Romans 15:20

Rom_15:20

I have strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another mans foundation.

St. Pauls method of procedure

St. Paul strived, even made it a point of honour--matter of holy ambition to preach Christ in Christless regions, and not where his brethren had been before. Christian love is always tender of the rights of others. The truest ambition is to serve God in the best and most devoted manner. Worldly ambition is the perversion of a right principle. The objects worthiest of mans ambition and effort are--

1. To bring the greatest glory to God and to Christ.

2. To impart the greatest amount of happiness to men.

3. To act with the greatest uprightness and courtesy to all.

Pauls ambition the principle in every true missionary, e.g., Morrison, Carey, Martyn, Judson, Williams, Moffatt. He and they sought new fields of labour. Such fields are more difficult to cultivate. More rich and abundant in the return. (T. Robinson, D.D.)

St. Pauls evangelistic methods

I. Observe the apostles methods.

1. He went to those who needed him most.

2. Encountered the difficulties of untried ground.

3. Was ambitious to build on an independent foundation.

II. Inquire how far they are worthy of imitation.

1. Circumstances are now much altered; others have laboured, and we must enter upon their labours.

2. Yet neglected neighbourhoods deserve special attention.

3. Difficulties are not to be shunned.

4. Every Christian labourer, while he respects the rights of others, should aim at leaving the distinct impression of his own efforts somewhere. (J. Lyth, D.D.)

Foundation work

1. The converse is 1Co_3:10. When Paul was converted he stood high among his own people for knowledge and executive talent. He took the lead in putting down Christianity. One would suppose that such a man, being converted, would have gone to Jerusalem, and put himself at the head of the Christian movement. But instead of this, he secretly went to Arabia, returning thence to Damascus. Then he went to Jerusalem; but he stayed there only a fortnight, and departed into Asia Minor, where he laboured for fourteen years. When he went back to Jerusalem, it was but for a brief stay; and he declares that he, by preference, preached the gospel in places where nobody had been before him. He was not after a settlement or a good salary. Pauls feeling was I will take foundation-work. Let other men have the building upon that.

2. Now, foundation-work is always the hardest, as the figure, namely, the rearing of a structure here implies. Look at those immense stores that are going up in great cities; in proportion as they go up, they must preliminarily go down; and the consequence is that the laying of foundations is no small business. It is the most awkward, difficult, and unrequiting; when you have worked your best, your work is all hidden out of your sight, and nobody thanks you for it.

3. Now, that a man should like to do that work is scarcely possible. Offer a man a job, and ask him which part he would prefer. The frescoing says the man, so that people, when they come in, should say What a genius! I should like to have my name somewhere up there to show who did it. But if a genius should come and say, Why, let me dig, and clear away, and lay the foundations, other men may build the superstructure, people would say, There are thousands who can do that, but there is not one in a thousand who is able to do what you can do. And that is true. But is there no way in which the great mass of men can labour at foundation-work so as to be happy? This has been the problem of ages. I see streaming from Pauls example light upon it. Note--

I. The motives by which Paul was actuated.

1. Christian pride.

(1) He never tired of declaring that he was not one whit behind the chiefest of the apostles, not for the sake of praise, but because he would not have his message discredited. His temperament was such as would make him feel himself quite as much as he was. So he says, I am not behind any man. I am a match for anybody.

(2) Then such a man ought to do work that nobody else can do as well as he. He ought to say, My business is to work where nobody else will work, which is in keeping with the Masters saying, He that would be chief, let him be a servant. Thousands of men want something to do. Oh! that the spirit of Paul was among young scholars, preachers, operatives. Then they would say, not, Who will show me a good parish? not, Who will show me a remunerative, or honourable place? but Where is the place that other men do not want to go to? That is the place for me, because I am a man, and a Christian man. Such is the ideal of pride. People preach against pride; but the proper way to deal with it is to set it to work.

2. The feeling he never got over--that he had persecuted the Church. Most persons would have said, Dont feel so bad about this matter, all you had to do was to turn when you saw your mistake, and quit it. That, however, did not satisfy him. Oh, to have persecuted Jesus! The more he thought of it, the worse he felt; and he, as it were, put upon himself tasks which no other man would take by way of making amends for that wrong. That is the kind of penance which one may well glory in. The humility of his fall was as magnificent as his pride.

