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Paul's praise of his apostleship:
v. 17. I have, therefore, whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God.
v. 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,
v. 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.
v. 20. Yea, so have I strived to preach the Gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation;
v. 21. but as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see, and they that have not heard shall understand.
The apostle is anxious to have his readers understand just what this gift of his apostleship includes, and why it was incumbent upon him to write so boldly in both instruction and exhortation: I have, then, glorying in Christ Jesus, namely, in that which pertains to God. As an apostle to the Gentiles, to whom the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been entrusted, he has reason to boast and to be proud of his work for God, of the call which was given him by God. At the same time he is conscious always that his boasting is in Christ Jesus, is done on account of His grace, and not on account of his personal ability or worthiness for the office. Of what he is proud and in what way, he states very plainly: For I shall not dare to speak anything of those things which Christ did not effect through me for the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit of God, so that I from Jerusalem and round about unto Illyricum have fulfilled, completed, fully preached, the Gospel, vv. 18-19. The purpose of Christ's calling has been realized; he has succeeded in doing much for the obedience of the Gentiles, to establish the obedience of faith among the Gentiles. This he has effected by word and deed, mainly through his preaching, but also through the example of his life. Success has come to him through signs and wonders, miracles of various kinds which he performed and which served to substantiate his preaching. But mainly he ascribes the effect of his labors to the power of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God. The Holy Ghost is in the Word of the Gospel and works faith, the obedience of the Gospel, through this very Word. Paul has done successful work through all the countries from Jerusalem to Illyricum. In Jerusalem he had received the command to be God's messenger to the heathen, Act_22:21. He had not hesitated to testify of Christ in the very city which had known him as a blasphemer, Act_9:20 ff. And then he had visited all the countries which lie between Jerusalem and Illyricum, forming a sort of semicircle around the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. Illyricum, the country west of Macedonia, Paul had but recently visited, on his third missionary journey. In all these countries Paul has fulfilled the Gospel of Jesus Christ, completed it, carried out its ministry to the end, preached the full counsel of God for the salvation of men, bringing about an understanding and an acceptance of the Gospel by his work as apostle, Col_1:25. That is the business, the aim of the Gospel with regard to all people of the earth, namely, that it be made known and accepted everywhere; and this work of the Gospel Paul has carried out. And yet, in spite of the success which has attended his efforts, Paul would not dare to take credit and to speak of something in a boasting manner unless Christ had accomplished it through him; the real effectiveness and efficiency of Gospel preaching he properly ascribes to Christ alone. Like every preacher of the Gospel, Paul was an organ, an instrument, of Christ and of His Spirit.
In his restless activity in mission-work Paul has another factor in mind, namely, to work only where the Gospel was as yet unknown, so that the evidence of his apostleship might be undeniable: But so I have made it a point of honor to preach the Gospel not where the name of Christ was called upon, in order that I might not build upon the foundation of another man, v. 20. Paul was sensitive on this point, not in a spirit of rivalry, but in his ambition to work for the Lord: he had never sought to preach Christ where Christianity had already been established, he had never interfered with another man's work, had never built upon a foundation which he had not himself laid; he was willing to take the blame for any mistakes, just as he gave all honor to Christ. This maxim of his work he found in Isa_52:15 : The people to whom nothing was proclaimed of Him, they shall see, and they that have heard nothing shall understand. The prophet had plainly said that the kings and nations of the earth would, at the time of the Messiah's coming, hear and see something which had not penetrated to them before, namely, the glorious news of the Servant of God. Therefore Paul brought the Gospel to such places and countries where it had been unknown before, although this principle did not hinder him from writing to, and communicating with, such congregations as had not been founded by him, that of Rome itself being an example. His office as apostle of the Gentiles made this obligatory.