Romans 11:13 Study Bible: For I speak to you who are Gentiles. Since then as I am an apostle to Gentiles, I glorify my ministry;

◄ Romans 11:13 ►

I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry

I am speaking to you Gentiles
The Apostle Paul directly addresses the Gentile believers in Rome, emphasizing the inclusivity of the Gospel. The Greek word for "Gentiles" is "ethnos," which refers to nations or peoples distinct from the Jewish nation. Historically, the Gentiles were often seen as outsiders to God's covenant with Israel. However, Paul's mission was to bring the message of Christ to all nations, fulfilling the promise that through Abraham's seed, all nations would be blessed (Genesis 22:18). This phrase underscores the breaking down of barriers between Jew and Gentile, a theme central to Paul's ministry.

Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles
Paul identifies himself as the apostle specifically appointed to the Gentiles. The Greek word "apostolos" means "one who is sent" and carries the authority of the sender. Paul's calling was divinely ordained, as seen in Acts 9:15, where God declares Paul as a chosen instrument to carry His name before the Gentiles. This role was not self-appointed but was a fulfillment of God's plan to extend salvation beyond the Jewish people. Historically, this was a radical shift, as the early church grappled with the inclusion of Gentiles, which Paul championed.

I magnify my ministry
The word "magnify" comes from the Greek "doxazo," meaning to glorify or honor. Paul is not boasting in a worldly sense but is emphasizing the importance and divine purpose of his ministry. By magnifying his ministry, Paul seeks to highlight the significance of his work among the Gentiles as part of God's redemptive plan. This phrase reflects Paul's deep commitment to his calling and his desire to see the Gentile believers fully integrated into the body of Christ. It serves as an inspiration for believers to honor and diligently pursue their God-given callings, recognizing that each role in the Kingdom is vital and worthy of dedication.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Paul
The apostle who wrote the letter to the Romans. He is emphasizing his role as the apostle to the Gentiles.

2. Gentiles
Non-Jewish people to whom Paul is addressing this part of his letter. They are significant in the spread of the Gospel beyond the Jewish community.

3. Apostle to the Gentiles
A title Paul uses to describe his God-given mission to preach the Gospel to the Gentile world.

4. Rome
The city to which the letter is addressed, representing a diverse community of both Jewish and Gentile believers.

5. Ministry
Refers to Paul's work and mission in spreading the Gospel, particularly to the Gentiles.

Teaching Points

Understanding Paul's Mission
Recognize the significance of Paul's role as the apostle to the Gentiles and how it shaped the early church's outreach.

Inclusivity of the Gospel
Reflect on the inclusivity of the Gospel message, which is for all people, regardless of ethnic or cultural background.

Magnifying Ministry
Consider how we can "magnify" our own ministries or callings by fully embracing and committing to the roles God has given us.

Unity in Diversity
Appreciate the unity within the body of Christ that comes from diverse backgrounds, as seen in the early church's composition of Jews and Gentiles.

Faithfulness to Calling
Encourage faithfulness to one's calling, as Paul was faithful to his, despite challenges and opposition.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does Paul's role as the apostle to the Gentiles influence the way we understand the spread of the Gospel in the early church?

2. In what ways can we "magnify" our own ministries or callings in our current contexts?

3. How does the inclusion of the Gentiles in the early church challenge us to think about inclusivity in our own church communities today?

4. What can we learn from Paul's faithfulness to his calling, and how can we apply that to our own lives?

5. How do the connections between Romans 11:13 and other scriptures about Paul's mission help us understand the broader account of the New Testament?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Acts 9:15
This verse describes Paul's calling as a chosen instrument to carry God's name before the Gentiles, kings, and the people of Israel, highlighting his specific mission.

Galatians 2:7-8
Paul discusses the division of labor between himself and Peter, where Peter is the apostle to the Jews and Paul to the Gentiles, reinforcing his unique role.

Ephesians 3:8
Paul speaks of the grace given to him to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, emphasizing the importance of his ministry.

1 Timothy 2:7
Paul reiterates his role as a preacher and apostle to the Gentiles, underscoring the truth of his mission.

Sermons

Magnifying One's Office	S.R. Aldridge	Romans 11:13
How Much More!	T.F. Lockyer	Romans 11:11-16
Church Offices and Magnifying Them	J. Lyth, D.D.	Romans 11:11-22
Concern for Kindred	J. Lyth, D.D.	Romans 11:11-22
Necessaries of the Ministerial Office	R. M'All, D.D.	Romans 11:11-22
Paul Magnifying His Office	J. Lyth, D.D.	Romans 11:11-22
Provoking to Emulation	S. Martin.	Romans 11:11-22
The Benefit Resulting from the Conversion of the Jews	Elnathan Parr, B.D.	Romans 11:11-22
The Calling of the Jews the Enriching of the World	Elnathan Parr, B.D.	Romans 11:11-22
The Conversion of the Jews	N. Emmons, D.D.	Romans 11:11-22
The Dignity of the Christian Ministry	D. Kennedy, D.D.	Romans 11:11-22
The Fall of Israel	J. Lyth, D.D	Romans 11:11-22
The Holiness of the Firstfruit and the Lump	Elnathan Parr, B.D.	Romans 11:11-22
The Ministerial Office not an Easy One		Romans 11:11-22
The Rejection of Israel	J. Lyth, D.D.	Romans 11:11-22
Israel's Future	R.M. Edgar	Romans 11:11-32
The Jewish People: Their Past History and Their Future Prospects	C.H. Irwin	Romans 11:11-32

People

Benjamin, David, Elias, Elijah, Jacob, Paul, Romans

Places

Rome, Zion

Topics

Apostle, Gentiles, Glorify, Inasmuch, Indeed, Magnify, Ministration, Ministry, Nations, Office, Position, Pride, Speak, Speaking, Specially

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Romans 11:13

5408 messenger
7953 mission, of church

Romans 11:1-18

7125 elect, the

Romans 11:1-36

4492 olive

Romans 11:11-21

7512 Gentiles, in NT

Romans 11:11-24

Romans 11:13-14

Romans 11:13-16

Romans 11:13-21

Library

June 19. "Who Hath First Given to Him, and it Shall be Recompensed unto Him Again" (Rom. xi. 35).
"Who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again" (Rom. xi. 35). The Christian women of the world have it in their power, by a very little sacrifice, to add millions to the treasury of the Lord. Beloved sisters, have you found the joy of sacrifice for Jesus? Have you given up something that you might give it to Him? Are you giving your substance to Jesus? He will take it, and He will give you a thousandfold more. I should rather be connected with a work founded on great sacrifice …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Trinity Sunday the Article of Faith on the Trinity.
Text: Romans 11, 33-36. 33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out! 34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 35 or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 36 For of him and through him, and unto him, are all things. To him be the glory for ever. Amen. THE ARTICLE OF FAITH ON THE TRINITY. 1. This epistle is read today because the festival …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

Trinity Sunday the Doctrine of the Trinity.
Second Sermon. Text: Romans 11, 33-36. THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY.[1] [Footnote 1: This sermon was first printed in 1535, at Wittenberg.] 1. This festival requires us to instruct the people in the dogma of the Holy Trinity, and to strengthen both memory and faith concerning it. This is the reason why we take up the subject once more. Without proper instruction and a sound foundation in this regard, other dogmas cannot be rightly and successfully treated. The other festivals of the year present …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

Spiritual Blindness.
"As it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear."--ROMANS xi. 8. "Blindness in part is happened to Israel."--ROMANS xi. 25. It is a sad and painful reflection, and one which is continually forced upon us as we read the New Testament, that the long training and preparation of the Jews brought them at the last not to the acceptance but to the rejection of Jesus. They had been taught, generation after generation, that they …
John Percival—Sermons at Rugby

Christianity Requires the Temper of Childhood.
MARK x. 15.--"Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein." These words of our Lord are very positive and emphatic, and will, therefore, receive a serious attention from every one who is anxious concerning his future destiny beyond the grave. For, they mention an indispensable requisite in order to an entrance into eternal life. "Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein." …
William G.T. Shedd—Sermons to the Natural Man

The Hardening of Nations.
"The election hath obtained it, and the rest were hardened."-- Rom. xi. 7. St. Paul's word, at the head of this article, is strikingly impressive, and its content exceedingly rich and instructive. It clearly announces the fact that the hardening is not exceptional or occasional, but universal, affecting all, who, being in contact with the divine Love, are not saved by it. The last limitation is necessary, for of the heathen it can not be said that they are hardened. Only they can be hardened who …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Of Holy virginity
Of Holy Virginity. [De Virginitate.] Translated by Rev. C. I. Cornish, M.A., of Exeter College, Oxford Retr. ii. 23. "After I had written on the Good of Marriage,' it was expected that I should write on Holy Virginity; and I did not delay to do so: and that it is God's gift, and how great a gift, and with what humility to be guarded, so far as I was able I set forth in one volume. This book begins," &c. c1. We lately put forth a book "of the Good of Marriage," in which also we admonished and admonish …
St. Augustine—Of Holy Virginity.

Now this Election the Apostle Demonstrating to Be...
17. Now this election the Apostle demonstrating to be, not of merits going before in good works, but election of grace, saith thus: "And in this time a remnant by election of grace is saved. But if by grace, then is it no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace." [2672] This is election of grace; that is, election in which through the grace of God men are elected: this, I say, is election of grace which goes before all good merits of men. For if it be to any good merits that it is given, …
St. Augustine—On Patience

History of Arian Opinions.
Arius's own sentiments; his Thalia and Letter to S. Alexander; corrections by Eusebius and others; extracts from the works of Asterius; letter of the Council of Jerusalem; first Creed of Arians at the Dedication of Antioch; second, Lucian's on the same occasion; third, by Theophronius; fourth, sent to Constans in Gaul; fifth, the Macrostich sent into Italy; sixth, at Sirmium; seventh, at the same place; and eighth also, as given above in §8; ninth, at Seleucia; tenth, at Constantinople; eleventh, …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

Epistle Xliii. To Eulogius and Anastasius, Bishops.
To Eulogius and Anastasius, Bishops. Gregory to Eulogius, Bishop of Alexandria, and Anastasius, Bishop of Antioch. When the excellent preacher says, As long as I am the apostle of the Gentiles I will honour my ministry (Rom. xi. 13); saying again in another place, We became as babes among you (1 Thess. ii. 7), he undoubtedly shews an example to us who come after him, that we should retain humility in our minds, and yet keep in honour the dignity of our order, so that neither should our humility be …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

The Beatific vision. (Continued. )
In the Beatific Vision our intellect is glorified, and our thirst for knowledge completely satisfied. Man was created with a thirst for knowledge which can never be satiated in this world. Sin, which greatly weakened and darkened his mental faculties, has not taken away his desire and love for knowledge. And the knowledge which he acquired by eating the forbidden fruit, rather increased than satisfied his thirst. But all his efforts to reach the perfection of knowledge, even in the natural order, …
F. J. Boudreaux—The Happiness of Heaven

The Sovereignty of God in Operation
"For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be the glory for ever. Amen" (Romans 11:36). Has God foreordained everything that comes to pass? Has He decreed that what is, was to have been? In the final analysis this is only another way of asking, Is God now governing the world and everyone and everything in it? If God is governing the world then is He governing it according to a definite purpose, or aimlessly and at random? If He is governing it according to some purpose, then …
Arthur W. Pink—The Sovereignty of God

Reprobation Asserted: Or, the Doctrine of Eternal Election and Reprobation Promiscuously Handled, in Eleven Chapters.
WHEREIN THE MOST MATERIAL OBJECTIONS MADE BY THE OPPOSERS OF THIS DOCTRINE, ARE FULLY ANSWERED; SEVERAL DOUBTS REMOVED, AND SUNDRY CASES OF CONSCIENCE RESOLVED. BY JOHN BUNYAN OF BEDFORD, A LOVER OF PEACE AND TRUTH. 'What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.'--Romans 11:7 London: Printed for G. L., and are to be sold in Turn-stile-alley, in Holbourn. Small 4to, 44 pages. EDITOR'S ADVERTISEMENT. This valuable tract …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Original and the Actual Relation of Man to Law.
ROMANS vii. 10.--"The commandment which, was ordained to life, I found to be unto death." The reader of St. Paul's Epistles is struck with the seemingly disparaging manner in which he speaks of the moral law. In one place, he tells his reader that "the law entered that the offence might abound;" in another, that "the law worketh wrath;" in another, that "sin shall not have dominion" over the believer because he is "not under the law;" in another, that Christians "are become dead to the law;" in …
William G.T. Shedd—Sermons to the Natural Man

