For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed,
Parallel translations
- WEB For I will not dare to speak of any things except those which Christ worked through me, for the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed,
- KJV For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed,
- BSB I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed,
- NKJV For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient—
- NLT Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul will speak only of what Christ has accomplished through him to bring the Gentiles to obedience, by word and deed. He attributes all genuine fruit to Christ's working.
Overview
Paul refuses to claim anything Christ did not do through him. The aim of his labor is the 'obedience of the Gentiles', the obedience of faith, accomplished 'by word and deed,' that is, by gospel proclamation and a life that backs it up. His careful disclaimer keeps Christ at the center: the apostle is merely the instrument through whom the Lord works.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 26
- Acts 15:12All the multitude kept silence, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul reporting what signs and wonders God had done among the nations through them.
- Rom 1:5through whom we received grace and apostleship, for obedience of faith among all the nations, for his name’s sake;
- Acts 21:19When he had greeted them, he reported one by one the things which God had worked among the Gentiles through his ministry.
- Prov 25:14As clouds and wind without rain, so is he who boasts of gifts deceptively.
- Gal 2:8(for he who appointed Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision appointed me also to the Gentiles);
- 2 Th 2:17comfort your hearts and establish you in every good work and word.
- Rom 16:26—
- 2 Cor 12:6For if I would desire to boast, I will not be foolish; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, so that no man may think more of me than that which he sees in me, or hears from me.
- Acts 14:27When they had arrived, and had gathered the assembly together, they reported all the things that God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith to the nations.
- 1 Jn 3:18My little children, let’s not love in word only, or with the tongue only, but in deed and truth.
- 1 Cor 3:6–9I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase.
- Heb 11:8By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he went.
- Col 3:17Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father, through him.
- Heb 5:9Having been made perfect, he became to all of those who obey him the author of eternal salvation,
- Jas 1:22But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves.
- Mark 16:20They went out, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen.
- Jude 1:9But Michael, the archangel, when contending with the devil and arguing about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him an abusive condemnation, but said, “May the Lord rebuke you!”
- 2 Cor 3:1–3Are we beginning again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as do some, letters of commendation to you or from you?
- Acts 15:4When they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the assembly and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all things that God had done with them.
- Matt 28:18–20Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
- Acts 26:20but declared first to them of Damascus, at Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance.
- Rom 6:17But thanks be to God, that, whereas you were bondservants of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were delivered.
- 2 Cor 11:31The God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, he who is blessed forever more, knows that I don’t lie.
- 2 Cor 6:1Working together, we entreat also that you not receive the grace of God in vain,
- 2 Cor 10:4–5for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds,
- 2 Cor 10:13–18But we will not boast beyond proper limits, but within the boundaries with which God appointed to us, which reach even to you.
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Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 15:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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