CRITICAL NOTES
Romans 16:3.—Thirty persons saluted. Explained partly by the character of the city to which Paul wrote, and partly by the character of the apostle who had preached the gospel extensively. He begins with Jewish Christians, and puts Priscilla’s name before her husband’s, partly on account of her greater worth and partly to show that in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female.
Romans 16:5. Epænetus.—This and other names which follow down to Romans 16:15 designate persons otherwise unknown to us, but known to the apostle.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Romans 16:3-5
Romans 16:3. The glory of Christian work.—Prisca is the real name for this woman; Priscilla is the diminutive according to the common mode of forming such appellations. She belonged, like Phœbe, to the women who were prominent because of the energy of their faith, and deserved the honourable position before her husband, Aquila. “The frequent sneers at Paul about his views respecting the female sex and their prerogatives might be spared us were this chapter carefully read. The order here is a sufficient answer; the wife’s name first, because she was foremost, no doubt. The standard is, after all, capacity, not sex. Both are called ‘my helpers’; and it would seem that, as such, they were both engaged in spiritual labours, which term includes vastly more than public preaching.”
I. Christian work is beneficial.—All work is beneficial, so long as it is true and honest. The sleep earned by labour and the food bought and relished as the result of wholesome toil will be conjointly productive of strength. Consider, for instance, the compact and knotted lump of muscle on the blacksmith’s forearm. The rower’s chest is expanded by exertion. The practised wrestler firmly grips the limbs of his opponent. Even a Samson is stripped of his physical powers by lolling in the lap of a Delilah. Intellectual strength is increased by keeping the brain forces in action. There are undoubtedly differences of mental endowment; still the greatest men are indebted to work. If genius be the power of prolonged attention, of persevering plodding in one particular direction, then by the same road many more might travel until they come to the height where they might be called men of genius. If work be beneficial in the secular, much more is it in the moral and spiritual sphere. Priscilla and Aquila showed their wisdom by being co-workers in Christ Jesus. The spiritual nature is strengthened by exercise. Great is the power of habit; it is a kind of second nature, and is the resultant of repeated acts. Moral habit does not merely give to a man a second nature, but restores him to the blest nature enjoyed in paradise, when primeval and unfallen man was so strong that to do the good was delightful. Habit is bred by repeated acts, and spiritual strength is generated by activity. Priscilla may be only what is called a weak woman, but she becomes strong by being a co-worker in Christ Jesus. Divine work and human work co-operating result in the splendid product of the Priscillas and Aquilas of time, of the men and women who have overcome the wicked one, whose moral strength is a marvel—of those who are strong supporting pillars of God’s Church on earth, and who become glorious, enduring, monumental pillars in the Church triumphant.
II. Christian work is uniting.—There is a brotherhood in work which is not found in either pleasure or idleness. Pleasure-seekers are not strong in fraternal affection. They may whirl in the dance, they may sport over the wine-cup, they may chaff and make merry at the gaming-table; but they know not brotherhood in the truest sense. Work is one way of creating and cementing the bond of brotherhood. Work makes co-workers, and produces a divine brotherhood. Men engaged in a great work cannot come down to intermeddle with the petty squabbles of mere idlers. Co-workers in Christ Jesus are brothers from the very fact. An invisible and indissoluble bond of brotherhood binds together all the workers in Christ Jesus throughout all the ages. A grand spiritual co-operative company stretches from Christ to the last earthly helper in Christ Jesus. Co-workers in Christ Jesus—men and women, and even children. Co-workers in Christ Jesus are Pauls, Priscillas, and Aquilas. The man of strength, the woman of gentleness, the man of no marked speciality, are all closely related by being co-workers in Christ Jesus; brothers and sisters in Christian work,—a noble band; a glorious company; a happy and united family, who move in the sphere of contentment because their minds, their heads, hearts, and hands are fully absorbed in Christian work.
III. Christian work is immortalising.—If we are ambitious for immortality, we must work. A ready wit, a sharp intellect, may enable a man to make a commotion in his day; but only the workers can produce that which shall possess an enduring life. After all, there is no real immortality about any earthly work. Our cathedrals will crumble; our paintings will shrivel up like the burnt parchment scroll; our books will pass into oblivion. The true immortality comes from Christian work and from the possession of the Christian spirit. The immortality of Priscilla and Aquila is typical of the immortality of all Christ’s workers. Horace and Livy were great in their day. They still rule in school, college, and university. We read the Odes, and are amused by the satires of the one; we study the clear and pleasing narrative of the other. Horace and Livy are classics. Paul is no classic. Some say his compositions are defective; and yet, wonderful to relate, Horace and Livy give no such extended fame as Paul has done to his friends and acquaintances at Rome. It is not likely that another Paul will arise; it is not probable that another Epistle to the Romans will be written. But there is a greater book being written. Its records stretch from creation’s prime to creation’s doom. The pen is held by angel fingers; the characters glow with divine light; the pages are illuminated with wondrous colours. There are written the names of all Christian workers. This is the true immortality. Are we workers in Christ Jesus?
Learn:
1. That we may all have a sphere for work. We cannot all be Pauls; but we may be Priscillas, we may be the humbler Aquilas. We may not be Luthers; but we may be Melancthons. Let us not refuse our sphere because it does not look important.
2. That the man who rightly fills his sphere will obtain divine commendation. Paul, with the breath of inspiration going through his mighty mind, commended his fellow-workers. If Paul commended, much more will Jesus. The meanest worker may take courage as he remembers Him who commended two mites and a cup of cold water.
3. That the man who rightly fills his sphere will obtain divine elevation. It is said that the stone which is fit for the wall will not be left lying in the way. But we think (of course we may be wrong) that we have seen many fit stones lying neglected in the highways—stones with ample fitness, but without push and blatancy to proclaim their fitness. It is a pleasant doctrine, for men who have succeeded, that we all get what we are worth. Well, let us hope that the creed is correct. But there can be no lawful doubt about this creed, that the man who rightly fills his sphere as a worker for Christ Jesus, will obtain elevation. Priscilla and Aquila were raised by their works into the same plane with St. Paul. Divine commendation is itself divine elevation. The plaudit “Well done” lifts us at once amid the hosts of God’s brilliant workers, where our spirits may find infinite satisfaction and our natures joyful repose.
Romans 16:4. The helpfulness of Christian purpose.—Perhaps we do not sufficiently take into account the unseen forces of life. There are forces coming out of others which act upon us powerfully, though it may be unconsciously. Surely there must be a forceful influence about loving and noble purposes, even though we have no direct knowledge of the formation and existence of such purposes. We sometimes say, Give him credit for good intentions. We talk about giving credit; but where good intentions really exist, where noble purposes are truly formed, those who are concerned, those who are the objects contemplated, are debtors and not creditors. Let us try to understand more fully what we owe to others. Here we have:—
I. A loving purpose.—Paul had evidently an attractive power. He gained the love, affection, and esteem of others. He speaks of some who were ready to pluck out their eyes on his behalf, and give them unto him, if by that means they could help his weak vision. And in this fourth verse we read of two who for his life laid down their necks. The expression may be merely figurative and proverbial, but it tells of loving purpose. It may have been the product of personal attachment, but we may also suppose that it arose from the broader influence of Christian love. Personal attachment can do much, but personal attachment increased by Christian love can do more. How large the love in this case! “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend.” The love of woman is wonderful, and leads to acts of sublime heroism; but here is the love of a man also purposing the sacrifice of life. O wondrous love! O exalting power of divine grace! Priscilla and Aquila were ready to hazard their lives for a friend; but for His foes was the loving Saviour crucified.
II. A noble purpose.—The purposes of love are not always noble. Sometimes the love of a fond mother induces her to sacrifice existence to the claims of a wayward child. However, the purposes which are formed by Christian love should always be of a noble character. The cause and the person on behalf of which and whom Priscilla and Aquila hazarded the lives were worthy in the highest degree. The cause was the extension of Christ’s kingdom among the Gentiles; the person was the apostle of the Gentiles. The cause and the person were noble in the highest degree, and to human seeming were indissolubly united. Of course, though the workman die, God can carry on His work; but it appeared to these two good, benevolent souls that Paul was a chosen instrument for the special work, and that therefore his life was sacred. They were undoubtedly right. Did not God say that Paul was a chosen vessel to bear Christ’s name unto the Gentiles? It was a noble purpose to hazard their lives for the salvation of one who seemed so indispensable to the world’s welfare. Let us see that the cause is noble to which we attach ourselves, that the person is worthy for whom we are about to make sacrifices; and then let us not be afraid to form great purposes on their behalf.
III. An unfulfilled purpose.—We do not know where and when Priscilla and Aquila “laid down their own necks.” We do not hear that the sword or axe of the executioner severed the heads from the bodies of these devoted Christians; but they were ready. The intention was there, and was good; the purpose was sublime and self-sacrificing—just as praiseworthy in the eyes of infinite wisdom, in the estimation of Paul, as if the purpose had culminated in dire fulfilment. Unfulfilled purposes sometimes are sad because they speak painfully of moral weakness, of human impotence. This unfulfilled purpose was joyful. It reveals the greatness of the souls of those in whom and by whom it was formed. It declares that a saving arm had been interposed, and the lives of these two self-devoted heroes were spared to the Church for a space longer. Let us form great purposes; and if Providence see it needful to prevent them being carried out, we may be sure that the thing of good which was in our hearts will meet with divine approval and reward.
IV. The apostolic acknowledgment of the unfulfilled purpose.—We are all human, and God does not wish us to get away from the feelings proper to humanity. Paul likewise pays attention to the proper feelings of men and women, and gratefully records the design. He gives public thanks to Priscilla and Aquila. “Unto whom I give thanks,”—I, Paul, the greatest man of the age, next to his divine Master; I, Paul, whose name shall outlast the names of all his opponents, and shall be coeval with Christianity itself, and that shall be coeval with the human race. Perhaps the two did not know all this, for nearness blinds us to greatness; but they were doubtless happy on the reception of the commendation. Happy those commended by Paul! Happier those commended by Jesus Christ!
