Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brothers, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
Truth to Learn
Mature Christians behave in a Christ-like manner.
Behind the Words
The word translated “confident” is the Greek verb peithō, which means “to be persuaded or convinced.” It is in the perfect tense indicating a state of being that is the result of past completed action. The force of his statement is increased by the fact that in the Greek this is the first word of the sentence. It’s as if he were saying, “I have been persuaded and am convinced concerning you my brothers.”
“Admonish” is from noutheteō, which is made up of nous, meaning “the mind” and a form of tithēmi, meaning “to place.” Hence, it means “to place in the mind” or “to remind.”
Meaning Explained
At this point Paul is finished with his doctrinal teaching for the church at Rome, some of which has been very direct and forceful. He now proceeds to explain to them why he has written the epistle and to state the confidence that he has in them. He has opposed some of their strongest prejudices since the beginning of the fourteenth chapter and has prayed that they may have joy and peace. Now, in order to ensure their obedience to what he has taught them, he shows the deep interest that he has for their continuing welfare, though he had never met them.
He states in this verse why he has such confidence that they will take his teaching in the proper manner. He starts off with, “Now I myself am confident concerning you.”
And what is he confident of? He’s confident that the Christians in Rome are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish each other. He is confident that their actions demonstrate, and that their reputation reveals, the fact that they are good people. Now, we know Paul teaches that there is none who is righteous apart from the grace of God, but these people when stacked up against the people around them are “good people.” He also tells them that he is confident that they are full of knowledge. In other words, Paul knows that they are growing and learning Christians as opposed to others like those he pointed out in his letter to the Christians at Ephesus,
that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful scheming, (Ephesians 4:14)
Finally, Paul told the Christians at Rome that he is convinced that they are able to admonish one another. In other words, they are spiritually mature enough to recognize error in their midst and address it with one another in a firm but loving way. None of us likes to be told that we are wrong, but apparently the Christians in Rome were able to mix firmness and love in a way that was building-up the body rather than tearing it down.
Application
The Christians in Rome were, for the most part, behaving in a Christ-like manner. These people, living in the midst of one of the most pagan cultures ever, were letting the light of Christ shine through them. Do people around you recognize the light of Jesus Christ shining in you?
In God's service, for His glory,
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