Romans 15:16

That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
That	εἰς eis	G1519	to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
I	με me	G3165	me · personal pronoun — 1st person accusative singular
be	εἶναί einai	G1511	to exist · verb — present active infinitive
minister	λειτουργὸν leitourgon	G3011	a public servant · noun — accusative singular masculine
Jesus	Ἰησοῦ Iēsou	G2424	Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua) · noun — genitive singular masculine, a proper name
Christ	Χριστοῦ Christou	G5547	anointed · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
to	εἰς eis	G1519	to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
Gentiles	ἔθνη ethnē	G1484	a race (as of the same habit) · noun — accusative plural neuter
ministering	ἱερουργοῦντα hi'erourgounta	G2418	to be a temple-worker · verb — present active participle, accusative singular masculine
gospel	εὐαγγέλιον euangelion	G2098	a good message · noun — accusative singular neuter
God	θεοῦ, theou	G2316	figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
that	ἵνα ina	G2443	compare G3588 (ὁ)) · conjunction
up	προσφορὰ prosphora	G4376	presentation · noun — nominative singular feminine
Gentiles	ἐθνῶν ethnōn	G1484	a race (as of the same habit) · noun — genitive plural neuter
be	γένηται genētai	G1096	to cause to be ("gen"-erate) · verb — second aorist middle deponent subjunctive, 3rd person singular
acceptable	εὐπρόσδεκτος euprosdektos	G2144	well-received · adjective — nominative singular feminine
sanctified	ἡγιασμένη hēgiasmenē	G37	to make holy · verb — perfect passive participle, nominative singular feminine
by	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
the	πνεύματι pneumati	G4151	a current of air · noun — dative singular neuter
Holy	ἁγίῳ.¶ hagiō	G40	sacred (physically · adjective — dative singular neuter
Ghost	πνεῦμα pneûma	G4151	a current of air

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Romans 11:13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:
Romans 1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
Acts 9:15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children…
Philippians 2:17 Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.
1 Timothy 1:11 According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
2 Timothy 1:11 Where unto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
Isaiah 66:19-20 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow,…
Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, whi…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Romans 15:14-16

Here, I. He commends these Christians with the highest characters that could be. He began his epistle with their praises (Rom 1:8), Your faith is spoken of throughout the world, thereby to make way for his discourse: and, because sometimes he had reproved them sharply, he now concludes with the like commendation, to qualify them, and to part friends. This he does like an orator. It was not a piece of idle flattery and compliment, but a due acknowledgment of their worth, and of the grace of God in them. We must be forward to observe and commend in others that which is excellent and praise-worthy; it is part of the present recompence of virtue and usefulness, and will be of use to quicken othe…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Romans 15:16

that I should be the--rather, "a" minister--The word here used is commonly employed to express the office of the priesthood, from which accordingly the figurative language of the rest of the verse is taken. of Jesus Christ--"Christ Jesus," according to the true reading. to the Gentiles--a further proof that the Epistle was addressed to a Gentile church. (See on Rom 1:13). ministering the gospel of God--As the word here is a still more priestly one, it should be rendered, "ministering as a priest in the Gospel of God." that the offering up of the Gentiles--as an oblation to God, in their converted character. might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost--the end to which…

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Adam Clarke on Romans 15:16

Ministering the Gospel of God - Ἱερουργουντα, Acting as a priest. Here is a plain allusion, says Dr. Whitby, to the Jewish sacrifices offered by the priest, and sanctified or made acceptable by the libamen offered with them; for he compares himself, in preaching the Gospel, to the priest performing his sacred functions - preparing his sacrifice to be offered. The Gentiles, converted by him and dedicated to the service of God, are his sacrifices and oblation. The Holy Spirit is the libamen poured upon this sacrifice, by which it was sanctified and rendered acceptable to God. The words of Isaiah, Isa 66:20, And they shall bring all your brethren for an Offering unto the Lord, out of all Natio…

The Church Fathers

The Gentiles are offered to God as an acceptable sacrifice when they believe in Christ and are sanctified through the gospel.
— Augustine of Hippo, AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 83

By his example Paul was showing that what he performed with so much fear is holy. For some pass off as human what they proclaim as divine, with the result that what is holy seems to be unholy, since it is not done in a holy way.… Following Paul, however, the Gentiles become an acceptable sacrifice to God, sanctified and exalted not by fire but by the Holy Spirit.
— Pelagius, PELAGIUS'S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS

And we, who through the name of Jesus have believed as one man in God the Maker of all, have been stripped, through the name of His first-begotten Son, of the filthy garments, i.e., of our sins; and being vehemently inflamed by the word of His calling, we are the true high priestly race of God, as even God Himself bears witness, saying that in every place among the Gentiles sacrifices are presented to Him well-pleasing and pure. Now God receives sacrifices from no one, except through His priests.
— Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter CXVI

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Achaia — The name originally of a narrow strip of territory in Greece, on the north-west of the Peloponnesus. Subsequently it was applied by the Romans to the whole Peloponnesus, now called the Morea, and the…
Minister — One who serves, as distinguished from the master. (1.) Heb. meshereth, applied to an attendant on one of superior rank, as to Joshua, the servant of Moses (Ex. 33:11), and to the servant of Elisha (2…
Gospel · .GOSPEL OF GOD — .GOSPEL OF GOD
Heathen, The · Conversion of, acceptable to God — Conversion of, acceptable to God
Holy Spirit · 1:9,32,33;3:5,6,34;4:14;6:45,63;7:38,39;14:16,17,26;15:26;16:7-14;20:22; — 1:9,32,33;3:5,6,34;4:14;6:45,63;7:38,39;14:16,17,26;15:26;16:7-14;20:22;
Holy Spirit, The Personality Of · He sanctifies — He sanctifies
Holy Spirit, The, Is God · As sanctifying the Church — As sanctifying the Church
Minister, Christian · .CHRIST — .CHRIST
Offerings · Illustrative of: The conversion of the Gentiles — Illustrative of: The conversion of the Gentiles
Regeneration · 1:16,17,25;4:4;12:3;26:12;29:23;32:3,4,15,17;35:5,6;42:16;43:7;44:3-5;49:9;55:1-3; — 1:16,17,25;4:4;12:3;26:12;29:23;32:3,4,15,17;35:5,6;42:16;43:7;44:3-5;49:9;55:1-3;
Sanctification · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO

Romans 15:16

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Romans 15:14-16

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Romans 15:16

Adam Clarke on Romans 15:16

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Romans 15:16

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Romans 15:14-16

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Romans 15:16

Adam Clarke on Romans 15:16

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Romans 15:16

John Calvin on Romans 15:13-16

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Romans 15:16