The Stunning Benediction to the Guide of Romans

The Stunning Benediction in Romans 16:20a

It’s tempting to skip over the ultimate paragraphs of Paul’s letters, considering they’re merely well mannered and perfunctory formalities. However this misunderstands the perform of such parts. The letter closings have a lot to supply and sometimes spherical off the instructing of a letter in memorable trend. Romans 16:20a is a living proof. It actually packs a punch and is price pondering at size.

Within the letter closing of Romans, instantly earlier than the ultimate greetings (Rom. 16:21–23) and doxology (Rom. 16:25–27), Paul affords a putting benediction in 16:20a, which is an allusion to Genesis 3:15. It comprises a number of sudden parts. Three issues take us unexpectedly: (1) it’s the God “of peace” who undertakes the violent motion in opposition to Devil; (2) it’s going to occur beneath “the toes” of the Roman Christians; and (3) it’s going to occur “quickly”!

The God of peace will quickly crush Devil beneath your toes (Rom. 16:20a).

I [God] will put enmity between you [the serpent] and the lady
      and between your offspring and hers;
he shall bruise your head,
      and also you shall bruise his heel (Gen. 3:15).

On this quick benediction, Paul recollects main gospel themes in Romans, together with the work of Christ, union with Christ, struggling within the Christian life, the usage of the Previous Testomony, and God’s ultimate victory over evil. The promise of Romans 16:20a is a becoming technique to recall and reinforce the important thing instructing of Romans on the gospel and the top of all issues. It is usually an exquisite encouragement for Christians right this moment.

The fundamental message of Rom. 16:20a, the promise of the victory of believers over evil, picks up and attracts collectively concepts from two particular texts in Romans 12–13. First, in Romans 12:17–21, Paul factors to God’s decisive eschatological motion in opposition to evil (Rom. 12:19: “go away room for God’s wrath”). He additionally holds out the prospect of believers having a component in overcoming evil themselves: “Don’t be overcome by evil, however overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21). On this approach, the promise of God defeating evil in reference to the exercise of believers in Romans 16:20a brings to thoughts the sooner textual content in Romans and is a becoming additional encouragement for believers to do good within the current.

The reference to “evil” in Romans 12:21 picks up on two occurrences of the identical phrase in Romans 12:17a (“Don’t repay anybody evil for evil”). Given the widespread affiliation of Devil with evil throughout the New Testomony and the usage of “the evil one” as a moniker for Devil (e.g., Matt. 5:37; 6:13; Luke 11:4; John 17:15; Eph. 6:16; 2 Thess. 3:3; 5x in 1 John), it’s vital that in Romans 12:21 it’s believers who conquer evil.

An analogous hyperlink can be seen between Paul’s benediction and Romans 13:11–14. If in that passage Paul calls on Christians to behave effectively within the mild of the approaching eschaton, doing battle with the evils of self-indulgence and social strife, in Romans 16:20a, he repeats that the ultimate victory will happen “quickly” and the top of all evil is in sight. When the Roman Christians heard Paul’s certain promise of this future victory within the letter closing, they’d have taken it as additional encouragement to reside in methods (talked about in Rom. 13:11–14) which are in step with that coming day.

But Romans 16:20a shouldn’t be totally excellent news, even when it consists of believers in God’s final conquer Devil and evil. For, in God’s crushing of Devil beneath the toes of believers lurks the suspicion that the battle is not going to be with out some value. Certainly, Genesis 3:15a units the tone for the verse as considered one of mutual hostility between the serpent and Eve’s offspring: “I’ll put enmity between you and the lady, and between your offspring and hers.”

When learn within the mild of Genesis 3:15, the place the serpent bruises the heel of Adam’s seed, Romans 16:20a will be seen to incorporate the sobering implication that the victory of believers over such a formidable adversary will contain some private misery. Nevertheless, Paul has ready the Roman Christians effectively for coping with this actuality together with his profound instructing concerning the struggling of believers in union with Christ. In depth therapies of the helpful function of such struggling happen in Romans 5:3–5 and Romans 8:12–39, the place such struggling is seen to be “the divinely orchestrated means by which God strengthens their trustworthy endurance and hope by pouring out his personal love and Spirit to maintain or ship them of their misery.”¹

If Romans 16:20a reminds the Christians in Rome of the travails of their lives as these in union with Christ as they anticipate God’s imminent victory, the recollection of Romans 8 would consolation them that their struggling is the pathway to sharing in Christ’s glory: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall hassle or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or hazard or sword” (Rom. 8:35)?

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“The God of peace will quickly crush Devil beneath your toes” (Rom. 16:20a). These phrases strike notes of pleasure and hope, recalling key texts in Romans that summarize a number of main themes within the letter. Paul reminds the Roman Christians of their deliverance by God from the ability of sin as these in union with Christ, urging them to grasp the current time by overcoming evil and doing good. He additionally reminds them to be comforted of their struggling—all in mild of the reassurance that the evening is nearly over and the day will quickly be right here—all of this in eleven quick phrases (fourteen in Greek)!

Brian Rosner is the creator of Strengthened by the Gospel: A Theology of Romans.

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