Romanschapter 12
21 verses · Paul · AD 56 or 57 · Paul's letters
Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
Introduction
Paul, Paul's letters, Romans Overview.
Paul wrote this chapter to believers in Rome, a mixed church of Jews and Gentiles living in the capital of a pagan empire. Until now his letter has been an argument about what God has done. Here it turns to what a people who have received mercy do in return. He writes as a pastor to people he hoped soon to meet. Listen for the language of the altar used of ordinary life. Listen too for how short the commands become, one after another. It is a pattern of life for any congregation.
Context
- Who
- Several small house churches scattered across Rome's tenements and workshops.
- What
- The opening of the practical part of the letter, calling believers to offer their whole lives to God and to love one another and their enemies.
- Where
- Written most likely from Corinth, in the Roman province of Achaia, to the believers at Rome.
- When
- About AD 57 on the usual dating, shortly before Paul carried the gift of the churches to Jerusalem, a date held with fair certainty.
- Why
- To show the believers in Rome how the mercy set out in chapters 1 to 11 is lived in the body of Christ and before a hostile world.
Historical context
"Present your bodies as a living sacrifice" borrows from the one religious practice everybody in the empire understood. Temples ran on animal sacrifice, the smoke, the meat, the fees. Paul asks for the same act with the worshiper himself on the altar, alive, which is why he calls it a reasonable or spiritual service.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
The body-with-many-members image was a familiar political metaphor in Rome. A famous old fable had the parts of the body quarrelling with the stomach until they learned they needed each other, and Roman speakers used it to tell the lower orders to accept their place. Paul takes the same picture and uses it to level rather than to rank: each member belongs to all the others.
The instructions that follow describe life in cramped shared housing, practicing hospitality, weeping with those who weep, not being proud, associating with the lowly, feeding an enemy. In a culture organized by honour, patrons, and reciprocal favours, refusing to repay evil and declining to seek revenge were social oddities.
The line about heaping burning coals on an enemy's head comes from Proverbs and is best read as the shame that kindness produces, not as a hidden way of hurting him.
Significance
For believers with no political power, this chapter defined how they would live in the capital: not conformed to the pattern around them, but transformed by a renewed mind, testing what God's will actually is.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
It also protected small congregations from tearing themselves apart. Sober self-assessment, gifts used rather than compared, genuine love without pretence, these were survival instructions for groups meeting in single rooms.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Present Your Bodies a Living Sacrifice
your spiritual service of worship: The therefore rests the appeal on eleven chapters of doctrine and on God's mercy. Altar language moves from a dead animal to a living body. The Greek is logike latreia, worship that follows from the mercy just described.
Romans 12:1
In this view the presentation of ourselves, as living monuments of redeeming mercy, is here called "our rational service"; and surely it is the most rational and exalted occupation of God's reasonable creatures. So 2Pe 1:5, "to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
4 more voices on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Romans 12:1
“It has a reference here to the entire gospel, to the whole economy of grace or mercy, delivering us from "the wrath of God," and exciting us to all duty. To present - So chap. vi, 13; xvi, 19; now actually to exhibit before God. Your bodies - That is, yourselves; a part is put for the whole; the rather, as in the ancient sacrifices of beasts, the body was the whole.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Romans 12:1
Those who have become acquainted with the secondary (i.e., under Christ) constitutions of the apostles, are aware that the Lord instituted a new oblation in the new covenant, according to [the declaration of] Malachi the prophet. For, "from the rising of the sun even to the setting my name has been glorified among the Gentiles, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure sacrifice;" as John also declares in the Apocalypse: "The incense is the prayers of the saints."
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Fragments from the Lost Writings of Irenaeuspatristic
Romans 12:1
“A body sincerely devoted to God is a living sacrifice. A living sacrifice, by way of allusion--that which was dead of itself might not be eaten, much less sacrificed, Deut. xiv. 21 ; and by ways of opposition--"The sacrifice was to be slain, but you may be sacrificed, and yet live on"--an unbloody sacrifice.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Romans 12:1
“I beseech you - The apostle, having finished the argument of this Epistle, proceeds now to close it with a practical or hortatory application, showing its bearing on the duties of life, and the practical influence of religion. None of the doctrines of the gospel are designed to be cold and barren speculations. They bear on the hearts and lives of people; and the apostle therefore calls on those to whom he wrote to dedicate themselves without reserve unto God. Therefore - As the effect or result of the argument or doctrine.”
the renewing of your mind: Conformed renders syschematizo, pressed into the shape of this age. Transformed renders metamorphoo, the word used of Christ on the mountain, a change worked from within. The seat of it is the mind, and the renewed mind can test and approve what God wills.
