The Epistle of Paul to the Romans Chapter 1:1-7
By Rev. Katherine Liu Bruce
Christian Arts Ministries:Biblical precepts & Gospel music
The Gospel of God to make sinners sons of God
in order to constitute the Body of Christ which is expressed as the local
church
Scriptures reading Romans Chapter 1: 1-6 (KJV)
1Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle,
separated unto the gospel of God, 2(Which
he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) 3Concerning
his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4And
declared to be the Son of God with
power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:5By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the
faith among all nations, for his name: 6Among
whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:7To all that be in Rome,
beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our
Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The book of Romans explains how the individual
Christ revealed in the four Gospels
could become the corporate Christ revealed in Acts, collectively composed of
Himself with all the believers. By means of the facts in the Scriptures and the
experience in the Holy Spirit, Paul shows us that God’s New Testament economy
is to make sinner sons of God and members of Christ to constitute the Body of
Christ to express Him. The book of Romans offers a full definition of this,
God’s goal, unfolding a general sketch and details of both the Chrsitian life
and the church life.
The Book of Romans may be
divided into eight sections: introduction, condemnation, justification,
sanctification, glorification, selection, transformation, and conclusion. In
these eighte sections three major structures can be seen: Salvation
(1:1-5:11;9:1-11:36), life (5:12-8:39), and building (12:1-16:27).
Verse 1 Paul, formerly
Saul, who persecuted the believers and devastated the church
(Acts7:58-8:1a;8:3;9:1. After he was saved, when he went forth to preach the
gospel, his name was changed to Paul(Acts 13.9). A salve,
according to ancient custom and law, was one who was purchased by his master
and over whom his master had absolute rights, even to the extent of terminating
his life. Paul was such a slave of Christ. A
salve, verbs formed from this word are used several times throughout this
book. One is translated serve as a slave
in 6:6 and serve in 7:6,25;9:12;
12:11’14:18; and 16:18. Another is translated enslaved in 6:18,22 the noun slavery,
from the same roots as slave, is used
in 8:15,21. Paul’s use not a self-appointed apostle or one hired by the Lord;
rather, he was one purchased to serve God and minister to His people, not in
the natural life but in the regenerated life.
Christ,
equal to Messiah in Hebrew, means the anointed One (John 1:41; Dan.9:26).
Jesus,
equal to Joshua in Hebrew, means the salvation of Jehovah, or Jehovah the
Savior (Matt.1:21; Num.13:16;Heb.4:8).
Gospel
Lit., glad tidings, good news (vv.9,16;2:16;10:16;11:28;15:16,19;16:25). The gospel of God, as the
subject of the book of Romans, concerns Christ as the Spirit living within the
believers after His resurrection. This is higher and more subjective thatn what
was presented in the Gospels, which concern Christ only in the flesh as He
lived among His disciples after His incarnation but before His death and
resurrection. The book of Romans, reveals that Christ has resurrected and has
become the Life-Giving Spirit (8:9-10). He is no longer merely the Christ
outside the believers, but He is now the Christ within them. Hence, the gospel
in the book of Romans is the gospel of the One who is now indwelling His
believers as their subjective Savior.
Verse
2 The gospel of God was not something added along the way by accident; it was
planned and prepared by God in eternity past and promised by God through His prophets in many ways.
(Gen.3:15;22:18;Gal.3:16;2Tim.1:9;Titus1:2).
the
holy scriptures The Greek words hagios, hagiosune, hagiazo, and hagiasmos,
used in this book are of the same root, which fundamentally means seprated, set apart, Hagios is translated holy in v.2;
2:5;7:12;9:1;11:16;12:1;14:17;15:13,16;16:16, and saints in v.7; 8:27;12:13;15:25,
26,31;16:15. Hagiosune is translated holiness
in v.4. Hagiasmos is translated sanctification in 6:19,22. Hence, to be holy is to be
separated, set apart (to God). The saints are the separated ones, the ones set apart
(to God). Holiness is the nature and quality of being holy. Sanctification (to God)
is the practical effect, the character in activity, and the consummate state produced
by being sanctified.
