"I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea; that ye receive her in the Lord as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you; for she hath been a succorer of many and of myself also." Romans 16v1-2
This goes to the matter of believers visiting from other localities. Paul commends to the saints at Rome a dear sister in Christ who is journeying to them. Letters of commendation were a common practice in the early church. Scriptures like 2nd Corinthians 3v1 and Acts 18v27 would make it clear that this is a good practice concerning reception of those who are unknown to the company. However the purpose of such letters is not so much a "passport" to break bread at the Lord's supper, as, tragically it has become, but to inform the believers of the character of the people so visiting them. My right to break bread at the Lord's supper is God given, however each believer must exercise proper examination of themselves as is stated in the context of the Lord's supper in 1st Corinthians chapter 11 "Let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup." verse 28 The idea that a church or elders in a church can decide whether a person is fit to break bread amongst them is preposterous, because we are not qualified to judge such things. Only the Lord knows who are His (2nd Timothy 2v 19) and the responsibility of those who name the name of Christ is to depart from iniquity. This tells me that only God knows who are real and who are unreal. We may have people sitting amongst us breaking bread etc., who are not the Lord's, but it is not in our gift to judge. All believers should be received on their word, and the outcome left with the Lord. In refusing fellowship to any believer I am making a judgement as to his standing in Christ.
However it is good to know who is visiting us and Paul's request is that they receive her "in the Lord as becometh saints." All of us today would need to ask ourselves the question; in our dealings with people in this matter, are we acting "as becometh saints." There is a certain behavioural decorum expected of those who call themselves saints. Our first disposition should be to receive all who come to us unless there are reasons for refusing them, because we may be refusing those whom God has received, which is a fairly serious matter. The content of a letter of commendation and the purpose of a letter of commendation is to present the character of the person, not his standing in Christ. Paul therefore describes Phebe in three ways:
- She is a sister
- She is a servant of the church
- She has been a succourer of many.
She is a sister, and therefore a member of the family of God. Those who are members of this great family are so by their declared faith in Jesus Christ, and not through any works that they have done. However faith in Christ should result in good works (Ephesians 2v10) and Phebe has certainly fulfilled this. She is declared to be a servant (a deacon) of the church where she gathers. This word diakonos literally means a table waiter, and has come to mean, in the main, those who serve the church to do with administrative and material matters. This service is not confined to this because Paul describes himself and Apollos as "ministers by whom ye believed;" Thus the term deacon is applied to any form of service in connection with the church. Since by far the greatest amount of work to be done in a church would be of an administrative and material nature, all God's people whether male or female can be involved. It is not a position in the church, but a service for God. Phebe certainly did service for God at Cenchrea. Perhaps Paul's reference to Phebe being a "succourer of many and of myself also" is a description of the kind of work she did. This work would involve hospitality, receiving visiting preachers, feeding them, tending to their needs, in times of illness, and at all other times. This is a great work for God and Paul had been on the receiving end of her tender care and so he wished that the believers in Rome would receive her.
Her name means "radiant" and it is quite possible that she lived up to the meaning of her name. Those who have found a role in life in the service of God, tend to have a glow about them, and certainly Paul regarded her as a true saint and wished the saints at Rome to receive her in the Lord. Paul's focus in this "commendation letter" was the character of the woman concerned. As a servant of the church in matters of hospitality she was assisting the proclamation of the gospel. The Lord Jesus raised an interesting fact in connection with this kind of thing when He said in Matthew 10v40-41 "He that receive you, receiveth Me, and He that receiveth Me receiveth Him that sent Me." This matter of receiving God's people is of great moment and we should consider the implications suggested here. He continues "He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward." It matters not the status of the individual who is doing any work for God however small, the amazing truth declared by the Lord here is that the reward will be the same. In case we misunderstood him Jesus continues "whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you he shall in no wise lose his reward." Matthew 10v42
In light of the weight of scripture, although there may be individual portions which are difficult, it is clear to me that our disposition towards all God's people should be to receive them, because He has received them, and He will reward them for even the smallest work that they do; in refusing them we may be refusing Him. Those who practice otherwise (mainly those who refuse reception on sectarian grounds) must bring their thinking in line with Holy Scripture. The fact that there was only one church back then, and the churches are hopelessly divided now, should not be our concern. Our duty is to apply the terms of Holy Scripture in all circumstances.
Romans chapters 14,15 and 16 are all about "receiving one another (chapter 14v1; 14v3; 15v7; 16v2). This principle we must apply as a matter of urgency, and as a matter of decency, in the interest of the debt that we have to all believers "to love one another" Romans 13v8.
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