Lessons #11 and 12

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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +

+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +

+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +

+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +

+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +

+ NAB=New American Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +

+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +

+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +

+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +

+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +

+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +

+ 4. Text is based on 1984 edition of the NIV +

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The Gospel of God (Rom 1:2-6)

² the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ³ regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, ⁴ and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. ⁵ Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. ⁶ And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

The central message of this section of Romans 1:2-6 is that the Gospel of God is a promised good news given through the prophets and it is about the Son of God but a simple message the Holy Spirit wants us to hear from this passage is You should endeavor to remember that the focus of the gospel of God is Jesus Christ. We have been considering the second general statement of the apostle about the gospel of God which is that it is about the Son of God. We have argued that the phrase his Son of Romans 1:3 or “the Son of God” may be understood as “One, of the nature of God,” that is, “One who is of the nature of God.” Consequently, the phrase of Romans 1:3 his Son is Apostle Paul’s way of saying that Jesus Christ is fully God. So, we have been considering several points or assertions of the apostle about the One described in the phrase his Son. The first point is that He is a descendant of David in His humanity. The second is that He indeed was clearly characterized to be the Son of God. The third point is that this One described as his Son in Romans 1:3 has a name by which He is identified. Thus, the third point is that He is Jesus Christ. In other words, the apostle supplied a personal name to Him in the phrase of Romans 1:4 Jesus Christ our Lord. The fourth point of Apostle Paul regarding the One described in the phrase his Son of Romans 1:3 that he clearly identified as Jesus Christ in verse 4 is that He is the agent of blessings. This point is made in the first clause the of Greek of Romans 1:5 that reads in the 2011 edition of the NIV as Through him we received grace and apostleship. In our last study, we noted the importance of the phrase Through him as it relates to the blessings we enjoy as believers in Christ Jesus. In effect, we indicated that the phrase conveys that Jesus Christ is central to God’s plan in dealing with humans. We ended our last study with the question of what the apostle meant in this clause. So, it is with the answer that we begin our study this morning.

We referenced many blessings that come to believers because of the centrality of Jesus Christ in God’s plan for us as implied in the phrase through him but in Romans 1:5 the apostle focused on specific spiritual blessings that are restricted to a group of believers as he wrote in the sentence of Romans 1:5 we received grace and apostleship. On a surface reading, it appears that the apostle meant that two things were received but as we will demonstrate later the apostle meant just one thing. That aside, this sentence raises three questions. To whom does the apostle refer in the word “we?” What is the meaning of “grace” here? What does “apostleship” mean?

The first question arises because the apostle stated we received. The word “received” is translated from a Greek word (lambanō) that may mean to get hold of something by laying hands on or grasping something, directly or indirectly hence means “to take, take hold of, grasp, take in hand,” as it is used to describe sin’s hold on Apostle Paul in Romans 7:8:

But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead.

Here the Greek word is translated “seizing.” The word may mean to take into one’s possession and so means “to take, acquire.” It is in this sense our word is used to indicate that whatever we possess is from God, as stated in John 3:27:

To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.

Although the word “receive” is used in the NIV but the sense in this passage is that of acquiring or having something. This is probably the reason the TEV translated the sentence of the NIV A man can receive only what is given him from heaven as No one can have anything unless God gives it to him. The word may mean “to receive” in the sense of “to come to believe, to accept as true” as it is used in John 12:48:

There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.

The word may mean “to put on” as it pertains to clothes as Jesus did after washing His disciples’ feet, as recorded in John 13:12:

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them.

The word may mean “to receive” in the sense of get something or come into the possession of something as it is used regarding the receiving of the Spirit in Galatians 3:14:

He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

In our passage of Romans 1:5, the word means “to receive,” that is, “to get something or come into possession of; whether physical or abstract.”

