Christian Unity
Lesson 26 Notes: Romans 15:1-13
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
Today’s world overflows with strife and division. Conflict runs so deep that countries, cities, and even families often seem at odds with no apparent hope of reconciliation. How are God’s people to remain unified when they disagree to the point of discord? Division among people is not new; in fact, the world was in many ways more divided when the good news of Jesus’s resurrection burst upon the scene. Many Greeks hated the Romans, who had overpowered and dominated them. Romans considered every country they conquered as inferior. Those in power ruthlessly mistreated and enslaved the poor and weak. The marginalized despised those who mistreated them. During this time, one of the most persistent and possibly even the deepest of all divisions existed between Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews).
Paul’s continued emphasis on unity in chapters 14 and 15 indicates that discord had likely entered the church in Rome. The groups could not see eye to eye on disputable matters that ran deeply in each culture. Many Romans and Greeks considered all who lacked appreciation for their philosophy, sports, and idols as barbarians. Gentile Christians may have viewed Jewish believers as overly focused on ritual and law. All the while, some Jews looked down on those who lacked their God-given spiritual privileges. Yet Paul reminded them that the Church includes all—Jew and Gentile alike—who trust Jesus for salvation and worship the one true God. How can believers from such diverse backgrounds unite to worship God as one cross-cultural community? The answer remains the same today: The power of the Holy Spirit of God makes unity possible. Only with God are all things possible.1 God empowers believers to live in unity and hope as they follow Christ.
1. All things possible: Matthew 19:26
Unity Through Christlikeness – Romans 15:1-4
Paul did not allow for indifference toward fellow Christians. Instead, he urged believers to live purposefully by first considering others.1 Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus intentionally served others. Jesus’s life on earth shines as our perfect example.
Picking up from chapter 14, Paul continued to address strong believers, saying, “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.” Being considerate of those who prefer restrictions to protect their conscience is part of God’s call to accept those He has accepted.2 Paul expanded this thought by saying believers “should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.” Jesus made this perfectly clear when He commanded, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”3 He humbly served others to the point of death on a cross.4 Jesus offers salvation from sin and new life empowered by the Holy Spirit. As believers walk with Christ and follow His ways, they are conformed into His likeness.
Paul quoted Psalm 69:9 to underscore Jesus Christ as our example. One of the Old Testament’s most profound messianic passages, Psalm 69 highlights Jesus’s humble servant nature: “For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: ‘The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.’” Christ bore our every insult and cause of pain when He took the cross on our behalf. Paul issued a call to Rome’s believers to endure similar mistreatment for God and for others. Zeal for His Father’s house consumed Jesus.5 The insults meant for God fell upon Jesus. In every way, Jesus bore pain and suffering on our behalf. Paul may have sought to inspire his readers to live like Jesus while asking the strong believers in Rome to endure the insults that befell the weak. Jesus is our example, yet living like Him requires more than mere human effort or will. Living like Jesus includes a willingness to endure a lifetime of insults and offense for His sake and the sake of others—a heavy burden that we cannot bear on our own.6
Believers can find encouragement and power to follow Jesus’s example by His Spirit and in His Word. The Bible is God’s gift to every generation and overflows with hope. Every word contained in Scripture is useful. Paul opened verse 4 by saying, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us.” God inspired His servants, including Moses, David, Solomon, and all the Old Testament prophets, to speak and write to people in their own times and for the world today.7 Paul wrote to Timothy, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”8 The Bible’s message exceeds all other words ever spoken or penned and calls God’s people to live by His design. Scripture contains God’s timeless and true Word and proclaims the only source of enduring hope.
Here in Romans 15, Paul showed how Scripture is an incredible source of hope for people experiencing relational struggles and persecution for their faith. The Bible teaches both patient and active endurance. Although pain is unavoidable and can seem unbearable and unending, God calls believers to trust Him and endure patiently in all circumstances. Active endurance occurs every time a believer resolves to obey God, even when obedience comes with great cost. Loving others and spreading the gospel also involve active endurance. Those who patiently endure and actively persevere while placing their trust in Christ become more like Christ. James wrote about perseverance and blessing, saying, “You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”9 God can bring immeasurable victory out of unspeakable tragedy and division.
