St Paul Writes from Rome I
The chain that secured him to the wall and the constant attention of the
Praetorian Guards reminded Paul that he was a prisoner of the Emperor
Nero. But the wall was in a house he had rented at his own cost possibly
near the Jewish quarter of the City, and the regular stream of visitors
reminded him of the relative privilege his Roman Citizenship afforded
him. Imprisoned by the authorities in Jerusalem and Caesarea at the
behest of the Jews, Paul had used his Roman Citizen’s right to be tried
by the Emperor himself to ensure the fulfillment of his long held desire
to visit Rome. It seems he arrived there around March AD 61.
Being a prisoner of the increasingly demented Nero was a very insecure
position. Nero had ordered the murder of his own mother in circumstances
that degenerated into blackest “comedy “in AD 59 and would have his
wife murdered in AD 62. What hope could a humble imprisoned preacher
hold out for himself?
Only three days after arriving in the City and securing the house, Paul
invites the leaders of the Jewish community to visit him, preaches to
them and seeks to ensure that they will not persecute him as the Jews in
Jerusalem and Caesarea did. They had heard nothing about him from
Jerusalem and were not concerned about his work, saying that all they
knew about the followers of Christ was that they were everywhere
reviled.
Paul’s circumstances, as might be expected, affect the content of his
letters. Unlike St. Peter, who as yet, remained free to move about the
great City, Paul is not exposed to its glamour and cosmopolitan
splendour. St Peter is, and he is greatly concerned, warning his flock
to avoid conforming to the dress and manners of the pagans about them.
St. Paul’s world is confined physically to his room. But his soaring
spirit and classically Jewish trained and powerful mind cannot be so
easily confined. His physical immobility gives him for the first time
since his retreat in Arabia so many years ago, time to reflect on the
totality of his teaching to date.
He perceives that there is room to develop more fully his teaching about
the centrality of Christ and about His relationship to His Church, the
relationship of Head to mystical body. Indeed St. Paul discloses that
this teaching came to him by direct revelation. This intense mental and
spiritual reflection during his two years captivity gives rise to a
substantial written output. Thirty per cent of all of St Paul’s writings
come from this relatively short period.
Three of these “captivity “letters, as they are known, form a group in
time- all being delivered by Tychicus(Col. 4:7-9) and (Eph. 6::21) on
the same journey. Internal evidence suggests that Colossians was written
before Ephesians. Each of the letters is different in type – Colossians
is pastoral and monitory, Ephesians is mainly a doctrinal reflection
and Philemon is a private letter. The fourth, Philippians was written at
a different time.
COLOSSIANS
St Paul refers to the founder of the church at Colossae, Epaphras, as
his “fellow servant”(Col.1:7). In Monsignor Ronald Knox’s excellent
translation this is rendered “bondsman”. However later, in Philemon V 23
Paul refers to him as “my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus”. So it
appears that Epaphras came to Rome to see St Paul, or happened to be in
Rome and called on Paul, and told him of his concerns for the church he
led in Colossae. which Paul had not visited. It seems that he stayed in
Rome too long and came to be imprisoned for his activities and perhaps
for his association with Paul, but this is unlikely since Paul seems to
have been allowed free visiting privileges. We cannot know precisely.
Heresy seems to have been the problem in Colossae. Specifically, the
heresy that later came to be known as Gnosticism. It is referred to as
“philosophy “in the Epistle, the very description of some Jewish
teaching used by Josephus and Philo.
We are told in V 16:23 that these false teachers wished to introduce the
observance of Sabbaths new moons and other such days, and forbad the
eating, drinking, tasting, touching of certain things. Worse still they
held angels to be equal to or superior to Christ and promoted worship of
them. (There were at the time a variety of Jewish sects, including the
Essenes, who held bizarre obsessions with “angels” of the stars, of the
seasons, months, days of the year, heat, cold etc., etc.)
Remembering that Paul had not been to Colossae and that Epaphras had
come from there and was asking Paul to help correct these false teachers
and their errors, conjures up a scene of the anxious Epaphras hovering
about as the great Apostle to the Gentiles seeks to devise his address
to these strangers in a strange place, occasionally pausing to receive
further input from Epaphras or to question him further. The letter as it
evolved, falls into two parts, the first is doctrinal and polemical, and
the second is moral and pastoral.
