The Theme of the Gospel Introduced (1:1-17)

The Theme of the Gospel Introduced (Romans 1:1-17)

(Class Notes)

Separation unto the Gospel (1:1-7)
- The Bearer of the Message (1:1)
  - Paul, the Servant (Bond Slave) of Jesus Christ:
    - Saul, the religious zealot (Galatians 1:13-14) - became Paul, the pattern of grace (I Timothy 1:12-16)
    - As the recipient of that grace - he labored more abundantly than ALL others (I Corinthians 15:9-10)
  - Paul, a Called Apostle:
    - The word "apostle" means "sent one"
      - "apostle", Greek ("apostello") is also used in reference to John the Baptist (John 1:6)
    - Paul's APOSTLESHIP bears the AUTHORITY of the One Who sent him, i.e. Christ (1:5 cf. Galatians 1:11-12)
  - Paul, Separated unto the Gospel of God:
    - Paul was separated at BIRTH for the purpose of God's grace concerning the revelation of God's Son in him (Galatians 1:15-16)
      - Paul, a Roman citizen by BIRTH (Acts 22:27-28)
      - Paul, a Hebrew of the Hebrews by BIRTH (Philippians 3:5)
      - Paul, God's ideal witness to BOTH Jews & Gentiles (Acts 9:15-16 & Acts 13:1-2)
- The Subject of the Message (1:2-4)
  - Promised by His Prophets:
    - Both Peter and Paul presented the RESURRECTION of Christ as prophesied GOOD NEWS concerning Israel (Acts 2:29-32; Acts 13:34-37 cf. Psalms 16:8-11)
    - However, Paul also presented the RESURRECTION of Christ as prophesied GOOD NEWS concerning the Gentiles (II Timothy 2:8 cf. I Timothy 2:7; Ephesians 2:6)
  - Made according to the Flesh (His Humanity):
    - Physically, Christ was made according to the Seed of David concerning God's promise of Israel's Savior King possessing an Eternal Throne (Acts 13:21-23 cf. I Samuel 13:14; I Samuel 16:1; II Samuel 7:12-17)
  - Decreed according to the Spirit (His Deity):
    - Christ arose from the grave BY POWER of His Divine Spirit (I Peters 3:18) and as a Life Giving Spirit (I Corinthians 15:45) - He shares that SAME POWER with the Father (John 5:21,26)
    - He is decreed to be the Son of God WITH POWER by virtue of His RESURRECTION (Matthew 28:5-7,18; Acts 13:29-33 cf. Psalms 2:1-2,6-8)
- The Believers of the Message (1:5-7)
  - Obedient to the FAITH:
    - Those of the NATIONS who obey the GOSPEL by believing the TESTIMONY of the one that is sent (Romans 10:14-17)
      - Paul's APOSTLESHIP - NOT FROM MAN, but by Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:1)
      - Paul's MESSAGE - NOT FROM MAN, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:11-12)
  - Called SAINTS:
    - The believer is SANCTIFIED (II Timothy 2:21) UNTO the GLORY of the Lord Jesus Christ through God's Spirit and belief of the TRUTH - the TRUTH being PAUL'S GOSPEL (II Thessalonians 2:13-14), which he terms "MY GOSPEL" (Romans 2:16; 16:25; II Timothy 2:8)
    - It's the SPIRIT that releases the POWER of the GOSPEL, which causes the sinner to rejoice (I Thessalonians 1:5-6)
  - Possessors of GRACE and PEACE:
    - PEACE WITH GOD - a result of JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH (Romans 5:1)
    - EXPERIENTIAL ACCESS TO GOD because of Positional Standing in His GRACE (Romans 5:2) - a result of JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH (Romans 5:1)
Fellowship in the Gospel (1:8-12)
- The Testimony of the Saints (1:8)
  - Paul says that the gospel of grace was preached to ALL the world (Colossians 1:23; Titus 2:11)
  - The Word of God was preached to ALL the world by Paul (Acts 19:8-10), and in turn, by his converts (I Thessalonians 1:8)
  - The world NOW has the COMPLETE Word of God (Colossians 1:25-26; II Timothy 3:16-17) - due to the faithfulness of the Lord in preserving the life of His FINAL apostle for the purpose of making it FULLY KNOWN (I Corinthians 13:10,12; II Timothy 4:16-17)
- The Prayer of the Apostle (1:9-10)
  - The FAITHFUL testimony of the saints (I Thessalonians 1:8-10) was made possible by the FAITHFUL prayer of the apostle (I Thessalonians 1:2-3)
  - The apostle solicited the prayers of the saints for his BOLDNESS in making known the gospel:
    - An OPEN mouth (Ephesians 6:18-19)
    - An OPEN door (Colossians 4:3)
  - Paul cites God as His Witness concerning his unceasing prayer for the saints (Colossians 1:3-4), which was characteristic of his care for them despite not being able to see them (Colossians 2:5)
  - Paul met the accusations of others by citing God as His FAITHFUL Witness concerning his FAITHFUL ministry (I Corinthians 4:1-4) - note his testimony among the saints (I Thessalonians 2:4-10) and his other "I LIE NOT" references (Romans 9:1; II Corinthians 11:31; Galatians 1:20)
  - Paul always knew that his plans were subject to the will of God (II Corinthians 1:15-20) and were thereby, CHANGEABLE, due to his not foreseeing all of God's purpose (Romans 15:21-24)
