Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned; and avoid them.
All Commentaries on Romans 16:17 Go To Romans 16
Thomas Aquinas
AD 1274
1213. After indicating whom they should greet, the Apostle now shows them whom to avoid. In regard to this he does three things: first, he teaches whom they should avoid; secondly, he gives the reason [v. 18; n. 1218]; thirdly, he promises them divine help to implement this [v. 20; n. 1220]. 1214. And because those whom he wished them to avoid crept in deceptively under the cloak of piety, as it says in Mt (7:15): They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves," he urges them to be cautious, saying: I appeal 603 to you, brethren, to observe those who create dissensions and difficulties in opposition to the doctrine you have been taught. 1215. Here, first of all, it should be noted that to observe is nothing more than to consider carefully: which, of course, is sometimes taken in a good sense and sometimes in an evil sense. It is taken in an evil sense when someone carefully considers the condition and progress of someone in order to inflict harm, as it says in Ps 37 (v. 12): "The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth against him," and in Lk (14:1) it says: "And they were watching him." In a good sense it is taken in one way, when one considers God’s precepts to obey them: "Observe him and hearken to his voice" (Ex 23:21). In another way, when a person considers good men to imitate them, as it says in Phil (3:17): "Brethren, join in imitating me and mark those who so live as you have an example in us." Thirdly, the evil are observed as persons to be avoided; and that is the way it is taken here. 1216. For there were certain Jewish converts to the faith who preached that the practices of the Law must be observed. From this followed dissensions and sects in the Church, since some adhered to their error but others continued in the true faith: "Dissension, sects…." (Gal 5:20). Then followed hindrances and stumbling blocks already discussed in v. 14, while some would judge others and some would spurn others who caused dissensions and hindrances: "Remove every obstruction from my people’s way" (Is 57:14). But he says: in opposition to the doctrine you have been taught by the true apostles of Christ, to show that such dissensions and stumbling blocks derive from 604 false doctrine: "If anyone is preaching to you a Gospel other than the one I preached to you, let him be accursed" (Gal 1:9). 1217. Secondly, he warns them that once known they should be avoided; hence he says: Avoid them, i.e., fly from their doctrine and company: "Depart from me, you evildoers" (Ps 119:115). 1218. Then when he says, For such persons, he assigns two reasons for what he had said, the first of which is taken on the part of those whom he wants avoided. First, he describes their condition, saying: Such persons do not serve our Lord Christ but their own bellies. For they preached not for the glory of Christ but for revenue, in order to fill their belly: "For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their god is their belly" (Phil 3:18). Secondly, he describes their deception, saying: by fair and flattering words they deceive the hearts of the simpleminded, i.e., of the innocent and inexperienced: "The simple believe everything" (Pr 14:15). By fair words they pretend to be holy: "They speak peace with their neighbor, while mischief is in their hearts" (Ps 28:3). And blessings, with which they bless and flatter those who follow them: "My people, those who call you blessed mislead you" (Is 3:12); "I will curse your blessings" (Mal 2:2). 1219. He assigns the second reason from a trait of the Romans, who found it easy to follow good and evil. First, he commends them for their readiness to accept the good, saying: Your obedience, by which you obey the faith so easily, is known in every place on account of the dominion the Romans then exercised over other nations. Hence, anything done by the 605 Romans was easily divulged to others. "Your faith is proclaimed in all the world" (Rom 1:8). Therefore, I rejoice over you, because you obey the faith; and this in charity, about which he says in I Cor (13:6) that love does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Secondly, he cautions them against evil, saying: I would have you wise in what is good, (5:21); and guileless as to what is evil, lest through some simplicity you slip into evil, that your simplicity be such that you deceive no one into evil: "Be wise as serpents and simple as doves" (Mt 10:16). On the other hand it is said of certain persons: "They are skilled in doing evil, but how to do good they know not" (Jer 4:22). 1220. Then when he says, Then the God of peace, he promises them divine help against such deceivers. First, he makes the promise when he says: But the God of peace, i.e., its author, Who hates the dissensions they cause, will crush Satan, i.e., the devil, who is trying to deceive you through these false apostles, under your feet, because you will overcome him by your wisdom. And he will do this soon, namely, when he comes: "Behold, I have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy" (Lk 10:19); "You shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet" (Mal 4:3). Secondly, he says a prayer to obtain this when he says: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, which is enough to guard you: "My grace is sufficient for you" (2 Cor 12:9). 