FIRST PART
Paul opens by thanking God for the faith of the Colossians made known to
him by Epaphras. He prays that the Colossians may remain steadfast in
belief and practice.
He opens his teaching at its very heart: the pre-eminence of Christ - God
become Man. He is the Creator of all things and creatures in the natural
order and in the supernatural order: angels, Thrones, Dominations and
Powers. He is the Head of His Church which is His Body. (Here we see
Paul clearly enunciating the existence of the one Universal Church of
which individual local churches are parts. Christ did not found Churches
but only one Church.) And he identifies the role of Christ as
reconciler of man to God “through the Blood of His Cross” (1:20).
Paul knows that the majority of Colossians is Gentile - converts of
Greek and Phrygian origin (1:26, 27 & 2: 13). There may have been a
small number of Jewish converts also, because Josephus (Ant.XII, iii and
4) refers to a scattered Jewish population in the Colossae area. He
reminds them that before their conversion they were estranged from God
by their evil works. But now, through Christ’s saving Death and
Resurrection they are reconciled to God. He affirms his role as Apostle
to the Gentiles and his great concern for them and also for the
Laodecians because he has been unable to visit them.
Paul urges them to build their faith on Christ as they have been taught
and to beware of false teachers whose human traditions are based on the
“elements of the world” (see above). He emphasises how they have been
brought alive by Baptism and spiritually “circumcised”. He warns against
those who preach dietary taboos and new moon festivals, sabbaths and
the false practice of worshiping angels (as opposed to legitimate
veneration of them and their true role). Disregard mere human teachings,
seek and follow what comes from above, he urges them.
“For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When
Christ, your life shall appear, then you too will appear with him in
glory”.(Col.3 3-4)
SECOND PART
Paul urges the Colossians to avoid immorality, uncleanness, lust, evil
desire and covetousness which the unbelievers practice, and to avoid
“anger, wrath, malice, abusive language and foul-mouthed utterances. Do
not lie to one another”. (Col. 3:8-9) They are all one in Christ with no
racial or status distinctions. Physical circumcision has no privileged
position or value among them.
He urges on them all the practical virtues and they should show forth:
mercy, love and forbearance and forgiveness and do and say everything in
the Name of the Lord Jesus whilst thanking God the Father through Him.
He counsels these virtues in specific terms within the families of the
faithful, with detailed attention to the roles of husbands, wives and
children and their relations with one another. He cautions convert
slaves to work diligently for the sake of their fidelity to God. As we
saw in Foundation for March, Paul had urged Timothy to preach along the
same lines. Few things could more certainly bring down the wrath of the
Roman state on the infant Church than to be seen by Romans as fomenting
rebellion among the slaves.
Paul urges upon the Colossians regularity and consistency in prayer and
asks them to pray for him. He exhorts them to consider carefully how
they spend their time with, or enter into discussion with unbelievers, so
that all will work toward their conversion. He explains that Tychicus
is carrying the letter and will tell them more about Paul and how he is
faring. He is also to be accompanied by Onesimus, himself a Colossian,
who has been working with Paul and is now returning to them.
He sends greetings from his “fellow prisoner” Aristarchus (we recall
that whilst in Ephesus with Paul, Aristarchus had been set upon by a mob
in the theatre) who had sailed from Caesarea with Paul being one of his
close co-workers. Greetings also come from Mark, Barnabas’ cousin and
of course from Epaphras whom Paul assures the Colossians is ever
solicitous for them in his prayers, as he is for Laodicea and
Hierapolis.
Finally he sends greetings from “Luke, our most dear physician” (Col.
4:13) and from Demas. He sends his personal greetings to the church in
Laodicea and to the church in the house of Nymphas and sends a brief
message to Archippus – “Look to the ministry which thou hast received in
the Lord, that thou fulfill it.)
He finishes “in my own hand”: “Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Amen”.
Tony Dixon
Copyright. This article first appeared in the April, 2009 issue of FOUNDATION.
St Paul Writes from Corinth, Second Segment
The Letter to the Romans
SIX YEARS HAVE PASSED since St Paul wrote his letters to the
Thessalonians from Corinth. In these busy, tumultuous years St Paul has
covered thousands of miles back and forth from Damascus to Illyricum the
Roman province across the Adriatic from Italy which marked the Imperial
border with the barbarian regions to the North. He is now the mature
Apostolic missionary. His exertions in preaching, teaching, travel on
foot, shipwreck, imprisonment, beatings and narrow escapes from death
have taken their toll.
