Romans 15.24b-Paul Desires The Assistance Of Roman Believers For His Trip To Spain And To Enjoy Their Company
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday June 29, 2010
Romans: Romans 15:24b-Paul Desires The Assistance Of Roman Believers For His Trip To Spain And To Enjoy Their Company
Lesson # 527
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 15:14.
This evening we will note Romans 15:24b and in this statement Paul reveals that he desires the assistance of the Roman believers for his trip to Spain and to enjoy their company while passing through Rome to Spain.
Romans 15:14, “And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another. 15, But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God. 16, To be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17, Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God. 18, For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed. 19, In the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20, And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation. 21, But as it is written, ‘THEY WHO HAD NO NEWS OF HIM SHALL SEE, AND THEY WHO HAVE NOT HEARD SHALL UNDERSTAND.’ 22, “For this reason I have often been prevented from coming to you. 23 But now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have had for many years a longing to come to you. 24 Whenever I go to Spain—for I hope to see you in passing, and to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for a while.”
“And to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for a while” presents two additional reasons for Paul wanting to visit the Romans on his projected trip to Spain, namely, to have fellowship with them and to receive assistance from them for this trip.
“To be helped on my way” is the aorist passive infinitive form of the verb propempo (προπέμπω) (pro-pem-poe), which is used with Paul as its subject and the Roman believers as its instrumentality.
The word means “to send on one’s way” in the sense of the Roman believers assisting Paul in making his journey to Spain by providing food, money, by arranging for companions and means of travel.
The word implies Christian hospitality, which in Romans 12:13, Paul commanded the Roman believers to continue practicing.
Romans 12:13, “All of you continue to make it your habit to contribute to the saints’ needs. All of you continue to make it your habit to eagerly seek out opportunities to practice hospitality.”
“Hospitality” is the articular accusative feminine singular form of the noun philoxenia (φιλοξενία) (fee-lox-owe-nee-ah), which is a compound word that literally means “a friend of strangers” and thus one who entertains strangers and demonstrates hospitality towards them.
In the first century, there was a great need in the church to provide shelter and food to visitors who had been uprooted from their homes because of persecution.
In the Roman Empire, inns were many times places of ill repute and travelers, whenever possible, stayed with friends, thus, the New Testament emphasizes hospitality to strangers.
Hebrews 13:2, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.”
1 Peter 4:9, “Be hospitable to one another without complaint.”
In the Old Testament, Abraham and his nephew Lot were examples of those who earnestly sought to demonstrate hospitality to strangers (Genesis 18:2-8; 19:1-3).
Romans 15:24, “Whenever I go to Spain—for I hope to see you in passing, and to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for a while.”
“By you” indicates that the Roman believers as a corporate unit are the ultimate agency, which Paul expects to be assisted by and sent on his way for his missionary trip to Spain.
“When” is the conditional particle ean (ἐάν) (ah-ahn), which is employed with the subjunctive mood of the verb empiplemi, “I have enjoyed your company” to form the protasis of a third class conditional statement.
It emphasizes the certain fulfillment of Paul being assisted on his journey to Spain if he first enjoys the company of the Romans believers.
The protasis is “when I have first enjoyed your company for a while” whereas the apodasis is “to be helped on my way there by you.”
Paul is saying with the third class condition that “if I have first enjoyed your company for a while, then, I will be helped on my way to Spain by you.”
It is emphasizing with Paul’s readers in Rome that he values their fellowship and that his trip to Spain can wait until he has first enjoyed their company for a while.
It emphasizes that fellowship with the Roman believers is his first priority before going to Spain and is a polite way to express his confidence that the Roman Christians will assist him on his journey to Spain.
“I have first enjoyed your company” is composed of the adverb of priority protos (πρῶτος) (pro-toce), “first” and the first person singular aorist passive subjunctive form of the verb empiplemi (ἐμπίμπλημι) (em-beep-plah-mee), “I have enjoyed” and the genitive second person plural form of the personal pronoun su (σύ) (see), “your company.”
The verb empiplemi is used in a figurative sense of “enjoying” something and in context this would be the company of the Roman believers and speaks of Paul having his fill of fellowship with the Roman believers.
Protos means “first” and is used to denote priority and time indicating that Paul’s first priority before going to Rome is fellowship with the Roman believers before they assist him in his proposed trip to Spain.
“For a while” is composed of the preposition apo (ἀπό) (ah-poe), “for” and the genitive neuter singular form of the noun meros (μέρος) (mear-roce), “a while.”
This prepositional phrase is used adverbially meaning “temporarily” since it pertains to a relatively short period of time emphasizing the temporary nature of Paul visiting the Roman believers.
Even though this visit to Rome will be temporary, it will still afford time to proclaim the gospel in Rome to the Roman believers and the unsaved in Rome and for him to enjoy fellowship with the Roman church.
Romans 15:23, “However, now because at the present time I no longer possess an opportunity in these regions and in addition because I possess a passionate desire for a period of many years to enter into the company of each and every one of you, 24 I in fact am absolutely certain and confidently expect to see each and every one of you for myself while passing through (Rome) whenever I will be permitted to travel to Spain and in addition to be helped on my journey there by all of you as a corporate unit when I have first temporarily enjoyed your company.” (My translation)
To summarize our findings in Romans 15:24a, Paul writes that he confidently expects to visit his readers in Rome while passing through whenever he is permitted by the Holy Spirit to travel to Spain.
Then, in Romans 15:24b, Paul presents two additional reasons he wanted to visit the Romans on his projected trip to Spain, namely, to have fellowship with them and to receive assistance from them for this trip.