Verse 3 the gospel of God concerns
the Son of God, Jesus Christ our Lord . This wonderful person has two natures –the
divine nature (v.4) and the human nature (v.3), divinity and humanity. The Seed of
David implies Christ’s human nature. By incarnation, the first step of Christ’s
process, God was brought into humanity. In the Bible flesh is not a positive word.
Nevertheless, the Bible declares that the Word became flesh (John1:14). The gospel
of God concerns God who became the seed of a man.
Verse 4 Before His incarnation
Christ the divine One, already was the Son of God (John1:18; Rom.8:3). By incarnation He put on an
element, the human flesh, which had nothing to do with divinity; that part of Him
needed to be sanctified and uplifted by passing through death and resurrection.
By resurrection His human nature was sanctified, uplifted, and transformed. Hence,
by resurrection He was designated the Son of God with His humanity (Acts 13:33; Heb.1:5).
His resurrection was His designation. Now, as the Son of God. He possesses humanity
as well as divinity. By incarnation He brought God into man; by resurrection
He brought man into God, that is, He brought His humanity into the divine sonship.
In this way the only begotten Son of God was made the firstborn Son of God, possessing
both divinity and humanity. God is using such a Christ, the firstborn Son,
who possesses both divinity and humanity, as the producer and as the prototype,
the model, to produce His many sons (8:29-30). We who have believed in and received
His Son. We too will be designated and revealed as the sons of God, as He was in
the glory of His resurrection (8:19,21), and with Him we will express God.
The book of Romans tells us that God’s full salvation
is to make sinners (3:23), even His enemies (5:10), the sons of God (8:14). Through
resurrection God designated Christ, who became flesh to be the seed of David, as
His Son, that His Son, who is the mingling of divinity and humanity, might be the
base and pattern for His making sinners His many sons. It is in the resurrection
of His Son, i.e., in the resurrected Son, that God is producing many sons (1Pet.1:3)
as the many brothers of the Firstborn (8:29), who was resurrected from the dead,
and as the members of His Firstborn to constitute the Body of His Firstborn (12:5),
which is His fullness (Eph.1:23), His corporate expresson.
The Spirit of holiness here
is in contrast to the flesh in v.3. As the flesh in v.3 refers to the human nature
of Christ in the flesh, so the Spirit in this verse does not refer to the person
of the Holy Spirit of God but to the divine essence of Christ. This divine essence
of Christ, being God the Spirit Himself (John4:24), the divinity of Christ, is of
holiness , full of the nature and quality of being holy.
Verse 5 Grace is God is Christ as life
and the life suppy. It affords the apostles salvation and life and becomes the capacity
and supply for their apostleship (1 Cor.15:9-10). God’s unique
commandment in this age, the age of grace, is that man should believe into His Son, the Lord Jesus. Whoever
believes into Him will be saved; whoever does not believe has been condemned already,
because he has not believed into Him (John3:18). The Holy Spirit convicts the world
of the sin of not believing into the Lord (John16:8-9), of not obeying God’s unique
commandment. When
we believe into the Lord, we have the obedience of faith, and the result is grace
and peace. (v.7)
In the New Testament the complete
gospel according to God’s New Testament revelation is the content of the faith,
with the two natures of Christ, who is both God and man, and the redemptive work
accomplished through His death and resurrection as its center(1Tim.1). To obey this
faith is to turn from all pagan religions and philosophies unto this faith, believing
and receiving it.
Verse 6 God calls us for the
purpose of bringing us into Christ that we may belong to Him. All the fullness of
God is in Christ (Col.2:9;1:19). When we are brought into Him and belong to Him,
we partake of all the fullness of God. Of His fullness we have received all that
is of God, even grace upon grace (John1:16). This matter is covered in detail in
the first eight chapters of the book of Romans. (8:9).
Verse 7 Grace is God in Christ
as our enjoyment (John1:14,16-17 and Rom.5 17); it is the source. Peace is the result
of our enjoyment of God in Christ (John16:33).
Bibliography,
Friberg, Timothy, Barbara
Friberg, and Neva F. Miller et al., eds. Analytical Lexicon of the
Greek New Testament.1st ed. Victoria BC: Trafford
Publishing, 2005.