Romans 12:2
“And be not conformed to this world; but be reformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good, and well-pleasing, and perfect. It should be known that in the Greek it reads: That you may prove what is the good and well-pleasing and perfect will of God. But we, since one and the same sense can be seen in both, follow the custom of the Latins. Be not conformed, therefore, he says, to this world.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
4 more voices on this verse
Romans 12:2
“That ye may prove - Know by sure trial; which is easily done by him who has thus presented himself to God. What is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God - The will of God is here to be understood of all the preceptive part of Christianity, which is in itself so excellently good, so acceptable to God, and so perfective of our natures.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Romans 12:2
“And be not conformed to this world - By this world, αιωνι τουτῳ, may be understood that present state of things both among the Jews and Gentiles; the customs and fashions of the people who then lived, the Gentiles particularly, who had neither the power nor the form of godliness; though some think that the Jewish economy, frequently termed עולם הזה olam hazzeh, this world, this peculiar state of things, is alone intended. And the apostle warns them against reviving usages that Christ had abolished: this exhortation still continues in full force.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Romans 12:2
“The mind is the acting ruling part of us; so that the renewing of the mind is the renewing of the whole man, for out of it are the issues of life, Prov. iv. The progress of sanctification, dying to sin more and more and living to righteousness more and more, is the carrying on of this renewing work, till it be perfected in glory.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Romans 12:2
“Such then is the great general duty of the redeemed--SELF-CONSECRATION, in our whole spirit and soul and body to Him who hath called us into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ. Next follow specific duties, chiefly social; beginning with Humility, the chiefest of all the graces--but here with special reference to spiritual gifts.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Many Members, One Body, Gifts That Differ
think of yourself more highly than you ought: The practical half of the chapter opens on pride, the sin most likely to wreck a body of differing gifts. Sober judgment is measured against the faith God has given. Humility stands directly before the list of gifts.
Romans 12:3
“This is merely a strong way of characterizing all undue self-elevation. according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith--Faith is here viewed as the inlet to all the other graces, and so, as the receptive faculty of the renewed soul--that is, "as God hath given to each his particular capacity to take in the gifts and graces which He designs for the general good." 4, 5.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 12:3
“And I say - He now proceeds to show what that will of God is. Through the grace which is given to me - He modestly adds this, lest he should seem to forget his own direction. To every one that is among you - Believers at Rome.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Romans 12:3
“For I say, through the grace given unto me,.... The Ethiopic version reads, the grace of God: and so two of Stephens's copies.”
Romans 12:4-5
one body with many members: One body has many members, and the members differ in function. Paul uses the same figure at 1 Corinthians 12. In Christ the many are one body, and each belongs to the others, which is the frame the gift list needs.
Romans 12:4
“But that the Apostle might designate these matters still more evidently, he introduces an example and says: For as in one body we have many members, but all the members have not the same function: so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and severally members one of another: composing through these words the whole body of the Church in the most orderly fashion; so that just as the several members of the body have their own proper functions, and each one serves its own offices, and yet it is not possible that they should not yield to one…”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Romans 12:4
“Believers lie not in the world as a confused disorderly heap, but are organized and knit together, as they are united to one common head, and actuated and animated by one common Spirit. [2.] Particular believers are members of this body, constituent parts, which speak them less than the whole, and in relation to the whole, deriving life and spirits from the head.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
each member belongs to one another: Clement of Rome told the church at Corinth that its members tear apart the body of Christ when they forget they belong to one another. Leo the Great calls love the bond of the one body. Barnes reads each member as needing the rest.
Romans 12:5
“So we, being many - We who are Christians, and who are numerous as individuals. Are one body - Are united together, constituting one society, or one people, mutually dependent, and having the same great interests at heart, though to be promoted by us according to our special talents and opportunities. As the welfare of the same body is to be promoted in one manner by the feet, in another by the eye, etc.; so the welfare of the body of Christ is to be promoted by discharging our duties in our appropriate sphere, as God has appointed us.”
