Romans 15:18

Rom_15:18-19

For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient.

Pauls success

I. Its extent.

1. Matter of notoriety.

2. Needed no attempt on the part of the apostle to exaggerate it.

II. The means.

1. Word.

2. Deed.

III. The power.

1. Christs.

2. Exerted through the Holy Spirit.

3. Displayed in signs and wonders. (J. Lyth, D.D.)

The work of missions

I. Its object. To make the Gentiles obedient to the gospel.

II. Its agencies and means.

1. Christ, the Supreme Director, who works in us to will and to do.

2. Converted men, the instruments by word and deed.

3. The Spirit of God, the efficient power displayed in signs and wonders.

III. Its sphere.

1. Commencing at Jerusalem.

2. Embracing the Gentile world.

3. Throughout which the gospel must be fully preached. (J. Lyth, D. D.)

Invincible power

One of Satans artifices is to induce men to attempt to reduce the gospel to a mere system within the reach of human intellect; and in this attempt they have gone far to deny and reject everything supernatural. But so long as we have the Book of God in our hands, and the power of the Spirit of God to accompany its hallowed truths, we shall dare to insist upon thee gospel being the power of God unto the salvation of every one that believeth. Paul always advocated the old-fashioned doctrine, It is not by might or by power, etc. Note--

I. The success of Pauls preaching the gospel

1. I have fully preached the gospel of Christ (Rom_15:19). Then it was a pure gospel (Gal_1:8-9). He did not mix law and gospel together (Rom_3:20; Eph_2:8). In his preaching I mark four things prominent: and a man does not preach a pure gospel who does not preach all four.

(1) Principles (1Co_3:11). What principles? They are summed up in By grace are ye saved (Eph_2:8). Well, then, there is nothing for works, as he urges elsewhere (Rom_11:6).

(2) Privileges (Gal_4:6; Rom_8:16).

(3) Promises. Paul dwelt on these with delight, but he never set them forth as dependent upon creature doings, or as subject to contingencies (2Co_1:20).

(4) Precepts. In his Epistles, which he commences with doctrine, and proceeds with experimental godliness; but he always closes with the most pressing exhortations to every good word and work.

2. His success in the pure preaching of the gospel. He talks about mighty signs and wonders and names one in the preceding verse, viz., that the Gentiles should be made obedient by word and deed. It is one of the greatest miracles when God brings a poor ruined sinner down to obedience to the sceptre of Christ. Pauls success lay in--

(1) The rescuing of Satans slaves.

(2) Refreshing and establishing the Churches of the living God, so that they were built up in their most holy faith.

(3) Thus the glorifying of Jesus name.

II. Its efficiency. It was by the power of the Spirit of God--and truly such mighty signs and wonders are never accomplished by any other power. This power--

1. Is invincible--it is sure to conquer, and accomplish that for which it was designed. Every other power is found to be conquerable! The power of the Holy Ghost is so invincible, that the most stubborn hearts must yield, and the most confirmed habits of idolatry, or of licentiousness, are vanquished.

2. Defies all hostility.

3. Is new creating. All creation, in a spiritual point of view, is a chaos under the fall, until the Spirit calls to a new state of existence the souls that were destitute of it.

III. Pauls triumph concerning his success.

1. The wonders of Gods grace, the miracles accomplished, the triumphs of the Cross, and the extension of the Redeemers kingdom, made Paul rejoice. Here is a criterion by which we are to judge of every faithful minister of Christ.

2. Moreover, in all his exultations he took care to neutralise and give the negative to the boastings of proud free will. (J. Irons.)

The power of the gospel

I. Its source, God.

II. Its medium, the Spirit of God.

III. Its evidence, Signs and wonders--miraculous, moral and spiritual. (J. Lyth, D.D.)

So that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.--

The preaching of the gospel

I. In what light is the gospel to be preached by its ministers. Surely in the same in which it was preached by the apostle, viz.

1. As it reveals the ground of a sinners acceptance with God.

2. As it furnishes the only perfect rule of moral conduct, and the only efficient motive, love.

3. As it unveils the mysteries of a future state.

II. How the apostle preached the gospel.

1. Fully. He shunned not to declare the whole counsel of God; he instructed, exhorted, and warned that they might grow in grace in the knowledge of Christ (Act_20:20). The gospel should be thus fully preached.

(1) Because it is connected with the spiritual and eternal interests of the hearers. A physician would be considered in the last degree criminal who trifled with his patient; but the gospel minister is charged with the cure of souls.

(2) Because failure here will contract awful guilt upon the preacher (Eze_3:17-21).

2. Extensively. Paul carried it from Jerusalem to Illyricum. He was not weary in well-doing, but continued active and diligent to the end. The glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. But how many places are there yet destitute of sufficient means of grace! This, then, is a call upon our zealous exertions.

