“Christ” means “Anointed One,” and as we are linked with Him there is no room for the flesh or self. Therefore we must judge in ourselves what is of the flesh, realizing God’s presence. Only then, as humble instruments, can the Lord use us as it pleases Him.

It was Paul’s burning desire to be available to the Master: “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him” (2 Cor. 5:9 NKJV). This does not mean that the Lord will do the same things through us as He did through Paul, but we should be available to the Master. What God produces is what really counts, and this implies an ongoing process of a work of God in us. This is in marked contrast with what we were and had done as sinners. It is also in contrast to what man in the flesh produces as counterfeits, imitations or other things, which can never please God (see Rom. 8:8; Heb. 11:6).

Paul And The “Obedience Of Faith”
The apostle had become an instrument through whom God was working to the obedience of nations, that is, people from among the Gentiles who believed and obeyed as a response of faith. This is not obedience of the nations, with the definite article, since that will only be the case in the coming millennial reign of Christ when all the nations will be subject to the Lord Jesus. The day of grace in which we live is marked by obedience of those taken from among the nations – individuals who believe and obey. This mystery is made known “for obedience of faith to all the nations” (Rom. 16:26 JND, see 1:5).

“For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous” (5:19 KJV). The obedience of Christ changed everything, for only on that basis God can bless. For this reason there needs to be the obedience of faith in the believer – responding to Christ’s accomplished work so there can be fruit for God. “Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves bondmen for obedience, ye are bondmen to Him whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” (6:16 JND).

The word “obedience” (hupako) also occurs in Romans 15:18 and 16:19 – in total seven times in Romans – and expresses itself in word and action. Is this really the case in our lives? Reality is more important to God than today’s signs and wonders, known to us as spectacular shows and sensationalism (see Jn. 2:23-25, 4:48; 1 Cor. 1:21-24).

Foundational Ministry Completed – No Further Need of Signs
Paul fully relied on the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven and on the Spirit of God (Rom. 15:19) working through him. Antioch is a city in present-day Syria where Paul and Barnabas had an important ministry before the Holy Spirit sent them on their first missionary journey (Acts 11:25-26, 13:1-4) and to where they returned (14:26-28). From there, the center of missions among the nations, Paul started his second (15:30,40) and third journeys (18:22-23).¹

Paul had briefly visited Jerusalem, possibly because of his burden to collect support for the poor in the city, as he started his third missionary trip. He then worked in Ephesus for three years. From Ephesus, he traveled through parts of present-day Turkey to Macedonia and further north to Illyricum, a place he may have been on his second journey about 1,500 miles north of Jerusalem. He then returned to Achaia, or Greece. On his way back, as he wrote Romans while in Corinth, Paul used the word “circuit” (Rom. 15:19) since he had gone up and was now returning. It was a round trip with the idea of completion: “I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ” (15:19 ESV). In other words, the ministry that had been entrusted to Paul was to be a complete one (consider Col. 1:25). He did not do only part of what he was given to do; he presented the full counsel of God to the believers in Ephesus (Acts 20:27) and fulfilled his mission of the glad tidings – the gospel of Christ,² the gospel of God. The apostle pointed to Christ in glory as being the message as well as the Messenger, for He is the Good News and its Herald (Eph. 2:17).

The Foundation Completed God’s Approval
Paul described his purpose as “aiming to announce the glad tidings” (Rom. 15:20 JND). The word “aiming” (“strived,” KJV) implies that it was Paul’s ambition in total commitment to the Lord to carry out this ministry as led by the Spirit. God’s power accompanied it through signs and miracles. Later Paul wrote: “I have fought the good fight” (2 Tim. 4:7), confirming he had completed his work with the Lord’s help (v.17). This was done in areas where Christ had not been named previously, “that I might not build upon another man’s foundation” (Rom. 15:20). When he presented the gospel, Paul was laying the foundation according to God, excluding any other (1 Cor. 3:10-11) while maintaining man’s responsibility as to how to build on that foundation (vv.12-17).

The foundation is Christ, who is God and Man since the Word became flesh, while being forever the eternal Son a blessed mystery (1 Tim. 3:16). Christ – the One presented by Paul was never to be separated from His work. Therefore, the foundation Paul laid is Christ and His finished work, without which no one can be saved or lay a true foundation. Christ’s work includes His earthly ministry, death, resurrection, ascension, exaltation and present session in glory, as well as His current heavenly ministry. This foundation (Eph. 2:20) was laid by the apostles Matthew, Peter, John and Paul, together with the New Testament prophets working with them Mark and Luke. Others include James and Jude, in full agreement with the non-writing apostles and prophets.

The Foundation Completed Signs And Wonders No Longer Needed
Paul identified with the Twelve, who recognized that his ministry was linked with the glorified Christ and His resurrection, whereas theirs was with the Lord on earth (see Gal. 1–2). Although distinct from them, Paul worked with them, calling himself the least of the apostles, and they worked with Paul. Thus, the foundation has been laid and remains even during these days of the failures of the Church (2 Tim. 2:19), for it can never change.

The words “foundation,” “founded” or “grounded” are also used for believers as all need to be established and founded in the truth, individually and collectively (see Paul’s prayer in Eph. 3:14-21). The concept of a foundation is an important one all through Scripture: in creation, redemption and the world to come. This is how God works, with foundations for the fulfillment of His plans.

Paul was in tune with God when he said that no one could lay another foundation. This task had been entrusted to all the apostles, as we just saw, but Paul completed this mandate (see Eph. 3; Col. 1; Acts 20:27), working in full fellowship with the apostles and prophets (Gal. 1–2; 1 Cor. 15:10-11). Paul added “according as it is written” and quoted the Old Testament to show the objective of his ministry: “To whom there was nothing told concerning Him, they shall see” (Rom 15:21 JND, quoting Isa. 52:15). Isaiah 65:1 has a similar thought. God had approved this foundational ministry and no further public signs and wonders were needed to establish or confirm it. When God gives gifts today, they have a different function, not as signs but as helps.

ENDNOTES
1. Paul says that he went from Jerusalem (Rom. 15:19), which is not a contradiction. Before starting his third journey (Acts 18:22-23), he briefly visited Jerusalem "he went up" implies going up to Jerusalem after which he went to Antioch.
2. This special term occurs eight times (Rom. 15:19; 1 Cor. 9:12; 2 Cor. 2:12, 9:13, 10:14; Gal. 1:7; Phil. 1:27; 1 Th. 3:2).

By Alfred Bouter