Marks of True Spiritual Service:
Love

Romans 1:11

“For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established…”

(Verse 11) - Another mark of spiritual service is a loving spirit. Paul wanted to visit the Roman believers in order to serve them lovingly in God’s name. He did not want to go as a tourist to see the famous Appian Way or the Forum or the Coliseum or the chariot races. He wanted to go to Rome to give of himself, not to entertain or indulge himself.

The Christian who looks on his service to the Lord as a means of receiving appreciation and personal satisfaction is inevitably subject to disappointment and self-pity. But the one who focuses on giving never has such problems. Paul’s ministry goal was to “present every man complete in Christ. And for this purpose also I labor,” he said, “striving according to His power, which mightily works within me” (Col. 1:28-29).

The apostle’s loving spirit is reflected beautifully in his first letter to Thessalonica. “We proved to be gentle among you,” he wrote, “as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having thus a fond affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God” (1 Thess. 2:7-9).

The foremost characteristic of genuine love is selfless giving, and it was out of such love that Paul assured the church in Corinth, “I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls” (2 Cor. 12:15). Willingness to spend was willingness to use all his resources and energy in their behalf, and willingness to be spent was willingness to die for them if necessary.

For I long to see you - I earnestly desire to see you; (compare Rom. 15:23, 32).  The verb “long for” means to deeply desire , long for, or crave (Ro 1:11; 2Co 5:2; Phil. 2:26; 1Th 3:6; 2Ti 1:4; Jas 4:5; 1Pe 2:2); to have great affection for (1Co 9:14; Phil. 1:8).  The implication here is that his desire to see them arose from out of his great desire, namely, his great love for them.  This underscores the idea that love is not just an emotional expression of feelings but that, Biblically, it must be connected with actions, with the expression of the will in order to be valid.  Paul always connects the two, and stands as a good example of the principle in action.

Paul was burdened for the physical welfare of the Roman believers, but his overriding concern was for their spiritual well-being, and therefore his principal purpose for longing to see them was that he might impart to them some spiritual gift.  That I may “give,” or communicate to you something of spiritual value.  Again, we note the active aspect here, it was just that he wanted to do, but that he actively sought to find a way to follow though and actually do it!

The gift Paul wanted to impart was spiritual not only in the sense of being in the spiritual realm but in the sense that it had its source in the Holy Spirit. Because he was writing to believers, Paul was not speaking about the free gift of salvation through Christ about which he speaks in 5:15-16. Nor could he have been speaking about the gifts he discusses in chapter 12, because those gifts are bestowed directly by the Spirit Himself, not through a human instrument. He must therefore have been using the term spiritual gift in its broadest sense, referring to any kind of divinely-empowered spiritual benefit he could bring to the Roman Christians by preaching, teaching, exhorting, comforting, praying, guiding, and disciplining.

Some have understood this as referring to “miraculous gifts,” which it was supposed the apostles had the power of conferring on others. But this interpretation is forced and unnatural. There is no instance where this expression denotes the power of working miracles. Besides, the apostle in the next verse explains his meaning, “That I may be comforted together by the mutual faith,” etc. From this it appears that he desired to be among them to exercise the office of the ministry, to establish them in the gospel and to confirm their hopes. He expected that the preaching of the gospel would be the means of confirming them in the faith; and he desired to be the means of doing it. It was a wish of benevolence, and accords with what he says respecting his intended visit in Rom. 15:29, “And I am sure that when I come, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.” To make known to them more fully the blessings of the gospel, and thus to impart spiritual gifts, was the design he had in view.

Whatever particular blessings the apostle had in mind, they were not of the superficial, self-centered sort that many church members crave today. He was not interested in tickling their ears or satisfying their religious curiosity.

“To the end” - With the design, or purpose.  Paul wanted to impart the spiritual blessings in order for the Roman believers to be established. The grammatical form is actually what is called a “purpose clause” and underscores that his ultimate aim was their benefit.  He wanted those spiritual brothers and sisters “to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ” (Eph. 4:15).  This is not to say that he did not intended to benefit personally from being with them, but that it was not his “primary” aim.

“Established” - That is, that they might be “confirmed” in the truths of the gospel. This was one design of the ministry, that Christians may be established, or strengthened, (Eph. 4:13). It is not to have dominion ever their faith, but to be “helpers of their joy,” (2 Cor. 1:24). Paul did not doubt that this part of his office might be fulfilled among the Romans, and he was desirous there also of making full proof of his ministry. His wish was to preach not simply where he must, but where he might. This is the nature of this work.

A young woman once told me that she had been teaching a Sunday school class of young girls for some while and thought that she loved them dearly. But one Saturday afternoon at her college football game the Lord convicted her about the superficiality of her love for them. Because of her busy Saturdays, she seldom spent more than a few minutes preparing her lesson for the next day. From that day on she determined to make whatever sacrifice and give whatever time necessary to give those girls something of eternal significance. That was the kind of committed, self-sacrificing love Paul had for the church at Rome.

How is my love for my own people?  Do I have this kind of self-sacrificing love for them?  Could my ministry to the people to whom God has sent me be characterized in this fashion?