Thomas Aquinas Commentary Romans 16:17-27

"Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them that are causing the divisions and occasions of stumbling, contrary to the doctrine which ye learned: and turn away from them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Christ, but their own belly; and by their smooth and fair speech they beguile the hearts of the innocent. For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I rejoice therefore over you: but I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple unto that which is evil. And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Timothy my fellow-worker saluteth you; and Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen. I Tertius, who write the epistle, salute you in the Lord. Gaius my host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus the treasurer of the city saluteth you, and Quartus the brother. [The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.] Now to him that is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal, but now is manifested, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known unto all the nations unto obedience of faith: to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory for ever. Amen." — Romans 16:17-27 (ASV)

After indicating who they should greet, the Apostle now shows them who to avoid.

In this regard, he does three things:

1. He teaches who they should avoid.
2. He gives the reason, beginning with the words, for they who are such.
3. He promises them divine help to implement this, beginning with the words, but may the God of peace.

Because those he wanted them to avoid crept in deceptively under the cloak of piety, as it says in Matthew, they come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves (Matthew 7:15), he urges them to be cautious, saying, I urge you, brothers, to mark those who make dissensions and offenses contrary to the doctrine you have learned.

Here, it should first be noted that “to mark” means nothing more than to consider carefully. This can be understood in either a good or a bad sense.

It is taken in a bad sense when someone carefully considers another’s condition and progress in order to inflict harm, as it says in a psalm: The wicked plots against the just and gnashes his teeth at him (Psalms 37:12), and in Luke it says: and they were watching him (Luke 14:1).

It is taken in a good sense, first, when one considers God’s commands in order to obey them: observe him and listen to his voice (Exodus 23:21). Second, it is used when a person considers good people in order to imitate them, as it says in Philippians: Brothers, join in imitating me, and mark those who live as you have an example in us (Philippians 3:17).

Third, it is used when observing wicked people in order to avoid them, which is how it is meant here.

For there were certain Jewish converts to the faith who preached that the practices of the Law must be observed. This led to dissensions and factions in the Church, as some clung to their error while others remained in the true faith: dissension, factions (Galatians 5:20). Then followed the hindrances and stumbling blocks already discussed, where some would judge others and some would reject those who caused these divisions and obstacles: remove every obstruction from my people’s way (Isaiah 57:14). But he says, contrary to the doctrine you have learned from the true apostles of Christ, to show that such divisions and stumbling blocks stem from false doctrine: if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:9).

Next, he warns that once these people are identified, they should be avoided. Therefore, he says, and avoid them, meaning to flee from their teaching and their company: Depart from me, you evildoers (Psalms 119:115).

Then, when he says, for they who are such, he gives two reasons for his instruction. The first reason concerns the people he wants them to avoid.

First, he describes their character, saying, for such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. They preached not for the glory of Christ but for financial gain, in order to fill their bellies: 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 (Philippians 3:18).

Second, he describes their deception, saying, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive, that is, the innocent and inexperienced: the simple believes everything (Proverbs 14:15). With smooth talk, they pretend to be holy: they speak peace with their neighbor, while evil is in their hearts (Psalms 28:3). And by flattery, they bless and praise those who follow them: My people, those who call you blessed mislead you (Isaiah 3:12); I will curse your blessings (Malachi 2:2).

He gives the second reason based on a characteristic of the Romans, who were easily swayed toward both good and evil.

First, he commends them for their readiness to accept the good, saying, for your obedience is known to all, on account of the dominion the Romans exercised over other nations at that time. Therefore, anything done by the Romans was easily spread to others. Your faith is proclaimed in all the world (Romans 1:8). So I rejoice in you, because you obey the faith. He does this in charity, about which he says that love does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth (1 Corinthians 13:6).

Second, he cautions them against evil, saying, but I want you to be wise as to what is good, and simple as to what is evil, so that you might cling to what is good. Your simplicity should be such that you do not turn to evil through naivete or deceive anyone into doing evil: be wise as serpents and innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16). On the other hand, it is said of certain people: They are skilled in doing evil, but how to do good they do not know (Jeremiah 4:22).

Then, when he says, but may the God of peace, he promises them divine help against such deceivers.

First, he makes the promise when he says, May the God of peace—that is, its author, who hates the dissensions they cause—crush Satan—that is, the devil, who is trying to deceive you through these false apostles—under your feet, because you will overcome him with your wisdom. And he will do this soon, namely, when he comes: Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19); you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet (Malachi 4:3).