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 12:5
“The bond of our unity cannot be firm unless the bond of charity has tied us together in indivisible solidarity.… It is the connection of the entire body which makes for one health, one beauty. And this connection requires the unanimity of the entire body, but especially it demands harmony among the bishops.”
Leo the Great · written before 461 · LETTER 14patristic
Romans 12:5
“According to the grace, charismata kata ten charin. The free grace of God is the spring and original of all the gifts that are given to men. It is grace that appoints the office, qualifies and inclines the person, works both to will and to do.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
different gifts according to the grace: Charisma comes from charis, so the gifts are grace given, never earned. Prophecy is named first, in proportion to faith. The gifts stand as the church's endowment now, and every one of them is exercised by a measure.
Romans 12:6
“Having then gifts differing according to the grace given to us--Here, let it be observed, all the gifts of believers alike are viewed as communications of mere grace. whether--we have the gift of prophecy--that is, of inspired teaching (as in Ac 15:32).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
3 more voices on this verse
Romans 12:6
“But it seems here to mean the ordinary gift of expounding scripture. Let us prophesy according to the analogy of faith - St. Peter expresses it, "as the oracles of God;" according to the general tenor of them; according to that grand scheme of doctrine which is delivered therein, touching original sin, justification by faith, and present, inward salvation.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Romans 12:6
“When he had said that each of the believers were members of the one body of Christ, now he enumerates, as it were, the diversity of work of the diverse members; and for example, as sight to the eye, so to the mind, which is the interior eye, he assigns the office of prophecy; and to another, as to the hand, he ascribes ministry; and to another, as to the tongue, he attributes doctrine: and likewise also the rest.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
Romans 12:6
“Having then gifts differing, etc. - As the goodness of God, with this view of our mutual subserviency and usefulness, has endowed us with different gifts and qualifications, let each apply himself to the diligent improvement of his particular office and talent, and modestly keep within the bounds of it, not exalting himself or despising others.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Romans 12:7-8
if it is serving, let him serve: Serving is diakonia, practical help, and teaching stands beside it with no ranking. Each remaining gift is paired with the manner proper to it: giving with generosity, leading with diligence, mercy with cheerfulness. Seven gifts are named, each with its own spirit.
Romans 12:7
“After these there follows: Or ministry, in ministering. We can recall all these things to that rule which was stated above, that is: Not to be wise beyond what one ought to be wise; so that, for example, we may say that he who ministers ought not, in ministering, to be wise beyond what he ought to be wise; and he who teaches, in teaching, not to be wise beyond what he ought to be wise; and he who exhorts, in exhortation, not to be wise beyond what he ought to be wise.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
3 more voices on this verse
Romans 12:7
“Or ministry - διακονίαν diakonian. This word properly means service of any kind; Luk 10:40. It is used in religion to denote the service which is rendered to Christ as the Master.”
Romans 12:7
“Ministering - As deacons. He that teacheth - Catechumens; for whom particular instructers were appointed. He that exhorteth - Whose peculiar business it was to urge Christians to duty, and to comfort them in trials.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Romans 12:7
“Or ministry, let us wait on--"be occupied with." our ministering--The word here used imports any kind of service, from the dispensing of the word of life (Ac 6:4) to the administering of the temporal affairs of the Church (Ac 6:1-3).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
let him give generously: Origen says encouraging is teaching that relieves troubled hearts from Scripture. Giving generously is giving with a single mind, and Philoxenus of Mabbug and the Shepherd of Hermas praise that simplicity. Wesley takes leading as the care of a flock, and showing mercy cheerfully as glad use of the chance.
Romans 12:8
“Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation,.... This is the other branch of prophesying or preaching, and which is more practical, and lies in giving a word of exhortation to the saints, as their particular cases call for; for as prophets were teachers, Act 13:1; so also exhorters, Act 15:32; and one considerable branch of the ministry, and which is more principally the pastor's work, as well as to teach, is to exhort all sorts of persons, young and old, rich and poor, high and low, bond and free, under his care, with all longsuffering and doctrine.”
