Greetings to Rome

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Romans 1:1-7

Paul opens his letter to the Romans in the same way that was common for that time period. The general recipe is: ‘X to Y, greetings’. Paul uses this same standard, but expands on it. The skeleton is ‘Paul…to all God’s beloved in Rome…grace…and peace.’ His greeting, however, is expanded to seven verses. He adds great detail to each aspect of the greeting.

1. Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—. Some translations use the word servant and some use slave, why? This same issue comes up in the Gospels. The centurion’s son/slave/servant was sick and Jesus healed him. The Greek word used is doulos =bondservant. It was common in that time to sell oneself of a child into slavery/servanthood for a period of time to pay off a debt or to give the child a better life. At the end of the commitment a bond had often formed between master and slave so that the servant did not want to leave. He felt like family. There was a custom in which the servant/slave could pin himself to the door frame of the house by putting a spike trough his ear. When the master of the house returned home he could remove the spike showing that the servant was accepted into the family and could stay with them permanently or he could reject the servant by leaving him there. This is where the term bondservant comes from. A bondservant is one who is in his position of slavery by choice. Paul uses this word very specifically because he is at his master’s complete disposal and yet he has chosen to be in servitude and he also has a family type relationship with God.
His apostleship (a delegate, messenger, one sent out with specific orders) came straight from God and not from man. Gal 1:1,15-16 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. He was singled out and sought after by God to preach the Gospel.

2. the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures Paul builds on this idea that The Gospel was foretold in the OT in the rest of his letter. 1:17 “The righteous will live by faith.”(ref Hab 2:4b), 4:3 “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”(ref Gen 15:6) and many more. Even in his greeting he is setting the stage for the rest of the letter.
It is important to Paul that those he is writing to know that this Gospel he is preaching is not a new message. It is the fulfillment of a promise. He appeals to the OT very often because even though this is a mostly Gentile group it is still a point of reference that grounds the Gospel message and gives credit to it.

3. regarding his Son, What is this Gospel that was promised in the OT? It’s Jesus!
who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, This is a common topic in early Christian sermons and is brought up in many places in the NT. Jesus never mentioned his lineage or tried to lay claim to it, however. Why is it so important to the disciples and apostles then?
Ps 132:11 The LORD swore an oath to David,
a sure oath he will not revoke:
“One of your own descendants
I will place on your throne.
2 Chron 6:16 “Now, LORD, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me according to my law, as you have done.’
2 Kings 8:19 Nevertheless, for the sake of his servant David, the LORD was not willing to destroy Judah. He had promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever.
2 Sam 7:12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom.
Unless Jesus is a son of David, He is not the Messiah. The apostles brought up Jesus' lineage regularly to help prove that He is the Messiah.

4. and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Does this mean that Jesus didn’t become the Son of God till He was resurrected? There are some that hold to the adoption theory which says one of two things. Jesus was just a man who God adopted as his son either at the baptism or when He raise Jesus from the dead. This is a dangerous theory! In college I heard Kenneth Coplan say on t.v. that had he lived during Jesus day he could have been adopted as God's son and died for our sins. Holy Crap!!! Talk about Blasphemy! The answer is: No, He has been the Son of God from the beginning. The resurrection put a stamp of approval for all to see on Him. It established His position in power. (vs 3-4)Jesus holds not only the physical right, but also the spiritual right to the claim of Messiah. His descent from David is a matter of glory for the earthly Jesus and His resurrection by the Holy Spirit is the greater glory of his exaltation.
The phrase ‘the resurrection from the dead’ is literally ‘resurrection of dead ones’. It is pluralized. In Greek this is type of phrase called a generalizing plural. Paul could have phrased it differently and just said His resurrection, but he chose this phrase to not only reference Christ’s personal resurrection, but also hint at the future resurrection of His people. It would be like saying, 'We know that so and so is the best football player by the draft picks' rather than saying, 'We know that so and so is the best football player by his draft pick'.

5. Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. This is a statement about the specific calling and purpose of Paul. He was called to be an apostle specifically to the Gentiles so that they would come to faith in Jesus.

6. And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. This is an indicator that the church in Rome was predominately Gentile. What does it mean to be 'called' to belong to Jesus? The calling is the work of the Holy Spirit drawing each of us and showing us our need for a savior. This phrase shows how it is that one gets to Jesus; by conviction and the wooing of the Holy Spirit.

7. To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: If we are loved by God, then we are called to live holy lives. Here's an interesting tid bit. There are hints in the NT in various places that ‘the saints’ was a term that Jewish Christians reserved for themselves to set themselves apart from Gentile Christians. It was an indicator that they were to receive special recognition and authority from God. Paul uses this phrase specifically when addressing the Gentile Christians to further try and break down the segregation of the believers. He is constantly trying to make the church aware of the level playing field of all the believers.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a very common greeting from Paul accentuating the gift of love, favor, and rest given by God. It also reminds the reader of Paul’s single minded devotion to Jesus and desire for everyone to realize that Jesus is God.