• Romans 1:3-4

Romans 1:3-4

Marg and I recently had a nice chuckle at the expense of one of our friends. F. is a little older than us and she was a little late getting into computers and Facebook. But once she picked it up she got right into it and uses it to keep up with her children and grandchildren. What made us laugh was that one of her recent Facebook status' was,

"I just was informed by Charlotte [one of her daughters] that LOL does not mean 'lots of love' as I thought, but 'laugh out loud'. Thank the Lord for computer literate kids. I am sorry if I sent the wrong message to anyone."

"Oh mom... but glad to know you haven't been laughing at me all this time."

"And he walks with me and he talks with me."

"Andy walks with me. Andy talks with me."

"Man, who appointed me
a judge or an arbiter between you?"

But even more than that, many who are interested in the social gospel deny many of the historical truths of Christianity and the Bible. They deny the virgin birth and the literal resurrection of Jesus.

On the other hand there are people who pay lip service to the great historical truths of Christianity but essentially believe that Christianity is about being good and doing good works. Albert Mohler describes it this way: (albertmohler.com)

"Far too many believers and their churches succumb to the logic of moralism and reduce the Gospel to a message of moral improvement. In other words, we communicate to lost persons the message that what God desires for them and demands of them is to get their lives straight."

"Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus,
called to be an apostle and set apart
for the gospel of God—
the gospel he promised beforehand
through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures
regarding his Son, who as to his human nature
was a descendant of David,
and who through the Spirit of holiness
was declared with power to be the Son of God
by his resurrection from the dead:
Jesus Christ our Lord."

In verses 3 and 4 Paul defines the gospel of God, the gospel that was promised through the prophets—this gospel is all about, (verse 3)

"his son"

This phrase is pivotal. The gospel is about 'His Son'. Then at the end of verse 4 He is called,

"Jesus Christ our Lord".

What does Paul mean by these phrases? In the context of Paul's other teaching there seems no doubt but that Paul is telling us that the gospel is about Jesus, the second person of the Trinity. The apostle Paul had the highest conception of Jesus. In Romans 9:5 he referred to Him as,

"God over all".

In Philippians 2:6 he said of Jesus,

"Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped,"

And in Colossians 1:19 he said about Jesus,

"For God was pleased to have
all his fullness dwell in him,"

Colossians 2:9

"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,"

In light of this, the reference at the beginning of verse 3, as 'His Son' indicates this most intimate relationship with the Father. C.E.B. Cranfield writes, (Romans, Vol. 1, p. 58)

"It is clear that, as used by Paul with reference to Christ, the designation 'Son of God' expresses nothing less than a relationship to God which is 'personal, ethical, and inherent' involving a real community of nature between Christ and God."

"For what the law was powerless to do
in that it was weakened by the sinful nature,
God did by sending his own Son
in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering."

We also see it in Romans 8:32 where Paul wrote,

"He who did not spare his own Son,
but gave him up for us all—
how will he not also, along with him,
graciously give us all things?"

Galatians 4:4 is similar. We read,

"But when the time had fully come,
God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law,"

Thus John Murray writes about the title 'his Son' at the beginning of verse 3, (Romans, p. 5)

"Jesus is here identified by that title which expresses his eternal relation to the Father and that when the subject matter of the gospel is defined as that which pertains to the eternal Son of God the apostle at the threshold of the epistle is commending the gospel by showing that it is concerned with him who has no lower station than that of equality with the Father."

"who as to his human nature was a descendant of David,
and who through the Spirit of holiness
was declared with power to be the Son of God
by his resurrection from the dead:"

The way that many older commentators understood these verses was that the first part related to the human nature of Christ and second part referred to His divine nature. They used it to prove both the true humanity and the true divinity of Jesus. It's certainly true that both doctrines are taught in our text and that that was an appropriate application.

Yet, while we do see both of those things here, seeing that alone misses an important part of what the text says. As we have seen, when Paul said that the gospel concerns, "His Son", it was referring to Jesus as the eternal and preexistent One. Three parallel phrases are used to describe Him. 'Born' (although you don't see that word the NIV) in verse 3 corresponds to 'declared' in verse 4; 'according to the flesh' in verse 3 corresponds to 'according to the Spirit of holiness' in verse 4 and 'of the seed of David' corresponds to 'by the resurrection from the dead in verse 4'. These parallels suggest that the difference emphasized in verses 3 and 4 is not between the human and divine aspect of Christ's person, but, as Geerhardus Vos wrote, (Quoted from Murray, p. 9)

"to two successive stages in his life…"

"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit."

