Study with Analise

Introduction to Matthew

The Gospel Proper

Romans 1:1–5 LSB

1 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, having been set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 who was designated as the Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we received grace and apostleship for the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of His name,

Paul begins his treatise on justification with a proclamation of the message that makes it possible.. He says the gospel (greek word ευαγγελιον, which is the word for good news especially concerning a military victory) is that the Christ (the lord’s annointed the transliteration of the hebrew word for king) has come down to this earth in fulfillment of God’s gospel promises in the holy scripture.

And God’s son who came down was born of the seed of David according to the flesh. Often times we rag on thinking in terms of “according to the flesh,” however here the according to the flesh clause is of utmost importance. In 2 Samuel 7:12–14 God makes a very importnant promise to David. “12 “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up one of your seed after you, who will come forth from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 “He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will reprove him with the rod of men and the strikes from the sons of men,”

And this is the promise that is recapitulated in Psalm 2:7–8 “7 “I will surely tell of the decree of Yahweh: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth as Your possession.”

And so Jesus, being the son of David, is the one to whom the Davidic inheritance of an eternal kingdom is given.

And Jesus, being born of the seed of David according to the flesh, makes all the difference because he has this right and David’s seed to an earthly kingdom.

Secondly Paul says that he is declared to be the son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead

This seems to be a particularly timely message given the imperial cultic culture of the day.

Youll remember that during the first century Rome was the world power. They had conquered all of the known world (save Britain) and the ANE was defined and contextualized by their Iron grip.

In order to maintain their power, Caesar Augustus (who reigned from 27 BC to 14 AD) created a myth. Upon his father Julius’ death he declared his father Julius to be a god. And coencidentally, what did that make Caesar but the son of God.

It seemed good to the Greeks of Asia, in the opinion of the high priest Apollonius of Menophilus Azanitus: “Since Providence, which has ordered all things and is deeply interested in our life, has set in most perfect order by giving us Augustus, whom she filled with virtue that he might benefit humankind, sending him as a savior, both for us and for our descendants, that he might end war and arrange all things, and since he, Caesar, by his appearance (excelled even our anticipations), surpassing all previous benefactors, and not even leaving to posterity any hope of surpassing what he has done, and since the birthday of the god Augustus was the beginning of the gospel [εὐαγγέλιον] for the world that came by reason of him,” which Asia resolved in Smyrna.[1][15]

Priene Calendar Inscription

Paul writes this letter to the romans as a sneaky rebellion in the very heart of the imperial capitol against the authority of the son of God imposter!

And what Paul points out is a king greater than Caesar. Of Caesar the greeks claimed that by his appearing he has surpassed all previous beenfactors and hasnt left anything for his descendants to hope to accomplish. The attitude surrounding the pseudo-gospel was that this was that humanity had arrived at this very point.

And amid misconceptions about the true son of God among the culture at large Paul writes to the romans with a better Gospel. Whereas Augustus was declared to be the son of God by his father’s death, Jesus was declared to be the son of God in power by His own resurrection from the dead. Jesus was the son of David, thus an inheritor of the royal crown according to the flesh but more than that, being the son of God he was an inheritor of the power of the heavenly places to the end that he might sum up the things in heaven and the things on earth into a one new creation that has accepted the invitation to be resurrected alongside him and he accomplishes this work yes according to the flesh but more poignantly through/by/according to the spirit of Holiness

This is the sense in Which Jesus reigns.