Romans 1:2-10 - The Imperial Gospel, by Scott Sperling

[ ¹ Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God] -- ² the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ³ regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, ⁴ and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. ⁵ Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name's sake. ⁶ And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

⁷ To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁸ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. ⁹ God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you ¹⁰ in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you. -- Romans 1:2-10

Paul, the Herald at the Gates of the World

It is the singular prerogative of the Almighty to bind the infinite into the finite, to enclose the boundless ocean of His counsel within the narrow channels of human speech, and to cause the very thunders of Sinai to find a dwelling place upon a scrap of parchment. The Apostle Paul, that chosen vessel, having sounded his trumpet in the first verse to declare his office and his separation unto the Gospel, can no longer contain the deluge of divinity that swells within his breast. He is a man possessed, a bond-slave whose chains are his glory, a herald whose message burns like a fire in his bones.

We have seen in former days how the great city of Nineveh, that great city of three days' journey, was brought to its knees by the reluctant preaching of Jonah, a man who fled from the presence of the Lord into the belly of Sheol . But here we have a greater than Jonah, and a city greater than Nineveh. We have Paul, not fleeing to Tarshish, but yearning for Rome; not sleeping in the sides of the ship while the storm rages, but steering the vessel of the Church straight into the tempest of the Imperial City, armed with nothing but the "gospel of God" (vs. 1).

This study, therefore, shall be no cursory glance, no sandpiper wading in the shallows of the text. We shall launch out into the deep. We shall endeavor, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to explore the vast continents of truth contained within these nine verses (Romans 1:2--10). For in this brief span, the Apostle lays the foundation of the universe of grace: he establishes the antiquity of the Gospel against all charge of novelty; he defines the Person of the Mediator in His two-fold nature; he delineates the scope of the commission to the nations; and he reveals the secret artillery of the Church -- the unceasing prayers of the saints.

The Antiquity of the Gospel (vs. 2)

² ... the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ...

The mind of man is ever prone to suspicion regarding that which is new. The Athenians, it is true, spent their time on nothing else but to tell or to hear some new thing (see Acts 17:21), yet in matters of religion, antiquity is the seal of truth. The Jew, standing upon the ancient dignity of the Law, looked upon the Christian message with a jealous eye, asking, "Is this a new doctrine? Is this a departure from the fathers? Have you invented a religion just yesterday?"

To this, the Apostle answers with a thunderclap: By no means! This gospel is no sudden invention, no mushroom growth springing up in a night of enthusiasm. It is the "gospel of God" (vs. 1), and like God Himself, it is ancient, eternal, and unchanging. It was "promised beforehand" (vs. 2). It is the fulfillment of the oldest promise in the world, the realization of the eternal counsel of Heaven.

Paul, in this parenthetical excursion -- for you observe that verses 2 through 6 are a divine digression, a holy interruption where the Apostle's zeal overflows the banks of strict grammar -- establishes that Christianity is not a rejection of the Old Testament, but rather its very flowering. The Old Testament is the root; the gospel is the fruit. The Old is the shadow; the gospel is the substance. The Old is the prophecy; the gospel is the performance.

Who dares to divide the Word of God into two contrary books? Who dares to set Moses against Christ, or David against Paul? They are one Book, one breath, one history of redemption. As the children of Israel were redeemed by the blood of the lamb, baptized in the Cloud and the Sea, and fed with Manna in the wilderness, so are we redeemed by the Blood of Christ, baptized by the Spirit, and fed with the Bread of Life. The history of Israel is the picture of the Christian life; the gospel of Romans is the gospel of Genesis.

Paul says this gospel was promised "through his prophets" (vs. 2). And who are these prophets? It is not a solo voice we hear in the Holy Scriptures, but a vast choir, spanning the centuries, singing in perfect harmony the song of the Coming One. The Reverend Thomas Robinson, in his Suggestive Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans , has furnished us with a roll call of these witnesses, a catalogue of the stars that heralded the sunrise. Let us examine this tapestry of prophecy with minute care, for therein lies the proof of our faith:

1. 1. The Witness of the Pentateuch

Moses, the giver of the Law, is the first preacher of the Gospel:

• The Seed of the Woman (Gen. 3:15) In the very garden of our ruin, amidst the thorns of the curse, the first rose of grace was planted. Here is the first reference to the the first whisper that the serpent's power would be broken by a Man.
• The Seed of Abraham (Gen. 22:18) God called Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees and gave him a promise that spans the globe: Mark you, not as of many, but as of One, which is Christ (Gal. 3:16). Paul, in writing to the Romans, is declaring the fulfillment of this very word -- that the blessing has now come upon the Gentiles.
• Shiloh (Gen. 49:10) -- Jacob, dying upon his staff, saw the sceptre departing from Judah only when comes -- the Peacemaker, the Rest-giver, unto whom the gathering of the people shall be.
• The Prophet like unto Moses (Deut. 18:15) -- "Him shall you hear."

