Romans 15:13 kjv
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Romans 15:13 nkjv
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13 niv
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13 esv
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Romans 15:13 nlt
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15 13 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ps 71:5 | For you, O Lord GOD, are my hope... | God as the ultimate hope source. |
| Ps 146:5 | ...blessed is he whose hope is in the LORD his God. | Blessing for trusting in God's hope. |
| 1 Tim 1:1 | ...Christ Jesus our hope. | Christ embodying Christian hope. |
| Col 1:27 | ...Christ in you, the hope of glory. | Hope's indwelling presence and future glory. |
| Eph 1:18 | ...the hope to which he has called you... | God's calling rooted in hope. |
| Rom 14:17 | ...the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. | Joy, peace, and Spirit are marks of God's kingdom. |
| Gal 5:22-23 | But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace... | Joy and peace are fruits produced by the Spirit. |
| Php 4:7 | And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts... | God's transcendent peace guards believers. |
| Ps 16:11 | In your presence there is fullness of joy... | Joy found in God's presence. |
| Jn 16:24 | Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. | Jesus promises fulfilled joy through prayer. |
| Jn 14:27 | Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. | Christ as the giver of peace. |
| 1 Pet 1:8 | Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible... | Joy in believing, even unseen. |
| Isa 26:3 | You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. | Perfect peace granted to those who trust God. |
| Heb 11:1 | Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for... | Faith is foundational to hope. |
| Act 13:52 | And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. | Believing, joy, and Spirit interconnected. |
| Heb 6:11 | ...to have the full assurance of hope until the end. | Full, enduring hope. |
| Rom 5:5 | ...hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit... | Hope secured by God's love via the Holy Spirit. |
| 2 Cor 9:8 | God is able to make all grace abound to you... | God's capacity to cause abounding blessings. |
| Rom 8:11 | If the Spirit... dwells in you, he who raised Christ... will also give life... through his Spirit... | Holy Spirit as the source of life-giving power. |
| Act 1:8 | But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you... | The Spirit bestows empowering power. |
| Eph 3:16 | ...that he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being... | Spirit's power for inner strengthening. |
| 1 Thes 1:5 | ...our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit... | Gospel delivered with Holy Spirit power. |
| Lk 24:49 | ...stay... until you are clothed with power from on high. | Disciples empowered by the Spirit from above. |
| Jude 1:21 | Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. | Perseverance in faith, anchored in God's love, looking for ultimate hope. |
Romans 15 verses
Romans 15 13 Meaning
Romans 15:13 is an apostolic prayer and benediction, a fervent wish from Paul that God, the ultimate source of all hope, would completely fill believers with an abundance of inner joy and peace. This filling is accessed and experienced through their active trust and faith. The ultimate purpose of this divine impartation is to cause believers to overflow, or abound, in hope, a spiritual vitality empowered and sustained directly by the work of the Holy Spirit. It describes a dynamic, Spirit-driven cycle where faith opens the door to divine blessings that lead to ever-increasing hope.
Romans 15 13 Context
Romans 15:13 concludes a significant section (chapters 14 and 15) where Paul has extensively addressed unity, mutual acceptance, and harmony among Jewish and Gentile believers within the Roman church. He has emphasized that both groups are welcome in Christ and called to bear with one another, prioritizing building each other up rather than disputes over disputable matters (e.g., food, observance of days). In the verses immediately preceding verse 13 (Rom 15:7-12), Paul reinforces Christ's ministry to both Jew and Gentile, citing Old Testament prophecies about Gentile inclusion and their participation in God's hope and glory. This prayer, therefore, serves as an ultimate benediction, a spiritual aspiration for the Roman believers, grounding their ability to live in unity and demonstrate mutual acceptance in a profound, Spirit-filled experience of God's hope, joy, and peace. It's a wish that these internal divine qualities would empower them to live out the practical implications of his theological teaching.
