Context No. 2585 of 4322 · Romans
Context · Reflection
Romans 1:8-12: in context
8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world. 9For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the Good News of his Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you always in my prayers, 10requesting, if by any means now at last I may be prospered by the will of God to come to you. 11For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, to the end that you may be established; 12that is, that I with you may be encouraged in you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.
Paul opens his letter to the Romans with warmth. He thanks God for their faith, which is spoken of everywhere, and tells them how constantly he prays for them and longs to visit. He wants to come, he says, to impart some spiritual gift to strengthen them. And then he catches himself and rephrases: that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine.
Watch the correction. Paul begins as the apostle with something to give, and immediately widens it into something shared: not just my gift to you, but our mutual encouragement, each strengthened by the other's faith. Even Paul, who had more to offer the Roman church than perhaps anyone alive, expected to be built up by their faith, not only to build them up. That is a humble and healthy way to approach the people of God. I am not only a giver dispensing to the needy, nor only a receiver taking from the strong; faith is meant to flow both ways. The apostle looked forward to being encouraged by ordinary believers he had never met.
Do I approach the church only as a giver, or only as a receiver, or do I expect the mutual encouragement of being built up by others' faith as I build up theirs?
Sources
- Romans 1:11: For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, to the end that you may be established.
- Romans 1:12: that is, that I with you may be encouraged in you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine.
- Romans 1:8: I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world.