Knowing and Appreciating the gospel of Christ Romans 1: 1-17

The book of Romans is Paul’s attempt to explain, expound, and interpret the gospel:

the message of what God has done in Christ. This is what Paul hoped to teach and preach

when he had the opportunity to visit the believers living in Rome. The gospel is the main

subject of his letter. The salvation that was achieved by Christ is the center and the main

content of this letter that Paul so carefully and systematically wrote to the church at Rome.1

Most commentators agree that these first seventeen verses constitute the opening of Paul’s

letter. In these verses Paul introduces himself to his readers, he identifies whom he is

writing to, and he gives them a warm greeting. Paul then moves on to tell them of his

persistent desire to visit them and the reasons for so doing. Finally, in these verses we gain

important clues concerning what Paul hoped to accomplish upon his visit to them. These

verses provide insight into the content of his gospel and the core idea of the preaching that

he hoped to share with them.

So, let us take a closer look at this text and discover for ourselves what these verses

tell us about Paul, his calling, and his understanding to the gospel. (vs. 1-7) Then, let us take

a look at Paul’s longing to visit Rome and particularly why Paul desired to visit these

Roman believers. (8-15) Finally, we will examine the last two verses of Paul’s opening

address to his letter. These verses focus upon the content of the gospel – a content of the

gospel that Paul was so desirous of sharing with his Roman believers. (16-17) These verses

not only get to the heart of Paul’s desire to visit Rome, but also give insight into why Paul so

strongly believes that the gospel he preaches concerning Christ is so amazing!

I. Introduction of his letter. (vs. 1-7). Just like most letters written during Paul’s

time and even our time today, Paul followed the expected format of his time by introducing

himself, recognizing the recipients of his letter, and giving them a warm greeting. Paul had

not established the churches in Rome; while perhaps a few Christians in Rome knew him or

had heard about him, many of the Roman believers did not know either Paul or his role and

mission. Paul had to establish his credentials to show why these Romans should pay

attention to his letter or later receive him in person.

A. Set apart for a Special Calling! Paul identifies himself to his Roman recipients as

having a God-given role or assignment. Three terms are used in verse 1 to convey

this point. Two of the terms describe Paul as one whom God has given a special

assignment. Paul says he “has been called by God and set apart by God” for

something. Some of his listeners would perhaps think of Moses, Isaiah, or even

Israel being described as called and set apart. Paul reinforces this idea using the

term servant to describe his role. Paul wants his readers to see what he himself sees:

that he is under obligation to God and that God had called him to do something. Paul

1 Romans is the longest and the most systematic having a carefully developed argument. I. H. Marshall, S. Travis,

and I Paul in Exploring the New Testament Vol. 2. Chapter 8, The Letter to the Romans, p. 105 Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove Ill. 2002

immediately in verse one tells us the nature of the task and role that God gave him.

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus … set apart not just for God but for the gospel of God

(Christ).

Moreover, Paul identifies himself as an apostle. The term basically means one who is

not only sent by God (the root word for apostle means sent). Schreiner draws

attention to the issue of authority as fundamental to understanding this term. Paul

has been called and set apart for a special role. Paul’s role is to represent God with

authority.2 This is why these Roman believers need to listen to Paul and his

message.

B. Set apart for the gospel. In these opening verses (1-17) Paul mentions the word

gospel five times. This is not by accident. This is intentional. This word gospel for us

has lost its potency. For Paul, it was a wonderful term loaded with meaning,

particularly rich in theological meaning. It was the one term that captured and

comprehended what Christ accomplished and why he – Paul – was so eager to share

it. Having already mentioned that God had set him apart for the gospel, in verse 14,

Paul discloses that he is under obligation to preach the gospel to those who are in

Rome. Paul is a man with a sense of mission who is under obligation to complete his

mission. This is true. But this is only one aspect for understanding Paul and his

mission. For while Paul is fully conscious of the obligation (duty) that has been

entrusted to him, these opening verses also even more significantly disclose Paul’s

eager enthusiasm (passion) to share something that he “wants to” because of its

perceived value to them. Paul is eager to preach the gospel to those who are in

Rome (vs. 15) because it can encourage them and build them up.

The concluding two verses (16-17) of this section then reveal succinctly why Paul is

so eager to preach and teach the gospel. These two verses say something extremely

important about the message – the gospel – that Paul preaches. But, we are rushing

ahead too fast. Let us go back to the first section and take a look at verses 2-5 and

discover what these few verses have to say concerning the gospel.