1. 2. The Witness of the Psalms

David, the sweet singer of Israel, strikes his harp to the tune of the Messiah.

• The Son of God (Ps. 2:7) -- Jesus, the Holy Messiah, declared to be the Son of God.
• The Priest-King (Ps. 110:1) -- Here is the riddle that silenced the Pharisees: How can David's Son be David's Lord? The Gospel answers: He is David's Son by human descent, and David's Lord by divine nature.
• The Sufferer (Ps. 22:16) -- David paints the crucifixion a thousand years before the nails were forged.

1. 3. The Witness of Isaiah

The Eagle among the prophets, who saw the glory of Christ and spoke of Him.

• The Virgin Birth (Isa. 7:14) -- “Behold, a virgin shall conceive.”
• The Divine Names (Isa. 9:6) -- “Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
• The Suffering Servant (Isa. 53) -- Here is the very heart of the Gospel “promised beforehand.” “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities.” He is the Lamb led to the slaughter, the Just dying for the unjust.

1. 4. The Witness of Jeremiah

The weeping prophet, who saw amidst the ruins of Jerusalem the building of a better City.

• The Righteous Branch (Jer. 23:5) -- A King shall reign and prosper.
• Jehovah Tsidkenu (Jer. 23:6) -- Here is the doctrine of Justification by Faith in a single name! We have no righteousness of our own; we must be clothed in His.
• The New Covenant (Jer. 31:33-34) -- Not written on stone, but on the heart; not characterized by demand, but by forgiveness.

1. 5. The Witness of the Minor Prophets

Time would fail me to tell of:

• Ezekiel , who saw the True Shepherd (Ezek. 37:24).
• Daniel , who calculated the time of Messiah the Prince (Dan. 9:25).
• Micah , who found the King in little Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2)
• Haggai , who called Him the “Desire of all nations” (Hag. 2:7)
• Zechariah , who saw the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness (Zech. 13:1).
• Malachi , who saw the Sun of Righteousness rising with healing in His wings (Mal. 4:2).

What, then, is the conclusion of this vast survey? First, that the Gospel is the master-key of the Old Testament. Without Christ, the Old Testament is a labyrinth without a clue, a box of jewels without a key, a body without a head. Read in the light of the New, it becomes a burning bush, aflame with the glory of God yet not consumed.

Second, that Justification by Faith is not a Pauline invention. Paul himself appeals to Genesis: "Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness" (Rom. 4:3; Gen. 15:6). The Gospel was preached to Abraham before it was preached to Rome. The method of salvation has never changed. From the gates of Eden to the gates of the New Jerusalem, there is but one bridge across the gulf of sin -- the grace of God received by the hand of faith.

Third, this serves as a convincing proof of the Divine Origin of Christianity. No human mind could have woven the tapestry of the Old and New Testaments, over fifteen centuries, using forty different weavers, yet producing a single, seamless garment. It is the foresight of God, who declares the end from the beginning.

Christ, the Center of the Gospel (vs. 3-4)

³ ... regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, ⁴ and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord .

Having established the History of the Gospel, the Apostle now leads us into the Holy of Holies of the Gospel: the Person of Jesus Christ. For the Gospel is not a set of abstract propositions; it is a Person. It is "regarding His Son" (vs. 3).

Here, in the compass of two verses, Paul erects the two pillars of our salvation: the True Humanity and the True Divinity of Christ. Like the two pillars, Jachin and Boaz, which stood before Solomon's Temple, these two natures stand at the entrance of our faith. Pull down either, and the temple falls. We must have a Man to suffer; we must have a God to satisfy. We must have a Man to represent us; we must have a God to redeem us.