3. Heroic, enthusiastic love of Christ. This filled his whole soul. And he felt, There is nothing that love cannot do. The deeper the love, the more it glorifies in sacrifice. God commendeth His love toward us, etc. And so Paul said, Give me the hardest work, for the hardest work will show the greatest love.

4. The feeling that in doing foundation-work he was making a contribution to the happiness of his kind. This he intimates in 1Co_3:10. Elsewhere he repeatedly speaks of sowing and not reaping, the others may reap where he has sown. He felt that he was making the way easier for somebody else; that he was bearing pain that others might not have pain to bear.

II. The lessons that Pauls example teaches.

1. That there is to be a consecration of mens pride in work. Every true man should feel, I bring to my work the worth that is in it, no matter how low it is. I am doing this work. False pride says to a man, Why are you bothering yourself with these trifles? This is not becoming to you. You are a man that ought to come up higher. If, 1800 years ago you had gone to Jerusalem, who would have been the man the least to be envied there? He who was about to be led out to crucifixion. But go to Jerusalem to-day, and find a place where He put His foot, and a million pilgrims from every nation crowd thither, willing to bow down and kiss that place. Why, what did He give to it? Himself. It was the manliness and divinity of the Man, it was the soul-element which He brought to it, that consecrated the place, and made it a shrine for the eternities. When men consecrate themselves to their labour, that labour is no more ignominious. The trouble with men who labour at disagreeable work is that while the work is mean, the workman is meaner.

2. That there should be a spirit of benevolence connected with ones work. Men who are doing low work are working for their fellow-men. Do you suppose the builder of Eddystone Lighthouse, working through winter and summer to lay the foundations of that magnificent structure, never thought, how many ships coming home from foreign lands and bringing the husband, the son, the lover, will run safely into harbour by reason of this work that I am now doing? Let men who are working in life think, for their encouragement, how many will probably be blessed by their work. When the cook raises the bread and bakes it, and it comes out of the oven, should she think, Oh, those dear little hungry children! how happy it will make them all! or should she think, Well, now, my mistress cannot say but that I am the smartest cook in the kitchen?

3. That men, as Christians, should recognise that there is a providence that supervises all human affairs. If they reflect upon what Christ said--Not a sparrow falls to the ground without your Fathers notice--they will derive a comfort from that source which they can obtain from no other. Take that faith into your disagreeable work, and say, I am serving my Lord and Christ, and His providence is ordaining my work. Lord, wilt Thou receive this mixed labour of mine? Then He will say Yes; inasmuch as you do the least and the lowest of these duties, I accept them. Then it becomes a question of allegiance--of love. Where there is love, it can transmute everything and make it radiant.

4. That immortality should be taken into account. Reflect I am working but for a little time here. Ere long I shall be translated, and then the last shall be first and the first shall be last. Dives was seen far down, and the beggar was seen in Abrahams bosom. There will be a redistribution. Why is it that in circumstances of peril a poor ignorant woman, giving her life for others, doing what others would not do, becomes immortal? Grace Darling, who has saved so many lives at the risk of her own--what was it that gave her a name? It was that she heroically performed an unrequited service which was not demanded of her. Now, in this great world of unrewarded service, do you suppose God forgets? (H. W. Beecher.)

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

Rom 15:20-22. Yea, so have I strived to preach — Greek, ουτω δε φιλοτιμουμενον ευαγγελιζεσθαι, literally, being ambitious; or, it being the object of my ambition; namely, so far as Providence would permit me to indulge it; to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named — Had been preached before by others: that is, This way I took, as to my choice of places where to preach, lest I should build on another man’s foundation, and so decline the difficulties which attend the settlement of new churches, or should assume to myself the credit due to others. He generally, though not altogether, declined preaching where others had preached, having a holy ambition to make the first proclamation of the gospel in places where it was quite unheard of, in spite of all the difficulty and danger that attended the doing of it. And the providence of God seemed, in a special manner, to prevent his preaching where others had preached, (though not entirely,) lest his enemies, who sought every occasion to set light by him, should have had room to say that he was behind other apostles, not being sufficient for planting churches himself, but only for preaching where others had prepared his way; or that he declined the more difficult part of the ministry. But as it is written —

According to that prophecy which is now fulfilling in my ministry; to whom he was not spoken of — Namely, the Gentiles; they shall see — See on Isa 52:15. And they that have not heard — In former times; shall understand — And obey the gospel. For which cause — That I might not build on another man’s foundation; I have been much hindered from coming to you — Among whom Christ had been named. Or he means, that he had been hindered by the important work of planting the gospel elsewhere.

