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The Roman epistle has been recognized by many leading scholars as one of the most profound documents ever to be written. Humanly speaking, it is a masterpiece of logic and clear thinking. Of course Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit when he wrote it, but the Lord used the apostle's master mind in giving this marvelous revelation of His will.
In this epistle, as in no other, God's redemptive scheme is set forth so very fully. As the subheading of the accompanying chart indicates, it is "salvation from start to finish."
INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS REGARDING THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS
Paul, the writer of the Roman Epistle, began it this way: "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the Gospel ..." (1:1). Paul, whose former name was Saul, considered the experience which he had when he was on the way to Damascus as the polar star of all his spiritual experiences. Speaking in a different figure, I would say that his Damascus-Road experience was the monument from which he surveyed all fields pertaining to his relationship to God, to Christ, to the Holy Spirit, and to the brethren, as well as to the world. In both the Roman Epistle and the Letter to the Galatians, the Apostle emphasized the thought that he was a God-appointed minister, one who did not receive his call or ordination from men. He was, however, willing to cooperate to the nth degree with all other servants of the Lord. But he considered his conversion, call and commission as the very basis of his gospel and of his life's ministry.
We have three accounts of Paul's conversion: one in Acts, chapter nine, which was written by Luke, his historian. In Acts, chapter 22, we have an account by Paul himself of his conversion. This speech was made when he was on the steps of the castle in Jerusalem in which he was incarcerated after arrest. The third and last account of his conversion is found in his speech before King Agrippa (Acts, chap. 26). In this latter speech he recounted his early life and training. Following this statement he spoke of his hostility toward and activities against the Christians in Jerusalem. Then he told how he had obtained letters at Damascus against the Christians there. As he was journeying on the way, armed with the authority and the letters from the high priest at Jerusalem, he had the experience on Damascus Road, which changed his entire life. This is so very important that I feel I should give the account here.
Whereupon as I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, at midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them that journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying unto me in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the goad. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But arise, and stand upon thy feet: for to this end have I appeared unto thee, to appoint thee a minister and a witness both of the things wherein thou hast seen me, and of the things wherein I will appear unto thee; delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom I send thee, to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me. (Act 26:12-18)
This language speaks for itself. The Lord appeared personnally to Paul on this occasion, and gave him his call and commission. In doing so He promised that He would give him further revelations of His will. Paul was especially called to be an apostle to the Gentiles, to whom the Lord sent him. At the same time he was very careful, wherever he went, to preach to the Jews of a given community first--before turning to the Gentiles of that vicinity. This was his invariable custom, although he was pre-eminently called to the Gentile ministry.
The Judaizing Controversy
In order to appreciate the epistles and letters of Paul--especially the early ones--we must understand what is known as "the Judaizing Controversy."
After his first missionary tour (Acts 13,14) Paul labored with the church at Antioch in Syria for some time. During his ministry there, certain ones came up from Jerusalem to Antioch and insisted that the formula for salvation was faith in the Lord Jesus Christ plus circumcision and the observance of the law of Moses. These self-appointed delegates and "guardians of the faith" claimed they had the backing of the apostles in the mother church at Jerusalem. Their claims that the Gentiles had to submit to circumcision and keep the law disturbed the souls of the believers in Antioch, who had turned from among the Gentiles unto the Lord. So they sent Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem to submit the question directly to the Apostles and to the church.
Upon their arrival in Jerusalem Paul and Barnabas were received by the Apostles and the church. A special session of the church was called. Paul and Barnabas set forth the situation as they saw it. Certain of the Pharisaical group of the church opposed them bitterly. Doubtless speeches and counter speeches were made. Finally, Peter stood up and threw the weight of his influence and power with that of Paul and Barnabas. At last James, who seems to have been one of the leading spirits in the Jerusalem church, likewise threw his influence and power on Paul's side. In conclusion the Apostles, the elders and the church of Jerusalem, guided by the Holy Spirit, wrote an epistle to the church at Antioch, which was to be circulated as well among the other churches on the mission field. The gist of this epistle was that the Judaizers were wrong and that Paul and Silas were correct in preaching that one is saved by the grace of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. There is nothing in addition to belief in Christ that is necessary to obtain salvation of our Lord and Saviour. Thus, the victory for Gentile liberty was won decisively.