4 more voices on this verse
Romans 12:8
“He who exhorts, in exhorting. Exhortation is a kind of teaching and of discourse, by which afflicted souls are relieved through the words of the divine Scriptures prudently fitted together and gathered into one. For often despair befalls the soul from the excess of its tribulations; nor can it easily be restored or refreshed by just any words, however polished and plausible they may be.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
Romans 12:8
“Or he that exhorteth - Ὁ παρακαλων, The person who admonished and reprehended the unruly or disorderly; and who supported the weak and comforted the penitents, and those who were under heaviness through manifold temptations. He that giveth - He who distributeth the alms of the Church, with simplicity - being influenced by no partiality, but dividing to each according to the necessity of his case.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Romans 12:8
“He that presideth - That hath the care of a flock. He that showeth mercy - In any instance. With cheerfulness - Rejoicing that he hath such an opportunity.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Romans 12:8
“Or he that exhorteth--Since all preaching, whether by apostles, prophets, or teachers, was followed up by exhortation (Ac 11:23; 15:32, &c.), many think that no specific class is here in view.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Love Without Hypocrisy: Overcome Evil With Good
Romans 12:9-10
Love must be sincere: Sincere renders anupokritos, love without the actor's mask, and it governs every command that follows. Evil is to be detested and good held onto, which is love's own moral edge. Honour is given away here, in the outdoing of one another.
Romans 12:9
“Let love be without dissimulation--"Let your love be unfeigned" (as in 2Co 6:6; 1Pe 2:22; and see 1Jo 3:18). Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good--What a lofty tone of moral principle and feeling is here inculcated!”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
3 more voices on this verse
Romans 12:9
“Part of the sixteenth verse is repeated from chap. xi, 25. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good - Both inwardly and outwardly, whatever ill-will or danger may follow.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Romans 12:9
“Let love - The apostle proceeds to specify the duties of Christians in general, that they might secure the beauty and order of the church. The first which he specifies is love. This word here evidently refers to benevolence, or to good-will toward all mankind. In Rom 12:10 he specifies the duty of brotherly love; and there can be no doubt that he here refers to the benevolence which we ought to cherish toward all people. A similar distinction is found in 2Pe 1:7, “And to brotherly-kindness add charity,” that is, benevolence, or good will, and kind feelings to others.”
Romans 12:9
“Let love be without dissimulation,.... The apostle having given out suitable exhortations to the officers of this church, ministers and deacons, proceeds to stir up to the exercise of grace, and the discharge of such duties as were common to all the members of the church; and begins with "love", which is the cement of saints, and the bond of perfectness, without which all the gifts that men have, the profession they make, and works they do are of no avail, and they themselves nothing.”
devoted to one another in brotherly love: Devoted renders a rare word for the tender love of parents and children, as Barnes explains. Chrysostom grounds brotherly love in a shared birth. Henry makes honoring one another a race to give first.
Romans 12:10
“Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love,.... This is one branch of that love, before advised to, which should be unfeigned, and without guile and deceit.”
1 more voice on this verse
Romans 12:10
“Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love - It is difficult to give a simple translation of the original: τῃ φιλαδελφιᾳ εις αλληλους φιλοστοργοι. The word φιλαδελφια signifies that affectionate regard which every Christian should feel for another, as being members of the same mystical body: hence it is emphatically termed the love of the brethren.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Romans 12:11-13
keep your spiritual fervor: Zeal, fervor and service to the Lord stand in one line. Verse 12 gives joy in hope, patience in affliction and persistence in prayer, the three that carry a believer through trouble. Verse 13 turns outward to saints in need and to hospitality.
Romans 12:11
“In diligence not slothful. Above he admonished that the one who presides ought to be in diligence; but now he gives this commandment to all in common, lest any of us hear from the Lord: Wicked and slothful servant. Fervent in spirit. This too has to do with being unslothful and diligent. For he wills that we, who live under the law of the spirit, should have nothing slack in us, nothing lukewarm, but should carry out everything with fervor of spirit and warmth of faith. Serving the Lord.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 12:11
“Another reading--"serving the time," or "the occasion"--which differs in form but very slightly from the received reading, has been adopted by good critics [LUTHER, OLSHAUSEN, FRITZSCHE, MEYER]. But as manuscript authority is decidedly against it, so is internal evidence; and comparatively few favor it. Nor is the sense which it yields a very Christian one.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Romans 12:11
“Not slothful - The word rendered “slothful” refers to those who are slow, idle, destitute of promptness of mind and activity; compare Mat 25:16. In business - τῇ σπουδῇ tē spoudē. This is the same word which in Rom 12:8 is rendered “diligence.” It properly denotes haste, intensity, ardor of mind; and hence, also it denotes industry, labor. The direction means that we should be diligently occupied in our proper employment.”
persistent in prayer: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown join the three: persistent prayer strengthens faith, faith gives joyful hope, and hope makes one patient in affliction. Chrysostom calls them fuel for spiritual fervor. Augustine sets the joy on the rest to come.