The NKJV has a translation closer to the original Greek: "... concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David, according to the flesh" (vs. 3). Observe the humility of the phrasing: "born of the seed of David." The Creator was "born," just like we were. The Ancient of Days became an infant of days. He "took upon him the form of a servant" (Phil. 2:7). He was "of the seed of David." This links Him to the covenants of Israel. He is the rightful King, the Heir to the Throne. But Paul adds, "according to the flesh." This denotes His frailty, His participation in our nature. He was not a phantom, as the Gnostics dreamed. He was bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh. He hungered. He thirsted. He wept at the grave of Lazarus. He bled on the cross.

But a mere man, though he be the son of David, though he be as holy as Daniel or as meek as Moses, cannot bear the infinite weight of the wrath of God. If Christ were only a man, He could save no one, not even Himself. Therefore, Paul declares the other side of the mystery: He is "the Son of God" (vs. 4).

He was "appointed" (vs. 4) -- that is, defined, marked out, determinately proved -- to be the Son of God "in power." During His earthly ministry, His glory was often veiled. He walked in the dust of Palestine. He was "a worm and no man" in the eyes of His enemies (Ps. 22:6). The Jews looked to stone Him because He claimed to be God. "I and my Father are one," He said (John 10:30), and they took up stones to cast at Him. They mocked Him on the tree, because of His self-proclaimed assertion: "If thou be the Son of God, come down!" (Matt. 27.40).

But God the Father ended the debate. How? "By his resurrection from the dead" (vs. 4). The Resurrection was God's great vindication of His Son. It was the Father's "Amen" to the Son's "It is finished." When Jesus walked out of the tomb, God was declaring to all the world, to angels, to men, and to devils: "This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." The controversy was terminated forever.

This declaration was, as Paul states, "through to the Spirit of holiness" (vs. 4). As His human nature was linked to the flesh of David, so His divine nature was attested by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit, who is the agent of holiness and life, raised Him up, proving that Christ could not be conquered by death. And in God's perfect plan, these two natures -- human and divine -- dovetail in the work of our salvation.

Why is Christ's humanity so vital for us? Paul will expound this in the fifth chapter: Christ is the Second Adam : "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous" (Rom. 5:19). Adam, the first man, plunged us into ruin. He brought sin, death, and condemnation. To reverse this, we needed another Man -- an "Anti-Adam" -- who could stand where Adam fell, who could obey where Adam rebelled, who could pay the debt that Adam incurred. We are saved, in a profound sense, because of Christ's humanity. For without the shedding of blood -- human blood, the blood of our kinsman-redeemer -- there is no remission (see Heb. 9:22). He had to be like us to save us.

Why is Christ's divinity so vital for us? Paul will expound this in the eighth chapter. We learn there that because Jesus is God's son, we also may be co-heirs with Christ, and may, through Christ's intercession, be glorified together with Christ (see Rom. 8:17). Thus, we have a complete Savior. In His humanity, He reaches down to the lowest depths of our misery; in His divinity, He lifts us up to the highest heights of His glory. We are saved by the man Christ Jesus; we are glorified by the God Christ Jesus.

The Universal Commission (vs. 5)

⁵ Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name's sake .

From the person of Christ, we move to the program of Christ. The river of grace, having broken the banks of the Jewish nation, now floods the world.

In verse 5, Paul asserts that he was among those who received "grace and apostleship." Note the order. He received "grace" first. Before he was an Apostle, he was a sinner saved by "grace." He never forgot the road to Damascus. He never forgot that he was "a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious" (1 Tim. 1:13). It was "grace" that unhorsed him. It was "grace" that blinded him that he might see. It was "grace" that took the wolf of Benjamin and made him the shepherd of the Gentiles. No man can be a true minister of the Gospel who has not first been a recipient of the Gospel. We must taste the honey before we serve it to others. We must be washed before we can offer the water of life.

Then came "apostleship." This was his commission. And what a commission! To be the "Apostle to the Gentiles" (Rom. 11:13). He, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a Pharisee of the Pharisees, is sent to the uncircumcised, to the nations, to the very city of Rome, the sink of the world's idolatry. It was a matter of holy pride for Paul that God had designated him for this task.

But what is the aim of this "apostleship?" It is "the obedience that comes from faith." Here is a phrase that cuts like a two-edged sword. It corrects two dangerous errors that have plagued the church in every age.