V. A loving and noble purpose has a far-reaching influence.—Priscilla and Aquila were thanked by Paul and also by all the Churches of the Gentiles. They felt their indebtedness to Paul, and were thankful to those who had watched over his career and helped his usefulness. Modern Christians, too many of them so called, are heedless of the lives and welfare of their preachers. Let them think of the Churches of the Gentiles that thanked Priscilla and Aquila because they laid down their own necks for Paul’s life. Are we sufficiently thankful for our blessings? Are we trying to do what we can? We may not be, most likely are not, able either to write or to speak like St. Paul; but are we so mean because we cannot do the higher thing we will not do the lower thing? Our influence, our prayers, our sympathy, our self-sacrificing purpose, will be all helpful, and we must not withhold them. Where duty calls let us be ready to go, and God will bless and acknowledge even good intention. Purpose and accomplishment may not be always needful, may not be always possible; but God looks to the heart, and accepts the offering of the loving heart.
Romans 16:5. Enlargement of Christian opportunity.—The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion are a wonderful compendium of theology. They are placed at the end of the Church of England Prayer Book, and are not sufficiently studied. The clergy assent to them in theory, but many dissent from them in practice. Taken as a whole, the articles ought to be received by every Christian. Certainly we ought to find no difficulty with Article XIX: “The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in the which the pure word of God is preached, and the sacraments be duly ministered according to Christ’s ordinance in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same.” If this be a correct definition of a Church, then we come fairly to the conclusion that a Church is not a structure, neither is it an invisible something stretching through the centuries, but may be found in a house, in an unconsecrated building. It is wholesome and impressive to make buildings sacred, consecrated to divine and special uses; but we must widen our view, and seek to believe that there may be a Church in the house. Let the sacredness of the larger assembly be communicated to the smaller. Let us believe that Christ is present where the family meets for divine worship. Happy the home where Christ dwells! We think with pleasure of the sweet Bethany home where the divine Christ visited and communicated to the loving sisters the fragrance of His devout feelings and sublime thoughts. How pleasantly life would flow along in that Bethany home, like some clear stream through a charming landscape! Every home may be blessed in even larger degree by the unseen but graciously felt presence of Him who promises to be with His believing people to the end of time. A Church in the house is enriching. Consider:—
I. The family as a germinating force.—From the family spring the clan, the tribe, the nation. The primeval institution is that of the family. It precedes all human institutions, and shall outlast them if we are right in speaking of the redeemed in heaven as a family, united by love, where God is the gracious Father. The family is typical, and the elements of the type may often with good effect be transferred to the antitype. The closer the resemblance of the nation to the family, the firmer and more glorious will that nation become. The Church in the house may teach many wholesome lessons to the Church in the church, in the temple, in the chapel, and perhaps in the cathedral. Have we enough family feeling in our places of worship? Is there a sense of unity? Is there family affection? Do the terms “brotherhood” and “sisterhood” speak clearly of spiritual brotherhood and sisterhood? Does the Father symbolise the fatherhood of God? Let us begin where God begins, with the family, and have a Church in every house. Let the divine seed there germinate, and thence work out large growths.
II. The family as consecrated.—A beautiful picture comes to us from the far-off time. When Abraham removed his tent he renewed his altar. Every tent should have its altar. Every home, whether cottage, villa, mansion, or palace, should have its altar whereon the sacrifice of praise and prayer may be offered. The family will be blessed indeed which constitutes a Church. A pious family will be prepared to receive a congregation of Christians. Priscilla’s house may have been commodious, and thus a likely place for the meeting of either Ephesian or Roman Christians for worship. It is well to have a commodious house. It is better to have a commodious heart, a spirit open to communication from the eternal Spirit. Consecrated families will make consecrated Churches, and these will always solidify and beautify the nation.
III. The family as exalted.—We are far from undervaluing the elegance of a good English home. Most English clergymen live in well-appointed and spacious houses. If in a rural district we see a good house, we shall not often make a mistake if we conclude that it is the vicarage or rectory. Now it is all very fine for those who live in mansions to dilate on the happiness and comfort of the cottage. They do not show any readiness to make an exchange. Nevertheless we maintain that the true exaltation of the home is that it be consecrated by the presence of true religion. The Church in the house exalts and dignifies. Let us seek thus to make our homes exalted, happy, and rightly blessed. Better than the gold of earth is the fine gold tried in the fire which maketh gloriously rich; better than outer seeming is that genuine courtesy and consideration for others which the gospel teaches. Family discords are the soonest healed by the touch of the hand of divine love. This makes the family firmly cohere.
