Romans 1:1-3

by:
Dan Hill, PhD
Pastor
Southwood Bible Church
7655 South Sheridan Avenue
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74113
E-Mail: hill918@aol.com


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Romans 1:1

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.

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The style in which ancient letters were written differs from ours. The old world letter began with a three part salutation which included the writer's name, the person addressed, and a word of greeting.

Anything else added in this portion of a letter was seen as being very important.

Consider that in verse 1 Paul states his name, then it is not until verse 7 that he mentions the ones addressed and not until then to we find the cordial word of greeting.

So everything after the word PAUL in verse 1 and prior to the phrase the beloved of Rome, in verse 7 is an unusual addition to the salutation.

But it is a very important addition, because it tells us of the real writer behind the letter, the Lord Jesus Christ.

So even as he identifies himself, Paul does so in Christ. He begins with his name, Paul.

His Hebrew name was Saul, meaning "asked for". But he used his Roman name Paul, which means "little".

Use of this name shows an orientation to grace, he did not try to make anything out of himself that he was not. Paul was little, the Lord was great.

Topic: PAUL

Topic: ROMAN NAMES

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"A bond-servant of Christ Jesus"

Three statements of who Paul is. (Remember, while some knew him many others did not):

A bond-servant of Christ Jesus: As Paul begins this letter to those he did not know he takes the low road, not trying to impress them with who and what he is but with what the Lord Jesus has done in his life.

Paul has freely given himself as a bond-slave to Christ. Even when he was stopped on the Damascus road he responded to Christ by calling Him Lord.

The word bond-servant is DOULOS, which means "slave". The gentile mind of the Romans would see this as a bond-slave, one who serves under debt, so the translation is accurate.

The greatest bond-servant in history was the Lord Jesus Christ. He is described prophetically in the OT as God's servant.

In Philipians 2:7 we are told that Jesus Christ emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

More than 50 times in the NT the believer is referred to as a SERVANT.

But we are also referred to as Saints, Children of God, the Beloved of God, Christian (taking the very name of Christ), Priests, Ambassadors, Friends of Christ, and many other titles much more noble that that of Servant.

But the first way Paul identifies himself is as a Servant.

BECAUSE THERE IS GREAT NOBILITY in being the servant of the King of kings and Lord of lords:

A Servant can be described in five ways:
  1. The master has a legitimate expectation of obedience from his slave.
  2. The slave has a legitimate expectation of provision from his master.
  3. The slave's primary duty is to serve his master. Ephesians 6:7, "With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men."
  4. The secondary duty is to serve the ones his master directs him to serve: Galatians 5:13, "For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another."
  5. Therefore, as slaves of Christ we are to please Him, while we serve one another.
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"called as an apostle"

Paul then identifies himself as one who is called an apostle.

This office established by the Lord Jesus Christ at his ascension was the highest ranking office of the church age.

It was given to the eleven disciples and to a few others. The apostles to the church such as Paul and John had authority over a number of churches. The last apostle was John who died in about 95 AD.

NOTE: Paul does not say he is an apostle but that he is called an Apostle.

Here again he is directing attention away from himself and to the Lord.

The word CALLED can be used for an official or royal invitation and for the discharging of the duties of an office.

Both aspects are in view here. Paul was called or invited by Christ to this office and as a servant he would then discharge the duties of this office.

This word CALLED which is KLEITOS is an adjective which is descriptive of the one who is called. It is found 10 times in the NT, three times in the salutation of this epistle.

We are all as believers called by Jesus Christ (v 6) and we all are called to a position, that of Saints (v 7).

This word CALLED and the corresponding verb has three directions:
  1. Looks back to our calling at salvation
  2. Looks ahead to our calling into eternity
  3. Looks now at our calling to service
Principle: Our calling or purpose in life is directed by God, we are in his hands. What he calls us to be and what he calls us to do is far more important than what man calls us to be and do or even what we call ourselves to be and to do.

Here is the point! Our identity must be determined by Him, not by others or by ourselves.

Paul's identity was that of a Servant, and as an Apostle.

And Apostleship was defined by credentials and obligation:

His credentials were validated and authenticated by the miracles he performed:

II Corinthians 12:12, The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.

His obligation was to evangelize and to edify believers by laying a foundation of Bible doctrine for the church.

Ephesians 2:19, "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone."

And it is that obligation that he now mentions at the end of verse 1.

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"set apart for the gospel of God."

The third thing Paul says about himself is found in this phrase.

First, the word "gospel", which is found more than 100 times in the NT, refers to Good News. And that good news is the truth that God has for believers and unbelievers. It is not limited to salvation information, but to the full counsel of God's good news to man.

The word SET APART is AFORIZO, "to mark off boundaries".

It is a perfect tense in Greek, indicating that this had been done in the past and the results continue in the present.

Paul was a marked man, marked by the Lord for the Gospel.

Our English word HORIZON comes from this Greek word; the horizon is that which marks off the boundary between earth and sky.

So Paul was marked off by God for a ministry and that was to evangelize and to build up the church.

Paul was marked off by the Holy Spirit in Antioch for ministry.

Acts 13:2, "And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

NOTE: He was ministering already. He had left Tarsus and was involved in the service to the church in Antioch and then was called by God.

