Lessons #13 and 14
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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.
Let me refresh your mind that 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. Our focus in our last study was on 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 which is that He is the agent of blessings. This point is made in the first clause of Greek of Romans 1:5 that reads in the 2011 edition of the NIV as Through him we received grace and apostleship. Subsequently, we noted that the Gentiles were a targeted recipients of the benefits related to the office of an apostle because of verbal phrase Romans 1:5 to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith or literally for (the) obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake off his name. We demonstrated that the first beneficiaries of the office of an apostle through Apostle Peter were primarily Jews that heard his sermon on the day of Pentecost. Consequently, we asked the question: 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? We provided the first three possible reasons. 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, but Gentiles did not have this privileged position with God, so it is fitting that the benefits of the office of an apostle was 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. 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. Thirdly, Apostle Paul was aware that the Great Commission from the Lord Jesus Christ was aimed primarily at Gentiles. Thus, it is fitting that they should be the target of the benefits of the office of an apostle. We ended our last study by asserting that 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. It is with this that we begin our study this morning.
Fourthly, as we have indicated previously, Apostle Paul was aware that God appointed him to preach the gospel to Gentiles. Consequently, he referenced the privilege of the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles as that which God gave him as he penned in Ephesians 3:8:
Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.
The apostle reminded Timothy of the same truth in 1 Timothy 2:7:
And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.
Hence, these reasons we have given were indeed behind the focus on Gentiles as the beneficiaries of the office of an apostle as the apostle wrote in in Romans 1:5 to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith or literally for (the) obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake off his name. In any event, a purpose or a reason for the office of an apostle is to bring the gospel to Gentiles so they may exercise faith in Jesus Christ. There is more.
Apostle Paul indicated that another related purpose or reason to the previous one for the office of an apostle is so that the apostles would function on behalf of the person of Jesus Christ in proclaiming His person. In other words, the purpose of preaching carried out by the apostles, especially Apostle Paul, to the Gentiles is to glorify the Son of God, Jesus Christ. It is this that is given in the last phrase of the literal translation of Romans 1:5 for the sake of his name which the translators of the 1984 edition of the NIV moved to the beginning of the verse but the 2011 edition of the NIV followed the literal Greek order. The phrase for the sake of is translated from a Greek preposition (hyper) that in our passage may be translated “for the sake of” but with two meanings. The meaning “for the sake of” may be understood as “a marker of a participant who is benefited by an event or on whose behalf an event takes place.” This meaning may be translated “on behalf of.” Another meaning of “for the sake” is as a marker of cause or reason in which case it may be translated “because of.” It is the first meaning of “on behalf of” that is most appropriate in our verse because the office of an apostle demands the office holder to function on behalf of Christ. The office holder functions on behalf of the person of Jesus Christ as in the phrase of Romans 1:5 his name.
The word “name” is translated from a Greek word (onoma) that refers to the proper name of a person or object. However, the word has other nuances. It may mean “authority” as that is the sense the word is used in Jesus’ declaration to the Jews about not believing in Him despite the miracles He did, as recorded in John 10:25:
Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me,
The phrase in my Father’s name refers to the authority of the Father, hence the TEV rendered the phrase as by my Father’s authority. It is in this sense of authority that the word translated “name” in our English versions is also used in the miracle performed through Peter, according to Acts 3:6:
Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
The word can also mean “reputation” as it is used in the Lord’s criticism of the church in Sardis that have become superficial in their Christian living as described in Revelation 3:1:
“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
The sentence you have a reputation of being alive is more literally you have a name that you are alive. This charge to the believers in Sardis today may be cast to say that the church in this country has a reputation of being alive but many believers are syncretistic in that they merge Christian faith and politics, something the early church did not do. Anyway, in our passage of Romans 1:5, our Greek word is used with the meaning “name” in the sense of “person” “understood according to the reputation and character of the person.” Hence, the office of an apostle is intended to represent the person of Jesus Christ in the sense of proclaiming who He is. Thus, the literal phrase of Romans 1:5 for the sake of his name means that another purpose of the office of an apostle is to proclaim the person and so the reputation of Jesus Christ. Proclamation of the name of Jesus Christ is the most important function of missionaries as implied in John’s declaration in 3 John 7:
It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans.