IV. The family as influential.—Opportunities for usefulness are not wanting where there is a family. What a large sphere for mothers! How much depends upon their work, prayers, and influence! It is said that where fathers and mothers can read and write the children will be able to read and write; and so we believe that where fathers and mothers are genuinely and wisely religious the children will not go far astray. Exceptions there may seem to be; but perhaps the exceptions could be explained if we could see and know all the circumstances. From the sacred home there goes a saving influence. Who shall say what the well-beloved Epænetus, the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ, owed to the churchly home of Priscilla and Aquila? Why, the home at Cenchrea was a first-rate theological college without any dons or professors or classical or mathematical tutors. What an advertisement for a modern college to be able to state that Apollos, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, was one of its alumni! What a short life the mere eloquent man possesses! Apollos has left no visible traces; but if he worked well and faithfully he has his reward, and in that reward will share those who showed to him the way of God more perfectly. Let us then seek to look above and beyond our narrow surroundings. Christian influence is not confined by the walls of the home. Opportunities increase as we try to improve every opportunity which is presented, and sphere enlarges as we seek to fill it right nobly and with true loyalty to Christ. The stately homes, and even the cottage homes, of England and of all lands stand pleasantly as they are palaces of divine grace adorned with the beauties of holiness.
Romans 16:5. Piety at home.—The influence that a man’s home has on his character will never perhaps be fully measured in this world; the last day alone will show how many a man’s life was affected for eternity by what he saw and heard under the roof where he was born. No wonder that our Lord should say to a converted soul, “Go home to thy friends, and tell them” (Mark 5:19). He that can introduce religion into his home has dug a well of living water of which the blessing shall spread far and wide. Yet home is precisely the place where a Christian often finds it most difficult to speak of his Master. There is frequently a kind of reserve among relatives and friends on the highest and holiest of all subjects. There are hundreds who seem shut up and silent by their own firesides who have plenty to say for Christ out of doors. The words of our Lord are often painfully verified: “A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house” (Mark 6:4). But a Christian must not be stopped in the path of duty by difficulties. The habit of shrinking from things because they bring with them a cross is one which must be steadily resisted. The servant of Christ has no business to choose his own work. The work that his Father puts before him is the work to which he must put his hand, however poorly he may do it. If we refuse to face duties because they are difficult, we shall find one day that sins of omission lie very heavy on the conscience. “Lord, pardon all my sins,” said dying Archbishop Ussher, “but specially my sins of omission.” If it be a plain duty to show our religion at home, the true Christian at any rate must try.
I. Home is the place where God’s servants in every age have specially shown their religion.—This may be traced in both the Old and New Testament writings.
II. Home is the place where some of the brightest lights of the modern Church of Christ have shone most brightly.—The homes of Martin Luther and Philip Henry were models of a Church in a house. To home influence Dr. Doddridge and John Wesley were greatly indebted for the Christian eminence they afterwards attained. The family religion of such men as Venn and Scott and Leigh Richmond and Bickersteth was even more remarkable than that high standard of Christianity which they maintained before the world. These good men never forgot to tell the Lord’s doings to those of their own house.
III. Home is the place to which we are all under the greatest natural obligation.—Where should we be if parents had not tenderly cared for us, trained, and taught us in the days of our infancy and youth? Let any one think what an immense amount of trouble and expense he occasioned before he came to man’s estate. What a trial of temper and patience he frequently was in his childhood! What a huge unpaid debt is standing against him under the roof where he was born! Surely the best return he can render is a spiritual one. If the Lord Jesus have done anything for his soul, let him never rest till his family are partakers of the benefit.
IV. Home is the place where a Christian has the greatest opportunities of doing good.—There are seasons when doors of usefulness are opened to a relative which are completely closed to all outside the family circle. In the time of affliction and death the members of a home are drawn together; hearts and consciences at such a crisis are often tender and willing to hear; at an hour like that a Christian member of a family may prove an unspeakable blessing. The days of darkness in this sad world will come to the most prosperous households; happy is the household in such days in which there is some one who can seize the occasion and tell what the Lord Jesus has done and can do for our souls.
V. Home, finally, is the place where the Christian can do the greatest amount of harm.—Let us suppose that he stands alone in the midst of an unconverted family; all around him are alike asleep in trespasses and sins. Now if a Christian under such circumstances hold his peace and never says a word for his Master, he incurs a heavy responsibility. His very silence is a positive injury to souls. “To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). Reader, let these things sink down into your heart, and consider them well. Whatever religion you possess, whether much or little, take care that it can be seen at home. The Christianity that came down from heaven was never meant to shine only in the society of fellow-worshippers and members of the same communion; it was meant to leaven the family circle and to sanctify all the relations of the private household. He that never feels moved to tell his friends and relatives what the Lord has done for his soul may well doubt whether he has anything to tell. Who, after all, can tell the wealth of happiness that he may confer on his own family circle if he can only bring Jesus Christ into it? How many households at this present day are nothing but bitter wells of Marah, from the want of true religion! How much of selfishness, ill-temper, and worldliness would be driven from many firesides if the gospel of Christ were to come into the house with power! Let the Christian never forget that the surest way to make home happy is to obtain a place, in it for Christ.—The Right Rev. J. C. Ryle, D.D.
