06 | Romans | Romans 1:3–4 | Concerning the Son

INTRODUCTION

The Gospel in Romans | the power of God for salvation

Our prayer for this series is that over the coming years the Lord would build for us a foundation for our faith in the power of God for salvation.

This morning we see the power of God in the person of Jesus Christ.

Four-part mini-series through the whole book.

Romans 1-4 — Coming Under Grace | Grace Alone Through Faith Alone

Romans 5-8 — Living Under Grace | From Death to Life

Romans 9-11 — The Overflow of Grace | God's One Message of Salvation

Romans 12-16 — A Church Shaped by Grace | An Appeal in Light of the Power of God

This morning we go back to the beginning.

In our first week of this series we considered v1-2 …

… considering Paul, the author of Romans

… and the gospel to which he has been set apart

… which was promised through the prophets in holy Scriptures.

This morning, now, we turn to v3-4 …

… where Paul tells us that the gospel is about the Son

… Jesus Christ our Lord.

PRAY

3:00

CONCERNING THE SON

The subject matter of Paul’s opening sentence is the gospel of God (v1).

He told us that this gospel of God was promised through the prophets (v2).

Now he tells us that this gospel of God, this good news, is concerning the Son.

We will see in just a minute that he has two things to tell us about the Son.

But first, there are a few things we ought already see.

Son | This is who Jesus is of eternity.

1) Jesus was, is and is to come.

John 1:1–2 (ESV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

2) Jesus is himself God.

Romans 9:5 (ESV) To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

You put these two things together and we have a core teaching of scripture.

Jesus is God the Son.

Athanasian Creed The Father was neither made nor created nor begotten from anyone. The Son was neither made nor created; he was begotten from the Father alone. The Holy Spirit was neither made nor created nor begotten; he proceeds from the Father and the Son. Nothing in this trinity is before or after, nothing is greater or smaller; in their entirety the three persons are coeternal and coequal with each other.

One more time:

Jesus is the Son.

Jesus is God.

Jesus is God the Son.

This is the eternal reality of Jesus:

He is God the Son.

And the gospel is concerning this Son.

7:00

v1-2 — The gospel of God is the promise through the prophets concerning God the Son.

Jesus, God the Son, is the substance of the promise.

Romans 8:31–32 (ESV) What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

The gospel is the reality that God the Father has sent God the Son.

And we can be assured that if the Father would send the son for our redemption …

… all the gifts of redemption are

… gloriously bountiful

… and eternally secure.

Ephesians 1:7–10 (ESV) In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us

The gospel is not a set of good bits advice, or a new, kinder arrangement of human affairs, so that we can make the world a better place.

The gospel is an invasive reality.

It is a revelation.

It is the inbreaking of the promised, eternal Son of God into creation history.

The gospel is concerning the Son …

… for it is through his righteous, sacrificial death

… and victorious resurrection power that we are called to belong to him.

11:00

One more thing for us to see about the gospel of God … concerning the Son.

When we encounter the gospel we encounter something that is not first a matter between God and man, but between the Father and the Son.

In theological terms we call this the covenant of redemption.

From our perspective, the covenant of redemption comes to us through God’s interactions with humanity …

… such as his covenant with Adam or with Abraham.

But from the eternal perspective of God his covenant is first between Father and Son.

In the covenant of redemption the Son is sent by the Father …

… to take on human flesh (the incarnation) …

… to live a life of perfect submission to the Father

… thus fulfilling all human righteousness

… giving his life as a ransom through a sacrificial death

… thus securing forgiveness of sin.

And in the covenant of redemption the Father grants to the Son …

… victorious resurrection from the dead

… thus securing the inheritance of eternal life for all the redeemed

… a throne from which the Son blesses and keeps his eternal people

… and from which he makes his enemies a footstool.

And finally, the Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit …

… to fill the redeemed with the presence of God

… to comfort the redeemed until the Son’s return

… and to grant the gifts of the Spirit for our good as the church.

What we see in the gospel is the playing out of this eternal plan of God.

London Baptist Confession This covenant is revealed in the gospel. It was revealed first of all to Adam in the promise of salvation through the seed of the woman. After that, it was revealed step by step until the full revelation of it was completed in the New Testament. This covenant is based on the eternal covenant transaction between the Father and the Son concerning the redemption of the elect.

What we have in the promise made known through the prophets is the revelation of a promise first entered into between God the Father and God the Son.

That is, the Son would be humbled in taking on flesh

And be exalted through this death and resurrection

And so secure a people for himself, that is “you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ (v6).”

16:00

APPLY

From our perspective, it is quite understandable that we would think of redemption as all about us!

But it is instructive for us to first realize that the gospel is concerning the Son.

The gospel is about God the Son …

… even as the gospel is for our God.

17:00

Now, we are told two things about the Son in the remainder of v3-4.

DESCENDED FROM DAVID

This is so important for us.

Jesus is God the Son.

And, the plan of redemption is that God the Son would take on flesh.

And so, in the Scriptures it was revealed that the Messiah, the Christ, would descend from the great King of Israel, David.

But unlike David, who died, the Messiah would be the forever King.

Jeremiah 23:5 (ESV) Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

19:00

descended — humility

Jesus, God the Son, is descended from no one.

He is begotten of the Father, but there has never been a time when he was not.

But, as regards the incarnation, there was a time in which the flesh of Jesus was not.

