought done while aught remains to do”] —
who seeks for fresh provinces to annex to the territory of his king. The growth of their faith will give him fresh courage, perhaps also fresh resources. But what does he mean by his “hope that we shall be enlarged according to” (or, perhaps, in relation to) “our rule”? The words seem to imply something more than a mere extension of labours, and suggest the probability that in his journey to Jerusalem, with the large and liberal gifts of the Gentile churches, he had an intention, here half-avowed, to endeavour to modify the terms of the concordat referred to in Galatians 2:9, and to get the sanction of the Church of Jerusalem for his mission work at Rome: though there the gospel had been preached by others, and it was, primarily, at least, one of the Churches of the Circumcision. It will be seen that this supposition explains better than any other the apologetic tone of Romans 15:20-29. It was his reluctance even to appear to build on another man’s foundation that had hitherto kept him from them. He does not intend to appear, when he comes, in the character of the founder of this Church, or even as building the superstructure, but only as a friend, seeking mutual help and counsel. Spain is his goal. He takes Rome as a parenthesis. But he is going to Jerusalem, and he hopes that the difficulty which has hitherto hindered him will be removed.