The decision that was reached by the Apostles, the elders of the Jerusalem church and the church itself, as they were all under the influence of the Holy Spirit, should have convinced the Judaizing brethren. We are told, however, that if a person is convinced against his will He is of the same opinion still. These brethren would not accept the authoritative declaration by the church as led by the Holy Spirit. They started a counter movement--an anti-Pauline campaign--and pushed their propaganda throughout the mission field where the Apostle Paul and his co-laborers had toiled. Everywhere the Apostle had established a church these Judaizers appeared on the scene and caused trouble. Fighting against this heresy, Paul and his co-laborers stood for the Gospel of the grace of God.
We see this controversy coming to the fore in such letters as I and II Corinthians. It is the chief item on the agenda in the Galatian letter, which was written at the same time as the epistle to the Romans. Figuratively speaking, the Apostle strikes fire with every sentence as he discusses salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, apart from all observances of the Law. There was therefore a need for a clear, straightforward and comprehensive declaration of the Gospel which Paul was preaching everywhere.
The Second and Third Missionary Tours of Paul
In Acts 15:36-18:22 we have a record of the second missionary tour of the Apostle Paul as he was attended by Luke, Silas, and Timothy. When he completed this task he returned to Palestine, saluted the church (at Jerusalem) and then went to Antioch (Acts 18:22). He spent some time in Antioch in Syria, which was the headquarters for proclaiming the gospel among the Gentiles. From there Paul went through the regions of Galatia and Phrygia and into the little province of Asia in the western part of Asia Minor. He of course went to the capital city of that province, Ephesus, where he performed a monumental piece of work, spending three years there. From there he went over into Macedonia and then down into Greece proper, to Corinth. From Corinth he retraced his steps into Macedonia--on account of a plot of the Jews to kill him--and from Macedonia sailed across the Aegean Sea and came to Troas. He sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, the passover. From Miletus he called the elders of the church at Ephesus to meet him there, because he was very eager to hasten on to Jerusalem in order that he might be there by Pentecost (Acts 20:16). It was in Paul's mind to visit Rome after he had gone to Jerusalem on this visit (Acts 19:21). He finally reached Jerusalem, as we see in the record of the journey from Miletus to Jerusalem in Acts 21:1-16.
An Offering for the Poor Saints
There was much suffering and distress among the believers at Jerusalem. Because of having accepted Jesus as Saviour, they were ostracized by the great Jewish community, and a dire situation arose. This we see in Acts, chapters 2-6. As a rule the disciples who had possessions sold them and put the proceeds into a common treasury, from which the whole Christian community was supported. Knowing the situation, the Apostle Paul began to collect a contribution from various Gentile churches to meet this emergency (I Cor. 16:1-2.) Paul also discussed the same contribution in II Corinthians, chapters 8 and 9. When he was on trial after his arrest upon his arrival in Jerusalem, he spoke of his having come up to Jerusalem to bring alms for the brethren (Acts 24:17: "Now after some years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings.") It is clear, then, that Paul, accompanied by other delegates from various churches, carried the offering for the poor saints at Jerusalem on this occasion.
The Writing of the Epistle to the Romans
In Romans 15:14-33 Paul speaks of his ministry among the Gentiles and of his having fully preached the gospel all the way from Jerusalem unto Illyricum, a province on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. It was Paul's ambition to preach the Gospel where Christ had not been known. Having fully preached the gospel throughout Asia Minor, Macedonia and Greece, he cast his eyes at the territory lying just west of the Adriatic Sea--the Italian peninsula. Paul had collected this great offering from among the Gentiles for the poor saints at Jerusalem, and wanted to take it to the brethren. It was his intention to go from Jerusalem, having accomplished that ministry, on to Rome, to spend some time there, and be sent on his way by the Roman church if all things were agreeable. (Rom. 15:22-29).
The apostle urged the church at Rome to pray earnestly that the brethren in Judaea might lay aside their prejudice and accept the offering made by the Gentiles. He also was apprehensive that he might encounter foes in Jerusalem and wanted to be delivered from them in order that he might continue his ministry and go on to Rome, on his way into Spain.
Since Paul had been misrepresented throughout the mission field, it is quite possible he had also been misrepresented in Rome. In order to let that church, which he had never visited, know the things for which he stood and the Gospel he preached, he therefore wrote this Roman Epistle. This is a stately treatise of the gospel which he himself preached. It is true that there is a salutation at the beginning and that chapter 16 contains personal matters. While an epistolary document ordinarily does not have such personal items, we can understand how it was that he could write this Epistle--this most famous of all treatise--to this church. He wanted it to have a clear statement from him concerning the gospel which he preached.
