THE PEOPLE OF THE CHURCH
Romans 16:3‑16
The church of Jesus Christ is people. The church is a group of people that have been called out from the world, and have committed themselves to Jesus Christ. So when you speak of the church of Jesus Christ in the city of Rome, you are speaking of the people of Jesus Christ in the city of Rome. Far too often we confuse the church of Jesus Christ with a building or an organization. The church is the people of God.

Before sending his letter by Phoebe to Rome, Paul attaches this extended word of greeting. Though the Apostle had never visited in the church at Rome, he could name twenty‑six of the individual members by name, and could express a word of personal greeting to each one of them. The Apostle so prized them that they were locked into his memory and prayers, How many of the members of your church can you call by name? How much personal information could you share with me about each one? Suppose it was your responsibility to annotate the church roll of your congregation, how much information about each one would you have handy? Would you know much about their personal lives, their spiritual lives? Psychologists tell us that our inability to remember peoples' names, and information about them, is a sign of our lack of interest in them.

From this annotated list of members in the Roman church, some very vital things concerning the character of the people of God become obvious. These things should be true about the roll of membership from any local church. As we look at these individuals, let me call some of these things to your attention.

THE PEOPLE OF THE CHURCH ARE A DIVERSE PEOPLE
The diversity of the people of the church of Christ in Rome is characteristic of the church. It must have been surprising in that first century world.

Just the fact that the church was made up of both men and women was in itself different. Yet in this chapter there are the names of at least six notable women in the church that were known to Paul‑Already we have met Phoebe, the good woman from Cenchrea who was carrying this letter to Rome. She would meet Pricilla when she arrived. This good woman may have been of noble Roman birth. She was evidently more prominent than her husband for regularly her name will appear before her husband. In addition to this queenly Christian character, there would be a Mary. She was doubtlessly a Jewish lady who had become a follower of the Lord Jesus, but probably not any one of the Marys we have met in the Gospels. Another Jewish lady in the church was Junia ( v. 7) Though the name can be either masculine or feminine, many scholars think it is feminine, probably either the sister or wife of Anronicus. Then there were the twin sisters, Tryphena and Tryphosa. Though their being twins is speculation, their identification is not. They were Greek women. Then there is the hard working Persis who may have been an older lady ( v. 12). Then there is the mother of Rufus who had mothered Paul ( v. 13). Julia would have to be a woman, and then there is the sister of Nerous. ( v. 15).

As we have already noticed in our expositions, the church people are diverse in gender. But they are also diverse in race. Mixed together in the fellowship of the Roman church could be found the Jewish and the Gentile. Truly in Jesus Christ the middle wall of partition had been torn down. The walls of segregation that had characterized the human family had dissolved before the deed of the cross. Greek, Roman, Jew, and all others were mingled together in the church. And should be today.

Even more impressive is the social diversity of the people of the church. Evidently Pricilla and Aquila were people of some means. At least they possessed enough to own a house in which a portion of the Roman church could meet for worship. Philologus and Julia may have made up a similar situation. Those listed with them may have been members of the portion of the congregation that met with them in their home. Yet those familiar with the names listed, tell us that most of them were names commonly worn by slaves in the first century. Archeologists have found many of the names on tombs and other writings that would identify them as slaves. Evidently some of them even served in the household of Caesar himself. This would be true of the household of Aristobulus and the household of Nacissus. They would have passed into the household of Caesar when their owners died. Yet freemen and slaves ‑‑‑ when they met at the church, they met as one in Jesus Christ.

Doubtlessly there would have been the young and the old among the people! The very tenses of the verbs call attention to the past service of Persis and the present service of Tryphena and Tryphosa. Could that not suggest that Persis has become disabled with age and is no longer physically able to labor as she had labored before while the other two sisters are of the younger group?