1. The Error of Legalism "obedience" "faith" There are those who think they must scrub themselves clean before they can come to God. They say, "I must give up my vices, I must mend my ways, I must establish a record of obedience, and God will accept me." This is mistaken. It is putting the cart before the horse. It is expecting fruit from a dead tree. You cannot obey God until you trust Him. You cannot love His law until you love His Son. You cannot have the power to obey until you have the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit is received by the hearing of faith (Gal. 3:2). Therefore, let the church proclaim: Let us hang this banner high. Let no man say, "I am too bad to come." As has been variously said, "The church is a hospital for the sick, not a museum for the perfect." As Jesus said, (Mark 2:17). We must meet people where they are, amid their brokenness, and offer them For when enters, will surely follow.
2. The Error of Antinomianism (the error of having "faith" "obedience" On the other hand, there are those who claim to have faith but show no change in their lives. They say, "I believe," but they live like devils. To this, Paul answers: True faith produces obedience. (James 2:26). Faith is not merely nodding one's head at a creed; it is a surrender of the will. It is a faith that changes conduct. If there is no obedience, there is no real faith. We are not saved obedience, but we are saved obedience. The Gospel is good news for all who will respond in but that response involves a surrender to the Lordship of Christ, and the implicit to that Lordship.

This obedience is to be gathered from "all the Gentiles" (vs. 5) -- The gospel is for all nations, not just Israel. Here is the fulfillment of the Abrahamic promise (see Gen. 22:18). The stars of the sky and the sand of the seashore are being gathered into the barn of God. Rome, the capital of the nations, is now to become a capital of the "faith." And all this is "for his name's sake." Not for the fame of Paul, not for the glory of the Roman church, but for the Name of Jesus. The glory of Christ is the objective of all missions, the goal of all preaching, and the desire of every saint.

The Sweet Bondage (vs. 6)

⁶ And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ .

The Apostle now turns from the general to the particular. He points his finger at the Roman Christians and says, "And you also are among those Gentiles who are called" (vs. 6). You Romans, you masters of the world, you who walk the streets of the eternal city with heads held high -- you, too, are the "called to belong to Jesus Christ." But let us look closer at the language. Recall how Paul introduced himself in verse 1: "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ" ( doulos -- servant, slave). Now he extends this title to his readers. You are called to "belong" to Christ. You are called to be His property.

A calling to slavery? Does this sound harsh? To the natural man, yes. We love our independence. We sing with Wilfred Owen, "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." But in the Kingdom of God, independence is death. To be one's own master is to be a slave to sin. To be the slave of Christ is the only true freedom. As the hymnist cries out: "Make me a captive, Lord, and then I shall be free." [1] As Dr. Robert Mounce has eloquently stated: "To accept Christ as Savior is to give up all rights to oneself. Christians belong to Christ... We who believe have placed ourselves at Christ's disposal to be used as he sees fit."

There is no room here for the man who wants Christ as a fire insurance policy against hell, but refuses Him as the Lord of his life. You cannot have Him as Savior unless you bow to Him as Master. He is Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all. You "are called to belong." O blessed belonging! To belong to the Prince of Life! To be the sheep of His pasture! No wolf can snatch us; no storm can drown us; for we are His, bought with a price, the precious blood of the Lamb.

The Apostolic Benediction (vs. 7)

⁷ To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ .

Paul now arrives at the destination of his greeting. He addresses the recipients of the letter: "To all in Rome" (vs. 7). Think about it! A church in Rome. A lily growing in a dunghill. A lamp shining in the blackest cavern of paganism. Rome, the seat of Nero. Rome, the city of blood and iron. Rome, the Babylon of the West. Yet there, even there, God has a people.

He bestows upon them two titles of nobility that outshine all the honors of the Caesars:

1. “Loved by God” (vs. 7) -- The world did not love them. Tacitus called them "haters of mankind." Nero would soon use them as human torches to light his gardens. They were the offscouring of the earth. But they were What matters the frown of the Emperor if we have the smile of God? God loves all His creatures with a love of benevolence, but He loves His saints with a love of satisfaction: a special, intimate, adoption-love. (1 John 3:1).
2. “Called to be saints” (vs. 7) -- Not "called to be perfect" (though that is the goal), but -- holy ones, set-apart ones. The Church of Rome (in later years) has corrupted this word, reserving it for a special class of super-Christians, dead and canonized. But in the vocabulary of the Spirit, every believer is a ." The washerwoman at her tub, the slave at the mill, the soldier in the guard -- if they are in Christ, they are ." They are separated from the world and consecrated to God.

