Discovery BoxRomans 1:11 
Context1:11 For I long to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift 1 to strengthen you,
Romans 8:25
Context8:25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance. 2
Romans 11:10
Context11:10 let their eyes be darkened so that they may not see,
and make their backs bend continually.” 3
1 sn Paul does not mean here that he is going to bestow upon the Roman believers what is commonly known as a “spiritual gift,” that is, a special enabling for service given to believers by the Holy Spirit. Instead, this is either a metonymy of cause for effect (Paul will use his own spiritual gifts to edify the Romans), or it simply means something akin to a blessing or benefit in the spiritual realm. It is possible that Paul uses this phrase to connote specifically the broader purpose of his letter, which is for the Romans to understand his gospel, but this seems less likely.
2 tn Or “perseverance.”
3 sn A quotation from Ps 69:22-23.
