Jesus was the confirmer of god's promises

JESUS WAS THE CONFIRMER OF GOD'S PROMISES
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Romans 15:8 8ForI tell you that Christhas become a
servantof the Jews on behalfof God's truth, so that
the promises made to the patriarchs might be
confirmed
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with His people
"Rejoice, ye Gentiles
S. Martin.
In certain circumstances it is necessaryto commit particular privileges to the
custody of the few, in order that when the fulness of time shall have come such
advantages may be the heritage of the many. It is not in human nature,
however, to desire to share greatblessings with the multitude. The spirit of
monopoly is more or less natural to us all. It is one of the many ugly forms of
selfishness showing itselfwhereverthere is an advantage, say— power,
territory, wealth, position, fame, knowledge —whichthe hand of man can
grasp. Now, the extraordinary privileges which the children of Abraham
possessedduring many centuries made them selfishand exclusive. They did
not desire that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs. It was reservedto the Son
of God to make that common which had been exclusive and that universal

which had been local. Referring to this the apostle saith in our text, quoting
from one of the prophets, "Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with His people." The day
upon which the angels sang, "Peaceonearth and goodwillamongst men," the
day upon which God's Sonsaid, "Godso loved the world that He gave His
only begottenSon," the day on which He chargedthe apostles to go into all
the world, the day when Philip met the eunuch, and Petervisited Cornelius,
and Paul turned his steps towards the Gentiles, were as early spring days in
the history of the nations, giving promise that the dark and barren times of
ignorance were wellnigh gone, and that the desert should rejoice and blossom
as the rose.
I. THE DUTY OF CHRISTIAN EXALTATION'. What are our characteristic
advantages as Christians?
1. To live under no ban or systemof exclusion, as far as God's providence is
concerned, is cause for rejoicing. Jerusalemis no longer the place where men
ought to worship. Palestine is no longer the chosenland. All the earth is
hallowedground.
2. To be turned from idols to the one true and living God is cause for
rejoicing. He who worships the God who is Light becomes light. He who
worships the Holy becomes holy. He who worships the God who is Love
becomes love.
3. To have God speaking to us is cause for rejoicing. And Goddoth speak to
us, Christians, by His Holy Spirit and by His Word.
4. To have a sin-offering which we may appropriate as for our sins is also
cause for rejoicing.

5. To have God not only permit our worship, but seek it, is also cause for joy.
6. Moreover, notless should we rejoice in this, that Gentiles as wellas Jews
have become the people of God.
II. THIS POSITION INVOLVES CERTAIN OBLIGATIONS. What are
they? All men need the power and the riches of the Christian dispensation. No
man is above the need of Christianity. No man is below its reach. Civilisation
cannot take the place of the Christian dispensation. No being can make the
Gentile rejoice but Jesus Christ. It strikes me that before we can pray more,
give more, do more, we must rejoice more in our own privileges. Our
advantages, as Christians, must be more real to us. There is greatdanger, not
only of our underrating our own Christian advantages, but of our selfishly
resting in the enjoyment of our privileges. Oh! exorcise the Jewishexclusive
spirit. Exclusiveness andChristianity are as inconsistentas any two things can
be. Say to others, "Rejoice withme."
(S. Martin.)
And againEsaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse... in Him shall the
Gentiles trust
Jesus Christ the proper objectof trust to the Gentiles
R. Hall, M.A.
The Messiah, in prophecy, was to have dominion over the whole earth. In the
preceding sentencesthe apostle quotes severalpassagesrelative to the
admission of the Gentiles, with a view to conciliate the Jews. God, as he had
previously argued, is the God, not of the Jews only, but of the Gentiles also;
and Isaiahhad distinctly predicted the Messiahas "a root of Jesse," which,
though it might appear as "a rootin a dry ground," spoiled of its branches,

and without appearance ofits vegetating, should yet "standfor an ensign to
the people." "He that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, in Him shall the
Gentiles trust." Consider —
I. THE PRINCIPLE OF TRUST.
1. This is necessaryto the existence ofsociety. The evidence of characteris not
the cause ofour confidence in others:the first instance of trust cannot be
accountedfor, but as the result of Divinely implanted instinct. Children
instinctively confide in their parents. All our information concerning external
objects is matter of trust. The patient trusts his physician, the subject his
governor;all are always trusting eachother. Nothing can be more anti-social
or mischievous than the violation of trust.
2. Trust supposes our own inferiority. We trust, for instruction or protection,
in one whom we regardas our superior in respectto each:our reliance on him
is the measure of our self-distrust.
3. What, then, is it for which the Gentiles trust the Messiah?Notfor any
present interest, but for our eternal destiny: it is that we may escape anevil
and attain a good, not otherwise possible.
II. THE QUALIFICATIONS THAT JUSTIFY OUR TRUST. Three things
are required as the basis of our confidence in any being: his voluntary
engagement? his probity and goodness;and his ability to fulfil the promised
undertaking. Eachof these exists perfectin Christ.
1. He has entered into a voluntary engagement;He has held Himself forth as
the objectof our trust. "I give unto My sheep," He says, "eternallife." "Every
one that believeth in Me, I will raise him up at the last day."

2. His probity and goodness cannotbe questioned. He bears all the marks of
perfect ingenuousness;as when we find Him entreating His hearers to count
the costof becoming His disciples;or when He says, "If it were not so, I would
have told you." He lookedupon our race with a Divine compassion, put on
our flesh, toiled, agonised, bled, and died. He was free to have left such a work
alone;but He engagedin it that God might be just and sinners justified. We
cannot question His sincerity or benignity.
3. Norcan we distrust His power. Can He who calmedthe winds, walkedthe
waves, raisedthe dead, etc., be supposedinsufficient here? He who foretold
the destructionof Jerusalem, the sufferings of His people, the triumph of His
cause, must Himself be King of kings and Lord of lords. By rising from the
dead, He proves that He has all power in earth and heaven.
III. SOME LEADING PROPERTIESOF THIS TRUST IN JESUS. To be
valid and saving it must be —
1. A solemn, deliberate act;the effectof "seeing the Son," recognising in Him
those qualities which justify unlimited confidence. You should "know whom
you have believed," etc.
2. Exclusive, centred in Christ alone (Jeremiah17:5). Trust not in any
qualities or works of your own. He will never divide His glory with another. It
was the ruin of the Jews, that they went about to establishtheir own
righteousness, while the Gentiles, ignorant of the whole business, found Him
whom they sought not.

3. Humble and penitential. We must acknowledgeand feelour utter
unworthiness; otherwise we contradictour profession. Humility and
confidence dwell togetherin perfect harmony.
4. Submissive and obedient. They are the foremost to fulfil the law of Christ,
who place their entire affiance in Him: constrainedby His love, which
constrainedHim to die for them, they bind His precepts on their hearts. It is a
practicaltrust, that sets in motion all the springs of action, purifies all the
powers and affections:for Christ saves by His merit those only whom He rules
by His authority.
(R. Hall, M.A.)
The world trusting in Christ
D. Thomas, D.D.
I. THE GRAND TENDENCYOF THE RACES. To trust.
1. What creature is more dependent on nature than man? Birds, beasts, and
fishes can do without him, but he is dependent upon them.
2. What creature is more dependent upon his own species?Mancomes into
the world the most helpless of all creatures. Foryears he lives by the help of
others. No one is independent of his fellow.
3. What creature is more dependent on God? All live in and by Him; but man
requires more from Him than any other creature, viz., spiritual illumination,
strength, salvation. No wonder, then, that a being so dependent should crave
for objects on which to rely. This tendency to trust explains —(1) The reign of
imposture. The power of Mahomet, Confucius, the Pope, and priestcraft is

begottenand nourished by man's tendency to trust.(2) The prevalence of
disappointments. Why otherwise is every heart the grave of so many
frustrated hopes, brokenplans, and wreckedfriendships? The greatneed of
the world, therefore, is a trustworthy object.
II. THE EVANGELIC PROVISION FOR THE RACE.
1. What attributes ought He to have to make all happy who trust in Him?(1)
He should be all perfectin excellence.If we trust our being and destiny to the
keeping of one in whom we discovermoral imperfections, we shall soongrow
wretchedin the exercise ofsuch trust.(2) He should be all-sufficient in
resources.If we trust unboundingly in one who is not capable of taking care of
us, our trust will end in agony.(3)He should be unalterable in being,
character, and capacity. If we trust one who is given to change, there will be
constantmisgiving.
2. Now, where is the being who answers these conditions? Only in the
gospel.(1)Is not Christ all-perfect, the incarnation of virtue itself?(2)Has He
not all-sufficient resources?He is all-wise to guide, all-powerful to guard, all-
goodto bless. He is able to do "exceedinglyabundant," etc.(3)Is He not
unchangeable, "the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever"?
III. THE BLESSED FUTURE OF THE RACE. "In Him shall the Gentiles
trust." This prediction has been partially fulfilled. Since Peter's sermon in the
house of Cornelius down to this hour Gentiles have been trusting in Him. The
partial fulfilment is a pledge that all men shall trust in Him. What harvests
have already sprung from the one grain. When all men trust in Him, three
things will be secured.

1. Spiritual peace. "He will keepthem in perfectpeace," etc.
2. Socialunity. All men will be united to eachother by being thus united to
Christ. No more domestic broils, socialanimosities, nationalconflicts, or
ecclesiasticalstrifes.
3. Moralelevation. All men being thus vitally connectedwith Christ, will
become more and more assimilatedto His moral attributes.Conclusion:Learn
—
1. The world's need of the gospel. If men's destiny depends upon the object of
their trust and Christ is the only objectof trust that canrender them happy,
then is not the gospela necessity?
2. The way to preachthe gospel. It is to hold Him forth, not yourself, nor your
notions and theologies, hut Christ as the objectof the world's trust. The
hungry world does not want your analysis of bread, but the "bread of life"
itself. Humanity does not want our speculationabout Christ, but Christ
Himself.
Christ a Minister of the Old Testament
J. Lyth, D.D.
Romans 15:8-13
Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcisionfor the truth of
God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers:…
I. HE MINISTERED UNDER IT.

1. As a Jew.
2. In conformity with the law.
3. To the Jews.
II. UNFOLDED ITS MEANING. As the truth of God.
III. CONFIRMEDITS PROMISES,
(J. Lyth, D.D.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(8) Now I say. . . .—Rather, For I say. My doctrine is that Christ came with a
two-fold purpose: on the one hand, with a mission to the Jews, the chosen
circumcisedrace, to vindicate to them the truthfulness of God in respectto
His promises, by Himself confirming and fulfilling those promises;and, on the
other hand, with the objectto exhibit the mercy of God in rescuing the
Gentiles from their state of condemnation, and giving them cause to glorify
God’s name.