It is quite likely that Phoebe, the deaconess of Cenchreae (16:1) was the one who took this epistle from Corinth to Rome. The reason pointing in that direction is that in this verse Paul commends "Phoebe our sister" to the church. This, however, is only a supposition. There may have been others who were going along who took the letter, instead of this deaconess.
Everything points in the direction that the Galatian Letter was written at the same time as the Roman Epistle. It is indeed a letter and has every earmark of a personal communication. In it we see the Judaizing controversy at white heat. Paul rises up in the strength of his God and challenges his foes. He will not surrender one particle. He did not at the Jerusalem conference of which he spoke in Galatians, chapter 2; neither would he do it on this or any other occasion.
Paul constantly refers to himself throughout the entire epistle. He speaks of "my gospel." In chapter 7 the pronoun "I" occurs more often than in any other chapter in the same length in the Scriptures. Some devout scholars have seen, in the use of the personal pronoun, indications that the Holy Spirit was using Paul's experiences as the mold into which He poured this marvelous revelation that sets forth, in the clearest and fullest manner possible, the gospel of the grace of God. Paul witnessed that he was a sinner under the law, sold under sin; that he was striving to do his very best in order to be justified by the law but failed. He met Jesus on the way to Damascus and he surrendered his heart and life to him and was saved by the grace of God through faith. A new power entered into his own life and being and he had, therefore, victory through Christ and was looking forward to the time when he would see his Lord. Doubtless the Spirit used these various experiences of the Apostle Paul as a literary mold, guided him to speak of his own deliverance and victory through Christ with the hopes of a never-ending eternity with God, and caused him to express in his own terms the message of redemption. This should not be surprising to one who knows the nature of the Psalms. God used the personal experiences of the psalmists very frequently as the background and then gave a further disclosure of His truth in terms of the experiences through which the writer had passed or was passing.
SOME FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES TO BE FOUND IN THE SALUTATION TO THE BOOK OF ROMANS
Romans 1:1-7: Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 2 which he promised afore through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead; even Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we received grace and apostleship, unto obedience of faith among all the nations, for his name's sake; 6 among whom are ye also called to be Jesus Christ's: 7 to all that are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul presents himself to his readers as a slave or bondservant of Jesus the Messiah--a servant because he recognizes that he has been purchased with a price, the precious blood of the Lord Jesus.
The word Jesus, a Greek term, means in the Hebrew language Jehovah's salvation. Christ is a Greek word corresponding to the Hebrew term, Messiah, anointed one. Thus Paul claimed that he was a servant of Jesus the Messiah, the Saviour of Old Testament prediction.
After Paul's conversion, his Damascus Road experience became the polar star of all his thinking. Having received his call directly from the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul declares that he was a "called" apostle. Translators have inserted the phrase to be in this sentence, but it is doubtful that it is proper to supply these words. Paul was simply saying that he was a called apostle and that he had been separated unto the Gospel of God. From his mother's womb, God had separated him with the intention of calling him in due season to become a chosen vessel. He was to bear the name of Jesus before Gentiles and rulers of the world (cf. Gal. 1:15).
Gospel means "good news." The good news to which Paul had been separated was good news of God. One delights to be a bearer of good news. But the good news which Paul bore--to as many people as possible--was a message of glad tidings from the Eternal God. It is a glorious thing to be a messenger bringing glad tidings from the God of the universe.
This gospel which Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, bore to the nations was the Gospel which was promised through the prophets in the Holy Scriptures. The gospel was therefore known in the Old Testament. According to this and other passages the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, declared John (Rev. 19:10.) Peter in His second sermon, declared that the prophets spoke of these days, the Christian Dispensation (Acts 3:24). Paul told Agrippa that in preaching the gospel he was saying "nothing but what the prophets and Moses did say should come ..." (Acts 26:22,23). The gospel facts are the death, burial, and resurrection of the incarnate Son of God for the remission of the sins of the world (I Cor. 15:1,2).
