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.)
Please turn to Ephesians 4
People often unfortunately look to God to give them exactly what they want, when and how they want it. In one sense, we implicitly think we are God and the Lord bet:er do what we wish or else. But God provides for us for a much different purpose. As Paul explains here in Romans 4:11, he wanted to impart the spiritual blessings in order for the Roman believers to be strengthened/established. As he explained to the Ephesians in Ephesians 4, the reason why God has given Pastor’s to bodies of believers:
Ephesians 4:11–16. 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (ESV)
• People wrongly assume that if they are outwardly pleasant, it is showing love. But when difficulties come, the shallow roots of mere pleasantry is uprooted, and their emotions take control of them. The resulting lack of formed self-control results in their quarrelsome character erupting. Especially for those in leadership, this formed self-control needs to be in place to encourage maturity in Christ through knowledge of Him, unity of faith and speaking the truth in love. God expects all of us to grow up, work properly and build each other up in self sacrificial love. It doesn’t happen through passive politeness but self-control and self-sacrificial hard work for the cause of Christ.
Illustration: Blessings of America
It’s easy to forget that of what we have received has been given us in order for the purpose of strengthening us. Abraham Lincoln in a Proclamation of a Day of National Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer, in 1863, said this: “We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us”. (A. Lincoln, Proclamation of a Day of National Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer, 1863 as recorded in Galaxie Software. (2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press.)
In order to reap a spiritual Harvest from service, a faithful believer must have:
2) A Humble Spirit (Romans 1:12)
Romans 1:12. 12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. (ESV)
Lest his readers think that he had in mind a one-way blessing, Paul assures them that a visit would be to his benefit as well as theirs. Although he was a highly-gifted and greatly-used apostle, having received revealed truth directly from God, Paul never thought that he was above being spiritually edified by other believers. The truly thankful, concerned, willing, submissive, and loving spirit is also a humble spirit. The person with such a spirit never has a feeling of spiritual superiority and never lords it over those such a person serves in Christ’s name. Commenting on this passage in Romans, John Calvin said of Paul, “Note how modestly he expresses what he feels by not refusing to seek strengthening from inexperienced beginners. He means what he says, too, for there is none so void of gifts in the Church of Christ who cannot in some measure contribute to our spiritual progress. Ill will and pride, however, prevent our deriving such benefit from one another” (John Calvin, The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans and to the Thessalonians [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1960], p. 24).
• One might think that they are humble in acknowledging the need for God and seeking to give glory to God but there is one common way where pride manifests itself, and that is in having a habit of blaming others. It’s easily picked up, for we see it everywhere, most commonly in politicians, celebrities, and in the business world. In seeking to avoid personal accountability and responsibility, a prideful person will blame their circumstances, temperament or lack of self-examination on things beyond themselves.
Please turn to 1 Thessalonians 3
To be “be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” means more than being outwardly pleasant. True encouragement seeks to foster maturity in character and faith. That means exhibiting greater and greater fruit of the spirit, while leaving behind those aspects of character that impede ministry together. Short temperedness, impatience, self-centeredness and all the other manifestations of an unredeemed character have no place in working together. As seen here mutual faith produces this sharing. Because they have the same faith (the Greek has faith, both yours and mine) and that faith brings a common purpose to their interaction, they will indeed encourage one another in the faith. (Osborne, G. R. (2004). Romans (p. 37). InterVarsity Press.)
Notice here in 1 Thessalonians 3 how Timothy was sent not only as a co-laborer but to encourage the Thessalonians in their faith.
1 Thessalonians 3:1-5. Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, 3 that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. 4 For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know. 5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain. (ESV)
• In the business world, all that matters is outward results. In the Kingdom of God, character of faith mut accompany fruit of service. Paul’s sending of timothy to the Thessalonians was a sacrificial act, reflecting deep pastoral love, since Paul was left behind at Athens alone (cf. Acts 17:15). Our decisions in service cannot come first from our own comfort or ease. Kingdom perspectives often mean sacrificing our immediate comfort for ministry fruit. Paul seems to be highlighting Timothy’s credentials to offset any negative sentiment on the part of the Thessalonians at Paul’s sending his junior associate to them instead of coming himself. No one person can accomplish everything. It benefits everyone when people are encouraged to serve, even if there seems to be a “more professional option”. (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2307). Crossway Bibles.)
Quote: William Barkley commented on this duty: “One of the highest of human duties is the duty of encouragement.… It is easy to laugh at people’s ideals; it is easy to pour cold water on their enthusiasm; it is easy to discourage others. The world is full of discouragers. We have a Christian duty to encourage one another. Many a time a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a believer on their feet. Blessed is the one who speaks such a word”. (William Barclay as quoted in Zuck, R. B. (1997). The speaker’s quote book: over 4,500 illustrations and quotations for all occasions (p. 129). Kregel Publications.)