Be that as it may, although the apostle at this point of the epistle has not identified its recipients as those who are in Rome, went on to write as if he had already done so. This is not difficult to understand because once the epistle is delivered and the leader of the local church begins to read the epistle, the Romans would recognize that they were the recipients of the epistle even before the apostle says so shortly in the epistle. This aside, the apostle having indicated that Gentiles were targeted recipients of the beneficiaries of the office of an apostle, proceeded to assert that those in Rome are included as the beneficiaries of the office of an apostle in that they are believers in Christ Jesus. This fact is given in Romans 1:6 And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. A literal translation from the Greek reads among whom you are and you called ones of Jesus Christ.
The apostle in Romans 1:6 intended to contrast emphatically believers in Rome from the rest of Gentiles in Rome who are not actual beneficiaries of the office of an apostle. Our English versions in their translations for the most part reflect that the apostle was being emphatic in what he wrote in the verse we are considering but none of those I consulted conveyed the sense of contrast, but it makes good sense to understand that the apostle was contrasting emphatically Roman believers from the rest of Gentiles that are potential beneficiaries of the office of an apostle. I will argue this point beginning with the phrase of Romans 1:6 among those or literally among whom.
The pronoun “those” or “whom” is translated from a Greek pronoun (hos) that may be understood as a demonstrative pronoun with the meaning “this” or a relative pronoun with the meaning “who, which, what.” In our verse, it is used as a relative pronoun that refers to Gentiles as a class of people. This is because in verse 5, the apostle used the Greek phrase translated in the NIV as all the Gentiles. Thus, the apostle reminded the believers in Rome they are mostly part of Gentiles who are potential beneficiaries of the office of an apostle that involves preaching of the gospel. In effect, the apostle reminds them of their identity as Gentiles. You see, the literal sentence of Romans 1:6 you are is translated from a Greek word (eimi) that may mean “is” in the sense of “to mean”, as in Matthew 9:13:
But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
The expression learn what this means is more literally learn what is. The Greek word may mean “to be, exist”, as it is used in Romans 4:17:
As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.
Although our word, used twice in Romans 4:17, is translated “are” and “were” in the NIV, the sense in its first usage is that of “to exist” as reflected in the NET that rendered the clause things that are not as though they were as the things that do not yet exist as though they already do. The Greek word may mean “to belong” as it is used by Apostle Paul to indicate that anyone who does not have the Holy Spirit does not belong to Christ, as stated in Romans 8:9:
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
In our passage of Romans 1:6, the Greek word has the sense of “to belong.” Thus, as we have stated, the apostle reminded the believers in Rome that most of them belong to the group of people known as Gentiles. This being the case, the sentence of the NIV of Romans 1:6 you also are among those or literally among whom you are may be translated among whom you belong.
The apostle stressed that believers in Rome belong to the Gentile group because he primarily wanted to state emphatically that they are different from the rest of that group because they are of the elect of God or God’s chosen ones. The emphatic contrast of what the apostle conveyed to the believers in Rome after having reminded them they belong to the Gentile group is first because of the word also in the sentence of the NIV of Romans 1:6 And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ or literally among whom you are and you called ones of Jesus Christ. The word “also” of the NIV is translated from a Greek particle (kai) that often is translated “and” in our English versions as a marker of connection between single words or clauses, but the conjunction has several usages. It may be used as a marker of introduction of a result that comes from what precedes and so may be translate “and then, and so.” It may be used to emphasize a fact as surprising or unexpected or noteworthy leading to the translation “and yet, and in spite of that, nevertheless.” It may be used as a marker of emphasis where there is a stress on what is said and hence means “indeed, certainly.” It may be used as a marker to indicate an additive relation that is not of equal rank and significance to another clause, in which case, it means “also, likewise.” Still the word may be used as a marker of contrast so that it means “but.” It is in this sense of contrast that the apostle probably used it in Romans 1:6. Adopting this meaning, the literal sentence of Romans 1:6 among whom you are and you called ones of Jesus Christ may then read among whom you belong but you called ones of Jesus Christ. This is because, as we have stated, the apostle wanted to emphasize the status of believers in Rome although they belonged to the group known as Gentiles, but they are different because they are actually the beneficiaries of the office of an apostle since they have believed the gospel message. Of course, it is possible that the apostle’s emphasis is intended to convey to believers in Rome that they come under the purview of his apostolic authority as an apostle to the Gentiles. Anyway, the emphatic contrast of the apostle is supported by the pronoun “you” that appears a second time in the literal translation but only appears once in the NIV and nearly all of our English versions with the exception of the NJB that reads You are among these, and by his call you belong to Jesus Christ.
