Paul last words to the Roman church. A verse by verse commentary on Romans chapter 16. Our next course of study in our adult education class will be on how to study the Bible. You are invited each Sunday morning beginning at 9:30 AM at Fellowship Bible church Middleburg FL

1. Apostle Paul’s Final Words
Produced by Bill Fritz for Adult Sunday School3/17/2020 1

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Paul's letter to the Romans was written in Corinth
sometime between the years 56 and 58, to solicit
support for an anticipated missionary journey to
Spain.1 Although he had not yet visited Rome, Paul
would have been familiar with the community and its
circumstances through Priscilla and Aquila. Both
Priscilla and Aquila were, visiting from Rome.
Biblical scholars are divided as to whether Chapter
16, Paul's letter of recommendation for Phoebe, was
intended for Rome. Paul was not familiar with the
Christian community in Rome. Paul was more
familiar the Christian community in Ephesus.1
Footnotes:
1. Campbell, Joan Cecelia. Phoebe: Patron and Emissary, (Liturgical Press, 2015). ISBN 9780814684023.

3. Scripture Reading
Romans 16: 1&2
3/17/2020 Produced by Bill Fritz for Adult Sunday School 3
Personal Greetings

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Who was Phoebe, and what was her
relationship to Paul?
Phoebe, meaning "radiant“ who was a deaconess of
the church at Cenchrea, near Corinth1.
In verse 2 Paul calls Phoebe a patron (servant
KJV).
Paul uses the expression “worthy of the saints” or in
the Greek G40 hagios meaning holy or holiness1.
“from the same root as hagnos (found in hazo, "to
venerate"), fundamentally signifies "separated"
(among the Greeks, dedicated to the gods), and hence,
in Scripture in its moral and spiritual significance,
separated from sin and therefore consecrated to God,
sacred2.”
Therefore, Phoebe, considered a deaconess and a
servant of Paul, may have been used by Paul to
convey this letter.
Footnotes
1. Strong 5402 - Phoibē - Strong's Greek Lexicon (KJV)." Blue Letter Bible. Accessed 28 Nov, 2019
2. Strong. G40 - hagios - Strong's Greek Lexicon (KJV)." (Blue Letter Bible. Accessed 28 Nov, 2019)
2. Vine, W. "Holiness, Holy, Holily - Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words." Blue Letter Bible.
Last Modified 24 Jun, 1996.

5. Scripture Reading
Romans 16:3 - 16
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The Lechaion road entered Corinth from the north,
connecting it with the port on the Gulf of Corinth1.
1.[(2014). (p. 372). Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook. Broadman & Holman. Retrieved from https://app.wordsearchbible.com]

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Who were Prisca1(Priscilla) and Aquila?Their
vocations were tent-makers, as was Paul (Acts
18:1-3).
They were also credited in instructing Apollos
in the gospel of Jesus (Acts 18:26).
They were a Greek Christian couple, who are
mentioned six times in the New Testament.
Pricilla’s name preceded her husband’s name
four out of the six times in the New
Testament, indicating her status to be equal or
greater than her husband (Acts 18:2-3, 18, 26;
Rom 16:3; 1Cor 16:19; 2Tim 4:19).
Women in Greece were not seen as equal with
men.
This quote from Thucydides1 sums up the attitude
towards women in ancient Greece: “The greatest
glory [for women] is to be least talked about
among men, whether in praise or blame2.”3
Paul lived with Priscilla and Aquila for approximately 18
months and held them in high regard.
Footnotes:
1. Her name is a Roman diminutive for Prisca which was her formal name.
2. Thucydides was an Athenian historian and general.
3. Michael Scott . The Rise of Women in Ancient Greece. (History Today. 59, 11 2009)

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Who was Epaenetus?
Epaenetus means "beloved." He was Asia's first
convert to Christ1.
In verse 6, Paul speaks of another women,
named Mary.
Paul pays tribute to Mary, saying she has physically
worked hard.
The phrase worked hard also translated bestow
much labor is translated from the Greek word kopiaō
although it can be used as either a verb or noun, it is
used as a verb in this context.
Kopiaō means to toil to the point of being weary.
Mary toiled in caring for those who ministered to the
church in Rome.
Footnotes:
1. Holman Bible Editorial Staff . The HCSB Study Bible. (B&H Publishing Group , 2018)

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Andronicus and Junia are referred to as
kinsmen by Paul.
At first glance, the phrase “my fellow prisoners” one
may think that these two people were in prison with
Paul.
However, Paul wrote this epistle before he was
imprisoned in Rome.
Therefore, we should look at the word kinsmen to
find what kind of relationship Paul shared with these
two individuals.
The word kinsmen usually means a cousin, a
countryman, or in a broader sense, a non-bloodline
member of the same family.In this context, Paul is
referring to these two individuals as being his brother
and sister (Junia) in Christ, adopted as he was, into
the family of God. (see 7b)Paul held Andronicus and
Junia in high regard, saying that they were followers
before he was, and were well known by the other
apostles as followers of Christ Jesus.Holman writes
the following:
The phrase noteworthy in the eyes of the apostles is variously
translated as "well-known to the apostles" or as "outstanding among
the apostles." The word "apostle" can be used in a nontechnical sense,
referring to a messenger rather than a commissioned apostle such as
Paul1.
Footnotes
1. Holman Bible Editorial Staff (2018). The HCSB Study Bible. B&H Publishing Group

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In verses 8 through 12, Paul gives a long list of
names of people who are members of the
church of “the Way”.
Reference V 13,14. Paul asks the church in
Rome to greet these people who follow Christ
as brothers and sisters in Christ.
A customary Greek greeting of close friends or
relatives was with a holy kiss.
The usual Greek greeting on meeting one another was
chairein, translated “hail” or “greeting” (Luke 1:28;
Mat. 28:9). A kiss was frequently part of such greeting
(Gen. 29:13; Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1
Thes 5:26).
Some churches today practice the greeting of fellow
congregants with a holy kiss.
The important thing to take from this verse is the
close relationship or love shared among believers in
Christ Jesus.
A love better described by the Greek word Phileo
meaning brotherly love1.
Footnotes
1. Holman Reference Editorial Staff (2012). Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. B&H Publishing Group.

