Romans 16:21-27 (NIV)
Timothy, my fellow worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my relatives.
I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.
Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings.
Erastus, who is the city’s director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Amen.
Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him–to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.
Next Paul includes greetings from several of his coworkers, some of whom were known by the Roman Church.
Timothy, Paul’s “son” and longtime coworker sends his greeting, as do three relatives of Paul, although the exact relationship is not specified.
Tertius was Paul’s scribe in this instance. Many people in Paul’s day used professional scribes. Instead of writing their letters themselves, they dictated them to the scribe, who would put down what they said on the parchment or papyrus. Not only would the writing be attractive, but the scribe would often ensure that the grammar was good and spelling correct, much like a modern stenographer or secretary. Paul used scribes in writing most of his other letters as well, although he closed many of them with a greeting written in his own hand as a mark of authentication (1 Corinthians 16:21, Galatians 6:11, Colossians 4:18, 2 Thessalonians 3:17).
Gaius was Paul’s host in Corinth. He also hosted a house Church there, and his home became a base of operation for the Church as a whole. Erastus, another Christian brother, also worked as a high government official, the director of public works, showing that the gospel was reaching even into the upper echelons of the government of the empire.
Paul ends his letter with a doxology, a glorification of the God to whom he had devoted his whole life. Paul is confident that God can not only save people, but that, if they allow Him, to, He can sustain them and bring them all the way to glory. This refers back to chapter 11, where every branch that remains firmly connected to the olive tree, even the grafted in branches, like the gentiles in the Roman Church, live, grow, and bear fruit, sustained by the roots of the tree.
Paul also refers to the mystery hidden for long ages past. Many of the teachers of Paul’s day and over the next centuries, made a following for themselves by claiming to be privy to the great mystery of the cosmos, a secret that they were willing to share with anyone who would be come a follower, an initiate of theirs.
But this paragraph militates against that. The mystery of the ages is nothing other than God’s ultimate plan to bring eternal life to all mankind through God the Son, Jesus. And that mystery is no longer hidden. Even in Paul’s day it was being proclaimed in the streets and marketplaces, and it was being recorded and preserved in the prophetic writings, the gospels and the epistles that we now have in our Bibles, with the express purpose of making the “mystery” widely known, and bringing salvation to the nations.
Father, even today there are gurus and new age teachers, even secret organizations and societies, who claim to possess secret knowledge about You and Your mysteries, and who gain followers for themselves from those who are seeking those secrets. But You have revealed all the mystery, all the secrets, clearly and openly in the words of our Scriptures. There are now no secrets, no mysteries that You still need to reveal to us in order for us to have a relationship with You through faith in Jesus, and to know You as You are. Thank You, Lord, for that amazing revelation, and for the eternal life the has been made freely available to “whoever believes in Him.” Amen.