Sometimes, I think it is so easy and common for us to read over a verse so quickly or nonchalantly or unaware that we completely miss its significant weight.
This happens to me too much, but by God’s grace, He really showed me some killer truths that are embedded within the language and sentence structure of Romans 1:1-7. Therefore, by breaking down these verses into small bits, evaluating each one of them individually, and re-connecting them back together do we begin to grasp the full, rich meaning behind the passage altogether. In this approach, we can see how and why each part relates to, follows, and makes sense in light of the other.
The cool thing about this passage is that it’s just a seemingly insignificant greeting from Paul. If we’re honest, we skip over the “greeting” and “farewell” of Paul’s letters because we think they’re not important, or, as if they are only greetings or farewells. But let’s check it out:
1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4and 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,5through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7To 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 ESV)
**Here is how we will systematically break down this passage—by asking questions.
1. What? “We have received grace and apostleship” through Jesus Christ
2. Why? “in order to bring about the obedience of faith”
3. For What? ”for the sake of His name”
4. To Whom? ”among all nations”, for those “who are called to belong to Jesus Christ”
5. How? How is all this possible? Because Jesus is 1) the fulfillment of the prophesies which testified about salvation (v. 2) and 2) the fulfillment of the law because he lived with all ‘holiness’ (v.4). And we can hold these things as true with certainty and confidence because of “his resurrection from the dead” (v. 5).
**Indeed, Jesus’ resurrection is significant because it shows us that his obedience was complete and his sacrifice was therefore enough to atone for sin. The resurrection was God’s way of showing us His stamp of approval on and symbol of victory for what Jesus accomplished for us, and that it was, indeed, an accomplishment worthy enough for God to accept and glorify on our behalf.
6. In light of this: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”. Grace and peace to us from God does not make sense unless we understand what Jesus accomplished for us. This is great news, and when we live in light of this redeeming work of Christ for us, we are empowered to live by grace, in peace, for people, for God.
Pretty cool greeting, huh?
Here is the Christianity Applied link to my new blog:
http://christianityapplied.com/2012/02/18/the-ultimate-greeting/
