Paul the Minister to the Gentiles
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. Rom 15:19
mighty signs and... When Jesus sent the disciples out two by two, He said these signs shall follow them.
Mark 16:17-18 “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;” “They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
by the power... We know that these miracles are not done in the flesh, but are gifts of the Spirit of God. God used them to authenticate true preaching and teaching.
1Cor. 12:8-11 “For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;” “To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;” “To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another [divers] kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:” “But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.”
about unto Illyricum,... This included Montenegro, Albania and Yugoslavia.
Illyricum again is a region that roughly corresponds to the former European country of Yugoslavia. From Jerusalem to Illyricum was a span of some 1400 miles.
have fully preached... Paul here sums up the New Testament program as both preaching and confirming the gospel (Rom. 15:18-21).
Paul explains that his ministry was accompanied with these very signs and wonders. He quickly explains that they are not by his great ability, but through the power of the Spirit of God.
Notice that in Paul’s ministry, it was not just one of these gifts that manifested itself, but many. The Scripture above says that, believers can receive several gifts. We must pray and ask God to give us the gifts that will help in our ministering.
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” (Rom. 15:16) 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. At one time Titus went to Dalmatia (2Tim. 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; 2Cor. 13:1-2, 13:10). This visit was fresh in his mind since Corinth was the city where he wrote Romans.
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