Was. . . .—This is the reading of the Vatican MS. and Paris rescript; the
Sinaitic and Alexandrine have, “hath been made.”
For the truth of God—i.e., to make goodthe truthfulness of God in keeping
His promises.
BensonCommentary
Romans 15:8-12. Now — To show more fully what I mean in saying Christ
receivedus, I observe, that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision —
Or vouchsafedto be a servant of the Jews, in preaching the gospelamong
them; for the truth of God — To demonstrate his faithfulness in fulfilling the
promises made unto the fathers — Of sending them the Messiah;and
therefore, 1st, The believing Jews, though weak, oughtnot to be despisedby
the believing Gentiles, though stronger. And, 2d, It is no objection to Christ’s
receiving the Gentiles, that he never preachedto them, for he became a
minister of the circumcision, not only in order to the salvationof the Jews, but
also that, by converting them, and sending them to preach to the Gentiles, he
might accomplishthe promises made to the fathers concerning the blessing of
all nations. And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy, as it is
written, Psalm 18:49;where the Gentiles and Jews are spokenof as joining in
the worship of the true God, the God of Israel. To explain this more fully,
“Jesus Christwas born a Jew, and exercisedhis ministry among the Jews, in
order that the truth of God’s promises to the fathers, concerning the blessing
of the nations in Abraham’s seed, might be confirmed by the conversionof the
Jews and Gentiles. Foras the Jews were the only people on earth who
worshipped the true God, and had his revelations in their hands, it was
absolutely necessarythat the gospel, in which all the former revelations
terminated, should be first preached to them; that a sufficient number of them
receiving it, might preach it to the Gentiles, as the fulfilment of the former
revelations, of which their nation were the keepers. The gospelbeing thus
offered to the Gentiles, as the word of the same God who anciently spoke to
the fathers of the Jewishnation by the prophets; that circumstance, with the

miracles which accompaniedthe first preaching of it, so powerfully
demonstrated it to be from God, that multitudes of the Gentiles, receiving it,
turned from idols to worship the living and true God; whereby the truth of
God’s promise to the fathers, concerning the blessing of the nations in Christ,
was illustriously confirmed, and the Gentiles had an opportunity of glorifying
God for his mercy in their conversion.” It may be proper to observe further
here, that “conversionto the true God being the mercy, or blessing, which
God promised to bestow on the Gentiles, it is particularly mentioned here, not
only to make the Gentiles sensible that they ought not to despise the Jews,
through whom they had receivedso great a blessing, but also to persuade the
Jews to acknowledgethe Gentiles as the people of God, equally with
themselves.” — Macknight. And againMoses saith, (Deuteronomy32:43,)
Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people — Implying that the time would come
when the Gentiles should become the people of God as well as the Jews, and
should join with them in the worship of God, and rejoice in a sense ofhis
goodness to them. And again, (Psalm 117:1,)Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles,
for the mercy vouchsafedto you; therefore they shall know God, and obtain
mercy; and Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse — See note on Isaiah
11:10. The apostle here follows the translationof the LXX., because, thoughit
differs in expressionfrom the Hebrew, it represents the prophet’s meaning
with sufficient exactness to prove the point for which he quotes it, which was
to show that the Gentiles should become the people of Godby believing, and
confiding in the Messiah, and therefore should be united in the same church
with the believing Jews. And the apostle’s designin this part of his epistle
being to persuade the Jewishand Gentile converts to a cordial union in the
public worship of God, it was of great importance to show the Jews that this
coalitionwas foretold in their own Scriptures; for which purpose the apostle,
with greatpropriety, quotes the various passages here adduced.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
15:8-13 Christ fulfilled the prophecies and promises relating to the Jews, and
the Gentile converts could have no excuse for despising them. The Gentiles,
being brought into the church, are companions in patience and tribulation.
They should praise God. Calling upon all the nations to praise the Lord,
shows that they shall have knowledge ofhim. We shall never seek to Christ till

we trust in him. And the whole plan of redemption is suited to reconcile us to
one another, as wellas to our gracious God, so that an abiding hope of eternal
life, through the sanctifying and comforting power of the Holy Spirit, may be
attained. Our ownpower will never reachthis; therefore where this hope is,
and is abounding, the blessedSpirit must have all the glory. All joy and peace;
all sorts of true joy and peace, so as to suppress doubts and fears, through the
powerful working of the Holy Spirit.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Now I say - I affirm, or maintain. I, a "Jew," admit that his work had
reference to the Jews;I affirm also that it had reference to the Gentiles.
That Jesus Christ - That "the Messiah."The force of the apostle's reasoning
would often be more striking if he would retain the word "Messiah," andnot
regard the word "Christ" as a mere surname. It is the name of his "office;"
and to "a Jew" the name "Messiah"would conveymuch more than the idea
of a mere proper name.
Was a minister of the circumcision- Exercized his office - the office of the
Messiah- among the Jews, orwith respectto the Jews, forthe purposes which
he immediately specifies. He was born a Jew;was circumcised;came "to" that
nation; and died in their midst, without having gone himself to any other
people.
For the truth of God - To confirm or establishthe truth of the promises of
God. He remained among them in the exercise ofhis ministry, to show that
God was "true," who had saidthat the Messiahshould come to them.
To confirm the promises ... - To "establish," orto show that the promises
were true; see the note at Acts 3:25-26. The "promises" referredto here, are
those particularly which relatedto the coming of the Messiah. Bythus
admitting that the Messiahwas the minister of the circumcision, the apostle

concededall that the Jew could ask, that he was to be peculiarly "their"
Messiah;see the note at Luke 24:47.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
8-12. Now—"For"is the true reading: the apostle is merely assigning an
additional motive to Christian forbearance.
I say that Jesus Christ was—"hathbecome"
a minister of the circumcision—a remarkable expression, meaning "the
Father's Servant for the salvationof the circumcision(or, of Israel)."
for the truth of God—to make goodthe veracityof God towards His ancient
people.
to confirm the—Messianic
promises made unto the fathers—To cheerthe Jewishbelievers, whom he
might seemto have been disparaging, and to keep down Gentile pride, the
apostle holds up Israel's salvationas the primary end of Christ's mission. But
next after this, Christ was sent.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
He explains himself, and declares more at large, how Christ receivedboth
Jews and Gentiles, thereby to admonish them to receive one another. As for
the Jews, whomhe calls here the circumcision, see Romans 3:30 4:9,12, he
saith, Christ became a minister unto them; see Matthew 20:28. He exercised
his ministry in the days of his flesh amongstthem only, Matthew 15:24. He

went indeed now and then into the coastsofSamaria to make way for the
calling of the Gentiles, but his chief abode was in Jewry.
For the truth of God; or, because ofthe truth of God, that his truth or
faithfulness might not fail.
To confirm the promises made to the fathers; i.e. the promises of the Messiah,
made first to Adam, then to Abraham and to David, that the Messiahshould
come of their loins, that in their seedall the nations of the earth should be
blessed.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Now I say,.... Oraffirm that Christ has receivedboth Jews and Gentiles:that
he has receivedthe Jews, andtherefore they are not to be despised, though
they are weak, appears from hence,
that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision; he is rightly calleda
minister, for this was the end of his coming into the world, and the whole of
his work in it was not to be ministered unto, but to minister to others,
Matthew 20:28, both in life and at death. This characteragreeswith him in all
his offices;as King he ministers judgment to the people;and as priest he is the
minister of the true tabernacle of the human nature, Hebrews 8:2, in which he
offered himself a sacrifice for the sins of his people, and now in it makes
intercessionfor them; but here it is expressive of his prophetic office, in which
he is such a minister as never was before, or since, or ever will be; if we
considerthe dignity of his person, being the Son of God; the greatness ofhis
qualifications, having the Spirit without measure;the nature of his doctrines,
which were amazing words of grace and truth; and the manner of his
delivery, which was with authority; and that all other ministers receive their
mission, qualifications, doctrine and success fromhim: he is styled a minister
of "the circumcision", not literally considered, as if he administered
circumcisionto any, which he did not; he was indeed subject to it as a son of
Abraham, as a Jew by birth, as under the law, and in order to fulfil all

righteousness, Matthew 3:15, and to show that he was truly man, and that he
had regardto the people and ordinances of the Old Testament, as he showed
by baptism he had to those of the New, and to signify our cleansing and
atonement by his blood; but circumcisionis either to be understood in a
spiritual sense of circumcisionin the Spirit, and not in the flesh, with which
the true circumcision, or believers in Christ, are circumcisedin him, through
his circumcision;or rather the word here is to be takenmetonymically, for the
uncircumcised Jews, as it often is in this epistle; see Romans 2:26. So that the
meaning is, that Christ was their minister and preacher, just as Peter is said
to have the apostleshipof the circumcision, Galatians 2:8, or to be the apostle
of the Jews;as Paul was of the Gentiles, Romans 11:13, and to have the
Gospelof the circumcision committed to him, it being his province to preach it
to them, Galatians 2:7, Christ as a minister or preacherin the personal
discharge of his prophetic office, was sentonly to the Jews;among them he
lived, and to them he only preached; nor did he allow his apostles to preach to
any other till after his resurrection;and which is a manifest proof that he
receivedthe Jews, andtook them under his care, and showeda particular
regard unto them: the ends of his being a minister to them were,
for the truth of God; to preachthe Gospelof salvation, the word of truth unto
them, for which he was promised and sent; and in doing of which he declared
the righteousness, faithfulness, loving kindness, and truth of God unto them:
and to confirm the promises made unto the fathers;the fathers of the world,
Adam, Noah, &c. or rather the Jewishfathers, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses,
David, and others; concerning the Messiah's being the seedof the woman, and
of Abraham, and of David; concerning the coming of Shiloh, the raising up of
the greatprophet among the Jews, &c. allwhich promises are yea and amen
in Christ, ratified and fulfilled in him.
Geneva Study Bible

{5} Now I saythat Jesus Christ was a minister of the {f} circumcisionfor the
{g} truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:
(5) An applying of the example of Christ to the Jews, whomhe granted this
honour for the promises which he made to their fathers, although they were
ever so unworthy, in that he executedthe office of a minister among them with
marvellous patience:therefore much less ought the Gentiles despise them for
certain faults, whom the Sonof God esteemedso much.
(f) Of the circumcisedJews, for as long as he lived, he never went out of their
midst.
(g) That Godmight be seento be true.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Romans 15:8-9. A more precise explanation—which furnishes a still more
definite motive for compliance with the προσλαμβ. ἀλλ.—respecting ὁ Χριστὸς
προσελάβ. ὑμ. εἰς δόξ. Θεοῦ, first in respectof Jewish-Christians (Romans
15:8), and then of Gentile-Christians (Romans 15:9), and that in such a
manner that the connectionof the former with Christ appears as the
fulfilment of their theocratic claim, but that of the latter as the enjoyment of
grace;—a distinction so set forth, not from the Jewish-Christiannarrowness
of the author (Lucht), but designedlyand ingeniously (comp. Romans 11:28-
29), in order to suggestto the Gentile-Christians greateresteemfortheir
weakerJewishbrethren,[15]and humility.
ΛΈΓΩΓΆΡ] I mean, namely, in order more particularly to explain myself
respecting the προσελάβετο ὑμᾶς κ.τ.λ.;otherwise in Romans 12:3. But comp.

