The Gospel of God - Romans 1:1-7
INTRODUCTION:
This morning, this first Sunday of the new year we will begin a study of a new book, the book of Romans. Romans was written by the apostle Paul, he wrote the letter from Corinth toward the end of his third missionary journey (around A.D. 56) as he was preparing to leave for Israel with an offering for the poor believers in the Jerusalem church. The church in Rome was not founded or started by any of the apostles directly but was probably started from some of those who came to faith in Jesus Christ on the day of Pentecost and then returning to Rome started the church. There was not one central church in Rome as it was a large city, but many home churches scattered around the city.
Paul’s purpose for writing this letter to the Christians in Rome was to teach them the great truths of the Gospel since they had never received apostolic instruction. The letter also introduced Paul to the church where he was personally unknown but hoped to visit soon for several reasons: to mutually encourage one another in the faith, to preach the Gospel, to get to know them, and so they could better pray for him and help him with his planned ministry to Spain.
The overarching theme of Romans is the righteousness that comes from God; the glorious truth that God justifies guilty, condemned sinners by grace alone through faith in Christ alone. Chapters 1-11 present the theological truths of that doctrine, and chapters 12-16 show its practical outworking in the lives of individual believers and in the life of the whole church.
Martin Luther in the introduction to his commentary on Romans wrote, “This Epistle is really the chief part of the New Testament and the very purest Gospel, and is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word, by heart, but occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul. It can never be read or pondered too much, and the more it is dealt with the more precious it becomes, and the better it tastes.”[1] Let’s pray and ask the Lord to teach us from this letter that Paul wrote to the church in Rome.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles this morning to Romans 1:1-7, Romans is the sixth book of the New Testament. Please stand if you are able in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
Romans 1:1-7,
“Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 1:1–7, NASB95)[2]
PAUL – A PREACHER OF THE GOSPEL (Romans 1:1)
Paul opens his letter to the believers in Rome by introducing himself to them. Paul had never been to the church in Rome, it is possible he had met some of the believers from Rome in his travels, but for the most part he was unknown to the church in Rome. In this first verse Paul reveals three important things about himself relating to his ministry: His position as a bond-servant of Christ, his authority as an apostle of Christ, and his power in being set apart for the Gospel of God. Let’s begin this morning by looking at each of these three important aspects of Paul’s ministry.
First, Paul identifies his position as the bond-servant of Christ Jesus. The Greek word translated bond-servant is the Greek word for slave and the most common use of it referred to someone who was in unwilling and permanent bondage, from which often there was no release but death. Under the law a Hebrew slave was to serve six years and the seventh year was to go free, but the law also provided a way for a slave to voluntarily become a permanent bond-slave of a master he loved and respected. Exodus 21:5-6 states, “But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’ then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.” (Exodus 21:5–6, NASB95)[3] Paul in calling himself a bond-slave of Christ Jesus is using the term in this sense, that he had given himself wholeheartedly to his Master who saved him from sin and death. Paul understood that there is an honor and dignity attached to all of God’s true servants and this position of a bond-slave of Christ Jesus was used by Paul in the most humble sense, recognizing that any dignity or honor that God gives His children is purely from grace, that in themselves Christians are still sinful, depraved and undeserving. So, Paul’s use of bond-slave is to emphasize his position of service and insignificance, not honor. Paul was called and appointed by Christ Jesus and because of that he would never put down his position of an apostle or even as a child of God, but at the same time he constantly emphasized that such positions of honor are provisions of God’s grace, so first and foremost he saw himself as a bond-slave of Christ Jesus who loved him and whom he loved in return.
Next Paul introduces the authority of his ministry, and this authority is based on his being called as an apostle. A better translation might be that Paul was “a called apostle,” because the “as” is not there in the Greek. Paul, a called apostle, more clearly points to the fact that his position as an apostle was not his own doing, he did not volunteer for the office of apostle, nor was he elected to it by a body of believers, he was called to it by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. “Apostle” in the Greek is in its most basic meaning “a person who is sent.” Most often it referred to a person who was officially commissioned to a position or task, such as an envoy or an ambassador. In its very broadest sense the term apostle (sent one) can refer to all believers, because we have all been sent into the world as a witness for Christ. Most often in the New Testament it is used as a specific and unique title to refer to the thirteen men (the twelve disciples of the Lord, with Matthias replacing Judas, and Paul) whom Jesus Christ personally chose and commissioned with the authority to proclaim the gospel and lead the early church. Not only were these thirteen men called directly by Jesus Christ, but they were all witnesses to His resurrection. Paul saw Him on the Damascus road after His ascension. These thirteen were given direct revelation of God’s Word to proclaim with authority. They were given the ability to heal and cast out demons in Jesus’ name, these signs verified their message and their authority as apostles. Their teachings became the foundation of the church which extended out beyond the local bodies of believers to the entire believing world. Paul understood that his apostleship was a divine calling from God he told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 9:16, “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.” (1 Corinthians 9:16, NASB95)[4] This was a task that was given to him by God, one that he had never requested, but he knew he would be in serious trouble if he was not obedient to his calling.
