Ministry Is About Relationships

By Jerry Harris

In the last chapter of his letter to the Romans, Paul gets very personal with specific people who serve and lead in the Roman church. At first, this passage doesn’t seem that interesting, and quite honestly, it’s an easy one to pass over. But remember, nothing in the New Testament is there by accident. Each part has deep meaning; we just have to discover it! The first interesting thing that occurred to me about this chapter is that he had only met three of the 29 people he names. In Romans 15, we learn that although Paul wants to visit Rome, he’s never been there; so it’s interesting to see how personal he is with specific people. Why is this important? First, the gospel is all about relationships; God’s relationship to us and ours to one another. Second, individual people, as well as individual churches and what they do, are important to God. He notices them and it’s personal to him! And third, since only three are known to Paul, yet he refers to 29, they didn’t have to be a friend of Paul to be important to God. That means 2,000 years later, you are important to God and what you do is important. 

The first person Paul mentions is Phoebe in Romans 16:1-2. He wrote his letter to the Romans from Corinth in Greece, a long way from Rome in Italy, and sent Phoebe with the letter. Phoebe lived in a port city near Corinth, so she would have had to board a ship and take quite a difficult journey to deliver this letter. She would also be a stranger to the Romans, so Paul wants them to lovingly receive her with the letter. She’s introduced as a servant/leader and is courageous enough to make this journey on Paul’s behalf, depending on their hospitality and provision. This is someone of great commitment. Phoebe challenges me. Would I drop what I’m doing to undertake a challenging thing for the Lord? Delivering a scroll may not seem like such a great thing, but looking back, it might be the greatest letter ever written. What if it wouldn’t have made it there? We can thank Phoebe for that! Some of us struggle with commitment or with a responsibility that might be less than comfortable, but the goal of spreading the gospel and the power of relationship can strengthen us for critical things. 

Next, we meet Priscilla and Aquila in Romans 16:3-5a. They were Jews who lived in Rome until the Roman emperor Claudius expelled all the Jews. They migrated to Corinth where Paul made their acquaintance. Like Paul, they made their living making tents and so their common occupation started a great relationship. Paul probably lived in their home while he was in Corinth and they planted the church together. It wasn’t long before they were traveling with Paul on his missionary journey. On the way to Syria, they stopped at Ephesus and Paul left the couple there to help build that church. They taught the great evangelist Apollos there. When we catch up to them again, they are back in Rome, continuing to build the church since Jews were allowed back in after the death of the emperor. Paul even says that they both risked their lives for him. Priscilla and Aquila are the ultimate power couple of the New Testament. There was incredible power in that relationship to build epic churches on the world stage. 

Then Paul greets Epenetus in Romans 16:5b. Paul describes him as the “first fruits” of Asia or Achaia which is in modern day southern Greece, below Athens. I think he deserves special mention because he was the first convert to Christianity in the region. It’s not always easy to be first; often it can be very difficult. You might have heard that the first one through the wall always gets bloody. Maybe you’re the first in your family and you have first-hand knowledge of that saying. Once again, we see the power of the gospel in the context of relationship. 

The next person Paul mentions is Mary of Rome, in Romans 16:6. She stood out because of how hard she worked. Some might not be more talented, but they can work harder. Serving may be the way we live out the gospel in relationship. 

Then we meet another power couple, Andronicus and Junia, in Romans 16:7. They were older in their faith than Paul. Obviously missionaries, they had been imprisoned for their faith and they may have even known Jesus. They were seasoned in ministry, having experienced hardship, but it only fostered endurance and built longevity. Maybe you go further back than the people around you. Maybe you have some war stories of sacrifices in the past that have resulted in the delivery of the gospel as well as priceless relationships. God knows what you’ve endured for that vision and your willingness to embrace new things, and the difficulty of sacrificing familiar ones.  

The chapter continues with more names, mentioning groups that were meeting in the households of Aristobulus and Narcissus. Scholars believe that Roman 16 identifies at least five house churches. House churches were what church looked like in the 1st century and I think that there were many, many more. Romans was written close to AD 60 and the ancient historian Tacitus wrote that the number of Christians in Rome was “an immense multitude.” 

There are more married couples, sisters, and a mother and son (possibly the son of Simon of Cyrene and Simon’s wife from Mark 15:21). Craig Keener says that Romans 16 greets twice as many men as women, but commends twice as many women as men. Women do incredible ministry and Paul knew that well. Romans 16 teaches us that Paul wasn’t the only missionary out there. The church at Rome was probably established by regular Jewish people who were present on the Day of Pentecost when Peter preached the first sermon and took the message back to Rome. It was then reinforced by new arrivals from the various persecutions of Jews and Christians who left Israel for safer places to live. There are some incredible stories here! 

The point is, the Roman church was thriving but that didn’t mean it didn’t have plenty of challenges. And so do we. One of the main reasons Paul wrote this letter was that these people had trouble getting along. So do we. In Romans 16:19b, Paul gives some great counsel, saying to be wise or “excellent” about what is good. How are we doing at that? What are some good things you and I can be excellent with? He says to be innocent about evil. How hard is that in the world we’re living in?! It seems like evil is all around us and even in us. And often it feels like evil is winning. But here’s some good news: it won’t! 

At The Solomon Foundation, we believe that ministry is all about relationships. We invest in them with both individuals and with churches. We have no desire to be your bank; we want to be your ministry partner and to be a part of your story as we carry the gospel together to a lost world that desperately needs it! It’s written in our core values and we live it out every day. Since our first investments and loans, TSF has been honored to play a role in helping over 400 churches grow by an aggregate of 225,000 people in attendance and over 110,000 people being baptized into Jesus Christ! 

We serve a peaceful God, but when we live our lives being excellent about what is good and innocent of all evil, God will use that to crush the power of Satan; not under his feet but under our feet! (Romans 16:20a). We have more power than we can know or understand because we are the children of the Living God, joint heirs with Jesus Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit to accomplish the mission of bringing God’s lost children home. And every time that happens, the bottoms of our shoes are getting closer to Satan’s head! 

Jerry Harris is publisher of Christian Standard.