The divine word in God's revelation is always very economical. In every case, not one word is wasted. Every page, every line, even every word in this holy Book is valuable and necessary. Based on this principle, we must consider Romans 16 just as important as Romans 6. We all value Romans 6 highly, and we know what is revealed there. But very few of you are clear about Romans 16. Romans 16 is not a short chapter, but a chapter with twenty-seven verses.
There are no doctrines covered in Romans 16—no justification, no redemption, no reconciliation, no sanctification, no glorification, no -ation of any kind. But this chapter is full of names, with name after name. Tonight we want to pick up five names from this chapter with a purpose.
The number one name is Phoebe, which is the best name among all the female names. The second name is Prisca, the Greek spelling for Priscilla, a dear name. I do love these two names. The first one was given by me to my first daughter, because I did know this name was a good name. The second name, Priscilla, was given to my wife. The name not only means the name; the reality of the name is the person.
The third name is a brother's name, Aquila, the husband of Prisca, Priscilla. According to the principle in the Bible, the husband's name always comes before the wife's name. But in this case, altogether against the divine principle, the wife's name comes first, and then the husband's. It seems to break the principle.
When this couple is first mentioned in Acts 18, Aquila is named first, and then Priscilla. When I was young, when I came to Romans, I questioned which one was the husband. I even thought there must be a mistake in some manuscript. However, there is a definite reason for this arrangement in the Word.
The fourth name is a very familiar name, Mary. There are at least six Marys in the New Testament, and the Mary in Romans 16 is the sixth one. Mary is the New Testament form of the Old Testament name Miriam.
The first Mary is the mother of the Lord Jesus. Another is Mary the Magdalene. She had been possessed by seven demons, and those demons were cast out by the Lord Jesus. She was released, and from that time she became a real seeker of the Lord, one who loved Him very much. Yet another Mary is the mother of John Mark in Acts 12.
Here are four Marys: the Mary in Romans 16, the mother of Jesus, Mary the Magdalene, and the mother of John Mark in Acts 12. In addition to these, there are another two Marys.
The six Marys cover the Christian life and the church life as well, starting from the incarnation of Christ and consummating in the practical church life. The incarnation of Christ started with the first Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the Mary in Romans 16 is the consummation of the practical church life. From the first Mary to the last Mary, all of the Christian life and the church life is fully covered.
Mary is the fourth name we want to pick up, and the fifth is Persis, in verse 12. Probably none of you has ever paid attention to this name, and many do not know that Persis is a female name. A sister by the name of Persis was greeted purposely by the Apostle Paul in Romans 16.
In this chapter there are a number of names in addition to these five that we have picked up. Because not one word is wasted in the holy Bible, we must consider these names in the greetings of the Apostle Paul as something very practical.