Ian & Jocelyn Barker

After thanking God for them, and sharing his prayer for them, Paul begins to report about how he has been doing. Paul is relating how his time in jail or house arrest in Rome, has actually accelerated the progress of the gospel so that the church in Rome has more courage to preach. Paul rejoices in this even though some are preaching from wrong motives.

You can really see here that Paul is writing a letter of friendship as he calls them “brethren” and he is giving them a personal update on his circumstances that they might not worry about him. One might think that being placed under Roman guard would hinder the advance of the gospel because he would not be able to travel, but it has actually been a cause of great progress. The reason is that unbelievers have begun to see that he has been imprisoned for the cause of Christ and the gospel. He is not a lawbreaker or a political fanatic, but a man of deep religious conviction. The “praetorian guard” were likely the Emperor’s elite fighting force that were stationed in Rome. They obviously had some contact with Paul and were understanding Paul’s convictions and faith.

Not only was the gospel progressing into the world of unbelievers, it was also having an effect on believers. Because of Paul’s imprisonment and obvious joy in his circumstances, believers were preaching the gospel with much more boldness. While some were preaching the gospel out of good will, some were doing it out of ill will and wanted to hurt Paul. How were they trying to hurt Paul? It could be that some had never liked Paul and maybe disagreed with him regarding his presentation and theology of the gospel. Seeing that he was imprisoned, they saw it as an opportunity to gain a platform and preach the “right” gospel. But others loved and respected him and wanted to carry on his ministry in the same way that the disciples picked up Jesus’ ministry.

What is most remarkable about this is that Paul is so big hearted towards his enemies. He shows no ill-will, but rejoices that the gospel is being preached regardless of the motives. He seems to be leaving his vindication to the Lord.