Grace and Peace
Romans 1.1-7
Romans 1.1-7
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be 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 descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ
INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF ROMANS
Any study of the Biblical doctrine of soteriology (salvation) will in due course lead to Paul’s epistle to the church at Rome. There are few other books in the Bible as rich in the doctrines essential to understanding what is a the core of the Christian faith coupled with a practical application of that faith. We are familiar with nuanced differences in the synoptic gospels and the theological and narrative differences of the Johannine account, but it is the theme of justification by faith alone that distills the theology of sola fide. Paul refers to this letter as his gospel; indeed, it is not inappropriate to think of it as the 5th gospel. It has been noted that to have a through knowledge of Romans is to have a solid foundation for the Christian faith. The epistle is in large measure a thorough exposition of Habakkuk’s comment … but the righteous by his faith shall live (Habakkuk 2.4). Paul’s introduction and his summation to his exposition tell us the purpose of his writing: namely, to bring about the obedience of faith (1.5; cp. 16.26) and this he accomplishes by expanding on Habakkuk’s cry of faith the righteous who by his faith will live; pay attention to how Habakkuk closes his brief treatise: Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he make my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places (Habakkuk 3.17-19). This eternal truth is the focal point of Paul’s life and teaching and it is the overriding theme of Romans.
Gaining a mastery of his epistle should be the desire of every believer who wants to understand what salvation entails and how he or she ought then to live. Through the centuries many people have commented on the impact of this short epistle:
The impact of the book of Romans upon the church, indeed, upon the entire course of western civilization has been profound. In the confessions of Augustine we read that in the summer of AD 386 Aurelius Augustinus sat weeping in the garden of a friend almost persuaded to begin a new life, yet lacking the final resolution to break with the old. While he was sitting there he heard the neighbor children singing Tolle, lege, Tolle, lege (take up and read, take up and read). At that point he took up the scroll that lay at his friend’s side and read “Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in clamoring and wantonness, not in strife and envying, but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof [Romans 13.13b-14]. ‘No further would I read nor had I any need; instantly, at the end of the sentence, a clear light flooded my heart and all the darkness of doubt vanished away.’ The church owes more than it can measure to Augustine and more than that to the God inspired words of Paul.
“In November of 1515 Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk and professor of Sacred Theology at the University of Wittenberg began to expound Paul’s epistle to the Romans to his students at the end of the course he wrote: “I greatly longed to understand Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, and nothing stood in the way but that one expression, “The righteousness of God” … night and day I pondered it until I grasped the truth that the righteousness of God is that righteousness whereby, through grace and sheer mercy He justifies us by faith” (Roland Bainton, Luther). This insight sparked the reformation of the church and transformed Christendom.
“In August of 1918 the now famous Karl Barth published an exposition of the Epistle to Romans. In the preface we read, ‘… The mighty voice of Paul was new to me and if to me, no doubt to many others also. And yet, now that my work is finished I perceive that much remains which I have not yet heard …’ But what he had heard he wrote down – and that first edition of his Romerbrief fell like a bombshell on the theologians playground. Repercussions of the explosion are with us still” (F. F. Bruce)
While staying at the home of his friend Gaius in Corinth and just prior to his eventful journey to Jerusalem during the winter of 56-57 AD Paul wrote his letter to the Christians in Rome. While there is no doubt that this letter is directed to the church in Rome it, like many other of his letters with the possible exception of his pastoral epistles, quickly began to circulate among the first century churches. Unlike the other churches on the border of the Aegean sea, and in the providence’s of Cappadocia, Galatia, Cilicia, where Paul had planted churches, the church in Rome was not a result of the direct work of Paul. Paul was anticipating a journey to Rome on his way to Spain and the frontier regions of the Roman Empire. Though the church at Rome appeared strong, Paul’s concern was that they grasp the full extend of the gospel.