Romans 16:3-5. How the pew may help the pulpit.—How Christian men and women may best aid the Christian ministry is a very important question. An answer to it is to be found in the example of Aquila and Priscilla. From the various notices of this devoted pair to be found in the Acts of the Apostles and Paul’s epistles, we are led to conclude that they form a pattern to all Christians. The history of Aquila and Priscilla goes to show that Christian men and women, in the married relation, may continue to be increasingly useful in Christian work and to the Christian ministry. Aquila and Priscilla were worthy of the honourable title “helpers in Christ Jesus,” because:—
I. Aquila and Priscilla were “helpers in Christ Jesus” to the apostle by the sympathy of their Christian character.—They were both Christians. Whether they became so before or after making Paul’s acquaintance it is hard to say. The likelihood is that they were “disciples” before Paul came to Corinth and lodged and wrought with them. Paul’s coming thither was the beginning of a lifelong friendship between them. He found a congenial home in the great, corrupt Corinthian city under their roof. Their own domestic life was drawn into closer bonds by the gospel, and was thus made a means of spreading the gospel. In like manner every Christian husband and wife may be helpful to their minister. The Church needs, the world needs, not families and individuals merely Christian in name, but Christian in reality. Happy the homes where there is an Aquila or a Priscilla—happier still where there are both! On the prayers and sympathies of such the Christian minister can confidently depend.
II. Aquila and Priscilla were “helpers in Christ Jesus” to the apostle by the spiritual devotion of their domestic life.—They had “a Church in the house” (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19). This may mean:
1. The members and dependants of the family; or
2. In all likelihood that a little company of Christian friends and neighbours met statedly for worship under their roof. Their trade as tentmakers admitted of their having accommodation for the purpose. Note also, wherever they went in connection with their trade, they had a “Church in the house”—their home was the meeting-place of believers. This shows their Christianity to have been of no formal character. It required zeal, courage, and perseverance in those days and places to be pronounced Christians, and especially to give countenance, as Aquila and Priscilla did, to the faith and followers of “Jesus the Nazarene.” In this respect they were valued aids to the apostle. By means of such Churches in the house the light and love of the Christian faith were kept from perishing amid the corruption and darkness of heathen society. All honour to this devoted pair! There ought to be a Church in the house of every Aquila and Priscilla—i.e., family religion ought to be sedulously cultivated. The whole household should be bound together by the ties of a common faith and worship. The time once was when family religion was more universal than it is now. Once the head of the household was, as a natural thing, its priest. Is it so now? Is family worship universally practised by professing Christians? Are there not many so-called Christian homes where the family altar is unknown, never burning with the flame of piety? Give me a Church in every house, and you give me a more potent factor than multitudes of ministers and missionaries. There is work in abundance at home and abroad for our Pauls; but what a noble field there is for our Aquilas and Priscillas! Soon may every home in our land become a “sanctuary,” every father a “priest unto God,” every mother a “helper in Christ Jesus”!
III. Aquila and Priscilla were “helpers in Christ Jesus” to the apostle because they were intelligent and well-instructed Christians.—They were well grounded in the truths of the Christian faith, and could “give a reason for the hope that was in them.” This is very clearly implied in the fact that it was owing to their instructions that the distinguished preacher Apollos was “taught the way of God more perfectly.” One hardly knows whether more to admire his humility or their ability and Christian sympathy. In consequence of their teaching his eloquent tongue found a nobler theme—a risen, an historic Christ. Here, then, we find lay agency, and female agency too, of the best kind, and directed in the best way. No wonder Paul openly thanks them in his own name and in that of the Gentile believers—thanks them for being instrumental in giving to the Church, as a fully equipped Christian preacher, the mighty Apollos! Wherever this eloquent evangelist went, the Churches of Christ would have reason to thank this worthy couple. Is there no scope for lay help now? Is there no need for intelligent and well-instructed Christians—men and women able and willing to speak a word for Christ to the young, the ignorant, the neglected in the home, the Sabbath school, the mission hall? Though unordained, Aquila and Priscilla were noble helpers in Christian work. Think not that only ordained teachers and preachers are fitted or to be expected to serve Christ. Every true-hearted minister will rejoice in the increase of wisely guided lay effort.