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

Rom 15:20. Δὲ, moreover [yea, Engl. V.]) He gives the reason for taking those regions under his own care.—φιλοτιμούμενον) The Accusative absolute, in the neuter gender,[158] the same as ἀρξάμενον, Luk 24:47.[159]—οὐχ ὅπου, not where) This is more emphatic, than if he had said, where not; for he intimates, that he had as it were avoided those places, where Christ had been already known. So Col 2:1; Gal 1:22. Paul is said to have been ‘unknown’ to those, who had previously received the faith.—ἀλλότριον, another man’s) Paul here does not term Christ Himself the foundation, but the work of others in preaching the Gospel of Christ.

[158] It being the object of my ambition. But Engl. V. takes it mascul., I have strived.—ED.

[159] But the oldest authorities read ἀρξάμενοι.—ED.

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

Rom_15:20-21. But prosecuting it as a point of honour to preach in this way, the οὕτω is now first negatively stated: not where Christ was named, then positively: but, agreeably to the word of Scripture, etc. Hence οὐχ ὅπου, not ὅπου οὐκ.

φιλοτιμ.] dependent on με, Rom_15:19. On φιλοτιμεῖσθαι, to prosecute anything so that one seeks ones honour in it, comp. 2Co_5:9; 1Th_4:11; see Wetstein and Kypke. This full signification (not merely the more general one: zealously to prosecute) is to be maintained in all passages, including the classical ones, and admirably suits the context. The matter was a special point of honour with the apostle in his working;[25] 2Co_10:15-16.

ὨΝΟΜΆΣΘΗ] His name, as the contents of confession, has been named, namely, by preachers and confessors. See Rom_15:21.

ἵνα μὴ κ.τ.λ.] i.e., in order not simply to continue the work of conversion already begun by others. Comp. 1Co_3:10. The reason why Paul did not desire this, lay in the high consciousness of his apostolic destination (Act_26:17-18), according to which he recognised the greatest and most difficult work, the founding of the church, as the task of the apostle, and found his apostolic honour in the solution of this task.[26] Others, as Reiche, specify as the reason, that he had sought on account of his freer system of doctrine to avoid polemical controversies. This would be a principle of practical prudence, corresponding neither to the apostolical idea, nor to Pauls magnanimous character in following it out.

καθὼς γέγρ.] Isa_52:15, closely cited after the LXX., who took אֲשֶׁר in each case as masculine. The passage runs according to the original: What was never told to them, they see; and what they have never heard, they perceive; and the subject is the kings, who become dumb before the glorified Servant of God, not the nations (Hengstenberg, Christol. II. p. 305; Philippi). But the actual state of the caseseeing that, along with the kings, their peoples also must see the glory of the Servant of Godallowed the apostle here to put the nations as the subject, the Gentile-peoples, to whom, through him, the Servant of God as yet unknown to them is made known, i.e. Jesus Christ, in whom the Messianic fulfilment of that prophetic idea concerning the Servant of God, as the ideal of Israel, had appeared realized.[27]

περὶ αὐτοῦ] addition of the LXX.

ὄψονται] they shall see, namely mentally, in knowledge and faith, it (that which the preaching now brings before them).

οἳ οὐκ ἀκηκ.] namely, the news of Him (the gospel).

συνήσουσι] shall understand it (this news). Comp. Mat_13:23; Mat_15:10.

[25] Lucht here conceives the writer to be dependent even on a mistaken understanding of 2Co_10:15-16.