Romans 15 13 Word analysis
May the God of hope: Paul begins with a prayer/blessing (optative mood in Greek, plērōsai, "may He fill"). This emphasizes God as the supreme source, the very nature of hope itself (elpidos), contrasting human-dependent or circumstantial hope. He isn't just a God who gives hope, but one who is hope.
fill: (plērōsai) Signifies a complete saturation, an overflowing and pervasive presence. It suggests abundance, leaving no room for despair, anxiety, or internal emptiness.
you: Refers directly to the believers in Rome, both Jewish and Gentile, and by extension, all believers.
with all joy: (pasēs charas) "All" stresses a comprehensive, unreserved joy. This is not fleeting happiness based on circumstance, but a deep-seated spiritual delight and gladness of heart, independent of external conditions, given by God.
and peace: (eirēnēs) More than merely the absence of conflict, it encapsulates the Hebrew concept of "shalom" – wholeness, well-being, harmony, prosperity, and serenity in one's relationship with God, self, and others. It brings internal stability.
in believing: (en tō pisteuein) This is the instrumental clause, denoting the means or condition through which joy and peace are received. Active faith—trusting, committing, and relying on God—is the channel and sphere in which these blessings are made manifest and maintained. It's not passive reception but engaged trust.
so that: (eis to) This indicates the purpose or desired outcome of God's filling.
by the power: (en dynamei) Indicates the active agent or energizing force. This empowerment is not human effort but divine, supernatural strength.
of the Holy Spirit: The divine Person directly involved in energizing and enabling the believer to abound in hope. The Spirit actualizes God's blessings and brings about the desired spiritual outcome.
you may abound: (perisseuein) To overflow, to have in superabundance, to exceed the normal measure. It's a rich, excessive supply, reflecting God's generous nature.
in hope: (en tē elpidi) This is the sphere or state in which believers are to overflow. This hope, divinely given and Spirit-powered, is a confident expectation of future good, resting on God's character and promises. It circles back to the initial designation of God.
Words-group analysis:
- May the God of hope fill you: This phrase encapsulates a direct appeal to God as the source of Christian experience. His very being defines our expectation for the future, and Paul's prayer asks Him to fully infuse the believers.
- with all joy and peace in believing: Here, the completeness ("all") of spiritual blessings (joy and peace) is linked directly to the act of faith ("in believing"). Believing is not just intellectual assent but a wholehearted trust that opens the heart to these spiritual realities.
- so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope: This highlights the dynamic and Trinitarian process. The outcome (abounding in hope) is not by human effort alone but is directly enabled and powered by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit makes the abounding of hope a supernatural reality, a continuation and overflow of the hope rooted in God.
Romans 15 13 Bonus section
The structure of Romans 15:13 subtly points to the work of all three persons of the Trinity in the life of a believer: God the Father (the "God of hope") is the ultimate source and bestower of these blessings; faith in Jesus Christ (implied by "in believing") is the means of access; and the Holy Spirit is the active agent who empowers and makes manifest the abounding hope. This prayer underscores that the Christian life is fundamentally a Trinitarian experience of receiving grace and power from God, through Christ, by the Spirit, for the purpose of an overflowing hope. This abounding hope provides resilience, motivation for Christian living, and a firm assurance that aligns with the "glorious hope" of Colossians 1:27, an eternal and secure expectation based on God's unwavering faithfulness.
Romans 15 13 Commentary
Romans 15:13 is a powerful summary of Christian experience and Paul's fervent wish for the Roman church. It reveals a divinely orchestrated flow from God, the originator of hope, through the human condition of faith, activated by the Holy Spirit, leading to an overflow of hope, joy, and peace in the believer. It emphasizes that these spiritual qualities are not earned but received through active trust, becoming an empowering force that enables believers to navigate life's challenges and live in unity. The double mention of "hope" at the beginning and end forms an inclusio, stressing that God is both the foundation and the ultimate goal of Christian expectation. This prayer acts as a robust anchor for believers, reminding them that their inner life can be characterized by profound spiritual richness, even amidst external difficulties, solely because of God's grace and the Spirit's work.