Conclusion: Note--

1. That natural and acquired talents may be efficiently employed in promoting the cause of religion. This is well illustrated in the case of Paul. What are the talents God has entrusted to you? Wealth? Influence? Zeal? Use them all for God.

2. The gospel is worthy of all acceptation. (D. Jones.)

The evangelisation of the world a practicable work

I. Let us estimate Pauls missionary work. Note--

1. The length of time during which it was done. He began very shortly after his conversion, and carried it on till his martyrdom; a period of about thirty years. From those thirty years the time spent in Arabia and in prison has to be deducted.

2. The helps by which the work was done.

(1) His strong faith that the gospel was the power of God to every one who believed.

(2) His fervent love to Christ.

(3) His great love to mankind.

(4) His good natural capacity and education.

(5) The gift of the Holy Spirit bestowed upon him so largely.

(6) His companions.

(7) His Roman citizenship.

3. His hindrances.

(1) He was a Jew, and the great contempt in which the Jewish race was held by the Gentiles must have been an immense hindrance to the apostle as he went about preaching salvation through a crucified Jew.

(2) He was by no means a strong man physically. He suffered much through infirmity of the flesh.

(3) His speech was not acceptable to some. Not only did the unconverted Athenians ask, What will this babbler say? but there were Christians at Corinth who pronounced his speech contemptible.

(4) His ungenerous critics did acknowledge that his writings were weighty and powerful; but in regard to them he laboured under a very great disadvantage. The art of printing had not been invented, and if he wrote an epistle intended for more Churches than one, well, then, it was slowly passed from one to another. And not only so; those who had the charge of Churches did not always like to read Paul's epistles to the people (1Th_10:27). Here in the apostolic age is the germ of the evil practice of withholding the Word of God from the laity.

(5) Travelling in those days was very slow, difficult and dangerous, whether by land or sea.

(6) The apostle chose to labour for his own support at his trade as a tent-maker.

(7) He was hindered by Jews and Judaisers wherever he met with them.

(8) The other apostles were not very much in sympathy with him.

4. The extent of his work. To say nothing of his preaching at Damascus and neighbourhood, from Jerusalem, substantially through Asia Minor together with Macedonia and Achaia, westward to the shores of the Adriatic, the apostle preached the gospel of Christ. And not only so he could say, I have fully preached it. This work was by no means of a superficial character. As to the results, they were various; sometimes very few were converted, sometimes very many. The power of the gospel was acknowledged by enemies of Christ at Thessalonica and Ephesus. Therefore the apostle really did so evangelise that large tract of country, and if the Churches planted in those regions had done their duty, most certainly all the inhabitants would have been brought to Christ.

II. From this summary of the apostles work we may learn that the evangelisation of the world is really a practicable thing. This is not universally acknowledged. Of course, a very large proportion of those who do not believe the gospel, utterly deny it, and there are Christian people who do not seem to be very strongly convinced of it, for if they were, surely they would think of it, pray for it, and give towards it more.

1. Here was a great work done through Gods grace by this one man in a space of thirty years. Sixty periods of thirty years have passed by since. Now, supposing that, during these periods, there had been in each--that is in each generation--just one man like Paul, the world would have been more nearly evangelised than it is.

2. Compare--Pauls helps with our own.

3. Whatever Pauls helps might be, his hindrances were greater than ours. Conclusion: Then the evangelisation of the world has not proceeded just because Christians have not done their duty. But for the apathy of our forefathers we should not be held accountable. Let us cheer ourselves with the thought that the work is really practicable. And certainly the results of Christian missionary effort in modern times are such as to encourage the most sanguine hope. The evangelisation of the whole world is quite within the reach of practical religion. It can be done: it ought to be done: let it be done! (H. Stowell Brown.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom 15:18-19. For I will not dare to speak, &c. I will not glory of more than is true and has been really done by my ministry; to make the Gentiles obedient — To bring them to the faith, and to the worship and service of the true God; by word and deed — By preaching and miracles. The apostle would not speak of what Christ had not wrought by him, but by his disciples, for making the Gentiles obedient; though he might have claimed some praise also from their success. But he would speak only of what Christ had wrought by him personally; namely, that he had preached the gospel with the greatest success, in many of the Gentile countries. Through mighty signs and wonders — It does not appear that the apostle intended by these different names to express different things, as some have supposed, namely, that the σημεια, signs, were the miracles intended to prove the truth of the doctrine asserted, or message brought by the miracle-worker; and that τερατα, wonders, were such miracles as were intended to astonish, and terrify, and draw the attention of beholders; of which sort was the punishment of Ananias and Sapphira with death, and of Elymas with blindness: he doubtless meant miracles in general, by both expressions. In the gospels, the miracles of Christ are commonly called δυναμεις, powers, or mighty works, to express the great power exerted in the performance of them. By the power of the Spirit of God —

