Louie Giglio - Painting Yourself Into the Greatest Story Ever Told
I just wanna unpack if I can, Romans 16 today. Old fashioned, let's just open a Bible and let the Bible open itself in front of us today because there's something really powerful here. Now, I have to be honest, when I was studying Romans 16, I didn't know how to pronounce a bunch of the names either. And I don't wanna get 'em wrong, so I gotta go do research and figure out, okay, how is this name pronounced?
And then, I remember that I know this guy and he knows how to pronounce all the names because he reads the Bible professionally. He's in my Bible app, does anybody have this guy? Does anybody have the Bible app? Let's just start with that, okay? Yeah. Alright, good. Anybody listen to the Bible on the Bible app? Okay, then you know this guy already, and so I'm gonna let him read our text for us today because he's a professional and it's just enjoyable, by the way. It takes me to a happy place. This guy has read Romans 16 to me about 50 times in the last two weeks, and so I'm really excited for him to read it to you as well. So, Romans 16:1, let's listen together.
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.
Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.
Greet also the church that meets at their house.
Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.
Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you.
Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.
Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.
Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys.
Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test.
Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.
Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew.
Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.
Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord.
Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.
Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.
Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them.
Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the Lord's people who are with them.
Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings. I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Timothy, my co-worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my fellow Jews.
I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord. Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings. Erastus, who is the city's director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings. Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith, to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.
Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.
Greet also the church that meets at their house.
Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.
Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you.
Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.
Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.
Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys.
Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test.
Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.
Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew.
Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.
Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord.
Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.
Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.
Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them.
Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the Lord's people who are with them.
Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings. I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Timothy, my co-worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my fellow Jews.
I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord. Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings. Erastus, who is the city's director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings. Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith, to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.
Amen. Amen. What a word. You're like, "Man, that is a lot of names and a lot of people". But what's beautiful about it is it's really highlighting for us that the story of the gospel is a story that includes everybody. And the story of the church is a story that includes everybody. Paul, led of the Holy Spirit, doesn't end Romans with a, "And there you go, ladies and gentlemen, the greatest news of all". Oh, and I would like to call out some people if I can, and I'd like to do a few shoutouts right before we wrap this whole thing up.
So, we're gonna put one more chapter on the greatest treatise of all and it's called, "Personal Greetings". Because I wanna highlight the everybody mindset of the church. And he does that in a couple of ways. If you're taking notes, these are important things to write down. And maybe this will just help you in just how you look at scripture, because there's so much in this text. The first thing he's highlighting is that family is greater than membership. He says, "I commend to you," first person he's gonna name is Phoebe, by the way, "Our sister".
Now, I don't know if you've been around church for a while, but sometimes if you don't know someone's name at church, you'd call them sister or brother, "Hey, brother, how are you doing? I don't remember your name". But he knows their name, but I wants to make sure he identifies her not just by her role, she's a deacon, but by her relationship, she's a sister. And he's highlighting even in a very first person he commends that being a part of church is more about family than it is about membership. He goes on and does this in other places.
Look over here in verse 8, he's talking about Ampliatus, and he says, "This is my dear friend in the Lord". He's really coming in now to family. He's not just saying, "Hey, oh and there's this guy. I want you to know him as well". He says, "So this guy is my dear friend in the Lord". Over in verse 12 he talks about these sisters, by the way, and then he goes on down to say, "And greet my dear friend," again, "Persis, another woman who has worked very hard. And greet Rufus," but here's the main thing about Rufus that's really important, "His mom has been a mom to me too".
"So, this isn't just like a organization. We're not just on mission as a organization, we're in mission as a family. And by the way, Rufus, is mom, she's like my mom. She's been like a mom to me". So, we're in the middle of a treatise on grace, we're in the middle of a treatise on the reconciliation of God to a fallen world. We're in one of the greatest text in the scripture, and before it closes, we got Paul telling us who's been like a mom to him. Why? Because this thing that we're apart of today is more about family than it is about membership and there's a connection and a closeness that comes in it that he doesn't want us to miss. He says, check this out. Look at this verse right here, "Greet one another with a holy kiss".
I don't know why I just got real animated and my voice went up when I did that. Sorry. It's not really a big moment, but it seemed like it. What? Yeah. You know, we're handshake culture, maybe a hug. But the Europeans, the South Americans, they're gonna give you a kiss. Hello? Three kisses. Some of 'em do one, some of 'em do two, some of 'em do three. Don't know which ones are which and where you start, on which cheek, but you'll get it soon. And they say, "Hey, how are you doing? Hey, how are y'all? Hey, good to see y'all too".