Yet he remains keen to bring more and more Gentiles to Christ. In the
East he has established many churches, visited and re-visited them, and
set over them bishops and priests he knows will do as much as can be
done to keep them faithful. Now he has his sights set on Spain. But, on
his way to that Western bulwark of the Empire of Rome, he plans to
satisfy a long-held desire to visit the well-established church in Rome
itself.
Announcing this intention, he writes to the Romans a remarkable epistle –
the largest he wrote. It is a complex letter and far from being “an
easy read”. When we consider the background, we begin to understand why.
St Paul has built up a vast experience in his missionary journeys. This
letter is intended to mark the close of his activity in the East, and to
provide a distillation of that experience from a theological and a
pastoral perspective. In addition there is a diplomatic complication to
be considered. In the past, Paul has usually been going to found
churches or to re-visit those he has founded. But in Rome he knows he
will find a largely Gentile convert church for which he has had no
responsibility, a church renowned throughout the world for its success
and devotion and overseen by the Prince of the Apostles. He knows also
that there is a small but influential Jewish convert component in that
church – just the element that has caused him so much trouble elsewhere.
The fact that the letter is dictated to an amenuensis (we know his name
– Tertius- because he inserts his own comment in the letter) as St Paul
so often did, and that it must have been dictated over some days, and
that we know St Paul to be somewhat volatile, also works to make it
complex.
Structure
The Epistle is broadly constructed as follows:
Greetings – Reason for visit
Condition of mankind before Christ - Gentiles and Jews
Condition of mankind with Christ
Faith, Hope, Love, Salvation
Justification
Freedom from the Law for Christians
Activity of the Holy Spirit
Jewish Rejection of the Gospel
Moral Duties of Christians
His Plans, Commendation and Individual Greetings
Greetings and Reason for Visit
Paul’s greeting emphasises his Apostleship from Christ Himself, Christ’s
Resurrection as evidence that He is the Son of God and the importance
of the obedience of Faith. In expressing his desire to visit the Romans,
St Paul affirms his high opinion of them : “your faith is proclaimed
all over the world” (Rom. 1:8) and “ unceasingly I make mention of you”
(Rom. 1:9) He wants the visit to bring some spiritual grace to them and
to be comforted with them in their shared faith. He wants to preach to
them just as he has done to other Gentiles in other places. He stresses
the importance of faith which provides a great theme for the Epistle.
Mankind without Christ – Gentiles
Paul reviews the state of pagan mankind. He shows that knowledge of the
one true God is available to them by reason, from the evidence of His
works. They have however pursued mere idols and “worshipped and served
the creature rather than the Creator”. (Rom. 1:25) In view of this pagan
activity they are denied God’s grace and give themselves up to every
sort of depravity and shameful action. Paul reminds his readers that
such people will be judged by God according to the Natural Law, written
on their hearts.
Jews
The situation of the Jews he says, is quite different. They had the Law
and will be judged according to it. They are circumcised to evidence
their subjection to the Law. But circumcision will avail them nothing if
they do not follow the Law. True “circumcision is a matter of the heart
in the spirit, not in the letter” (Rom. 2:29) Here, in responding to
some calumny brought against him, Paul directly enunciates the principle
that we may not do evil even if some good comes of it. Paul is seeking
to get the Jews thinking aright – he makes it clear that the Law
effectively defines and thus introduces sins,. It does not justify. It
does not save.
Mankind with Christ – Faith
With the coming of Jesus Christ salvation is available to all who have
faith in Him. They have no need of the Law. He has fulfilled the Law and
the Prophets.
The works of the Law do not justify – faith in Jesus Christ does- it is the true circumcision.
Abraham
To ensure correct thinking by the Jews, Paul goes back to their father,
Abraham. He reminds them that Scripture says that Abraham was justified
by his belief in God – by faith, not by the works of the Law. And
Abraham was at the time as yet uncircumcised, Paul stresses. Paul really
hammers home this point, the promise made to Abraham and his posterity
came not through the works of the Law or through circumcision, but
through Abraham’s faith.