The Holy Spirit works through Scripture to encourage God’s people. In Greek, the word encouragement, paraklesis, is closely related to the word Jesus used, parakletos, to describe the Holy Spirit’s work of teaching, comforting, and guiding His followers.10 As our Advocate, the Holy Spirit comes alongside believers to help them understand and apply Scripture. He provides comfort and counsel, helping them follow Jesus’s example of selfless, persevering love and unifying them into one body that glorifies God together.11
Unity for God’s Glory – Romans 15:5-12
Paul continued his exhortations with Jesus as his example. Paul called upon God, who gives endurance and encouragement, to make His people like-minded, and he encouraged believers to accept one another. Paul revealed the ultimate purpose for Christian unity: God’s glory.
The night before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed for six important characteristics to mark the Church: joy, holiness, truth, mission, love, and unity.12 Jesus prayed at great length for the unity of His disciples and every future believer, asking “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”13 The triune God exists in perfect unity, a unity believers are called to reflect in their communities. What unifies us in Christ is more important than anything else, including politics, music preference, worship styles, and denominations.
Aware of possible reasons for disunity, Paul wrote Romans 14–15 to guide the Church through potentially explosive differences. Paul asked God to give the Roman believers “the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The ultimate purpose of Christian unity is to bring God glory, not just to create a friendly community. Believers glorify God before a watching world by loving and appreciating one another, rather than allowing differences to create discord.14
Paul commanded Rome’s believers to “accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” The key word “accept” means to welcome or receive, not simply tolerate. Earlier, Paul commanded that believers “accept the one whose faith is weak ... for God has accepted them.”15 Unity calls believers to die to individual rights or opinions and accept all who come to faith, based on Christ’s death and resurrection. Jesus has accepted the believer with whom we have differences. Jesus welcomes all who believe. Believers should follow His example and do the same.
Remarkably, cultural differences did not divide the early Church for long. When Greek-speaking Jews complained of unfair treatment, the church in Jerusalem called the first deacons to ensure fairness and preserve unity.16 Soon, the Church included Jews and Gentiles, Greeks and Romans, slaves and free—all races, classes, and groups.17 Men from diverse backgrounds and cultures led the church in Antioch.18 Despite the potential for conflict, the church in Antioch thrived and became a strong missionary church. With confidence that Christ had accepted them, they accepted one another.
Throughout his letter, Paul proclaimed how Jesus had overcome the great divide between Jews and Gentiles. God had chosen the Jews as His people. Knowing God, His ways, and His Word brought many blessings to the Jews. Gentiles formerly lived as foreigners and strangers to God’s covenants and promises. However, Jesus brought radical change. Paul explained, “Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.” Jesus’s example applies to all who would follow Him: “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”19 Jesus Christ reconciled both Jews and Gentiles to God and one another.20
Initially, some Jewish Christians looked down on Gentile believers.21 But God had promised to bless all people through Abraham.22 In his letter to the Galatians, Paul explained that Christ redeemed Jews so God’s blessing to Abraham could come to the Gentiles through Jesus. By faith, all—Jews and Gentiles alike—can receive God’s promised Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ.23 Paul challenged his fellow Jewish believers to realize that God accepted the Gentiles in Christ and so should they.
Earlier in his letter, Paul listed many advantages the Jews had received. They had been entrusted with the very words of God.24 In addition, “Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah.”25 Without these advantages, the Gentiles lived “without hope and without God in the world.”26 Hopelessness is never God’s final word to His people! In Romans 9–11, Paul cited many Old Testament passages proving that God had promised Gentile salvation27 while remaining faithful in His promises to the Jews.28
In Romans 15, Paul referred to four Old Testament texts to support this crucial truth. Jesus fulfilled God’s promises to the patriarchs so the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy.
