Romans 16:26

But now is made manifest,.... In these last days, in which God has spoken by his Son, by whom the doctrines of grace are most clearly revealed, and fully dispensed; and by his apostles, who were

But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: But now is made manifest.

Concerning the revelation of this mystery, four things are further recorded: 1. The means whereby it was made known; viz. the Scriptures of the prophets; see 16:32 28:23. 2. The authority by which it was made known; the commandment of the everlasting God. 3. The persons to whom it was made known; the Gentiles, or the inhabitants of all nations. 4. The end for which it was made known; viz. for the obedience of faith; i.e. that it may be believed and obeyed: see 15:18.

26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: Ver. 26. According to the commandment] The writings of the prophets concerning the mystery of Christ were not made known to the world by haphazard, but by a special command of God. For the obedience of faith] Though God purposed good to his people before all worlds, yet that is concealed till such time as they yield this obedience of faith like as water that runs underground, is hidden a long time till it break out suddenly, and then we discover that there was a stream ran underground; as Arethusa and other rivers do.

(26) But now is made manifest.—The first clause of this verse goes with the last clause of the preceding “mystery,” which before was kept secret, but now has been “made manifest.” The rest of the verse all hangs together: “this mystery, through the help of the corroboration which it derives from the prophets of the Old Testament, has, by God’s command to us, the Apostles, been made known.” By the scriptures of the prophets.—Through the help of that appeal to prophecy which we are enabled to make. According to the commandment.—That which had taken place according to the command of God was the making known of the gospel to the Gentiles, as, e.g., when Paul and Barnabas were specially “separated” for the work by the Holy Ghost. Made known to all nations.—The word “to” has a little more stress laid upon it than would appear from the English, “made known so as to reach all nations.” For the obedience of faith.—An exact repetition of the phrase in Romans 1:5, “to win over the Gentiles unto the allegiance demanded of them by faith in Christ.”

Verse 26. But now is made manifest] Now, under the New Testament dispensation, and by my preaching. By the scriptures of the prophets] Hints relative to this important work being scattered up and down through all their works, but no clear revelation that the Gentiles, who should be admitted into the Church, should be admitted without passing under the yoke of the Mosaic law. This was the point which was kept secret: as to the calling of the Gentiles, this was declared in general terms by the prophets, and the apostle quotes and makes a most important use of their predictions; but the other was a point on which the prophets gave no information, and it seems to have been peculiarly revealed to St. Paul, who received the commandment of the everlasting God to make it known ειςπανταταεθνη, to all the Gentiles-all the people of the earth that were not of Jewish extraction. And it was to be made known for the obedience of faith, that they might believe its doctrines and obey its precepts; its universal voice requiring repentance towards God, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and circumcision of the heart, in the place of all Jewish rites and ceremonies.

26. now] In the days of Messiah, and in Him as the Propitiation. Cp. Colossians 1:26.by the scriptures, &c.] Lit. by means of (the) prophetic scriptures. This Epistle, and e.g. Acts 13, are the best commentary on these words. The O. T., as the great prediction of Messiah and preparation for Him, was the text and the warrant of His Apostles wherever they went, and that for Gentiles as much as for Jews. When the Gentiles previously knew nothing of the O. T. the preaching would, of course, not take the O. T. as its starting-point; (see St Paul’s discourse at Athens;) but even in such cases it would bring forward the Prophecies as soon as possible, both as its credentials and its text.—We have heard this verse unintentionally illustrated by a distinguished Hindoo convert, of great intellectual power; who attributed his ultimate escape from the maze of Brahminic pantheism to the attentive study of the Messianic prophecies side by side with the Gospel history.the everlasting God] The Gr. word (aionios) rendered everlasting perhaps refers back to the “æons” or “ages” of Romans 16:25. Q. d., “The Gospel is now revealed and proclaimed according to the will of Him who appoints and adjusts all the developements of His providence, alike past, present and to come.” He who rules all duration knows when to keep silence and when to break it.—This adjective is nowhere else in the N. T. attached to the word God.—On the adjective, see further on Romans 2:7.to all nations] Lit. to (or perhaps better, for) all the nations. The special reference is, of course, to the Gentiles.for the obedience of faith] i.e. to invite that obedience which, in fact, faith implies; that trustful acceptance of the terms of Salvation which may be described, in one aspect, as “submission to the righteousness of God.” (See note on Romans 10:3.) The thought is not so much of the course of moral obedience to which faith leads, as of the element of submission in the act of faith.In this brief phrase the great Theme of the Epistle is heard for the last time.

But now is made manifest - Is revealed, or made known; that which was so long concealed is now divulged, that is, God’s plan of saving people is now made known to all nations.

26. Now… manifest—First by Christ, next by his apostles, and now by Paul in this epistle. Scriptures of the prophets—A needlessly awkward rendering of γραφωνπροφητικων, prophetic Scriptures.