Romans 1:11

For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you that you may be established.

This week we are going to go a bit deeper into the Greek words that Paul used. That way we can get an even better understanding of his message in this great book. Interestingly enough, in his original epistle (letter) the only words that Paul uses are: long--so--see--impart some spiritual gift--established. This makes reading the passage a little difficult if we do not understand the meaning of the Greek words used. I will try to list the Greek words and their meanings so that we can better understand it.

Epipotheo (ep--ee-poth-eh'-o): means generally longing or a great desire

Horao (hor-ah'-o): to see, to become acquainted with

Metadidomi (met-ad-id'-o-mee): to impart

Tis: some

Pneumatikos (pnyoo-mat-ik-os'): belonging to the Divine Spirit (filled with/governed by the Spirit of God

Charisma: grace or gifts denoting extraordinary powers, distinguishing certain Christians and enabling them to serve the church of Christ, the reception of which is due to the power of divine grace operating on their souls by the Holy Spirit.

Sterizo (stay-rid'-zo): to strengthen, make firm.

Now because Paul wrote using Koine (from the Hellenistic period which is to say after Alexander the Great left his mark on the world) Greek which was the lingua franca  (common second language) in the Roman Empire, the syntax of that tongue frequently does not make sense to the common reader. Sometimes Bible translators will put words that do not directly appear in the text in italics. These inserted words are used in order to make the reading less difficult. Additionally, while I defined those Greek words, some of them have more meanings than the single one I used; this is because context matters.Whenever you want to get the proper meaning out of a passage, you use the definition that makes the most sense in that passage. Now with the word exposition done lets look at what Paul was saying in this short sentence.

Firstly, Paul expresses his great desire to meet with them. Heretofore he had been prevented by God's sovereign will. Paul's great affection even for people he had never actually seen. This is sine qua non (Latin: an essential condition; a thing that is absolutely necessary) for effective preaching as even the wonders of Christ's gospel (good news) will not be properly received if delivered in a tone of criticism, indifference, or cold admiration. Of course the gospel cannot be adequately delivered without the law being there as well. If you were to say, "you must be saved!" without a knowledge of sin a person may respond, "saved from what?" People must understand their dire condition before they will cling to the life-raft of the gospel. However, we must remember to share the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).

Secondly, Paul wishes to impart a spiritual gift to this congregation in Rome. It appears unclear the exact nature of this gift; it could be miraculous (e.g. prophecy, healing, tongues [ability to speak languages], interpretation of tongues [understanding languages]), or just sharing his understanding/ of God's word, teaching in fact. These gifts uniquely equip the various members of the church to fill different roles and all of the roles are important. Of course you need a pastor/overseer to lead and teach each congregation but you also need other jobs as well. The pastor may have a gift for preaching and teaching, but he may have no sympathy. Some members are gifted in knowing how to just lend mundane aid to those in need (e.g. cook meals) or are good at building things and maintaining property. In this light we should consider the preeminent teacher and evangelist that was the Apostle Paul.

When you consider Paul (formerly Saul of Tarsus), he is very different compared to the other apostles: some were fishermen (Simon/Peter, Andrew, James, and John), one was a tax collector (Matthew or Levi according to Luke), and one was a terrorist (Simon the zealot); the others were generally blue-collar workers and non of them had any formal theological training. Heck, Jesus' profession was a carpenter (based on Joseph's profession). And they all ended up with the career of itinerant rabbis (so to speak). Saul of Tarsus, on the other hand, was highly educated. Born and raised in the cosmopolitan city of Tarsus, he undoubtedly received a superior there. Afterward, he obtained rabbinical instruction from the celebrated instructor Gamaliel in Jerusalem and became a Pharisee. Although these men were normally cast as the villains in the gospel accounts (and there were), their education was so rigorous they typically memorized the Law, the Prophets, and the writings (the Old Testament) by rote. That means that they memorized it all. So when Jesus called Saul to work for Him, that was certainly going in a new direction.

Lastly in this passage, Paul is trying to help strengthen and establish the new congregation. The beauty of this remarkable book may stem from the fact that he had never met them before. Every other letter that Paul wrote was to churches that he founded and the letters were always addressing specific issues that needed to be addressed. Once again, as Paul could not know what issues the Roman church was struggling with or confused about, he just addressed them all. The book or Romans is practically a Christianity 101.  I will see you next verse and I will try to get it up with more regularity.

Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to your name give glory,
Because of your faithfulness,
Because of your truth.