In order to reap a spiritual Harvest from service, a faithful believer must have:
3) A Fruitful Spirit (Romans 1:13)
Romans 1:13. 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. (ESV)
Paul frequently used a phrase such as I do not want you to be unaware as a means of calling attention to something of great importance he was about to say. Here he uses it to introduce his determined plan to visit the saints at Rome. I have often intended/planned to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), he assures his readers. As far as his own plans were concerned, he would have come to them long beforehand had he not been prevented from doing so. In being “prevented”, this same phrase occurs in 1 Thess. 2:18 where Satan is the agent. Paul believed his life was guided by God but disrupted by Satan. Somehow both are true (cf. Job 1–2; Dan. 10). The use of this term in 15:22 implies the hindrance was Paul’s missionary work in the eastern Mediterranean area, which is not yet complete (Utley, R. J. (1998). The Gospel according to Paul: Romans: Vol. Volume 5 (Ro 1:13). Bible Lessons International.).
• What should this mean for our plans and actions. May we be reminded of Proverbs 16:9 The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps”. It’s a good thing to have objectives, make plans and be active in their implementation but our action should not be blind to what is happening. Is the Lord teaching us something in a delay? What about if a new variable comes into play? God will often mold our character as we work the plan.
Please turn to John 15
Paul’s intent here in Romans 1:13 was not to make a social call but to obtain some fruit among the believers in Rome, even as among the rest of the Gentiles to whom he ministered. Paul’s ministry was an unending quest for spiritual fruit. His preaching, teaching, and writing were not ends in themselves. The purpose of all true ministry for God is to bear fruit in His name and with His power and for His glory. The ancient gods of Greece and Rome had no personal interest in mere mortals. As a result, many Gentiles had turned to the mystery religions but had found little satisfaction. Ritual has an emotional value, but that fades rather quickly. Only the true God, ultimately revealed in the person of Jesus Christ, can satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart. He made us for himself, and nothing less than a personal redemptive encounter and continuing fellowship can meet that basic spiritual need. The gospel produced a harvest because hearts had been prepared.( Mounce, R. H. (1995). Romans (Vol. 27, p. 69). Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Jesus declared to His disciples the purpose of why He has brought us into His kingdom in John 15:
John 15:1-17. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another. (ESV)
• In regard to spiritual life, the Bible uses the term fruit in three ways. In one way, it is used as a metaphor for the attitudes that characterize the Spirit-led believer. This nine-fold “fruit of the Spirit,” Paul tells us, “is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22–23). In a second way, spiritual fruit refers to action. “Now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God,” the apostle declares, “you derive your benefit [lit., ‘fruit’], resulting in sanctification” (Rom. 6:22), that is, holy living. The active fruit of a Christian’s lips is praise (Heb. 13:15), and the active fruit of our hands is giving (Phil. 4:16–17; “profit” is literally “fruit”). In a third way, spiritual fruit involves addition, the increase of converts to Christ and the increase of their spiritual growth in Him. Paul spoke of Epaenetus as being “the first convert [lit., first-fruit] to Christ from Asia” (Rom. 16:5). Among the Romans, the fruit Paul longed for was of the third kind, addition. It included both new converts and maturing converts. They were spiritual fruit in the broadest sense of being the product of the gospel’s power in people’s lives, both to save and to sanctify. The apostle wanted to be used to help the Roman church grow through new converts and grow in sanctification, which includes growth in service to Christ.
Application: In the name of the Lord’s work some people strive for prestige or acceptance or money or crowds or influence. But a Christian who serves from the heart and whose spiritual service is genuine strives only to be used of the Lord to bear fruit for Him. The Christian who settles for less is one who serves only externally. Nothing is more encouraging to pastors, Sunday School teachers, youth leaders, and other Christian workers than to see spiritual results in the lives of those to whom they minister. Nothing is more deeply rewarding than the lasting joy of leading others to Christ or helping them grow in the Lord.
