14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. 15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God, 16 that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 Therefore I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus in the things which pertain to God. 18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient—19 in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20 And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man’s foundation, 21 but as it is written: “To whom He was not announced, they shall see; And those who have not heard shall understand.”
Commentary
Vs. 14 "Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another."
The Apostle Paul continues his Spirit guided words to us, not only praying for us in verse thirteen (in the previous section), but now he is also seeking to strengthen us in our faith saying that we are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able to admonish one another. First that we are full of goodness is a radical departure from that "traditional" theological exposition that teaches that we are "totally depraved". For nowhere does the Scripture, nor the Apostle Paul say that believers are " totally depraved." For that is something that belongs to the unregenerate who reject God, and thus are given over to reprobate minds to practice all forms of ungodliness and wickedness as a judgment by God against them (see Rom 1:18-32), not to us who have been redeemed from sin and death, by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thus have undergone the washing and regeneration of the Holy Spirit the moment we believed in Him (Titus 3:5). And thus having become partakers of the Divine Nature (2 Peter 1:2-4), we should acknowledge every good thing that we now have within us, for it is the Holy Spirit within us who is transforming our persons and lives until the day that Jesus Christ is fully formed within us (Phil 1:6). Therefore we can now say in all confidence that we are full of goodness, not our own goodness, but God's goodness, which is our new disposition given us through the Lord Jesus Christ's Person being in our person, and thus whose Presence and fragrance within us is an undeniable reality to one and to all.
"Filled with all knowledge" The Apostle Paul continues his encouraging words to us saying we are "filled with all knowledge" that is that the Apostle does not see us as uninformed or wrongly learned about our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Rather because of his confidence in our understanding and ability to understand all things that pertain to Christ (also see 1 John 2:27), he is confident that we are also "able to admonish one another". Here admonish means teach or instruct one another (see Col 1:28; 3:16). Therefore as God's children we are not only capable of understanding the will of God, and thus living the Godly lives He wants us to live, but we should also admonish one another to pursue the same (see 1 Thess. 4:3; 1 Peter 2:15-16). For believers are never more Christ-like when we through God's love build each other up with encouraging and comforting words and admonish each other to walk in the truth. As the Apostle John also admonished us to do (see 3 John 4, 11).
Vs. 15-16 15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God, 16 that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
In light of having just declared his confidence in us, of the goodness and knowledge of God within us all who believe. The Apostle Paul now reminds us that his having admonished us as one family of faith, was on certain points more boldly, (as he felt these needed to be more strongly reaffirmed to us). But all was done through the grace of God given him to be a minister of Jesus Christ, ministering the Gospel of God to us, so that offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit (vs. 16). Thus Paul's validation in the Gospel as it's servant-minister to us Gentiles came to him, not through himself or because of something within himself, but only through the grace of God, who choose him and equipped him for this very purpose. And so Paul looking back to his Hebrew roots draws an analogy from the Old Covenant, analogizing his ministry to that of the Old Covenant priests who were likewise appointed by God to minister the peoples offerings to God on their behalf, for their well-being. Now the offering of the Gentiles mentioned here is our persons and lives which having been redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ are now being ministered to the Lord through the Apostle Paul's ministry, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Thus the Apostle Paul's role as Christ's minister to us is instruct us soundly in the faith, and thus help us become acceptable offerings to God, well-pleasing to Christ in every way.
Vs. 17 "Therefore I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus in the things which pertain to God."
In light of God's working in and through our lives the Apostle Paul (and indeed us all) have reason to glory in the things which pertain to God. For there are the temporal works of man, which men glory in, then there are the eternal works of God which we all should glory in. Thus the Lord's redeeming and transforming every believing person should then be our boosting and glorying in God.
Vs. 18-19 18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient—19 in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
The Apostle Paul had no interest in "self-promotion or glory", thus he shunned speaking about anything that would only bring glory and praise to himself. Instead when he spoke as a minister of the Gospel he was singularly focused on only declaring those things which Christ accomplished through him in word and deed to make the Gentiles obedient. Whether this was mighty signs and wonders or by mighty preaching of the Gospel, it was all done through the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God, so that from Jerusalem (the ancient religious capital of the world) round about to Illyricum (it's borders or the extent thereof) the Apostle Paul fully preached the Gospel of God. Now Illyricum was *A Roman province in the northwestern Balkan peninsula, stretching along the eastern coasts of the Adriatic Sea from the borders of Italy to Macedonia and inland as far as the Danube (corresponding approximately to modern Yugoslavia and Albania).* Illyricum was known as a wild frontier place where piracy and such was a way of life until the Romans after about 250 years of trying to do so finally subjugated the people under Ceasar Tiberius (A.D. 14-37). And so from the pinnacles of religious power to the depths of the pagans the Apostle Paul went and fully preached the glorious Gospel of God through the Power of the Holy Spirit everywhere and to everyone.