Romans 12:12
“Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation. He rejoices in hope who does not look at the things that are seen, but awaits the things that are not seen; and who knows that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the future glory that shall be revealed in us. That same person will also be patient in tribulation; because tribulation works patience, patience proof, and proof hope — provided, however, that we fulfill the words that follow, that is, persevering in prayer.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
3 more voices on this verse
Romans 12:12
If our "hope" of glory is so assured that it is a rejoicing hope, we shall find the spirit of "endurance in tribulation" natural and easy; but since it is "prayer" which strengthens the faith that begets hope and lifts it up into an assured and joyful expectancy, and since our patience in tribulation is fed by this, it will be seen that all depends on our "perseverance in prayer."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Romans 12:12
“Rejoicing in hope - Of that glory of God that to each faithful follower of Christ shall shortly be revealed. Patient in tribulation - Remembering that what you suffer as Christians you suffer for Christ’s sake; and it is to his honor, and the honor of your Christian profession, that you suffer it with an even mind.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Romans 12:12
“THIS is placed in connection with a large number of brief but very weighty precepts. Prayer has a distinct relationship to all Christian duties and graces. It is not possible for us to carry out the holy commands of our Lord Jesus unless we are abundant in supplication. The Romans at the time that Paul wrote to them were subject to persecution, and in this verse he mentions two remedies for impatience under such afflictions, remedies which are equally effectual under all the trials of life.”
Practice hospitality: Chrysostom says whoever shares with the saints in need gains more than he gives. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown say the need for hospitality was felt most in times of persecution. Theodoret applies the line to anyone in need.
Romans 12:13
“Sharing in the needs of the saints. I recall that in the Latin copies it more often stands: Sharing in the memorials of the saints. But we neither disturb custom nor prejudge the truth, especially since both readings suit edification.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
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Romans 12:13
“Distributing to the necessity of saints,.... Or "communicating", as many versions render the word; "distributing" more properly belongs to the officers of the church, the deacons, and communicating to the members of it in common.”
Romans 12:13
“Distributing - The word used here denotes having things in “common” κοινωνοῦντες koinōnountes. It means that they should be communicative, or should regard their property as so far common as to supply the needs of others. In the earliest times of the church, Christians had all things in common (Notes, Act 2:44), and felt themselves bound to meet all the needs of their brethren. One of the most striking effects of Christianity was to loosen their grasp on property, and dispose them to impart liberally to those who had need.”
Romans 12:13
“Communicate to the necessities of the saints - Relieve all Christians that are in want. It is remarkable, that the apostle, treating expressly of the duties flowing from the communion of saints, yet never says one word about the dead.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Romans 12:14-16
Bless those who persecute you: , and never curse them, echoes the Lord's own words at Matthew 5:44. Verse 15 asks the believer to rejoice with those who rejoice, and to weep with those who weep. Verse 16 closes where verse 3 opened, against conceit.
Romans 12:14
“Bless those who persecute you; bless, and do not curse. The Apostle, pursuing the moral topic more broadly, orders the deeds, the mind, the purpose, and also the very mouth and tongue of the disciples. He does not wish those who believe in Christ to bring forth a curse out of their mouth, but to speak well, to bless, to pray well, so that from this they may be believed both to be servants of a good Lord and disciples of a good Master.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 12:14
“Bless them which persecute you - Ευλογειτε, Give good words, or pray for them that give you bad words, καταρασθε, who make dire imprecations against you. Bless them, pray for them, and on no account curse them, whatever the provocation may be. Have the loving, forgiving mind that was in your Lord.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Romans 12:14
“Bless--that is, Call down by prayer a blessing on. them which persecute you, &c.--This is taken from the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:44), which, from the allusions made to it, seems to have been the storehouse of Christian morality among the churches.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
weep with those who weep: Barnes grounds the command in verses 4 and 5, where the members are one body in Christ. Theophylact says to rejoice with those who rejoice takes more love than to weep with those who weep, for envy must be gone. Origen asks that the joys be good ones.