His conception has a defined moment.

His birth happened on a particular day.

His flesh grew and aged.

Athanasian Creed He is God from the essence of the Father, begotten before time; and he is human from the essence of his mother, born in time; completely God, completely human, with a rational soul and human flesh; equal to the Father as regards divinity, less than the Father as regards humanity.

The incarnation, even as one descended from the great King David …

… is an act of humble submission to the Father’s will.

APPLY

The gospel is concerning the Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh.

In this Jesus fulfills what was spoken of him through the prophets.

22:00

DECLARED TO BE THE SON OF GOD

The incarnation, that the eternal Son of God, Jesus, descends from the human king, David …

… is a great act of humility.

But this is quickly followed up by a statement regarding Jesus’ exaltation.

Read v4.

This verse begins with a powerful statement …

… that Jesus was declared to be the Son of God in power.

We will come back to this in a second.

First, I want us to see the how the Son of God is declared in power.

24:00 (go fast in next section)

by his resurrection from the dead

Dead!

Don’t pass that over.

When we say that Jesus descended from David according to the flesh …

… we really are saying that he has real, human life.

And when we confess Jesus’ resurrection from dead …

… we really are saying that his body, his flesh, died.

And when we say that he rose …

… we really are saying that a lifeless corpse began to breath and is alive!

All of that is contained in the phrase resurrection from the dead.

It is a real historical reality by which we come to know real spiritual power!

God's work in historical reality gives us a glimpse and a confidence in the spiritual work of redemption.

The historically documented, verifiable, eye-witness account and reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ …

… secures and confirms to us the promises of forgiveness, eternal life, even our own future resurrection.

I want to press this one more time.

I said at the beginning of the message that when we consider the gospel we aren’t reflecting on a mere kindly way of being or a mere philosophy of life.

J. Gresham Machen The great weapon with which the disciples of Jesus set out to conquer the world was not a mere comprehension of eternal principles; it was an historical message, an account of something that had recently happened, it was the message, “He is risen.”

So, Grace is the character of God at work in historical reality.

God's merciful, loving-kindness, promised in his covenant is made manifest in space-time history.

The spirituality of the Christian religion happens in historical reality.

It is by the invasive force of God the Son’s entrance into space-time history …

… that the power of God works redemption where there was only sin and decay.

This resurrection from the dead is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

By the power Jesus secures in the resurrection …

… he becomes the head of a new thing—the church, his body

This is how Paul is able to say …

Romans 6:5 (ESV) For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

28:00 (again, fast)

declared — exaltation

The word “declared” is an interesting one.

It has a number of senses to it and I find many of them helpful here.

“determined to be”

We discovered this is who he is.

Where up to the moment of the resurrection …

… Jesus was demeaned as merely the carpenter’s son

… or a nobody from the town of Nazareth

… or a crazy miracle worker

… or even a blasphemous insurrectionist.

At the resurrection, Jesus is discovered to be far more than all of these things!

He is the Son of God, just as he had said!

And so, there is a sense that by the resurrection from the dead Jesus is declared Son of God in power!

“appointed”

I think this drives more closely to the sense of the word in this passage.

Jesus was appointed, or sent for this purpose.

While it is true that Jesus is the descendent of David …

… he is not merely another in the ancient line of kings.

While he performed many signs and wonders …

… he is not merely another of the prophets.

Though Jesus was executed on a Roman cross …

… he was not just another in a line of false Messiahs.

It was by his resurrection that all may see …

… that Jesus has been appointed to a divine redeeming office

… that is, he is the Son of God in power!

33:00

The one sense that is not here is that he became the Son of God either at the incarnation or his baptism or the resurrection.

Yes, he takes up, secures and reveals his Messianic power (the purpose for which he came) …

… but he does not become the Son at this moment.

He is appointed and determined to be the Son in power!

Philippians summarizes this for us perfectly.

Philippians 2:9–11 (ESV) Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus, who is and always has been God the Son …

… has been been exalted and bestowed a name above every name.

On account of Jesus’ perfect accomplishment of redemption …

… as victoriously declared by this resurrection

… Jesus takes up the eternal station

… of not only Lord of creation

… but Lord of redemption.

37:00

in power

Jesus has taken up power and authority on account of his accomplishment of redemption.

And we are told how he wields this power.

Matthew 28:18-19 (ESV)

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations …

On the authority of Jesus’ resurrection power …

… the disciples are sent to make disciples!

1 Corinthians 15:25–26 (ESV) For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

On the authority of Jesus’ resurrection power …

… every enemy of Christ and his church are defeated.

according to the Spirit of holiness

Romans 8:2 (ESV) For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

39:00

APPLY

Ephesians 1:19–21 (ESV) … what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

This is the Son of God in power.

40:00

JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD

This is Paul’s summary of all he has said so far.

And it is the same Gospel that Peter preached in that first sermon on the day of Pentecost.

Acts 2:36 (ESV) Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

There is so much for us to learn here.

There is no other sermon to preach except that Jesus is Lord and Christ.

Christ — incarnate work

Our Lord — eternal reign

43:00

APPLY

test

Ortlund, Passion for God — Te Deum Laudamus, fifth century Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ. Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father. When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man, thou didst not abhor the virgin’s womb. When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers. Thou sittest at the right hand of God, in the glory of the Father.

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