Our concern is with the word “we” the apostle used in the sentence of Romans 1:5 we received grace and apostleship. It is the context in which the sentence we received is used that helps us to determine those involved in the pronoun “we.” The apostle used “we” as inclusive of believers when he wrote of receiving reconciliation in Romans 5:11:

Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

It is in the sense that “we” refers to all believers that the apostle used it in connection with receiving of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 2:12:

We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.

In each of these two passages where the apostle used similar Greek form of the Greek word used in our passage of Romans 1:5, the context makes it clear that he used the pronoun “we” as inclusive of all believers in Christ. In our passage of Romans 1:5, the pronoun “we” has been interpreted in two general ways. Some take the position that the apostle used it as “a literal plural” or “editorial/epistolary plural” to refer to himself. A support for this position is that the apostle frequently referred to himself as an apostle to the Gentiles. This is not such a strong support since although he was an apostle to Gentiles, the office of an apostle that is the concern of the verse we are considering is not limited to the apostle when it comes to Gentiles as we will note shortly. A second interpretation of the pronoun “we” is the apostle used it to refer to himself and all the other apostles who were involved in preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the second interpretation that I believe is what the apostle meant. This interpretation is supported by the context in which the apostle described what is received in the phrase of Romans 1:5 grace and apostleship which leads to answering the second and third questions regarding the meanings of “grace” and “apostleship.”

The word “grace” is translated from a Greek word (charis) that may mean “grace”, but the word has a range of meanings. Grace in the NT as a word used in relationship with a person may refer to that which is attractive or appealing in someone that draws favorable reaction from others. It is this meaning that is used to indicate how appealing the teaching of our Lord Jesus was to the audience that heard His teaching, so our Greek word is translated “gracious” in Luke 4:22:

All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

It is with this same meaning of grace that the Apostle Paul used in his instruction regarding what is expected of believer’s speech or communication in Colossians 4:6:

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

The instruction let your conversation be always full of grace means that believer’s conversation should always be pleasant. Thus, the word “grace” here means “charming, pleasant, attractive.”

Another meaning of the Greek word translated “grace” is “that beneficent disposition toward someone, that is, favor, help or care, goodwill shown or received by another.” Grace as a favor that one grants to another without any obligation on the part of the one who grants the favor is reflected in 2 Timothy 1:9:

who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,

Grace in this verse is that special favor that God granted us in Christ Jesus.

Another meaning of the Greek word translated “grace” is “exceptional effect produced by generosity.” Thus, when God enabled the Macedonian believers to be generous towards their fellow believers, especially, those in Jerusalem, that enablement or action of God on them is described by Apostle Paul as His grace in 2 Corinthians 8:1:

And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches.

The same enablement or action of God that caused the Corinthians to be generous towards others is described as grace in 2 Corinthians 9:14:

And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.

So, in both passages grace refers to enablement or God’s action on believers that causes them to be generous towards others. Of course, it is in this sense of enablement that results in power that the word “grace” is used by the apostle in 2 Corinthians 12:9:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

The enablement God gives that is also described as grace may in fact be understood as “gift.” It is in this sense of the meaning “gift” that the word “grace” is used in 1 Peter 4:10:

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.

The phrase God’s grace in its various forms may be read God’s gift in its various forms. Still another meaning of the Greek word translated “grace” is “thankfulness, gratitude” as a response to generosity or benevolence, as the word is used in describing what is expected of believers who are filled of the Spirit and the word of God in Colossians 3:16:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

The phrase with gratitude is literally in grace. In our passage of Romans 1:5, the word has the sense of “privilege” that is due to God’s “favor.” This meaning of “privilege” should not be seen as far fetched since that is the sense of the Greek word used in the NIV in describing the contribution of the Corinthians towards believers in Judea as we read in 2 Corinthians 8:4:

they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.

