In Romans 1 we find the word “creation”; in Romans 16 we find the word “churches.” It is quite easy to say how God created: He spoke the word and creation came into being. However, it is difficult to say how He produced the churches. God had to perform a work in various stages as part of a lengthy process which included redemption, justification, reconciliation, regeneration, sanctification, transformation, conformation, and glorification. As a result of this lengthy process, God has made the churches. The churches are the peak, the consummation, of God’s work and building. He cannot go any higher. Therefore, the book of Romans ends with chapter sixteen. In Romans 16 the Lord’s work has reached its summit. When I read Romans 16, I am satisfied because He is satisfied. We must tell God, “Lord, You cannot go any further. You have reached the peak.” With the establishing of the churches in Romans 16, the eternal God has attained the peak of His work and is satisfied.
Most of the Christian teachers say, “Look ahead. Look to the future. This world is evil and the age is dark. There is nothing good on earth. Look forward to the future.” However, this was not Paul’s attitude in the book of Romans. If we had written Romans, we would have added another chapter saying, “Dear brothers, look at the poor situation. We must look ahead to the future when we will all be raptured. Then we will be in heaven.” Paul, however, did not speak this way in Romans, and there must have been a reason why he did not. Although Christians like to dream of the future in heaven, Paul knew that the Lord desires to have the churches on earth. We look to the future, but the Lord wants us firstly to have the church life at the present time. Paul understood that the Lord is satisfied to have local churches on the earth.
If you study all the books in the New Testament, you will find that, other than Romans, not one of them ends with such a melody as we find in the last three verses of chapter sixteen. Although some people have called these verses a doxology and a benediction, I prefer to call them a melody. When Paul wrote these words, he was excited, happy, and satisfied. Not even the book of Revelation concludes with such a melody. In Romans 16 we have the local churches, and when we have the local churches, it is sufficient for us to be excited, happy and satisfied. Once you have the local churches, what else do you need? After Paul unveiled the local church life, including many of the virtues and attributes of the dear saints, he was very happy and concluded his letter with a melody of praise.
In his concluding praise, Paul said, “Now to Him Who is of power to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which has been kept in silence in times of the ages” (16:25). We need nothing further. We simply need to acknowledge that God has given us everything and then keep what we already have. Paul said that God was of power to establish us according to his gospel, not according to the gospel of Mark or Luke. What is the difference between the gospels of Mark and Luke and the gospel of Paul? In Mark and Luke we have salvation, but in neither of them do we find the churches. However, Paul’s gospel includes the churches and presents a portrait of the local church life, mentioning people such as Phoebe who served the church and Prisca and Aquila who risked their necks for the churches. Never forget that Paul’s gospel has sixteen chapters, not eight or twelve.
Once again I say that Paul was excited and satisfied at the end of Romans. God had started from creation and had reached His peak in the local churches. Therefore, Romans is an extract or an abstract of the whole Bible. The Bible begins in Genesis with God’s creation and concludes in Revelation with the New Jerusalem, the totality of all the local churches and the consummation of God’s building. Romans consummates with the local churches, and the Bible as a whole consummates with the New Jerusalem as the totality of all the local churches. This is the view from God’s side.