Enlightening men’s minds, and changing their hearts, and thereby rendering the miracles wrought, and the word preached, effectual to their conviction and conversion. So that I have fully preached the gospel of Christ — Have made a full declaration thereof, not shunning to declare the whole counsel of God; not keeping back any thing that I had reason to believe would be profitable to my hearers: from Jerusalem, round about unto Illyricum — This phraseology implies, that he had propagated the gospel, not in a direct line from Jerusalem to Illyricum, but far and wide, on every hand, through the interjacent countries. “Illyricum was a country in Europe, lying between Pannonia and the Adriatic sea. It is now called Sclavonia. In the history of the Acts, there is no mention made of Paul’s preaching the gospel in Illyricum. Nevertheless, as that country, on the south, bordered on Macedonia, where Paul often preached, he may, on some occasion, have gone from Macedonia into Illyricum. Yet this supposition is not necessary, as the apostle does not say he preached the gospel in, but only as far as Illyricum: which country, it appears, at the time he wrote this epistle, was the boundary of his preaching westward.” — Macknight.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom 15:18. Οὐ γὰρ τολμήσω, for I will not dare) That is, my mind shrinks [from speaking of the things wrought by me] when unaccompanied with [except when accompanied with] Divine influence.—λαλεῖν τι, to speak anything) to mention anything, that I have accomplished, or rather, to preach the doctrine of the Gospel, for the expression is abbreviated, in this manner; I will not dare to speak any (or do any) of those things which Christ (would not speak, or) do by me; for, by word and deed, follows. The Inspiration [Theopneustia] of Paul is here marked: 2Co 13:3.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom_15:18. Negative confirmation of what is asserted in Rom_15:17. The correct explanation is determined partly by the connection, to be carefully observed, of οὐ with κατειργ., partly by the order of the words, according to which οὐ κατειργάσατο must have the emphasis, not Χριστός (Theodoret and others, including Calovius, Olshausen, Fritzsche, Tholuck). Hence: for I will not (in any given case) embolden myself to speak about any of those things (to boast of anything from the sphere of that) which Christ has not brought about through me, in order to make the Gentiles obedient to Him, by means of word and work. That is, affirmatively expressed: for I will venture to let myself be heard only as to such things, the actual fulfilment of which has taken place by Christ through me, etc.; I will therefore never pride myself on anything which belongs to the category of those things, which have not been put into execution by Christ through me.[23] This would be an untrue speaking of results, as if the Lord had brought them about through mewhich nevertheless had not taken place.

εἰς ὑπακ. ἐθνῶς] namely, through the adoption of faith in Him; comp. Rom_1:5.

λόγῳ κ. ἔργῳ] applies to κατειργ.… ἐθνῶν.

