Walking Through Romans: pt1 chapter 1: 1-7

Walking through Romans: pt1

Romans 1 (New King James Version)

Greeting
1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. 5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.


First off I want to say I have looked for a Bible version that was easy to read, and familiar. I prefer NKJV yet do believe there are many other great versions… some have their weakness in one area, and weaknesses in others.

Paul the Apostle had most probably never known Jesus before His death and resurrection. Yet, through an incredible story, Paul who had been on a mission to destroy this new sect called the “Christians” met Jesus in a vision. All this is recorded in the Book of Acts.

Paul is the most prolific writer of the New Testament and to him we owe much as far as to the deeper life we have in Christ Jesus. Romans was really a letter of introduction of Paul to the believers in Rome… There were both Jew and Gentile believers in Rome and history sets them as not getting along that well at all. The Jewish believers saw that they had been chosen by God, and given the Law, and also through them the Messiah had come, so the natural assumption would be that those who came to Christ would also become Jewish converts. In a sense we are about to look into a time in history that division was in the Church as Jew was against Gentiles who had come to the Lord by Grace through faith.

Paul is on his third missionary journey and this is an appeal for money to be able to good onto Spain. (Romans 15: 33)

The most astonishing thing is that in these very first few verses, Paul is standing against the Cult of Caesar. Paul invokes the prophets of Scripture as a way to point to Jesus’ authority to the Jews in Rome, and then to the Seed of David as to Jesus’ earthly Kingship. Paul in one sentence hits two nails and set the tone for the letter. In the very next verse Paul tells all that the final trump card is played… Jesus was raised from the dead… to that there had been no person let alone any earthly king who have died and risen from the grave… in that Paul begins the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Paul pushes the point by using the proclamation made by the Caesar’s themselves… “Through Him we have received grace” then once again goes over the head of all Caesars… “apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;”

With that statement Caesar is no longer lord… for Paul has just proclaimed Jesus as the One Whom grace comes to Rome and that empire is one of the nations called of Jesus for Himself.

Paul then opens with his greetings to his brothers, both Jew and Gentile in Rome…

“To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Yes, Jesus is Lord… even in Rome, the center of Caesar worship… in the hot seat of the Beast, Jesus is still Lord of all.


Blessings,
iggy