1 Corinthians 1:12; Galatians 4:1; Galatians 5:16. Frequently thus in the
Greek writers.
ΔΙΆΚΟΝΟΝ ΓΕΓΕΝ. ΠΕΡΙΤ.]ΔΙΆΚ. has emphasis, in order to bring out the
original theocratic dignity of the Jewish-Christians. Christhas become
minister of the circumcised;for to devote His activity to the welfare of the
Jewishnation was, according to promise, the duty of His Messianic office.
Comp. Matthew 20:28; Matthew 15:24.
ὑπὼρ ἀληθ. Θεοῦ]more particularly explained at once by what follows;
hence: for the sake ofthe truthfulness of God, in order to justify and to
demonstrate it through the realization of the hallowed promise given to the
fathers; comp. 2 Corinthians 1:20. Thus the προσελάβετο ὑμᾶς in respectof
the Jewish-Christians redoundedεἰς δόξανΘεοῦ; but it redounded to this
quite otherwise in respectof the Gentile-Christians, Romans 15:9.
ὑπὲρ ἐλέους]contrast to ὙΠῈΡ ἈΛΗΘ. ΘΕΟῦ, Romans 15:8 : on behalf of
mercy, i.e. for mercy, which God has evinced towards them by His making
them joint partakers in redemption. The references ofὑπέρ in the two cases
are thus not alike.
ΔΟΞΆΣΑΙ, ordinarily understood as dependent on ΛΈΓΩ, may neither
denote: have praised (namely, at their adoption), as Reiche, Rückert, de
Wette, Bisping would explain it, which not merely introduces an irrelevant
idea, but also runs counter to the usage ofthe aoristinfinitive (even 2
Corinthians 6:1, see in loc.); nor: have to praise (Tholuck, Philippi, and most),
for there is no mention of a duty according to the parallelism of the two
verses, since λέγω γάρ has not here the sense ofcommanding (see on Romans
12:3, Romans 2:22); nor, finally, is it an infinitive without reference to time (I
say, that the Gentiles praise), as Winer, p. 311 f. [E. T. p. 417], and Fritzsche,

after the Vulgate, Luther, and others, take it, which would have required the
present infinitive, because λέγω does not here express the notion of willing,
hoping, and the like (see Lobeck, ad Phryn. p. 749), but simply that of
affirming with statement of the object. Moreover, the aorist infinitive
necessarilyleads to this, that δοξάσαι is parallel to the preceding
ΒΕΒΑΙῶΣΑΙ, and consequentlyis not governedby ΛΈΓΩat all, but is
connectedwith ΕἸς ΤῸ, as Castalio andBeza have rightly perceived; comp.
also Bengel(“glorificarent”)and van Hengel. Hence:“in order that He might
ratify the promises of the fathers, but that the Gentiles, on behalf of mercy,
might praise God.” The former, namely, ὑπὲρ ἀληθείας Θεοῦ εἰς τὸ
βεβαιῶσαι κ.τ.λ., was the proximate design of Christ’s having become
minister of the circumcised;and the more remote design, which was to be
attained through the passing of salvationfrom the Jews to the Gentiles (comp.
Galatians 3:14), consistedin this, that on the other hand the Gentiles should
praise God on accountof mercy. Incorrectly, Hofmann takes δοξάσαι as
optative: Paul wishes that the Gentiles, etc. In this way the εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ,
Romans 15:7, would be something which was still only to set in, although it
had setin long ago (comp. Romans 9:24-25, and see Romans 15:16-24).
Without ground, Hofmann imports into the simple τὰ ἔθνη the idea of “the
Gentile world as a whole;” it can in fact according to the context denote only
the Gentile portion of those, whom Christ προσελάβετο εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ.
Observe, moreover, how logicallycorrectis the contrastof ὙΠῈΡ ἈΛΗΘ.
and ὙΠῈΡ ἘΛΈΟΥς (in oppositionto Olshausen, Fritzsche);for although
God had promised the future ΠΡΌΣΛΗΨΙς of the Gentiles also (in the
prophets), He nevertheless cannothave promised it to the Gentiles themselves,
as He has given the Messianic promise to the Jews themselves and chosen
them for His people, in accordancewith which, He, by virtue of His
truthfulness, was bound to His word, and consequentlythe Jews, notthe
Gentiles, were de jure the children in terms of the covenantand heirs of the
kingdom; comp. Romans 9:4-5; Acts 3:25; see also Weiss,bibl. Theol. p. 397.

καθὼς γέγρ.] This praising by the Gentiles takes place in conformity with (as a
fulfilment of) Psalm18:50, which passageis quoted after the LXX. The
historicalsubject of the passage, David, is a type of Christ; hence neither the
Gentile-Christian (Fritzsche), nor the apostle of the Gentiles as the organof
Christ (Hofmann, comp. Reiche), nor any messengerofsalvation generallyto
the Gentile world (Philippi), is in the sense ofthe apostle the subject of the
fulfilment of the prophecy, but only Christ can be so. The latter says to God
that He, as present among the Gentiles (whom He has made His own through
their conversion), will magnify Him. This, however, is a plastic representation
of the praise of the Gentiles themselves, which in fact takes place ἐν ὀνόματι
κυρίου Ἰησοῦ and ΔΙʼ ΑὐΤΟῦ (Colossians3:17). Comp. already Augustine:
“tibi per me confitebantur gentes.” Bengelaptly says:“Quod in psalmo
Christus dicit se facturum, id Paulus gentes ait facere;nempe Christus facit in
gentibus, Hebrews 2:12.”
διὰ τοῦτο]included as a constituentpart of the citation, but without reference
to the matter in hand in Paul’s text.
ἘΝ ἜΘΝΕΣΙ]to whom He, through the Spirit, by means of the preaching of
the gospelhas come, and has placed them in communion with Himself.
As to ἘΞΟΜΟΛΟΓ.with the dative, comp. on Romans 14:11. It presupposes,
as well as ΨΑΛῶ and the corresponding verbs, Romans 15:10-11, the divine
ἜΛΕΟς, whichhad been vouchsafedto the Gentiles, as motive.
[15] The contrastof Jewishand Gentile Christianity is so essentiallyand
radically connectedwith the difference respecting the use of food, that it is
wholly groundless to ascribe the treatment of that contrastin our passage to
the supposededitor of the epistle (Lucht), who has workedup the Pauline

portion of the letter, following Romans 14:23, into conformity with a later,
entirely altered state of things.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Romans 15:8. λέγω γὰρ Χριστὸν διάκονονγεγενῆσθαι περιτομῆς = what I
mean is this—Christ has been made, etc. διάκονονπεριτομῆς is usually
understood as “a minister to the Jews, to circumcisedpeople” (cf. Romans
3:30, Romans 4:9), and this seems to me the only intelligible explanation. In
exercising this ministry (and He exerciseddirectly no other: Matthew 15:24)
Christ was ofcourse circumcisedHimself and setfrom His birth (Galatians
4:4 f.) in the same relation to the law as all who belongedto the old covenant;
but though this is involved in the fact that Christ was sent to the Jews, itis not
what is meant by calling Him διάκονονπεριτομῆς. ὑπὲρἀληθείας θεοῦ:in the
interest of God’s truth (cf. Romans 1:5 : ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ). The truth
of God, as the giver of the promises to the fathers, was vindicated by Christ’s
ministry; for in Him they were all fulfilled, 2 Corinthians 1:20. τὰς ἐπαγγ. τῶν
πατέρων: the promises belongedto the fathers, because they were originally
made to them.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
8. Now I say]Better, on documentary evidence, For I say. St Paul here
expounds the words “Christ receivedyou,” by shewing the bearing of the
Lord’s Work on the salvationalike of Jewishand Gentile believers. And in so
doing he reminds the two Sections ofthe holy Bond in which they stood
united.
Jesus Christ] Better, simply, Christ.
a minister of the circumcision]i.e. One who came to serve the circumcision;to
labour for Israel. See His own words, Matthew 15:24.

St Paul mentions first the Lord’s work for Israel, then His work for the
Gentiles. Cp. Romans 1:16.
for the truth of God] for the sake ofit; to secure its vindication. “The Truth”
had foretold that the Redeemershould be of the seedof Abraham, Judah,
David.
to confirm] By being their Fulfilment.
8–13. The Lord’s example enforcedby a view of the equal bearing of His work
on Jewishand Gentile believers
Bengel's Gnomen
Romans 15:8. Λέγω δὲ, Now I say) By this verse the preceding clause
concerning Christ is explained.—Χριστὸν Ιησοῦν.) Others say, Ιησοῦν
Χριστὸν.[154]Those, who have omitted the name Jesus in this passage,seem
to have had respectto Romans 15:3; Romans 15:7. The nomenclature, Jesus
Christ, and Christ Jesus, ought not to be consideredas promiscuously used.
Jesus is the name, Christ the surname. The former was first made known to
the Jews, the latter to the Gentiles. Therefore he is calledJesus Christ
according to the natural and common order of the words; but when He is
calledChrist Jesus, by inverting the order of the words, peculiar reference is
made to the office of Christ, with somewhatofa more solemndesign. And this
is especiallysuitable to the present passage. Sometimes in one place, both
arrangements of the words prevail, Romans 15:5-6; Galatians 2:16, note; 1
Timothy 1:15-16;1 Timothy 6:13-14;2 Timothy 1:9-10. See also 1 Corinthians
3:11; with which comp. 1 Timothy 2:5.—διάκονον, a minister) a suitable
appellation; comp. Romans 15:3; Matthew 20:28. [Remarkable humiliation!
Here indeed there was need of patience, Romans 15:4-5.—V. g.]—Moreover,
Jesus Christ became the minister of the Father for the salvationof the
circumcision. Christ was subservientto the will of the Father:the Father

devoted Him for the salvationof many, whence the Genitive, of circumcision,
has the same meaning as in Galatians 2:7-8. Presently after, reigning is
ascribedto this minister, Romans 15:12. But this appellation (minister) is not
repeatedin the next verse, for the calling of the Gentiles coheres with His state
of exaltation;—it is accordinglysaid there, that they might glorify, for greater
thanksgiving is rendered by the Gentiles,[155]than by the circumcision.—
περιτομῆς, of the circumcision) that is, of Israel.—πατέρων, ofthe fathers)
The Genitive here contains the emphasis of the sentence, Matthew 15:26.
[154]ABC read Χριστὸν only. But D(Λ)Gfg and both Syr. Versions and Rec.
Text Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν.—ED.
[155]Naturally so:Becausethey have receivedgrace extraordinarily, they
being but as the wild olive graffedin on the electstock, Israel.—ED.
Pulpit Commentary
Verses 8, 9. - For (the reading γὰρ is much better supported than δὲ. The
essentialmeaning, however, of λέγω γὰρ is the same as of λέγω δὲ) I say (i.e.
what I mean to sayis this; cf. 1 Corinthians 1:12; Galatians 4:1: 5:16) that
Jesus Christ was (rather, has been made, γεγενῆσθαι being the more probable
reading than γενέσθαι) a minister of the circumcision(i.e. of the Jews)forthe
truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers (literally, the
promises of the fathers): and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his
mercy. Observe the expressions, ὑπὲρἀληθείας Θεοῦ, etc., and ὑπὲρ ἐλέους,
with reference respectivelyto the Jews and Gentiles. Christ's primary
ministry was to "the house of Israel" (cf. Matthew 15:24), in vindication of
God's truth, or faithfulness to his promises made through the patriarchs to
the chosenrace:his taking in of the Gentiles was an extensionof the Divine
mercy, to his greaterglory. The infinitive δοξάσαι, in ver. 9, seems besttaken
in the same constructionwith βεβαιῶσαι in ver. 8, both being dependent on
εἰς τὸ. As it is written, Forthis cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles,
and sing unto thy Name. This quotation from Psalm18:49 or 2 Samuel 22:50,