Romans 12:15
“To rejoice with those who rejoice, to weep with those who weep. Here too a suitable and fitting distinction must be maintained. For the joys of Christians are not to be joined to just any joys, nor are our tears to be joined to just any weeping. For if I should see someone rejoicing over a gain of money, or over the extent of his possessions, or over the eminence of worldly honor, I ought not to congratulate such people, since I know that mourning and tears follow joys of this kind.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 12:15
“Rejoice with them ... - This command grows out of the doctrine stated in Rom 12:4-5, that the church is one; that it has one interest; and therefore that there should be common sympathy in its joys and sorrows. Or, enter into the welfare of your fellow-Christians, and show your attachment to them by rejoicing that they are made happy; compare 1Co 12:26, “And whether .... one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.” In this way happiness diffuses and multiplies itself.”
Romans 12:15
“True love will interest us in the sorrows and joys of one another, and teach us to make them our own. Observe the common mixture in this world, some rejoicing, and others weeping (as the people, Ezra iii. 12, 13 ), for the trial, as of other graces, so of brotherly love and Christian sympathy.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
enjoy the company of the lowly: Theophylact says the proud mind was the disease of Rome. Origen reads live in harmony as to think of a brother as of oneself. Theodoret reads the command against conceit as readiness to take advice.
Romans 12:16
“Be of the same mind - Live in a state of continual harmony and concord, and pray for the same good for all which you desire for yourselves. Mind not high things - Be not ambitious; affect nothing above your station; do not court the rich nor the powerful; do not pass by the poor man to pay your court to the great man; do not affect titles or worldly distinctions; much less sacrifice your conscience for them. The attachment to high things and high men is the vice of little, shallow minds.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 12:16
He taught by His commandment that we who have been set free should, when hungry, take that food which is given by God; and that, when placed in the exalted position of every grace [that can be received], we should not, either by trusting to works of righteousness, or when adorned with super-eminent [gifts of] ministration, by any means be lifted up with pride, nor should we tempt God, but should feel humility in all things, and have ready to hand [this saying], "Thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God."
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies Book Vpatristic
Romans 12:16
“Be--"Being" of the same mind one toward another--The feeling of the common bond which binds all Christians to each other, whatever diversity of station, cultivation, temperament, or gifts may obtain among them, is the thing here enjoined. This is next taken up in detail. Mind not--"not minding" high things--that is, Cherish not ambitious or aspiring purposes and desires.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Romans 12:17-18
repay anyone evil for evil: Private retaliation is forbidden outright, and the believer is to consider what is right in everyone's eyes. Verse 18 carries two limits, if it is possible and on your part, so the believer owes peace without control over the other man.
Romans 12:17
“Recompence to no man evil for evil,.... Neither evil words for evil words, railing for railing; nor evil deeds for evil deeds, one ill turn for another; nor the evil of punishment for the evil of fault, unless it be by persons, who under God have an authority to inflict it; as the civil magistrate, who "is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doth evil", Rom 13:4; but private revenge is what is here forbidden: providing things honest in the sight of all men.”
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 12:17
“Recompense - Render, give, or return; see the note at Mat 5:39. This is probably one of the most difficult precepts of Christianity; but the law of Christ on the subject is unyielding. It is a solemn demand made on all his followers, and it “must” be obeyed.”
Romans 12:17
“Recompense--"Recompensing," &c.--(See on Ro 12:14). Provide--"Providing" things honest--"honorable" in the sight of all men--The idea (which is from Pr 3:4) is the care which Christians should take so to demean themselves as to command the respect of all men.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
live at peace with everyone: Theophylact says peace with everyone is sometimes beyond possible, as when a believer must stand for godliness. Origen says peace lives between two, so each answers for his own part. Ambrosiaster says everyone who serves God should live at peace.