IV. Aquila and Priscilla were “helpers in Christ Jesus” to the apostle because they put themselves into danger for his sake.—“Who have for my life laid down their own necks.” We know not exactly when or where; possibly during the riot in Corinth (Acts 18), or in Ephesus (Acts 19), which latter disturbance was of so violent a character that Paul compared it to a “fighting with beasts” in the amphitheatre (1 Corinthians 15:32). On one or other of these occasions Aquila and Priscilla, with exemplary self-sacrifice, came to the apostle’s help, and to all appearance encountered danger on his account. Here he renders, with characteristic mindfulness, grateful thanks for their kindness. “A friend in need is a friend indeed,” and such friendship they had manifested. Thank God there is no need for this special form of self-sacrifice nowadays. Self-sacrifice, however, can be shown in other ways. Give to preachers of the word Christian sympathy. Stand by them when slandered or opposed. Pray for them and their work. Be self-denying enough to give of your time and means to aid in the extension of Christ’s kingdom. What a noble ambition to be a “helper in Christ Jesus”! It merited the praise of Paul; it still merits the praise of Paul’s Master. Are you a helper or a hinderer in the work and to the ministers of Christ?—Thomas S. Dickson, M.A.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Romans 16:3-5
First converts interesting.—Paul here remembers many, and speaks of them all with affection; but he salutes Epænetus as his well-beloved. We are not bound to love all in the same manner or in the same degree. The apostle calls this convert “fruits unto Christ.” If converted, sinners are the seal and reward and glory and joy of the preacher; they are infinitely more so of the Saviour Himself. As the author of their salvation, He will enjoy their blessedness and receive their praises for ever. Epænetus is here said to be the “first fruits unto Christ in Achaia.” Yet Paul says to the Corinthians, “Ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia.” The apparent difficulty is easily solved by the fact that the house of Stephanas was the first family that was converted, but that Epænetus was the first convert in the family. Christians at first were few in number, and driven together by persecution. They were therefore well known to each other and to their ministers. The conversion of a man to Christianity in a heathen place must have been peculiarly observable. It was the production of “a new creature,” which would of course be greatly wondered at. It was displaying the “heavenly” where all was “earthly and sensual and devilish” before. And we see it was worthy of attention. Earthly minds are most interested by the events of this life; but what Paul noticed in Achaia was the first man that was called there out of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. He knew that the conversion of one soul far transcended in importance the deliverance of a whole kingdom from civil bondage. Kingdoms will soon be no more; but such a soul will shine a monument of grace and glory for ever and ever. How long Epænetus in the place and in the family stood alone as a professed Christian we know not; but it is no uncommon thing for an individual to be similarly situated. We have often seen single converts seeking and serving Christ as the firstfruits of the neighbourhood or the household wherein they lived. The way in which and the means by which these persons are brought forward before others would, if stated, be found to be very various and often remarkable. And the circumstances in which these first converts are placed are interesting. They are in a post of trial; they have to take up their cross daily, and hourly too; and a cross too heavy to be borne without divine aid. Little do many who have been religiously brought up, and whose relations and friends, if not decidedly pious, are not hostile—little do they know what some have to endure, especially at the commencement of their religious course; when, instead of assistance and countenance, so much needed, they meet with neglect, and opposition, and sneers, and reproach from all around them, and from all that are dear to them. They are also in a post of duty. They are required to be, not only harmless and blameless, but exemplary in their conduct. The reason is that they will attract peculiar notice. Everything they do will be canvassed by a shrewdness sharpened by enmity, and ready to magnify every failing. They will be judged by their profession, and their religion will be judged by them. And they are to put gainsayers to silence, and constrain them by their good works which they behold to glorify God in the day of visitation. They are to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things, and by walking in wisdom to win those that are without. They are not to repulse by rudeness or chill by disdain; they are never to betray a feeling that says, “Stand by thyself; come not near to me: I am holier than thou.” They are not, by stiffness and affectations in little and lawful things, to lead people to suppose that their religion is made up of oddities and perversenesses. Yet, in things of unquestionable obligation and real importance, they must be firm and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; for not only will conscience require this in the testimony they are always to bear for God, but such consistency alone will enthrone them in the convictions and esteem of others. For they are also in a post of honour; they have a peculiar opportunity of showing their principles Later converts may be equally conscientious, but these coming after, when they have the sanction and co-operation of others, cannot so obviously appear to be on the Lord’s side, nor so fully evince the purity and power of their motives, as those who come forward alone, and say to all others, however numerous, however influential, however endeared, Choose you this day whom you will serve; but as for me, I will serve the Lord. They have therefore the privilege of taking the lead, and of being examples instead of followers. And they may be the means of prevailing upon others. We have seldom seen an instance of failure. The effect has not always immediately appeared; but where they have been enabled to walk worthy of God unto all pleasing, after a little while they have no longer gone alone to the house of God, but in company—in company even with those who once stood aloof, or before even opposed.—W. Jay.