PAUL, EVANGELIST, MISSIONARY & THEOLOGIAN
Understanding Paul’s letter to the Roman church hinges in part on knowing why he wrote it. Some would say that Paul was primarily a frontier evangelist, others claim he was a church planting missionary and administrator, still others, that he was a teacher / theologian. It is certain that Paul was a multifaceted and gifted apostle and all these things are true of him. It is probably best not to attempt to single out as more important one description over another. Each letter that he wrote addresses the particular needs of its recipient and bears the mark of an author who is concerned for purity of the gospel and an obedience of faith to be exhibited by all believers. These are the things that motivate Paul’s letters. So, in Romans Paul seeks to accomplish primarily three things, all of which are hinted at in the tightly constructed introduction to his letter. First, he puts forward his credentials as an apostle to the Gentiles and in so doing builds a bridge between himself and the believers in Rome. Secondly, he sets forth the priority of the gospel of God, which is grounded on the work and person of the eternal Son of God. Finally, he gives practical instruction on living a life of obedience to the gospel that comes from faith.
Of the thirteen known letters of Paul, Romans is the only one written to a church that he, or one of his immediate associates (e.g., Epaphras and the Colossians letter), did not establish. Not knowing what the Roman church has been taught regarding the essentials of the gospel message, it is not surprising that Paul’s letter to them is the most thorough and extensive explanation of the gospel of all of his correspondences. He desires that the Roman believers have a full account of the gospel, including its covenantal roots established in Abraham. Many of Paul’s letters were written with the intent of correcting some doctrinal error that had crept into the church during his absence. The apostle had not personally instructed the church at Rome. Consequently, Paul’s presentation of the gospel is more scrupulously detailed than in any of his other letters. It is the gospel of God (Romans 1.1) and Paul is concerned that they fully comprehend its depth and breadth.
From the opening lines of Romans Paul establishes himself as a fully credentialed apostle (cf. 2 Corinthians 2.12-7.1), not that he might receive any honors from the church, but that they would be receptive to his letter as a true word from the Lord. By adherence to the gospel they would prove themselves to be God’s people living lives of faith in obedience to God. In his letter Paul seeks to encourage and strengthen the Roman Christians: I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit (15.14-16).
Though the church in Rome appears to be comprised largely of Gentile converts, they are by no means the only people Paul has in mind (cp. 10.1-4; 11.26). Moreover, Paul seeks to win people from every nation (Romans 16.27). Indeed, the promise to Abraham in Genesis 17.5 was being fulfilled through his preaching of the Word to the Gentiles. What had been hidden for ages was now being revealed; the written testimony of the prophets was being echoed through the faithful proclamation of Paul. Paul’s ministry was in keeping with the pattern of the prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah. The message entrusted to Paul was his gospel (16.25), and he had a compelling desire to make it known, not just to the Romans, but to extend his ministry to the frontiers of the Roman Empire. He had it in his mind that the Christians in Rome would be willing to help him on his missionary endeavors to Spain (15.24).
PAUL'S CONVERSION & CALL
Paul has an authority derived from a personal call to apostolic office from Christ Jesus himself (Acts 9.1-16 cp. 26.12-18). This call is validated by the uniqueness of his conversion from being a vengeful persecutor of Christ and his church, to a self-abnegating and suffering proponent of the gospel. By the grace of God he was saved and appointed to be a herald and an apostle and a teacher (2 Timothy 1.11). To the Galatians he wrote, I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ (Galatians 1.11). Just as the other apostles had been instructed of the Lord, so too Paul received a special revelation from God. Indeed, like the prophets Isaiah (49.1) and Jeremiah (1.5), Paul believed himself to have been set apart for his divine calling from birth: But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man (Galatians 1.15-16). That Paul understood his call to the apostolic office to be on par with Jesus’ disciples and the Old Testament prophets may be suggested by his allusion to his first being a servant (doulos) of Christ Jesus. “The term doulos is probably rooted in the Old Testament use of … servant of the Lord. It conveys the idea of an office that was formerly possessed by outstanding persons in the Old Testament such as Moses, Joshua, Abraham, David, and the prophets (Josh. 14:7; 24:29; 2 Kings 17:23; Psalm 89:4, 21)” (Thomas Schreiner, Romans, BECNT, p. 32).
God called Paul to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel. In 1 Timothy this is emphatically stated: Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope (1 Timothy 1.1). For the sake of Jesus’ name Paul makes his appeal to the Gentiles that they exhibit obedience to the gospel that is rooted in faith. Jesus has a name that is exalted above every other name; Paul has seen the resurrected Jesus (Acts 9.4-6) and he is motivated by the glory of the resurrected Christ to exalt Jesus in the propagation of the gospel. Paul writes to the Philippians, Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2.9-11 [see my website sermon notes: https://www.myevensong.com/the-exaltation-of-christ.html]). Paul’s apostleship may be distinguished from the other apostles in that he was directed primarily to the Gentiles (Acts 9.15, cp. Galatians 1.16; 2.7, 9). However, Paul emphasizes the universal scope of his ministry (Romans 1.5). “The inclusion of all nations also functions as an indication that the covenantal promises of the Old Testament were being fulfilled (e.g., Genesis 12:3; Isaiah 19:18-25; 49:6: Daniel 7:14, 27), and that the promise to Abraham of a world-wide family is now being realized” (Schreiner, p. 34).
In verse 5 Paul referred to his apostolic commission to the Gentiles in general terms. Now in verses 6-7 he sets forth the place of Roman Christians in this scheme. They are among the Gentiles who have been called by Jesus Christ. The “calling” … (kletoi, v. 6; kletois, v. 7) of the Roman believers in verses 6-7 is the same word used to describe Paul’s calling to apostleship in verse 1. Here it denotes the effective call accompanying the preaching of the gospel. Those who are called exercise faith in Christ. To say that Roman believers are “beloved by God” and “called to be saints” applies language to the church that was used for Israel as God’s elect people. … Since Jesus is the true Israel, those who belong to him constitute the people of God. We observe here Paul’s interpretation of the Old Testament, in that the promises focusing on Israel as a nation are now extended to both Jews and Gentiles who believe in Jesus as Messiah. (Schreiner, p. 36)
PAUL'S GOSPEL
Because there are few references to Old Testament and Jewish tradition in many of Paul’s letters, some commentators have accused Paul of deliberately minimizing the Jewish roots of the gospel. When one considers the content of Paul’s preaching of the gospel to the citizens in Pisidian Antioch, where he grounds the gospel in the salvific action God in the Old Testament (cf. Acts 13.13-43), it would be better to assume that Paul omitted references to Old Testament roots because they were not germane to the issues he was addressing. That this is true is further reinforced by Paul’s fuller explication of the gospel in Romans, which helps to dispel such false accusations. For example, in Paul’s salutation to Romans he stresses the importance of recognizing that Jesus was a descendant of David.
With the exception of Hebrews, most believers probably associate Matthew’s gospel as the closest link to the Old Testament and Jewish tradition. Indeed, Matthew painstakingly details the birth of Jesus, demonstrating that Jesus was born at just the right time and that his birth was preordained. Making the connection between Abraham and David was an important link for the Jewish audience. Jesus is not only the direct descendant of David, but he is the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 15). God had promised to bless all the nations of the earth through Abraham and Jesus is the means by which the conditions of that oath will be fulfilled. However, what was important for the Jewish convert is also important for the Gentile convert, and what Matthew did in his gospel, Paul does in his epistles. This is particularly evident in Romans, regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David (Romans 1.3). Also, in Galatians he writes, but when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons (Galatians 4.4-5). This connection to the covenantal promise is essential to the gospel and Paul stresses the connection between Jesus, Abraham and David. In Romans we see that Jesus is the son of David and as such is the true Israel. Paul further stresses that Jesus is the preexistent and eternal Son of God.
Thus, a proper fellowship with the people of God is contingent upon a proper relationship with Jesus, who in his human nature is the offspring of David and through the Spirit of holiness is declared to be the Son of God. Paul writes inGalatians 3.16 that Jesus is the seed (singular) of Abraham. So only those who belong to Jesus the Messiah can be truly said to be the spiritual descendants of Abraham. The preexistent Son, enters into human experience as the promised Messiah, and was, on the basis of his resurrection, appointed to a new and more powerful position (in relationship to the world). “By virtue of his obedience to the will of the Father (cf. Phil. 2.6-11) and because of the eschatological revelation of God’s saving power in the gospel (1:1, 16), the Son attains a new, exalted status as ‘Lord’ (cf. v. 4b). Son of God from eternity, he becomes the Son of God ‘in power,’ ‘able [dynatai] for all time to save those who draw near to God through him’” (Douglas Moo, Romans, p. 49). On earth Jesus was the Messianic Son of God, but after his resurrection, a new age was inaugurated wherein Jesus is enthroned as King and he reigns in heaven as the Lord Christ.
OBEDIENCE: THE FRUIT OF THE GOSPEL
Jesus is the resurrected and reigning King. Through him and for his name sake Paul has received grace and an apostolic commission to call people from all nations to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is in the capacity of being an apostle to the Gentiles that Paul addresses the believers in Rome as those who demonstrate faithful obedience to Christ (Romans 1.5 … to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name … ). He emphatically states that they are among the elect of God. “More important than the Roman Christians’ ethnic origin is their spiritual destination. They have been ‘called to belong to Jesus Christ.’ As Paul has been ‘called’ to be an apostle (v. 1), so the Roman Christians have been ‘called’ to be people who name Jesus as Christ and Lord. ‘Call’ and its cognates are used by Paul to express an ‘effectual’ calling. What is meant is not an ‘invitation’ but the powerful and irresistible reaching out of God in grace to bring people into his kingdom” (Moo, p. 54). Paul addresses these people with Grace and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Any study of the Biblical doctrine of soteriology (salvation) will in due course lead to Paul’s epistle to the church at Rome. There are few other books in the Bible as rich in the doctrines essential to understanding what is a the core of the Christian faith coupled with a practical application of that faith. We are familiar with nuanced differences in the synoptic gospels and the theological and narrative differences of the Johannine account, but it is the theme of justification by faith alone that distills the theology of sola fide. Paul refers to this letter as his gospel; indeed, it is not inappropriate to think of it as the 5th gospel. It has been noted that to have a through knowledge of Romans is to have a solid foundation for the Christian faith. The epistle is in large measure a thorough exposition of Habakkuk’s comment … but the righteous by his faith shall live (Habakkuk 2.4). Paul’s introduction and his summation to his exposition tell us the purpose of his writing: namely, to bring about the obedience of faith (1.5; cp. 16.26) and this he accomplishes by expanding on Habakkuk’s cry of faith the righteous who by his faith will live; pay attention to how Habakkuk closes his brief treatise: Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he make my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places (Habakkuk 3.17-19). This eternal truth is the focal point of Paul’s life and teaching and it is the overriding theme of Romans.
Gaining a mastery of his epistle should be the desire of every believer who wants to understand what salvation entails and how he or she ought then to live. Through the centuries many people have commented on the impact of this short epistle:
- It is the profoundest piece of writing in existence – Samuel Taylor Coleridge
- It is the chief book of the New Testament … it deserves to be known by heart – word for word, by every Christian – Martin Luther
- In studying Romans we find ourselves at every word face to face with the unfathomable – Fredric Louis Godet (19th century Swiss theologian & biblical commentator)
- For the purposes of systematic theology it is the most important book of the Bible – J. Sidlow Baxter
The impact of the book of Romans upon the church, indeed, upon the entire course of western civilization has been profound. In the confessions of Augustine we read that in the summer of AD 386 Aurelius Augustinus sat weeping in the garden of a friend almost persuaded to begin a new life, yet lacking the final resolution to break with the old. While he was sitting there he heard the neighbor children singing Tolle, lege, Tolle, lege (take up and read, take up and read). At that point he took up the scroll that lay at his friend’s side and read “Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in clamoring and wantonness, not in strife and envying, but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof [Romans 13.13b-14]. ‘No further would I read nor had I any need; instantly, at the end of the sentence, a clear light flooded my heart and all the darkness of doubt vanished away.’ The church owes more than it can measure to Augustine and more than that to the God inspired words of Paul.
“In November of 1515 Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk and professor of Sacred Theology at the University of Wittenberg began to expound Paul’s epistle to the Romans to his students at the end of the course he wrote: “I greatly longed to understand Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, and nothing stood in the way but that one expression, “The righteousness of God” … night and day I pondered it until I grasped the truth that the righteousness of God is that righteousness whereby, through grace and sheer mercy He justifies us by faith” (Roland Bainton, Luther). This insight sparked the reformation of the church and transformed Christendom.
“In August of 1918 the now famous Karl Barth published an exposition of the Epistle to Romans. In the preface we read, ‘… The mighty voice of Paul was new to me and if to me, no doubt to many others also. And yet, now that my work is finished I perceive that much remains which I have not yet heard …’ But what he had heard he wrote down – and that first edition of his Romerbrief fell like a bombshell on the theologians playground. Repercussions of the explosion are with us still” (F. F. Bruce)
While staying at the home of his friend Gaius in Corinth and just prior to his eventful journey to Jerusalem during the winter of 56-57 AD Paul wrote his letter to the Christians in Rome. While there is no doubt that this letter is directed to the church in Rome it, like many other of his letters with the possible exception of his pastoral epistles, quickly began to circulate among the first century churches. Unlike the other churches on the border of the Aegean sea, and in the providence’s of Cappadocia, Galatia, Cilicia, where Paul had planted churches, the church in Rome was not a result of the direct work of Paul. Paul was anticipating a journey to Rome on his way to Spain and the frontier regions of the Roman Empire. Though the church at Rome appeared strong, Paul’s concern was that they grasp the full extend of the gospel.
PAUL, EVANGELIST, MISSIONARY & THEOLOGIAN
Understanding Paul’s letter to the Roman church hinges in part on knowing why he wrote it. Some would say that Paul was primarily a frontier evangelist, others claim he was a church planting missionary and administrator, still others, that he was a teacher / theologian. It is certain that Paul was a multifaceted and gifted apostle and all these things are true of him. It is probably best not to attempt to single out as more important one description over another. Each letter that he wrote addresses the particular needs of its recipient and bears the mark of an author who is concerned for purity of the gospel and an obedience of faith to be exhibited by all believers. These are the things that motivate Paul’s letters. So, in Romans Paul seeks to accomplish primarily three things, all of which are hinted at in the tightly constructed introduction to his letter. First, he puts forward his credentials as an apostle to the Gentiles and in so doing builds a bridge between himself and the believers in Rome. Secondly, he sets forth the priority of the gospel of God, which is grounded on the work and person of the eternal Son of God. Finally, he gives practical instruction on living a life of obedience to the gospel that comes from faith.
Of the thirteen known letters of Paul, Romans is the only one written to a church that he, or one of his immediate associates (e.g., Epaphras and the Colossians letter), did not establish. Not knowing what the Roman church has been taught regarding the essentials of the gospel message, it is not surprising that Paul’s letter to them is the most thorough and extensive explanation of the gospel of all of his correspondences. He desires that the Roman believers have a full account of the gospel, including its covenantal roots established in Abraham. Many of Paul’s letters were written with the intent of correcting some doctrinal error that had crept into the church during his absence. The apostle had not personally instructed the church at Rome. Consequently, Paul’s presentation of the gospel is more scrupulously detailed than in any of his other letters. It is the gospel of God (Romans 1.1) and Paul is concerned that they fully comprehend its depth and breadth.