Psalm 18:49 (echoes 2 Samuel 22:50) – David’s thanksgiving song praises God for how He intervened on David’s behalf. Toward the end of the psalm, David said, “I will praise you, Lord, among the nations,” which implies that the Gentiles will praise God along with David. This psalm looked forward to when Gentiles and Jews would know and praise the true God together.
Deuteronomy 32:43 – Shortly before his death, Moses composed a song that reminded the Israelites of God’s goodness to them and warned them of terrible consequences if they departed from true worship of God. Moses’s song included the Gentiles, saying God gives each nation its portion of the earth’s land as an inheritance.29
Quoting Deuteronomy, Paul called on Gentiles to rejoice with Jews, for God “will take vengeance on his enemies and make atonement for his land and people.” The mention of atonement draws the hearts of New Testament believers to the cross. Christ’s atoning death reveals the gospel as the power of God to everyone who believes, both Jews and Gentiles.30
Psalm 117:1 – This quotation adds one more building block to Paul’s argument. In Psalm 18, David praised God among the Gentiles. In Deuteronomy 32, Gentiles praised God along with Jews. In Psalm 117, Gentiles praised God on their own. All the world’s peoples are to praise Yahweh for His great love and faithfulness, which endure forever.
Isaiah 11:10 – Isaiah portrayed the Messiah as both the root and shoot of Jesse, David’s father.31 God promised that David’s descendant would bring in the messianic age.32 Now Christ has come! The Gentiles have hope because Jesus is the Savior not only of the Jewish people but of the world.33
Unity by the Spirit’s Power – Romans 15:13
Verse 13 introduces the first of three benedictions in the final chapters of Romans. Paul transitioned toward his letter’s conclusion with personal remarks that include two more benedictions.34 His letter concludes with a doxology.35
Hope rises as a key theme in the first half of chapter 15. God is the source of true hope and every good thing,36 including supernatural joy and peace. God is also the object and source of genuine hope. Believers hope in God, whose love and power never fail. Those who leave God out of their thinking forfeit enduring hope as they look only to this world to supply what they need.37 With God factored into life’s challenges, hope reigns even in the most trying circumstances. Believers can have hope because God Himself is our hope. He sustains us.
The gifts of joy and peace flow into believers through the Holy Spirit as they trust in God. Faith is not a blind leap into the dark or a brave decision to trust what makes no sense. Faith steps out and stands on firm ground when believers trust God. He will continue to do everything He has promised for His people. Those who build their lives on God will never be put to shame.38
Believers need the power of Jesus Christ within their hearts to believe, live in unity, and follow God.39 When faced with this world’s temptations, mere human willpower fails to provide faith, joy, hope, and peace.40 Without Christ, peace,41 joy,42 and hope43 depend on life’s shifting circumstances alone. But God! Only God can make the impossible possible by His power.44 God empowers believers to live in unity and hope as they follow Christ.45 Believers can overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
God’s Enduring Work Through His Son
Jesus is the Son of God and the second person of the eternal, divine Trinity. Jesus has always existed along with God the Father and God the Spirit. At a specific time in history, Jesus became a man.1 He walked the earth and endured every human temptation—yet without sin. Scripture repeatedly encourages God’s people to be more like Christ.2 In His humanity, Jesus lived perfectly, which makes Him the ultimate, matchless example for Christian living. However, no matter how hard we try, we will always fall short. Jesus remains the unique God-Man forever.