Lot of kissing going on. It's a cultural thing. But Paul is saying, in the family of God and in church, guess what? It's also a cultural thing that when you greet each other, you should have this mindset that I know you so well and I'm connected to your life so well, you know me so well, connected to my life so well, it's kind of like family and even encouraged them. "Hey, when you greet each other, greet each other with a holy kiss". Why in the world is that in the Bible? Because God is wanting us to understand church is about family, not about membership. It's not something you attend, it's a family to which you belong.
The second thing he's trying to say is that church is about believing, but it's also about changing. When I read through all these people, that was interesting to me that it wasn't just about, "These are all the people who came and believed. They took the first step, they came to church, and when they got to church, they actually believed what we were preaching at church". He says, "No, that wasn't the goal. The goal was that people would change and be changed because of the story in the gospel of grace". Verse 5 says a similar thing, talking about this guy, Epenetus. This guy. "Epenetus was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia".
In other words, the mindset of the day was when you become a Christian, you change. There is a conversion from the old way to the new way, from the old you to the new you. It's not about just showing up and going, "'Hey.' Oh, and there's Epenetus and, oh, by the way, he was the first person who prayed the prayer in all of Asia". No. He was the first convert, the first one changed by the gospel in all of Asia. And then, in verse 10 we find this other guy, Apelles. Notice him. "Whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test".
In other words, Paul is highlighting how, not just because he came, and he raised his hand and he believed. Although those things are super important, he said, "Oh, and by the way, his faith is real. His walk with God is real. This guy has been in the fire, and it is real. This guy has faced headwinds, and it is real. His love for God stood the test". Church and the everybody mentality is that it is about believing, but it's also about being changed.
The third thing Paul's highlighting is that serving is greater than attending. That serving is greater than just attending. Notice how many times he says this. Now, remember, this is a gospel of grace. Romans is a gospel of the extravagant grace of God producing a radical change in the hearts of people. So, we've already got that established, but now notice how many people are working now in the story. We see it right in verse 3. It says, "Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my," and I want you to just notice how many times this happened. I wish everybody had their real Bible out and, on your lap, so that you could do this cause it's just extraordinary when you go down through the text. And who are they? "They are my co-workers". Co-workers. Amazing.
Notice in the next place, in verse 6 over here, "Greet Mary," Thank you, Mary. Here I go to a different color since we already did that one. "Who worked very hard for you". Amazing. He's highlighting, commending, what? Commending work. "Greet Urbanus, he is our," who? "Co-worker in Christ, and then there's my good friend," Did you notice the guy reading? I don't know, I smiled. You probably didn't notice it but listen to it 50 times and you'll smile every time, "Stachys".
Verse 12, these sisters, Tryphena and Tryphosa, imaging calling them in for dinner. Maybe you're named one of those names, sorry. They're awesome names. They're fantastic names. "Those women who work hard in the Lord". Interesting, ay? I love this. I love to go on through this text and finding this. Then he come down and, you know, these are all the Romans up here that are getting greeted. And now, down here, Paul's writing this from Corinth, somewhere around 56 A.D. So, 25 years after Jesus went back to Heaven, he's writing this letter. And now, here's all the people that are with him in Corinth.
First one, "Timothy my co-worker sends his greetings". And he names all these other people. And so, all in the mix here are people who are working. I got that one in blue, so I'm gonna go back and put it in red. They are working. So, what's he saying? He's saying, "Church isn't about just showing up. It's about working. Hard work, co-work. It's about getting in the mix and putting your hands to the task at hand".
The fourth thing he highlights is that "We" is greater than "Me". Now, we say that all the time at Passion City Church, we is greater than me. But I want you to see how he shows us this. What does that mean? It means that church is a we and he loves church. He does not say at the end of this letter, "Oh, and by the way, this is the best news ever heard. Just take it and run with it and have a great time on your own". No, He says, "Once you come alive in this message, you then are linked in to a family of faith called church and church is what it's all about".
Church, he is greater than me. He highlights that right in the first verse. He says, "I wanna commend to you, Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae". And then, he comes on down. "Priscilla and Aquila, co-workers. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets at their house". Verse 5, a little further down. Oh, that's it. The church that meets at their house. Verse 16, just over a little ways, "Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings". And then, in verse 23, "Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, send you his greetings". Beautiful.
The fifth thing that Paul is highlighting about the everybody mindset that he's highlighting the fact that you bring to church the gifts that you have. I think sometimes there's this misconception that if I'm not a preacher, if I'm not a worship leader, if I'm not gifted with leadership, or with teaching, or with some kind of administrative gift, I don't see where I fit in to the greater story and to the church.
And Paul is saying in this beautiful, you know, everybody story, that you bring the gifts that you have. I love the guy, we just talked about him over here, Gaius, in verse 23. Check him out. What was Gaius good at? Well, apparently, Gaius was really great at hospitality. He knew how to make people feel at home. He knew how to put out a good buffet. He knew how to throw a party. And he got in because that's the gift that he had.
