Introduction
Last Sunday morning we finished our studies in the book of Acts. And the book of Acts ended with Paul in Rome, where he was kept under house arrest. However, he was able to receive visitors and to preach the kingdom of God and to teach about Jesus Christ the King.
According to early Christian tradition, Paul was released from his confinement in Rome and was allowed to continue his public ministry. It’s possible he may have travelled to Spain to preach the gospel. However, according to tradition, he was re-arrested and executed in Rome under the Emperor Nero.
But since the book of Acts ended with Paul in Rome, I thought that, for my next series of sermons, we’d turn to Paul’s letter to the Romans. This was written before he went to Rome. So, he didn’t know the people to whom he was writing; and they didn’t know him personally. And so, he had to introduce himself to them in the opening verses and give them his credentials as a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart by God for the gospel. But we’ll get to that in a moment.
Like the book of Acts, we studied this book many years ago at the midweek. So, we went through Acts at the midweek from 2012 to 2014 and we went through Romans from 2014 to 2016. In fact, I must have had the same thought back then as I had this week, because I see from my records that we finished Acts one Wednesday and began Romans on the very next Wednesday. And here we are, all these years later, doing the same thing.
The book of Romans begins with an opening greeting from Paul to his readers. In those days, when people wrote a letter to one another, the opening of the letter followed a set structure. You had the name of the author first. Then you had the name or the names of the recipient of the letter. And then you had the greeting. So, author, recipient and greeting.
And that’s the order Paul follows here. But the way Paul opens this letter is much longer than was normal, because when he mentions the gospel at the end of verse 1, it’s as if his mind and heart take off at the thought of the gospel and he ends up writing more about the gospel in this opening greeting than he perhaps intended. It’s like when someone gets to talk about his favourite subject. Some opportunity arises in the midst of a conversation, and this person begins to talk enthusiastically about this topic that means so much to him or her. And Paul has so much to say about the gospel of Jesus Christ, because it means so much to him and it thrills his soul and it grips his imagination.
Verse 1
But let’s turn first of all to verse 1, where Paul introduces himself to his readers in Rome. He gives his name and then he describes himself as a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God.
All three of those descriptions are significant. Firstly, he’s a servant. In fact, the word he uses means slave. He’s a slave of Christ Jesus. Now, slaves in those days were often given important work to do. The person who taught your children might have been someone’s slave. Your doctor may have been someone’s slave. Your accountant may have been someone’s slave. All slaves did not do menial work. Many of them did important work. But the thing about slaves was that they belonged to their master and they were on call all of the time or 24-7 as we might say these days.
Teachers and doctors and accountants work long hours today. But eventually they get to set aside their work and go home and relax. And they probably have the weekends off. And when they’re not at work, they’re free to do whatever they want. But slaves were different. They were never free to do whatever they wanted, because they were always on call and their master might want them in the evenings and on the weekends and whenever.
And so, by calling himself a slave of Christ Jesus, Paul is really saying that he’s completely devoted to serving the Lord Jesus. He’s serving the Lord 24-7. His whole life is about doing his Master’s will. However, we never get the impression from the things he writes in his letters that this was a burden to Paul, because his Master is also his Saviour, who gave up his life for Paul to rescue him from destruction and to give him everlasting life in the presence of God. And when Paul was in the dark about the Saviour, the Saviour had mercy on him and revealed himself to Paul on the road to Damascus and revealed to Paul his abundant mercy and goodness and love. There’s that wonderful verse in Paul’s first letter to Timothy where he describes himself as the worst of sinners. He was the worst of sinners, because of the way he used to persecute the church of Christ. But Paul, the worst of sinners, was shown mercy. And once we realise what Christ has done for us, when we feel the love of God for us in our hearts, then we too will be willing to serve the Lord 24-7 and it won’t be a burden to us, but it will be our joy to serve him and to do his will, because we know how much he loves us and because we love him in return.
And Paul is not only a servant of Christ Jesus, but he has been called to be an apostle. Every believer is a servant of Christ Jesus, but not every believer is called to be an apostle. In fact, there have only been thirteen apostles: the original twelve and then Paul. And Paul was called to be an apostle whenever the Risen Lord Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus. And we’re familiar with what happened at that time from our studies in the book of Acts.
The Greek word translated ‘apostle’ comes from a Greek verb which means ‘to send’. And so, an apostle is someone who has been sent. And the Risen Lord Jesus sent his apostles into the world to bear witness to all they had seen and heard about him and especially how he died on the cross for sinners and how was raised on the third day. And in the book of Acts, we read what the apostles did after the Lord sent them. The first part of Acts focussed mostly on Peter. The second part of Acts focussed mostly on Paul. But whether it was Peter or Paul or one of the other apostles, they were called by Christ to go into all the world and to bear witness to everyone about the Saviour.
And that takes us to Paul’s third way of describing himself. Not only is he the Lord’s servant, and not only is he an apostle, but he — like the other apostles — had been set apart for the gospel. So, he been chosen by God for this particular calling which is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. And what is the gospel? That’s what verses 2 to 6 are about.