Vs. 20-21 20 And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man’s foundation, 21 but as it is written: “To whom He was not announced, they shall see; And those who have not heard shall understand.”
The Apostle Paul was not just a minister of the Gospel to believers, but a minister who strove to minister the Gospel where the Gospel was not yet preached. And so quoting from Isaiah 52:15, “To whom He was not announced, they shall see; And those who have not heard shall understand.” The Apostle Paul seeks to follow God's heart and desire that His Son's Name and Fame be proclaimed everywhere and to everyone. So that salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ alone can be offered to one and all. For God's promise through His Son Jesus goes out to all peoples and nations, saying,
“Look to Me, and be saved,
All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other." Isaiah 45:22
And so all that remains is our personal decision to receive the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and have remission of all our sins and new and and everlasting life the moment we do (2 Cor 5:17). For being reconciled back to God and atoned for by His Sons blood shed at Calvary for our sins atonement, we not only have peace with God (Rom 5:1), but having being brought from Spiritual death to everlasting life we now have and experience a Spirit filled life, which means our freedom from sin and death and the judgment to come on the unbelieving world, to now live rich, full, and abundant lives, enlightened and illuminated by God's everlasting truth and directed by Godly desires and faith filled purposes. So that our lives now a true have meaning purpose that finds itself eternally secured in and being transformed for the Kingdom of heaven. And so being transferred out of the Kingdom of darkness into the Son of God's love we have everything that satisfies and fulfills our deepest needs, wants and desires. It's an incredible gift from God to us all who will believe and receive it for ourselves. Therefore my prayer for you is that you do. That by a simple prayer of faith you invite the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart and life to be your Lord and Savior (Rev. 3:20). For not to do so is not only to miss out on having a Spirit filled and abundant life in this life, but it is to only suffer eternal destruction and ruin in the end, therefore do not hesitate or delay, receive Christ today!
Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
Additional Resources Consulted
Walvoord, John F., and Roy B. Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985. (vs. 14-15)
*Quotation from: Myers, A. C. (1987). In The Eerdmans Bible dictionary (p. 515). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
Achtemeier, Paul J., Harper & Row and Society of Biblical Literature. Harper’s Bible Dictionary. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985.
Vs. 14 "Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another."
The Apostle Paul continues his Spirit guided words to us, not only praying for us in verse thirteen (in the previous section), but now he is also seeking to strengthen us in our faith saying that we are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able to admonish one another. First that we are full of goodness is a radical departure from that "traditional" theological exposition that teaches that we are "totally depraved". For nowhere does the Scripture, nor the Apostle Paul say that believers are " totally depraved." For that is something that belongs to the unregenerate who reject God, and thus are given over to reprobate minds to practice all forms of ungodliness and wickedness as a judgment by God against them (see Rom 1:18-32), not to us who have been redeemed from sin and death, by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thus have undergone the washing and regeneration of the Holy Spirit the moment we believed in Him (Titus 3:5). And thus having become partakers of the Divine Nature (2 Peter 1:2-4), we should acknowledge every good thing that we now have within us, for it is the Holy Spirit within us who is transforming our persons and lives until the day that Jesus Christ is fully formed within us (Phil 1:6). Therefore we can now say in all confidence that we are full of goodness, not our own goodness, but God's goodness, which is our new disposition given us through the Lord Jesus Christ's Person being in our person, and thus whose Presence and fragrance within us is an undeniable reality to one and to all.
"Filled with all knowledge" The Apostle Paul continues his encouraging words to us saying we are "filled with all knowledge" that is that the Apostle does not see us as uninformed or wrongly learned about our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Rather because of his confidence in our understanding and ability to understand all things that pertain to Christ (also see 1 John 2:27), he is confident that we are also "able to admonish one another". Here admonish means teach or instruct one another (see Col 1:28; 3:16). Therefore as God's children we are not only capable of understanding the will of God, and thus living the Godly lives He wants us to live, but we should also admonish one another to pursue the same (see 1 Thess. 4:3; 1 Peter 2:15-16). For believers are never more Christ-like when we through God's love build each other up with encouraging and comforting words and admonish each other to walk in the truth. As the Apostle John also admonished us to do (see 3 John 4, 11).