[23] The objection of Hofmann: The non-actual forms no collective whole, as a constituent element of which a single thing might be conceived, is a mere empty subtlety. Had Paul, e.g., boasted that Christ had wrought many conversions through him when he was in Athens, he would have spoken about something which would have been a single instance out of the category of the non-actual, namely, of that which Christ has not wrought. The view of Hofmann himself amounts to the sense, that the apostle wished to set aside all his own, which was not a work of Christ performed through him, with the object of converting the Gentiles. But thus, through the contrast of his own and the work of Christ, the emphasis would be transposed, resting now on Χριστός, as if it ran ὧν οὐ Χριστὸς κατειργάσατο διʼ ἐμοῦ.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom 15:18 f. All other boasting he declines. οὐ γὰρ τολμήσω τι λαλεῖν ὧν οὐ κατειργάσατο διʼ ἐμοῦ ὁ Χ .: in effect this means, I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ wrought through me. This is the explanation of ἔχω οὖν καύχησιν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ . The things which Christ did work through Paul He wrought εἰς ὑπακοὴν ἐθνῶν with a view to obedience on the part of the Gentiles: cf. Rom 1:5 . This combination Christ working in Paul, to make the Gentiles obedient to the Gospel is the vindication of Paul’s action in writing to Rome. It is not on his own impulse, but in Christ that he does it; and the Romans as Gentiles lie within the sphere in which Christ works through him. λόγῳ καὶ ἔργῳ : λόγος refers to the preaching, ἔργον to all he had been enabled to do or suffer in his calling. 2Co 10:11 , Act 7:22 , Luk 24:19 . ἐν δυνάμει σημείων καὶ τεράτων . σημεῖον and τέρας are the words generally employed in the N.T. to designate what we call miracle: often, too, δύναμεις is used as synonymous (Mar 6:2 ). All three are again applied to Paul’s miracles in 2Co 12:12 , and to similar works in the Apostolic age of the Church in Heb 2:4 : all three are also found in 2Th 2:9 , where they are ascribed to the Man of Sin, whose Parousia in this as in other respects is regarded as counterfeiting that of Christ. τέρας is always rendered “wonder” in the A.V., and, as though the word were unequal to the phenomenon, it is never used alone: in all the places in which it occurs σημεῖον is also found. The latter emphasises the significance of the miracle; it is not merely a sight to stare at, but is suggestive of an actor and a purpose. In this passage, “the power” of signs and wonders seems to mean the power with which they impressed the beholders: more or less it is an interpretation of ἔργῳ . So “the power” of the Holy Ghost means the influence with which the Holy Spirit accompanied the preaching of the Gospel: more or less it answers to λόγῳ : see 1Th 1:5 and cf. the ἀπόδείξει πνεύματος κ . δυνάμεως , 1Co 2:4 . ὥστε με κ . τ . λ . “The result of Christ’s working through His Apostle is here stated as if the preceding sentence had been affirmative in form as well as sense” (Gifford). ἀπὸ Ἱερουσαλὴμ : this agrees with Act 9:26-29 , but this, of course, does not prove that it was borrowed from that passage. Even if Paul began his ministry at Damascus, he might quite well speak as he does here, for it is not its chronology, but its range, he is describing; and to his mind Jerusalem (to which, if let alone, he would have devoted himself, see Act 22:18-22 ) was its point of departure. καὶ κύκλῳ : most modern commentators have rendered this as if it were τοῦ κύκλῳ from Jerusalem and its vicinity , by which they mean Syria (though some would include Arabia, Gal 1:17 ): for this use of κύκλῳ see Gen 35:5 , Jdt 1:2 . But most Greek commentators render as in the A.V. “and round about unto Illyricum”. This is the interpretation taken by Hofmann and by S. and H., and is illustrated by Xen., Anab. , vii., i., 14 (quoted by the latter): πότερα διὰ τοῦ ἱεροῦ ὄρους δέοι πορεύεσθαι , πορεύεσθαι , ἢ κύκλῳ διὰ μέσης τῆς Θράκης . μέχρι τοῦ Ἰλλυρικοῦ can (so far as μέχρι is concerned) either exclude or include Illyricum. Part of the country so called may have been traversed by Paul in the journey alluded to in Act 20:1 f. ( διελθὼν δὲ τὰ μέρη ἐκεῖνα ), but the language would be satisfied if he had come in sight of Illyricum as he would do in his westward journey through Macedonia. πεπληρωκέναι τὸ εὐαγγ . τοῦ Χριστοῦ : have fulfilled (fully preached) the Gospel of Christ. Cf. Col 1:25 . Paul had done this in the sense in which it was required of an Apostle, whose vocation (to judge from Paul’s practice) was to lay the foundation of a church in the chief centres of population, and as soon as the new community was capable of self-propagation, to move on.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom_15:18, Rom_15:19

In these verses the apostle explains more fully what he had intended by saying he gloried, or exalted. It was that God had born abundant testimony to his claims as a divinely commissioned preacher of the gospel: so that he had no need to refer to what others had done; he was satisfied to rest his claims on the results of his own labors and the testimony of God. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me. That is, I will not claim the credit due to others, or appeal to results which I have not been instrumental in effecting. According to another view, the meaning is, I will not speak of any thing as the ground of boasting which Christ has not done by me. The contrast implied, therefore, is not between what he had done and what others had accomplished, but between himself and Christ. He would not glory in the flesh, or in any thing pertaining to himself, but only in Christ, and in what he had accomplished. The conversion of the Gentiles was Christs work, not Pauls; and therefore Paul could glory in it without self-exaltation. It is to be remarked that the apostle represents himself as merely an instrument in the hands of Christ for the conversion of men; the real efficiency he ascribes to the Redeemer. This passage, therefore, exhibits evidence that Paul regarded Christ as still exercising a controlling agency over the souls of men, and rendering effectual the labors of his faithful ministers. Such power the sacred writers never attribute to any being but God. To make the Gentiles obedient, i.e. to the gospel; compare Rom_1:5, where the same form of expression occurs. The obedience of which Paul speaks is the sincere obedience of the heart and life. This result he says Christ effected, through his instrumentality, by word and deed, not merely by truth, but also by that operation which Christ employed to render the truth effectual. It was not only by the truth as presented in the word, but also by the effectual inward operation of his power, that Christ converted men to the faith.

