Romans Chapter 1Paul's Gospel, Paul's Testimony Part 2

Jesus Christ, the Messiah – Son of God and Son of Man (v. 3,4)

Romans 1:3-4 ...in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we...

Paul continues to radiate in his testimony the foundations of his gospel:

Jesus, the Christ, was foretold and promised in the scriptures of the Israelite nation. There are literally scores of Old Testament prophesies of God’s salvation, which were fulfilled in Christ. There is history. There is continuity. Salvation in Christ is not some new thing, but something fulfilled. This is another essential building block upon which Paul sets his gospel. Our faith is built upon historical fact. We see that what God purposed from antiquity He brought to pass in history. Jesus was descended from David according to the flesh (through Mary, therefore seed of the woman) but was also God’s Son, and therefore of the same essence as God. He is both God and man. He is God as man. He is all God and all man.

More than that, His resurrection from the dead declares His Godhood, for who ever raised anyone from the dead but God? Who could promise this…?

Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. {John 2:19}

For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. {John 10:17}

Note who He says will raise up His body. He says I will raise it up. He says that I may take it up again. This is God the Son speaking. The Son had power to lay down His life and He had power to take it up again, which He did. By this He declared Himself to be Son of God in power – for none but God has the power to raise the dead.

So, He died in the likeness and nature of sinful flesh, but He raised Himself up in power by His other nature – the Spirit of holiness for, as God, the Son Himself is spirit, since God is a spirit. His death paid the penalty for our sin, but if He is still in the grave what hope have we? The wages of sin is death {Romans 6:23}, but He committed no sin, neither was guile found on His lips. {1Peter 2:22} It was by His resurrection that we were made alive in the Spirit. As Paul later explains we died with Him and we were raised in Him to newness of life.

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. {Romans 6:4}

When we come to discover that in Adam we all died (due to sin) then we shall see that in Christ we are all made alive. {1Corinthians 15:22} Later in Romans this concept of Federal representation of a whole class of beings in a single person will be explained, for it is crucial to a fuller understanding of the gospel.