[26] The objection of Baur, ii. p. 399, that in truth, if this had been really Pauls principle, the Epistle to the Romans itself would stand in contradiction to it, is invalid, since that principle referred only to his working as present in person; whence he thought of visiting the Romans only as διαπορευόμενος (ver. 24), on his intended journey to Spain. But to address letters to a church of a Pauline stamp, which had nevertheless been founded by others, such as, in fact, he wrote to the Colossians and Laodiceans, was not excluded by the above principle, the point of which was rather the personal presence at the founding of churches, and the oral proclamation of salvation.

[27] Comp. Schultz, alttestam. Theol. II. p. 263 ff.

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 15:20 . οὕτω δὲ φιλοτιμούμενον (1Th 4:11 , 2Co 5:9 ): making it my ambition, however, thus to preach the Gospel, etc. This limits πεπληρωκέναι : he had never sought to preach where Christianity was already established. A point of honour, but not rivalry, is involved in φιλοτιμούμενον . ὠνομάσθη : cf. 2Ti 2:19 and Isa 26:13 , Amo 6:10 . To name the name of the Lord is to confess Him to be what He is to the faith of His people. ἵνα μὴ ἐπʼ ἀλλότοιον θεμέλιον κ . τ . λ . The duty of an Apostle was with the foundation, not the superstructure. 1Co 3:10 . The same confidence in his vocation, and the same pride in limiting that confidence, and not boasting of what Christ had done through others, or intruding his operations into their sphere, pervades the tenth chapter of 2 Cor.

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

Vv. 20, 21. “And that while making it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation: but as it is written, They to whom nothing was said of Him shall see Him; and they that have not heard shall know Him.”

To confirm the reality of his apostleship to the Gentiles, Paul has referred to the successes with which his activity thus far has been crowned in the east; and now, to pass to the idea of his fnture work in the west and of his visit to Rome, he recalls the principle by which he has always been guided in the direction of his labors. The participle φιλοτιμούμενον has something of the force of a gerund: while making it my ambition. The reading φιλοτιμοῦμαι, I make it my ambition, must be unhesitatingly rejected; for the apostle does not mean here to express a new idea, but merely to define the manner of his procedure in the work to the goal of which he is now approaching. The term φιλοτιμεῖσθαι should not be generalized in the sense of: to strive or bind myself to; it must be kept in its strict sense: to esteem it a matter of honor. Not that Paul sought his personal honor in the method followed by him: what he was concerned about was his apostolic dignity. An apostle is not a simple pastor or evangelist; his mission is, as Paul himself says, 1Co 3:10, to “lay the foundation” on which others after him may build, consequently to preach where others have not yet come. Paul might have said: “to preach the gospel where Christ has not yet been named,” but he prefers to give his expression a still more negative turn, and to say more precisely: “to preach the gospel, not where He has been named.” He wishes to preach the gospel, but not where any one has done so before him.

Vv. 21. This conduct rested, as we have just said, on the exalted feeling which he had of the apostolic mission; and, moreover, he found, as it were, the programme for it in a prophetical saying, Isa 52:15. The prophet speaks here of the Gentile kings and peoples to whom the declaration of the Messiah’s work shall come for the first time.

The expression: “as it is written,” depends, as in Rom 15:3, on a verb understood: “but doing as it is written.” Volkmar here finds proof of the Jewish-Christian character of the church of Rome, since this church is to Paul like a foreign domain on which he has denied himself the satisfaction of entering. Weizsäcker shows indeed that Paul’s words contain nothing of the kind; for what he says refers in general to every church not founded by him, whether of Jewish or Gentile origin. But it may be questioned if Paul is even alluding to the reason which has kept him hitherto from visiting Rome. Does not Paul by this digression, Rom 15:20-21, simply mean to say that so long as there still remained unevangelized countries in the east, it was his duty to remain in that part of the world? In Rom 15:22-24, he calls to mind that now circumstances are changed, and that the application of the same principle which had hitherto detained him in the east, henceforth impels him to the west, which will bring him at the same time to Rome.