From the opening lines of Romans Paul establishes himself as a fully credentialed apostle (cf. 2 Corinthians 2.12-7.1), not that he might receive any honors from the church, but that they would be receptive to his letter as a true word from the Lord. By adherence to the gospel they would prove themselves to be God’s people living lives of faith in obedience to God. In his letter Paul seeks to encourage and strengthen the Roman Christians: I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit (15.14-16).
Though the church in Rome appears to be comprised largely of Gentile converts, they are by no means the only people Paul has in mind (cp. 10.1-4; 11.26). Moreover, Paul seeks to win people from every nation (Romans 16.27). Indeed, the promise to Abraham in Genesis 17.5 was being fulfilled through his preaching of the Word to the Gentiles. What had been hidden for ages was now being revealed; the written testimony of the prophets was being echoed through the faithful proclamation of Paul. Paul’s ministry was in keeping with the pattern of the prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah. The message entrusted to Paul was his gospel (16.25), and he had a compelling desire to make it known, not just to the Romans, but to extend his ministry to the frontiers of the Roman Empire. He had it in his mind that the Christians in Rome would be willing to help him on his missionary endeavors to Spain (15.24).
PAUL'S CONVERSION & CALL
Paul has an authority derived from a personal call to apostolic office from Christ Jesus himself (Acts 9.1-16 cp. 26.12-18). This call is validated by the uniqueness of his conversion from being a vengeful persecutor of Christ and his church, to a self-abnegating and suffering proponent of the gospel. By the grace of God he was saved and appointed to be a herald and an apostle and a teacher (2 Timothy 1.11). To the Galatians he wrote, I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ (Galatians 1.11). Just as the other apostles had been instructed of the Lord, so too Paul received a special revelation from God. Indeed, like the prophets Isaiah (49.1) and Jeremiah (1.5), Paul believed himself to have been set apart for his divine calling from birth: But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man (Galatians 1.15-16). That Paul understood his call to the apostolic office to be on par with Jesus’ disciples and the Old Testament prophets may be suggested by his allusion to his first being a servant (doulos) of Christ Jesus. “The term doulos is probably rooted in the Old Testament use of … servant of the Lord. It conveys the idea of an office that was formerly possessed by outstanding persons in the Old Testament such as Moses, Joshua, Abraham, David, and the prophets (Josh. 14:7; 24:29; 2 Kings 17:23; Psalm 89:4, 21)” (Thomas Schreiner, Romans, BECNT, p. 32).
God called Paul to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel. In 1 Timothy this is emphatically stated: Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope (1 Timothy 1.1). For the sake of Jesus’ name Paul makes his appeal to the Gentiles that they exhibit obedience to the gospel that is rooted in faith. Jesus has a name that is exalted above every other name; Paul has seen the resurrected Jesus (Acts 9.4-6) and he is motivated by the glory of the resurrected Christ to exalt Jesus in the propagation of the gospel. Paul writes to the Philippians, Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2.9-11 [see my website sermon notes: https://www.myevensong.com/the-exaltation-of-christ.html]). Paul’s apostleship may be distinguished from the other apostles in that he was directed primarily to the Gentiles (Acts 9.15, cp. Galatians 1.16; 2.7, 9). However, Paul emphasizes the universal scope of his ministry (Romans 1.5). “The inclusion of all nations also functions as an indication that the covenantal promises of the Old Testament were being fulfilled (e.g., Genesis 12:3; Isaiah 19:18-25; 49:6: Daniel 7:14, 27), and that the promise to Abraham of a world-wide family is now being realized” (Schreiner, p. 34).