Second, he offers a prayer to obtain this help, saying, The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, which is sufficient to guard you: My grace is sufficient for you (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Then, when he says, Timothy, he sends greetings from others, saying, Timothy, my co-worker, greets you: I have sent you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord (1 Corinthians 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, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.

Then he says, Gaius, who is host to me, was the person to whom John wrote his third letter, commending the charity he showed toward the saints, and to the whole church, meaning those who assembled in his house or who were in that region. Then he says, Erastus, the city treasurer, that is, the one who guarded the city’s money, and our brother Quartus, greet you.

Then he greets them himself, saying, The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

He finishes the letter 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 while, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you (1 Peter 5:10). This strengthening is according to my gospel, that is, according to the gospel I preach: whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed (1 Corinthians 15:11); and also according to the preaching of Jesus Christ, who first preached the gospel, as it says in Hebrews: it was declared at first by the Lord (Hebrews 2:3). Hence, Matthew states that Jesus went about preaching the gospel of the kingdom (Matthew 4:23).

Then he adds, according to the revelation of the mystery, that is, the secret. This 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 accordance with what was said above: for in it the righteousness of God is revealed (Romans 1:17); or because the gospel was revealed to the Apostle himself: God has revealed to us through the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10). Regarding this secret, Isaiah says, My secret is for myself (Isaiah 24:16).

Alternatively, this phrase can be better connected to the word he had used, to strengthen you. It is as if he is saying: God can strengthen you in my gospel and preaching, and this is according to the revelation of the mystery—that is, the secret concerning the conversion of the Gentiles, as he says in Ephesians: to me, the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God (Ephesians 3:8–9).

Hence, he continues, which was kept secret for long ages past, because the fact that the Gentiles were to be converted to the faith had been hidden from humanity. He calls these “long ages,” as if they lasted for a very long time, because this was hidden from the beginning of the world: glorious are you, more majestic than the everlasting mountains (Psalms 76:4).

It can also be said that the “long ages” are eternity itself, about which Isaiah says, the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity (Isaiah 57:15). So, just as the simple essence of God is described using a likeness to physical dimensions, as Job says, Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea (Job 11:9), so His simple eternity is called “eternal times” insofar as it contains all times.

Then he continues, but now, this mystery, is disclosed and through the prophetic writings is made known, just as the prophets foretold. Hence, he says in Ephesians, 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. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body (Ephesians 3:5 and following).

But it was made known by the fulfillment of a work proceeding from God’s command. Hence, it was according to the command of the eternal God, who by an eternal decree accomplishes His will in time. This command of God is made known to all nations, to bring about the obedience of faith—that is, so that all nations should obey the faith: to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations (Romans 1:5).

However, if we are speaking of the Incarnation, the text can be interpreted this way: The mystery, I say, was kept secret for long ages past because it was not so clearly revealed before. This mystery is now disclosed through the prophetic writings, which predicted it. This happened according to the command of the eternal God, who willed that the mystery of the Incarnation become known, and this was to bring about the obedience of faith among all nations.

This mystery, I say, was known to the only wise God, because He alone knew it and knew to whom He wished it to be revealed, for as it says in 1 Corinthians: no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2:11). Or it can be understood of Him who alone is wise by His very nature, as it says in Mark: No one is good except God alone (Mark 10:18). This does not exclude the Son, because the perfection of the whole Trinity is the same. Likewise, when it is said, no one knows the Father except the Son (Matthew 11:27), the Father is not excluded from knowing Himself.

He adds, through Jesus Christ. This does not mean that the Father is wise through Jesus Christ. Since in God “to be wise” is the same as “to be,” it would follow that the Father would exist through the Son—which is false. Instead, this phrase must be connected to what was said earlier: the mystery is now disclosed, namely, through Jesus Christ. To whom—that is, to Jesus Christ—be honor and glory. Honor is given through the reverence paid by every creature: at the name of Jesus every knee should bow (Philippians 2:10). And glory is given in regard to His full Godhead, as Philippians says: and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:11). This is not for a time, but forever and ever: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

To confirm its truth, he adds, Amen.

Alternatively, it can be interpreted this way: glory be to the only wise God... through Jesus Christ, who glorified God, as it says in John: I glorified you on earth (John 17:4).

It should be noted that this grammatical construction is incomplete and should be read as: “To him who is able... be honor and glory through Jesus Christ, to whom is honor and glory.” However, if the second “to whom” is omitted, the construction is clear.