Baur has asked, if to write a letter of so considerable compass as this to a Jewish-Christian church not founded by him, was not to build on the foundation laid by another? We first remove from the objection the word Jewish-Christian; then we call to mind that the founders of the church of Rome were chiefly disciples of St. Paul, who came from churches founded by him in the east; and finally, we cannot put on the same footing a letter written by Paul, and his personal intervention as a preacher. He wrote to the Colossians and the Laodiceans, though he had not personally founded and known those churches (Col 2:1). It is precisely for this reason that in beginning his Epistle (Rom 1:1-7), and then again in closing it (Rom 15:16), he has referred to his mission to the Gentiles which imposes on him duties to all churches of Gentile origin.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom_15:20, Rom_15:21

In further confirmation of this point, Paul states that he had not acted the part of a pastor merely, but of an apostle, or founder of the church, disseminating the gospel where it was before unknown, so that the evidence of his apostleship might be undeniable; compare 1Co_9:2; If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you; for the seal of my apostleship are ye in the Lord; and 2Co_3:2, 2Co_3:3. Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another mans foundation; that is, I have been desirous of not preaching where Christ was before known, but in such a way as to accomplish the prediction that those who had not heard should understand. Φιλοτιμεῖσθαι, so to prosecute an object as to place ones honor in it. The motive which influenced him in taking this course was lest he should build upon another mans foundation. This may mean either lest I should appropriate to myself the result of other mens labors; or, lest I should act the part not of an apostle, (to which I was called), but of a simple pastor.

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

Yea, &c.--rather, "Yet making it my study (compare Co2 5:9; Th1 4:11, Greek) so to preach the Gospel, not where Christ was [already] named, that I might not build upon another man's foundation: but (might act) as it is written, To whom no tidings of Him came, they shall see," &c.

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 20. So have I strived to preach the Gospel] ουτω δε φιλοτιμουμενον. For I have considered it my honour to preach the Gospel where that Gospel was before unknown. This is the proper import of the word φιλοτιμεισθαι; from φιλος, a friend, and τιμη, honour. As I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, so I esteem it an honour to preach it, and especially to proclaim it among the heathen; not building on another man's foundation-not watering what another apostle had planted; but cheerfully exposing myself to all kinds of dangers and hardships, in order to found new Churches.

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

20. Thus striving to preach the gospel, etc. As it was necessary for Paul not only to prove himself to be the servant of Christ and a pastor of the Christian Church, but also to show his title to the character and office of an Apostle, that he might gain the attention of the Romans, he mentions here the proper and peculiar distinction of the apostleship; for the work of an Apostle is to propagate the gospel where it had not been preached, according to that command,

“Go ye, preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15.)

And this is what we ought carefully to notice, lest we make a general rule of what specially belongs to the Apostolic order: nor ought we to consider it a fault, that a successor was substituted who built up the Church. The Apostles then were the founders as it were of the Church; the pastors who succeeded them, had to strengthen and amplify the building raised up by them. He calls that another’s foundation, which had been laid by the hand of another: otherwise Christ is the only stone on which the Church is founded. See 1 Corinthians 3:11; and Ephesians 2:20

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.

(20) Yea, so have I strived.—Rather, but making it my ambition. The Apostle set it before him as a point of honour, not merely to carry forward a work that others had begun, but to build up the whole edifice from the foundation himself.

Not where Christ was named.—Not in places where there were Christians already.

Another man’s foundation.—Comp. 2Co_10:15-16; and for the use of the word “foundation” for the first preaching of the gospel, 1Co_3:10.

(20, 21) Throughout all this long missionary career, the Apostle had made it his endeavour not merely to go over old ground where others had been before him, but to seek out new and virgin soil, where he might enter as a pioneer, and convey the good news of the kingdom of heaven for the first time.

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

20. Yea, so have I strived] Better, But jealously striving so, &c. The “but” adds a qualifying additional fact; that his line and area of action were determined, in a measure, by his aim to work only in untouched regions. This is partly to explain why, with all his vast range of travel, he had not yet visited Rome.—“Jealously striving:”—the Gr. verb indicates an effort in which personal desires and principles are kept in view. St Paul made it a point of honour to be a pioneer in his missionary work; not with a selfish love of éclat, but because his devotion to his Master took this peculiar line, very probably under Divine suggestions.

lest I should build, &c.] He avoided this, probably, both from consciousness of the vastness of untouched heathendom, and from scrupulous avoidance of needless discord on secondary points.—For similar imagery, see 1Co_3:10.

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.

