Romans 1:3-4 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to 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
At the heart of the gospel is Jesus Christ. Who was he to Paul? That is the indirect topic of all his letters. He begins this letter with a statement of Jesus’ humanity and divinity. Jesus was the descendant of David through lineage. David is listed at the beginning of Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew 1:1 and multiple times in Luke 1-3. Many Jews were expecting that someone would come from the royal line of David to restore Israel. Jesus came in ways that people were not expecting and brought a spiritual kingdom, not earthly one. Jesus’ resurrection showed him to be the Son of God. Everyone ever raised from the dead died again. Jesus rose for eternity. What is significant about Paul’s statement is that Jesus’ resurrection proved everything Jesus ever said or did, all the miracles and claims he made. If people ever doubted about Jesus’ identity before, they could not deny afterwards. The role of the Holy Spirit in this is challenging to understand. The Holy Spirit confirms Jesus’ Sonship to those who believe. The Holy Spirit is God’s power and presence and through the Spirit, Jesus was raised. The Spirit here is connected with holiness possibly in reference to the glory and awesomeness of God. This verse draws my imagination to God’s holy throne and his overwhelming presence. The almighty and only everlasting God came down to the dark tomb and enlivened Jesus’ dead body. By doing this, the Spirit confirmed all that Jesus claimed about himself. These are deep thoughts that Paul states at the beginning of his letter. These ideas will be stated in different ways throughout this letter. They confront us with the fundamental choice of faith we must make. What will we do with this Jesus Christ our Lord?
For older posts, click here.