That the Christian Dispensation was foretold in the Old Testament is clear from a number of passages. For instance, it is seen in Psalm 110:1: "Jehovah saith unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." According to this verse, God the Father spoke to God the Son when the Jews became hostile to Him and told him to leave earth to sit at His right hand until the Father makes the Messiah's enemies the footstool of His feet. If we speak of this psalm in dramatic terms, we would say that, when the curtain rises, the Messiah is seen in Jerusalem, and the leaders are hostile to Him. When they take this attitude, God invites Him to leave earth, to sit at His right hand, and to remain there until He puts the Jews under the Messiah's feet. This shows the two comings of the one Messiah and the interval separating them--during which time Messiah is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. This is clearly the Christian Dispensation which without a doubt was shown in the Old Testament as may be seen from many passages.
That the Church was revealed in the Old Testament is likewise certain. In Deut. 32:21 Moses referred to the Church:
They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those that are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
Paul quotes the latter part of this verse and applies it to the believers from all nations who now accept the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 10:19). Another passage is Isaiah 65:1. "I am inquired of by them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name."
In this passage we see people who have never known the Lord seeking Him and finding Him. At the same time in verses 2-7 of this chapter we see Israel rejected and out of fellowship with the Lord. That this verse, Isaiah 65:1, refers to the church is clear from the fact that Paul quoted it in Romans 10:20 and likewise applied it to believers from all peoples who accept Jesus Christ and respond to the gospel invitation now. From these passages, therefore it is clear that the Church Age and the church were clearly revealed in the Old Testament.
In Eph. 3:4-6 we see that the mystery of Christ had been revealed in former generations, but not with the same fullness of details and clarity as to the New Testament apostles and prophets. "... 4 whereby, when ye read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ; 5 which in other generations was not made known unto the sons of men, as it hath now been revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to wit, that the Gentiles are fellow-heirs, and fellow-members of the body, and fellow-partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, 7 whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power."
This gospel of God, or good news, pertains to His Son. In order that we might understand this passage thoroughly we must go back to the Old Testament to see its teachings, for the New Testament presupposes the instruction found in the Old.
Deut. 6:4 is probably the most important passage of all in the Scriptures. Properly rendered it reads: "Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our Gods is Jehovah a unity." Throughout the Old Testament the plurality of the Divine Being is taught or assumed. On many occasions there is a mention of two and sometimes three of these divine personalities--but never four or more. In view of this we naturally conclude that there is a Holy Trinity. Up until the second century of the Christian Era the Jews believed in a Trinity. After that they became monotheists.
King David, in speaking for the Messiah said, I will tell of the decree: Jehovah said unto me, Thou art my son; this day have I begotten thee (Ps. 2:7). In this quotation he takes us back in his thinking into the council chambers of the Almighty and allows us to hear what God the Father said to him: "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee." When studied in the light of Acts 13:26-37, it is seen that Paul applied this quotation from Psalm 2 to the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ (vs. 33). After establishing this point he went on to discuss the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ in vs. 34 and used Isaiah 55:3 and applied it to the resurrection. In the light of these facts we know then that Psalm 2:7 refers to the incarnation. This was spoken by God the Father to another of the Holy Trinity whom He addressed as His Son. The writer in Prov. 30:4b asks "What is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou knowest?" "What is his name," as we see from the context, refers to Deity--particularly to the Father; "and what is his son's name" relates to one whom we know as the Son of God.
In the New Testament, He that we sometimes refer to as "the second person of the Trinity" is spoken of as the Son who existed back in eternity past. For instance in John 3:16 we read, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son ..." This passage clearly assumes the existence of the Son prior to the incarnation. In Romans 8:3 we have the same situation: "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh ..." The second person of the Trinity is recognized as existing pror to the incarnation as God's Son, who took upon Himself flesh similar to that of man; but He was "sin apart." Sin therefore did not dwell in His mortal body; He was made like to his brethren (Heb. chap. 2.) In II Cor. 8:9 we read: For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor ..." Here we see the Son back in eternity with the Father enjoying all the richness of splendor, glory, power and equality with God. He "became poor" in order that through His poverty we might be made rich. In Phil. 2:5-11, we have a marvelous staement regarding our Lord: "Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant. Here we are told that the Lord Jesus Christ who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant and becoming obedient even unto the death of the cross--all for our redemption. In this passage the apostle is speaking of the prenatal state of the Son, the Lord Jesus, who existed in the form of God but voluntarily offered to lay aside the glory which He had with the Father throughout all past eternity and to take the form of a servant in order to taste death for every man. He did not consider His being equal with God and His associating with God the Father a thing to be grasped; but He laid aside the glory which He had with the Father before eternity and became incarnate to suffer and to die for mankind. Thus in this passage we see the Son in association with the Father before He voluntarily came to earth.
