Through the Bible in One Year

Day 246

Romans 1:1-7

Now that we have finished Acts we are going to move on to Paul’s letter to the house churches in Rome.  This letter to the Roman house churches has been preeminent among the New Testament writings for its theological and pastoral influence.  It focuses on the doctrine of salvation, including the practical implications for believers as they live out the salvation given to them through Jesus Christ.

Romans is usually divided roughly into four quarters, framed by an introduction and conclusion.  The introduction (Romans 1:1-17) is lengthy because Paul has not met the Romans before, and it introduces not only Paul but also his message in two short gospel summaries.  In Romans 1:3-4 he summarizes the who of the Good News, and in Romans 1:16-17 he summarizes the what.  The conclusion in Romans 16 contains extensive greetings to a long list of the members of the Roman church.

The rest of Romans is roughly divided in this way:

1. Romans 1:18-4:25—Gods wrath against human sin and his justification of sinners through the work of Christ on the cross
2. Romans 5-8—Having righteousness in Christ
3. Romans 9-11—How all Israel will be saved
4. Romans 12-15—Practical applications

The book of Romans has had an enormous legacy in the history of Christian theology, and special interest in it was revived at the Reformation.  Today we need Romans as much as ever as a clear guide to the central truths of what the letter’s first verse calls the “gospel of God.”  And today we are going to be focusing on the first seven verses in Paul’s introduction.

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God — the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.—1:1-7

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—1:1

Like other letters from Paul’s time, the author introduces himself at the beginning rather than signing off at the end.  The introduction is especially important in Romans because, unlike all the other letters except Colossians, Paul is writing to people he had not met before.  Paul describes himself as a servant of Christ as well as an “apostle,” a more technical term that means someone chosen and commissioned by God to preach the gospel.  The apostles have a special role in God’s purposes, after Christ, in the foundation of the church.  In introducing himself to the church at Rome, Paul stresses that he is devoted to the “gospel of God,” which he then summarizes in verses 2-4.  The fact that Paul emphasizes that it is God’s Gospel means that we are not free to think of it how we like; we need to submit to how God defines the gospel in the Bible.

the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures—1:2

Paul’s summary of the Gospel, Good News, in verses 2-4 focuses on who Christ is. (For another summary focusing on what Christ accomplished, see 1 Corinthians 15:3-5.) He starts off by assuring the Romans that while the gospel is news, it did not appear out of nowhere but was promised beforehand, a truth important for this particular letter because Paul strongly emphasizes that works of the law are not necessary for salvation.  Nevertheless, Paul does not advocate dismissing the Old Testament, which he affirms is Holy Scripture (Romans 3:21 and 7:12).  Though new covenant believers do not obey the Old Testament law, which was for Israel, Old Testament Scripture is a witness to the Good News (Romans 3:21).

regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David—1:3

This verse explains why the Old Testament is Holy Scripture: it is about God’s “Son.”  Jesus Christ is God’s Son in the sense that he is eternally generated by the Father.  The Nicene Creed in the fourth century AD defined Christ as, “the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of the same essence as the Father.”  In simple terms, the Son is a distinct person from the Father (they are not just different forms of the same person), but they share the same nature—God’s nature.

The “Son of God” also meant Israel’s Messiah, God’s end-time anointed king over his people.  This expectation was that this king would be a descendant of David (Ezekiel 34:23 and 37:24) and would come from David’s hometown Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).  In Romans 15:12, Paul refers to David’s father in calling Jesus “the Root of Jesse,” and the New Testament often connects Jesus’ Messiahship with David (Matthew 1:1; Luke 2:11; Revelation 5:5 and 22:16).  Jesus is this Messiah, God’s anointed ruler who rules Israel, and who also has all nations as his inheritance (Psalm 2:8).

and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.—1:4

In addition to being from the line of David, which refers to Jesus’ human descent, Jesus is the recipient of special appointment by the Father at his resurrection.  The appointment is not some kind of change in Jesus’ nature but comes because God has brought a new reality into being: the kingdom of God has come and with it God’s appointed king in that kingdom—his Son.  As Revelation puts it, “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah” (Revelation 12:10).  It is not that Jesus received a promotion or some special injection of power.  After his resurrection, he is no longer subject to human weakness on earth but is exalted to the right hand of God to reign over the new creation, which God has inaugurated.

Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.—1:5-7

Paul’s goal in his ministry is not just to win converts but is something more far-reaching and long-term: his aim is to bring pagan Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.  God’s purpose is not just for people to claim they believe the Gospel but for a multitude of people to be conformed to the image of his Son (Romans 8:29), to reflect the character of Christ.  The recipients of Paul’s letter include some believers from the capital of the great empire of Rome, an empire which at the time stretched from Britain in the west to Egypt and Judea in the east.  But in another sense the Roman churches are—like all Christians—loved by God and called to be his holy people.  Paul greets them the way he greets other churches in his other letters, because the nation or city where one lives does not give one special status.  And that is where we will pick up tomorrow as we conclude the introduction to Paul’s letter to the Roman church.

Tomorrow’s Bible Readings:

Ecclesiastes 7-9, 2 Corinthians 7:8-16, Psalm 48:1-14 and Proverbs 22:17-19