with those that follow, are for scriptural confirmation of God's purpose,
which has just been spokenof, to include the Gentiles in his covenanted
mercies to Israel, so that they too might glorify him. St. Paul, after a manner
usual with him; follows cut a thought suggestedin the course ofhis argument,
so as to interrupt the latter for a while, but to return to it in ver. 13. All, in
fact, from the beginning of ver. 8 to the end of ver. 12, is parenthetical,
suggestedby "evenas Christ receivedyou,." at the end of ver. 7. All this, it
may be observed, is confirmatory of Pauline authorship. The first quotation
introduces David, the theocratic king, confessingand praising God, not apart
from the Gentiles, but among them. The second, from Deuteronomy32:43,
calls on the Gentiles themselves to join in Israel's rejoicing;the third, from
Psalm117:1, does the same;the last, from Isaiah 11:10, foretells definitely the
reign of the MessiahoverGentiles as well as Jews, and the hope also of the
Gentiles in him.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
Romans 15:8 For I saythat Christ has become a servant to the circumcision
on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers
Greek:lego (1SPAI)gar Christon diakonon gegenesthai(RPN)peritomes
huper aletheias theou eis to bebaiosai(AAN) tas epaggeliastonpateron
Amplified: ForI tell you that Christ (the Messiah)became a servant and a
minister to the circumcised(the Jews)in order to show God’s truthfulness
and honesty by confirming (verifying) the promises [given] to our fathers,

NLT: Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God
is true to the promises he made to their ancestors.
Phillips: Christ was made a servantof the Jews to prove God's
trustworthiness, since he personally implemented the promises made long ago
to the fathers,
Wuest: ForI am saying, Christ has become a servant to the circumcisionon
behalf of God’s truth, resulting in the confirmation of the promises to the
fathers
Young's Literal: And I sayJesus Christ to have become a ministrant of
circumcisionfor the truth of God, to confirm the promises to the fathers,
FOR I SAY THAT CHRIST HAS BECOME A SERVANT TO THE
CIRCUMCISION ON BEHALF OF THE TRUTH OF GOD: lego (1SPAI)
gar Christon diakonongegenesthai(RPN ) peritomes huper aletheias theou:
Mk 10:43, Mt 20:26, Mt 23:11
Romans 15 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
For (gar) is a term of explanation, which should always prompt us to pause
and ponder the text and context, asking questions like what is the author
explaining, etc? Paul has explained that believers are to acceptone another
just as Christ acceptedeachone of us and now he elaborates onwhat Christ's
acceptanceofus entails -- in a nutshell, as menial (diakonos)(see in depth
discussionof related word diakonia)servant, of both Jews and Gentiles.

Spurgeon- It was to Abraham and his descendants that the promise was made
that, in him, and in his seed, all the nations of the earth should be blessed. So
our Lord came, as a Jew, to be "a minister of the circumcision." Let us never
forgetthat he came to those whom we are apt to forget; and, peradventure,
even to despise, "to confirm the promises made unto the fathers.'" Jesus, our
Lord, became the servant of the Jews, andpreached among them in fulfilment
of prophecy; shall we not become the servants of others for their good? Nor
did his ministry end with Israel;but we, who are Gentiles, share the blessing;
therefore, like our Lord, we should seek the goodof all mankind and live to
bless them.
Become (ginomai) - Paul used perfect tense for become indicating a
permanent state -- Christ continues in his capacityas "a servant of
circumcision". His function as JewishMessiahis permanent.
Paul is explaining the breadth of Christ's acceptance ofus. Christ receivedthe
Jews and ministered to them and He did so for the truth of God -- to confirm
and fulfill the promises God made to the patriarchs. Did He acceptthem
because they acceptedHim? In factthey did not receive Him! (Jn 1:11) and
yet Christ came to them and receivedand ministered to them. Why? For the
sake ofthe truth of God—to fulfill the OT promises made in the Word of God
for "notone word has failed of all His goodpromise" (1Ki 8:56 cp Josh23:14
Nu 23:19)
Servant (minister, deacon)(1249)(diakonossee relatedwords diakoneo,
diakonia)is of uncertain origin. Some sayit is from dia (through) + konis
(dust) which denotes one who hurries through the dust to carry out his
service. (Thayerand others doubt this derivation for technicalreasons). Vine
says that diakonos is probably from diako which means to hasten after, to
pursue and so to run on errands. "Thenthe root idea is one who reaches out

with diligence and persistence to render a service on behalf of others. This
would imply that the deaconreaches outto render love-prompted service to
others energeticallyand persistently." (Hiebert)
This word group (diakonos, diakoneo, diakonia)focusesonthe rendering or
assistanceorhelp by performing certain duties, often of a humble or menial
nature, and including such mundane activities as waiting on tables or caring
for householdneeds, activities that to many would seemto be without dignity
(not true of course in God's eyes, Pr 15:3, Rev22:12-note). In summary, the
basic idea of this word group is that of humble, submissive, personalservice,
with less emphasis on a specific office or a particular function.
As Matthew Henry once said "Those whomGod will employ are first struck
with a sense oftheir unworthiness to be employed."
Circumcision (4061)(peritome [word study] from perí = around + témno = cut
off) refers literally to cutting and removal of the foreskin. As discussedbelow
both the Old and New Testamentalso use the conceptof circumcisionin a
figurative or metaphoricalsense. (See also expositionof Scriptures on
Circumcision)
Although circumcision was required by the Mosaic law, the rite was neglected
during the days when the people of Israelwandered in the wilderness.
Perhaps this was a signthat the nation had broken their covenantwith God
through their disobedience. The rite was resumedwhen they enteredthe land
of Canaan, with Joshua performing the ritual on the generationborn in the
wilderness (Joshua 5). The Hebrew people came to take greatpride in
circumcision; in fact, it became a badge of their spiritual and national
superiority. This practice fosteredan exclusivistmentality instead of a

missionary zeal to reachthe Gentiles which was God's original intent for His
"chosen" people.
A daily prayer of a strict Jewishmale was to thank God that he was neither a
woman, a Samaritan, nor a Gentile. Gentiles came to be regardedby the Jews
as the uncircumcision, a term of disrespectimplying that non-Jewishpeoples
were outside the circle of God’s love. As discussedbelow, Godapplied the
very same term ("uncircumcised")to describe His "chosen" people. The
terms circumcisedand uncircumcised became emotionally chargedsymbols to
Israeland their Gentile neighbors. This issue later brought discord into the
fellowship of the New Testamentchurch and especiallycausedconfusion
about how one obtained genuine salvation.
The Jews shouldhave known the true meaning of circumcisionfor Moses and
the prophets used the term circumcisedas a symbol for purity of heart and
readiness to hear and obey. For example, through Moses the Lord challenged
the Israelites to submit to
Circumcise then your heart, and stiffen your neck no more. (Dt 10:16).
An uncircumcisedheart reflecteda will that was hardened toward God’s
commands.
Circumcision as first prescribedin (Ge 17:10, 11, 12, 13, 14) meant to cut
awaythe fleshly part of the male sexualorgan, that part which might hold
disease in its folds and so potentially might pass the disease onto the wives.
Thus physical circumcision had an important role in the preservationof
God’s people physically.

The Jews took greatpride in circumcision which became a badge of their
spiritual and national superiority thus fostering a spirit of exclusivism instead
of a missionary zeal to reachout to the Gentile nations as Godhad intended.
A daily prayer of strict Jewishmales was to thank Godthat he was neither a
woman, a Samaritan, nor a Gentile. Gentiles came to be regardedby the Jews
as the “uncircumcision,” a term of disrespectimplying that non-Jewish
peoples were outside the circle of God’s love. Paul had already dealt with
genuine (internal, heart) circumcision and contrastedthis with the external
ritual (Ro 2:28, 29-note).
Truth (225)(aletheia from a = indicates following word has the opposite
meaning ~ without + lanthano = to be hidden or concealed, to escape notice,
cp our English "latent" from Latin = to lie hidden) has the literal sense ofthat
which contains nothing hidden. Aletheia is that which is not concealed.
Aletheia is that which that is seenor expressedas it really is (this idea is
discussedmore below).
The basic understanding of aletheia is that it is the manifestationof a hidden
reality (eg, click discussionof Jesus as "the Truth"). Forexample, when you
are a witness in a trial, the court attendant says "Raise your right hand. Do
you swearthat you will tell the truth and nothing but the truth so help you
God?" And you say, "I do" and you sit down. The question the court
attendant is asking is "Are you willing to come into this courtroomand
manifest something that is hidden to us that only you know so that you will
bear evidence to that?" Therefore when you speak the truth, you are
manifesting a "hidden reality". Does that make sense?
Truth then is the correspondence betweena reality and a declarationwhich
professes to setforth or describe the reality. To sayit another way, words
spokenor written are true when they correspondwith objective reality.
Persons and things are true when they correspondwith their profession

(which we describe with words like integrity, sincerity, non-hypocritical, etc).
In other words, "whatyou see is what you get". Hence a truth is a declaration
which has corresponding reality, or a reality which is correctly setforth. Since
God is Himself the greatreality, that which correctlysets forth His nature is
pre-eminently the Truth of Creation(Natural Revelation)and the Truth of
Scripture (SpecialRevelation). Thus it is not surprising that rebellious, sinful
men actively hold down or suppress the Truth of Creation(and the glorious
Creator)(Ro 1:18-note)and even exchange this clearly manifested (and
objective)reality (Creation) for a lie (Ro 1:25-note).
TO CONFIRM (make firm, strengthen, guarantee)THE PROMISESGIVEN
TO THE FATHERS:eis to bebaiosai( AAN ) tas epaggeliaston pateron:
Ro 9:4,5
Confirm (establish) (950)(bebaioo frombébaios = sure, fixed, standing firm on
the feet, steadfast, maintaining firmness or solidity. In classicalGreek from
the 5th century B.C. bebaios acquires the meaning of firm, durable,
unshakeable, sure, reliable, certain; and in the legalsphere, valid, legal<>
bebaios is derived from baino = fit to tread on = having a firm foundation) is a
verb which means to make sure or certain, to prove valid or reliable or to
verify and (in legallanguage)to guarantee. Bebaioo was usedin secularGreek
as a legaltechnical term meaning "to designate properly guaranteed
security". Its use in a legalsense therefore gives it greatforce here, indicating
that there cannot be the slightestdoubt about the salvationoffered. The main
point then is that this is truth that can be trusted without hesitationor
reservation.
Promises (1860)(epaggelia/epangelia from epí = intensifies verbal meaning +
aggéllo = to tell, declare)literally means to "tell at or upon" and originally

referred to an announcement or declaration(especiallyof a favorable
message)(see Acts 23:21). In other words the first sense of epaggeliais that of
a . declarationto do something which came to be associatedwith the
implication of obligation to carry out what is statedand thus the meaning of a
promise, pledge or offer. In Scripture, epaggeliarefers primarily to God's
pronouncements that provide assurance ofwhat He intends to do.
The fathers - Primarily this refers to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob.
ReadW E Vine's Summary of Promise - Epaggelia
ReadWalter Kaiser's Summary of Promise
How did Messiahconfirm the promises to the patriarchs? Clearly by being
the ultimate fulfillment of those OT promises (To Abraham Ge 12:3, 17:7,
18:19, 22:18, Acts 3:25) (To Isaac Gen26:3, 4) (To JacobGe 28:13, 14, 15,
46:2, 3, 4).
Paul made it clearboth that the covenantpromises of God are permanent and
that they find their fulfillment in Christ.
Paul's point is that herein lies our motivation to acceptone another, to bear
one another's weaknessesand not to please our selfbut build up one another
(Ro 15:1, 2+).
The believer has the greatestpattern imaginable: Christ Himself. (cf 1Jn 2:6+,
1Pe 2:21+, 1Cor11:1+)