But as it is written,.... In Isa 52:15;

to whom he was not spoken of, they shall see, and they that have not heard shall understand; for the Messiah was not spoken of to the Gentiles; they were strangers to the covenants of promise; the oracles of God were committed to the Jews; God gave his word and statutes to them, and not to any other nation: and yet, according to this prophecy, the Gentiles were to see him whom they had no account of; not in the flesh with their bodily eyes, in which sense only, or at least chiefly, the Jews saw him; but with the eyes of their understanding, by faith, as exhibited and evidently set forth before them as crucified, in the Gospel and the ordinances of it: and though they had heard nothing of him, having for many hundreds of years been left in ignorance, and suffered to walk in their own ways, until the apostles were sent among them; whose sound went into all the earth, and their words to the end of the world; yet when this would be the case, according to these words, they would understand the mind and will of God, the mysteries of his grace, the nature of the person and offices of Christ, the design of his coming into the world, and the way of salvation by him; all which was greatly brought about and accomplished, in the ministry of the Apostle Paul among them. The passage is very pertinently cited and applied by the apostle. The whole paragraph is to be understood of the Messiah, from whence it is taken, as it is owned, and accordingly interpreted by many Jewish writers, both ancient (b) and modern (c); and these words particularly respect the kings and nations of the world, who are represented as struck with silence and wonder, when, upon the preaching and hearing of the Messiah, they should see him by faith, and spiritually understand what is declared concerning him. The difference between the apostle's version of these words, which is the same with the Septuagint, and the text in Isaiah, is very inconsiderable. The first clause of the Hebrew text may be literally rendered thus, "for him, who was not spoken of to them, they shall see"; and the apostle's Greek in this manner, to whom "it was not spoken of concerning him, they shall see"; the sense is the same, and person intended Christ: the latter clause, which we from the Hebrew text render, "and that which they had not heard, shall they consider"; and here, "they that have not heard, shall understand", has nothing material in it, in which they differ; for in the former part of it both design the Messiah, and the things concerning him, the Gentiles had not heard of; and the latter is rendered and explained by the Targum, and by R. Sol Jarchi, as by the apostle, "they shall understand"; and which fitly expresses the sense of the Hebrew word used by the prophet.

(b) Targum in Isa. lii. 13. Pesikta in Kettoreth hassammim in Num. fol. 27. 2. Tanchuma apud Huls. Jud. Theolog. p. 321. (c) Baal Hatturim in Lev. xvi. 14. R. Moses Aishech in lsa. lii. 13. Vid. R. Aben Ezra in ib.

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

20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation:

Ver. 20. Lest I should build] Lest I should seem to do anything unbeseeming the office of an apostle: there is a decorum to be kept in every calling.

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.

Yea, so have I strived - The word used here φιλοτιμούμενον philotimoumenon means properly “to be ambitious, to be studious of honor;” and then to “desire” earnestly. In that sense it is used here. He earnestly desired; he made it a point for which he struggled, to penetrate into regions which had not heard the gospel.

Not where Christ was named - Where the gospel had not been before preached.

Lest I should build ... - That is, he desired to found churches himself; he regarded himself as particularly called to this. Others might be called to edify the church, but he regarded it as his function to make known the name of the Saviour where it was not before known. This work was particularly adapted to the ardor, zeal, energy, and bravery of such a man as Paul. Every man has his proper gift; and there are some particularly suited to “found” and establish churches; others to edify and comfort them; compare 2Co 10:13-16. The apostle chose the higher honor, involving most danger and responsibility; but still any office in building up the church is honorable.

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

St. Paul does not mean to say, that he never preached where the gospel had before been announced; this would not have been true, for he preached at Damascus, where there were already Christians, whom he formerly wished to take in chains to Jerusalem; and again in this epistle he announces the truths of the gospel to the Romans already converted by the preaching of St. Peter. But he means to say, that on these occasions he acts not as an apostle, whose office it is to preach to infidels; but as one that waters, confirms, comforts, as he says in the beginning of this epistle: and this he did as occasion offered, as the subsequent verses shew, where he tells us his design in calling on the Romans, in his journey to Spain. (Estius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

He gives a reason why he chose to preach the gospel in these places, because Christ had not been named or preached there before; this, he saith, was his ambition, and a thing that he greatly coveted; he was unwilling to

build upon another man’s foundation, to put his sickle into another’s harvest, to derive the glory to himself which would be due to others, 2Co 10:15,16. Again, another reason why he preached the gospel where Christ had not been named, was this, that so by him, as an apostle of Christ, and in his ministry, that scriptnre might be fulfilled, which you have in Isa 52:15, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see, & c. See Poole on "Isa 52:15".

