Romans 15.27b-Because The Gentiles Have Received A Share In The Spiritual Blessings Of Jews, They Are To Minister To Them
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday July 7, 2010
Romans: Romans 15:27b- Because Gentile Believers Benefited From The Spiritual Blessings Of Jewish Believers, They Are Obligated To Minister To Them By Means Of Their Material Blessings
Lesson # 531
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 15:22.
In Romans 15:26, Paul informs the Roman believers that he was going to serve the saints in Jerusalem by delivering to the destitute Jewish believers in that city an offering from the Gentiles in Macedonia and Achaia.
Last evening we noted the first statement that appears in Romans 15:27, which teaches that the Gentile churches in Macedonia and Achaia decided with pleasure to provide a contribution for the destitute Jewish believers in Jerusalem because they are indebted to them.
This evening we will note the second statement in this verse, which reveals that the Gentile believers in Macedonia and Achaia were indebted to the Jewish believers since they received a share in their spiritual blessings and were thus indebted to serve them also by providing them with material blessings.
Romans 15:22, “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. 25 But now, I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. 27, Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things.”
“For” is the “explanatory” use of the conjunction gar (γάρ), which introduces a statement that explains specifically why the Gentile churches in Macedonia and Achaia were obligated to provide from their own resources and of their own accord a contribution for the destitute Jewish believers in Jerusalem.
“If” is the conditional particle ei (εἰ) (ee), which introduces a protasis of a first class condition that indicates the assumption of truth for the sake of argument.
As we noted many times in our study of the book of Romans, the idea behind the first class condition is not “since” but rather, “if-and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that, then...”
This would encourage Paul’s audience to respond and come to the conclusion of the apodosis since they already agreed with him on the protasis.
Therefore, Paul is employing the first class condition as a tool of persuasion with his audience.
Here the protasis is “if and let assume that it is true for the sake argument that the Gentiles have shared in the spiritual things of the Jewish believers.”
The apodasis is “(then) they are indebted to minister to them in temporal matters.”
The responsive condition indicates that Paul’s readers in Rome would say: “Of course we agree that it is true that Gentile believers have partaken of the spiritual blessings promised to the Jewish believers.”
They would agree because they were taught this by their pastors as indicated by Paul’s statement in Romans 15:14-15 and they were taught this by Paul in this epistle in Romans 11:16-28.
He wants them to come to his line of argumentation because he wants his Gentile readers to understand this in order that unity in Rome will be maintained between Jewish and Gentile believers and prevent Gentile arrogance from taking place.
“The Gentiles” is the articular nominative neuter plural form of the noun ethnos (ἒθνος) (eff-noce), which is used of the Gentile churches in Macedonia and Achaia.
“Have shared in” is the third person plural aorist active indicative form of the verb koinoneo (κοινωνέω) (kee-no-neh-owe), which means “to have a share in” and is used with the Gentile believers in Macedonia and Achaia as its subject and the adjective pneumatikos, “spiritual things” as its object.
This indicates that the Gentile believers in Macedonia and Achaia were obligated to provide for the temporal needs of the Jewish believers in Jerusalem because they “had a share in” the spiritual blessings of the Jews.
“Their spiritual things” refers to every spiritual blessing as a result of the Christian being in union with Christ and identified with Him in His death, burial, resurrection and session.
It also refers to those blessings connected to the believer’s salvation or deliverance from the sin nature, the devil and his cosmic system as well as those blessings connected to the believer’s sanctification.
It also refers to the “spiritual blessings” that the believer receives from the Holy Spirit as a result of trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior.
The Scriptures reveal that there are at least 60 spiritual benefits that the sinner receives the moment he is declared justified by God as a result of exercising faith in Jesus Christ as his or her Savior.
These “spiritual blessings” are also connected to the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant since Romans 11:16-28 and 15:8-12 teach that Gentile believers are joint-partakers with Jewish believers of the abundant blessings of the Abrahamic covenant.
Not only are Gentiles joint-partakers of the abundant blessings of the Abrahamic covenant through faith in Christ but they are also joint partakers of the blessings of the New Covenant.
Romans 15:27, “Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things.”
“They are indebted” is the third person plural present active indicative form of the verb opheilo (ὀφείλω) (owe-feel-owe), which means “to be under obligation” and is used of the Gentile believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
They are under obligation to the poor Jewish believers in Jerusalem to provide for their temporal needs since through faith in the Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ, they are benefiting from the spiritual blessings of the Abrahamic and New Covenants and their union and identification with Christ.
“To minister” is the aorist active infinitive form of the verb leitourgeo (λειτουργέω) (lee-tore-ee-eh-owe), which means “to serve” in the sense of providing for the needs of the destitute Jewish believers in Jerusalem.
“To them” is the dative third person masculine plural form of the intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός) (awf-toce), which refers to the destitute Jewish believers in Jerusalem.
“In material things” is used in contrast with “spiritual blessings” indicating that the Gentile believers in Macedonia and Achaia were under obligation to the poor Jewish believers in Jerusalem to minister to them “by means of” providing them with material blessings.
To summarize, in the first statement that appears in Romans 15:27, Paul reveals that the Gentile churches in Macedonia and Achaia decided with pleasure to provide a contribution for the destitute Jewish believers in Jerusalem because they are indebted to them.
He then states that the Gentile believers in Macedonia and Achaia were indebted to the poor destitute Jewish believers in Jerusalem because they shared in their spiritual blessings and were thus indebted to serve them also in material blessings.