Because Paul was a called apostle, a sent one, his whole life was set apart to the Lord’s service. To be effective when called to a certain place or type of service can only happen when, like Paul, you are separated unto God for the gospel of God. Paul earlier in life had set himself apart as a Pharisee, to live as a Pharisee, but now he says that he has been divinely set apart for the gospel of God. In Galatians 1:15 he told the church that he had been set apart by the grace of God from his mother’s womb. This he did not know until he met the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. Later the Holy Spirit set apart Paul and Barnabas for missionary service through the church in Antioch. Paul wrote that he was set apart for the gospel of God. The term translated gospel is a word that means “good news.” John MacArthur writes, “It is the good news that God will deliver us from our selfish sin, free us from our burden of guilt, and give meaning to life and make it abundant.”[5] When we speak of the gospel the most important thing about this good news is that it is of God. This fact that it is the good news of God means that God was the source of it. Paul makes it clear that this is not man’s good news, this is God’s good news for man. It is only because of God’s great love that He would bring us good news, why else would God bring good news to a world that rejects and scorns Him. No one deserves to hear this good news, much less be saved by it, but God brings it to us out of love so that He can lavish us with His mercy and grace. Paul was living proof of God’s great love displayed in His mercy and grace shown to this man who opposed Christ and persecuted the church with great zeal. God gets a hold of his life and makes him the chief spokesman of the Church. As Paul boldly proclaimed the good news of salvation in Christ being set apart to God for that purpose, I think this is one of the reasons he was so effective because he knew how good the good news really was because of the effect it had in his own life, because of the change it had brought in his own life.
JESUS CHRIST – THE PROMISE AND THE PERSON OF THE GOSPEL (Romans 1:2-4)
Paul having introduced himself to the church in Rome as a preacher of the gospel of God, now introduces them to the promise and the Person of the good news. We know that the good news originated with God, but it did not originate in the New Testament, Paul writes that God promised the good news through His prophets in the holy Scriptures. When Paul refers to the holy Scriptures, He is referring to the Old Testament, that was the holy Scriptures that he had, the New Testament was in the process of being written, but it certainly was not completed. What Paul is saying is that this good news of God that he preaches is really old news of the Old Testament which is now fulfilled and completed in Jesus Christ. When Paul speaks of the prophets he is referring to all those who spoke for God and received revelation from God. Paul is saying if you look in the Old Testament you will find the promises about Jesus Christ that have been fulfilled. The Old Testament it is estimated holds at least 332 prophecies about the Messiah, most of them were fulfilled at the first advent of Jesus Christ. We like to say in Bibliology and How to study the Bible, “The NEW is in the OLD contained – the OLD is in the NEW explained.” The Old Testament is loaded with truths that predict and lay the groundwork for the New Testament. Every Hebrew prophet recorded in the Old Testament prophesied of the ultimate Prophet, Jesus Christ either directly or indirectly. Every sacrificial lamb was a picture of the true, eternal Lamb of God who would be sacrificed for the sins of the world. The promise was there in the Old Testament starting in Genesis 3:15 and running all the way to Malachi 4:6, this was not a new message, this was the good news that what was promised in the Old Testament and was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-18, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:17–18, NASB95)[6]
Paul goes on to introduce us the Person of the good news of God in verses 3-4. He says this good news of God is concerning His Son. How is it that Jesus Christ is Himself God and Lord, and still He is the Son of God? We believe this because the Scriptures teach both of these truths. The issue is not whether Jesus Christ is the Son of God, but in what sense is He God’s Son? Paul is clear that according to His human nature Jesus was a descendant of David. Both His natural mother, Mary, and His legal father, Joseph were descendants of David. To be the Messiah Jesus had to be a descendant of David and we looked a few weeks ago how that was fulfilled in His life. As a descendant of David, Jesus inherited the throne of David and the right to restore and rule David’s kingdom, a kingdom that was prophesied to be without end.