While each member of the church was a committed Christian, there was even diversity at the point of their achievement. Andronicus and Junia were well‑known even to the Apostles at Jerusalem, while other believers are simply lumped together in the expression "and all the saints which are with them." Doubtlessly more than twenty‑six would be found in that group yet even their names are not listed. Rufus is called the "chosen in the Lord" which is a qualitative term which means he has distinguished himself in following the Lord. He has risen above the others in his dedication and service to the Lord. All the believers are not even alike in their zeal and fervor for the Lord, nor in the effectiveness in serving Him. Yet there is room for each one among the people of God.

THE PEOPLE OF THE CHURCH ARE A UNIFIED PEOPLE
The ties that hold the people of God together are not racial, social, class or any such thing. They are basically spiritual. The unity that characterized the people of God in Rome is spiritual. It comes out in these greetings in the words "in the Lord". Did you notice how often Paul repeated this phrase. Paul calls attention that his kinsmen, Andronicus and Junia were in Christ before him. He means by this that they placed their faith in Christ as Lord and Saviour at a point in time before him. They were Christians first. Amplias is beloved "in the Lord" ( v. 8) Urbane is a "helper in Christ." (V. 9) Apolles is approved "in Christ". Others labor in the Lord. This calls attention to something that is vital about the people of the church. They are related to each other because of the common union of their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. Each of them is a branch in the same vine‑‑‑ which is Christ. Each of them are members of the same body ‑‑‑ which is His body.

The real expression of this unity is love. Again and again Paul calls attention to someone being "beloved". You cannot talk about the people of the church without talking about love. It is the thing through which the life of Christ flows from person to person in the fellowship. While the people of the church have a marked diversity, they are also distinguished by their love for each other.

THE PEOPLE OF THE CHURCH ARE A WORKING PEOPLE
As Paul salutes the different individuals in the Roman fellowship, again and again he calls attention to their work. There are primarily two aspects to the work of these people. First, it is a work which they do for the Lord in the world, which primarily consists in aiding in the spread of the Gospel. In this way Aquila and Priscilla are saluted as ''my helpers in Christ Jesus." Since they appear in the historical record of the Acts of the Apostles, we can know about how they helped. They helped Paul in the important work of winning men to Christ and establishing New Testament churches over the known world. There’s was often a spiritual work. However at the same time they worked with their hands in the making of tents to sustain themselves in their ministry.

Others were distinguished by the work that they did for the saints. They ministered to each other. Mary had bestowed much labor "on us." Others are known for the same thing. Attention should be called to this word "labor". It is a word that means to work, to toil to the point of exhaustion. It meant to do more than just ones duty, to go beyond the call of duty to the point of really expending yourself in the work. For the mother of Rufus this evidently included looking after some of the physical needs of Paul just like she did that of her own son. Do you not suppose that there is a volume behind every such reference?

THE PEOPLE OF THE CHURCH ARE A SUFFERING PEOPLE
Their willingness to suffer for the sake of Christ is a clear evidence of their commitment to Him as Lord. Several references are included about the sufferings of individuals within the church fellowship at Rome.

Priscilla and Aquila are identified as those "who have for my life laid down their own necks." The word used by Paul gives us a picture of a person laying his head on the chopping block of the executioner. When this happened, we are not told. But at some point this couple had risked their own lives for the sake of Paul, the servant of Christ. Who could forget such sacrificial living?

Andronicus and Junia are remembered as fellow prisoners. Since Paul was in jail so many times, it is impossible to know when they were co‑prisoners with him. But they had borne the shame of the Cross along with Him.

Apelles has been "approved in Christ". This suggests that he has been put to the test‑‑probably the test of suffering. In the furnace of suffering he was found to be a true Christian. You cannot be sure of the purity of a man’s profession until it has been subjected to the testing of suffering. This people of God will stand the test.

This list of notables is introduced by an imperative. The imperative is to "greet" them. This word suggests that they are to prize and welcome each other. The list closes with the admonition to "greet the brethren with a holy kiss." This was a symbolic way of extending greetings and expressing appreciation for them. The brethren kissed the brethren on the cheek and sisters kissed the sisters.