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

20. Have I strived—The translators seem to have covered up a Greek word they did not like, φιλοτιμουμενον, being ambitious, or making it a point of honour, as if there could not be a holy ambition inspired by God’s Spirit in the proper breast to fulfil a heroic mission. It was Paul’s divine work, for which he was fitted by both grace and nature, to be a founder. Never did he envy another man his work or his territory. He knew the field was wide, and the occupancy of any part by another was a signal to him that there were plenty of blanks elsewhere for him to fill. It was for a Paul to plant, for others to water.

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

Yea (or, but), so striving (or, earnestly desiring, or making it my aim. The word is filotimoumenon , cf. 2Co_5:9 1Th_4:11) to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man"s foundation. In the compact between St. Paul and the apostles of the circumcision referred to in Gal_2:1-7, it was agreed that he should confine his apostolic ministry to the Gentiles. Consequently, we find him selecting as centres of his work the principal cities of the heathen world. But he was further careful to avoid places, wherever they might be, in which Churches were already founded. It was the function of an apostle to extend the gospel by founding new Churches, rather than to invade the provinces of others. Those founded by himself, and thus under his immediate jurisdiction, as e.g. the Corinthian Church, he visited as need arose, and addressed them in authoritative letters, commanding as well as exhorting. But his rule in this respect did not preclude his writing also letters of general encouragement and admonition to any whom his peculiar commission as apostle of the Gentiles gave him a claim to be heard by. Thus he wrote to the Colossians, though he had never seen them; (Col_1:4 Col_2:1) and thus also to the Romans, at the same time (as we have seen, Rom_15:15, seq.) almost apologizing for doing so; and, though he proposes visiting them, it is nor with the view of staying among them long, so as to take up the superintendence of them, but only on his way to Spain for mutual comfort and edification. (see Rom_1:11, 12 15:24)

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

Not where Christ had been named - These places he generally declined, though not altogether, having an holy ambition (so the Greek word means) to make the first proclamation of the gospel in places where it was quite unheard of, in spite of all the difficulty and dangers that attended it. Lest I should only build upon another man's foundation - The providence of God seemed in a special manner, generally, to prevent this, though not entirely, lest the enemies of the apostle, who sought every occasion to set light by him, should have had room to say that he was behind other apostles, not being sufficient for planting of churches himself, but only for preaching where others had been already; or that he declined the more difficult part of the ministry

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

20. “And thus, being ambitious not to preach where Christ was named, in order that I may not build on another’s foundation,

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

yea [yes, so full was the spiritual power imparted to me that I thought it an honor and recognition due to my office and to those powers to use them only on the hard, unbroken soil of utterly unenlightened paganism], making it my aim so to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, that I might not build upon another man's foundation [Had Paul done otherwise he would have used his supreme powers as though they were secondary, and he would have been choosing the easy tasks, leaving to others those harder undertakings for which Christ was hourly fitting and equipping him ( 1Co_3:10 ; Eph_2:20 ; 2Co_10:12-16 ). It ill becomes a ten-talent man to seek a one-talent position. The pressing needs of the field also forbade the waste of time in resowing. Had Paul's example been followed, what needless overlapping of missionary effort might have been avoided. Sectarianism has caused and committed this sin, and it has been especially reprehensible where it has been done to foster points of difference which are matters of indifference, as is the case where factions of the same sect compete in the same field];

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.

20. Yea, so have I strived to preach. He declares the fixed policy of his ministry not to preach where Christ had been heard, but in new fields. Where other apostles or evangelists had laid a foundation, he did not seek to build. Compare 2 Cor. 10:12–16. As no apostle or great evangelist had yet visited Rome, his letter to the Romans was no violation of his principle.

