Galatians 6:2-5 and Romans 16:1-5. It is possible to think that you are something and yet be nothing; it is also possible to think that you are a little bit more than you are. “For each one shall bear his own burden.” Gal. 6:5. This does not mean—as so many people think—that you should worry about things that you can’t manage yourself, for that would void verse 2: “Bear one another’s burdens . . . .” It must be read in connection with verse 4: “But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.” Bearing one’s own burden means that we are responsible for our works. People boast of what others are. For example, it is an honor to belong to an assembly that is highly regarded. People like to boast about that. They receive the honor and the glory that belongs to the assembly. However, if it is an assembly that is not as highly regarded, they hardly dare to admit that they go there. Something is not nothing, and nothing is not something; everything is what it is. We can see this practiced in Paul’s greetings in Romans 16: “I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she has need of you; for indeed she has been a helper of many and of myself also.” Vs. 1-2. Here we have a sister who had helped many, including Paul. It doesn’t say whether it was in spiritual or earthly things; it states simply that she had been a helper. “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus.” V. 3. This was a married couple; both man and wife were fellow workers. Therefore a woman can also be a fellow worker. You consult with a fellow worker and make plans together with him concerning the work in God’s kingdom. A fellow worker must be a spiritual person. A person is spiritual who, within a certain period of time—whether it is long or short; it takes time in every case—has made it a habit to do God’s will so that it has gone into his blood—it has become natural for him. When he testifies, prays, or whatever he chooses to do, he does it because it is God’s will, for the others’ sake, and in order to serve the others. On this point everyone can test himself as to the real motivation for his works. A carnal person is someone who does what occurs to him, what he wants to do. “Who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.” V. 4. They had performed works. They had endangered their own lives for Paul’s sake; we don’t know how, just that they had done it. This is the point at which people stop when it concerns works. The human heart says, “I’ll be able to manage it, suffer it, deny myself.” But then it doesn’t do it. It deceives itself and is satisfied with words instead of with deeds. In 1 John 3:18-19 it is written, “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.” When our heart wants us to believe that we should be able to manage this or that, we should not be too quick to believe it, but rather doubt it, for the heart is deceitful above all things. Jer. 17:9. Then it is prudent to say to your own heart, “I want to see that.” We have enough words; we must have facts. It is possible to be deceived by the words of others, and it is possible to deceive others with one’s own words. But facts are indisputable. “Likewise greet the church that is in their house.” Rom. 16:5. As we can see, they were also hospitable. There are enough people who imagine they are extremely hospitable; who say that if only they had enough room, if only they had a nicer home, if only it were like this or that, then they would invite guests. Yet no one benefits from their hospitality. However, about these two it is written that they received the church into their house, which was not a small work. “Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia to Christ.” V. 5. Why does Paul call Epaenetus “my beloved”? Was he being partial? Are there distinctions in God’s kingdom? Yes, in accordance with righteousness. This means that he did not make a distinction according to the inclination of his heart. He didn’t say about one person, “I like you; I will be good to you,” and to another, “I don’t want to have anything to do with you.” Yet there is a difference between people, and he treated them accordingly. Jesus also acted like this. It is written that John was the disciple whom Jesus loved and that he leaned back on Jesus’ breast. Then Jesus says to His disciples Peter, James, and John to come with Him, and to the others that they should remain there. Why were the disciples not offended when Jesus made such a distinction between them? It could not be because they saw that it was righteous. The reason had to be in their upbringing. Just as parents bring up their children by not letting them have everything they like but by giving them what is good for them, so Jesus had educated them in this distinction from the beginning. Because it is written about John that he was the disciple whom Jesus loved, people think that he was such a kind, sweet man; on the contrary, none of the apostles are as sharp in their letters as he is. It is not written that Peter was the disciple whom Jesus loved. However, to Peter He says: You are the rock, and on you I will build my church. He did not say to John that He would build His church on him. Peter did not have the qualities that John had, or vice versa. He could not build His church on John, but He could build it on Peter. He had the qualities that were necessary. He was filled with zeal and ardor. This is something that is required of someone who is to build a church. For example, Peter did not want Jesus to wash his feet, but when he heard that then he would have no part in Him, he went to the opposite extreme. Then he wanted Jesus to wash his entire body. None of the other disciples were able to deny Jesus the way Peter did, but then he turned around again in the opposite direction. The person who is zealous can butt his head against many a post, but then he will also get back on the right path. A zealous person runs the risk of ending up in many things. However, the person who is asleep is in the greatest danger. He tests himself and decides that he is not asleep; he is not in danger; everything is going well. Jesus says, “I could wish you were cold or hot.” Who is the beloved? Who is the king’s friend? In Proverbs 22:11 it is written, “He who loves purity of heart and has grace on his lips, the king