Romans
So
they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and
caused them to understand the reading. (Nehemiah 8:8)
Chapter 1 – Without
Understanding
1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to
be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
Paul
was a servant of Jesus Christ. Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ. He was
these things in order to be separated unto the gospel of God.
2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets
in the holy scriptures,)
Middle English, from Old
English onforan, contraction of prepositional phrase on
foran "before in place, at the beginning of, in front of,"
from on (prep.), see a- (1), + foran (adv.)
"in front," dative of for.
In some cases probably it represents Old English ætforan "at-fore."
Early 14c. as a preposition, "before in time," and as a conjunction, "earlier than the time when, before." Once the literary equivalent of before, it now has been replaced by that word except in nautical use, colloquial dialects, and in combinations such as aforesaid, aforethought.]
Early 14c. as a preposition, "before in time," and as a conjunction, "earlier than the time when, before." Once the literary equivalent of before, it now has been replaced by that word except in nautical use, colloquial dialects, and in combinations such as aforesaid, aforethought.]
The spiritual aspect of deliverance was never an emphasis
in the old testament, and especially under the law of Moses. However, that
would have been a part of the redemption of Israel
Isaiah 9:6-7
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son
is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be
called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and
peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to
order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth
even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
The
fall of Adam and Eve would have been still well known up to the time of Christ.
Jesus even spoke of them as if his audience should have known them. Old
testament saints knew that their flesh was corrupt. They knew they were in need
of redemption.
Psalms 34:22
22 The LORD redeemeth the soul of his
servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.
Jesus instructed his people to seek first the kingdom of God
The gospel of God, as you see from Paul’s summary in verses
3-4, includes the spiritual birth and all spiritual blessings and the
redemption of the body and the coming King of Kings to rule the earth on the
throne in Jerusalem
3 Concerning
his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to
the flesh;
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of
David, the son of Abraham. (Matthew 1:1)
Here is the physical presence of the King of Kings, the
good news of the LORD ruling the earth in righteousness.
Notice that Matthew names Jesus Christ as being the son of
David and of Abraham. It is significant that these two and only these two of
the Lord’s fathers are named. King David would represent the saints under the
law of Moses. Abraham represents a group of saints not under the law.
Abraham believed in the resurrection. He had already
believed in the Lord on foran when the Lord promised him seed to tell the stars.
Now to carry that faith further and believe that God would raise his son Isaac
from the dead was not much of a stretch.
Under the law of Moses, the drudgery of the many laws to
remember and enforce and keep was obviously tedious.
Ezekiel 18:6-9
6 And hath not eaten upon the mountains,
neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel
7 And hath not oppressed any, but hath
restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given
his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment;
8 He that hath not given forth upon usury,
neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity,
hath executed true judgment between man and man,
9 Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept
my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord
GOD.
Under the faith of Abraham righteousness and justification
were in closer view. Faith alone could account you righteous and just an act of
obedience got your justification.
Thank God that now through the Lord Jesus Christ we got
righteousness, justification, spiritual life, and “all spiritual blessings”
simply by faith.
4 And
declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness,
by the resurrection from the dead:
Here is the spiritual redemption.
Eternal life is usually thought of as only pertaining to
one or the other of the two of which both need the utmost attention. That is,
eternal life pertains to the spiritual and the physical. Adam and Eve were shunned
from the garden to keep the way of the tree of life from them. If they had
eaten of the tree of life in their fallen state and lived forever, it would be
disastrous. Only after the quickening of the spirit can a man then obtain
eternal life that is in Jesus Christ.
As I said afore, verses 3 and 4 are a summary of the
gospel. It is the good news of the coming Lord to redeem us spiritually and
physically, to give us spiritual life and a spiritual body like unto the Lord’s
glorious body.
The evidence that Jesus Christ is the Son of God is his
resurrection. He is “declared to be by the resurrection from the dead”. The
evidence that the Holy Bible is the words of the living God is the preservation
of its purity. The 1611 Bible is pure. It is the pure words of the Lord.
We believe that because we have been raised in the likeness
of his resurrection spiritually we now should hope for the redemption of the
body and the resurrection from the dead.
5 By whom we have received grace and
apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
By Jesus Christ we have received grace and apostleship. Who
is the “we” people he is referring to?