Charles Hodge — Commentary on Romans (1835), First Corinthians (1857), and Ephesians (1856) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Christ was so with me in all things, and by all means, that if I would never so fain, yet I cannot say, what he hath done by me to bring the Gentiles to obey the Gospel.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

For I will not dare to speak of any--"to speak aught"

of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me--a modest, though somewhat obscure form of expression, meaning, "I will not dare to go beyond what Christ hath wrought by me"--in which form accordingly the rest of the passage is expressed. Observe here how Paul ascribes all the success of his labors to the activity of the living Redeemer, working in and by him.

by word and deed--by preaching and working; which latter he explains in the next clause.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 18. For I will not dare to speak] If the thing were not as I have stated it, I would not dare to arrogate to myself honours which did not belong to me. But God has made me the apostle of the Gentiles; and the conversion of the Gentiles is the fruit of my ministry, Christ having wrought by me for this purpose.

By word and deed] λογω και εργω. These words may refer to the doctrines which he taught and to the miracles which he wrought among them. So they became obedient to the doctrines, on the evidence of the miracles with which they were accompanied.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

18. In order to make the Gentiles obedient, etc. These words prove what his object was, even to render his ministry approved by the Romans, that his doctrine might not be without fruit. He proves then by evidences that God by the presence of his power had given a testimony to his preaching, and in a manner sealed his apostleship, so that no one ought to have doubted, but, that he was appointed and sent by the Lord. The evidences were word, work, and miracles. It hence appears that the term work includes more than miracles. He at last concludes with this expression, through the power of the Spirit; by which he intimates that these things could not have been done without the Spirit being the author. In short, he declares that with regard to his teaching as well as his doing, he had such strength and energy in preaching Christ, that it was evidently the wonderful power of God, and that miracles were also added, which were seals to render the evidence more certain.

He mentions word and work in the first place, and then he states one kind of work, even the power of performing miracles. The same order is observed by Luke, when he says that Christ was mighty in word and work, (Luke 24:19;) and John says that Christ referred the Jews to his own works for a testimony of his divinity. (John 5:36.) Nor does he simply mention miracles, but gives them two designations. But instead of what he says here, the power of signs and of wonders, Peter has “miracles and signs and wonders.” (Acts 2:22.) And doubtless they were testimonies of divine power to awaken men, that being struck with God’s power, they might admire and at the same time adore him; nor are they without an especial meaning, but intended to stimulate us, that we may understand what God is.

This is a striking passage respecting the benefit of miracles: they are designed to prepare men to reverence and to obey God. So you read in Mark, that the Lord confirmed the truth by the signs which followed. (Mark 16:20.) Luke declares in the Acts, that the Lord by miracles gave testimony to the word of his grace. (Acts 14:3.) It is then evident that those miracles which bring glory to creatures and not to God, which secure credit to lies and not to God’s word, are from the devil. The power of the Spirit, which he mentions in the third place, I apply to both the preceding clauses.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(18) Nor in basing my claims upon this head do I go at all beyond my own proper province. I will take credit for no man’s labours but my own. They have, indeed, been quite signal enough.

I will not dare to speak.—I have a certain just and legitimate pride, but I shall not, therefore, presume to boast of successes of which others have been the instrument. All successes in the mission field are due ultimately to Christ; for some he has made use of me, for others of other men. I will confine myself to those in which I have been myself directly concerned.

To make the Gentiles obedient.—Comp. Rom_1:5, “for obedience to the faith among all nations” (i.e., to bring over all the Gentiles into obedience to the faith; see Note).

By word and deed.—This goes with the phrase “wrought by me,” and signifies “either by preaching or by miracles.”

It will be seen that the structure of this verse is not, in a rhetorical sense, quite elegant. The Apostle uses a negative form of sentence where a positive form would seem to be more appropriate. Instead of saying, “I will confine myself to what Christ has wrought by me,” he says, “I will not speak of what Christ has not wrought by me,” though the description which follows is that of his own ministry.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18. For I will not dare, &c.] This ver. may be paraphrased, “To justify this exultation, I need not presumptuously intrude on the work of others, putting in a false claim to credit for that work: I need only speak of what Christ has done through my personal efforts, both of preaching and miracle, in bringing Gentile converts to Him, &c.” The sentence evidently glides from the negative to the positive in the course of this verse.

which Christ hath—wrought] St Paul recognizes the Saviour as the personal and present Worker. Cp. Mat_28:20, and the suggestive words (Act_1:1) “all that Jesus began to do and teach”—as if His doing and teaching continued in the work of His messengers. Cp. also 1Co_15:10; Gal_2:20.

me] Emphatic in the Greek.

obedient] To the Gospel. See on Rom_10:3.

