Romans 16:20

“ Now, the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet quickly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. ”

From the visible enemy who threatens, the apostle's eye turns to thine visible world, where he discovers on the one side the more formidable enemy of whom his earthly adversaries are the instruments, and on the other, the all-powerful ally on whose succor the church can reckon in this struggle. The connection between Romans 16:19-20 may find its explanation in Romans 16:13-15 of 2 Corinthians 11, where the apostle thus expresses himself in regard to Judaizing disturbers: “Such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ; and no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness. Their end shall be according to their works.”

The expression: God of peace, is designedly chosen to describe God as one who, if the church fulfils its task well in these circumstances, will take care to overthrow the designs of its adversaries, and preserve harmony among the faithful.

The term συντρίψει, shall bruise, is evidently an allusion to the ancient promise, Genesis 3:15, which strange to say is referred to nowhere else in the N. T.

The words ἐν τάχει are ordinarily translated by soon, which would signify: “at a time near this when I write you.” It is because of this translation that Schultz and many others find here the idea of Christ's near return. But the word ταχύς and its derivatives do not denote the imminence, the nearness of the event. They denote the celerity with which it is accomplished. The ταχέες πόδες, in Homer, are feet which move quickly and not soon; a tachygraph is a man who writes quickly and not near one. The Greek has the word εὐθύς (straight, who goes right to his end) and its derivatives to express imminence. Paul means, therefore, not that the victory will be near, but that it will be speedily gained, once the conflict is begun. When the believer fights with the armor of God (Ephesians 6), the conflict is never long.

Victory will result from two factors, the one divine (God shall bruise), the other human (under your feet). God communicates strength; but it passes through the man who accepts and uses it.

To this warning there is attached in the T. R. and in the Alexs. a prayer of benediction, with this difference, that in the former this prayer is repeated word for word in Romans 16:24. The Greco-Lats. place it only in Romans 16:24. Of these three forms, that of the Alex. is the most probable; for it easily explains the other two. The Greco-Lats. have transposed this prayer, putting it after the salutations, Romans 16:21-23, to conform to the ordinary usage of the apostle; the Byz. text has combined the two forms. What confirms this supposition is, that the Greco-Lats. in general omit the doxology at the end of our chapter; now, they could not close the Epistle to the Romans with the words: “and Quartus our brother.” They were therefore obliged to transfer thither the prayer of Romans 16:20. Regarded here as authentic, this prayer is the counterpart of that which we find 1 Corinthians 16:23. It forms the general conclusion of the Epistle; for it has nothing sufficiently special to be applied only to the preceding warning. But why the salutations which still follow, Romans 16:21-23, and the final doxology, Romans 16:25-27 ? This is what we shall have to explain.