Romans 12:18
“If it be possible - To live in a state of peace with one’s neighbors, friends, and even family, is often very difficult. But the man who loves God must labor after this, for it is indispensably necessary even for his own sake. A man cannot have broils and misunderstandings with others, without having his own peace very materially disturbed: he must, to be happy, be at peace with all men, whether they will be at peace with him or not.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 12:18
“If it be possible, as much as lies in you, having peace with all men. The Apostle knew that peace, among those between whom peace is held, consists not of one party but of both; therefore, lest another's disposition — should it happen to prove unpeaceable — should seem to hinder us from the good of peace, he gave a most measured precept: that meanwhile our own mind should always be prepared for peace, and that the fault of discord should rest not with us but with the other.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
Romans 12:18
“If it be possible--that is, If others will let you. as much as lieth in you--or, "dependeth on you." live peaceably--or, "be at peace." with all men--The impossibility of this in some cases is hinted at, to keep up the hearts of those who, having done their best unsuccessfully to live in peace, might be tempted to think the failure was necessarily owing to themselves.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Romans 12:19-21
The ban on avenging yourself rests on Deuteronomy 32:35, quoted in verse 19. Verse 20 quotes Proverbs 25:21-22, and the burning coals are read as shame leading to repentance or as judgment left with God.
Romans 12:19
“Dearly beloved - So he softens the rugged spirit. Revenge not yourselves, but leave that to God. Perhaps it might more properly be rendered, leave room for wrath; that is, the wrath of God, to whom vengeance properly belongs.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 12:19
“Dearly beloved - This expression of tenderness was especially appropriate in an exhortation to peace. It reminded them of the affection and friendship which ought to subsist among them as brethren. Avenge not yourselves - To “avenge” is to take satisfaction for an injury by inflicting punishment on the offender. To take such satisfaction for injuries done to society, is lawful and proper for a magistrate; Rom 13:4. And to take satisfaction for injuries done by sin to the universe, is the province of God. But the apostle here is addressing private individual Christians.”
Romans 12:19
“This is written lest another's wrath draw you into sin when you want to offer resistance, when you want to be avenged. You can take the fault from him and from yourself if you decide to yield to the other.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Letter 63.100patristic
Cross references
Romans 12:19
- QuotingDeuteronomy 32:35Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”
'Vengeance is mine; I will repay ('it is written')
Gill takes feed him in its plain sense. Wesley likens the burning coals to the heat that melts ore, and Jerome reads the fire as the kindness that leads an enemy to repentance. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown find in Proverbs 25:21 the root of the Lord's teaching on the enemy.
Romans 12:20
“Therefore the apostle too says that we should give our enemies to eat and to drink. And what does he say? "Doing this," he says, "you heap coals of fire upon his head." Someone may say: Enemies do this; do I therefore do good to my adversary in order to heap coals of fire upon his head? But something else is meant.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Homily 41, on Psalm 119patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Romans 12:20
“If thine enemy hunger, feed him - Do not withhold from any man the offices of mercy and kindness; you have been God’s enemy, and yet God fed, clothed, and preserved you alive: do to your enemy as God has done to you. If your enemy be hungry, feed him; if he be thirsty, give him drink: so has God dealt with you. And has not a sense of his goodness and long-suffering towards you been a means of melting down your heart into penitential compunction, gratitude, and love towards him?”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Romans 12:20
“Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him,.... These words are taken from Pro 25:21, and to be understood, as a Jewish (o) writer observes, כמשמעו, according to "their literal sense"; though some of the Rabbins explain them in an allegorical way, of the corruption of nature.”
Cross references
Romans 12:20
- QuotingProverbs 25:21“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.”
'If thine enemy hunger, feed him' (heap coals of fire)
overcome evil with good: Theophylact reads the line as a guard on verse 20. To feed an enemy in hope of his greater punishment is to be overcome by evil.