- The Burden of the Apostle (1:11-12)
  - Paul longed to see the saints for the purpose of sharing some spiritual gift (Romans 12:4-6) with them - to the end that they might be established in the faith (Romans 16:25):
    - Paul's confidence in his ability to bless them lay in the gospel that he preached (Romans 15:29)
  - The purpose of spiritual gifts is the edification of the church in love - UNTIL ALL its members come into the unity of the faith (Ephesians 4:11-16) - AT HIS COMING (I Corinthians 4:5 cf. I Corinthians 3:13-15)
Ministry of the Gospel (1:13-17)
- The Apostle of the Gospel (1:13-15)
  - Paul wanted the saints at Rome to be NOT IGNORANT concerning his Gentile ministry (1:13) to which God ordained him as an apostle (1:1 cf. 11:13-14)
  - Six times in his epistles, Paul exhorted the saints to be NOT IGNORANT, which served as a point of emphasis (much the same way as the twenty five DOUBLE VERILY pronouncements of the Lord in the gospel accounts):
    - To be NOT IGNORANT of his ministry responsibility to the Gentiles (1:13)
    - To be NOT IGNORANT of Israel's temporary national blindness (11:25-27) under the Gentile "dispensation of the grace of God" (Ephesians 3:1-2)
    - To be NOT IGNORANT of Israel's baptism into the sea (I Corinthians 10:1-2) - as a type of the believer's baptism into Christ's death (6:3-4; Colossians 2:11-12)
    - To be NOT IGNORANT of spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 12:1)
    - To be NOT IGNORANT of his ministry suffering (II Corinthians 1:8)
    - To be NOT IGNORANT of the resurrection - at the Rapture (I Thessalonians 4:13-18)
  - Paul desired FRUIT of the gospel among all nations (1:13):
    - The Philippians EXCELLED in their zeal for the gospel (Philippians 4:15-18)
    - The Corinthians LACKED in their commitment to the gospel (II Corinthians 8:1-6)
  - The GRACE that made Paul an apostle to the nations (1:5) also made him DEBTOR to preach the gospel to all nations (Acts 9:10-15):
    - To the Greeks who were WISE (1:14; I Corinthians 1:18-24)
    - To the Barbarians who were UNWISE (1:14; Acts 28:1-6)
    - And to those at Rome (1:15; Acts 23:11)
- The Message of the Gospel (1:16-17)
  - Far from being ASHAMED of the gospel; Paul GLORIED in it (Galatians 6:14), because the PREACHING of the CROSS is, indeed, the POWER of God unto SALVATION (I Corinthians 1:18):
    - "Christ crucified" is a stumbling block to the Jews who require a SIGN, i.e. a display of POWER (I Corinthians 1:22-23 cf. Matthew 12:38-40)
    - "Christ crucified" is foolishness to the Greeks who seek after wisdom (I Corinthians 1:22-23 cf. Acts 17:18-21)
    - To those who are being called, both Jews and Greeks - Christ is both the POWER and WISDOM of God (I Corinthians 1:24):
      - His RESURRECTION is God's POWERFUL answer to DEATH (I Corinthians 15:20-22)
      - His CROSS is God's WISE answer concerning SIN (II Corinthians 15:21)
  - "To the Jew first and also the Greek" marked the ORDER of Paul's ministry during the period of the Acts (Acts 13:38-42):
    - The Gentiles, according to COVENANT and PROPHECY, were to be blessed through Abraham's MULTIPLIED SEED, i.e. ISRAEL:
      - COVENANT (Acts 3:25-26 cf. Genesis 12:1-3; Genesis 22:15-18)
      - PROPHECY (Isaiah 60:1-3 cf. Zechariah 8:22-23)
    - Israel rejected the Source of her blessing, i.e. Christ (9:4-5) - both in His INCARNATION (Matthew 12:22-32) and in His RESURRECTION (Acts 7:51-60)
    - Paul confirmed the RESURRECTION of Christ as the HOPE of Israel (Acts 28:20 cf. Acts 23:6) - whose testimony the Lord had said Israel would reject (Acts 22:18)
    - From JERUSALEM to ROME - Paul turned to the Gentiles AFTER being rejected by the Jews:
      - Antioch (Acts 13:45-46)
      - Corinth (Acts 18:5-6)
    - Paul finally quotes the SAME PROPHECY (Isaiah 6:9-10) that the Lord did concerning ISRAEL'S BLINDNESS (Acts 28:25-27 cf. (Matthew 13:14-15):)
      - ISRAEL'S BLINDNESS is TEMPORARY and a MYSTERY as touching the gospel (11:25-29)
      - ALL are concluded in UNBELIEF and ALL have the SAME OPPORTUNITY of MERCY (11:30-32)
  - The gospel reveals a RIGHTEOUSNESS OF God according to FAITH RATHER THAN WORKS (10:5-6), which bears the TESTIMONY of the LAW and the PROPHETS (3:21-22) - "THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH" (Habakkuk 2:4)

Study Outline

Separation unto the Gospel (1:1-7)

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Fellowship in the Gospel (1:8-12)

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Ministry of the Gospel (1:13-17)

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