Romans 16:22: I Tertius, Who Wrote This Letter, Greet You In The Lord.

Romans 16:22

I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. (ESV)

If you have read through this letter to the church at Rome you would be thinking that Paul is writing the letter. Well, it is Paul's words that we are reading. The one writing down Paul's words is his personal secretary, Tertius. We do not know much about Tertius. We may wonder what he would say if he were to open up more about his love for Paul, and ultimately his love for Christ.

We do have Tertius speaking in this letter. He greets the church at Rome in the Lord. Seeing as how it was not his letter he was writing, but rather, it was the Apostle Paul's letter, it is actually surprising that he was permitted to include his own greeting. After all, we are dealing with a letter that was God speaking through Paul. It includes critical teaching on what it means to be a Christian.

Paul must certainly have approved Tertius inserting himself into the text. In one way, it shows that the Apostle Paul, a man of great stature in the church, and previously in the world of Judaism as a Pharisee, had areas of weakness. Apparently, writing was not his gift. Knowing what should be written was definitely his gift. The reality is, no one has all the gifts!

In his closing words to the churches of Galatia (the book of Galatians) Paul says, "See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand" (Galatians 6:11). It seems that writing may not have been Paul's strong point. He allows his friend Tertius to write this letter to the church at Rome, and even allows him to include his personal greeting. This is another example of the graciousness of the Apostle Paul.

What are some gifts that the Lord has given you? What do you do with your areas of weakness? Do you allow God to bring other people into your life to help you? Ask him to give you a helper in your areas where you have need. No one has all the gifts.