June 13, 2016
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A Discourse Analysis of Romans 1:1-6
Paul,
a servant of Christ Jesus,
called to be an apostle,
set apart for the gospel of God,
2 which he promised beforehand
through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
3 concerning his Son,
who was descended from David according to the flesh
4 and was declared to be the Son of God
in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead,
Jesus Christ our Lord,
5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship
to bring about the obedience of faith
for the sake of his name among all the nations,
6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
Romans 1:1-6
This is the Apostle Paul’s self-introduction to the church in the city of Rome. He had never been there, and he had never taught them, until now. It is entirely likely that Paul had met some of them, and obviously had talked with those he had met about the Gospel and the faith they both held so dearly.
The words used in these six verses are not typical of the words Paul used in his other writings. Since Romans is almost Paul’s suma theologica, we might expect to see the well laid out thoughts and summation of his thinking on Jesus and the Gospel. But that is not what we find in Romans, Paul meanders hither and yon, almost like he is speaking in a so-called “stream of consciousness” mode. His sentences are long and complicated. His words are complex and heavily dependent on the hearer and reader following closely what is said. But that is not what we see in these six verses.
Romans 1:1-6 sounds more like a well-rehearsed confession of faith that Paul and his readers/ hearers both would have known. Paul recites it by way of reminding his readers of some of the things they both believe and hold in common.
Paul begins with his citation for his position as Apostle to the Gentiles: he was a servant of Jesus Christ; he was called by God to be an apostle; he was set apart for the Gospel. Although we preachers today do not have the same apostolic authority God gave the Disciples and Paul, we are also servants of Jesus Christ, called to our life work, and we are set apart unto the Gospel of God: we are ministers of the Gospel.
Which brings up an interesting question: of what does the Gospel consist? What is the Gospel? It is here that we hear the voice of Paul either singing an early hymn of the church, or reciting an early statement of Christian faith; a creed if you will. We know this because the vocabulary Paul uses does not match his writing style in Romans or anywhere else. The phrasing is easy to recite, and thus easy to memorize.
The Gospel of God was promised beforehand through the prophets of God. The Gospel is not new, and it is not limited to the New Testament. We find the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Gospel of God in every genre, every layer, of the Old Testament. Even Esther, which does not even mention the name of God, or use the word God, has the Gospel message. It was good news that Adam and Eve received when God banished them from the Garden; it was the very grace of God that sent them out of the Garden. This is so lest they also reach out and take the fruit of the Tree of Life also and live forever (Gen. 3:22).
Abraham received grace from God when he believed the promise of God: “And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:6).
“For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness" (Rom. 4:3).
“just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’” (Gal. 3:6)?
“and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’--and he was called a friend of God” (Jas. 2:23).
And what is the subject of the Gospel? The Gospel “concerns the Son of God;” that is, the Gospel is about the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
In two ways we see the Gospel in Jesus, first he is a descendant of David according to the flesh. And we see the Gospel in Jesus by the Spirit of holiness, which raised him from the dead. It has said that when we look at someone’s headstone we a date, a dash, and another date. The first date is their birth date, and the last date is the day they died. All the rest of that person’s life is summed up in the dash; summed up by a minus sign. 1 Peter 1:24-25 sums it up like this: "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you."
The Gospel includes Jesus’ birth, Christmas; although it is not just about that. The Gospel is also not just about Jesus’ dead and resurrection; Easter; although it also includes that. The Gospel also includes how “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him” (Acts 10:38).
The whole point of the Gospel is Jesus Christ our Lord.
We preach to bring about obedience to the faith among all people, and for Paul that included the people of the church in Rome. For us that includes everyone who hears our message concerning the Gospel of Jesus Christ.