Romans 1.16-The Gospel is the Power of God for Salvation
Prairie View Christian Church
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday June 6, 2007
Romans: Romans 1:16-The Gospel is the Power of God for Salvation
Lesson # 20
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 1:16.
This evening we will continue with our study of the book of Romans and in particular chapter one.
By way of review, we have noted thus following thus far:
Romans 1:1-7 contains the salutation in the book of Romans, which identifies the writer as Paul (verse 1) and the recipients of the letter as being believers in Rome (verses 6 and 7) and the subject as being Jesus Christ (verse 1:2-5).
In Romans 1:8, we read where Paul relates to the believers in Rome that he makes it a habit to thank the Father for them in prayer because of their faith, which was well-know throughout the Rome Empire.
Then, in Romans 1:9-10, Paul also related to the believers in Rome that he prayed for them and that he might be able to visit them in the future.
In Romans 1:11, Paul writes to the believers in Rome that his purpose for wanting to visit them was that it had been his great desire for some time to impart some spiritual blessing to them that would strengthen their faith.
Next, we studied in Romans 1:12, Paul qualifies his statement in Romans 1:11 by relating that his other purpose for wanting to visit the believers in Rome is that he and they would be mutually encouraged by one another’s faith.
In Romans 1:13, Paul writes of his intention to visit the believers in Rome in order to reap a harvest among them but his evangelistic work and care and concern for the churches he had established from Jerusalem to Illyricum had prevented him from doing so.
Last evening we studied Romans 1:14-15 in which Paul writes that he is obligated and eager to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles in Rome.
This evening we will begin a study of Romans 1:16-17, which as we noted in our introduction to the book of Romans, contains the theme of this epistle.
In this passage, the apostle Paul makes an assertion that he is not ashamed of the gospel of God, which is based on two premises: (1) The gospel is the power of God for salvation (2) The gospel reveals the righteousness of God.
This evening we will study the first premise and tomorrow we will study the second.
As we read in Romans 1:14-15, Paul felt obligated and was eager to communicate the gospel to all men and here in Romans 1:16 he writes that he is unashamed to do so as well.
Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
“For” is the causal use of the post-positive conjunction gar (gavr), which introduces an explanation as to the reason why Paul is eager to communicate the gospel to the believers in Rome.
“I am not ashamed” is composed of emphatic negative adverb ou (ou)) (oo) and the 1st person singular present (deponent) middle indicative form of the verb epaischunomai (e)paisxuvnomai) (ep-i-skhoo-nom-i).
The verb epaischunomai is a compound word composed of the preposition epi (e)piv), which means, “upon” and the verb aischuno (ai)sxuvnw), which means, “to feel shame or disgrace because of having done something wrong or something beneath one’s dignity or social status,’ thus ‘to be ashamed, to feel disgraced.’”
The preposition epi intensifies the meaning of the verb aischuno and so therefore, the compound verb epaischunomai means, “to experience or feel total and complete shame or disgrace because of some particular activity.”
The emphatic negative adverb ou “emphatically” negates the meaning of the verb epaischunomai.
Therefore, Paul is saying, “I am absolutely or emphatically not ashamed of the gospel.”
Paul rejected the temptation to be ashamed of the gospel message even though it was rejected by the Jews since Christ crucified was a stumbling block to them and was considered as foolishness by the Gentiles.
1 Corinthians 1:22-25, “For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
Paul warns Timothy to not fall for the temptation of being ashamed of the gospel message because it will be rejected by the Gentiles as foolishness and the Jews because it is a stumbling block to them.
2 Timothy 1:8-11, “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.”
Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
“Gospel” is the noun euangelion (eu)aggevlion), which means, “good news, victorious proclamation.”
In the ancient world, the noun euangelion became a general term for the triumphant message from the battlefield, and it was used for joyous political proclamations or for personal messages of good news.
In relation to the unbeliever, the noun euangelion is God’s victorious proclamation of God’s love in delivering the entire human race from sin, Satan, his cosmic system and eternal condemnation and has reconciled them to Himself through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:1-2, “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.”
1 Corinthians 15:3-4, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”
This reconciliation with God and deliverance and victory over sin, Satan and the cosmic system that God accomplished through His Son’s crucifixion, burial, death, resurrection and session is received as a gift and appropriated through faith in Christ (John 3:16-18; Acts 16:31; Romans 5:1-2).
In relation to the believer, the Gospel message is God’s victorious proclamation regarding the believer’s deliverance and victory positionally from the power of Satan, the old sin nature and the cosmic system of Satan (See Romans 5-7).
By positionally, I mean that God views the believer as crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ, which was accomplished at the moment of salvation through the Baptism of the Spirit when the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit placed the believer in an eternal union with Christ.
The Baptism of the Spirit identifies the believer with Christ in the sense that the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit causes the believer to become identical and united with the Lord Jesus Christ and also ascribes to the believer the qualities and characteristics of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Baptism of the Spirit identifies the believer with Christ in His crucifixion (Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20), His death (Romans 6:2, 7-8; Colossians 2:20; 3:3), His burial (Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12), His resurrection (Romans 6:5; Ephesians 2:6; Philippians 3:10-11; Colossians 2:12; 3:1) and His session (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 3:1).
The believer can experience this victory and deliverance by appropriating by faith the teaching of the Word of God that he has been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ (Romans 6:11-23; 8:1-17; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:5-17).
In Romans 1:16, the definite article preceding the noun euangelion indicates that the noun is in a class by itself, thus indicating that the Christian gospel was the only gospel worth mentioning.
There were many counterfeit gospels in the world in Paul’s day and the imperial cult of the Roman Empire was one of them (See Galatians 1:6-7) but the good news of Christ’s victory at the cross and His resurrection from the dead is the only good news with eternal ramifications and thus transcends all other gospels.
Galatians 1:6-7, “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel, which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.”
Galatians 1:8, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!”
Galatians 1:9, “As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!”
Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
Once again we have the causal use of the post-positive conjunction gar (gavr), “for,” which introduces an explanation as to the reason why Paul is not ashamed of the gospel message, namely, God’s power is operative through the communication of the gospel message.
“Power” is the noun dunamis (duvnami$) (doo-nam-is), which refers the inherent power of God and thus it refers to God’s attribute called omnipotence that is exerted or operative through the communication of the gospel, i.e. the Word of God.
Hebrews 4:12, “The Word of God is alive and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and the spirit, and of the joints and the marrow, and is a critic of thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Ephesians 6:10, “In closing, I solemnly charge all of you to make it your habit to permit yourselves to be empowered by means of the (Word of) the Lord, even, by means of the manifested power (in and through the Person of Christ), which is the possession of His power to overcome (the sin nature, cosmic system and Satan).”
1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
“For” is the preposition eis (ei)$), which is a marker of result indicating that believing in the gospel message will “result” in deliverance from sin, Satan, his cosmic system and eternal condemnation.
“Salvation” is the noun soteria (swtheriva), which is translated in many of the English translations as “salvation” even though it has a broad range of meanings and thus strict attention to the context is critical in arriving at a correct and accurate translation of the word.
The noun soteria can refer to deliverance in the “positional” sense from real spiritual death and eternal condemnation through faith alone in Christ alone (Luke 19:9; John 4:22; Acts 4:12; 13:26, 47; 16:17; Rom. 1:16; 10:1, 10; 11:11; 2 Cor. 6:2; Eph. 1:13; Phlp. 1:28; 2 Thess. 2:13; Heb. 2:10; 5:9; 6:9; 1 Pet. 1:9-10; 2 Pet. 3:15; Jude 3; Rev. 7:10).
It can also mean deliverance in the “experiential” sense from the sin nature, Satan and his cosmic system through obedience to the Word of God (2 Cor. 1:6; 7:10; Phlp. 2:12; 2 Tim. 2:10; 3:15; Heb. 2:3, 10; 1 Pet. 2:2).
The word can mean deliverance in the “ultimate” or “permanent” sense from the sin nature, Satan and his cosmic system through the rapture or resurrection of the church (Rom. 13:11; 1 Thess. 5:8-9; Heb. 1:14; 9:28; 1 Pet. 1:5).
Soteria can mean deliverance in a “temporal” sense from one’s enemies or adverse circumstances (Luke 1:71; Acts 7:25; Heb. 11:7; Rev. 12:10; 19:1) and can refer to physical health and well-being (Acts 27:34).
Lastly, it can refer to spiritual prosperity in the sense of experiencing all the blessings, invisible assets and privileges that are a result of being identified with Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session (Phil. 1:19, 28).
The context of Romans 1:16 indicates that the noun soteria, “salvation” refers to the deliverance from sin, Satan and his cosmic system that is available to every member of the human race and is received as a gift through faith in Christ.
Paul is referring to the salvation or deliverance that is available to the unbeliever since it is used within the context of Paul pointing out the universal need for salvation regardless of whether they are a Jew or Gentile, which is indicated by the phrase “to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
The believer’s deliverance from sin, Satan and his cosmic system is accomplished in three stages:
(1) Positional: At the moment the believer exercised faith alone in Christ alone, he was delivered “positionally” (God’s work and viewpoint of the believer) from real spiritual death and eternal condemnation, the devil, his cosmic system and the sin nature through the crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session of the Lord Jesus Christ.