10. Scripture Reading
Romans 16: 17 - 20
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Paul’s Final Instruction to the Church in Rome
Paul wrote his letter to the church at Rome in A.D. 57 while he was in Corinth.
Paul was staying with Gaius, a leader of the church at Corinth. Phoebe, a
servant of the church in Cenchreae, one of Corinth's ports, likely carried the
letter to Rome (Rm 16:1-2). [Holman Bible Editorial Staff (2018). The HCSB Study Bible. B&H Publishing Group.
Retrieved from https://app.wordsearchbible.com]

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Paul warns the Roman church against those
who would pervert the gospel, namely the
Judaizers.
Paul preached faith + nothing was required for
salvation.
The Judaizers were attempting to change the
church doctrine to salvation through the law.
Holman writes:
Paul warned believers at Rome to be alert and avoid
false teachers. Illustrating the familiar both/and
relation between divine sovereignty and human
responsibility to choose, we must be diligent in the
battle against darkness, but ultimate victory is
assured ( The God of peace will soon crush Satan)1.
Satan will continually attack the church and its body
of believers with lies and deceit.
Satan uses science to deceive and appeals to logic to
confound.
Faith is not logical; faith is the belief in the unseen.
(Hebrews 11:1 CSB).
Paul’s warning, is as valid today as it was
then1.
Footnotes:
1. Holman Bible Editorial Staff. The HCSB Study Bible. (B&H Publishing Group, 2018).

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Paul is giving a warning not to associate with
those who preach a false doctrine.
Paul is persistent in his warning against those who
are presenting their interpretation of the gospel.
These false teachers teach not to honor Jesus, but
only to honor themselves.
With the guile of Satan, these people use flattering or
feel-good language and deceptive logic to deceive the
newly born Christians.“Satan and false teachers will
always assail the church (Ac 20:28-29; 2Co 11:13-15;
Gal 5:10-12; Php 3:2,18-20; Col 2:16-19)1.”
In verse 19, Paul expresses his desire that the
Roman church remains in their innocents.
As Christians in the modern world, we must be
vigilant, watching for those who would pervert
the word of God.
Footnotes:
1. Holman bible Editorial Staff. The HCSB Study Bible. B&H Publishing Group.2018

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Jamieson, Fauset & Brown write:
And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your
feet shortly--The apostle encourages the Romans
to persevere in resisting the wiles of the devil with
the assurance that, as good soldiers of Jesus
Christ, they are "shortly" to receive their
discharge, and have the satisfaction of "putting
their feet upon the neck" of that formidable enemy-
-symbol familiar, probably, in all languages to
express not only the completeness of the defeat,
but the abject humiliation of the conquered foe.
(See Joshua 10:24 , 2 Samuel 22:41 , Ezekiel
21:29 , Psalms 91:13 ).

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Who was Lucius?
A kinsman or fellow tribesman of St. Paul, (Romans
16:21) by whom he is said by tradition to have been
ordained bishop of the church of Cenchreae. He is
thought by some to be the same with Lucius of Cyrene
(Act 13:1)1.
Footnotes:
1. https://biblehub.com/topical/l/lucius.htm

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Who was Tertius?
Paul probably dictated this epistle to the scribe, and
follower of Christ Jesus called Tertius.
Paul probably dictated the epistle to Rome; whereas
the epistle to the Galatian church, Paul penned himself
(Gal 6:11).
We know from what was said in Galatians 6:11, Paul's
eyesight was failing.
Therefore, by the time the epistle of Rome was
written, Paul might have been functionally blind.
The critical fact remains, all Scripture is the
inspired word of God; Whether penned by an apostle
or dictated to a scribe.

16. Scripture Reading
Romans 16: 24 -27
3/17/2020 Produced by Bill Fritz for Adult Sunday School 16
Doxology
Foot notes:
Also known as the Benediction

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Chapter 16 concludes our study of Romans.
The book of Romans is the last epistle Paul
wrote. However, it is the first epistle of Paul’s
epistles in the New Testament.
The order of the epistles is not arbitrary. The
book of Romans appears first because it is the
fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith.
An interesting fact to be noted is that the
order of the epistles has never changed.

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Paul discloses the mystery (secret) of the
gospel of Jesus (v.25).
Jamieson writes:
“…in conformity with the truths of that Gospel which I
preach, and not I only, but all to whom has been
committed "the preaching of Jesus Christ."
according to the revelation of the which was kept
secret since the world began--literally, "which hath
been kept in silence during eternal ages.“
The Old Testament prophesied about Jesus, and yet
the Jew did not understand (vv. 26,27).
Paul was preaching plainly that salvation, from the
beginning, was by grace through Jesus.
Salvation was not restricted to the Jew but for all who
would believe.

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This final chapter concludes our study of
Romans. The fundamental doctrines of the
Christian faith studied in Romans is the
foundation upon which the doctrine of the
Christian Missionary Church is founded.
The class will now transition to how to study
the Bible.
You will be asked to read your Bible at home and in
the classroom.
You will find it helpful to have a notebook for class as
you will want to jot down notes for future reference.