will be his friend.” In other words, it is someone who loves purity. Perhaps he lives in all quietness, takes care of his house, and pays his debt. But when something happens, it becomes evident who he is. There must be purity—purity over everything! It says further about Epaenetus that he was the firstfruits of Achaia to Christ. Since Paul writes this about him, it must be important. Writing in those days was not such an easy matter as it is nowadays, so what was written had to be of the utmost importance. They wrote on large scrolls that had to be carried over great distances. The first person in a place has no one before him on whom he can rely for support. He cannot say, “This is a nice place, I am going to stay here.” Not everyone can be the first; therefore God chooses someone He sees can manage to be that. “Greet Mary, who labored much for us.” V. 6. It doesn’t say what kind of work this was, whether it was done wisely or profitably. All it says is that she had labored much for them. Every one of those who were being greeted sat there and listened as the letter was being read. When they heard about this Mary, perhaps there was someone who thought, “Yes, but the kind of work she did!” But then the Spirit of truth would immediately say, “Yes, but it doesn’t say what kind of work she did.” Then this person had to admit that. In this way everyone who heard these greetings and knew the people could say, “Yes and Amen” to what was being read, because it was true. “Greet Andornicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles . . . .” V. 7. Is it something great to have a good name? Yes! It says in Proverbs 22:1: “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches.” Having a good name among bad people—is that anything great? No, for in the world they praise only their own, so it is a doubtful honor to be praised by them. Therefore it makes a difference among which group of people we have a good name. It is a great thing to have a good name among the apostles. Adronicus and Junia were known and tested by the apostles, and they could recommend them to others so that they, in their turn, could have confidence in them because of the apostles’ testimony. The apostles’ testimony was just as good as the facts. It is impossible to work with souls without their confidence. Confidence is the key into their hearts. Even if I have more wisdom and love, it is not helpful if I do not have the others’ confidence. “Who also were in Christ before me.” V. 7. Here Paul mentions this point again of having been in Christ before him. He had no part in their salvation; he didn’t want any praise to which he was not entitled. “Greet Amplias, my beloved in the Lord.” V. 8. It doesn’t say that he was a fellow worker, neither does it say that he had assisted nor that he had risked his life or was hospitable or had labored much. Maybe he had not done any of these things, but he was beloved. Paul loved purity of heart. “Greet Apelles, approved in Christ.” V. 10. He had endured some special trial. We don’t know what that was, but it was something decisive. So they knew that he was trustworthy. One could have such thoughts about many people, but you couldn’t say it because they have not been tested. “Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus.” V. 10. He had nothing to say about them, neither this nor that, just that they were along. “Greet the beloved Persis, who labored much in the Lord.” V. 12. He was beloved and had labored much in the Lord. It is not written about him that he was a fellow worker, but such a person would quite surely, by being faithful, grow up to be a fellow worker. Perhaps next time Paul would write about him he would write “our fellow worker who has labored much in the Lord.” But if he became slack in the work, then Paul could only say: our fellow worker. “Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord . . . .” V. 13. We don’t know what Paul meant by “chosen.” Perhaps he was the only God-fearing person in an ungodly family. Verses 14-15. In conclusion, he mentions a fair number of names all together about whom he has nothing to say, just that they were along.

“Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:17-20. These striking words were spoken by the Master, to the seventy sent out by Him as forerunners before His face, and through them to all his faithful servants, who would take him at his word, the power of the Name is available to the believer who dares to wield it. Showing that the authority of the ascended Saviour was truly behind the proclamation of His Name as in the days when He walked the earth. Was the time worse, then, than now, is it not just as necessary now as it was then to have power over all the forces of the enemy? Were the Hebrews of old in the darkness of heathenism? Did they worship idols? No, they were people who worshiped God and had the “oracles of God.” They were the one nation in the whole world with light from God, and with the code of the Mosaic law unsurpassed by any civilized nation on earth to this day. Yet with Jesus, His chief work was, to preach the gospel, to heal and to cast out demons not from heathen, and worshippers of wood and stone, but from people who were God’s own chosen people, having the promises of God. This again seems to be the needed work of the Church of Christ in these closing days of the age; even in lands where they have had the word of the Gospel preached. As the Church, the body of Christ, moves forward in the maturity of salvation in Christ, it will be increasingly evident, that evil spirits, dormant in thousands, spring into activity, and visible existence, so that all too many Christians are in their power and held even in bonds. But the One who had authority then has the same authority now, for He said on the eve of His ascension: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore . . . behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” “Authority” through the Name of the One who has all authority in heaven and upon earth is given to every faithful servant of God. And this authority given as needed in three spheres of service in order to accomplish what is clearly set forth in the Scriptures, i.e., (1) Authority in prayer, “If two of you will agree on earth concerning anything that they will ask, it will be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in the middle of them.” “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” We see clearly from other words spoken by the Lord that the power in His name was associated with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. He repeatedly spoke about ‘that day’ and what it would mean for them. On that day, He said, you will not ask Me anything. Then they would experience for themselves that which He had told them. The Holy Spirit would reveal the union with the Son to them! On that day, you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. When one is in Christ, prayer in Jesus’ name is to God as if the Son Himself were praying, and He gives us what we ask for in Jesus’ name! Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you. Until now, you have not asked for anything in My name, says Jesus. As if He would say that before He had completed the work through suffering and death, and thereby, through this suffering and death, made them alive, before this had happened, they had no authority in Jesus’ name. Therefore, those who have His life in them, who are one with Him, have Authority in His name; no one else. If we read Acts 4:29-31, we see that the Master’s words were fulfilled when His servants prayed to the Father to grant them to speak God’s word with great boldness, while You stretch out Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of Your holy servant Jesus. They were immediately heard. They had received authority through this name. “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your Name,” said the seventy, as they came back to the Lord, and this authority was not withdrawn when the Lord ascended to heaven, but on the contrary confirmed as possible to all who believe by some of the last words of the Risen Lord, for He said, “And these signs will follow those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons (They had authority through the Name, authority over the forces of evil). In Acts 8:4-8 it says for example that Philip went down to Samaria, and, whilst he was proclaiming Christ, the multitudes listened with one accord to the things that were spoken by Philip when they heard and saw the signs which he did, “for with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many. This demonstrates the authority the Savior had when He walked here on earth is in His name for everyone who believes. Again Paul, who was not one of the twelve who had personally known and heard the Lord’s commission of authority, save as the Risen One who met him on the way to Damascus, we have a specific instance of the authority of the Name in the story of the woman possessed by a spirit of divination in Jesus’ name. This lying spirit crying aloud the truth in every word it spoke, could not deceive the Apostle Paul, who, speaking direct to the spirit, said, “I command you in the Name of Jesus Christ to come out of her,” and at once it had to submit and obey! It was an unclean spirit, and they could not withstand Jesus’ name. This authority is the need of the Church of Christ today over all lies and impurity, now more than before. “Through His Name everyone who believes in Him will receive remission of sins. Acts 10:43. There is a deep need for the Church at this time to proclaim the full gospel. “He taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes” Mark 1:22. An ambassador with a message has authority, the authority of the unseen but Living Lord who stands behind His Name. The Lord had said to them, as almost His last words before passing from their view into the heavens: “It is written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name to all the nations” (Luke 24:47 ) showing Calvary, resurrection, repentance, remission all linked and bound up in the preaching in His Name. Peter, on the Day of Pentecost, in his first words to men under conviction of sin, said: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins” (Acts 2:38). To the lame man at the Temple gate, he said: “In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk” (Acts 3:6). The power of the Name he emphasized again to the crowd who ran together to see the miracle, for he said it was “faith in His Name” (Acts 3:16) which had brought about this mighty work. “In the Name” of Him “whom you crucified but “whom God raised” . . . here it is, again Calvary and Resurrection, linked with the power of the Name. The battle raged around the Name. “Speak no more in this Name,” said the council, but in vain. The faith of the Church in the “all power” of the living Lord at the back of His Name, grew. “They beat them and charged them not to speak in the Name of Jesus,” but they only rejoiced that they had been “deemed worthy to suffer disgrace on behalf of the Name” (Acts 5:40-41). We find Saul the persecutor changed into Paul the disciple, and the Lord saying of him that he was chosen to bear the Name before the Gentiles, and even kings, and to suffer for the Name. All this, and much more, shows how the early Church wielded the Name in authority (1) in prayer to God, (2) over Satan’s power, and (3) in preaching the Gospel of the Cross. But what is the reason of the power of the Name? Why should it be so mighty in (1) heaven i.e., in prayer; (2) over hell i.e., over the power of Satan; (3) over men i.e., in proclamation of the Message? The Apostle lifts the veil in his Letter to the Philippians, where he says that the Father gave the Son this all-prevailing Name on the ground of Calvary: “He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled himself, “Becoming obedient unto death, yes, the death of the cross . . . therefore God highly exalted Him, and gave unto Him the Name which is above every name; that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow.” Then comes again the threefold power of the Name in (1) heaven, (2) on earth, and (3) the world below (see Philippians 2:10-11). It was because He was obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross, that God gave Him the Name. He was given the name Jesus, (Saviour) at His birth; but He had to suffer it through to the bitter end before it could become surcharged with all the force and power of His finished work. He had to be victorious in all things before His Name could become our “watchword”!