‘For I will not dare to speak of any things except those which Christ wrought through me, for the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Holy Spirit, so that from Jerusalem, and round about even unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ,'
Paul assures them that he is making no claims apart from what pertains to his own ministry. He is only presenting to them the facts of what the Messiah has wrought through him, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles to the Gospel of Christ. Compare for this idea Romans 1:5. It is referring to the obedience that springs from faith.
And he then stresses the widespread and full nature of what the Messiah has wrought through him as a Messianic messenger:
· He has wrought through him in word and deed, that is in preaching and behaviour, and powerful activity (compare Luke 24:19).
· He has wrought through him in the power (dunamis) of signs and wonders, which are confirmatory of God's powerful Messianic activity through him (compare Acts 2:22; Acts 2:43; Matthew 11:2-6).
· And He has wrought through him in the power of the Holy Spirit (compare Matthew 12:28).
And the consequence of this has been that the Gospel of the Messiah has been fully and effectively preached from Jerusalem and round about, even as far as Illyricum. Illyricum was north and north-west of Macedonia, and was thus apparently the farthest region that Paul reached. We are not told of a ministry there but it is very probable that he preached in Illyricum while journeying along the Egnatian Way on his way from the Adriatic coast to Macedonia. On the other hand he may simply be indicating the southern boundary of Illyricum, beyond which he had not gone.
‘Fully preached.' He had not just proclaimed the Messiah, he had ensured that the whole truth about Him was conveyed in an intensive ministry.
‘From Jerusalem and round about.' He is not meaning that he commenced at Jerusalem but that he did at some stage preach the Gospel in Jerusalem and Judaea (Acts 9:26-30; Acts 26:20). As with the other Apostles he saw the Gospel as issuing forth from Jerusalem (Acts 1:8; Isaiah 2:2-4). He may also have had in mind that it was in Jerusalem that he received official recognition of his ministry from the Apostles (Galatians 1:18; Galatians 2:7-9).
‘In the power of signs and wonders.' Compare Acts 15:12 which indicates the importance of ‘signs and wonders' as a seal on his ministry. ‘Signs and wonders' were a feature of the ministry of the Messiah (Acts 2:22; compare Matthew 11:2-6)), and of His Apostles in His Name (Acts 4:30; Acts 2:43; Acts 5:12; compare Mark 13:22 where they were a sign presented by false Messiahs). Paul could describe them as ‘the signs of an Apostle' (2 Corinthians 12:12). There may also have been an intention, both in Acts and here, to link the Apostolic ministry with that of the Exodus, seeing it as continuing the ongoing activity of God in salvation history, for ‘signs and wonders' were seen as an essential part of the Exodus (Exodus 7:3; Deuteronomy 4:34; Deuteronomy 6:22; Deuteronomy 7:19; Deuteronomy 26:8; Deuteronomy 29:3; Deuteronomy 34:11; Nehemiah 9:10; Psalms 78:43; Psalms 105:27; Psalms 135:9).