Verse 2
As I said at the beginning, it’s as if Paul’s mind and heart begin to take off at the mention of the gospel and you get the impression that he just loves to talk and write about these things.
In verse 2 he says it is the gospel God promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. In other words, though the gospel is good news — and that’s what the word gospel means; gospel means ‘good news’ — though the gospel is good news it’s not new. It’s not novel. It’s very old. It’s very old, because it’s there in the Old Testament Scriptures. The Old Testament prophets spoke about it. They announced to God’s people in the past that God was going to send the Saviour into the world. They spoke about a great king who was coming to rescue God’s people. And they spoke about a suffering servant who would suffer for the sins of God’s people. They pointed God’s Old Testament people forward to the coming of this Saviour.
And so, the good news is not new, because God announced these things to his people in the past through his prophets.
Verses 3 and 4
And the gospel is regarding God’s Son. Do you see that at the beginning of verse 3? We’ve been learning a lot about the Son at the midweek and on Sunday evenings. At the midweek, we’re going through the Nicene Creed. And on Sunday evenings, we’re going through John’s gospel.
And the Nicene Creed tells us lots about the Son and how he’s the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages. And he’s God from God and he’s Light from Light and he’s true God from true God. And he’s begotten not made. And he has the same being as the Father. And all things came to be through him.
And John’s gospel tells us lots about the Son, who is also known as the Word. And John tells us that in the beginning there was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And he was with God in the beginning; and through him all things were made. And in him is life and that life is the light of men.
And so, when Paul mentions the Son in verse 3, that’s who we’re to think of. We’re to think of God’s only begotten Son, who was with God in the beginning and who is himself God. He’s not different from the Father, but he’s a repetition of the Father. The Father is God and so is the Son. And the gospel is about him. The good news which Paul proclaimed and which we’re to believe is about him: God’s only begotten and eternal Son, the Word of God, the second person of the Blessed Trinity.
And the Creed and John’s gospel both make the point that the Son came down from heaven and became flesh. That is to say, he became one of us. Without ceasing to be what he eternally is — that is, without ceasing to be God — he took to himself a body and soul like ours and he became one of us. Or, as the Creed says, he was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and was made man.
And Paul refers to the incarnation in verses 3 and 4. And he divides the time of the Lord’s incarnation into two phases or into two stages. There’s what our church’s Shorter Catechism calls his state of humiliation; and then there’s what the Catechism calls his state of exaltation. So, there’s humiliation followed by exaltation. And between the Lord’s state of humiliation and his state of exaltation, there’s his resurrection from the dead.
And so, look with me at what Paul writes. Verse 3: ‘regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David’. Unfortunately that’s not a great translation of what Paul actually wrote. Here’s a better translation: ‘regarding his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh’. And the word ‘flesh’ is an interesting one, because it’s used in different ways in the Bible. And one of the things it denotes is our present earthly existence which is characterised by weakness and dishonour and death. That’s what we all experience. That’s what life is like in this fallen world: weakness, dishonour and death.
And Paul is using the word ‘flesh’ in that way here to describe the Son’s earthly existence as one of us. His earthly existence as one of us was also characterised by weakness and dishonour and death.
Now, since the Son is God, then he is all-powerful and not weak; and he is honoured continually by the angels in heaven who worship him always; and he is immortal. Indeed he has all life in himself and he cannot die. That’s what he is as God. And without ceasing to be those things as God, he took to himself a body and soul like ours and he became one of us. And as one of us, he experienced weakness and dishonour and death. That’s what life is like for us and that’s what life was like for him as one of us.
And as one of us, he was descended from someone. And Paul says that he was descended from David. And that fits with what he said about the gospel being promised beforehand in the Scriptures, because one of the things the prophets announced is that the Promised Saviour would come from the line of David.
So, as one of us, he was descended from David. And his life among us as one of us was characterised by the same kind of weakness and dishonour and death that we’re all subject to.
But look now at verse 4. Again, the NIV’s translation is not great. So, here’s a better translation: ‘and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Holy Spirit by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.’ The phrase ‘according to the Holy Spirit’ forms a contrast with the phrase ‘according to the flesh’. So, during his state of humiliation, he lived ‘according to the flesh’. And during his state of exaltation, he lives ‘according to the Holy Spirit’. Life in the flesh is characterised by weakness and dishonour and death. But life in the Spirit is characterised by the opposite. It’s characterised by power and honour and life. So, during his state of humiliation, the Son experienced weakness and dishonour and death. But during his state of exaltation — which is ongoing; he’s still exalted as one of us — the Son experiences power and honour and everlasting life. In his state of exaltation as one of us, he has received all authority in heaven and on earth and he rules over all things. And as one of us he receives all honour and glory and praise. And as one of us, he will never die. And so, he is truly Son of God in power now. Once he was the Son of God in weakness. But now he’s the Son of God in power.