The clause for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints is more literally the grace and the fellowship of the service to the saints. We can understand the meaning “privilege” for the Greek word that literally means “grace” in this passage of 2 Corinthians 8:4 because contributing to help fellow believers in Judea was considered a privilege instead of a burden or responsibility. Thus, Apostle Paul indicates that the apostles, himself included, received privilege that is a result of God’s favor to do what they did. We should also be reminded that whatever privilege we have to serve Christ is because of the favor of God through Jesus Christ. Anyway, the point remains that in our context, the “grace” the apostle states that he and the other apostles received is a privilege that results from God’s favor.

The apostle did not leave us wondering what this privilege he and other apostles received was so he explained it. We say this because of the phrase of Romans 1:5 and apostleship. As we indicated previously, some, because of this phrase, take the position that the apostles received two things “grace”, that is, “God’s unmerited favor in common with other Christians” and “apostleship” because of the word “and.” However, the word “and” is translated from a Greek word (kai) that is often translated “and” to connect clauses or sentences, but it has several other usages. For example, it may be translated “and so” to introduce a result that comes from what precedes it or it can be translated “even” as a marker of emphasis. In our verse, it is used to provide explanation to what preceded; in which case, it may be translated “that is.” In effect, once the apostle mentioned the privilege he and the other apostles received, he explained what he meant by the privilege he had in mind. This privilege the apostle meant is given in the word apostleship of Romans 1:5.

The word “apostleship” is translated from a Greek word (apostolē) that appears four times in the Greek NT; it refers to the office of one who has been commissioned and sent as a special messenger hence means “office of an apostle, apostleship.” Thus, the word is used in Apostle Peter’s address to the church regarding the replacement of Judas Iscariot as narrated in Acts 1:25:

to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.”

The verbal phrase to take over this apostolic ministry is literally to take the place in this ministry and apostleship.

The word is used by Apostle Paul to remind the Corinthians that they are believers is a proof of his apostleship as we may gather from in 1 Corinthians 9:2:

Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

Although the translators of the NIV gave our word the meaning “apostle” in the passage where Apostle Paul indicates his office of an apostle is directed towards Gentiles, it is the meaning of “apostleship” that is applicable in Galatians 2:8:

For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles.

The phrase my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles is more literally apostleship to the uncircumcision. In our passage of Romans 1:5, it is used in the sense of “the office of an apostle,” that is, the office of an envoy that was directly commissioned by the Lord Jesus. Thus, the apostle indicated that he and the other apostles received the office of an apostle through Jesus Christ. By the way, our interpretations of the word “and” and the word “apostleship” used in the phrase and apostleship means that the phrase of Romans 1:5 grace and apostleship of the NIV may be translated privilege, that is, the office of an apostle. Hence, the office Apostle Paul and others occupied was because of Jesus Christ, proving the point that every blessing believers enjoy in the spiritual life is through the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, every pastor or deacon should see his office as a privilege to serve the Lord.

The apostle asserted that the privilege associated with the office of an apostle has a goal or a purpose. This goal or purpose is related to faith in Christ or what results from faith in Christ. It is this the apostle stated in the expression of the NIV of Romans 1:5 to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. Literally, the Greek reads for (the) obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name. The literal phrase reveals that the word “call” in the NIV or “bring” in most of the other English versions does not appear in the Greek text. However, the verb is used to help the English reader make sense of the literal Greek although the use of the word “call” in the NIV might have been influenced by the appearance of a Greek word that means “called” in verse 6. You see, the word for in the literal translation is translated from a Greek preposition (eis) that may mean “to” or “for” among others but in our verse, it is used to indicate the purpose or goal for the privilege of the office of an apostle. It is to convey that there is a purpose or goal that is expected from such privilege that the translators of the NIV introduced the verbal phrase to call while others use the verbal phrase to bring or to lead.

The purpose or goal of the office of an apostle is to cause faith in Jesus Christ or obedience that results from faith in Jesus Christ. It is this that NIV rendered in the clause of Romans 1:5 to the obedience that comes from faith or literally obedience of faith.