The contrasting state of the Roman believers from all the other Gentiles is because they are of the elect as evident in their salvation. We use the word “elect” because of the word “called” in the NIV of Romans 1:6 And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. The word “called” is translated from a Greek adjective (klētos) that pertains to being invited to some event so means “called, invited.” It is an adjective used predominantly by Apostle Paul in that of the ten occurrences of the word in the Greek NT, it is used seven times in his epistles to the Romans (four times) and Corinthians (three times). The word is used once in the gospel of Matthew in such a way that the context indicates that it means “to invite” because the word is put in contrast to “chosen” as we read in Matthew 22:14:
“For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
This declaration of our Lord Jesus implies that not everyone is an elect of God. The gospel message is to be given to everyone but only the elect will respond as they are those described as “chosen.” Outside this passage in Matthew’s gospel, our word is used with the meaning “called” that implies one is an elect of God or that one is saved. This conclusion is supported by the use of the Greek word by Apostle Paul in several passages. He used it to describe himself as a believer who is an apostle of Jesus Christ. Thus, he used the word in his epistle to the Romans as we have already noted in Romans 1:1:
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—
The same word is used by the apostle to describe himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ in his epistle to the Corinthians as stated in 1 Corinthians 1:1:
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
In the other five usages of the Greek word, the apostle used it to describe those who are certainly believers. Let me cite two examples. In this epistle to Romans, the apostle used it to describe believers in Rome as the elect of God as implied in Romans 8:28:
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
He used it to describe the elect of God as implied in 1 Corinthians 1:24:
but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
The clause whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks of the NIV is literally those who are called, both Jews and Greeks. Jude used it to describe the elect of God in Jude 1:
Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ:
Thus, the Greek word is used predominantly as an adjective to describe believers or the elect of God. That the word is an adjective is evident in its use in description of those associated with the Lamb as He defeats the “beast” and the “ten kings” who will attack Him as stated in Revelation 17:14:
They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”
Here the words “called,” “chosen”, “faithful” are adjectives, so it is clear that our word is an adjective. This usage in Revelation shows that our Greek word is used to describe the elect of God. In our passage of Romans 1:6, the word means “called” as a word that describes an elect of God as the individual that must respond to the gospel message and so be saved. Hence, Apostle Paul applied the word to believers in Rome in the sense of telling them they are elect of God.
That the Roman believers are the elect of God is further revealed in the verbal phrase of Romans 1:6 called to belong to Jesus Christ that literally reads called ones of Jesus Christ. The question is how to relate the literal phrase “called ones” to “Jesus Christ” because of the word “of” in the English. The Greek of the literal phrase called ones of Jesus Christ could be fully unpacked to read either called ones belonging to Jesus Christ or called ones by Jesus Christ. The apostle must have had in mind the first unpacking of the Greek phrase that indicate the called ones belong to Jesus Christ as reflected in the translation of majority of our English versions. This is because election or calling of someone to be a child of God is often associated with God as the subject although the context of such action reveals that God the Father is the subject, as for example, in Romans 8:28–29:
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
The phrase who have been called or literally who are called leaves undefined the actor but the context indicates it is God the Father that is the actor because of the phrase his Son in verse 29. Thus, it is proper to interpret the literal phrase of Romans 1:6 called ones of Jesus Christ to mean that the called ones belong to Christ. This, of course, is concerned with the concept of election. This is because all those who belong to Christ were chosen in advance and given to Him as per His priestly prayers, specifically, John 17:2:
For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.
The Greek of the sentence you have given him implies an action that occurred in the past which here would refer to eternity. It is because those who receive eternal life were chosen in eternity that the Lord Jesus could say what He uttered in John 17:6:
“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.
In any event, Apostle Paul emphatically asserted to believers in Rome that they are those who are of the elect of God from the group of people known as Gentiles. In any event, as we end this section of Romans 1:2-6, let me remind you once more its simply message which is You should endeavor to remember that the focus of the gospel of God is Jesus Christ.
