Romans 16:25

Final Doxology to the Giver and Revealer of the universal Gospel of Salvation by Faith

25. Now to him, &c. The construction of this Doxology is irregular; for in Romans 16:27 the lit. Gr. is, To God only wise, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever. Amen; and the relative pronoun "to whom" is redundant. (See further on that verse.) The practical meaning, however, is clear. The whole is a Doxology to the Eternal Father, through the Son, for the gift and manifestation of the world-wide Salvation by Faith, which prophets had foretold and which was now at last fully proclaimed. On the questions raised about this Doxology, see Introduction, ii. § 3.

to stablish you Cp. Rom 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:17; 2 Thessalonians 3:3; 1 Peter 5:10. See also Acts 14:23; Acts 20:32.

according to my gospel i.e. in the way revealed and promised in the Gospel as taught by St Paul; the Gospel which offers justification to the believer, and with it the gift of the Divine Spirit and His aid. "My Gospel:" same words as Romans 2:16, (where see note;) 2 Timothy 2:8. Cp. 1 Timothy 1:11.

the preaching of Jesus Christ This may grammatically mean either (1) "the preaching which speaks of Him;" (in which case it would be a phrase explanatory of "my Gospel;") or (2) "the preaching which He Himself delivers." In the latter case again the reference may be either (a) to the Lord's utterances when on earth (as e.g. John 3:6); or (b) to His after work through St Paul and the other Apostles; cp. Romans 15:18, and note there. On the whole, the last reference seems the most likely. St Paul thus both qualifies the thought that the Gospel he preached was "his," and enforces the thought of its absolute truth. "Preaching:" the Gr. word (same as 1 Corinthians 1:21,) means the contents of the message, not the act of preaching.

according to the revelation, &c. St Paul's Gospel and the Lord's Proclamation were "according to," in harmony with, this "unveiling" of the great hidden Truth. The unveiling of the Truth occasioned the proclamation, and was the substance of it. The unveiling and the proclamation were thus coincident and harmonious.

the mystery On the word "mystery," see note on Romans 11:25. The great Secret here is that of Salvation by Faith for all, of whatever nation, who come with "the obedience of faith" to Christ the Propitiation. See especially Ephesians 3:3-9. Here, however, more than there, the emphasis seems to be on the freedom of the Way of Acceptance as well as on the world-wide largeness of the offer; on the "obedience of Faith" as well as on the "making of it known to all nations." Not that Salvation by Faith was a secret unheard of till the Christian age; (for see ch. 4;) but that its Divine manifestation in the Cross, and consequent unreserved proclamation as the central truth of Redeeming Love, were new.

which was kept secret since the world began Lit. which had been reserved in silence during æonian times, or periods of ages. The "ages" here probably refer to the whole lapse of periods before the Gospel "age," perhaps including not only human time with its patriarchal and Mosaic "ages," and its ranges of pagan history, but the "age" of angelic life. For we gather (cp. Ephesians 3:10) that even to angels the Incarnation and its results in believing mankind formed a newmanifestation of the Divine wisdom. The E. V. thus well represents the Gr. as a paraphrase. Cp. again Ephesians 3:3-9.