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.

In this way, my desire has been to proclaim the gospel, but not where Christ is known by name

Paul only wants to preach to people who have never heard of Christ. AT: "Because of this, I want to preach the good news in places where people have never heard of Christ" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

in order that I might not build upon another man's foundation

Paul speaks of his ministry work as if he were building a house on a foundation. AT: "in order that I might not be simply continuing the work that someone else already started. I do not want to be like a man who builds a house on someone else's foundation" (See: Metaphor)

It is as it is written

Here Paul refers to what Isaiah wrote in the scriptures. You can translate this in an active form and make the meaning explicit. AT: "What is happening is like what Isaiah wrote in the scriptures" (See: Active or Passive and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

Those to whom no tidings of him came

Here Paul speaks of the "tidings" or message about Christ as if it were alive and able to move by itself. AT: "Those whom no one had told the news about him" (See: Personification)

translationWords

preach

good news

written

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

20. οὕτως δὲ κ.τ.λ. qualifying πεπληρωκέναι:= but always with the eager desire.

φιλοτιμούμενον. This word is a good illustration of meaning determined by use, rather than by derivation. The primary (derivative) sense is ‘to be ambitious’: in the ‘general usage of the best Greek writers’= ‘to make one’s best efforts.’ So. 2Co 5:9 a heightening of θαρροῦμεν καὶ εὐδοκοῦμεν; 1Th 4:11 (only, in N.T.); cf. Polyb. I. 83 (qu. Field) ἐφιλοτιμεῖτο |[306] μεγάλην ἐποιεῖτο σπουδήν.

[306] | parallel to

οὐχ ὅπου ὠνομάσθη Χρ. Cf. Eph 1:21; cf. Jer 32:15 (Jer 25:29) = was named as an object of allegiance and worship; cf. 1Co 1:2; Isa 66:19.

ἵνα μὴ ἐπ’ ἀλλ. θ. οἰκ. Cf. 2Co 10:15 and for θεμ. 1Co 3:10; ἀλλ. = laid by another.

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.

20.] But (limits the foregoing assertion) thus (after the following rule) being careful (reff.: the word in the Apostle’s usage seems to lose its primary meaning of ‘making a point of honour.’

The particip. agrees with με, ver. 19) to preach the Gospel, not where Christ was (previously) named, that I might not build on the foundation of another, but according as it is written (i.e. according to the following rule of Scripture: I determined to act in the spirit of these words, forming part of a general prophecy of the dispersion of that Gospel which I was preaching), &c. The citation is from the LXX, περὶ αὐτοῦ referring to ὁ παῖς μου, ver. 13, but being unrepresented in the Heb. Our E. V. renders: “That which had not been told them, shall they see: and that which they had not heard, shall they consider.”

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

20. οὕτω δὲ φιλοτιμούμενον κ.τ.λ. introduces a limitation of the statement of the previous verses. Within that area there had been places where he had not been eager to preach, since he cared only to spread the Gospel, not to compete with others. οὕτω is explained by what follows. φιλοτιμούμενον (1Th 4:11; 2Co 5:9) means to ‘strive eagerly,’ having lost apparently in late Greek its primary idea of emulation. See Field, Otium Norv. iii. p. 100, who quotes Polyb. i. 83; Diod. Sic. xii. 46; xvi. 49; Plut. Vit. Caes. liv.

ὠνομάσθη: ‘so named as to be worshipped.’ Cf. 2Ti 2:19; Isa 26:13; Amo 6:10.

ἀλλότριον θεμέλιον. For ἀλλότριον cf. 2Co 10:15, 2Co 10:16. St. Paul describes his work (1Co 3:10) as laying a ‘foundation stone’: ὡς σοφὸς ἀρχιτέκτων θεμέλιον ἔθηκα· ἀλλὸς δὲ ἐποικοδομεῖ: and so generally the Church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Eph 2:20).

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

Have I strived [φιλοτιμουμενον] . The verb means originally to be fond of honor, and hence, from a love of honor, to strive, be ambitious. Compare 2Co 5:9; 1Th 4:11. The correct sense is to prosecute as a point of honor.

Foundation (qemelion). See on settle, 1Pe 5:10.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.