Christ receivedus that God may be glorified. Therefore, believers must
receive eachother so that God may be glorified through their lives and His
church.
RelatedResource:
The Holy Spirit-Walking Like Jesus Walked!
Romans 15:9 and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is
written, "THEREFORE* I WILL GIVE PRAISE TO YOU AMONG THE
GENTILES, AND I WILL SING TO YOUR NAME."
Greek:ta de ethne huper eleous doxasai(AAN) ton theon, kathos gegraptai
(3SRPI)dia touto exomologesomai(1SFMI)soien ethnesin kai to onomati sou
psalo (1SFAI)
Amplified: And [also in order] that the Gentiles (nations) might glorify God
for His mercy [not covenanted] to them. As it is written, Therefore I will
praise You among the Gentiles and sing praises to Your name. [Ps 18:49]
NLT: And he came so the Gentiles might also give glory to God for his
mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote:"I will
praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing praises to your name."
Phillips: and also that the Gentiles might bring glory to God for his mercy to
them. It is written: 'For this reasonI will confess to you among the Gentiles,
and sing to your name'.

Wuest: and [resulting] in the Gentiles, on behalf of His mercy, glorifying God;
even as it stands written, Because ofthis I will openly confess to you among
the Gentiles and in your Name sing.
Young's Literal: and the nations for kindness to glorify God, according as it
hath been written, 'Because ofthis I will confess to Thee among nations, and
to Thy name I will sing praise,'
AND FOR THE GENTILES TO GLORIFY GOD FOR HIS MERCY: ta de
ethne huper eleous doxasai(AAN ) ton theon:
John 10:16
Romans 15 Resources- Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Spurgeon- And that the Gentiles might glorify God .for his mercy; as it is
written: For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto
thy name. And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. And again,
Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles;and laud him, all ye people. And again, Esaias
saith, There shall be a rootof Jesse, andhe that shall rise to reign over the
Gentiles;in him shall the Gentiles trust. There were plain indications, in the
Old Testament, that the blessing was meant for the Gentiles as well as for the
Jews;but, still, it was made known to the Jews first, and we must never forget
that.
The savedJew primarily praises God for His truth and the savedGentile
primarily praises God for His mercy. Christ receivedthe Gentiles and
ministered to them. He came to bring them the mercy of God, that they might
praise God for His mercy. And don't forgetthe context -- Jesus receivedand
ministered to the Gentiles when they were living the most licentious and
indulgent life-style imaginable (Ro 1:18-32-note).

God had made covenants only with Israel (Ro 9:4-note), not with the Gentiles
(Ep 2:12-note), so God had no covenantalpromises to confirm with the
Gentiles. Any spiritual blessings that come to the Gentiles spring solely from
the mercy of God. NeverthelessGodeternally purposed to bless the Gentiles
spiritually through the Lord Jesus as their Messiahand through His
covenants with Israel (Ge 12:3 cf. Jn 4:22).
It is no accidentthat Paul's quotations in (Ro 15:8, 9, 10, 11, 12) are taken
from the three divisions of the OT, the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (Lk
24:44)and from three great Jewishheroes:Moses,David, and Isaiah.
A progressionofthought can be traced through the four quotations. In the
first, David praised God among the Gentiles (Ro 15:9); in the second, Moses
exhorted the Gentiles, Rejoice . . . with His people (Ro15:10);in the third the
psalmist commanded the Gentiles to praise the Lord (Ro 15:11-note;cf. Ro
15:7) and in the fourth, Isaiahpredicted that the Gentiles will live under the
rule of the Rootof Jesse(the Messiah)and they will hope in Him (Ro 15:12-
note).
AS IT IS WRITTEN THEREFOREI WILL GIVE PRAISE TO THEE
AMONG THE GENTILES:kathos gegraptai( 3SRPI)dia touto
exomologesomai(1SFMI) soi en ethnesin:
Written (1125)(grapho) from root graph- = primarily means to scratchon or
engrave as on an ornament, reports, letters, etc;English = graph, graphic, etc)
means to engrave or inscribe with a pen or stylus characters orletters on a

surface which can be wood, wax, metal, leather, stone, parchment, dirt (John
), paper, etc. (Click to review all 191 uses of grapho in the NAS)
It is written occurs 76 times in the (Click for these uses). When we were
children and our parents told us to do something and we questioned "Why?",
the answerwas usually "Because Isaid so!". Why are we commanded to be
holy? Because Godsaidso! A popular saying is
God said it, I believe it, that settles it.
This sounds goodbut isn't accurate because God's Wordis true, irregardless
of whether we believe it or not. A more accurate "saying" wouldbe
God said it, that settles it!
It is written should put a stop to every complaint or excuse. Paul is saying
don't judge but remember you will appear before Me to give an account(as
the next verse clarifies). This sobering thought should motivate us to obey this
injunction.
Grapho is in the perfect tense meaning that this "has been written and stands
written".
To illustrate that it has always been God’s plan to bring Gentile into His
kingdom, Paul appeals not to his greatlearning but to the unchanging Word
of God in the Old Testament, possiblyto soften the prejudice of Christian

Jews againstChristianGentiles as their ownScriptures demonstrate that the
inclusion of Gentiles was neither a divine nor a human afterthought.
This first OT quotation is from the Greek Septuagintof (2Sa 22:50, Ps 18:49-
note) where David is praising God for giving him victory over his enemies and
for making the nations subjectto him. David goes onto say will sing hymns of
praise to the Lord among the Gentile nations, so that the Gentiles may know
the true God and join in the praise.
Paul sees in this Psalmas a clear indication of God’s plan to include the
Gentiles in the Messiah’s people. Israelwas to have been the instrument
through which God's redemptive work would extend to the Gentiles.
AND I WILL SING TO THY NAME: kaito onomati soupsalo ( 1SFAI ):
SING PRAISES TO
HIS NAME
Play the beautiful simple chorus "I Sing Praises to Your Name"
Sing praises (5567)(psallofrom psao = touch lightly, twang, snap) means
literally to strike the strings of an instrument. So the idea is sing to the
accompanimentof a harp;

Zodhiates - Musicians who play upon an instrument were said to pluck the
strings (psálloun chordás)or simply pluck (psálloun). The word came to
signify the making of music in any fashion. Becausestringedinstruments were
commonly used both by believers and heathen in singing praises to their
respective gods, it meant to sing, sing praises or psalms to God whether with
or without instruments (Complete Word Study Dictionary – New Testament)
Psallo - 4x in the NT - Ro 15:9 = "I will sing to Your Name";1 Co. 14:15 = "I
will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.";Eph. 5:19+; Jas.
5:13
Romans 15:10 Again he says, "REJOICE, O GENTILES, WITHHIS
PEOPLE."
Greek:kaipalin legei(3SPAI) euphranthete (2PAPM)ethne, meta tou laou
autou.
Amplified: Again it is said, Rejoice (exult), O Gentiles, along with His [own]
people; [Deut. 32:43.]
NLT: And in another place it is written, "Rejoice,O you Gentiles, along with
his people, the Jews."
Phillips: And again:'Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people!'
Wuest: And againhe says, Rejoice, Gentiles,with His people.
Young's Literal: and againit saith, 'Rejoice ye nations, with His people;'

AND AGAIN HE SAYS REJOICE O GENTILES WITH HIS PEOPLE:kai
palin legei( 3SPAI) euphranthete (2PAPM ) ethne, meta tou laou autou:
“Rejoice, O nations, with His people; For He will avenge the blood of His
servants, And will render vengeance onHis adversaries, And will atone for
His land and His people.” (Deut 32:43)
Paul quotes the from Septuagint the song of Moses,givenas Moses prepared
to die (Dt 32:43). He had led Israel to its promised land and now, in the final
verse of his greatsong, he exhorted all the nations to rejoice with God's
chosennation, for in Abraham's seedwould all nations be blessed. Note also
that Paul quotes this exhortation as coming directly from God, even though it
was Moses'song,thus confirming the divine inspiration of Moses'writings
near the very end of the Pentateuch.
ALBERT BARNES
Verse 8
Now I say - I affirm, or maintain. I, a “Jew,” admit that his work had
reference to the Jews;I affirm also that it had reference to the Gentiles.
That Jesus Christ - That “the Messiah.”The force of the apostle‘s reasoning
would often be more striking if he would retain the word “Messiah,” andnot
regard the word “Christ” as a mere surname. It is the name of his “office;”
and to “a Jew” the name “Messiah”wouldconvey much more than the idea of
a mere proper name.

Was a minister of the circumcision - Exercized his office - the office of the
Messiah- among the Jews, orwith respectto the Jews, forthe purposes which
he immediately specifies. He was born a Jew;was circumcised;came “to” that
nation; and died in their midst, without having gone himself to any other
people.
For the truth of God - To confirm or establishthe truth of the promises of
God. He remained among them in the exercise ofhis ministry, to show that
God was “true,” who had saidthat the Messiahshouldcome to them.
To confirm the promises … - To “establish,” orto show that the promises
were true; see the note at Acts 3:25-26. The “promises” referredto here, are
those particularly which relatedto the coming of the Messiah. Bythus
admitting that the Messiahwas the minister of the circumcision, the apostle
concededall that the Jew could ask, that he was to be peculiarly “their”
Messiah;see the note at Luke 24:47.
Verse 9
And that the Gentiles … - The benefits of the gospelwere not to be confined to
“the Jews;” and as God“designed” that those benefits should be extended to
the “Gentiles,”so the Jewishconverts ought to be willing to admit them and
treat them as brethren. That God “did” designthis, the apostle proceeds to
show.
Might glorify God - Might “praise,” orgive thanks to God. This implies that
the favor shownto them was a “great” favor.

