Romans 1:11,12 – Grace-effect and established

For I am longing to see you, that I may be sharing some spiritual grace with you, for you to be established: yet this is to be consoled together among you through one another’s faith, both yours and mine.

Paul sincerely hopes to meet the believers in Rome in person. The reasons he gives here are three. First of all, he wants to give them “some spiritual grace” (literally: some grace-effect) . In Greek this refers to ‘charisma’ of which the first part ‘charis’ indicates favor or grace and the ending -ma indicates a consequence or effect thereof. The bottom line is that in Rome Paul was eager to speak of what grace works. He returns to this later in chapter 5, arguing that the grace in Christ is so much greater than the failure of Adam (5:15, 16).

The second thing Paul would like to do in Rome is to “establish” the believers there. That indicates that although they were in the Gospel, Paul’s teaching is aimed at making them all the more solid in it. Confirm them so that they become firmer. And this also includes the third: to be consoled in each other’s faith!

Delen: