Romans 15:17-19
(17) I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God.
(18) For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed,
(19) Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
As a result of his special ministry by God’s grace to the Gentiles, Paul affirmed, Therefore I glory (lit., “I have boasting”) in Christ Jesus in my service to God (lit., “in the things relating to God”). This was no boasting in mere human achievements, as Paul explained: I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God (lit., “unto the obedience of the Gentiles”). “Obedience” is a synonym for coming to Christ (cf. 1:5; 1 Peter 1:2; cf. “obey” in Rom. 16:26) for God “commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30).
Paul recognized that all credit goes to Christ. And yet Paul was involved; God worked by what he had said and done. The apostle had been used by God to perform signs (semeion, miracles that signify theological truths) and miracles (teraton, miracles that produce wonder). Luke referred to a miracle God performed through Paul at Cyprus (Acts 13:11, making Elymas blind), “signs and wonders” at Iconium (Acts 14:3; cf. Acts 15:12) and miracles at Lystra (Acts 14:8-10, 19-20), Ephesus (Acts 19:11-12), Troas (Acts 20:9-12), and Malta (Acts 28:1-8). Signs, wonders, and miracles authenticated the work of the apostles (2 Cor. 12:12; Heb. 2:3-4). And all this, Paul said, was through the power of the Spirit (cf. Rom. 15:13). Anything Paul achieved that was worthy of praise had God’s grace as its source, Jesus Christ as its motivation and goal, and the Holy Spirit as its energy.
The result was that Paul preached the gospel from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum. Literally, this reads, “from Jerusalem and in a circle (i.e., Jerusalem and its environs) even to Illyricum.” “The gospel of God” (v. 16) is here called the gospel of Christ. The New Testament records several of Paul’s visits to Jerusalem after his conversion (Acts 9:26-28 [cf. Gal. 1:17-19]; Acts 11:27-30; 15:2 [cf. Gal. 2:1]; Acts 18:22). In the last reference Jerusalem is not named, but the words “he went up and greeted the church” obviously refers to the church at Jerusalem. Paul’s visit to Illyricum is not mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament. This area, also known as Dalmatia, corresponds approximately to modern-day Yugoslavia. It is west and north of Greece (see the location on the map between Acts and Rom.). At one time Titus went to Dalmatia (2 Tim. 4:10). A logical suggestion is that Paul went into Illyricum from Macedonia while waiting for a response to 2 Corinthians before going on to Corinth (Acts 20:1-3; 2 Cor. 13:1-2, 10). This visit was fresh in his mind since Corinth was the city where he wrote Romans (see the Introduction to Rom.).
Excerpt from:
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
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