A good man induces others to show zeal.—The “good man” is he who, while he conforms to the requirements of justice, lays himself out, at the same time, for the good of others in the active exercise of liberal, philanthropic benevolence, or of zealous disinterested patriotism—the man who seems to live for others rather than for himself, making a business of beneficence, “doing good to all as he has opportunity.” For a man of this description a universal interest is excited. He has a place in the hearts of all whose affection or esteem is worth the having. Every wish of theirs respecting him is for a blessing. His life is desired, his death devoutly deprecated; and while, to preserve the life of the merely just man, it is hardly, if at all, to be expected that any one should think of laying down his own, for the life of the “good man,” a life so eminently valuable, and so much endeared by the union of unsullied integrity with private benevolence and public spirit, there might be found some whom the warmth of affectionate gratitude or the ardour of patriotic zeal would induce to part with their all, and to add even their lives to the sacrifice. Aquila and Priscilla risked their lives, and in risking showed their readiness to part with them, had it been necessary, to preserve to the Churches of Christ and to the world the precious life of the apostle of the Gentiles. So imminent was their peril, so cheerful their zeal in his behalf, that he speaks of them as if they had really become martyrs for his sake: “who have for my life laid down their own necks.” The history of mankind is not without similar instances of self-devotion in the room of others.—Dr. Wardlaw.
The source of woman’s power.—Those do not discriminate sufficiently who imagine that the source of woman’s power arises principally from the beauty of her countenance. For although it may begin there, yet the charm and fascination are also manifested in a whole kingdom of gentle influences, distinguishing her from the other sex—such as the soft and graceful movement of her person, the tones of her voice, the loving moderation evinced in every action and expression, her yielding courtesy, her supreme repose, the complete suppression and concealment of her independent wishes and will where they would clash with those of others. All these and suchlike qualities inspire men with that love and admiration which we wrongly suppose to be excited alone by the more tangible charms of feature and face.—Christian Age.
Coincidences between historian and actor.—Cenchrea adjoined to Corinth; St. Paul, therefore, at the time of writing the letter, was in the neighbourhood of the woman whom he thus recommends. But, further, that St. Paul had before this been at Cenchrea itself appears from the eighteenth chapter of the Acts; and appears by a circumstance as incidental and as unlike design as any that can be imagined. “Paul after this tarried there (viz., at Corinth) yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow” (Acts 18:18). The shaving of the head denoted the expiration of the Nazaritic vow. The historian, therefore, by the mention of this circumstance, virtually tells us that St. Paul’s vow was expired before he set forward upon his voyage, having deferred probably his departure until he should be released from the restrictions under which his vow laid him. Shall we say that the author of the Acts of the Apostles feigned this anecdote of St. Paul at Cenchrea, because he had read in the Epistle to the Romans that “Phœbe, a servant of the Church of Cenchrea, had been a succourer of many, and of him also”? or shall we say that the author of the Epistle to the Romans, out of his own imagination, created Phœbe “a servant of the Church at Cenchrea,” because he read in the Acts of the Apostles that Paul had “shorn his head” in that place?—Paley.
Coincidence of date.—Under the same head—viz., of coincidences depending upon date—I cite from the epistle the following salutation: “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my helpers in Jesus Christ, who have for my life laid down their own necks; unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the Churches of the Gentiles.” Now what this quotation leads us to observe is the danger of scattering names and circumstances in writings like the present, how implicated they often are with dates and places, and that nothing but truth can preserve consistency. We may take notice of the terms of commendation in which St. Paul describes them, and of the agreement of that encomium with the history. “My helpers in Christ Jesus, who have for my life laid down their own necks; unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the Churches of the Gentiles.” In the eighteenth chapter of the Acts we are informed that Aquila and Priscilla were Jews; that St. Paul first met with them at Corinth; that for some time he abode in the same house with them; that St. Paul’s contention at Corinth was with the unbelieving Jews, who at first “opposed and blasphemed, and afterwards with one accord raised an insurrection against him”; that Aquila and Priscilla adhered, we may conclude, to St. Paul throughout this whole contest, for when he left the city they went with him (Acts 18:18). Under these circumstances, it is highly probable that they should be involved in the dangers and persecutions which St. Paul underwent from the Jews, being themselves Jews; and, by adhering to St. Paul in this dispute, deserters, as they would be accounted, of the Jewish cause. Further, as they, though Jews, were assisting St. Paul in preaching to the Gentiles at Corinth, they had taken a decided part in the great controversy of that day, the admission of the Gentiles to a parity of religious situation with the Jews. For this conduct alone, if there was no other reason, they may too have been entitled to “thanks from the Churches of the Gentiles.” They were Jews taking part with Gentiles. Yet is all this so indirectly intimated, or rather, so much of it left to inference, in the account given in the Acts, that I do not think it probable that a forger either could or would have drawn his representation from thence; and still less probable do I think it that, without having seen the Acts, he could, by mere accident, and without truth for his guide, have delivered a representation so conformable to the circumstances there recorded.—Paley.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 16
Romans 16:3. Work with God.—Dr. Philip, in a missionary speech, alluded to a remark made by Mr. Newton: “ ‘When I get to heaven, I shall see three wonders there. The first wonder will be to see many people there whom I did not expect to see; the second wonder will be to miss many people whom I did expect to see; and the third and greatest wonder of all will be to find myself there.’ I have also found three wonders. I have seen men of great wealth and of great talent, who have had many opportunities of forwarding the cause of God, do nothing; I have seen many humble and despised individuals, but whose hearts were right with God, do wonders; but the greatest wonder of all is to find that so humble an individual as I am should have been at all useful in the work. I take nothing unto myself but shame and humility before God.”
