ROMANS 12

That this chapter constitutes a cohesive passage within the epistle is demonstrated by the almost complete symmetry shown below:

                                                      Figure 1: The Structure of Romans 12

A. address to “brothers” (1a)

        B. the mercies and will of God (1b, 2b)

                C. do's and don'ts (2a)

                        D. good (2c)

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A'. address to “all of you” (3a)

                                E. humility (3b)

                                        F. gifts of the Spirit (4-8)

                        D'. evil and good (9)

                                        F'. fruit of the Spirit (10-16a)

                                E'. humility (16b)

                        D''. evil (2x) (17a)

                                        F''. works of the Spirit (17b-18)

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A''. address to “beloved” (19a)

        B''. the wrath of God (19b)

                C'. do's and don'ts (20)

                        D''. evil (2x) and good (21)

The approximate center of this arrangement appears in verses 10-16a, a passage which in itself has boundaries marked by the appearances of “one another” in verses 10 (2x) and 16a. Note that I have broken out Sections E and E' from their adjacent verses only in order to highlight the symmetry in the above figure. Black arrives at roughly the same conclusion regarding the center-rpoint of this chapter in another way by proposing the following mirror-image composition for verses 9-13:

        1. v. 9

                2. vv. 10-11a

                        3. v. 11b

                2'. v. 12

        1'. v. 13

But really, the main thing Black's proposal has in its favor is not any thematic symmetry but the fact that both 2 and 2' contain three clauses, all beginning with the Greek word te (“in”), in contrast to the two clauses in the center section 3 which start with to (“in”) instead.

In contrast to the order exhibited in Figure 1, Fitzmyer treats the whole of Romans 12-13 as “quite unsystematic and somewhat rambling.” In agreement with that negative assessment, Davidson and Martin state: “In this section [i.e. vv. 3-21] the apostle evidently has in mind relations with both Christians and pagans. His admonitions are given spontaneously without any attempt at logical presentation.” Finally, Morris is of the opinion that “the whole section is somewhat loosely structured.”

My own opinion is that Figure 1 demonstrates that, as in all his writings, Paul's literary organization skills are clearly in evidence here as well.

Note the number of correspondences between sections F, F', and F'':

        Exhibit humility – vv. 3, 10, and 16

        Show zeal (spoude) – vv. 8 and 11

        Live in harmony with others – vv. 16 and 18

        Give generously to others – vv. 8 and 13

        Be compassionate – vv. 8, 9, 10

        Treat your enemies well – vv. 14 and 17-21

Another test of the proposed structure in Figure 1 is to compare its section divisions with those found in scholarly commentaries and English translations. Of the fourteen such divisions I canvassed, all but two agreed that vv. 1-2 formed the first section and vv. 3-8 the second. However, from that point on, they began to differ greatly, as shown below:

    Verses 3-13; 14-21                        JB

    Verses 9-10; 11-16; 17-21            NEB

    Verses 9-13; 14-21                      Martin and Davidson, NRSV, NIV

    Verses 9-21                                  Allen, Phillips, Kasemann, Witmer, RSV, AB

    Verses 9:13; 14-16; 17-21 TEV, Murray

    Verses 9-10; 11-16; 17-21         Morris

The divergencies between the above demonstrate that attempts to sub-divide Scripture using only perceived thematic changes without taking into account any verbal parallels present is bound to be heavily influenced by subjective factors. In addition, one should always give precedence to arrangements which yield a symmetrical organization, since these appear throughout the Old and New Testament.

Finally, another noteworthy fact is that there are an uncommonly large number of similarities between Romans 12 and Paul's Epistles to the Corinthians and the Ephesians.

                        Figure 2: Parallels with Ephesians and the Letters to the Corinthians

Romans 12 (verse)                  Parallel Verses

1                                         I Cor. 6:20; II Cor. 1:3

2                                          I Cor. 2:15-16; 7:31; II Cor. 3:18; Eph. 4:23; 5:10

3                                         I Cor. 4:6; Eph. 4:7

4                                         I Cor. 6:15; 12:5,12-14,25; Eph. 4:4, 16

5                                         I Cor. 10:17,33; 12:12-31; Eph. 1:23-24; 4:25; 5:30

6                                         I Cor. 7:7; 12:4,10-11; 13:2

7                                         I Cor. 12:5,28; 14:19,26; 16:15; II Cor. 4:1; 11:8; Eph. 4:11

8                                         II Cor. 8:2; 9:7,11; 11:3; Eph. 6:6

9                                         I Cor. 13:6-7; II Cor. 6:6; Eph. 5:2

12                                      Eph. 6:18

13                                      II Cor. 8:4; 9:13

16                                      I Cor. 1:10; II Cor. 13:11

17                                     I Cor. 13:5-6; II Cor. 8:21