And the transition between those two states of humiliation and exaltation took place at his resurrection. His resurrection from the dead changed everything for him in terms of what his life was like as one of us. He went from living a life of humiliation to living a life of exaltation.
And before we move on, ask yourself why he had to experience that state of humiliation. Why did God’s only begotten Son, the Eternal Son of God the Father, have to suffer weakness and dishonour and death? He had to suffer those things, because there was no other way to save us from the path that leads to destruction. He had to become weak and he was dishonoured on the cross and he died to pay for our sins with his life. And having paid for our sins with his life, he was raised from the dead and exalted to heaven to give salvation to all who trust in him as the only Saviour of the world.
Verses 5 and 6
So, the gospel was promised beforehand in the Scriptures. And the gospel is about God’s Son and his states of humiliation and exaltation. And then Paul adds: through him — that is, through the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son — and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship.
When he refers to receiving grace and apostleship, he probably means we have received apostleship by grace. In other words, it was an act of God’s sheer kindness and goodness and generosity that we were made apostles. Paul knows he didn’t deserve to become an apostle. After all, he regarded himself as the worst of sinners. He was ashamed of the way he once persecuted the church. And yet, because of God’s overflowing love and grace, Paul was made an apostle.
And when Paul refers here to ‘we’, he may be referring to all the apostles. So, God was gracious to all of them. Or perhaps he’s using a kind of literary plural, when an author refers to himself or herself as ‘we’ and not ‘I’. But the point he’s making is about God’s kindness to him. He didn’t deserve to be made an apostle, but the Lord graciously called him to this work.
And the Lord has graciously called him to the work of calling people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. So, the Lord has called Paul to be an apostle; and as an apostle Paul calls other people. And he has been called by the Lord to call people from among ‘the Gentiles’. And we’ve seen from our studies in the book of Acts that while Paul was always ready to preach to the Jews, he had a special calling from the Lord to reach the Gentiles.
And he tells us here that his special calling was to call the Gentiles to ‘the obedience of faith’. That’s really what he says here. He might mean that God commands everyone to believe the good news; and therefore, when we believe, we’re obeying God’s command to believe. Or he may mean that those who believe will go on to live a life of obedience. The Reformers taught that we’re saved by faith alone, but faith is never alone, because the person who believes is filled with God’s Spirit who enables us do God’s will. In any case, Paul’s calling from the Lord is to call the Gentiles to a life of faith and obedience.
And you, he says in verse 6, you believers in Rome, are among those who are so called. You have been called to belong to Jesus Christ: to be his servants and to do his will. Paul wasn’t the one who called them. Someone else reached Rome before Paul did; and that other preacher preached to them the good news of Jesus Christ. But now that you have believed, remember that you have been called to belong to Christ and to serve him continually.
And so, that’s the gospel from beginning to end. It was announced in the Old Testament Scriptures. And it was put into effect when God the Son became incarnate and experienced first his state of humiliation and then, after his resurrection from the dead, his state of exaltation. And the Risen and Exalted Lord has called Paul to preach to the Gentiles so that they will believe and become Christ’s servants too.
Verse 7
And in verse 7, Paul concludes this opening to his letter by mentioning the recipients of his letter. He’s writing to all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints.
Isn’t that an interesting way of putting it? He might have written: ‘To all in Rome who love God’. But he didn’t write that. He described them as those who are loved by God. And that’s what every Christian needs to know. Every Christian needs to know in their hearts that you are loved by God. How does John put it in his first letter? ‘How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!’ Believers are loved by God. God has lavished his love on us. He has loved us with an everlasting love. He created us to be the objects of his love. And when we went astray, he did not give up on us, but because of his abounding and never-ending love he sent his Son into the world to rescue us from destruction. And then, in love, God reached out to us by sending his Spirit into our lives to call us and to draw us to Christ for salvation. He overcame our unbelief. He overcame our hardness of heart. He overcame our indifference. He overcame our inclination to do evil. He overcame all of those things, because he loves us with an all-surpassing love. And so, believers might be very different from another. But the one thing we hold in common is that we can say about ourselves that we are loved by God. Loved by the Father; loved by the Son; loved by the Holy Spirit.
And we’re called to be saints. The word ‘saint’ mean set apart. And God has loved us and set us apart from the rest of humanity to belong to him always. He has made us his special people. And as his special people, he calls us to live saintly lives. He calls us to live holy lives of obedience to him.
And the opening of the letter ends with the greeting itself: grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace is God’s kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Peace is that sense of well-being. That sense that all will be well. And all will be well for all of God’s people, because the God who made all things and who governs all things loves us. How do we know he loves us? Because of the gospel, promised beforehand in the Old Testament Scriptures about his Son who became one of us, so that he could suffer weakness and dishonour and death for us and for our salvation, before rising from the dead as king over all. That’s how we know God loves us.
And since we are loved by God, then all will be well for us. And that should give you confidence as you go into another week. Who knows what troubles and trials you might face this week? But whatever you have to face, you can face them with confidence knowing that you are loved by God.
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