[End of lesson 13]
Greetings (Rom 1:7)
To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
We have been, in a sense, considering the unique salutation of Apostle Paul in this epistle that covers verses 1 to 7 of this first chapter of Romans. The salutation is unique in that, as we have previously noted, the apostle did not follow his usual pattern of introducing himself as the human author of a given epistle followed immediately by an introduction of the recipients of a given epistle. No! The apostle’s salutation in this epistle consists of three paragraphs. The first paragraph consists of the apostle’s introduction of himself as both the author of the epistle and an agent for the gospel in verse 1. The second paragraph concerns “the gospel of God” described in verses 2 to 6. The apostle made two major assertions about “the gospel of God.” He asserted that the gospel of God was promised beforehand through the OT prophets. Next, he asserted that this gospel is about the Son of God that he described as having two natures. He is a human being that descended from the line of David. He is God so He is described as the Son of God. This One described as the Son of God is Jesus Christ through whom we receive all kinds of blessings as the apostle communicated. So, it is after indicating that Jesus Christ is really the agent of our blessings that the apostle presented the third paragraph of the salutation of this epistle. This third paragraph is concerned with the apostle’s greeting that identifies the recipients of the epistle and his prayer wish for them as given in verse 7. Two things the apostle wished for the recipients of this epistle are grace and peace. Because of these two elements, we derive a message that I believe the Holy Spirit wants you to hear. This message is: Grace and peace are essential elements in the well-being of believers. This message will become clearer as we expound the verse before us.
Apostle Paul identified the recipients of this epistle in the first phrase of Romans 1:7 To all in Rome. The word “all” is an interesting word because of how the average person understands it, which is usually in the sense of absolute totality which can cause problem in many usages of the word in the Scripture. So, I am compelled to consider briefly, though not quite in the same detail as I have done in the past, the word all in our phrase that is translated from a Greek word (pas) that may mean “all” or “every” or “any,” among other meanings. As we have stated, quite often when we encounter the word “all” or “everything” we think in terms of absolute totality. There would have been no need to consider this word that everyone seems to know what it means in the English except that the general understanding of people of the word “all”, creates problems for many in accepting specific teachings of the Scripture. Take for example, some people reject the doctrine of election because they say God is not willing for anyone to perish but wants everyone to come to repentance, as we read in 2 Peter 3:9:
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
The problem with using this passage to deny election is at least twofold. The first is with the word anyone translated from the plural of a Greek word (tis) that means “anyone, anything, someone; something, many a one or thing, any, some.” In the Greek text, it is in the plural, so it is best to translate it “some” or “certain ones.” This interpretation is supported by the fact the translators of NIV translated the same plural Greek pronoun “some” in the clause as some understand slowness and so one wonders why they did not translate it “some” the second time the word appears instead of “anyone.” If they did, the phrase anyone to perish will be “some to perish.” This interpretation of the Greek word used with the meaning “some” or “certain ones,” immediately reveals that those that will not perish are not humanity in general but “certain ones” or “some.” The second problem is with the word everyone in the clause but everyone to come to repentance that is translated from the same Greek word that we said means “all, every, any.” The context of 2 Peter suggests that the Greek word should be translated “all” and not “everyone” as we read in verbal phrase of 2 Peter 3:9 but everyone to come to repentance leading to the reading “but all to come to repentance.” If this translation is followed, it is easier to understand that “all” refers to the “some” or “certain ones” that God is not willing for them to perish but to repent. These certain ones are the elect to whom Apostle Peter mentioned in the beginning of his first epistle, specifically, in 1 Peter 1:1:
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,
God’s elect are those God is not willing to perish but to be saved; for all the elect will be saved as implied in the reason Apostle Paul gave for his laboring to preach the gospel in 2 Timothy 2:10:
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
The point of this example in 2 Peter 3:9 is to show that the word “all” should not always be taken absolutely but its interpretation is context dependent. This is important because of the phrase of Romans 1:7 To all in Rome could be misunderstood to imply everyone in Rome which is not what the apostle meant to convey. The word “all” is used to refer not to the entire population of Rome that would be inclusive of unbelievers but in entirety of those who are believers in Christ as the apostle described later.