1) The gospel is not something totally new! The message that Paul

proclaimed was vitally linked to God’s word and message in the Old Testament

Scriptures. The gospel – the good news – the message entrusted to Paul by God to

proclaim – was announced and promised beforehand by God in the Scriptures. This

is Paul’s point in verse 2: “the gospel he promised beforehand through his Holy

Scriptures”. What is the gospel in the O.T. that was promised by God? Paul does not

tell us! Perhaps Paul has in mind a specific text (or texts) of Scripture in which God

2 Schreiner defines an apostle as “authoritative messenger”. I think this gets to the core meaning of Paul’s role as

an apostle. Thomas Schreiner, Romans, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the N.T. Grand Rapids, M.I. 1998 p. 28

promised to save his people.3 Regarding what? Something encouraging! Something

to shout about! Something to get excited about! For the term gospel is

fundamentally a message that is positive and uplifting to those who hear it. So what

was this “good news promised by God” that that Paul indicates he is now

proclaiming?

God promised again and again that he would save and bring blessing to his

people 4 He promised his people that he would raise up a Deliverer/a Savior to save

them. This is what most Jews in Paul’s day would have believed. Paul shared this

same perspective as his Jewish counterparts: God would one day send a savior who

save God’s people. While Paul’s focus in these introductory verses is on declaring

that Jesus is the promised savior, Paul skips over saying this explicitly. Instead of

saying that Jesus is the promised Savior, in the very place where the reader expects

it Paul instead jumps right into making the claim that the gospel that he preaches is

about proclaiming the good that this Savior is the “Son” as well. This is an

astounding assertion which Paul elaborates ever so succinctly for his readers in the

next two verses.

2) The nature of this gospel. The full nature of the salvation which Christ

accomplished, Paul will explain in great detail in the body of his letter. Here in

verses 3-4, Paul draws attention at the beginning of his letter to two important

aspects of Jesus – the promised Savior. Paul wants them to see two fundamental

sides of Jesus that Paul himself recognizes. Jesus was human. Jesus is divine. Paul, in

a very succinct fashion, declares the amazing two-sided nature of Jesus. The first

thing Paul wants us to see is that Jesus was human: “who as to his human nature was

a descendent of David” (vs. 3). There is broad agreement that the Jews then and now

expected that the savior promised by God would be a descendent of David. Paul

agrees. But he goes on to say that the promised savior was of a divine nature: “he

was declared with power to be the Son of God.” How was Christ declared to be divine?

“By his resurrection from the dead.” Fascinating, is it not! Paul does not defend this

point. Paul did not defend Jesus’ divine nature at any great length. Perhaps the dual

nature of Christ’s identity was not in question among Roman believers.

3) The gospel demands a response! (vs. 5) The gospel is good news. Paul

was set apart and called by God to bring this message concerning “salvation” which

was promised beforehand to the Jewish people. The most likely intended recipients

of this good news concerning the long awaited salvation that God had set him apart 3 Isaiah 40:9 begins a lengthy section announcing and describing God salvation of his people. In Is. 40:9 Isaiah uses

the expression “herald of good news (the same word in the Septuagint) to express the idea of bringing a positive message to people. 4 Paul who was so knowledgeable regarding Scripture would not only see Jesus as the fulfillment of promises

regarding a Davidic Messiah, but Paul would see that Jesus is the one who fulfills God’s promise to Abraham. In Gen. 12:3 God promised that He would bless Abraham and that his through Abraham (and by inference his descendent as well) that all the peoples of the world would be “blessed by you”.

to proclaim would naturally be the Jewish people. No! This is not what Paul states.

Paul in verse five testifies that he was called and set apart to bring this gospel

centered on Jesus to the Gentiles. Paul explicitly declares this by saying: “we have

received grace and apostleship to call people from among the Gentiles to faith.”

Faith in what? Well, he does not explicitly say. But, we can infer that Paul was saying

that he had the responsibility to declare the message of salvation that Jesus Christ

achieved by his death and subsequent resurrection. And the proclamation of this

message demands a response. What is the response! Faith! But not just faith. Paul

specifically states “the obedience of faith”. Paul does not explain what this

obedience entails. The following chapters will, however, fill out the meaning of this

important expression.

II. Paul’s prayer and longing to visit the churches in Rome. (vs. 8-15) This is the

longest of the three sections making up the opening of his letter. Those who are familiar

with ancient Roman letters tell us that it was customary in personal letters for the sender

of the letter to pray for the gods to grant their blessing and health on the recipients of the

letter. Interesting how Paul adapts this format to his own use. Yet, Paul readily recognizes

God – the one that he serves, the God who made promises to his people in the past through

his prophets in Holy Scripture regarding His Son – this is the God that Paul prays to. Overall

this section of eight verses is focused upon Paul’s prayer for them. Or more specifically, this

section is focused on how constantly he remembers them in his prayers and what

specifically was involved in his prayer. The prayer tells us something about Paul, and it

reveals what exactly is the driving force that makes Paul so eager to visit these believers

and their churches in Rome. Let us examine these verses to discover Paul’s desire to visit

Rome and why.

A. Paul’s thanksgiving and desire to visit believers whom he does not know.

(vs. 8-10) The first three verses are focused upon Paul, who wants his readers

(Romans believers) to realize that he has them on his heart and mind. Specifically,

Paul wants them to know that he constantly remembers them to God when he prays.