For his mercy - Greek, Onaccountof the mercy shown to them.
As it is written - Psalm 18:49. The expressionthere is one of David‘s. He says
that he will praise God for his mercies “among” the pagan, or when
surrounded “by” the pagan;or that he would confess and acknowledge the
mercies of God to him, as we should say, “to all the world.” The apostle,
however, uses it in this sense, thatthe “Gentiles” would“participate” with the
Jew in offering praise to God, or that they would be united. This does not
appear to have been the originaldesign of David in the psalm, but the
“words” express the idea of the apostle.
And sing … - Celebrate thy praise. This supposes that “benefits” would be
conferredon them, for which they would celebrate his goodness.
Verse 10
And again… - ; Deuteronomy 32:43. In this place the “nations” orGentiles
are calledon to rejoice with the Jews, forthe interposition of God in their
behalf. The designof the quotation is to show that the Old Testamentspeaks
of the Gentiles as calledon to celebrate the praises of God; of course, the
apostle infers that they are to be introduced to the same privileges as his
people.
Verse 11
And again- Psalm 117:1. The object in this quotation is the same as before.
The apostle accumulates quotations to show that it was the common language
of the Old Testament, and that he was not depending on a single expression
for the truth of his doctrine.

All ye Gentiles - In the psalm, “allye nations;” but the original is the same.
And laud him - “Praise”him. The psalm is directly in point. It is a callon
“all” nations to praise God; the very point in the discussionof the apostle.
Verse 12
Esaias saith- Isaiah 11:1, Isaiah11:10.
There shall be a root - A descendant, or one that should proceedfrom him
when he was dead. When a tree dies, and falls, there may remain a “root”
which shall retain life, and which shall send up a sprout of a similar kind. So
Job says Job14:7, “Forthere is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will
sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.”So in relation
to Jesse.Thoughhe should fall, like an agedtree, yet his name and family
should not be extinct. There should be a descendantwho should rise, and
reign over the Gentiles. The Lord Jesus is thus calledalso the “rootand the
offspring of David;” Revelation22:16; Revelation5:5.
Of Jesse -The father of David; 1 Samuel 17:58. The Messiahwas thus
descendedfrom Jesse.
He that shall rise - That is, as a sprout springs up from a decayedor fallen
tree. Jesus thus “rose”from the family of David, that had fallen into poverty
and humble life in the time of Mary.
To reign over the Gentiles - This is quoted from the Septuagint of Isaiah
11:10. The Hebrew is, “Which shall stand up for an ensign of the people;” that
is, a standard to which they shall flock. Either the Septuagint or the Hebrew

would express the idea of the apostle. The “substantial” sense is retained,
though it is not literally quoted. The idea of his “reigning” over the Gentiles is
one that is fully expressedin the secondpsalm.
In him … - Hebrew, “To it shall the Gentiles seek.” The sense,however, is the
same. The designof this quotation is the same as the preceding, to show that it
was predicted in the Old Testamentthat the Gentiles should be made
partakers of the privileges of the gospel. The argument of the apostle is, that if
this was designed, then converts to Christianity from among the “Jews”
should lay aside their prejudices, and “receive” them as their brethren,
entitled to the same privileges of the gospelas themselves. The “fact” that the
Gentiles would be admitted to these privileges, the apostle had more fully
discussedin Romans 1011.
WILLIAM BARCLAY
Then Paul once againgoes on to sound the notes of the Christian faith. The
greatwords of the Christian faith flash out one after another.
(i) There is hope. It is easyin the light of experience to despairof oneself. It is
easyin the light of events to despairof the world. Someone tells of a meeting
in a certain church at a time of emergency. The meeting was constituted with
prayer by the chairman. He addressedGod as "Almighty and eternal God,
whose grace is sufficient for all things." When the prayer was finished, the
business part of the meeting began;and the chairman introduced the business
by saying: "Gentlemen, the situation in this church is completelyhopeless,
and nothing canbe done." Either his prayer was composedof empty and
meaningless words, or his statement was untrue.

It has long ago beensaid that there are no hopeless situations;there are only
men who have grownhopeless about them. It is told that there was a cabinet
meeting in the darkestdays of the last war, just after France had capitulated.
Mr. Churchill outlined the situation in its starkestcolours. Britainstood
alone. There was a silence when he had finished speaking, and on some faces
was written despair, and some would have given up the struggle. Mr.
Churchill lookedround that dispirited company. "Gentlemen," he said, "I
find it rather inspiring."
There is something in Christian hope that not all the shadows canquench--
and that something is the conviction that God is alive. No man is hopeless so
long as there is the grace ofJesus Christ; and no situation is hopeless so long
as there is the power of God.
(ii) There is joy. There is all the difference in this world betweenpleasure and
joy. The Cynic philosophers declaredthat pleasure was unmitigated evil.
Anthisthenes made the strange statementthat he would "rather be mad than
pleased." Theirargument was that "pleasure is only the pause betweentwo
pains." You have longing for something, that is the pain; you get it, the
longing is satisfiedand there is a pause in the pain; you enjoy it and the
moment is gone;and the pain comes back. In truth, that is the waypleasure
works. But Christian joy is not dependent on things outside a man; its source
is in our consciousnessofthe presence of the living Lord, the certainty that
nothing can separate us from the love of God in him.
(iii) There is peace. The ancient philosophers sought for what they called
ataraxia, the untroubled life. They wantedall that serenity which is proof
alike againstthe shattering blows and the petty pinpricks of this life. One
would almost say that today serenity is a lost possession. There are two things
which make it impossible.

(a) There is inner tension. Men live a distracted life, for the word distract
literally means to pull apart. So long as a man is a walking civil war and a
split personality, there canobviously be for him no such thing as serenity.
There is only one way out of this, and that is for self to abdicate to Christ.
When Christ controls, the tension is gone.
(b) There is worry about external things. Many are haunted by the chances
and the changes of life. H. G. Wells tells how in New York harbour he was
once on a liner. It was foggy, and suddenly out of the fog loomed another
liner, and the two ships slid past eachother with only yards to spare. He was
suddenly face to face with what he calledthe generallarge dangerousness of
life. It is hard not to worry, for man is characteristicallya creature who looks
forward to guess and fear. The only end to that worry is the utter conviction
that, whateverhappens, God's hand will never cause his child a needless tear.
Things will happen that we cannotunderstand, but if we are sure enoughof
God's love, we can acceptwith serenity even those things which wound the
heart and baffle the mind.
(iv) There is power. Here is the supreme need of men. It is not that we do not
know the right thing; the trouble is the doing it. The trouble is to cope with
and to conquer things, to make what Wells called"the secretsplendour of our
intentions" into actualfacts. That we can never do alone. Only when the surge
of Christ's power fills our weakness canwe masterlife as we ought. By
ourselves we cando nothing; but with God all things are possible.
JOSEPHBEET

Romans 15:8-9 a. Fuller expositionof the truth involved in Christ received
you.
Minister: see under Romans 12:7.
Circumcision: as in Romans 3:30. Christ made Himself a servantof the
Jewishnation, in order that, by fulfilling a part of the ancient promises, He
might prove that God is true and faithful. He proved this in order to make the
promises still unfulfilled a firm ground on which we may restour hopes for
the future: cp. Romans 4:16; 2 Corinthians 1:20
And that the Gentiles etc.: another purpose for which Christ became a
minister of the Jews.
For (on-behalf-of) mercy: cp. 1 Corinthians 10:30; also Romans 11:30-32.
Christ was born in Judæa and laboured among the Jews, not only to revealto
them the faithfulness of Him who gave the promises, but also in order that the
same mercy might reachthe Gentiles and prompt heathen lips to glorify God:
cp. Romans 15:6-7.
The distinction of Jews and Gentiles, so prominent in this epistle, but lost sight
of since Romans 11:32, here meets us again. It suggeststhat the weak in faith
were chiefly Jews, andthe strong ones chiefly Gentiles:cp. Acts 21:20. If so,
the united praise of weak and strong, which in Romans 15:6 Paul desires,
would also be the united praise of Jews and Gentiles. And, if so, the quotations
in Romans 15:9-12 have an evident bearing on the matter in hand, viz. our
treatment of the weakerbrethren. We have thus an explanation of the
apparently sudden change of subject.

Romans 15:9-12. The foregoing purpose of Christ, viz. that both Jews and
Gentiles may praise Christ, accords withancient prophecy. In Psalms 18:49,
the writer says that surrounded by Gentiles he will give acknowledgmentand
praise to God; implying that they will join in or approve this praise. So
Deuteronomy 32:43 implies a common joy in Godof Jews andGentiles. In
Psalms 117:1, the Gentiles are calledon to praise God. Paul quotes Isaiah
11:10 from the LXX., which is less accurate than our versions: but the
difference does not touch the subject before us. The root lives unseenin the
ground after the trunk has been cut down. The prophet announces a time
when from the forgottenfamily of Jessea new sprout rises to be an ensign
around which Gentiles will gather. The passagerefers evidently to the
Kingdom of Christ, and foretells that in its blessings the Gentiles will share.
Romans 15:13. Prayer concluding Paul’s treatment of the case ofthe weaker
brethren, and the main body of the epistle. As in Romans 15:5-6, he rises from
the Scriptures to God. By giving us a hope of glory, resting on His own nature,
God reveals Himself to us in a new aspectas the God of the hope.
Fill: so that your entire being and thought and life be permeated.
Joy: suggestedby Romans 15:10.
Peace:harmony in the Church, as in Romans 14:19.
In believing: element in which we have joy and peace:cp. Romans 5:1-2; 1
Peter1:8.

In order that etc.: further purpose to be attained by our fulness of joy and
peace.
Abound: as in Romans 3:7; Romans 5:15.
In the poweretc.: parallel with in believing. Faith is the human condition and
channel of joy: the Holy Spirit is the inward divine Agent who by His felt
powerworking in us evokes confidenthope of blessings to come:cp. Romans
14:17, “joy in the Holy Spirit.” Paul prays that God, who has already given us
hope, may also give us joy and harmony, in order that we may thus obtain a
still firmer and richer hope: and he remembers the human channel and the
divine Agent of these blessings, beliefof the promises, and an inward working
of the Almighty Spirit.
Romans 15:7-13 support, by arguments suggestedin Romans 15:5-6, the
exhortation in Romans 14:1. Paul begs us to receive the weakerbrethren in
order that the united praise of them and of us may show forth the grandeur of
God. He reminds us that for this end Christ receivedus, that this united song
of praise was foretoldin ancientprophecy, and that peace with our brethren
will increase the hope with which by God’s grace we alreadylook forward to
the coming glory.
The subject discussedin Romans 14:1 to Romans 15:13 has long ago passed
away. We are all of Paul’s opinion now. To us, idols have lost all power to
pollute: we should not hesitate to eatfood prepared for a heathen feast.
But this rather increases thandecreasesthe value of Paul’s discussion:for it
compels us to look, not at one specialcase, but at a greatprinciple bearing on
the every-day life of us all.

On opening the subject, Paul announces himself an advocate of the weaker
brethren. He does not hold their views;but he defends their rights. But,
before pleading their cause, he warns his clients not to condemn the men
againstwhose contempt he now defends them. He then turns to the strong,
and tells them their duty to the weak. He teaches the solemn lessonthat our
conduct may influence the destiny of some around us. We are therefore bound
to abstain from whatevermay injure our brother, lest by injuring we ruin
him. To actin forgetfulness ofthe influence of our example, is to set aside that
love which is the very essenceofthe Christian life, to ignore the obligation laid
upon us by our superior light, to setaside the example of Christ, and to hinder
the purposes of blessing which were the song of the ancient seers andwhich
Christ came to accomplish.
We now stand at the end of the main body of the epistle. DIV. V. (Romans
12:1 to Romans 15:13) contains, without any formal order, a wonderful
outline of Christian morality. Paul has indicated its root, viz.
self-consecrationto God; and its chief means of growth, an increasing
knowledge ofthe will of God. He has set before us correctviews of ourselves
and our work; and has taught us the principles which ought to regulate our
conduct towards our fellow-Christians, especiallythose whose views differ
from our own, our fellow-citizens, those who injure us, and the rulers of the
State. Throughout, DIV. V. is similar, in matter and tone, to 1 Corinthians.
Paul’s chief purpose in writing the epistle is now accomplished. He has
assertedand developedthe new doctrines, and has shown their harmony with
the JewishScriptures;and has taught us to apply them to matters of daily life.