deed] Specially (see next verse) deeds of miracle. Cp. Act_13:9-12; Act_14:8-10; Act_15:12; Act_16:18; Act_19:11-12; Act_20:10-12; Act_28:3-9. St Paul elsewhere distinctly claims miraculous gifts, 1Co_14:18; 2Co_12:12. In his life and teaching, as in the whole of Scripture, the natural and the supernatural are inextricably interwoven: the strongest reality of practical plans and efforts, and the most vigorous reasonings, stand linked with open references to, and cogent proofs of, the special presence around him of “the powers of the world to come.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Through mighty signs and wonders,.... Or "in", or "through the power of signs and wonders", as the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions render the words. These carrying along with them evidence and conviction of the truth of what was delivered, wrought wonderfully and powerfully on the minds of the Gentiles to embrace the Gospel, and submit to the ordinances of it; though all would have been insufficient, had it not been for what follows,

by the power of the Spirit of God: the Alexandrian copy and one of Stephens's read, "by the power of the Holy Spirit", and so does the Vulgate Latin version; meaning, either that the mighty signs and wonders in healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, raising the dead, &c. were performed not by the efficacy and working of Satan, as the signs and lying wonders of antichristian men, but by the Spirit of God, by whom Christ and all his apostles wrought the miracles they did; or that the ministration of the word in which the apostle laboured, was by the power of the Spirit of God; it was he that imparted all spiritual gifts to him, qualifying him for this service; it was he that assisted him in it, and enabled him to go through it; it was in demonstration of the Spirit and of power that he performed it; and that not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth: or else that the obedience of the Gentiles to the faith of Christ, through the preaching of the Gospel, and the wonderful works that attended it as means, were purely owing to the power of the Spirit of God, as the efficient cause; it was not by might, or power of the preacher; nor merely by the power of signs and wonders; but by the powerful and efficacious grace of the Spirit of God, who took away the stony, stubborn, and disobedient heart, and gave them an heart of flesh, a tender, flexible, and obedient one; and caused them to walk in and observe the commandments and ordinances of the Lord:

so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the Gospel of Christ; that which Christ, as God, is the author of; as man, was a preacher and minister of; and, as Mediator, is the subject matter of: this the apostle "preached fully" and completely, every part and branch of it, kept back nothing of it, but faithfully declared the whole; and so fulfilled it, as the word may be rendered, and his ministry; or he filled the Gospel, the net of the Gospel, which he spread in every place; or rather he diffused the knowledge of it everywhere; he filled all places with it wherever he came, even "from Jerusalem" round about unto Illyricum: not that he began to preach at Jerusalem, but at Damascus; from whence he went to Arabia, and after that to Jerusalem; but inasmuch as he was of Jerusalem, and had preached there, from whence the Gospel originally came, and this was the boundary of his ministry one way, he makes mention of it; as Illyricum was the boundary of it another way, which was on the extreme part of Macedonia: it is now called Sclavonia, and is an European nation; part of it is Dalmatia, mentioned Ti2 4:10. Apollonia was in it, according to Mela (z), where the apostle is said to pass through, Act 17:1, it has on the south the gulf of Venice, on the north the Danube, on the west Germany, and on the east Thracia and Macedonia: according to Ptolomy (a), Illyris, or Illyricum, was bounded on the north with upper and lower Pannonia, now called Hungary and Austria; on the east with upper Mysia, now Servia; and on the south with part of Macedonia; it lies over against Italy, the Adriatic sea being between them; its length, from the river Drinus to Arsa, is reckoned about 480 miles, and its breadth, from the mountains of Croatia to the sea, is computed to be about 120: it is by some divided into Slavonia, Dalmatia, and Albania; Slavonia is the western part, Albania the eastern, and Dalmatia between them; according to others, it includes Slavonia, Croatia, Bosnia, and Dalmatia; and had its name of Illyricum, from Illyrius, the son of Cadmus; or as others, from Illyrius, the son of Celta: here the Gospel was preached by the Apostle Paul, and no doubt with success; and churches were planted here, and which remained for several ages: in the "second" century there was a church in Illyricum, and Eleutherius was bishop, who is said to be a famous teacher; he was born at Rome, and his mother Anthia is reported to be converted by the Apostle Paul; in the same age lived one Quirinus, first a tribune, and then a bishop of Illyricum, who became a martyr under Trajan: in the "third" century there were churches in Illyricum, though devastations were made in it by the Goths; in the "fourth" century, frequent mention is made of the churches in Illyricum; and the bishops convened at Rome under Damascus in the times of Constantius wrote with great respect to the brethren in Illyricum; in Siscia, a city in this country, Quirinus a bishop suffered martyrdom; here a synod met against the Arians, and yet many in this country were infected with that heresy, by Valens and Ursatius; in this age Hilary, of Poictiers in France, spread the Gospel in this country; and he and Eusebius of Vercelli, in Piedmont, visited the churches, and corrected what was amiss: in the "fifth" century there was a church in Illyricum, and in Salo, a city of Dalmatia, Glycerius was bishop: in the "sixth" century there were also churches here, as appears from the letter of Symmachus to the bishops of them, and to their people; and in this age also Gregory wrote to all the bishops in Illyricum, to receive such bishops as were banished: in the "eighth" century, the bishops of Illyricum were in the Nycene synod, and Boniface gathered a church in Slavonia (b); thus far Christianity may be traced in this country: hither the apostle went, not in a direct line, but round about, and took many countries, cities, and towns in his way, as the history of his journeys and travels in the Acts of the Apostles shows, and as he here suggests.