Justified in Christ
“When we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His
Son”(Rom3:10) “we exult also in God through Our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received reconciliation”.(Rom. 3:11)
Through Adam mankind inherited sin and death. Through Christ mankind inherits grace and the possibility of eternal salvation.
Paul points out very firmly that the baptised Christian has no
obligation under the Law. He frames his statements on this point with
great care, for he knows it touches Jewish sensitivities in two ways:
firstly, as to the obligations of the Jewish converts themselves, and
secondly, as regards the views some Jewish converts held about what was
proper for the Gentile converts. Many Jewish converts had in his
experience, sought to burden the Gentile converts with the Law and
circumcision. Paul seeks, gently but firmly to teach the Truth.
He goes on to consider at length, the spiritual struggle between the
will of the Christian believer and the temptations and inclinations of
the flesh. “For I am delighted with the law of God according to the
inner man, but I see another law in my members warring against the law
of my mind and making me prisoner to the law of sin that is in my
members”. (Rom. 7:23) But the grace of God through Our Lord Jesus Christ
delivers him. “For what was impossible for the Law, in that it was weak
because of the flesh, God has made good. By sending His Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh as a sin offering, He has condemned sin in the
flesh….” Those who remain steadfast in the spirit will not only be
adopted as sons of God but joint heirs with Christ to the glory in which
He has been raised.
No present sufferings, Paul says, can compare with that future glory.
In a very brief section of the Epistle, St Paul now opens to us one of
the most consoling and encouraging revelations in Sacred Scripture :
“But in like manner the Spirit also helps our weakness. For we do not
know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself pleads
for us with unutterable groanings. And He who searches the hearts knows
what the Spirit desires, that He pleads for the saints according to
God”. (Rom. 8 :26-27)
This is a truly remarkable revelation of the inner life ( if we may use a
human analogy) of the Blessed Trinity which leaves us breathless but
rejoicing at the depth and workings of God’s love for us.
Paul reminds the Romans (and us) that for those who love God, all things
work together to produce good. God knows who will be saved and
glorified. “If God is for us, who is against us?” (Rom. 8: 31) He
reminds his readers that Christ is at the right hand of God interceding
for us. No peril or disaster, or evil force, can separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus Our Lord.
The Jewish Rejection of the Gospel
Paul, so proudly a Jew himself, reveals his great distress at the
rejection of the Gospel by the Jewish leaders and the bulk of the Jewish
people. Their fault lies in their refusal of faith in the Gospel and
stubborn self-satisfaction with the external observances of the Law
alone. They rejected both the preaching and the teaching of the Lord
Himself, and even after the Resurrection they refused the preaching of
the Apostles. Paul reminds the Romans of the Prophet Isaias’ saying “All
day long I stretched out my hand to a people unbelieving and
contradicting.” But Paul rejoices in the remnant of Israel that has
accepted the Gospel, the Jewish converts.
How easy it is for anyone- Jew or Gentile – Paul points out, to accept
the Gospel and demonstrate their faith in Jesus Christ Thus the hardness
of heart of the bulk of the Jews grieves him greatly. He urges the
Gentile converts to humility and fidelity, reminding them that they have
been grafted onto the stem of the true religion which has its origin in
the faith of Abraham and has been brought to glorious fulfilment in the
Life, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
He makes it clear that Israel will be converted when the full number of
Gentiles accept the Gospel. He concludes this section of the Epistle
with his now proverbial insistence that God’s judgements are
incomprehensible to us and His ways unsearchable.
Moral Teaching
Paul begins to wind up his Epistle with an exhortation on the duties of
Christians. His phrasing is beautiful as he urges the Romans, surrounded
by pagan society, to “be not conformed to this world, but be
transformed in the newness of your mind” (Rom. 12 : 2)
Quite the opposite of the grasping pagan world about them, he urges them
to moderation and respect for the role and person of each of the
brethren. He bids them to love one another in fraternal charity,
anticipating one another with honour and practising hospitality. He
seeks to have them be models of every kind of Christian virtue and
“overcome evil with good”. (Rom. 12 : 21)
He encourages every one of them to be obedient to legitimate authority
which ultimately comes from God. They must respect their lawful
obligations to the civil government.
Paul emphasises the moral imperative of love of our neighbours and the
importance of conforming one’s life to Christ in expectation of His
coming.
