Romans 15:25

‘But now, I say, I go to Jerusalem, ministering unto the saints.'

But first he has a ministry to fulfil in Jerusalem, ministering in material things to ‘the saints' (compare Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2 and often) there. That he had determined personally to go there indicates his deep concern for the unity of the whole church. To him this enterprise was a way of uniting the whole church, and possibly of fulfilling Scripture (the treasures of the Gentiles being brought to Jerusalem). In Romans 1:16 the Gospel had been ‘to the Jew first' as a people whose past had prepared them for the coming of the Messiah. Now he is also ministering to the Jews on behalf of the Gentile churches. The Jews, as represented by the elect, were not forgotten.