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The Surprising Benediction to the Book of Romans
The Surprising Benediction in Romans 16:20a
It is tempting to skip over the final paragraphs of Paul’s letters, thinking they are simply polite and perfunctory formalities. But this misunderstands the function of such elements. The letter closings have much to offer and often round off the teaching of a letter in memorable fashion. Romans 16:20a is a case in point. It certainly packs a punch and is worth pondering at length.
In the letter closing of Romans, immediately before the final greetings (Rom. 16:21–23) and doxology (Rom. 16:25–27), Paul offers a striking benediction in 16:20a, which is an allusion to Genesis 3:15. It contains several unexpected elements. Three things take us by surprise: (1) it is the God “of peace” who undertakes the violent action against Satan; (2) it will happen under “the feet” of the Roman Christians; and (3) it will happen “soon”!
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet (Rom. 16:20a).
I [God] will put enmity between you [the serpent] and the woman
and between your offspring and hers;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel (Gen. 3:15).
In this short benediction, Paul recalls major gospel themes in Romans, including the work of Christ, union with Christ, suffering in the Christian life, the use of the Old Testament, and God’s final victory over evil. The promise of Romans 16:20a is a fitting way to recall and reinforce the key teaching of Romans on the gospel and the end of all things. It is also a wonderful encouragement for Christians today.
Strengthened by the Gospel
Brian S. Rosner
In this volume of the New Testament Theology series, Brian S. Rosner examines the central theology and themes of Paul’s gospel message in Romans to strengthen and encourage disciples of Jesus today.
The basic message of Rom. 16:20a, the promise of the victory of believers over evil, picks up and draws together ideas from two specific texts in Romans 12–13. First, in Romans 12:17–21, Paul points to God’s decisive eschatological action against evil (Rom. 12:19: “leave room for God’s wrath”). He also holds out the prospect of believers having a part in overcoming evil themselves: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21). In this way, the promise of God defeating evil in connection with the activity of believers in Romans 16:20a brings to mind the earlier text in Romans and is a fitting further encouragement for believers to do good in the present.
The reference to “evil” in Romans 12:21 picks up on two occurrences of the same word in Romans 12:17a (“Do not repay anyone evil for evil”). Given the widespread association of Satan with evil across the New Testament and the use of “the evil one” as a moniker for Satan (e.g., Matt. 5:37; 6:13; Luke 11:4; John 17:15; Eph. 6:16; 2 Thess. 3:3; 5x in 1 John), it is significant that in Romans 12:21 it is believers who triumph over evil.
A similar link can also be seen between Paul’s benediction and Romans 13:11–14. If in that passage Paul calls on Christians to behave well in the light of the coming eschaton, doing battle with the evils of self-indulgence and social strife, in Romans 16:20a, he repeats that the final victory will occur “soon” and the end of all evil is in sight. When the Roman Christians heard Paul’s sure promise of this future victory in the letter closing, they would have taken it as further encouragement to live in ways (mentioned in Rom. 13:11–14) that are in keeping with that coming day.
Yet Romans 16:20a is not entirely good news, even if it includes believers in God’s ultimate triumph over Satan and evil. For, in God’s crushing of Satan under the feet of believers lurks the suspicion that the battle will not be without some cost. Indeed, Genesis 3:15a sets the tone for the verse as one of mutual hostility between the serpent and Eve’s offspring: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers.”
When read in the light of Genesis 3:15, where the serpent bruises the heel of Adam’s seed, Romans 16:20a can be seen to include the sobering implication that the victory of believers over such a formidable adversary will involve some personal distress. However, Paul has prepared the Roman Christians well for dealing with this reality with his profound teaching about the suffering of believers in union with Christ. Extensive treatments of the beneficial purpose of such suffering occur in Romans 5:3–5 and Romans 8:12–39, where such suffering is seen to be “the divinely orchestrated means by which God strengthens their faithful endurance and hope by pouring out his own love and Spirit to sustain or deliver them in their distress.”1
If Romans 16:20a reminds the Christians in Rome of the travails of their lives as those in union with Christ as they wait for God’s imminent victory, the recollection of Romans 8 would comfort them that their suffering is the pathway to sharing in Christ’s glory: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword” (Rom. 8:35)?
“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom. 16:20a). These words strike notes of joy and hope, recalling key texts in Romans that summarize several major themes in the letter. Paul reminds the Roman Christians of their deliverance by God from the power of sin as those in union with Christ, urging them to understand the present time by overcoming evil and doing good. He also reminds them to be comforted in their suffering—all in light of the reassurance that the night is almost over and the day will soon be here—all of this in eleven short words (fourteen in Greek)!
Notes:
- S. J. Hafemann, “Suffering” in Dictionary of Paul and his Letters, ed. G. F. Hawthorne, R. P. Martin, & D. G. Reid (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 920.
Brian Rosner is the author of Strengthened by the Gospel: A Theology of Romans.
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