CALVIN
Verse 8
8.Now I say, that Jesus Christ, etc. He now shows that Christ has embraced us
all, so that he leaves no difference betweenthe Jews and the Gentiles, except
that in the first place he was promised to the Jewishnation, and was in a
manner peculiarly destined for them, before he was revealedto the Gentiles.
But he shows, that with respectto that which was the seedof all contentions,
there was no difference betweenthem; for he had gatheredthem both from a
miserable dispersion, and brought them, when gathered, into the Father’s
kingdom, that they might be one flock, in one sheepfold, under one shepherd.
It is hence right, he declares, thatthey should continue united together, and
not despise one another; for Christ despisedneither of them. (445)
He then speaks first of the Jews, andsays, that Christ was sent to them, in
order to accomplishthe truth of God by performing the promises given to the
Fathers:and it was no common honor, that Christ, the Lord of heaven and
earth, put on flesh, that he might procure salvationfor them; for the more he
humbled himself for their sake, the greaterwas the honor he conferredon
them. But this point he evidently assumes as a thing indubitable. The more
strange it is, that there is such effrontery in some fanaticalheads, that they
hesitate not to regardthe promises of the Old Testamentas temporal, and to
confine them to the presentworld. And lest the Gentiles should claim any
excellencyabove the Jews, Paulexpressly declares, thatthe salvationwhich
Christ has brought belongedby covenantto the Jews;for by his coming he
fulfilled what the Fatherhad formerly promised to Abraham, and thus he
became the minister of that people. It hence follows that the old covenantwas
in reality spiritual, though it was annexed to earthly types; for the fulfillment,
of which Paul now speaks, must necessarilyrelate to eternal salvation. And
further, lest any one should cavil, and say, that so greata salvationwas
promised to posterity, when the covenant was depositedin the hand of
Abraham, he expressly declares that the promises were made to the Fathers.

Either then the benefits of Christ must be confined to temporal things, or the
covenantmade with Abraham must be extended beyond the things of this
world.
8.I further saythis, that Christ became a minister of the circumcisionfor the
truth of God, that he might confirm the promises made to
9.the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy, as it is
written, “I will therefore confess thee among the nations, and to thy name will
I sing.”
The reasons forthis rendering are given in the next note. — Ed.
Verse 9
9.The Gentiles also, (446)etc. This is the secondpoint, on proving which he
dwells longer, because it was not so evident. The first testimony he quotes is
takenfrom Psalms 18:0; which psalm is recordedalso in 2 Samuel 22:0, where
no doubt a prophecy is mentioned concerning the kingdom of Christ; and
from it Paul proves the calling of the Gentiles, because itis there promised,
that a confessionto the glory of God should be made among the Gentiles;for
we cannot really make God known, exceptamong those who hear his praises
while they are sung by us. Hence that God’s name may be known among the
Gentiles, they must be favored with the knowledge ofhim, and come into
communion with his people:for you may observe this everywhere in
Scripture, that God’s praises cannot be declared, exceptin the assemblyof the
faithful, who have ears capable of hearing his praise.

The quotation from Psalms 18:49, is verbatim from the Septuagint. The
Hebrew verb with its postfix, ‫,ךדוא‬ in our version, “I will give thanks to thee,”
may more properly be rendered, “I will confess thee.” — Ed.
Verse 10
10Exult, ye Gentiles, with his people This verse is commonly consideredas if it
was takenfrom the song of Moses;but with this I cannotagree;for Moses’
design there was to terrify the adversaries ofIsraelby setting forth his
greatness,rather than to invite them to a common joy. I hence think that this
is quoted from Psalms 47:5, where it is written, “Exult and rejoice letthe
Gentiles, because thou judgestthe nations in equity, and the Gentiles on the
earth thou guidest.” And Paul adds, with his people, and he did this by way of
explanation; for the Prophet in that psalm no doubt connects the Gentiles
with Israel, and invites both alike to rejoice;and there is no joy without the
knowledge ofGod. (447)
Verse 11
11.PraiseGod, all ye Gentiles, etc. This passageis not inaptly applied; for how
can they, who know not God’s greatness, praise him? They could no more do
this than to call on his name, when unknown. It is then a prophecy most
suitable to prove the calling of the Gentiles; and this appears still more
evident from the reasonwhich is there added; for he bids them to give thanks
for God’s truth and mercy. (Psalms 117:1.)
Verse 12
12.And again, Isaiah, etc., This prophecy is the most illustrious of them all: for
in that passage, the Prophet, when things were almostpast hope, comforted
the small remnant of the faithful, even by this, — that there would arise a
shootfrom the dry and the dying trunk of David’s family, and that a branch
would flourish from his despisedroot, which would restore to God’s people

their pristine glory. It is clearfrom the account there given, that this shoot
was Christ, the Redeemerofthe world. And then, he added, that he would be
raisedfor a sign to the Gentiles, that might be to them for salvation. The
words do indeed differ a little from the Hebrew text; for we read here, arise,
while in Hebrew it is stand for a sign, which is the same;for he was to appear
conspicuous like a sign. What is here hope, is in Hebrew seek;but according
to the most common usage ofScripture, to seek Godis nothing else but to
hope in him. (448)
But twice in this prophecy is the calling of the Gentiles confirmed, — by the
expression, that Christ was to be raisedup as a sign, and he reigns among the
faithful alone, — and by the declaration, that they shall hope in Christ, which
cannot take place without the preaching of the word and illumination of the
Spirit. With these things corresponds the song of Simeon. It may be further
added, that hope in Christ is an evidence of his divinity.
Verse 13
13.And may the God, etc. He now concludes the passage, as before, with
prayer; in which he desires the Lord to give them whatever he had
commanded. It hence appears, that the Lord does in no degree measure his
precepts according to our strength or the power of free-will; and that he does
not command what we ought to do, that we, relying on our own power, may
gird up ourselves to render obedience;but that he commands those things
which require the aid of his grace, that he may stimulate us in our attention to
prayer.
In saying the God of hope, he had in view the last verse;as though he said, —
“Maythen the God in whom we all hope fill you with joy, that is, with
cheerfulness ofheart, and also with unity and concord, and this by believing:”
(449)for in order that our peace may be approved by God, we must be bound
togetherby real and genuine faith. If any one prefers taking in believing, for,

in order to believe, (450)the sense will be, — that they were to cultivate peace
for the purpose of believing; for then only are we rightly prepared to believe,
when we, being peaceableand unanimous, do willingly embrace what is
taught us. It is howeverpreferable, that faith should be connectedwith peace
and joy; for it is the bond of holy and legitimate concord, and the support of
godly joy. And though the peace whichone has within with God may also be
understood, yet the contextleads us rather to the former explanation. (451)
He further adds, that ye may abound in hope; for in this way also is hope
confirmed and increased in us. The words, through the powerof the Holy
Spirit, intimate that all things are the gifts of the divine bounty: and the word
poweris intended emphatically to set forth that wonderful energy, by which
the Spirit works in us faith, hope, joy, and peace.
Why does he mention joy before peace? It is in accordancewithhis usual
manner, — the most visible, the stream first, then the most hidden, the spring.
— Ed.
STEVEN COLE
A. CHRIST’S SERVANT MINISTRYTO ISRAEL SHOWS THAT GOD
FAITHFULLY KEEPS HIS PROMISESON THE BASIS OF GRACE, NOT
PERFORMANCE(15:8).
Paul uses the word “circumcision” to refer to the Jews becauseit was the sign
of the covenantto Abraham (Rom. 4:11). The “truth of God” here refers to
His covenantfaithfulness by which He remains true to His promises to Israel
through the patriarchs (as Paul has already discussedin chapters 9-11). God

did not fulfill His promises to Israelbecause ofIsrael’s faithfulness to God. He
did it on the basis of grace, not performance.
In like manner, we are to extend acceptance to others in the church family on
the basis of God’s grace. If you think, “Yeah, but he doesn’t deserve to be
accepted,”the reply to you should be, “Neither did you!” I’m not suggesting
that we overlook or not confront sin in other believers. If they have sinned
againstyou, you should go in a spirit of humility and gentleness and seek to
restore them (Gal. 6:1). But God’s grace demands that you go as a sinner who
has receivedmercy and point the other sinner to the same source of mercy,
the cross ofour Lord Jesus Christ.
Isn’t it amazing that our Saviorcame as a servant! He easilyand rightly could
have come as the conquering King, wiping out His enemies. He will do that
when He comes again. But in His first coming He came as a humble servant
(Mark 10:45). As His disciples, we are to serve one another, especiallythose
who are different than we are, in love.
B. CHRIST’S MERCYTO THE GENTILES LEADS TO GOD’S GLORY
AND SHOWS US THAT THE BASIS OF ACCEPTANCE IS GOD’S
GRACE, NOT PERFORMANCE(15:9A).
The Gentiles did not receive any covenant promises from God in the Old
Testament, yet He graciouslyincluded them in His promises to the fathers
(Gen. 12:1-3)and in many other Old Testamentreferences(Rom. 15:9b-12).
When we receive God’s mercy rather than His deserved judgment, it causes
us to glorify Him. Now we are to demonstrate God’s mercy in our
relationships with those in the church who are different than we are. We all
deserve His judgment, but the church should be a place where everyone can
find and experience God’s abundant mercy. This means that we are to be
gracious and merciful towards one another, especiallywhen someone has
offended us or actedinsensitively toward us. Thus Christ’s servant ministry to

Israeland His mercy to the Gentiles serve as our example of what it means to
acceptone another.
3. The Scriptures confirm that God’s mercy to the Gentiles brings glory to
Him, along with joy and hope to all sinners (15:9b-12).
Paul knew that the Jewishbelievers in Rome would be likely to be judgmental
towards their Gentile brothers (14:3b). So he backs up his claim that Christ’s
ministry will lead to the Gentiles glorifying God for His mercy with four Old
Testamentquotes. The first quote (15:9b) and the third (15:11) come from the
Psalms. The secondquote (15:10) comes from the Law. The fourth quote
(15:12) comes from the prophets. The Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (or
Writings) constitute the three major divisions of the Hebrew Bible. Thus Paul
is showing that all of God’s revealedWord has always predicted that the
Gentiles would also be included in God’s people, to the praise of the glory of
His grace. ForPaul, an appeal to Scripture settles the matter, because
Scripture is authoritative.
A. MESSIAH (THROUGH DAVID) GIVES PRAISE TO GOD AMONG
THE GENTILES (15:9B;PS. 18:49).
Romans 15:9b cites Psalm 18:49:“Therefore I will give praise to You among
the Gentiles, and I will sing to Your name.” David wrote this psalm to thank
the Lord for delivering him from all of his enemies. Towards the end of the
psalm, he declares not only that he will praise God to the Gentiles, but among
them, implying that they will be praising God along with David. But David’s
declarationalso points ahead to Messiah’s declaration(God’s Anointed, Ps.
18:50). Christ will praise God among the nations gatheredaround His throne,
as they praise God for His mercy.
B. THE GENTILES ARE INVITED TO REJOICE WITH GOD’S PEOPLE
(15:10; DEUT. 32:43).

