How Paul Prays for the Church
I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. Romans 1:11,12
‘I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong’ (1:11). At first sight we might interpret ‘spiritual gift’ in terms of what are often called Christ’s gifts (Ephesians 4:11), the Spirit’s gifts (1 Corinthians 12:8-10), the motivational grace gifts (Romans 12:6-8) or God’s composite gifts (1 Corinthians 12:28). But because none of these gifts are clearly said in scripture to be imparted by a person and because Paul only uses the term ‘spiritual gift’ here, the possibility is that he was thinking of the blessing that would result from his ministry in Rome (Romans 15:27).
‘That is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith’ (1:12). Paul seems to catch himself mid-sentence. What he has just written suddenly seems one-sided, as if he has everything to give and nothing to receive. So he qualifies his purpose. He doesn’t want to claim authority over a community he didn’t birth. According to early memories recorded in the second century, Peter had gone to Rome after his narrow escape in Jerusalem (Acts 12) and had been the first to announce to a surprised capital, probably to the sizeable Jewish community there, that God had at last sent Israel’s Messiah, and that this man, Jesus of Nazareth, had been raised from the dead to be Lord of the earth. Paul doesn’t want to imply to the church in Rome that they are deficient. He thanks God for them, prays for them, and looks forward to being with them so that he can be encouraged by their faith as they, he trusts, will be by his.
Ministry is serving. That’s what our New Testament word for ‘ministry’ literally means. When we minister to a person, a group or a church, we serve them. We don’t ‘lord’ it over them; we serve them. We minister as servants, servants of Christ and servants in our heart to those we share with. Is this your heart when you minister?