Romans 12:21
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. He is overcome by evil who, provoked by evils, returns evil; but he overcomes evil with good who, having received evils, repays them with good things. For it is certain that this is the nature of evil, that it is increased and grows from things like itself — just as if you add fire to fire, or as if the clouding of the air is joined to the darkness of night. But if you apply good, evil is destroyed.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on the Epistle to the Romanspatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Romans 12:21
“Be not overcome of evil--for then you are the conquered party. but overcome evil with good--and then the victory is yours; you have subdued your enemy in the noblest sense. Note, (1) The redeeming mercy of God in Christ is, in the souls of believers, the living spring of all holy obedience (Ro 12:1).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
How this psalm is built
The form: The turn from doctrine to moral instruction, teaching how the grace already set out is to be used, as Aquinas classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| The body and its members | Verses 4 and 5 use the human body, one body with many members, and the Berean text names the members three times. The figure sets the frame for the list of gifts that follows. John Chrysostom notes that Paul uses the same example here that he uses to the Corinthians.John Chrysostom, Homily on Romans 21, on Romans 12:4. | Romans 12:4, Romans 12:5 |
| Seven gifts, each with its manner | Verses 6 to 8 name seven gifts, each opened by if: prophecy, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading and showing mercy. The last three carry a manner with them, generously, with diligence and cheerfully. John Chrysostom reads the pattern as Paul asking for giving with simplicity, aiding with diligence and alms with cheerfulness, and love without pretence in the same way.John Chrysostom, Homily on Romans 21, on Romans 12:9. | Romans 12:6, Romans 12:7, Romans 12:8 |
| The run of short commands | From verse 9 to verse 21 the chapter speaks in short commands, and the Berean text marks off twenty-seven sentences and clauses with full stops, semicolons and exclamations in those thirteen verses. They move from love inside the church in verses 9 to 13 to the persecutor and the enemy in verses 14 to 21. Clement of Alexandria quotes verses 12 and 13 and calls them a few injunctions out of many.Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor Book 3, on Romans 12:12. | Romans 12:9, Romans 12:12, Romans 12:13, Romans 12:14 |
The structure
7 more paragraphs on the patterns
Romans 12 opens the practical part of the letter, and Paul speaks throughout as an apostle urging his brothers. Chapter 11 ended on God's mercy to Jew and Gentile and on praise, and verse 1 builds the appeal on that mercy. Verses 1 and 2 give the appeal itself, an offering of the body and a renewed mind. Verses 3 to 8 set humility and the gifts inside one body. Verses 9 to 21 run through love in short commands, first toward believers and then toward persecutors and enemies. John Wesley notes that part of verse 16 repeats 11:25, where Gentiles are warned against conceit, so the same caution runs across the seam of the two chapters (Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, 1755, on Romans 12:9). Chapter 13 takes up the governing authority, and Albert Barnes sets the private believer of verse 19 beside the magistrate of Romans 13:4 who may punish wrong (Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869), on Romans 12:19).
The debate
The burning coals of verse 20 are read two ways. Jerome reads them as the fire that softens an enemy and leads him to repentance (Against the Pelagians 1.30, on Romans 12:20), and John Wesley likens them to the heat that melts ore (Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, 1755, on Romans 12:20). Augustine of Hippo takes up the objection that the line seems to contradict the command to love enemies (AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 71, on Romans 12:20), and Theophylact of Ohrid holds that a believer who feeds an enemy in hope of his greater punishment has been overcome by evil (Commentary on Romans, on Romans 12:21).
The Old Testament in the chapter
Verse 19 quotes Deuteronomy 32:35, which Tertullian calls the vengeance declared by the prophet (Against Marcion Book II, on Romans 12:19). Verse 20 is taken almost word for word from Proverbs 25:21 and 22 on the reading of Albert Barnes, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown hold that the same proverb lies behind the teaching on enemies in the Sermon on the Mount (Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871, on Romans 12:20).
Where to go deeper
The offering of verse 1 has its own page at /featured/the-living-sacrifice, and worship at /featured/worship. The gifts of verses 6 to 8 stand at /featured/spiritual-gifts, /featured/prophecy-as-a-gift-today and /featured/the-grace-of-giving. The body of verses 4 and 5 stands at /featured/the-church. Love among believers stands at /featured/love-one-another, and love toward the enemy at /featured/love-your-enemies.
Keep studying
Studies21
Words12
Subjects1
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The form and classifications
John Chrysostom, Homily on Romans 20, on Romans 12:1; Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS, on Romans 12:1 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Romans, on Romans 12:1.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES; Augustine of Hippo; Charles Hodge, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans; Charles Spurgeon; Clement of Rome, THE FIRST EPISTLE OF CLEMENT 46; Frederic Godet, Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Against the Pelagians 1.30; John Calvin, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans; John Chrysostom, Homily on Romans 21; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Leo the Great, LETTER 14; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS; Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 4 -- On Faith: First Discourse on Simplicity; Robert Haldane, Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans; Shepherd of Hermas, Shepherd of Hermas, Commandment 2; Theodoret of Cyrus, INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Romans.