What does Romans 16:9 mean?
Paul continues to list people he would like his readers in Rome to greet for him. Because of his name, as with Ampliatus, some scholars suggest that Urbanus may have been a slave or former slave. Paul describes him as "our" fellow worker in Christ instead of "my" fellow worker. Perhaps Paul did not know him well. Or, he was deliberately emphasizing the idea that this man was equally a part of God's family.Paul describes Stachys as beloved or "the one loved by me," as he has does with several others on this list. Perhaps Paul was especially close to these men or perhaps he is modeling a devoted love for all who are in Christ (Romans 12:10).
Romans 16:1–16 includes a list of two dozen or so people or groups that Paul wants his readers to greet for him in Rome. He begins by introducing them to Phoebe, the lady who will deliver this letter from him in Corinth. He asks them to greet his good friends and longtime partners in work and ministry Prisca—or Priscilla—and Aquila, who have returned to Rome from their time in Asia. Also on the list are close friends, slaves, royal families, and members of the various house churches that meet in Rome.
The final chapter of Romans contains four sections intended to wrap up the letter. Paul commends the woman who will deliver the letter and then sends greetings to many people he knows in Rome. After last-minute, urgent instruction about false teachers, Paul sends greetings to the Roman Christians from those who are with him in Corinth, including Timothy. Paul closes out the letter with a hymn of praise to the God who has revealed to all the nations of the earth the gospel of salvation by faith in Christ Jesus.