Topic: APOSTLESHIP

NOW SOME APPLICATION: Galatians 6:3, "For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself."

I knew a man once who had spent considerable time as an unbeliever "finding himself", and to a certain extent he did. He came to accept his place and purpose in the world, to be comfortable with his values and ethics. Then he accepted Christ as Savior. He told me it was like starting all over again. Concentrating not on what he thought but what the Lord thought ... and that is a real key to the Christian life!
  1. Spiritual identity results in humility.
  2. Spiritual identity results in unconditional love.
  3. Spiritual identity results in service.
  4. Spiritual identity eliminates legalism and arrogance.
  5. Spiritual identity allows for acceptance, graciousness, and forgiveness towards others.
  6. Spiritual identity allows the believer to relax in life.
  7. Spiritual identity allows the believer to enjoy life.
Principle: Apart from spiritual identity, defining who you are by what God thinks, the believer will be uptight, miserable, without service to others, and will burn out in the flesh trying to live a life he can never live.

Romans 1:2,3

"Which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures", concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh."

Paul uses three prepositions in this verse to make three points about the Gospel. He uses "through", "in", and "concerning" to tell us the how of the Gospel, the where of the Gospel, and the who of the Gospel.

How the Gospel came to us - God promised it previously in the Old Testament through His prophets. God predicted it and we now see a continuity and unity of the Old Testament and the New. Promises were made through men who also, as Paul, were called by God. The Gospel did not just suddenly burst upon the scene of history with the advent of Christ. It was the theme of words of the prophets and the works of Christ.

How was the Gospel given to man? In the holy Scriptures.

The word SCRIPTURES is the word GRAFW, a word that was never used for oral communication, only that which was written down and could be read and studied.

This statement prepares his readers for the extensive reference Paul will make to the OT in this epistle.

We see a channel of inspiration: From the ultimate source of God, through His prophets, preserved for mankind in the holy Scriptures.

This verse confronts any who would say that the Bible is inaccurate. It is accurate because God revealed the Gospel, His Good news, through the prophets who were under obligation to accurately record what God revealed.

The Who of the Gospel is mentioned in verse 3 "Concerning His Son ..."

The preposition is PERI, which means fully around, as in perimeter.

Hence, the Lord Jesus is not just a part of the Gospel, He is the Gospel. He fully engulfs the Good News of God.

The Gospel in the Old Testament was promised, promises that were revealed in part. When the part that was revealed was believed by faith, man was saved.

But now all these promises, found in direct statements regarding the Messiah, in the sacrificial system of the Law, in typology, in analogy, are fulfilled in a person ... God's own Son, Jesus Christ.

The First Issue of Faith - Do you believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, as promised in the holy Scriptures, and that He died for your sins, according to the Scriptures?

If you do, you are saved! That is it, faith alone in Christ alone.

READ verse 4.

"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."

Verses 3 and 4 develop three parallels between the humanity of Christ and His Deity.

Verse 3 - Born Verse 4 - Declared

Verse 3 - According to the Flesh Verse 4 - According to the Spirit

Verse 3 - Of the Seed of David Verse 4 - By the Resurrection from the Dead

In verse 3, the humanity of Christ emphasized. He was born as a descendant of David according to the flesh.

The word BORN is GINOMIA which means "to become". It is used of a transition from one state or form to another.

Hence, the eternal God the Son "became flesh" rather than was born flesh.

This points to a historical change or transition that occurred at the virgin birth when the divine person took on a human nature.

The words PERSON and NATURE are important in that statement because the God the Son did not take on a human person but became a unique person, fully God, and at the same time, fully man.

John 1:14, "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."

This unique person, Jesus Christ, was a descendant of David as we see in Matthew, chapter 1. This looks at Jesus' royalty. He was a King, the King of kings.

In Revelation 22:16 we see that the New Testament closes with this same thought, "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star."

So at the beginning of Matthew, the beginning of Romans, and at the end of Revelation, across the entire New Testament, we are reminded that Jesus is the King.

God would never have us forget that Jesus is the King of all kings. His royalty is from David and from His work on the Cross in addition to His divine royalty.

Every servant needs a master and our Master is a King.

The mention of FLESH in no way includes SIN:

Three things are seen in this reference to FLESH:
  1. Limitations: Being flesh he was limited. This included His deliberate setting aside of His divine attributes. He was surprised, there were things he did not know, there were things that caused him to grieve and to be troubled.
  2. Weaknesses: Physically the flesh caused Jesus to hunger, to be tired, to be worn out, to be thirsty, to have blisters and callous and sore feet.
  3. Temptations: In the flesh He had human volition and was tempted to sin.
Hebrews 4:15, "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as {we are, yet} without sin."

But in the Flesh he also had three others things:
  1. The Word of God resident in His soul: As a boy he learned the word and increased in wisdom and knowledge.
  2. The filling and leading of the Holy Spirit; He depended upon the Holy Spirit for power and direction.
  3. And in the flesh He had human volition which was set to obedience to the Father:
John 8:28, "Jesus therefore said . . . I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me."

SO Jesus, JUST LIKE US, had limitations and weaknesses; but also, just like Him, we have the power of the Word and the power of the Spirit and we can decide who we will obey.

Warren Doud [ Grace Notes]
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