Written long before Jesus walked this earth, Psalm 69 prophesied His great suffering. Jesus’s enemies denied, slandered, and sought to destroy Him.3 He endured undeserved suffering for God’s sake.4 His own brothers did not believe in Him.5 Rulers and the people He came to save mocked Him.6 Never wavering from God’s purpose, Jesus depended on God to deliver Him.7 Jesus suffered as a man, dying a brutal death on the cross. He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, where He now sits at God’s right hand. Jesus fulfilled many prophecies as God’s chosen Messiah. This proves that one day, Jesus will indeed return to earth and take His people home to heaven with Him.8
To fail to believe in Jesus as God’s own Son is an outright rejection of God Himself. Without a turn from unbelief, this terrible rebellion yields tragic results. A sinner who refuses to repent from sin and turn to Christ lives without true peace, joy, or hope in this life and for eternity. Despite a desperate search to satisfy the vast void only Jesus can fill, an unbeliever misses what matters most. Depending on the world’s flawed options means surviving each new day without enduring answers to life’s most haunting questions. Those who do not grasp their need for God are not prepared when tragedy strikes or death approaches. Eventually, all who reject Christ will find themselves utterly alone. Even worse, they face a future and eternity entirely without God.
Those who believe and receive Jesus as God the Son and their Savior are never alone. Jesus promises He will never leave nor forsake those who turn to Him for salvation. Even in times of great turmoil, they live in peace knowing they have unhindered access to God. Joy-filled songs of praise live in their hearts and rise from their lips. Indwelt by the Holy Spirit, believers find strength as they depend on God. Life on earth still contains challenges and heartaches. Even so, trust in Jesus lifts hearts, minds, and eyes heavenward. Believers take comfort in knowing this world is not their final destination. A believer’s forever home is in heaven with Jesus.
1. Only Son: John 1:14
2. Conformed to Christ’s image: Romans 8:29
3. Opposed by enemies: Psalm 69:4
4. Undeserved suffering: Psalm 69:7
5. Unbelieving brothers: Psalm 69:8
6. Mocked by rulers and people: Psalm 69:11-12
7. Jesus’s dependence and God's deliverance: Psalm 69:1, 13-18, 29-30
8. Jesus will return: Matthew 16:27; 26:64; Acts 1:4-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:11; Titus 2:11-14
Take to Heart
Paul exhorted Rome’s strong believers to bear with the failings of the weak. He called them to avoid pleasing themselves and instead to please others and build them up. By doing so, believers can follow the example of Jesus, who did not live to please Himself but bore insults for the sake of His followers. Paul reminded believers of Scripture’s value in teaching, encouraging, and helping them endure. He encouraged them to live in unity—with one mind and one voice—to bring glory to God.
As division among believing Jews and Gentiles grew, Paul again turned to Scripture and Jesus’s example for counsel and help. Unity emerges not as a suggestion but as a command for believers, despite their differences. Christ became a servant to fulfill God’s promises to the patriarchs, unify the Jews and Gentiles, and glorify God. Jesus demonstrated ways to accept others with love—all to bring praise and glory to God. Whether Jew or Gentile, God’s people’s ultimate purpose in salvation is to glorify God for His mercy.
Paul’s closing benediction asked the God of hope to bring peace and joy as Rome’s believers trusted Him and pursued unity. His prayer confidently overflowed with hope for God’s people—prevailing hope received through the Holy Spirit’s power.
Paul did not merely suggest unity but commanded believers to accept one another as Christ had accepted them. Jesus welcomed all who came to Him—no matter their position, accomplishments, or lack thereof. He spoke with the powerful and interacted with the peasants. Jesus dined with tax collectors and sinners and repeatedly presented truth to religious leaders. He grieved deeply over Jerusalem. What determines your attitudes and actions toward other people? How willingly do you bear with those with less biblical knowledge or exposure to God’s truth? Believers who follow Jesus’s example and grow in faith learn to please others rather than themselves. God makes us more like His Son as we trust in His Word and walk in His Spirit. Believers cannot overcome the domination of self-interest on their own. Only through God’s power can a believer dethrone self and put others first. How might God’s Word and the Holy Spirit transform your thinking regarding your interactions with others? Is there a difficult situation or sharp opinion that divides you from another believer? Do you focus more on what you share with someone in Christ or on your differences? If so, how might you follow Jesus’s example and seek unity?
