And again he saith: rejoice ye Gentiles, with his people.
και παλιν λεγει ευφρανθητε εθνη μετα του λαου αυτου
6 Church Fathers comment on this verse
The Apostle brings all this forward to prove that all must be united and glorify God. At the same time he humbles the Jew, so that he not exalt himself over the Gentile, since all the prophets also call the Gentiles. He also teaches modesty to the Gentile, showing that he has benefited more from grace.
He brought forward all these testimonies to prove that those called from among the Gentiles must live in unity and be in concord with those who came from the Jews.
(10 - Deut 32:43) (11 - Ps 116:1). (12 - Isa 11:10). The Apostle cited these testimonies to teach the believers from among the Jews not to be grieved at the salvation of the Gentiles, but to believe the prophecies concerning them.
Finally, justice itself requires that the strong accommodate themselves to the weak, and not the reverse (Rom 15:1-13). “We who are strong,” that is, who understand the true meaning of food and drink, “ought to bear the infirmities of the weak,” that is, of those who have not risen to such understanding, “and not to please ourselves. For even Christ did not please Himself.”
Therefore Christians from the Jews, still weakened by attachment to Old Testament ritual, and Christians from the Gentiles, free from this attachment, must receive one another. They must not avoid one another, but have communion among themselves, “that with one mind and one mouth they may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” “as Christ also received” both “to the glory of God.”
“I mean,” the Apostle adds, “that Jesus Christ became a minister to the circumcised for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, and for the Gentiles according to mercy, that they might glorify God,” as the prophets foretold.
The Apostle Paul himself offered in himself a living example of how one must bear the infirmities of the weak. As Chrysostom notes, “he himself circumcised, cut his hair, offered a Jewish sacrifice, and so forth.” Or, as the Apostle says of himself, “I became all things to all men,” certainly in matters indifferent, “that by all means I might save some” (1 Cor 9:22).
Again persuading Christians to act with love toward all the weak, the Apostle reminds them that Jesus Christ received us when we were unworthy. He received some for the sake of the promise made to the fathers, and others solely according to mercy. Therefore He received both, not because of their personal perfections.
So believers also must treat one another with condescension. In particular, they must not give weight in their relations to distinctions of nation. The conversion of the Gentiles is as foreordained and prepared by God as the justification of the Jews.
If anything is lacking in any of them, one may hope that God will supply what is lacking by the power of His Holy Spirit. He guides into all truth and comforts in all things with the highest hope. In that hope all our present deficiencies will be covered, and all the perfections and gifts of God given to us in abundance will be fulfilled.
That the Gentiles were called by God according to mercy, the Apostle confirms by many prophecies. In them, according to Chrysostom, “he brings everything as proof that all must be united and glorify God. At the same time, by this he wishes to humble the Jew, so that he not exalt himself over the Gentile. For all the prophets call the Gentiles to the glorification of God. He also teaches modesty to the Gentile, showing that he is bound to give God greater thanks.”
At the close of his exhortation, the Apostle prays to the Lord Himself. He asks that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, He fill the Romans with the spirit of joy, peace, and complete hope. Concerning this prayer, Bishop Theophan observes: “This prayer, verbally attached to the prophet’s words just cited, corresponds in its content to the whole preceding section, chapters 14 and 15. The object of the prayerful good wish is an abundance of hope. For this to exist, he wishes the heart to be filled with joy and peace. Faith is indicated as the source of these gifts. Faith begets joy and peace. Joy and peace multiply hope. All this comes by the power of the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit engenders spiritual life. It sustains it and leads it to perfection. From it come all movements and changes in spiritual life. In view of the Romans’ condition, the Apostle especially wishes them joy and peace. When these are present, the slight differences in convictions of which he speaks will no longer have the evil consequences that now arise from them. Joy and peace will suppress every quarrel, division, and estrangement, and will no longer allow them to arise.”
Through hope in the Lord and in His Christ, all things will be ordered in the best way for our good and salvation.
The second prophecy is taken from the concluding song of Moses in Deuteronomy (cf. Deut 32:43). The prophet invites all the Gentiles to rejoice with the people of God. He foresees their future calling to share in the blessings that the people of God inherit according to the promise made to their fathers.
Ambrosiaster writes: “The prophet shows that God, according to His mercy, determined from of old to gather Jews and Gentiles into one. Thus the Gentiles, having become partakers of grace, would be joined in fellowship with the Jews, who themselves were named His people by the gift of God’s mercy. All together, gladdened by the knowledge of the truth, would glorify God, Who increased the number of His faithful people by the addition of the Gentiles. When the Jews murmured against the Apostle Peter because Cornelius the centurion had been received among those being saved, Peter explained to them what had happened. Then they were at peace and said, ‘Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance unto life’” (Acts 11:18).
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 9 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS