Romans 16:8 – My Beloved Brother
Greet Amplias, my beloved in the Lord.
Truth to Learn
Some people were specially honored by the Apostle Paul.
Behind the Words
“Amplias” is a shortened form of the Latin name Ampliatus, meaning “enlarged.” Some Greek manuscripts have the full name rather than the shortened form.
“Beloved” is translated from agapētos, which is based on agape, meaning “a perfect self-sacrificing love.” There are two different Greek verbs translated “love” in the New Testament. The first is Phileō, referring to a “brotherly love” or “fondness” as expressed between good friends. The other is agapaō, which indicates more than just emotion. It implies action which is directed toward the benefit of the beloved even at the expense of personal sacrifice on the part of the loving one.
Meaning Explained
Paul spends the entire first half of this final chapter of the letter to the church at Rome giving greetings to specific people who are associated with the church. Each one of these people is someone whom Paul considers worthy of greeting. In some cases he tells us a little about the person (or persons) but in others, like Amplias in today’s verse, he tells us almost nothing.
What we do know about Amplias is that Paul considers him beloved in the Lord. In other words, he considers Amplias more than just a friend. We don’t know what Amplias did to earn such an esteemed position in Paul’s mind, but whatever it was, Paul expresses a level of affection for this person that he offers to few others; in fact, of all those greeted in this letter only four are referred to as beloved by Paul. They are Epenetus (Romans 16:5), Amplias (Romans 16:8), Stachys (Romans 16:9), and Persis (Romans 16:12).
Though Paul is the Apostle to the Gentiles, well known by virtually everyone in the church throughout the known world at that time, he did not consider himself above others in the church, especially those who labored fervently for God. In his first letter to Timothy, Paul referred to himself as the chief of all sinners:
This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. (1Timothy 1:15)
In this passage in 1Timothy, Paul has recounted some of the despicable things he did before he got saved. And yet, in 1Timothy 1:15 he does not say, “of whom I was chief,” he said, “of whom I am chief.”
The Apostle Paul does not think of himself as better than other Christians. He is well aware that apart from God’s grace he is destined for hell just like the rest of us. And, out of his humility he gives recognition to a number of unknown people who give their all for their Savior. In today’s verse we see him giving recognition to one of his dearly beloved friends, Amplias.
Application
Imagine how honoring it must have been for a simple Christian man like Amplias to receive recognition in a church letter from the Apostle Paul. What would be even better would be to receive recognition from our Lord as He ushers us into heaven with, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Will God say that about you? Remember, how you serve Him now will have eternal consequences.
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2011 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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