The second Person of the Trinity was born into a human family, He became fully human with all other humanity, He identified with fallen man, yet He Himself was sinless. As such He could be the perfect sacrificial substitute for sinful mankind. This is the good news of God, that in Jesus Christ, God became a Man who could die for all men, a substitute sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.
So, in what sense is He God’s Son? It was at the time when He took on human flesh, Paul says that Jesus Christ was declared to be the Son of God. The plan was eternal, made before the foundations of the earth were laid, but the title “Son” was reserved for the incarnation and given to Jesus Christ when He took of human flesh. He is the Son of God because He is one in essence with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. He is the Son of God because in loving submission to God the Father He emptied Himself in the incarnation. There is no question that He is eternally God, that He is eternally the Second Person of the Godhead, but Paul says He was declared the Son of God when He was supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary and was born a descendant of David according to the flesh. John MacArthur writes, “We could say, then, that Christ was the Son of God from eternity in expectation and was declared God’s Son in fulfillment at the incarnation and forever.”[7]
Paul goes on and declares that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the most conclusive and irrefutable proof of this was given with power by the resurrection from the dead. Jesus Christ’s resurrection showed His ability to conquer death, this is a power that only God Himself as the Giver of life possesses. Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead proved beyond all doubt that He is God, the Son. Paul goes on to say that this is according to the Spirit of holiness, this is just another way to say that this was according to the nature and ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was active in Jesus Christ’s incarnation: Jesus Christ, in the incarnation was conceived by the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit was active in all the miracles Jesus Christ performed during His ministry on earth, and the Holy Spirit was working with Jesus Christ to accomplish the resurrection. This was the Spirit of holiness that was active during the incarnation.
Jesus Christ is the Person of the gospel of God. Jesus Christ is fully man as seen in His being a descendant of David according to the flesh, and He is fully God as He is declared the Son of God and as seen in His resurrection. Paul declares that the Son of man and the Son of God is Jesus Christ our Lord. We learned a couple of weeks ago that Jesus means Yahweh saves, He is the Savior. Christ means Anointed One and is the Greek equivalent to the Hebrew word Messiah. Lord is the title used of a sovereign ruler. The Person of the Gospel of God is Jesus because He saves His people from their sin. He is Christ or the Messiah because God anointed Him as King and Priest. And He is Lord because He is and always will be the Sovereign Ruler of the universe created by Him and held together by His power.
CONCLUSION:
We are going to stop here this morning, I had hoped to get through verse seven this morning, but that is not going to happen. So next Sunday we will pick up in verse 5 and continue from there looking at the particulars of the gospel.
This morning we have looked at Paul’s introduction of himself to the church in Rome as a bond-slave of Christ Jesus, appointed by God to be an apostle, and set apart by God to the gospel of God. As we think of Paul’s position in Christ Jesus, that of a bond-slave which means that he has relinquished all his rights to Jesus Christ, he is no longer his own person, he belongs completely to Jesus Christ to do the will of Jesus Christ. He has come under the lordship of Jesus Christ, his passion in life as a bond-slave of Jesus is to do His will, to carry out any task asked of him and we know for Paul that required some difficult things. When Paul met the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus, after that meeting, he was blind and had to be led into the city. Once he was in the city the Lord spoke to a man by the name of Ananias and told him to go and lay his hands on Paul and pray for him that he might regain his sight. Ananias did not want to go because he knew that Paul had authority from the chief priests to bind any followers of Christ and take them to prison. The Lord told Ananias in Acts 9:15-16, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” (Acts 9:15–16, NASB95)[8] Even though Paul would suffer much for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ, he was willing to bow to Him as Lord and suffer for His name. What about you? Where are you in your relationship with the Lord? Jesus Christ, the One promised by the prophets in the Old Testament, the One revealed as the Savior in the New Testament wants all of your life, not just your Sunday mornings. What must you give up for Jesus Christ to not only be your Savior, but your Lord and Master as well, are you willing to suffer for His name?
[1]Luther, Martin, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. A new abridged translation by J. Theodore Mueller. Grand Rapids, MI : Zondervan Publishing House, 1954.
[2]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[4]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[5]MacArthur, John F., The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Romans 1-8. Chicago, Ill. : The Moody Bible Institute, 1991
[6]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[7]MacArthur, John F., The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Romans 1-8. Chicago, Ill. : The Moody Bible Institute, 1991
[8]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995