1221. Then when he says, Timothy, he greets them on the part of others, saying: Timothy, my fellow worker greets you: "I have sent you Timothy, who is my dearest and 606 faithful son in the preaching of the gospel" (I Cor 4:17). He adds: so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen, who were Jews. Tertius, Paul’s secretary, was allowed to greet the Romans personally with Paul’s consent. Hence he adds: I, Tertius, the writer of this letter, greet you in the Lord. Then when he says: Gaius, who is my host, was the person to whom John wrote in his third letter commending the charity he exercised toward the saints; and host to the whole church, namely, who were assembled in his house or who were in that region. Then he says: Erastus, the city treasurer, i.e., who guarded the city’s money, and your brother Quartus greet you. 1222. Then he greets them on his own, saying: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. 1223. He finishes the epistle with thanksgiving, saying: now to him, namely, to God Who is the Trinity, who is able to strengthen you: "After you have suffered a little, he will himself restore, establish and strengthen you" (I Pt 5:10); and this in the faith which is according to the Gospel, namely according to the Gospel I preach: "Whether, then, it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed" (I Cor 15:11); and also according to the preaching of Jesus Christ, Who first preached the Gospel, as it says in Heb (2:3): "It was declared at first by the Lord. Hence Mt (4:23) states that Jesus went about preaching the Gospel of the kingdom. 1224. Then he adds, according to the revelation of the mystery, i.e., the secret, which can refer to what he had said, namely, "according to my Gospel," either because the secret of the divine incarnation is revealed in the Gospel, in accord with the above (1:17), "in it the justice of God is revealed"; or because the Gospel was revealed to the 607 Apostle himself: "God has revealed to us through the Spirit" (I Cor 2:10). Of this secret it says in Is 24(:16), "My secret to myself." Or it can be referred better to the word he had used, "to strengthen." As if to say: God can strengthen you in my Gospel and preaching; and this according to the revelation of the mystery, i.e., of the secret, namely, about the conversion of the Gentiles, as he says in Eph (3:8): "To me the least of saints this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the mystery hidden for ages in God." 1225. Hence, he continues: kept secret for eternal ages, namely, because it had been hidden among men that the Gentiles were to be converted to the faith. He calls these "eternal ages," as though lasting a long time, because this was hidden from the beginning of the world: "Glorious art thou, more wonderful than the eternal mountains" (Ps 76:4). It can be said that the long ages are eternity itself about which Is (57:15) says: "The high and lofty One who inhabits eternity." So that just as the simple essence of God is described in terms of a likeness to bodily dimensions, as Jb (11:9) says: "its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea," so His simple eternity is called eternal times, inasmuch as it contains all times. 1226. Then he continues: But which, namely, the mystery, is now disclosed, i.e., about the conversion of the Gentiles, through the prophetic writings, i.e., as the prophets foretold. Hence, he says in Eph (3:5ff): "This mystery was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, that is, now the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body…" But it was made known by fulfillment of a work proceeding from God’s command. Hence, according to the command of the eternal God, Who by an eternal 608 decree accomplishes His will in time. This command of God to bring about the obedience of faith is made known to all nations, i.e., that all nations should obey the faith: "to bring about the obedience of faith among the nations" (Rom 1:5). 1227. But if we speak of the incarnation, the text can be constructed thus: of the mystery, I say, kept secret for eternal ages, because previously it was not so manifest. Which mystery has now been made known through the prophetic writings, which predicted this, according to a command of the eternal God, who willed the mystery of the incarnation to become known, and this to bring about obedience to the faith among all nations. A mystery, I say, known to the wise God alone, because He alone knew it and knew those to whom He wished it to be revealed," for as it says in I Cor (2:11): "no one knows the things of God except the spirit of God." Or it can be understood of Him Who alone is wise, i.e., by His very nature, as it says in Mk (10:18): "No one is good but God alone." This does not exclude the Son, because the perfection of the whole Trinity is the same; just as, conversely, when it is said: "No one knows the Father but he Son" (Mt 11:27), the Father is not excluded from knowledge of Himself. 1228. He adds, through Jesus Christ. This does not mean that the Father is wise through Jesus Christ; because, since in God to be wise is the same as to be, it would follow that the Father would be wise through the Son – which is fallacious. But this must be referred to what he had said above (v. 26): "it is now disclosed." Namely, through Jesus Christ. To whom, i.e., to Jesus Christ, be honor and glory, through the reverence paid by every creature: "At the name of Jesus every knee shall bend" (Phil 2:10), and glory namely, in regard to the full godhead, as Phil (2:11) says: "And every tongue 609 610 confess that Jesus Christ is Lord in the glory of God the Father," not for a time, but for evermore: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Heb 13:8). To confirm its truth he adds: Amen. 1229. Or it can be constructed thus: Known to the only wise God, to whom be glory through Jesus Christ, who glorified God, as it says in Jn (17:4): "I glorified thee on earth."