Next, Paul's oft-used benediction: "Grace and peace" (vs. 7). Paul combines the greeting of the Greek ( charis - grace) with the greeting of the Hebrew ( shalom - peace).

• "Grace" : The unmerited favor of God. The root.
• "Peace" : The quietness of conscience, the reconciliation with God. The fruit.

Note the order: "grace" first, then " peace ." You cannot have " peace " without "grace." The world seeks " peace " through treaties, through wars, through drugs, through pleasure. But "there is no peace, says my God, to the wicked" (Isa. 57:21). " Peace " flows only from the fountain of "grace." It is the " peace " of God, which surpasses all understanding (see Phil. 4:7).

The Thanksgiving and the Report (vs. 8)

⁸ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.

Before the Apostle instructs, he thanks. Before he corrects, he commends. Here is the heart of a true pastor.

"I thank my God" (vs. 9) -- Observe the intimacy. He does not say "I thank the First Cause," or "I thank Providence." He says, "my" God. As Luther said, "The marrow of the Gospel is in the pronouns." To say "my God" is faith. It is the language of the Covenant. Paul feels in close communion with God as he serves Him.

"Because your faith is being reported all over the whole world" (vs. 9) -- Rome was a city set on a hill (or rather, seven hills). It was the center of the spider's web of the Empire. All roads led to Rome, and all news flowed from Rome. That a church existed in Rome was a miracle. That it flourished was a greater miracle. Their faith was "spoken of" -- reported, celebrated -- in Jerusalem, in Antioch, in Ephesus, in Gaul. Why? Because it was a tested faith. It was a faith that held in the lion's den. It is easy to have faith in the sunshine of comfort; it is another thing to have faith under the shadow of Nero. And note that Paul thanks God not for the wealth of the saints, nor for their numbers, nor for their beautiful cathedral (they had none!), but for their "faith ." This is the currency of the Kingdom.

The Incense of Prayer (vs. 9-10)

⁹ God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you ¹⁰ in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you .

We enter now the private closet of the Apostle. We see the hidden engine that drove his ministry: Prayer.

"God... is my witness" (vs. 9) -- Paul takes a solemn oath. Why? Because the Romans might doubt his love. He had never visited them. He had planted other churches -- Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi -- but Rome he had seemingly neglected. So, he calls God to the witness stand to testify to the constancy of his love.

"Whom I serve in my spirit" (vs. 9) -- The word "serve" here is latreuo -- a word used for the priestly service in the Temple. Paul views his ministry not as a job, but as a liturgy. He is a priest of the Gospel. His spirit is the sanctuary; his preaching is the sacrifice; his prayers are the incense. He serves "in his spirit" --not merely in outward rituals, like the Pharisees, but in the deep, inner man, with sincerity and burning zeal.

"How constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times" (vss. 9-10) -- How can a man pray "constantly... at all times"? Was Paul on his knees every moment? Nay, he made tents, he preached, he traveled, he argued. But the spirit of prayer was his atmosphere. He lived in a state of God-consciousness. He was always ready to shoot up an arrow of prayer to the throne. And he prayed "through Jesus Christ" (v. 8). Why? Because Jesus is the Mediator. We cannot approach the burning holiness of God in our own rags. We need the High Priest. We need the One who has passed into the heavens. Through Him, we come boldly to the throne of grace (see Heb. 4:16).

Paul makes a request in his prayer: "I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you" (vs. 10). He prays specifically that he might visit them, but only "by God's will." Paul does not demand; he asks. He lays his desires at the foot of the Throne.

And did God answer this prayer? Was "the way opened for him" to visit Rome? Yes, and no. He did go to Rome. But he went as a prisoner. He went in chains. He went via a raging storm, a shipwreck, a snakebite, and months of delay (see Acts 27 and 28). Was that an "open way" ? In the eyes of the merchant, no . It was a disaster. In the eyes of the angel, surely yes . For through that journey, the Gospel was preached to the sailors, to the islanders of Malta, and finally to the Praetorian Guard in Rome itself. God answers our prayers, but He often chooses a route we would never select. He gave Paul the destination, but He chose the way of the Cross. And the way of the Cross is the only way that leads to a crown.