Obviously having an eye to the possible activities of Judaizers in the
Roman community, he bids all to exercise mutual forbearance. In essence
he says that if a Jewish convert feels obliged to still follow the
prescriptions of the Law, there is no harm even though it will do him no
good, and, if the Gentile converts wish to exercise their legitimate
freedom from the Law no-one should trouble them. He urges all to
preserve charity and peace. In preserving the peace, he begs them all to
practise self-denial and patience so that all may be one in spirit,
glorifying God as one.
He reminds them of several passages in Sacred Scripture which foreshadow
the role of the Gentiles, and concludes this section as follows: “Now
may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that
you may abound in hope and in the power of the Holy Spirit”. (Rom. 15 :
13)
Conclusion
In Paul’s concluding words there is an element of apology – unusual for
St Paul- “But I have written to you rather boldly here and there,
brethren”. (Rom. 15: 15) This is yet another reflection of the pre-
eminent position of the church in Rome, and of the fact that Paul has
had no part in its formation.
Nowhere in this letter does he make direct mention of St Peter. He
evidently knew that he was then absent from the capital, but Paul is
obviously sensitive to any possible chance of being criticised from any
quarter for intruding or acting inappropriately. It is interesting to
see the normally forceful Paul dealing with circumstances calling for
great discretion on his part.
He goes on to recount the missionary plans which he has, plans which
will bring him to Rome which he has long hoped to visit, on his way to
Spain. He will travel via Jerusalem bringing to the saints financial aid
from the churches in Macedonia and Achaia.
He asks for the Romans’ prayers and looks forward to coming to them in
joy, God willing, to be refreshed with them. He adds to the letter a
commendation of Phoebe from the church in Cenchrae, for whatever
assistance she may need.
He sends greetings to nearly thirty individuals in Rome, some of whom we
know of, others we do not. Their number reveals the wide extent of St
Paul’s activities and the consequent large number of contacts he has
with other people who are regular travellers. The Roman Empire was a
great facilitator of travel, as we know from Roman history. The same
sources evidence the large numbers of people travelling from the East –
Paul’s past region of activity, to the centre of the Empire.
P.S. and P.P.S.
In what we would term a ”P.S.” Paul adds a final warning to the Romans
about troublemakers. ”who cause dissensions and scandals contrary to the
doctrine that you have learned…. avoid them.” (Rom. 16 – 17 )
A further addition includes greetings from Timothy and other fellow
workers and enables Tertius the amanuensis to speak up with his own
greetings.
Doxology
The great letter concludes appropriately with praise of God and its dedication to Him.
St Paul and St James
There are those who have tried to set at odds St James – faith without works is dead and St Paul- faith justifies, not works.
The suggestion is a nonsense as any honest reading of the two epistles
shows. To support the proposition one would have to be soft in the head,
or a knave. It is crystal clear that St Paul is talking about the
prescriptive works required by the Law – the multiple observances the
Jews were obliged to keep. St James on the other hand is talking about
the good works of charity and proper moral life which flow spontaneously
from Christian life. These are the same works that St Paul commends to
the Romans as essential to Christian life.
It was this very point that the knave Martin Luther was to make one of
the bases for his deformation of Christ’s Church as he invented his
“Faith Alone” teaching (“sola fides”) in the 16th Century.
Summary
The Epistle to the Romans is not an “easy read” and one can sympathise
with St Peter who wrote of “our dearest brother Paul” …”In these
epistles there are certain things difficult to understand, which the
unlearned and the unstable distort….” (2 Peter 15: 16) Across the
centuries he seems to see and rebuke Luther and so many “spirit of the
Council” theologians and preachers.
In this epistle St Paul is distilling all of his thinking, teaching and
experience on the subjects of faith and the Law- Christian freedom and
Jewish legalism. Paul takes the Lord at His word : “and the Truth shall
set you free.” He applies the same distillation to Christian life of
which he has had such wide experience.
This is a fitting exercise in preparation for his intended visit to Rome
and her pre-eminent church. It is also timely at this stage of his
apostolic work. His efforts in the East are now mature and he is looking
westward for new challenges.
Little did he know how challenging the road to Rome would prove.
Tony Dixon
Copyright This article first appeared in the December, 2008 issue of FOUNDATION.