Vs. 15-16 15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God, 16 that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
In light of having just declared his confidence in us, of the goodness and knowledge of God within us all who believe. The Apostle Paul now reminds us that his having admonished us as one family of faith, was on certain points more boldly, (as he felt these needed to be more strongly reaffirmed to us). But all was done through the grace of God given him to be a minister of Jesus Christ, ministering the Gospel of God to us, so that offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit (vs. 16). Thus Paul's validation in the Gospel as it's servant-minister to us Gentiles came to him, not through himself or because of something within himself, but only through the grace of God, who choose him and equipped him for this very purpose. And so Paul looking back to his Hebrew roots draws an analogy from the Old Covenant, analogizing his ministry to that of the Old Covenant priests who were likewise appointed by God to minister the peoples offerings to God on their behalf, for their well-being. Now the offering of the Gentiles mentioned here is our persons and lives which having been redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ are now being ministered to the Lord through the Apostle Paul's ministry, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Thus the Apostle Paul's role as Christ's minister to us is instruct us soundly in the faith, and thus help us become acceptable offerings to God, well-pleasing to Christ in every way.
Vs. 17 "Therefore I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus in the things which pertain to God."
In light of God's working in and through our lives the Apostle Paul (and indeed us all) have reason to glory in the things which pertain to God. For there are the temporal works of man, which men glory in, then there are the eternal works of God which we all should glory in. Thus the Lord's redeeming and transforming every believing person should then be our boosting and glorying in God.
Vs. 18-19 18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient—19 in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
The Apostle Paul had no interest in "self-promotion or glory", thus he shunned speaking about anything that would only bring glory and praise to himself. Instead when he spoke as a minister of the Gospel he was singularly focused on only declaring those things which Christ accomplished through him in word and deed to make the Gentiles obedient. Whether this was mighty signs and wonders or by mighty preaching of the Gospel, it was all done through the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God, so that from Jerusalem (the ancient religious capital of the world) round about to Illyricum (it's borders or the extent thereof) the Apostle Paul fully preached the Gospel of God. Now Illyricum was *A Roman province in the northwestern Balkan peninsula, stretching along the eastern coasts of the Adriatic Sea from the borders of Italy to Macedonia and inland as far as the Danube (corresponding approximately to modern Yugoslavia and Albania).* Illyricum was known as a wild frontier place where piracy and such was a way of life until the Romans after about 250 years of trying to do so finally subjugated the people under Ceasar Tiberius (A.D. 14-37). And so from the pinnacles of religious power to the depths of the pagans the Apostle Paul went and fully preached the glorious Gospel of God through the Power of the Holy Spirit everywhere and to everyone.
Vs. 20-21 20 And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man’s foundation, 21 but as it is written: “To whom He was not announced, they shall see; And those who have not heard shall understand.”
The Apostle Paul was not just a minister of the Gospel to believers, but a minister who strove to minister the Gospel where the Gospel was not yet preached. And so quoting from Isaiah 52:15, “To whom He was not announced, they shall see; And those who have not heard shall understand.” The Apostle Paul seeks to follow God's heart and desire that His Son's Name and Fame be proclaimed everywhere and to everyone. So that salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ alone can be offered to one and all. For God's promise through His Son Jesus goes out to all peoples and nations, saying,
“Look to Me, and be saved,
All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other." Isaiah 45:22
And so all that remains is our personal decision to receive the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and have remission of all our sins and new and and everlasting life the moment we do (2 Cor 5:17). For being reconciled back to God and atoned for by His Sons blood shed at Calvary for our sins atonement, we not only have peace with God (Rom 5:1), but having being brought from Spiritual death to everlasting life we now have and experience a Spirit filled life, which means our freedom from sin and death and the judgment to come on the unbelieving world, to now live rich, full, and abundant lives, enlightened and illuminated by God's everlasting truth and directed by Godly desires and faith filled purposes. So that our lives now a true have meaning purpose that finds itself eternally secured in and being transformed for the Kingdom of heaven. And so being transferred out of the Kingdom of darkness into the Son of God's love we have everything that satisfies and fulfills our deepest needs, wants and desires. It's an incredible gift from God to us all who will believe and receive it for ourselves. Therefore my prayer for you is that you do. That by a simple prayer of faith you invite the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart and life to be your Lord and Savior (Rev. 3:20). For not to do so is not only to miss out on having a Spirit filled and abundant life in this life, but it is to only suffer eternal destruction and ruin in the end, therefore do not hesitate or delay, receive Christ today!
Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
Additional Resources Consulted
Walvoord, John F., and Roy B. Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985. (vs. 14-15)
*Quotation from: Myers, A. C. (1987). In The Eerdmans Bible dictionary (p. 515). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
Achtemeier, Paul J., Harper & Row and Society of Biblical Literature. Harper’s Bible Dictionary. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985.
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