Romans 15:10 cites from the song of Moses (Deut. 32:43), “Rejoice, O
Gentiles, with His people.” Paul has alreadycited from another verse in this
song (Rom. 10:19). This verse advances on Psalm18:49, where David (and
Messiah)was praising God among the Gentiles. Now the Gentiles are called
on to rejoice along with the Jews, becauseGodhas brought the blessings of
salvationto both groups (Morris, p. 505).
C. THE GENTILES ARE INVITED TO PRAISE GOD ON THEIR OWN
(15:11; PS. 117:1).
Romans 15:11: “And again, ‘Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the
peoples praise Him.’” This quote from Psalm117:1 advances on the previous
two in that Israelisn’t even mentioned. The psalmist directly calls on the
Gentiles to praise God for His greatlovingkindness and enduring truth (Ps.
117:2).
D. THE INCLUSION OF THE GENTILES IS BECAUSE THE
PROPHESIEDJEWISHKING ALSO OFFERS THE HOPE OF
SALVATION TO THE GENTILES (15:12;ISA. 11:10).
Romans 15:12: “AgainIsaiah says, ‘There shall come the rootof Jesse, andHe
who arises to rule over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles hope.’” This
prophecy refers to Jesus as the promised descendantof David. We might
expect“root” to refer to the origin of Jesse, ratherthan to his descendant. But
the rootin Jewishthinking referred not only to the root itself, but to that
which springs from it (Morris, p. 506). Paulbegan Romans (1:3) by referring
to Jesus as God’s “Son, who was born of a descendantof David.” God kept
His covenantpromise to David when Jesus was born of David’s descendants
in Bethlehem, the city of David.
At first glance, the fact that Jesus wouldrule over the Gentiles might lead us
to think the next line should read, “And under His rule, the Gentiles will

chafe.” But rather we read that under His rule, the Gentiles will hope! They
hope in Him because He is the perfect, gentle, just, and loving ruler. When
Jesus is your Ruler and Lord, you hope in Him. And, as we’ll see in verse 13,
God’s faithfulness to all of His promises in Christ are so that we may be filled
with all joy and peace in believing, so that we will abound in hope by the
powerof the Holy Spirit. These Scriptures confirm that God’s mercy to the
Gentiles brings glory to Him, along with joy and hope to all sinners who trust
in Christ.
Conclusion
I conclude with another powerful example of what it means to acceptone
another to the glory of God. RebeccaManleyPippert concludes her book, Out
of the Salt Shaker& into the World [IVP, 1979], pp. 177-178)with this story.
When she first went to Portland, Oregon, to work with a campus ministry, she
met a student named Bill. He was always disheveledin his appearance and he
never wore shoes. Rain, sleet, or snow, Bill was always barefoot.
Bill became a Christian, but his appearance didn’t change. Nearthe campus
was a church made up of mostly well-dressed, middle-class people. One
Sunday, Bill decided to worship there. He walkedinto church with his messy
hair, blue jeans, tee shirt, and barefoot. People lookeda bit uncomfortable,
but no one said anything. Bill began walking down the aisle, looking for a seat.
But the church was quite crowdedthat day, so he gotall the way down front
without finding a seat. So he just plopped on the carpet, which was fine for a
college Bible study, but a bit unnerving for this rather formal church. You
could feel the tension in the air.
Suddenly, an elderly man beganwalking down the aisle toward Bill. Was he
going to scold him about how you’re supposed to look when you come to
church? People thought, “You can’t blame him for what he’s going to do. His
world is far removed from that boy’s world for him to understand.”

As the man kept walking slowlydown the aisle, all eyes were on him. You
could hear a pin drop. When the man reachedBill, with some difficulty he
loweredhimself and sat down next to Bill on the carpet. He and Bill
worshiped togetheron the carpetthat day. There was not a dry eye in that
church.
That elderly man was practicing what Paul is talking about here. He was
accepting a young man who appearedto be very different than he was because
he recognizedthat Christ had acceptedhim. When we do that, God is
glorified.
Application Questions
Some churches go so far in accepting others that they acceptthose who are in
open sin (see 1 Cor. 5:9-13). Where is the balance betweenaccepting sinners,
but not those in sin?
What are some contemporary examples of cultural differences that tend to
segregate churches?How can we overcome these?
In rearing children, it is important to distinguish betweena child’s
immaturity and his defiance. How can this distinction help with reference to
accepting an immature believer?
Why is it crucial to keepGod’s glory as our primary aim in our relationships,
rather than our happiness as the primary aim?
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2012,All Rights Reserved.

THOMAS CONSTABLE
Verses 7-13
4. The importance of accepting one another15:7-13
This sectionconcludes Paul"s instructions concerning the importance of
accepting one another as Christians that he began in Romans 14:1. In this
sectionthe apostle chargedboth the strong and the weak.
Verse 8
Romans 15:8-10 expand the idea of Jesus Christ accepting us. Romans 15:8
deals with His acceptanceofJews. He not only acceptedJewishbelievers but
came to serve the Jewishpeople, as the Old Testamentpredicted, fulfilling
God"s promise to the patriarchs ( Mark 10:45; Matthew 15:24;cf. Galatians
3:16). Consequentlythe typically strongerGentile believers should not despise
their occasionallyweakerJewishbrethren.
Verse 9-10
These verses dealwith Jesus Christ"s acceptanceofGentiles. The citations
show that God always purposed to bless the Gentiles. Therefore conservative
Jewishbelievers should not despise their more liberal Gentile brethren. I use
the adjectives "conservative"and "liberal" to describe their relationship to
amoral (non-moral) matters. Four quotations from the Old Testament
("Writings," "Law," and "Prophets")follow, which support Paul"s
assertions in Romans 15:8-9 a as a whole.
Psalm18:49 pictures David rejoicing in Godfor his victories among the
nations that had become subject to him. In Deuteronomy 32:43 Moses sawthe

Gentiles praising God with the Israelites. Thesepassageswouldhave
encouragedPaul"s Jewishreaders to accepttheir Gentile brethren.
Verse 11-12
Two more quotations picture the Gentiles praising God alone apart from
participation in Israel( Psalm117:1; Isaiah11:10). Perhaps Paul cited them
to help his Jewishreaders remember that their Gentile brethren did not need
to come to God through Jews orJudaism. They did not need to practice some
of the things that JewishChristians did as a part of their cultural heritage.
Verse 13
This verse concludes the sectiondealing with the practice of God"s
righteousness (Romans 12:1 to Romans 15:13). It is another pious wish (cf.
Romans 15:5).
The mention of hope points forward to the future. Throughout this epistle
Paul kept referring to the fact that Godhad not finished His saving work in
his readers" lives. Theywere still under constructionas Christians. There was
more to God"s salvationthan they had experiencedyet. In closing his treatise
on God"s righteousness the apostle focusedhis readers" attention on the rest
of their sanctificationand final glorification.
The God of hope is the God who inspires hope in and provides hope for His
redeemedones. Christians canbe joyful because ofwhat God has already
done for us and is doing for us. We can also be peacefulas we realize what He
is doing for us now and what He will do for us in the future. It is possible for
us to abound in hope because the omnipotent Holy Spirit is at work in us (cf.
ch8).

"The achievementof all God"s purposes for the spiritual welfare of His
children comes from the power given by the Spirit of God. What a fitting
closing reminder to the apostle"sdiscussionofChristian living." [Note:
Witmer, " Romans ," p496.]
This concludes Paul"s expositionof the theme of the righteousness ofGodthat
constitutes the heart of this epistle ( Romans 1:18 to Romans 15:13). Paul
showedman"s need of God"s righteousness( Romans 1:18 to Romans 3:20),
how God imputes it to people who trust in His Son ( Romans 3:21 to Romans
5:21), and how He imparts it to those to whom He has imputed it (chs6-8).
Moreoverhe demonstratedthat God is consistentlyrighteous in doing all this
(chs9-11). He ended by urging his readers to practice their righteousness in
their most important relationships ( Romans 12:1 to Romans 15:13).
JOHN GILL
Verse 8
Now I say,.... Oraffirm that Christ has receivedboth Jews and Gentiles:that
he has receivedthe Jews, andtherefore they are not to be despised, though
they are weak, appears from hence,
that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision; he is rightly calleda
minister, for this was the end of his coming into the world, and the whole of
his work in it was not to be ministered unto, but to minister to others,
Matthew 20:28, both in life and at death. This characteragreeswith him in all
his offices;as King he ministers judgment to the people;and as priest he is the
minister of the true tabernacle of the human nature, Hebrews 8:2, in which he
offered himself a sacrifice for the sins of his people, and now in it makes
intercessionfor them; but here it is expressive of his prophetic office, in which
he is such a minister as never was before, or since, or ever will be; if we

considerthe dignity of his person, being the Son of God; the greatness ofhis
qualifications, having the Spirit without measure; the nature of his doctrines,
which were amazing words of grace and truth; and the manner of his
delivery, which was with authority; and that all other ministers receive their
mission, qualifications, doctrine and success fromhim: he is styled a minister
of "the circumcision", not literally considered, as if he administered
circumcisionto any, which he did not; he was indeed subject to it as a son of
Abraham, as a Jew by birth, as under the law, and in order to fulfil all
righteousness, Matthew 3:15, and to show that he was truly man, and that he
had regardto the people and ordinances of the Old Testament, as he showed
by baptism he had to those of the New, and to signify our cleansing and
atonement by his blood; but circumcisionis either to be understood in a
spiritual sense of circumcisionin the Spirit, and not in the flesh, with which
the true circumcision, or believers in Christ, are circumcisedin him, through
his circumcision;or rather the word here is to be takenmetonymically, for the
uncircumcised Jews, as it often is in this epistle; see Romans 2:26. So that the
meaning is, that Christ was their minister and preacher, just as Peteris said
to have the apostleshipof the circumcision, Galatians 2:8, or to be the apostle
of the Jews;as Paul was of the Gentiles, Romans 11:13, and to have the
Gospelof the circumcision committed to him, it being his province to preach it
to them, Galatians 2:7, Christ as a minister or preacherin the personal
discharge of his prophetic office, was sentonly to the Jews;among them he
lived, and to them he only preached; nor did he allow his apostles to preach to
any other till after his resurrection;and which is a manifest proof that he
receivedthe Jews, andtook them under his care, and showeda particular
regard unto them: the ends of his being a minister to them were,
for the truth of God; to preachthe Gospelof salvation, the word of truth unto
them, for which he was promised and sent; and in doing of which he declared
the righteousness, faithfulness, loving kindness, and truth of God unto them:

Jesus was the confirmer of god's promises

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