(z) De orbis situ, l. 2. c. 10. (a) Geograph. l. 2. c. 17. (b) Magdeburg. Eccl. Hist. cent. 2. c. 2. p. 4. c. 10. p. 158. cent. 3. c. 2. p. 4. 14. cent. 4. c. 2. p. 6. c. 3. p. 22. c. 5. p. 181, 182. c. 7. p. 311. cent. 5. c. 2. p. 7. cent. 6. c. 2. p. 7. c. 3. p. 33. cent. 8. c. 2. p. 7.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed,

Ver. 18. To make the Gentiles, &c.] Christ by his gospel subdued the Britons, whom the Romans with all their force could never subdue, as Tertullian observed. {a}

{a} Britannorum inaccessa Romanis loca Christo tamen subdita.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For I will not dare to speak - I should be restrained; I should be afraid to speak, if the thing were not as I have stated. I should be afraid to set up a claim beyond what is strictly in accordance with the truth.

Which Christ hath not wrought by me - I confine myself “strictly” to what I have done. I do not arrogate to myself what Christ has done by others. I do not exaggerate my own success, or claim what others have accomplished.

To make the Gentiles obedient - To bring them to obey God in the gospel.

By word and deed - By preaching, and by all other means; by miracle, by example, etc. The “deeds,” that is, the “lives” of Christian ministers are often as efficacious in bringing people to Christ as their public ministry.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

q.d. I dare not speak of more than is true, or of any thing that was not really done by me: or else the meaning is, I dare not speak of any thing that I have done of myself, I acknowledge that, whatever good hath come to the Gentiles by my means, it was wrought by Christ, whose instrument I have only been: see 1Co 3:5.

By word and deed: some join these words to the obedience of the Gentiles; by the preaching of the gospel they were made obedient in word and deed. But they are better joined with the former words; Christ wrought in and by the apostle Paul, believed word and deed. By word is understood his public preaching, and private instruction; and by deed, the example of his good works, or godly life: or else, by deed ye may understand the miracles that he wrought, and the labour and travail that he underwent; of which in the following verse.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

18. Not dare to speak—As some false boasters do.

Not wrought—He will not boast of conquests he has never really achieved.

Word and deed—Qualifying wrought.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 18, 19. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought through me unto the obedience of the Gentiles (meaning, I will not dare to speak, of any mere doings of my own, but only of those in which the power of Christ working through my ministry has been displayed) by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders (i.e. displays of miraculous power. It is noteworthy how St. Paul alludes incidentally in his letters to such "signs and wonders" having accompanied his ministry, as to something familiar and acknowledged, so as to suggest the idea of their having been more frequent than we might gather from the Acts of the Apostles. Had the alleged "signs and wonders" been unreal, we might have expected them to be made more of in the subsequent narrative of an admirer than in contemporary letters), by the power of the Spirit of God (al. the Holy Spirit. This power, if taken as distinct from that of signs and wonders, may denote the power of the Holy Spirit displayed in the conversion of believers, and the gifts bestowed upon them); so that from Jerusalem, and round about as far as Illyricum, I have fully preached (literally, I have fulfilled) the gospel of Christ. In thus designating the sphere of his ministry the apostle is denoting its local extent, rather than the course he had taken. He had, in fact, preached first at Damascus, (Act_9:20) and afterwards at Jerusalem; (Act_9:29) but he mentions Jerusalem first, as being the original home of the gospel in the East, and, indeed, the first scene of his own preaching in fellowship with the original apostles. Thence he had extended it in various quarters, (for the meaning of kuklw trans. "round about cf. Mar_6:6 Luk_9:12) and carried it into Europe, Illyricum being the western limit so far reached. It is true that there is no mention in the Acts of his having actually visited Illyria. In the journey of Ac 17 he plainly got no further west than Betted, which is, however, not far off; and he might possibly mean here only to say that he had extended the gospel to the borders of Illyricum, but for the word peplhrwkenai , and his seeming to imply afterwards (ver. 23) that he had gone as far as he could in those regions, and consequently contemplated a journey to Spain. Hence, the narrative of Acts not being an exhaustive history, it may be supposed that he had on some occasion extended his operations from Macedonia to Illyricum, as he may well have done on his visit to the latter mentioned in Act_20:1-3, where dielyw merh ekeina allows for a visit into Illyricum.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

By word - By the power of the Spirit. By deed - Namely, through "mighty signs and wonders."

