Harvest Series

Romans 1:11–15. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. (ESV)

Among all the tragic factors regarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, is the ever-escalating costs. There is the individual loss of life and the impact of the loss on families. There is an economic destabilization to the region and a geopolitical risk of other nations drawn into the conflict. With the extreme threat of global thermonuclear war, there is also a regional destabilization on energy shipments. Even for something as vital as food production there is a real risk of having a global impact on supplies of everything from fertilizer to wheat production. As this would be the time of crop cultivation, the much-needed harvest at the end of the growing season is at risk.

In any harvest there is the exchange of mutual benefit from supplier, grower, distributor to consumer. In the Kingdom of God, there is a spiritual harvest in the sowing the seeds of the gospel of God. The Apostle Paul desired to visit the Christians in Rome that he may may impart “some spiritual gift” to them for the strengthening of their faith. Faith grows through the use of the means of grace, and it is these means that Paul intends to share with them. But at this point in Romans 1 there’s an intriguing break in Paul’s sentence. After telling them that he longs to see them so that he might strengthen them, he adjusts his line of thought to head off a misunderstanding that might arise in the minds of his readers, namely that the upcoming visit will be a one-way street with Paul dispensing all the good things. Actually, Paul envisions the visit as a two-way street. He will be strengthened too. He’s coming so that the Roman Christians and he himself “may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.” Their faith will strengthen him! Paul’s laudatory sentences in verses 8 to 10 weren’t just a formality. He really does treasure the faith of his fellow believers. But there’s a lesson here too. We all might learn to treasure more fully the fellowship of the believers the Lord lets us associate with. (Panning, A. J. (1999). Romans (pp. 17–18). Northwestern Pub. House.)

Living in a culture of immediate gratification is dangerous for a believer. Without even realizing it, we become shaped by secular expectations and outlooks. Instead of a fellow worker in the kingdom for mutual benefit, if we are not careful, we become consumers asking an unfortunate primary question of what’s the immediate benefit to me for doing or not doing something. But just like a physical harvest, that requires planning, planting, fertilizing, cultivation, weeding and nurturing before a harvest can be reaped. In the Kingdom of God, one might sew, another nurture but yet another reap the harvest. But regardless of our induvial part in the process, in order to have a harvest of righteousness, God has put us in His spiritual field as workers in the harvest for all our benefit.

In Romans 1:11-15 concluding a section of faithful service, the Apostle Paul specifies five qualities of a faithful believer that are necessary to reap a spiritual harvest. A Faithful believer must have: 1) A Loving Spirit (Romans 1:11), 2) A Humble Spirit (Romans 1:12), 3) A Fruitful Spirit (Romans 1:13), 4) An Obedient Spirit (Romans 1:14), and finally 5) An Eager Spirit. (Romans 1:15)

In order to reap a spiritual Harvest from service, a faithful believer must have:

1) A Loving Spirit (Romans 1:11)

Romans 1:11. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you (ESV)

The Apostle Paul wanted to visit the Roman believers in order to serve them lovingly in God’s name. He did not want to go as a tourist to see the famous Appian Way or the Forum or the Coliseum or the chariot races. He wanted to go to Rome to give of himself, not to entertain or indulge himself. Paul was burdened for the physical welfare of the Roman believers, but his overriding concern was for their spiritual well-being, and therefore his principal purpose for longing to see them was that he might impart to them some spiritual gift. The gift Paul wanted to impart was spiritual not only in the sense of being in the spiritual realm but in the sense that it had its source in the Holy Spirit. Because he was writing to believers, Paul was not speaking about the free gift of salvation through Christ about which he speaks in Romans 5:15–16. Nor could he have been speaking about the gifts he discusses in chapter 12, because those gifts are bestowed directly by the Spirit Himself, not through a human instrument. He must therefore have been using the term spiritual gift in its broadest sense, referring to any kind of divinely-empowered spiritual benefit he could bring to the Roman Christians by preaching, teaching, exhorting, comforting, praying, guiding, and disciplining. Whatever particular blessings the apostle had in mind, they were not of the superficial, self-centered sort that many crave today. He was not interested in tickling their ears or satisfying their religious curiosity. What gift Paul may want to share with the Romans cannot be specified until he sees what their needs may be. Whatever it is, its purpose will be to “strengthen” their faith. (Moo, D. J. (1996). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 60). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)