God desires that His people in every generation will develop endurance and hope found only in Him. In what situation might you feel hopeless or that you can persevere no longer? God graciously provides endurance and encouragement for His people. He hears the anguished cries of believers’ prayers and speaks through His steadfast and true Word, giving needed strength. His Spirit equips and enables believers in times of weakness. He blesses us with fellow believers. Believers need one another—not only those with whom they agree on everything but also those whose differences point them to Jesus. What circumstance has God allowed in your life that causes you to depend on Him, His Word, and His people? Hold fast to the truth that God is for you and no earthly power can separate you from Him.
How can hope exist in today’s divided world? To whom or what do you look for hope? Where can true hope be found? In a world with a cacophony of loud voices and opinions, God calls us to seek Him. Paul called upon the God of hope to “fill you with joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Hope in Christ provides encouragement to endure and persevere when life feels hopeless. Through Christ, believers stand firm in even the most challenging times. Believers who trust God’s promises have true hope—not mere optimism or wishful thinking. Hope in God is never a risk because of who He is. True hope brings confident joy and supernatural peace into a believer’s life. Lift your eyes to God and take the long-term view. Our hope is not in this world. Our hope is in Christ.
1. Consider others: Matthew 16:24; 1 Corinthians 13:5
2. Accepted by God: Romans 14:3
3. Love neighbors: Luke 10:25-28
4. Christ’s example: Philippians 2:1-11
5. Zeal consumed Jesus: John 2:17
6. Persecution of believers: Matthew 5:10-12
7. Scripture teaches: 1 Peter 1:10-12
8. Scripture is useful: 2 Timothy 3:16-17
9. Perseverance and blessing: James 5:10-11
10. Holy Spirit, our Advocate: John 14:26; 15:26; 16:7
11. Unity of the Spirit: 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 4:3-4
12. Prayer for Church: John 17:13-18, 26
13. Prayer for believers: John 17:20-23
14. Unity in Christ: Ephesians 2:11-22
15. Accept the weak: Romans 14:1, 3
16. First deacons: Acts 6:1-7
17. Church includes all: Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11
18. Leaders at Antioch: Acts 13:1
19. Servant of all: Mark 9:35
20. Promises and reconciliation: Ephesians 2:11-23
21. Jewish Christians: Acts 15:1-11; Galatians 2:11-13
22. Bless all people: Genesis 12:3; 18:17-18; 22:18; 28:14
23. All can receive: Galatians 3:14
24. Jews entrusted: Romans 3:2
25. Jewish advantages: Romans 9:4-5
26. Without hope: Ephesians 2:12
27. Old Testament proof: Deuteronomy 32:21; Isaiah 1:9; 8:14; 10:22-23; 28:16; 65:1; Hosea 1:10; 2:23; Joel 2:32; Romans 9:25-26
28. God’s promise and faithfulness: Romans 11:17-32
29. Moses’s song: Deuteronomy 31:30–32:43
30. God’s power: Romans 1:16
31. Father of David: Isaiah 11:1-10
32. David’s descendant: 2 Samuel 7:11-29; Isaiah 9:6-7; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Luke 1:32-33
33. Jesus, Savior of the world: John 3:16; 4:42
34. Benedictions: Romans 15:33; 16:20
35. Final doxology: Romans 16:25-27
36. Every good thing: James 1:17
37. Without hope: 1 Corinthians 15:12, 19, 32; Ephesians 2:12
38. No shame: Romans 9:33
39. Jesus’s power: Ezekiel 36:25-27; John 6:44; Ephesians 2:8
40. Temptation: 1 Corinthians 10:12-13
41. Peace: Philippians 4:6-7
42. Joy: Galatians 5:22
43. Hope: Ephesians 4:4
44. Impossible is possible: Numbers 11:23; Jeremiah 32:17, 27; Matthew 19:26; Philippians 4:13
45. Life in faith: 1 Peter 3:15-16
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