Romans 1:11 Commentary and Bible Study

‘For I long to see you.’ You see how prayerfulness promotes love. He longed to see them: the Christians who had suffered persecution in Rome, the people for whom he had prayed. He longed to put faces into his prayers. ‘That I may impart unto you some spiritual gift.’ What does he mean? For hundreds of years, the Christian church has been sure what he meant. In the last 100-plus years, the Charismatic Movement has come along, and the Charismatic preacher will alight on this word ‘gift’ and probably tell you, the Apostle longed that he should impart to them the ability to speak in tongues, or to heal the sick – some Charismatic gift. Nobody ever thought of that before the Charismatic Movement came along. But so many Charismatic preachers, though they may be true believers and do good things in their way, tend to seize on things in the text and not look at the context. The context is all about the gospel. The Apostle Paul has already spoken about the gospel; he will go on speaking about it in the following verses. The gift that the Apostle Paul has in mind is the preaching of the gospel, and the blessing of God that comes through the gospel. The word gift is chiefly used in Paul's letter to the Romans in its strict sense, a favour, a divine favour, something which is freely given by God, and it is chiefly used of the gift of salvation. He means that I may preach the gospel and see people saved. ‘Some spiritual gift’ – why does he say ‘some’? It's the apostle's humility. He doesn't write to them in what could be seen as a swaggering way. You need me to come to you to preach the Gospel so that people are saved. Oh, he says, I'd like to preach the gospel to you so that I could contribute something, just add to your preaching of the gospel. It is beautifully put. ‘To the end ye may be established.’ The Greek word translated established means set, firmly set. He is going to teach them doctrine too. He had a special gift to teach doctrine, just as he is going to in the letter to the Romans. This is the book of doctrine. Because with doctrine, they are going to have real assurance and certainty. When you learn the doctrines, you know what was in the heart of God, why things have been planned as they have been. You know why and how salvation was accomplished. So you are established and you are firm in the faith, and the devil cannot move you, and nor can anyone. So the apostle wants to contribute to the preaching of the gospel, and he wants to teach the word so that they are firmly established through greater doctrinal understanding.It was not that he mistrusted the existing preachers in Rome, but they were relative novices, and he realised that if only he could get there and teach them, they would be confirmed in faith, deepened in their assurance, that they would be inspired to live holy lives.Rome was vulnerable. It was full of travellers, trading people, who were not truly deep in the faith might, and come to them with all kinds of wrong teaching. If only they could be confirmed in discernments, they would recognise false teaching, and they would be kept safe. If only they could be inspired to service. It was from Rome that later he writes to the Philippians telling them that some preachers would not preach the gospel openly, because they had become frightened. So he realised that they needed courage, encouragement, stimulation.