Romans 15:18 Cross References - AUV

¹⁸ For I will not dare to speak about anything, except what Christ has done through me in bringing about the obedience of the Gentiles. He accomplished this by my message and my deeds,

¹⁸ Then Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ So, as you go, make disciples out of people from all the nations, then immerse believers [See Mark 16:15-16] into the name of [i.e., to enter a relationship with] the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ [Then] go on teaching them [i.e., these new converts] to obey everything I have commanded you and my presence will be with you always, even to the end of the age.

²⁰ And the apostles [See verses 14-15] went out and preached everywhere. The Lord worked with them and confirmed the message [i.e., verified that it was true] by means of the [miraculous] signs which accompanied their ministry. May it be so.

²⁷ And when they arrived [in Antioch of Syria], they gathered the church together and reported everything that God had done through them and how He had opened a door [of opportunity] for the [unconverted] Gentiles to [enter] the faith.

⁴ When they arrived in Jerusalem they were welcomed by the church, together with the apostles and elders, and then reported everything that God had done through their ministry.

¹² The whole crowd remained quiet as they listened to Barnabas and Paul reporting on the [miraculous] signs and wonders God had performed among the Gentiles through them.

¹⁹ And after greeting them Paul reported one by one the things that God had brought about among the Gentiles through his ministry.

²⁰ but, [instead] declared to the people of Damascus first, [then] to the people of Jerusalem, and [finally to those] throughout all of the district of Judea, as well as to the Gentiles [everywhere] that they should repent [i.e., change their hearts and lives] and turn to God, doing deeds which demonstrate their repentance.

⁵ It was through Jesus, and for His name’s sake, that we [i.e., I] received God’s favor to become an apostle, in order to bring about obedience based on faith from among people of all nations.

¹⁷ Thank God that you people, who were once slaves to [the practice of] sin, became obedient from [your] heart to the pattern of teaching [i.e., the Gospel message] you committed yourself to.

²⁶ It is now being made known through the writings of the prophets, as commanded by the eternal God, to [people of] all the nations, in order to bring about their obedience to the faith

⁶ I [Paul] planted [i.e., preached God’s word], Apollos watered [it], but God made it grow. ⁷ So then, it does not matter who plants or who waters, but [it is] God who matters, for He makes the seed grow. ⁸ Now the person who plants and the person who waters have the same [purpose], and each one will receive his own wages, according to the work each one does. ⁹ For we are all fellow-workers in God’s service; you people are God’s farm land; [you are] God’s building.

¹ Are we beginning to commend ourselves again [i.e., by saying that we are not like other people]? Or, do we need letters of recommendation to you or from you, as others do? ² You people are our letters [of recommendation], written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. ³ You people show [i.e., by your conversions] that you are a letter from Christ, delivered by us [i.e., the result of our ministry], not written with ink but with the Holy Spirit of the living God; not on stone tablets [i.e., as in the case with Moses’ ministry], but on tablets of the human heart. [See Jer. 31:33; Heb. 8:10].

¹ As workers together with God we urge you also, who have received God’s unearned favor, do not allow it to be for nothing,

⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not like the world’s [i.e., which rely on human ingenuity and unspiritual principles], but they are empowered by God to overthrow [Satanic] fortifications. ⁵ We overthrow [vain] reasonings and every lofty idea raised against the knowledge of God [i.e., as revealed through the Gospel], and take captive [our] every thought to [make it] obey Christ.

¹³ But we will not boast beyond our proper boundaries [Note: This may mean that Paul was not attempting to exercise apostolic authority outside the parameters assigned to him by God], but will restrict our boasting to the area assigned to us by God as a field of service, which includes you people [there in Corinth]. ¹⁴ Now we are not going too far in claiming you as part of our outreach, since we were the first ones to come to you with the Gospel of Christ. ¹⁵ So, we will not go beyond our proper limits by boasting of work [already] done by others, but we hope that, as your faith increases, our field of service among you will [also] greatly expand. ¹⁶ [This is] so we can proclaim the good news [about Christ] even to areas beyond you [Note: Perhaps Paul here alludes to such places as Italy and Spain], and [thereby] not boast over what has [already] been done in someone else’s field of service. ¹⁷ [Jer. 9:24 says], “But the person who boasts should boast about the Lord.” ¹⁸ For it is not the person who commends himself that is approved [by God], but the one whom the Lord commends.

³¹ The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who should be praised forever, knows that I am not lying.

⁶ However, if I wanted to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be telling the truth. But I will hold back, so that no one will think more of me than what he sees or hears from me.

⁸ For God assigned Peter to be an apostle to the circumcised ones [i.e., Jews], and me to be an apostle to the Gentiles.

¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in [your] words or actions, do everything in the name [i.e., by the authority] of Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

¹⁷ encourage and strengthen your hearts in every good thing you do and say.

⁹ and after becoming perfectly [qualified], He became the source of never ending salvation to all those who obey Him.

⁸ By [having] faith, when Abraham was called [by God] to leave [his homeland] and go to a place he would later receive as an inheritance [i.e., Palestine], he obeyed God and went out, not knowing where he was going.

²² But you should not deceive yourselves by just listening [to God’s word] instead of doing what the word teaches.

¹⁸ Little children [i.e., dear ones], we should not [merely] claim to love [people], or [even just] talk about it, but [we should love] by what we do [for them] in a genuine way.

⁹ But, when the ruling angel Michael disputed with the devil over [the final disposal of] the body of Moses, [even] he did not dare to bring derogatory charges against him [i.e., the devil], but said, “May the Lord rebuke you.” [Note: Some suggest that this account appeared in an apocryphal book, possibly “The Assumption of Moses”].