Be that as it may, the apostle following the pattern of letter writing in the time of this epistle identified its recipients as those who reside or live in Rome as in the clause of Romans 1:7 To all in Rome who are. Literally, the Greek reads to all the (ones) being in Rome. This is because the literal word “being” or the clause who are of the NIV is translated from a participle of a Greek word (eimi) that may mean “is” in the sense of “to mean”, as in Matthew 9:13:
But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
The expression learn what this means is more literally learn what is. The word may mean “to live” as it is used in providing the reason Apostle Paul circumcised Timothy before taking him along in his missionary journey as we read in Acts 16:3:
Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
The Greek word may mean “to be, exist”, as it is used in Romans 4:17:
As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.
Although our word, used twice in Romans 4:17, is translated “are” and “were” in the NIV, the sense in its first usage is that of “to exist” as reflected in the NET that rendered the clause things that are not as though they were of the NIV as the things that do not yet exist as though they already do. The Greek word may mean “to belong” as it is used by Apostle Paul to indicate that anyone who does not have the Holy Spirit does not belong to Christ, as stated in Romans 8:9:
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
In our passage of Romans 1:7, the Greek word has the sense of “to live,” that is, to reside in a geographical location. Hence, the apostle identified the recipients of his epistles as the entirety of believers that reside in Rome irrespective of whether they are native born or those who live in Rome as temporary or permanent residents. We know that there were Jews in Rome who are believers because Apostle Paul met such persons during his missionary journey to Corinth. He met Aquila and his wife Priscilla who were expelled from Rome as we may gather from the record in Acts 18:2:
There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them.
We are sure that there were other believers in Rome that were not native born. Another example of such a person that supports our assertion is Epenetus the apostle described as the first convert in Asia according to Romans 16:5:
Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.
The point is that the recipients of this epistle that we are studying consist of those who reside in Rome both native born and others who live in Rome either as temporary or permanent residents.
It is true that the normal pattern of letter writing in the time of this epistle is to first identify the author and then the recipients, but it is important that the apostle identifies the recipients of this epistle as he did later since it is necessary that what he wrote be understood as only applicable to believers in Christ. I make this point because it is not uncommon that some Christians take the instructions of the Scripture and attempt to apply them to unbelievers. In other words, some of us want the unbeliever to live the same spiritual life as expected of believers. Such individuals would apply a specific Scripture to an unbeliever as if the unbeliever is capable of living a life that is supposed to be led under the control of the Holy Spirit. For example, some of us expect unbelievers to love everyone because Scripture commands us to love everyone including those who hate us. Unbelievers are incapable of the love that the Holy Spirit produces. You see, we are tasked with loving everyone including those who hate us because the Holy Spirit produces in the believer the kind of love that can be shown to everyone including unbelievers as implied in Romans 5:5:
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
The point I am emphasizing is that we should not apply the content of our Scripture to unbelievers and expect them to function as if they have the Holy Spirit living in them. We must be careful trying to apply the word of God to unbelievers since they are really incapable of living out the instructions of Scripture without the ministry of the Holy Spirit. In effect, you should realize that Scripture is for believers. There are few passages directed to unbelievers and such passages are concerned with the gospel message, otherwise, our Scripture is for believers and not unbelievers, so it is necessary for the apostle to identify the recipients of his epistle.
All the same, to ensure that no one takes the word “all” in the phrase to all in Rome of Romans 1:7 in an absolute totality of those in Rome, the apostle described the recipients of this epistle in two ways. He described them as those God loves and cherishes as we read in the clause of Romans 1:7 who are loved by God. Literally, the Greek reads beloved of God. This is because the apostle used a Greek word (agapētos) that pertains to one who is the only one of his or her class, but at the same time is particularly loved and cherished and so means “only, only beloved.” Thus, it is the word God the Father used to describe God the Son during the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus as recorded in Matthew 17:5:
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
The sentence This is my Son, whom I love is literally This is my beloved Son. The word may pertain to one who is dearly loved hence means “dear, beloved, prized, valued.” The word is a favorite one used by writers of our NT epistles to address the group of believers that were the original recipients of their epistles. Apostle Paul used it to address the Philippians before his instruction regarding their being careful to ensure that their salvation is reflected in their lifestyles as we read in Philippians 2:12:
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
By the way the expression continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling is not a teaching of salvation by works nor is a teaching that believers can improve or enhance their salvation as that is the work of God from start to finish. Instead, it means that believers must work out their deliverance from sin in their daily life and everything that will hamper them from enjoying fully their salvation in this life. That aside, our Greek word is used by the human author of Hebrews to address the recipients of his epistle before giving them the assurance of what God does as it relates to salvation in Hebrews 6:9:
Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case—things that accompany salvation.