The problem is how to understand the literal phrase obedience of faith. The Greek phrase leads to at least four possible interpretations. The first interpretation takes the position that “faith” is to be understood as expressing innate quality of “obedience” leading to the reading “believing obedience” or “faithful obedience.” A second interpretation is to see “faith” as being the object of action associated with the word “obedience” so that the Greek phrase may read “obeying faith” or “obedience to the faith.” A third interpretation is to take faith as that which results or produces obedience leading to the translation “obedience faith produces” or “obedience that comes from faith.” The fourth is to take the position that the word “faith” explains or defines what “obedience” meant in the passage we are considering, leading to the translation of the Greek phrase as “obedience, that is, faith.” The problem is to determine which of these interpretations the apostle meant. The answer depends in part on what “faith” means in the verse. You may say, “I know what faith means because Hebrews 11:1 states faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” or as in the NIV2011 faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Well, there is more to the word “faith” than this definition.

The word “faith” is translated from a Greek word (pistis) although often translated “faith” has several other meanings. The Greek word may mean “faith” in the active sense of believing or trusting in someone; the kind of believing that brings salvation. It is in this sense that Apostle Paul used our Greek word to describe faith-righteousness instead of law- righteousness in Romans 3:22:

This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,

Another meaning of the Greek word translated “faith” is true piety or genuine devotion or even firm commitment. Stephen was described as one who had a genuine devotion or firm commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ in that he did not waver in what he believed but was fully devoted to the Lord. This is the sense of the word “faith” in Acts 6:5:

This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.

Another meaning of the Greek word translated “faith” is as an important virtue that Christians should have, or they have as a result of believing in Christ or as a result of the Holy Spirit operating in them. So, it is used to describe “faithfulness” that is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit given in Galatians 5:22:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

That faith refers to an important Christian virtue is evident in the fact that it is often associated with the virtue of love and so Apostle Paul used it in his epistle to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:13:

What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.

Another meaning of the Greek word translated “faith” is a reference to a religious movement such as the Christian faith, which is essentially the same as “the Christian religion.” It is in this sense that Apostle Paul used it to describe what people heard about him following his conversion as stated in Galatians 1:23:

They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”

Paul’s former effort was focused on exterminating Christians and so the Christian movement. Thus, what he tried to destroy is not so much the preaching of the gospel but the Christian movement since if he stopped the movement, he would have destroyed the Christian religion. Of course, that was not to be the case as he was converted and became one of the most fervent advocates of the Christian movement.

Still another meaning of the Greek word translated “faith” is “body of teaching” or “doctrine.” It is in this way that the word “faith” is used to describe what will happen to some believers as it pertains to their spiritual life at a later time as we read in 1 Timothy 4:1:

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

It is possible that “faith” here can also be interpreted as the “Christian faith,” but it is more likely the apostle meant Christian doctrine especially because of the expression things taught by demons. It is the sense of doctrine or body of teaching of the Christian faith that “faith” is used in Jude 3:

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.

In our passage of Romans 1:5, the word has the sense of “trust,” that is, “state of believing on the basis of the reliability of the one trusted.” Although it is not explicitly stated, the object of trust in the context is Jesus Christ.

We have noted that the word “faith” as used in the literal phrase of Romans 1:5 obedience of faith refers to “trust,” that is, “state of believing on the basis of the reliability of the one trusted.” Based on this meaning, we return to the interpretation of the literal phrase obedience of faith. It is our interpretation that when the apostle wrote the phrase obedience of faith he meant “obedience, that is, faith” or put in another ways “obedience that consists in faith,” i.e., “trust.” The context of the verse we are considering supports this interpretation. The apostle indicates the purpose of the privilege of apostleship is to present the gospel to Gentiles, but the gospel message is only received by faith and so the apostle would be thinking of faith in Christ as what is meant as obedience in the context of the gospel preaching. You see, in another epistle the apostle implied that obeying the gospel is the same as believing in the Lord Jesus as we read in 2 Thessalonians 1:8:

He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

Here the word “obey” has the sense of “to believe.” This is because the gospel message requires a response of faith. We know that when Apostle Peter preached the gospel on the day of Pentecost, those who heard him wanted to know how they should respond. He indicated that their response should be in the form of repentance that involves believing in Jesus Christ as we read in Acts 2:38:

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Furthermore, those who will be subject to eternal punishment are those who did not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as implied in John 3:36:

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”

Apostle Paul clearly indicated that the appropriate response to the gospel message is to believe in Christ. This is the reason when the Philippian Jailer asked how to be saved, the apostle’s answer was unequivocal in stating that it is to believe in Jesus Christ as we read in Acts 16:31:

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

Because the appropriate response to the gospel message is to exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the literal phrase of Romans 1:5 obedience of faith must be concerned with seeing obedience as consisting of faith or that faith explains what obedience is in the context of the gospel. Of course, one may wonder if this interpretation is what the apostle meant that he should have simply used the word “faith” without any reference to obedience. Well, it is probably that the Holy Spirit directed the apostle to use the word in such a way to cause the reader to recognize that first and foremost, the appropriate response to the gospel message is to believe in Christ but following that is living in obedience to the contents of the Christian doctrine as implied by what the apostle later stated in Romans 6:17:

But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.

This requirement of faith first followed by obedience to the teaching of the word of God is implied in the doxology of the apostle as he came to the concluding portion of this epistle in that he linked faith and obedience together in Romans 16:25–26:

²⁵ Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, ²⁶ but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him—

Anyhow, we maintain that the literal phrase of Romans 1:5 obedience of faith meant “obedience, that is, faith” or put in another way “obedience that consists in faith.” Thus, the goal of the office of an apostle is for those who are the recipients of the ministry of the apostles to believe or trust in Jesus Christ.

A targeted recipients of the benefits related to the office of an apostle are Gentiles although the NIV reads in Romans 1:5 to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith but literally the Greek reads for (the) obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name.

The word “Gentiles” is translated from a Greek word (ethnos) that refers to a group of persons united by kinship, culture, and common traditions and so means “nation, people.” It is in the sense of “nation” that the word is used in the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

When the Greek word is used in the plural with the definite article, it refers to people groups foreign to a specific people group. Thus, the word was used in Greek for foreigners. However, in the NT it is used in two ways. First, it is used for those who do not belong to groups professing faith in the God of Israel so means “Gentiles, pagans.” It is in this sense that the word is used by Apostle Paul when he chastised the Corinthians for the sinful conduct of one of their members in 1 Corinthians 5:1:

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.

The word is also used to describe non-Israelite Christians, as in Romans 16:4:

They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.

In our context, the word is used to describe those who were not members of Israel community hence “Gentiles.”

Gentiles were, no doubt, beneficiaries of the office of an apostle. The first reference of the Gentiles being beneficiaries of the office of an apostle is when Apostle Peter preached the gospel to Cornelius and those assembled in his house as narrated in the tenth chapter of Acts, specifically Acts 10:27–28:

²⁷ Talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. ²⁸ He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.

Those who assembled in Cornelius house were Gentiles for unless that was the case, the statement of Apostle Peter in verse 28 You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him would not make sense. Apostle Peter referenced this preaching of the gospel to Cornelius and those assembled in his house as preaching to Gentiles as he argued during the first church council in Jerusalem for the right way to handle Gentile converts in relation to the ceremonial aspects of Mosaic Law as Luke narrated in Acts 15:7:

After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.

Hence, those who were beneficiaries of the office of an apostle associated with Apostle Peter that heard him preach the gospel in the house of Cornelius and those who believed were Gentiles. The office of an apostle as demonstrated by Apostle Paul was directed to Gentiles. It is true that during the first missionary journey of Apostles Paul and Barnabas that they would first preach the word of God to the Jews but eventually they turned to the Gentiles while in Pisidian Antioch as per the assertion of Apostle Paul that Luke recorded in Acts 13:46:

Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.