Romans 16:3. “My helpers in Christ Jesus.”—
Lord, speak to me, that I may speak
In living echoes of Thy tone;
As Thou sought, so let me seek
Thy erring children lost and lone.
O lead me, Lord, that I may lead
The wandering and the wavering feet;
O feed me, Lord, that I may feed
Thy hungering ones with manna sweet.
O strengthen me, that while I stand
Firm on the rock and strong in Thee,
I may stretch out a loving hand
To wrestlers with the troubled sea.
O teach me, Lord, that I may teach
The precious things Thou dost impart;
And wing my words, that they may reach
The hidden depths of many a heart.
O give Thine own sweet rest to me,
That I may speak with soothing power
A word in season, as from Thee,
To weary ones in needful hour.
O fill me with Thy fulness, Lord,
Until my very heart o’erflow,
In kindling thought and flowing word,
Thy love to tell, Thy praise to show.
O use me, Lord, use even me,
Just as Thou wilt, and when, and where;
Until Thy blessed face I see,
Thy rest, Thy joy, Thy glory share.
F. R. Havergal.
Romans 16:4. Parable of the sealing-wax.—“How fearfully hot it is!” cried a stick of sealing-wax. “It’s positively exhausting. I can’t stand much more of this”; and thereupon the poor thing began to bend and twist under the heat. But it grew hotter and hotter still, as a cruel hand kept it remorselessly in the flame of a candle. Then the wax began to melt, and portions dropped off on to a sheet of paper placed to catch them. And these were moulded into shape under pressure of a signet. “Really,” said the sealing-wax, “I didn’t know that I could look so splendid. Just see this crest!” Adversity tends to the development of character, and especially when it is a desire to help others in adversity. Priscilla and Aquila were placed in the fire of trouble through their friendship with Paul, and they received the divine crest—“Who have for my life laid down their necks.”
Romans 16:4. Piety at Home.—St. Paul, speaking of widows, says they should first learn to show piety at home. He means, probably, that before undertaking any wider sphere of work they should be sure that home duties were not neglected. So, too, when a devil bad been cast out of a man by our Lord, and the man had asked to be allowed to accompany his deliverer, he was told to go home to his friends and tell what had been done for him—tell it chiefly by his altered conduct. Even the world understands that a man ought not to show his worst self to his friends at home. In a brilliant modern comedy one of the characters is pronounced a “jolly good fellow.” “Did you ever see one of these jolly good fellows at home?” another asks. How much significance underlies that simple question. Does he first show unselfishness, obedience, reverence—in a word, piety—at home?—Quiver, “Short Arrows.”
Romans 16:5. Justin Martyr’s reply to the prefect.—Justin Martyr gives us a little insight into the gatherings of the early Christians. “Where do you assemble?” said the prefect. Justin replied: “Wherever it suits each one by preference and ability. You take for granted that we all meet in the same place; but it is not so, for the God of the Christians is not circumscribed to place, but, being invisible, fills heaven and earth, and is everywhere worshipped and glorified by the faithful.” Rusticus then said: “Tell me where you meet together, or in what place you collect your disciples.” Justin said: “I am staying at the house of one Martinus, and I know no other place of meeting besides this, and if any one wished to come to me, I communicated to him the words of truth.”
Romans 16:5. A beautiful blessing.—A little while before she died, Oliver Cromwell’s mother gave the Protector her blessing in these words: “The Lord cause His face to shine upon you, and comfort you in all your adversities, and enable you to do great things for the glory of your Most High God, and to be a relief unto His people. My dear son, I leave my heart with thee. A good night!” Mothers with low ambition wish their sons to do great things for themselves, but this mother’s ambition was that her son should act only with the object of glorifying God and serving man. She bade him “good night” when dying in this dark world, but in a brighter world she would wake up to bid him “good morning.”—Quiver, “Short Arrows.”
Romans 16:5. A mother’s influence.—A stranger was once introduced to the emperor Napoleon Buonaparte as the son of a distinguished father. “Nay,” said the emperor, “do not tell me who was his father, but who was his mother.” The same emperor said, “She who rocks the cradle rules the world”; and declared the great want of France to be “good mothers.”—Quiver, “Short Arrows.”
Romans 16:5. The dignity of motherhood.—Soon after Napoleon’s assumption of the imperial purple, he chanced to meet his mother in the gardens of St. Cloud. He was surrounded by courtiers, and half playfully held out his hand for her to kiss. “Not so, my son,” she gravely replied, at the same time presenting her band in return; “it is your duty to kiss the hand of her who gave you life.” Parents who keep up their dignity can influence their children much more for good when they grow up. It is quite possible to play with and be companions to them without losing their respect, but it can never be right to allow children to break the Fifth Commandment.—Quiver, “Short Arrows.”