Grace:
Being
justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: (Romans
3:24)
By
whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice
in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:2)
For
if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive
abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one,
Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17)
That
as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness
unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:21
We
saved born again sons of God have received grace, the grace of God in
redemption.
“and apostleship”
We
saved born again sons of God have received grace and apostleship. Every
Christian is an apostle. Verse 6 says, “Among whom are ye also the called of
Jesus Christ:” “Called of Jesus Christ”. Called what? Well, Paul just mentioned
apostleship in verse 5, and the other time he used the word “called”, it is “to
be an apostle”. An apostle is “one sent forth” as is clearly seen in scripture.
“Now
the names of the twelve apostles are these;” of Matthew 10:2 matches “These twelve Jesus sent
forth” of Matthew 10:5.
“for obedience to
the faith”
Obedience to the faith is not salvation.
Obedience to the faith is simply the walk of your talk, the evidence of the
faith that you claim. We have received grace for obedience to the faith for his name. As Paul told Timothy, Let every one that nameth
the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
Obedience to the faith is obviously the
exercise of your faith, the actions and results of what you believe about
salvation and the Christian life.
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield
yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of
sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? (Romans 6:16)
2 Corinthians 10:5-6
5 Casting down
imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge
of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
6 And having in a
readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
Obedience to the faith is trusting God
in the midst of trouble. And obedience to the faith is obeying the commands of
our loving Father and Saviour because we love him.
“Obedience for his name”
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto
his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. (Psalms 29:2)
O magnify the LORD with me, and let us
exalt his name together. (Psalms 34:3)
The seed also of his servants shall
inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein. (Psalms 69:36)
But as many as received him, to them
gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
(John 1:12)
Now when he was in Jerusalem
But these are written, that ye might
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might
have life through his name. (John 20:31)
6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus
Christ:
It seems from this verse and my previous
comments that all Christians are called to be an apostle at least somewhat like
Paul.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
17 Therefore if any man
be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all
things are become new.
18 And all things are
of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us
the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was
in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses
unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then we are
ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in
Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
21For he hath made him
to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him.
It is possible that “the called of Jesus
Christ” is all Christians and merely some are “called to be an apostle”, only
leaving the fact that there should be a little apostleship in all of us.
7 To all
that be in Rome
This epistle is addressed to all beloved saints that be in Rome
Romans 11:26-28
26 And so all Israel
27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I
shall take away their sins.
28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes:
but as touching the election, they
are beloved for the fathers' sakes.
To
the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. (Ephesians
1:6)
Put
on therefore, as the elect of
God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind,
meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if
any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
(Colossians 3:12-13)
Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of
God. (1 Thessalonians 1:4)
Paul
addresses several people as beloved in 29 verses.
late 14c., past-participle
adjective from obsolete verb belove "to please; be pleased
with" (c. 1200), from be- + loven "to
love" (see love (v.)).
Noun meaning "one who is beloved" is from 1520s, first in Biblical
language. [Online Etymology Dictionary.]
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But
ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God
dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
(Romans 8:8-9)
For
after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased
God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. (1 Corinthians
1:21)
But
now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased
him. (1 Corinthians 12:18)
That
ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good
work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; (Colossians 1:10)
Furthermore
then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye
have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound
more and more. (1 Thessalonians 4:1)
No
man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may
please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. (2 Timothy 2:4)
By
faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found,
because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this
testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please
him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:5-6)
For
he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice
to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased. (2 Peter 1:17)
1 Corinthians 1:2
Unto the church of God
which is at Corinth
“The expression in verse 7, “called to be saints,” can be
read with or without the italics, and both statements are true. All Christians
are “called...saints” by God (Eph. 2:19). That is your position, your standing
in Christ. At the same time, all Christians are “called to be saints.” They are
to live what they are. So Paul has a whole two chapters in Ephesians on living
“as becometh saints” (Eph. 5:3). So both statements are true.” [Ruckman, Dr.
Peter S.. Romans Commentary (The Bible Believers Commentary Series) (Kindle
Locations 581-583). BB Bookstore. Kindle Edition.]
A saint is simply “a person who is sanctified”. In the old
testament, Israel Israel Israel
God’s plan was to give the spiritual birth and the kingdom of God
to his chosen people, Israel Jerusalem
Because he set aside his chosen people, he offered the kingdom of God kingdom of
God Israel Israel Jerusalem , the
capital city of Israel
““From Ur Ur
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