“Paul, slave of Christ Jesus, called apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.”
Romans 1:1
The first sentence in the Letter to the Romans consists of key words and short expressions. These are now coming to a close. Paul, it says, was “set apart for the gospel of God.” In the light of the Letter to the Romans, this expression has meaning, as an indication of the content of the proclamation. It is the gospel “from God” and has God’s action as its theme.
Called and set apart
Paul was called on the way to Damascus (Acts 9:4-5). There he met Jesus, the Risen Lord. The encounter turned a Christian-hater into an imitator of Christ. However, this appointment was only the beginning. Later, he was set apart for the gospel of God. This marks the beginning of his service. We read about this in Acts 13:
“Now there were in Antioch, in the assembly there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas and Simeon, called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. But while they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ” Now set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. So they fasted and prayed; and when they had laid hands on them, they dismissed them.”
Acts 13:1-3
The segregation was “to the work to which I have called them.” This recalls the mission for which Paul was called. This is reported in several places:
“The God of our fathers has ordained you to know his will and to see the righteous and hear a voice from his mouth. For you will be a witness to him to all people of what you have seen and heard …
… And he said unto me, Go thy way. For I will send you far away to the nations. But they listened to him until this word, and lifted up their voice, saying, Away from the earth with such a one, for it must not be that he lives!”
Acts 22:6-22 (compare Acts 9:15, Acts 26:12-20, Gal 1:11-24).
For this task Paul and Barnabas were both set apart and sent out. This is how he writes about this order to the Romans:
“Through him we have received grace and apostleship for his name to the obedience of faith among all nations, among whom also are you, called ones of Jesus Christ.”
Rom 1:5-6
No more mediation from Israel
Paul is in the middle of his ministry here. The special thing about it is that his gospel is a good news for the nations without mediation from the people of Israel. It is through Israel that the grace of God comes to believers. This was mind-blowing news.
Until then, believers from the nations could “merely” become proselytes and be incorporated, so to speak, with the people of Israel. The obedience of faith that Paul preaches among all nations is detached from this mediatorial role of Israel. It does not need priests or temples. The new believers are not incorporated into Israel, nor do they “replace” the people of Israel.
Of course, this was an outrageous view for many Jews who assumed, based on the Old Testament promises, that the nations could only be blessed through Israel. In the letter to the Romans, Paul then also deals with this contrast in detail. How can it be that God speaks directly to the nations? And what does that mean?
Jesus came with the gospel of the kingdom, namely the good news of the kingdom of heaven for Israel. Paul, on the other hand, was called for the nations and speaks of the Kingdom of God. There is both agreement and great differences between the two.
The Gospel of God
Paul writes complex sentences. So also here at the beginning of the Epistle to the Romans. To understand the text, it helps to divide it grammatically into main and subordinate clauses. The core is noted in bold. In parentheses are the explanations that say more about the parts of the main clause.
Paul,
Slave of Christ Jesus,
appointed apostle,
set apart for the gospel of God (which He promised beforehand through His prophets in holy scriptures)
about His Son (who comes from the seed of David according to the flesh, who, as the Son of God
is proven in power according to the spirit of holiness through resurrection
Dead),
about Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Rom 1,1-4
This outline simplifies the statement. The Gospel of God speaks about His Son, namely Jesus Christ our Lord. That is the essence of the statement. The rest is embellishment. So the content of the Gospel is not ethics, it is not theology, it is not a task, and it is not law. Rather, a person and in Him is a view of God’s activity.
Christocentric
The Swiss theologian Karl Barth coined the statement:
“The last word I have to say as a theologian and also as a politician is not a term like “grace,” but a name: Jesus Christ.”
Karl Barth
Karl Barth was “Christocentric” in all his thinking. Christ was central. It’s worth thinking about. Because there are many theologies and opinions that have completely different issues at the forefront. Being aware that we can give direction to our thinking helps in evaluating different approaches.
For example:
Christocentric: Christ central
Anthropocentric: Man central
Theocentric: God central.
It has great significance how we think. For Paul, Christ was central, the Son of God, through whom God the Father comes to his purpose. Therefore, Paul always gives thanks to God in his letters, but does so through Christ Jesus. Jesus himself, however, was not Christocentric. Jesus was theocentric. With him, God stood central as his Father. Logical, because Jesus was a Jew. Furthermore, it is his mission to once give all things to his God and Father (1 Cor. 15:24-28).
What is central in our own thinking has practical significance. Am I constantly insecure about myself? Am I unsure if God accepts me? Or am I self-righteous in my faith and think I have “done” the right thing by my faith? Those who thus revolve around their own thinking may become free in Christ. Free from self and free from constricting views, but also free for relationship and a life of grace.
Therefore, the question of what the Letter to the Romans is about here fits. What does Paul place centrally here in this letter? The answer is: it is a person – Christ – and it is not me. The Gospel is about me, but it is not about me. Central is not myself, but central is God’s Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Or, to put it another way, it is not my own efforts, my success or my failure, but God’s work through and in Christ that takes center stage. From this springs a truly joyful message.
We may experience God’s perspective in the gospel and draw confidence and liberation from His action through Christ. He has provided a free access to God.
The Two Gospels in the Letter to the Romans
Back to the first verse of Romans. About the gospel of God, Paul says in a subordinate clause, “which He promised beforehand through His prophets in holy writings.” Or in other words: What is said in the Gospel of God can already be found back in the Old Testament as a promise. We can state:
1. the gospel of God = promised beforehand
But now Paul mentions a second gospel in the letter to the Romans. This may seem strange at first glance, but let’s take a closer look. At the end of the Epistle to the Romans, the apostle writes:
“But to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, after the revelation of the mystery that had been hidden for eternity, but now revealed and made known through prophetic writings according to the command of the eternal God for the obedience of faith to all nations, to the only wise God through Jesus Christ, to him be the glory forever and ever! Amen.”
Rom 16:25-27
Amazing: This is completely different from what Paul writes at the beginning of the letter. This is about the revelation of something that was not known before. This gospel is described with the following characteristics:
2. my gospel = kept secret for eternity
The Epistle to the Romans thus comprises two complementary gospels. There is a good news that was promised before. This is how the letter begins. But there is also a good news that was revealed and made known only in Paul. It is mentioned later in the Letter to the Romans. We find both of these things in the same letter, and we will discover which things are old news and which are brand new as this series of posts on the letter to the Romans progresses.
From this comparison we also see that the beginning of the letter has something to do thematically with the end of the letter. There is a greeting at the beginning of the letter and greetings at the end of the letter. One gospel is mentioned at the beginning and another at the end of the letter. There are other such comparisons, from which a structure of the letter emerges. See the article “The Structure of the Letter to the Romans”.
