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Romans

About this book
Chapter 16

1 Now I commend to you our sister Phoebe,⁠ who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, 2 so that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and provide her with whatever help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many, including me. 3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their own necks for my life. Not only I, but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. 5 Also greet the church in their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who has worked very hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my compatriots and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my good friend Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. 11 Greet Herodion, my compatriot. Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. 12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, laborers in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother who was also a mother to me. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters with them. 15 Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the believers who are with them. 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you. 17 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who create dissensions and obstacles contrary to the teaching that you learned. Avoid them! 18 For these are the kind who do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By their smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of the naive. 19 Your obedience is known to all and thus I rejoice over you. But I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. 20 The God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet.⁠ The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. 21 Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my compatriots. 22 I, Tertius, who am writing this letter, greet you in the Lord. 23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus the city treasurer and our brother Quartus greet you. 24 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that had been kept secret for long ages, 25 but now is disclosed, and through the prophetic scriptures has been made known to all the nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 26 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be glory forever! Amen.

Texts in conversation

Compare Romans 16:1 and 3 John 1:12

New Testament

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Summary

In Romans, Paul sends Phoebe to the Roman church and asks them to welcome her with whatever help she needs. 3 John uses the same form of commendation when it recommends Demetrius to Gaius with a threefold testimonial.

Passages

Romans 16:1

New Testament
1 Now I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, 2 so that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and provide her with whatever help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many, including me. 3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,
55–58 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Romans

3 John 1:12

New Testament
11 Dear friend, do not imitate what is bad, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does what is bad has not seen God. 12 Demetrius has been testified to by all, even by the truth itself. We also testify to him, and you know that our testimony is true. 13 I have many things to write to you, but I do not wish to write to you with pen and ink.
100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 3 John

References

... In the New Testament, especially in the Pauline churches, we find a practice of letters to and fro recommending Christians to be received, supported, and listened to (Acts 18:27; Romans 16:1-2; 1 Corinthians 16:3; 2 Corinthians 3:1; Philippians 2:25-30; Colossians 4:7-9). The struggles of Paul with the Judaizers and other opponents made it necessary for his churches to have a way of knowing whether strangers who came preaching Christ were on Paul’s side or not. But we have no way of ascertaining whether the practice of letters of commendation was in vogue early in all Christian communities. Would the Johannine Community with its distinctiveness and its stress on love within the brotherhood have required a letter commending Johannine Christians as they moved from one Johannine church to another? Indeed this problem may have led Diotrephes to close his church to all visiting missionaries. For his part the Presbyter may have been meeting the problem by sending just such a recommendation as we find in 3 John 12. ...
Raymond E. Brown, The Epistles of John (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1982), 723.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Romans 16:1 and 3 John 1:12

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