Paul declares that the eternal Son "was born of the seed of David according to the flesh." According to Old Testament prediction, the Redeemer of mankind was to be "the seed of the woman," an expression which is a hint regarding the virgin birth of the Messiah (Gen. 3:15); This world-Redeemer was according to Gen. 49:10 to come of the tribe of Judah: "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh come; And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be." From II Samuel, chapter 7 and I Chron. 17, we see that the Messiah was to come of the family of David and was to be born in the city of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).
From the genealogical table in Matthew, chapter 1, we see that our Lord did come of the seed of David. Thus He came according to prophetic prediction from the royal house of Judah. At the time of His coming the genealogical records of the priestly and royal line were kept at Jerusalem, but after the overthrow of the nation and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., these records were all destroyed. From the physical, human standpoint it is not possible for any Jew today to show by the records that he is of the house of David. Matthew wrote his record of the Gospel around 60 or 61 A.D. before these records were destroyed. So far as we know, no one ever challenged the correctness of his statement regarding our Lord Jesus and His being of the Davidic dynasty.
When our Lord laid aside the glory which He had with the Father and took upon Himself the form of a servant and became associated with man, it was most difficult for the average person to recognize in Him the presence of Deity in any form. Those who were spiritually-minded and who knew the Scriptures were able to recognize Him. For instance, Nathaniel, when he first laid eyes upon Jesus, said, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art King of Israel" (John 1:49). We may go back earlier than this, when Jesus was presented at the Temple. As we see in Luke 2:22-40, Simeon came up and seeing the baby Jesus recognized that He was the Lord's Messiah. It is true that God had revealed to him he should not taste of death until he should see the Messiah, but his knowledge of the Scriptures and his spiritual insight enabled him to recognize Him upon first sight. The same thing is true with reference to the prophetess Anna, of whom we read in the same passage. Thus there were those who had spiritual insight and who did recognize Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.
But most of the people, even the devout ones, did not have such spiritual insight and did not see in Jesus the fulfillment of the messianic hope. When we examine all the facts of the case we see that practically the entire nation of Israel was blinded by false conceptions concerning the nature of the kingdom which Messiah would establish upon His first advent. As we see, they were looking for a political Messiah who would throw off the Roman yoke, and who would establish a reign of righteousness and peace over Israel. Unfortunately the nation had developed this theory, which was contrary to the Old Testament presentation of "Messiah's redemptive career" consisting of His first coming, His death, burial, and resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the throne of God, His session there during the present age--during which time the gospel is being proclaimed to all nations--and His return at the end of the age to set up His kingdom of glory. Such a career of the Redeemer is set forth graphically in a number of Old Testament passages. Notwithstanding this fact, the people of Israel generally, at the time of our Lord's first coming, accepted the theory that He at his appearance would establish the Kingdom of Glory. Since He did not come according to their expectation, they, as a rule, did not see in Him the fulfillment of Old Testament predictions. Even the Apostles were blinded by this false theory. When Jesus was with them at Caesarea Philippi and conferred with them concerning various opinions held by the people regarding Him, Peter received a revelation from God which stated that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Thus the Lord revealed directly to Peter that Jesus was the Messiah. The other disciples of course heard the conversation. Notwithstanding these facts they did not take in the significance of the messages that Jesus delivered to them regarding His death, burial, and resurrection. When His body was placed in the tomb, there were interned with it all their hopes of His being the true Messiah. However, as Peter tells us in chapter 1 of his first Epistle, they were begotten again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. To most of the people of His time He was simply a wonderful man. Even His enemies recognized that fact and were afraid of Him because of His having such supernatural power. His disciples loved Him and believed in Him even though they had held erroneous ideas concerning His plans and purposes.