(2) Experiential: After salvation, the believer can “experience” deliverance from the devil, his cosmic system and the sin nature by appropriating by faith his union and identification with Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session, which constitutes the believer’s spiritual life after being delivered from real spiritual death.
(3) Ultimate: At the resurrection the believer will be delivered “ultimately” and permanently from the devil, his cosmic system and the sin nature when he receives his resurrection body at the rapture of the church, which is imminent.
The believer’s deliverance positionally sets up the “potential” for him to experience this deliverance in time since this deliverance can only be experienced after salvation through obedience to the teaching of the Word of God.
It also guarantees the believer’s ultimate deliverance at the rapture, which is based upon the sovereign decision of God rather than the volition of the believer.
“Everyone” is the anarthrous (without definite article) dative (of advantage) masculine singular form of the adjective pas (pa$), which is correctly translated.
This word functions grammatically as a substantive and is used in a distributive sense referring to each member of the human race, both Jew and Gentile.
The adjective pas functions as a dative of advantage meaning that it is in the best interests or advantage of a member of the human race to believe in the gospel message of Jesus Christ for salvation.
“Who believes” is the articular dative (of recipient) masculine singular present active (substantive) participle form of the verb pisteuo (pisteuvw), which means to “trust, place complete confidence in” the Person of Christ in order to receive the gift of eternal life.
The present tense is “gnomic” used to make a statement of a general, timeless fact indicating that it is an “eternal spiritual truth” or “spiritual axiom” that the one who believes in the gospel message of Jesus Christ will receive salvation since the gospel is the power of God for salvation.
Faith is a non-meritorious system of perception.
There are three forms of perception: (1) Empiricism: Trusting in one’s experiences in life to make decisions. (2) Rationalism: Trusting in one’s intellect to make decisions in life. (3) Faith: Trusting in the authority of another to make decisions in life.
When a person believes in Jesus Christ as his Savior he is in effect trusting in the authority of the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit, which declare the Person and Work of Jesus Christ as the object of faith for salvation.
Our faith is the only system of perception that God will accept because it is compatible with His grace policy.
Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
The believer is saved based upon the merits of Christ and His death on the Cross.
Therefore, the expression “who believes” refers to making the non-meritorious decision to trust or place one’s complete confidence in the Person of Jesus Christ for salvation.
In Romans 1:16, the articular substantive participle form of the verb pisteuo functions as a “dative of recipient” indicating that those who believe in Jesus Christ will receive eternal salvation, i.e. deliverance from sin, Satan and his cosmic system and eternal condemnation.
Then the apostle Paul notes the universal nature of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ with the phrase “to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
This phrase demonstrates that God desires all men to be saved and that Christ died for all men, which theologians call the “unlimited atonement.”
1 Timothy 2:4, “God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
1 John 2:2, “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”
1 Timothy 4:10, “For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.”
“Jew” is the name adjective Ioudaios ( )Ioudaio$) (ee-oo-dah-yos), which refers to those members of the human race who are descendants racially of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and members of the nation of Israel.
“Greek” is the proper name Hellen ( %Ellhn) (hel-lane), which is used in contrast to the term Ioudaios, “Jew” and thus refers to those members of the human race who are not Jewish racially.
“First” is the adverb of degree proton (prwton) (pro-ton) and the particle of affirmation men ((me\n) (men) emphasizing the priority given to the Jews to receive the gospel message before the Gentiles.
The Jews received first priority to hear the presentation of the gospel since they were elected as a nation by God (See Romans 11:1), Christ was a Jew (Romans 9:5), and they have a preference expressed historically in a chronological priority as the Lord stated in John 4:22 that “salvation is of the Jews.”
In Paul’s ministry, he sought out the Jews first in every new city (See Acts 13:5, 14; 14:1; 17:2, 10, 17; 18:4, 19; 19:8).
Three times he responded to their rejection of the gospel message by turning to the Gentiles (See Acts 13:46; 18:6; 28:25-28).
The expression “to the Jew first and also to the Greek” does “not” mean that every Jew must be evangelized before the gospel can be presented to the Gentiles but rather means that the Jews were elected by God as noted by Paul in Romans 9-11.
Also, this expression “to the Jew first and also to the Greek” places the Jew on equal footing with the Gentile with respect to the need for salvation.
Romans 3:10, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE.”
In Romans 1:16, the apostle Paul reveals three principles: (1) The effect of the gospel is salvation. (2) The extent of the gospel is that it is for all men. (3) The condition attached to the gospel is faith in Christ.