In order to reap a spiritual Harvest from service, a faithful believer must have:
4) An Obedient Spirit (Romans 1:14)
Romans 1:14. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. (ESV)
Paul now continues to talk about his attitudes and reasons for ministry, explaining that he did not preach and teach the gospel because of personal reasons or because the calling seemed attractive, but because he was under obligation. “I am under obligation,” he said to the Corinthians; “for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me” (1 Cor. 9:16–17). When the Lord called him to salvation and to apostleship, Paul was doing anything but promoting the gospel but was rather bent on destroying it at all costs. He seems to be saying to the Romans, in effect, “Don’t thank me for wanting to minister to you. Although I love you and sincerely want to visit you, I was sovereignly appointed to this ministry long before I had a personal desire for it” (cf. 1 Cor. 9:16ff.). Paul was under obligation in at least two ways. First, he was under obligation to God on behalf of the Gentiles. Because God had appointed him as a unique apostle to the Gentiles (Rom. 1:5; Acts 9:15), he was under divine obligation to minister the gospel to them. Second, he had an obligation, or debt, to the Roman believers directly, because of their spiritual need. That is the kind of obligation a person has to someone whose house is on fire or who is drowning. When someone is in great danger and we are able to help, we are automatically and immediately under obligation to do what we can to save him. Because unbelieving Gentiles, like unbelieving Jews, face spiritual death, Paul was obligated to help rescue them through the gospel. Paul’s plan to have a harvest among the Roman Christians has its source not in a desire for personal aggrandizement but in his sense of missionary “obligation.” (Moo, D. J. (1996). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 61). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)
• Every sincere pastor and Christian worker knows there are times when ministry is its own reward, when study, preparation, teaching, and shepherding are exhilarating in themselves. There are other times, however, when the work does not seem very attractive, and yet you still study, prepare, teach, and shepherd because you are under obligation to God and to those you are serving. Christ is our Lord and we are His servants; and it is a poor servant who serves only when they feel like it.
To Greeks and barbarians and to the wise and to the foolish seem to be parallel phrases, Greeks representing the wise and barbarians representing the foolish. Paul did not necessarily mean Greek by race, but those who were highly educated (wise) that shared Greco-Roman culture. Conversely, the rest of the Gentiles who belong to another uneducated (foolish/unwise) culture, who spoke an uncommon language, were known as “barbarians” (barbarois). The term barbarois was onomatopoeic and it was formed phonetically by repeating “bar, bar, bar.” This sound denoted a rough sounding foreign language that to the cultured Greco-Roman world sounded like gibberish, which many considered foolish/unwise (Lopez, R. A. (2005). Romans Unlocked Power to Deliver (p. 37). 21st Century.) Paul’s obligation to carry the message throughout the world irrespective of national origin or intellectual sophistication. The truth that all people are sinners before God levels the only ground of any eternal significance. All come with the same need of forgiveness. Those who accept the grace of God stand together on even ground. God shows no partiality (Mounce, R. H. (1995). Romans (Vol. 27, pp. 69–70). Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
• How does this have a bearing upon us today?. Sometimes we don’t share the gospel with someone because they are of a different race, gender, class or position. We believe the lie spread today how external criteria are the only determining factor. In essence, we think that it’s all up to us to change someone’s mind. But the reality that we should all come to understand is that the power is not in us, but in the Holy Spirit working through His word. This eliminates both the guilt and the pride in someone rejecting or coming to faith through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Illustration:
The introduction of Credit cards have had profound impact on public perceptions of obligations or debt. The use of the card is a promise to pay a debt on purchases. If that debt is not fully paid on the due date, an interest payment is added to the debt. When we enjoy the shade of a tree we did not plant, we own a debt to the one who did. When we drive on a road, turn on a tap, sleep under a roof or eat food we did not trap, we owe a debt. In the spiritual realm we owe a debt. When we enjoy eternal life that we could not earn, have a bible we did not write, learn a truth we did not know, then we owe a debt to the one who shared it with us. This debt is an obligation. The obligation is to give what we have to another who does not have it. When we share the Gospel with the lost, disciple someone in the truth or comfort another with the comfort of God we enjoy, we demonstrate how thankful we are in what we have been given, which is our obligation, God’s expectation in why we have received it in the first place.
Finally, in order to reap a spiritual Harvest from service, a faithful believer must have:
5) An Eager Spirit. (Romans 1:15)
Romans 1:15. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. (ESV)
Paul’s external obligation to minister did not preclude his internal desire to fulfill that obligation. He not only was willing but eager to preach the gospel to believers in Rome. He was as determined to preach … in Rome as he was to go to Jerusalem, although he knew great danger awaited him there. “And now, behold, bound in spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me” (Acts 20:22–23). In his spirit he was compelled to go because that was God’s will for him. Therefore he said, “I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, in order that I may finish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God” (v. 24). Paul knew that “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21), that “to be absent from the body [is] to be at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8). Paul had the same concern for the Roman believers as for those in Colossae, to whom he wrote, “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body (which is the church) in filling up that which is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” (Col. 1:24). Life had but one value for Paul: to do God’s work. He was consumed by an eager desire to serve God, which included serving others in His name. Paul preaching of the gospel” includes “not simply an initial preaching mission but the full sequence of activities resulting in settled churches.” (Moo, D. J. (1996). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 63). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)
Paul knew that Rome was a volatile place and that Christians there had already experienced persecution. He knew that the capital city of the empire was steeped in immorality and paganism, including emperor worship. He knew that most Romans would despise him and that many probably would do him harm. Yet he was boldly eager to go there, for his Lord’s sake and for the sake of the Lord’s people.
(Format Note: Outline & some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1991). Romans (Vol. 1, pp. 31–48). Moody Press.)