But when our Lord was raised from the dead--the crowning proof of His deity--He was declared or set forth as the Son of God. That which had been mysterious regarding Him was now explained by His being raised from the dead. Thus, as the Apostle Paul says, He was declared to be the Son of God by the resurrection of the dead according to the spirit of holiness. The expression, according to the spirit of holiness, is parallel to the preceding one, according to the flesh. This later phrase refers to the body of the Lord. He was born according to the flesh of the seed of David. On the other hand, He was declared to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead according to the spirit of holiness--not the Holy Spirit--but the holiness of His own divine nature. When our Lord arose from the dead He appeared to chosen ones who became witness of His resurrection. There are records of ten appearances to His disciples after He arose from the dead. On one occasion there were about five hundred brethren at once (I Cor. 15:6). The disciples had every means of knowing assuredly that the one who came to them on these occasions was none other than the risen Lord. The Apostle John (I John 1:1-4) tells us that they examined the Lord Jesus when He appeared to them. Having the testimony of their eyes, ears, and hands--they heard Him, they saw Him, and they handled His body. Thus they were convinced that there were no hallucinations in regard to the matter, that there was no appearance of a disembodied spirit; but that there was an actual appearance of the man Christ Jesus. Moreover they had the testimony of their innermost beings, because there was no one whose personality was comparable to that of the Lord Jesus. One in his own soul can detect often the genuineness of the soul of another one with whom he is associated. They recognized in this one who kept coming to them the same spiritual one whom they knew as the Lord Jesus during His personal ministry. Thus absolute, positive proof was given to the Apostles and those brethren associated with them that the Lord Jesus actually arose and appeared to them alive, bringing life and immortality to light through the gospel.
All these things pertaining to our Lord were foretold in the Old Testament Scriptures and are recorded in the New for our edification. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus is a guarantee and a pledge that those who have accepted Him will enjoy a similar resurrection of blessedness and immortality. This is shown in I Corinthians, chapter 15.
According to Romans 1:5 Paul received grace and apostleship from the Lord Jesus. In his speech before Agrippa Paul related what Christ said from the glory to him regarding his being a minister and a witness of Himself: "16 But arise, and stand upon thy feet: for to this end have I appeared unto thee, to appoint thee a minister and a witness both of the things wherein thou hast seen me, and of the things wherein I will appear unto thee; 17 delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom I send thee, 18 to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me" (Acts 26:16-18).
The Lord called Paul to His position of apostleship. The qualification of an apostle, according to Acts 1, is that an apostle had to be a witness of the things which Jesus both said and did from the baptism of John until the day of the ascension. Those were the qualifications of the original Twelve Apostles. Paul was made an apostle in a special manner by witnessing the Lord in glory after His ascension--an experience that the twelve original Apostles never enjoyed. But this experience was sufficient to qualify him to be an apostle. There are no apostles today. There can be no successors of the Apostles today because the essentials of apostleship are lacking.
Paul was especially called in order that he might preach Christ to the nations to the end that they might render the obedience of faith. God loved the world so that He gave His Son to die in order that every one that believes on Him should not perish but have everlasting life. It is a heritage of every one coming into the world to hear the gospel at least one time. In order that they might have this opportunity, the Lord has ordained that His church should proclaim the glad tidings to the end of the earth, giving all a chance.
God wants and delights in "the obedience of faith." Men are saved by faith, pure faith, apart from all law. In Hebrews, chapter 11, the writer shows what faith is. By faith we understand that the worlds were created by the word of God. It is a matter of faith and not of knowledge. In this instance faith is pure faith, that is, no obedience whatsoever. Nothing is required; we simply believe. If a person will study Hebrews, chapter 11, carefully, he will see that, what the writer meant by faith is simply to believe, to trust. It is this faith that saves.
But whenever anyone has such a saving faith and God commands him to do anything, he does not question the propriety or the necessity of doing what God says. His saving faith will lead him to obey. That is what the Apostle means by the obedience of faith. Abraham believed God and his faith was counted to him for righteousness (Gen. 15:6); but that same faith by which he was justified caused him to offer Isaac his son upon the altar. He went as far as he could until he was stopped by divine command. Do you and I, dear friends, render the obedience of faith? That is the thing that delights the heart of God.
The gospel was never intended to convert the world. God knew that all men will not accept the truth; but they must all be given the opportunity. The gospel is the savor of life unto life and of death unto death (II Cor. 2:14ff). According to verse 6 the people at Rome to whom Paul sent the Epistle were among those who had rendered the obedience of faith and who belonged to Christ Jesus. This indeed was a comforting message to the believers in Rome.
Paul concluded his salutation by a prayer that grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ might be the portion of His church. Grace was given to us before times eternal but was manifested by the coming of the Lord Jesus to die for us. God's grace is sufficient for us (II Cor. 12:9; Heb. 4:14-16). There will be grace brought to us at the revelation of the Lord Jesus (I Peter 1:13). We need sustaining grace all the time, however, to help us as we go along life's journey. God wants peace to be multiplied in our hearts so that nothing may perturb us, but that we may let our light shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven.
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