My sense is that Paul is thinking about them a lot and Paul is frequently making

mention of these same people to God. “God is my witness … how constantly I

remember you in my prayers at all times.” (vs. 9) This leads naturally to the

question: What does Paul pray for them? Does Paul give us an answer? Yes and No!

What? Let us take a close look!

1) Paul thanks God for them. (vs. 8) Specifically, Paul testifies that he

thanks God for their faith! This detail reinforces my perception that this letter is

primarily addressed to believers for their instruction and benefit. Paul thanks God

because the faith of these Roman congregations is being spread and made known

throughout the world. Impressive!

2) Paul prays to God to be able to visit them! (vs. 9-10) Paul constantly

prays for them. He thanks God for them! But what does he pray that God would do

on their behalf? Verse 10! “And I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be

opened for me to come to you.” Now this is not a prayer for them: or, specifically,

this is not Paul’s intercession on their behalf. This is rather Paul’s prayer for himself.

Make sure you grasp this distinction. So what exactly is Paul praying about? Let us

take a look at the following five verses to help us get an answer!

B. Paul desires to visit these Christians in order to encourage and establish

them in their faith. (vs. 11-15) A close and careful examination of this section will

reveal the reasons for why Paul wants to visit them. Essentially, Paul expresses a

strong desire to be able to visit them in order to encourage and build them up in the

faith. How? Paul desires to accomplish this goal by preaching. Specifically, by

preaching the gospel of Christ to those who already know the gospel and who are

already believers in Christ and have faith in the gospel of Christ. Paul hopes to

establish them in their faith! This is part of the obligation that he has as an apostle to

the Gentiles. But even more importantly he is longs to have this opportunity to visit

them because of his own awareness of the power of God at work in this gospel.

1) The Perceived Need. Paul has right from the beginning of his letter

acknowledged the genuine faith of these believers in Christ. They have faith. Their

faith is not only being recognized by other believers all over the world, but they too

are part of the ongoing work of bringing the gospel to other parts of the world. (vs.

8) While this is great, Paul wants to make them even better! He wants to encourage

them in their faith. (vs. 12) Specifically, he wants to give them some spiritual gift to

“make them strong” (vs. 11 NIV) or to strengthen (ESV) or build them up.

2) Paul desires to build them up and establish them in their faith. (vs.

11) Paul desires to preach the gospel to those who already know Christ and whom

already have faith. Paul’s prayer for these believers is that God would encourage

them and make them even stronger in their faith. While certainly Paul’s longing to

visit Rome would include preaching to those who have not heard, the primary

purpose of Paul’s trip is to minister to those who already have faith in Christ. This is

the primary focus of these verses as well. It is believers that Paul has in mind when

he declares that he wants to establish them or make them strong in their faith. (vs.

11). It is believers that Paul wants to reap a harvest. (vs. 13) How?

Verse 14 tells us how Paul hoped to accomplish this goal. Paul was eager to

fill out their understanding of the gospel and what Christ had done for them.

Paul was not just under obligation as an apostle for the care and well being of the

church at Rome, but he longed for them to fully appreciate what Christ had

accomplished by his death and resurrection. Paul knew that God had revealed and

given himself revelation of the significance of the cross that believed would

“strengthen them in their faith” and result in an increase in the harvest among the

Gentiles. This would ultimately result in God being glorified and honored by the

lives of these Roman believers.

III. The Essence of the gospel. (vs. 16-17) Paul has strongly conveyed his

eagerness to visit the believers in Rome. The second section discloses the source of that

eagerness: The gospel! Paul is eager to visit these believers whom he has not met before

because not only are they part of his general obligation to be an apostle to the Gentiles, but

because Paul believes that by preaching the gospel, which is one of Paul’s spiritual gifts, will

enable his listeners to become stronger or more established in their faith. This would result

in an even greater harvest among and by these Roman believers. These last two verses

build on and climax the exposition of this chapter. For these verses stress two ideas: Paul

is not ashamed, but eager and excited to share or preach the gospel. The second idea is a

succinct summary of the two-fold essence of the gospel that Paul has been entrusted with.

The gospel – the message concerning Christ and his death is not only not foolish5 but the

gospel and the message so embodied in the proclamation of the gospel represents the

power of God acting to save all who believe and put faith in Christ. The gospel further

more is the righteousness of God. God’s righteousness, and not just his power, is being

revealed in the preaching of the gospel. What exactly is God’s righteousness? Paul will

carefully define what righteousness of God means for his readers in the chapters ahead.

This is a critical concept that Paul wants his readers then and now to grasp. These twin

ideas of God disclosing both his power at work and his righteousness at work in the

preaching of the gospel will be carefully developed and interpreted in the body of this letter

called Romans.

5 I Corinthians 1:18 “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being

saved it is the power of God.”