I'll finish on these. But the sixth one is that what Paul is lifting up here is that it's not just about being on staff. Remember Phoebe? We talked about her. She was a deacon. That may not have been a paid job, probably, in this context but it's kinda like being on staff, cause it's like stepping up into ministry. But then I love how Paul mentions one of the people that's involved in the church in Corith, that's with him that he wants to make sure that everybody hears from is Erastus over here. And who is Erastus? He is the city's director of public works.
Hello. Church isn't about professional people who are on staff, it's about everybody. The mission of seeing Atlanta have some kind of spiritual awakening, isn't gonna fall on the pastors, and the preachers, and the staff members at the churches. It's only gonna happen when the director of the city's public works is woven into the rescue story. And somehow in their sphere of influence they are shining light for the glory of God. And I love how Paul just tears down this wall. And he doesn't say, "Now, I'm gonna name all the important ministers and pastors". He said, "I'm an apostle. I said that from the beginning. But I'd like for you guys to hear from Erastus, also, today".
And then, the last thing and I gotta wrap this up. Paul commends all these people, but at the very end he does something different. The people get commendation, but then one name gets glory. "Now to him who is able". Thirty-seven people have been named, and that doesn't include the church at their house, and the people that are with them, and the brothers and sisters that are with them, and all the followers of Jesus that are with them. Thirty-seven specific people have been called out, but now something changes.
"Now to him, to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but no revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith". That's a big, you know, in-between the commas moment, so let's just go back. "Now to him... to the only wise God be glory forever through the last name".
First name, Paul. Last name, Jesus Christ. That's our story. It started with me, and it ended with Him. First, you learn my name. Last, you learn His name. First, you heard about me. Last, you heard about Jesus. The story may have started with me in your world, and our connection, and how we know each other, and all that work, but the story ended with Jesus. I got in the story, but He got the glory in the story. I got commended, He got glory. I got mentioned, and He got praise. I got appreciated for my role and the part that I played, He got the glory that He deserved. The only wise God got the glory through Jesus Christ.
The story has a lot of names, but it ends with just one glory and that's the glory that never, ever fade away. Everybody, everybody all bringing glory to Jesus. I love it. The greatest treatise ever written in humanity about how people far away from God are reconnected to the Almighty. How spiritually dead becomes spiritually alive. How those who have no place are now adopted and have the spirit to be called the sons and daughters of God. How a love is so strong that death, nor life, nor angels, nor demons, or present or things to come can separate us from that kind of love. A gospel that says, "There's therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus".
A gospel that birth praise, where we say, "Now, from this moment on, I want my whole life to be a sacrifice of praise to God". That treatise can only end in one name, and that is the name of Jesus. I ask you, "How did they get in"? I got a different question, "How do you get in"? Maybe the best question of all today, "Do you wanna be in? Do you want to be in"? Are you happy just to have come? I'll tell you really quickly, I'm closing, sorry. We went to this art gallery a few months ago and they had this cartoon of a very famous fresco.
Now, the fresco's painted in the Vatican on a wall. There's a copy of the fresco in a museum in England, but the cartoon, the cartoon is the sketch that the artist made before he painted the fresco. He sketched it out. That's called the cartoon if you didn't know. And it's big, it's as big as across the stage right here and it's in a gallery in Milan and we went to see it. And it was a cartoon of a painting called, "The school of Athens," and this is what it looks like... And what it is, it's all the players in that era, Plato, and Aristotle, and Pythagoras, and the heads of Philosophy and mathematics, and physics, and just, these are all the people that shaped the wisdom of this era, the school of Athens.
But one of the things when we're studying they had this big thing on a table and you could see who all the people, were. And we just wanna know, who's are all these people? And the deal, and then we got over the edge, and interestingly enough, the artist, Rafael, had painted himself into the School of Athens. And this happened with artists a lot in the renaissance era and maybe happens still to this day, but there was a little thing. And so, let me just zoom up and see if you can see it... You see this guy on the very edge over here? Him.
The guy peeking around the wall... That's Rafael, the artist. He just decided, "With Plato, and Aristotle, and all the rest, I'll just like, pop in". And he painted himself in just a little, "Hey, what's up, everybody? Schools of Athens". And you're like, "He can't do that". I go, "Yeah, he can". Now, some people think Rafael belonged, probably, in this painting and lot of people say he's the greatest painter in the renaissance. But he had the brush in his hand, and it was his painting, and he just painted himself in. And what I'm trying to say to you today is, you got the brush in your hands, it's called your ability, your time, your work, your talent... And by contributing, you can write yourself into the greatest story ever told.