Apostle Paul made similar assertion of turning to the Gentiles as the target of his preaching of the gospel when the Jews in Corinth were not receptive to God’s word as Luke stated in Acts 18:6:

But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

It is certainly because Apostle Paul recognized that the Gentiles were beneficiaries of his office of an apostle that he described himself as the apostle to Gentiles according to Romans 15:15–16:

¹⁵ I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me ¹⁶ to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

We stated that a targeted recipients of the benefits of the office of an apostle are the Gentiles, but this does not mean that they are the only beneficiaries of the office. For after all, the first recipients of the benefits of the office of an apostle were primarily the Jewish people assembled on the day of Pentecost. We say this because the first demonstration of the office of an apostle in the preaching of the gospel was by Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost. His audience were primarily the Jews and a few Gentile converts to Judaism as we may gather from the description of the audience gathered on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2:5–11:

⁵ Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶ When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷ Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”

The phrase both Jews and converts to Judaism of verse 11 explains the phrase of verse 10 visitors from Rome. However, it is probably that the phrase implies that there were converts to Judaism from the other countries mentioned in the passage that visited Jerusalem during the Passover of the year of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

In any case, the predominant beneficiaries of the office of an apostle on the day of Pentecost were Jews. If the Jews were the first primary beneficiaries of the office of an apostle, why then did Apostle Paul focus on the Gentiles in the literal phrase of Romans 1:5 for (the) obedience of faith among all the Gentiles? The apostle did not immediately indicate the reason. However, the context of the Scripture and the context of this epistle to the Romans lead us to provide some answers to the reason Apostle Paul focused on Gentiles as beneficiaries of the office of an apostle. Firstly, the apostle did so because Gentiles were not privileged people of God like Israel. God is in a covenant relationship with Israel, so He commanded them to avoid idolatry as in the first two articles of the Ten Commandments as we read in Exodus 20:2–6:

² “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ³ “You shall have no other gods before me. ⁴ “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶ but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

He gave them His laws so that they were privileged people of God as Apostle Paul referenced later in this epistle to the Romans as we read in Romans 9:4–5:

⁴ the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. ⁵ Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.

When Israel got involved in idolatry, God sent prophets to warn them as, for example, as stated in Jeremiah 35:15:

Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, “Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your fathers.” But you have not paid attention or listened to me.

Gentiles did not have this privileged position with God, so it is fitting that the benefits of the office of an apostle were primarily directed to them. Secondly, the prophets wrote of the acceptance of Gentiles into the family of God. Thus, Apostle Paul referenced this truth in this epistle when he quoted Prophet Hosea in Romans 9:24–26:

²⁴ even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? ²⁵ As he says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,” ²⁶ and, “It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”

If God had promised to include Gentiles among His people, it is fitting that the benefits of the office of an apostle should be directed to them. We are saying that since God sent prophets to Israel, it is fitting that He sent apostles to the Gentiles to bring the gospel to them. Church history reveals that many of the apostles of Jesus Christ labored among the Gentiles. For example, it is documented that Apostle Thomas took the gospel to India during the reign of a king named Gundaphorus. Of course, there is the assertion that “In Southwestern India the ancient church of the “Thomas Christians” claims that they were founded by the apostle Thomas; therefore it is likely that Thomas was the one to first bring the gospel to India.¹” Thirdly, Apostle Paul was aware that great commission from the Lord Jesus Christ was aimed primarily at Gentiles as the instruction given in Matthew 28:19–20:

¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Thus, it is fitting that they should be the target of the benefits of the office of an apostle. Anyway, there is one more reason Apostle Paul focused on Gentiles as beneficiaries of the office of an apostle in the literal phrase of Romans 1:5 for (the) obedience of faith among all the Gentiles but we are out of time so we will pick that up in our next study but let me end by reminding you of the message of this section that we have been considering which is You should endeavor to remember that the focus of the gospel of God is Jesus Christ.

05/10/24