James used our Greek word to address the recipients of his epistle before instructing them as we read in James 1:19:
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
Apostle Peter used the Greek word to address the recipients of his epistle before instructing them to avoid a life of sin in 1 Peter 2:11:
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
Apostle John used it to address the recipients of his epistle before he instructed them about testing of spirits to determine genuine spirit in 1 John 4:1:
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Jude used the Greek word to address the recipients of his epistle as we read in Jude 17:
But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold.
The word is used not only to address groups of believers but individual believers. Thus, Apostle Paul used it to describe Philemon in Philemon 1:
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker,
Likewise, Apostle Paul used it to describe Timothy as his spiritual son in 2 Timothy 1:2:
To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
In our passage of Romans 1:7, the word is used in the sense of “beloved,” that is, one that is dearly loved and cherished.
It is fair to state that everyone wants to be loved by others. Of course, the subject of love is important to the one loved. Children want to be loved first and foremost by their parents. Wives want to be loved by their husbands. It is not that a woman would not appreciate the love of another human being but there is nothing more important to her as the love of her husband. Thus, the subject or the one who exercises love is important. In this greeting, the apostle conveyed to believers in Rome that the One who loves and cherishes them is God as in the clause of Romans 1:7 who are loved by God. There can be no greater subject of love than God. This statement may be understood if we recognize that love is a thought-action phenomenon in which the object of love is benefited. A human may have good thoughts for you and want to carry them out but may be limited by the person’s humanness. This is not so with God since He is all powerful. This means that there is nothing within His holy nature that He could not do. Thus, if God loves a person that means that the individual will receive His best in that He would not only desire the best for that person, but He has the ability to make whatever He desires for a person to be realized. Thus, if you understand that God loves you that should be a source of encouragement in whatever you face. The apostle informed the recipients of this epistle that God cherishes and loves them. The same truth is applicable to you as a believer in Christ. You are dearly loved and cherished by the One that matters most. So, even if no human being loves you, the fact that God loves you is all that you need. Understanding this love should, as I have stated previously, encourage you to face every difficulty of your life with confidence that God loves you.
Anyway, as we have indicated, the clause of Romans 1:7 who are loved by God functions primarily to remind us of the position we hold before God, but it also has another purpose. It is intended to remind us that it is because God loves us that we receive several instructions from Scripture. What I mean is that it is usually the case that before the Holy Spirit commands us to behave or act in certain manner, we are first reminded that we are those loved by God. We see this truth played out in various instructions of our Scripture. Before the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul commanded the Corinthians and so all believers to avoid idolatry, he described them with the Greek word that literally means “beloved” as we read in 1 Corinthians 10:14:
Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.
The word “dear” is translated from the same Greek word translated “loved” in Romans 1:7. Prior to the apostle encouraging a life of moral purity on the part of believers in Corinth, he used the same Greek word that means “loved” although the meaning “dear” is used to describe the Corinthians according to 2 Corinthians 7:1:
Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
It is not only through Apostle Paul that we see this pattern of addressing those who are to be commanded to conduct themselves in certain ways, addressed first with our Greek word before the command. Apostle Peter before encouraging believers to live a life of moral purity as strangers in this world used our Greek word in a passage we cited a portion of it previously, that is, in 1 Peter 2:11–12:
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Apostle John also showed the same pattern before he commanded believers to love one another according to 1 John 4:7:
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
In any event, the first description of Apostle Paul of the recipients of this epistle to Romans is as those who are dear and cherished by God as in the clause of Romans 1:7 who are loved by God. This brings us to the second description. It is with this we begin our next study but let me remind you of the message of the verse we are considering which is Grace and peace are essential elements in the well-being of believers.
05/17/24 [End of Lessons #14]