"Wash You, Make You Clean; Put Away the Evil of Your Doings from Before Mine Eyes; Cease to do Evil,"
Isaiah i. 16.--"Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil," &c. There are two evils in sin,--one is the nature of it, another the fruit and sad effect of it. In itself it is filthiness, and contrary to God's holiness; an abasing of the immortal soul; a spot in the face of the Lord of the creatures, that hath far debased him under them all. Though it be so unnatural to us, yet it is now in our fallen estate become, as it were, natural, so that …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

God's Works of Providence
Rom. xi. 36.--"For of him, and through him, and to him are all things, to whom be glory for ever, Amen."--Psal. ciii. 19.--"The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens and his kingdom ruleth over all."--Matt. x. 29.--"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father." There is nothing more commonly confessed in words, than that the providence of God reaches to all the creatures and their actions, but I believe there is no point of religion …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Because of Its Bearing Upon the Gentiles.
This aspect of our subject has not received the attention which it deserves. It has been assumed by some that the present dispensation is the time when God is blessing the Gentiles and that in the Millennium the Jews will be the special objects of God's favor. It is true that in the Millennium Israel shall enter into the enjoyment of their inheritance and that at that time they shall occupy the chief position, governmentally, among the nations, but it is a mistake to suppose that the Gentiles will …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

Christ a Complete Saviour:
OR, THE INTERCESSION OF CHRIST, AND WHO ARE PRIVILEGED IN IT. BY JOHN BUNYAN Advertisement by the Editor. However strange it may appear, it is a solemn fact, that the heart of man, unless prepared by a sense of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, rejects Christ as a complete Saviour. The pride of human nature will not suffer it to fall, as helpless and utterly undone, into the arms of Divine mercy. Man prefers a partial Saviour; one who had done so much, that, with the sinner's aid, the work might be …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Some General Uses.
Before we come to speak of some particular cases of deadness, wherein believers are to make use of Christ as the Life, we shall first propose some useful consequences and deductions from what hath been spoken of this life; and, I. The faith of those things, which have been mentioned, would be of great use and advantage to believers; and therefore they should study to have the faith of this truth fixed on their hearts, and a deep impression thereof on their spirits, to the end, that, 1. Be their case …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

The Work of the Holy Spirit Distinguished.
"And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."--Gen. i. 2. What, in general, is the work of the Holy Spirit as distinguished from that of the Father and of the Son? Not that every believer needs to know these distinctions in all particulars. The existence of faith does not depend upon intellectual distinctions. The main question is not whether we can distinguish the work of the Father from that of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, but whether we have experienced their gracious operations. …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

I Fear, I Say, Greatly for Thee, Lest...
39. I fear, I say, greatly for thee, lest, when thou boastest that thou wilt follow the Lamb wheresoever He shall have gone, thou be unable by reason of swelling pride to follow Him through strait ways. It is good for thee, O virgin soul, that thus, as thou art a virgin, thus altogether keeping in thy heart that thou hast been born again, keeping in thy flesh that thou hast been born, thou yet conceive of the fear of the Lord, and give birth to the spirit of salvation. [2142] "Fear," indeed, "there …
St. Augustine—Of Holy Virginity.

Concerning the Ministry.
Concerning the Ministry. As by the light or gift of God all true knowledge in things spiritual is received and revealed, so by the same, as it is manifested and received in the heart, by the strength and power thereof, every true minister of the gospel is ordained, prepared, and supplied in the work of the ministry; and by the leading, moving, and drawing hereof ought every evangelist and Christian pastor to be led and ordered in his labour and work of the gospel, both as to the place where, as to …
Robert Barclay—Theses Theologicae and An Apology for the True Christian Divinity

The Angel's Message and Song
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the LORD came upon them, and the glory of the LORD shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the LORD . And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

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