And Jeremiah 23:5 says,

"The days are coming', declares the Lord,
'when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.'"

Jesus was born of the line of David.

This taking our nature upon Himself is what theologians call His humiliation. As we read in Philippians 2:5-8 about Jesus,

"Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped, but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself
and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!"

But after His resurrection there was a dramatic change.

Philippians 2:9–11 continues,

"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."

It is this change that Paul is referring to when he says that Jesus was 'declared to be the Son of God with power'. John Murray writes that this, (Romans, p. 9)

"points therefore to an investiture which had an historical beginning parallel to the historical beginning mentioned in verse 3."

"The apostle is dealing with some particular event in the history of the Son of God incarnate by which he was instated in a position of sovereignty and invested with power, and even which in respect of investiture with power surpassed everything that could be ascribed to him in his incarnate state."

"the pre-resurrection and post-resurrection states are compared and contrasted, and the contrast hinges on the investiture with power by which the latter is characterized."

"By his resurrection and ascension the Son of God incarnate entered unto a new phase of sovereignty and was endowed with new power correspondent with and unto the exercise of the mediatorial lordship which he executes as head over all things to his body, the church."

"The only Redeemer of God's elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was, and continues to be, God and man in two distinct natures, and one person, for ever."

"I have brought you glory on earth
by completing the work you gave me to do.
And now, Father, glorify me in your presence
with the glory I had with you before the world began."

Later in that prayer Jesus said, (John 17:22–26)

"I have given them the glory that you gave me,
that they may be one as we are one:
I in them and you in me.
May they be brought to complete unity
to let the world know that you sent me
and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Father, I want those you have given me
to be with me where I am, and to see my glory,
the glory you have given me because you loved me
before the creation of the world.
Righteous Father, though the world does not know you,
I know you, and they know that you have sent me.
I have made you known to them,
and will continue to make you known
in order that the love you have for me
may be in them and that I myself may be in them."

So it's not just A,B,A. But it's A,B,A, and, if I may use the words of Hebrews 2:13, in which Jesus says,

"Here am I, and the children God has given me."

It's Him, revealed as Savior, a lamb at the center of the throne, looking as if it had been slain. But we are there too, His redeemed people, around Him, praising and serving Him forever. (Revelation 5:6-14)

Secondly, Christians, be amazed at the work of Jesus.

How astounded we should be that the King of Glory, the Creator of all things, should condescend to take our nature and suffer and die on our behalf. As we read in Hebrews 2:9,

"But we see Jesus,
who was made a little lower than the angels,
now crowned with glory and honor
because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God
he might taste death for everyone."

Verse 14 of Hebrews 2 continues,

"Since the children have flesh and blood,
he too shared in their humanity
so that by his death he might destroy
him who holds the power of death
—that is, the devil"

He suffered and died to save us.

Thirdly, recognize that Jesus has been appointed Son of God with power—for us.

He rules all things. He is the Lord of Lords. Everything is subject to Him and that has great implications for us. Romans 4:25 tells us that He was raised to life for our justification. Ephesians 1:22 tells us that,

"And God placed all things under his feet
and appointed him to be head over everything
for the church,"

For the church. For us! His power is available for us. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:45,

"The first man Adam became a living being';
the last Adam, a life-giving spirit."

God's power is available for us. Paul's letter to the Romans is about God's power being evident in our lives. We were crucified with Him. We were raised with Him. We died to sins. The Spirit helps us in our weakness. That means that we can say 'no' to sin and temptation. That means that we can love others, even our enemies, and show them what Christ's love is like. God's power available for us.

Verse 4 ends with the names, "Jesus Christ, our Lord". John Murray writes, (p. 12)

"Each name has its own peculiar associations and significance. 'Jesus' fixes his historical identity and expresses his saviorhood. 'Christ' points to his official work as the anointed. 'Lord' indicates the lordship to which he is exalted at the right hand of the Father in virtue of which he exercises all authority in heaven and earth."