Chapter 5 in Romans – we are now at the threshold – heralds a change of subject. This chapter is significant because Paul introduces something new here. From justification in the last chapters, he now comes to reconciliation. Paul speaks of this reconciliation with a new word, unknown up to this point. Thus, he can explain more and comes to far-reaching statements.
Structure of the Letter to the Romans
In order to better understand the place of this chapter in the entire letter, it is advisable to take another look at the structure of the Letter to the Romans:
The passage Romans 3:20-4:25 describes justification in detail. We have completed this part. The passage Romans 5:1-8:30 speaks of reconciliation. Both sections speak of these terms in terms of the individual. The contrast is that the theme comes back mirrored in the text, but then with a national focus.
The Two Gospels in the Letter to the Romans
Paul mentions two gospels in his letter to the Romans:
- The Gospel of God
“Paul, slave of Christ Jesus, called apostle, set apart for the gospel of God (which He promised beforehand through His prophets in sacred writings).”
Rom 1:1-2. - My Gospel
“But to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the herald message of Christ Jesus, according to the revelation of a mystery that was concealed in aeonian times, but has now been revealed and also made known through prophetic writings, according to the order of the aeonian God for all nations to work obedience of faith.”
Rom 16:25-26
These two statements should be read carefully. What is written here is different. In the beginning, the Gospel of God is mentioned, which was already promised by the ancient prophets. This was known. It was the good news that God Himself justifies, and that by faith. It is discussed in detail in Chapters 3 and 4. This is the gospel of which Paul said:
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel; for it is a power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew first as well as to the Greek; for the righteousness of God is revealed in it by faith for faith, as it is written: The righteous shall live by faith.”
Rom 1:16-17.
The second gospel is mentioned at the very end of the letter. It was not promised beforehand, like the gospel of God. It was rather a secret – until Paul was allowed to reveal it.
What was secret is revealed
Paul reveals several mysteries. They are explicitly mentioned in his letters. What he writes there is new and was unheard of. This also happens in the Letter to the Romans.
When Paul speaks of “his gospel” (see also: Rom 2:16), it has something to do with the things he was allowed to reveal. This makes his message different from that of the 12 apostles, for example. Anyone who does not take this into account can do little with Paul.
The apostle himself illuminates this from three sides at the end of the Letter to the Romans. It’s about:
- my gospel
- the herald message of Christ Jesus
- According to the revelation of a secret
These three parts are one and the same. His gospel = the herald message of Christ Jesus = the revelation of a mystery. Things belong together and speak of the same thing with different words.
The mission of Paul
When we read Paul’s letters, we should keep in mind that his preaching has a different focus than that of Jesus or of the 12 apostles. While Paul speaks of Jesus, as did the 12 apostles, he also speaks of things that were still unknown – when Jesus carried out His ministry in the Gospels, or what the 12 apostles had heard from Him during 40 days after the resurrection.
Here one should be clear with all differences: Paul speaks of Jesus Christ. However, the apostle’s mission was in a different place from that of the 12 apostles. The difference is not that one of the two groups should no longer take Jesus seriously, for example, but the difference lay in the respective mission. Paul had a different mission than the 12 apostles, which can be traced at every turn in the New Testament. The 12 apostles (like Jesus in His ministry) focused on the people of Israel. Paul, on the other hand, becomes the “apostle to the nations.”
This other mission is reflected in the Gospel. This is why the “gospel of circumcision” and the “gospel of uncircumcision” differ (Gal 2:7-9). There it is not simply a matter of two groups to whom the same thing was told, but Paul revealed secrets in “his gospel” that no one had heard before him.
The basis for reconciliation
Once we recognize that the Epistle to the Romans speaks of “mysteries” that have been revealed, we immediately ask where these mysteries are spoken of? Where is something mentioned that did not exist before?
That is what is happening here now, in the fifth chapter. Here we speak of “reconciliation” (gr. katalasso). In chapter three, Paul had used the Old Testament words “atonement” and “atonement cover” (Gr. hilasterion). In context, this was appropriate because it pointed to the situation in the Tenach. This was in accordance with the gospel of God. However, the word “reconciliation” is another term that has never been used before. It is a revealed mystery what Paul is talking about in his Gospel.
Atonement belongs to the Old Testament, the Gospels and the 12 Apostles. Reconciliation is part of Paul’s proclamation and arises on the basis of God’s righteousness. Reconciliation thus builds on the previous chapters. It does not replace justification, but takes it further. The first verses of chapter 5 are something of a conclusion and transition to the new theme of reconciliation.
“Justified therefore by faith, we may have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained entrance by faith into this grace wherein we stand, that we may glory in expectation of the glory of God.”
Rom 5:1-2
