The letter ends in names. Phoebe, Prisca, Aquila, households, Jews and Gentiles, men and women — the one body in Rome made visible. Then a warning: watch those who cause divisions contrary to the teaching. The God of peace will crush Satan under their feet shortly.
1I commend to you Phoebe, our sister, who is a servant of the assembly that is at Cenchreae,
2that you receive her in the Lord, in a way worthy of the saints, and that you assist her in whatever matter she may need from you, for she herself also has been a helper of many, and of my own self.
3Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,
4who for my life, laid down their own necks; to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the assemblies of the Gentiles.
5Greet the assembly that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first fruits of Achaia to Christ.
6Greet Mary, who labored much for us.
7Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and my fellow prisoners, who are notable among the apostles, who were also in Christ before me.
8Greet Amplias, my beloved in the Lord.
9Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys, my beloved.
10Greet Apelles, the approved in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus.
11Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet them of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord.
12Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who labor in the Lord. Greet Persis, the beloved, who labored much in the Lord.
13Greet Rufus, the chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.
14Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them.
15Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.
16Greet one another with a holy kiss. The assemblies of Christ greet you.
17Now I beg you, brothers, look out for those who are causing the divisions and occasions of stumbling, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and turn away from them.
18For those who are such don’t serve our Lord, Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by their smooth and flattering speech, they deceive the hearts of the innocent.
19For your obedience has become known to all. I rejoice therefore over you. But I desire to have you wise in that which is good, but innocent in that which is evil.
20And the God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
21Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you, as do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my relatives.
22I, Tertius, who write the letter, greet you in the Lord.
23Gaius, my host and host of the whole assembly, greets you. Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, as does Quartus, the brother.
24The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all! Amen.
25Now to him who is able to establish you according to my Good News and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret through long ages,
26but now is revealed, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known for obedience of faith to all the nations;
27to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.
Romans 16 is not leftover ink. It is the map of the one new man in a city. The people Paul names are the fruit of the gospel he argued. Division that returns to old markers or rival gospels is to be avoided, not baptised as zeal.
The God of peace crushing Satan shortly belongs with Genesis 3:15 and the covenantal accuser of the old order. Paul does not send Rome a myth of endless dualism. He sends a near promise: the persecuting, accusing power will be put under the feet of the saints in their time. The doxology then states the point of the whole letter: the mystery is out; the nations are to believe.
The named assembly is the New Creation people in Rome. Peace is God’s act against the accuser — soon.
Do I hear “shortly” as Paul’s word to that church — or as a delay I have learned to live with?