Having insisted that the strong and the weak must accept one another as Christ has accepted them (v 7), Paul then sets that challenge in the context of the history of salvation: as they do this, they will be sharing together in Christ’s fulfilment of the promises made by God to the patriarchs generations before (v 8). Finding unity and praising God together (v 6) is fulfilling a promise made in the Scriptures, written to teach us and give us hope (v 4). All of the scriptures Paul then quotes to illustrate his point, stress either the calling of Israel to the nations (v 9), or the fulfilment of God’s purpose being seen in Israel and the Gentiles praising God together (vs 10–12)

Their being together in Rome, the centre of Gentile civilisation is, thus, not an accident of history but the fulfilment of an eternal purpose. As they embrace making their living sacrifice together beyond their differences, Paul trusts in this eternal hope – that the God who spoke it into being throughout the generations will cause them to overflow with hope through the presence and power of his Holy Spirit (v 13).

‘There is a hope that burns within my heart … Christ in me, the hope of heaven!’¹

God does unexpected things – yet always in line with his purposes. Now Paul steps back from his focus on daily living in the church. He spreads out the story of God’s work through the history of his people (vs 4,8,9). For the Jewish believers, the surprising thing is that God had always intended that Gentiles would be included in his people (vs 10,11). In their current situation there is no room to think of themselves as the favoured ones. Paul argues that God wants Jewish and Gentile Christians to be united in their worship together. Although issues we face today are different, are there areas where we might need a radical change of mind? Are there things in Scripture that we have missed?

Again, Christ is at the centre (v 8) of Paul’s appeal. He reminds them that Scripture foretells it is through Christ that God’s blessings will come to Jews and Gentiles. Throughout Scripture – the Psalms, Prophets and other writings – it’s clear that all are welcome in God’s family.² The prophets pointed to the fulfilment of God’s promises – and Christ, the Root of Jesse, has come (v 12).³ Now, through Jesus, we all share those promised blessings.

Perhaps thinking of the tensions and quarrels of his Roman brothers and sisters, Paul concludes this section with a benediction. It gives a glimpse of how church should be. His earlier prayer for them had the goal of unity (v 5). This prayer (v 13) focuses on a community of God’s people which is hope-filled. Notice that here ‘joy’ and ‘peace’ assume an ongoing trust in God.⁴ The word ‘hope’ points towards the resurrection kingdom of God; future hope infuses our present lives. The power of the Holy Spirit sustains this hope, which overflows to touch the lives of others (v 13).

How does Paul’s vision of church measure up to your own experience? Thinking of your fellow Christians, pray the words of verse 13 for them.

¹ Stuart Townend and Mark Edwards, © 2007 Thankyou Music  ² Eg Gen 12:3  ³ Isa 11:1,10  ⁴ John Stott, The Message of Romans, IVP, 1994, p373