Study notes on Romans 1:1-7

Other notes in this series:

• Study notes on Romans 1:8-15
• Study notes on Romans 1:16-17
• Study notes on Romans 1:18-23

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 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 [produced by] faith for the sake of His name among all the nations,

                    ⁶ including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

⁷ To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

    Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:1-7

Summary Statement - The powerful, resurrected Jesus gave grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among those called to be saints.

My Outline:

• The apostle of Jesus, 1
• The Gospel of Jesus, 2-5
  • Where and When
  • Who, What and Why
• The saints of Jesus, 6-7

Notes from Former Pastor's Sermons

Outline

1. The Great King (Jesus)
   1. His Reign, 1-4
   2. His Conquest, 5-6
2. Great Grace, 7

Quotes

• "this is an elaborate and great greeting for a great epistle, like the construction of a great porch for a great house." ❤️
• "Paul is used to bring about the obedience of faith among the nations [prophesied beforehand] in Psalm 2."

The Story Retold Notes

• Elements of this greeting are mentioned again in the conclusion (16:25-27).

Wallace's Greek Grammar Notes

1:5 -

• δι᾽ οὗ ἐλάβομεν χάριν καὶ ἀποστολὴν εἰς ὑπακοὴν πίστεως [Jesus Christ], through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith
  • 'of faith' is a possible Genitive of Production/Producer (see p 105,106); the obedience is an obedience produced by faith ❤️ 1:7 -
• ἐν Ῥώμῃ ἀγαπητοῖς θεοῦ [to those] in Rome, beloved by God
  • This is a Genitive of Agency (p 126); God is the agent by which the action (being beloved) is accomplished ❤️

Calvin’s Notes

• 1:3 - “they who seek to be wise without Christ, are not only foolish, but even completely insane.” lol
• 1:4 -
  • the glory of Christ in His resurrection and power by the Spirit is not known to us until “the same Spirit imprints a conviction of it on our hearts.” ❤️
  • “He gained victory over death, not by aid sought from another, but by the celestial operation of His own Spirit.” ❤️
• 1:6 - “if they wished their own calling to remain sure, they were no to reject the ministry of Paul, who had been chosen by the same election of God.”
• 1:7 - “Whatever good comes to us, it is the fruit of divine benevolence. Nor must we omit to notice, that he prays at the same time to the Lord Jesus Christ for these blessings.”
  • 🤲 My Lord, You have taught me this lesson, to pray for the things that You have promised to me, namely the promise of continued communion with You. Thank You so much for the time to draw near to You through Your Son. Thank You for the gospel, my Holy One. Please give me deeper understanding, my King! For I am Yours, and all Your blessings are for me. Be with us today, my Lord Jesus.

Luther's Notes

• Jesus was 'descended' from David according to the flesh. Luther's translation has 'made' instead; he magnifies the distinction between Christ's human nature being 'made' and His declaration to be the Son of God, which existed always.
• By triumphing over sin and rising from the dead, He was declared to be the Son of God.
  • "This man, the son of David according to the flesh, is now publicly made known as the Son of God with power, that is, as the omnipotent Lord of all things, after He had been subjected to all things in weakness as the son of David." p 36
  • "The Gospel, then, is the joyous message of Christ, the Son of God, who first humbled Himself and then was glorified through the Holy Spirit." p 37

My Notes

The powerful, resurrected Jesus gave grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among those called to be saints.

• Outline
  • The apostle of Jesus, 1
  • The Gospel of Jesus, 2-5
    • Where and When
    • Who, What and Why
  • The saints of Jesus, 6-7
• Observations
  • The Apostle of Jesus, 1
    • Paul became an apostle in imitation to Christ, Himself the Apostle and High Priest of our confession (Heb 3:1).
      • If we imitate Paul as Paul imitates Christ, we too should become messengers
    • Paul is called, and the saints in Rome are called.
      • 'call' used in 8:28
    • Paul is set apart in Acts 13:2 - "While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.'" ❤️
    • The Lord as Commander, directing the thoughts, words, and deeds of His servants
      • Paul was called to be an apostle. He has detailed elsewhere that he had no option to deny this call - "For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!" 1 Corinthians 9:16
        • 🤲 May this be my prayer too, my Lord! Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
  • The Gospel of Jesus, 2-5
    • Where and When
      • This declaration of Jesus as the Son of God is straight from Psalm 2, as Dan Clifford said. This declaration is made in the midst of the enemies of God conspiring against Him and against His anointed.
        • 🤲 My Lord, what need have I to fear the evil in this world if at it's crescendo, the greatest movement in redemption occurred? You planned it this way, my Lord. I Praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully remade!
      • 🤲 Oh Spirit, you empowered Jesus to be raised from the dead! Help me to see Your work in resurrecting my Savior as a precious work, and a work that You performed for me in love.
        • Romans 8
      • The Lord's preparation and initiation of His covenant with humanity, in creation and redemption
        • The Lord's covenant with David is taken up by Christ and upheld by His resurrection.
      • The work of redemption is triune - The gospel of God is the gospel concerning Jesus His Son, whose death and resurrection was by the Spirit.
    • Who Jesus is
      • 🤲 Jesus, You are my Lord and I am Your servant. You are my friend also, for You have shown me along with all the saints, the great purpose for which You created me. You have shown me all things, You will guide me into all truth.
    • What and Why
      • The Lord as Provider, loving husband of His bride and faithful Shepherd for His sheep
        • The Lord has given grace and apostleship to conquer and rule over His sheep
          • 🤲 I must thank You for the apostles, my Lord! It was chiefly through them that You brought about the Scriptures by Your Spirit. Thank You for Paul/Matthias, Peter, James, John, Bartholomew, James, Matthew, Philip, Simon, Thaddeus, Thomas and Andrew.
      • 'obedience' in v 5 is in the accusative; according to my english half-diagram its the heart of the passage
        • this obedience is progressive, we learn from other passages in the Bible
        • God's proximate purpose is the beautification of His children; His ultimate purpose is to glorify Christ, to make Him "the firstborn of many brethren" (Romans 8:29), Ian Hamilton.
        • but I need to do more research on this phrase, "obedience of faith".
          • see Wallace notes on this verse - it is the obedience produced by faith
        • Paul in Philippians 4:17 says the same: "I seek the fruit that increases to your credit"
      • Ephesians 4:9-16 identifies these gifts as having been given in order that we might:
        • be equipped for ministry,
        • to build up the body of Christ,
        • attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,
        • to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
        • etc;
        • So the obedience of faith can be added to this list - the obedience of faith is growth into Christlikeness.
  • The saints of Jesus, 7
    • After a sweeping declaration of the great ends for which the gospel was given, for which Jesus died and rose, the comparatively humble saints in Rome are included in God's purpose (Romans 8:28).
• Interpretation/Application
  • 🤲 Thank You for this great gospel, my Lord, the gospel that is so great that Paul has to explain it in great detail even before He begins his letter proper.
  • 🤲 Thank You for setting Paul apart for this gospel!
  • 🤲 My Savior, You are the resurrected King, who has become one with the Spirit in order to give gifts to men. Thank You for your gift of grace and apostleship, my Lord.