In verse 5 Paul referred to his apostolic commission to the Gentiles in general terms. Now in verses 6-7 he sets forth the place of Roman Christians in this scheme. They are among the Gentiles who have been called by Jesus Christ. The “calling” … (kletoi, v. 6; kletois, v. 7) of the Roman believers in verses 6-7 is the same word used to describe Paul’s calling to apostleship in verse 1. Here it denotes the effective call accompanying the preaching of the gospel. Those who are called exercise faith in Christ. To say that Roman believers are “beloved by God” and “called to be saints” applies language to the church that was used for Israel as God’s elect people. … Since Jesus is the true Israel, those who belong to him constitute the people of God. We observe here Paul’s interpretation of the Old Testament, in that the promises focusing on Israel as a nation are now extended to both Jews and Gentiles who believe in Jesus as Messiah. (Schreiner, p. 36)
PAUL'S GOSPEL
Because there are few references to Old Testament and Jewish tradition in many of Paul’s letters, some commentators have accused Paul of deliberately minimizing the Jewish roots of the gospel. When one considers the content of Paul’s preaching of the gospel to the citizens in Pisidian Antioch, where he grounds the gospel in the salvific action God in the Old Testament (cf. Acts 13.13-43), it would be better to assume that Paul omitted references to Old Testament roots because they were not germane to the issues he was addressing. That this is true is further reinforced by Paul’s fuller explication of the gospel in Romans, which helps to dispel such false accusations. For example, in Paul’s salutation to Romans he stresses the importance of recognizing that Jesus was a descendant of David.
With the exception of Hebrews, most believers probably associate Matthew’s gospel as the closest link to the Old Testament and Jewish tradition. Indeed, Matthew painstakingly details the birth of Jesus, demonstrating that Jesus was born at just the right time and that his birth was preordained. Making the connection between Abraham and David was an important link for the Jewish audience. Jesus is not only the direct descendant of David, but he is the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 15). God had promised to bless all the nations of the earth through Abraham and Jesus is the means by which the conditions of that oath will be fulfilled. However, what was important for the Jewish convert is also important for the Gentile convert, and what Matthew did in his gospel, Paul does in his epistles. This is particularly evident in Romans, regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David (Romans 1.3). Also, in Galatians he writes, but when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons (Galatians 4.4-5). This connection to the covenantal promise is essential to the gospel and Paul stresses the connection between Jesus, Abraham and David. In Romans we see that Jesus is the son of David and as such is the true Israel. Paul further stresses that Jesus is the preexistent and eternal Son of God.
Thus, a proper fellowship with the people of God is contingent upon a proper relationship with Jesus, who in his human nature is the offspring of David and through the Spirit of holiness is declared to be the Son of God. Paul writes inGalatians 3.16 that Jesus is the seed (singular) of Abraham. So only those who belong to Jesus the Messiah can be truly said to be the spiritual descendants of Abraham. The preexistent Son, enters into human experience as the promised Messiah, and was, on the basis of his resurrection, appointed to a new and more powerful position (in relationship to the world). “By virtue of his obedience to the will of the Father (cf. Phil. 2.6-11) and because of the eschatological revelation of God’s saving power in the gospel (1:1, 16), the Son attains a new, exalted status as ‘Lord’ (cf. v. 4b). Son of God from eternity, he becomes the Son of God ‘in power,’ ‘able [dynatai] for all time to save those who draw near to God through him’” (Douglas Moo, Romans, p. 49). On earth Jesus was the Messianic Son of God, but after his resurrection, a new age was inaugurated wherein Jesus is enthroned as King and he reigns in heaven as the Lord Christ.
OBEDIENCE: THE FRUIT OF THE GOSPEL
Jesus is the resurrected and reigning King. Through him and for his name sake Paul has received grace and an apostolic commission to call people from all nations to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is in the capacity of being an apostle to the Gentiles that Paul addresses the believers in Rome as those who demonstrate faithful obedience to Christ (Romans 1.5 … to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name … ). He emphatically states that they are among the elect of God. “More important than the Roman Christians’ ethnic origin is their spiritual destination. They have been ‘called to belong to Jesus Christ.’ As Paul has been ‘called’ to be an apostle (v. 1), so the Roman Christians have been ‘called’ to be people who name Jesus as Christ and Lord. ‘Call’ and its cognates are used by Paul to express an ‘effectual’ calling. What is meant is not an ‘invitation’ but the powerful and irresistible reaching out of God in grace to bring people into his kingdom” (Moo, p. 54). Paul addresses these people with Grace and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.