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Observe here, 1. The indefatigable industry and pains of the holy apostle, in order to the conversion of the Gentiles: From Jerusalem round about unto Illyricum, he fully preached the gospel of Christ. This, according to Parcus’s computation, was little less than a thousand miles. The industry of the apostles, in planting and propagating the gospel of Christ, was almost incredible.

Lord, what pains did they take; what difficulties did they contest and contend with, in that great work!

Observe, 2. That although their industry was great, yet their success was greater than their industry, and beyond all human expectation. This appears by the vast spreading of the gospel in so short a space; From Jerusalem round about unto Illyricum. Within thirty years after our Saviour’s death, the gospel was not only diffused through the greatest part of the Roman empire, but had reached as far as Parthia and India.

Observe, 3. That the gospel or doctrine of Jesus had likewise a wonderful power and efficacy upon the lives and manners of men: the apostle tells us, that the Gentiles who were converted to Christianity, were obedient by word and deed: upon the change of their religion, followed the change of their conversation, and whole course of life.

The reason of all this wonderful success, which St. Paul and other apostles had in preaching the gospel; and that was the extraordinary power of the Holy Ghost, in enabling them to work miracles for the confirmation of the gospel, ver. 19. Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God.

Such was the miraculous power of healing diseases, of casting out devils, of inflicting corporal punishment upon scandalous persons; all which did serve in general for the confirmation of the gospel, and did in particular support the honour and authority of the apostles, and supply the want of the magistrates’ power, which the Christians could not expect whilst the Roman emperors continued heathen: not that all the miraculous powers were given to every one of the apostles, or that they which had them could exercise them at all times, or whenever they pleased; but only as was most expedient for the use and benefit of the church.

Observe, 5. That the apostle, in preaching the gospel, chose to go to such dark and blind places as never heard of the gospel before, rather than amongst them where Christ had been named, that so he might lay the foundation of Christianity himself, and not build upon another man’s foundation: And likewise, that in his ministry the prophecy of Esaias might be fulfilled, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard, shall understand. Isa 52:15.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

PAULINE PERFECTION

18. “For I will not dare to speak of those things which Christ wrought through me unto the obedience of the Gentiles in both word and work.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For I will not dare to speak of any things save those which Christ wrought through me, for the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed ,

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

18. I will not dare to speak, etc. The meaning is: “I will not dare to speak of the signs of grace and the work of others, but only of the mighty works of God hath wrought through me to make the Gentiles obedient.”

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

18. οὐ γὰρ κ.τ.λ. The comparison with 2Co 10:8 f. seems to show that a double qualification of καύχησις is compressed into this rather clumsy declaration (1) I will only boast of my own works (not ἐν ἀλλοτρίοις κόποις), (2) I will not dare to boast of these works as my own, but only as Christ’s achievements through me: the thought of (1) crops up again in Rom 15:20, of (2) in 19.

εἰς ὑπακοὴν ἐθνῶν. Cf. Rom 16:19; to effect obedience (to Christ, of faith) on the part of Gentiles.

λόγῳ καὶ ἔργῳ. In speech and action: i.e. both in the preaching of the Gospel and in exemplifying it in life: more specific than 2Co 10:11; cf. Luk 24:9; Act 7:22; Col 3:17; 2Th 2:17; 1Jn 3:18.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18.] The connexion is: ‘I have real ground for glorying (in a legitimate and Christian manner);’ for I will not (as some false apostles do, see 2Co 10:12-18) allow myself to speak of any of those things which (ὧν for ἐκείνων, ἅ, attr.) Christ did not work by me (but by some other) in order to the obedience (subjection to the Gospel) of the Gentiles (then, as if the sentence were in the affirmative form, ‘I will only boast of what Christ has veritably done by me towards the obedience of the Gentiles,’ he proceeds) by word and deed,

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18. οὐ γὰρ τολμήσω κ.τ.λ. ‘For I will not presume to mention any works but those in which I was myself Christ’s agent for the conversion of Gentiles.’ St. Paul is giving his case for the assumption of authority (καύχησις). It is only his own labour or rather works done through himself that he cares to mention. But the value of such work is that it is not his own but Christ’s working in him, and that it is among Gentiles, and so gives him a right to exercise authority over a Gentile Church like the Roman.

With τολμήσω (א A C D E F G L P, Boh.. Harcl., etc.) cf. 2Co 10:12; there seems to be a touch of irony in its use here; with κατειργάσατο 2Co 12:12, Rom 7:13, &c. with λόγῳ καὶ ἔργῳ, ‘in speech or action,’ 2Co 10:11.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.