Paul writing to the Romans, Paul,
a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto
the gospel of God, which he hath promised afore by his prophets
in the Holy Scripture, concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord,
which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh. and declared the Son of God with
power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection
from the dead, by whom we have received grace and apostleship
for obedience to the faith among all nations for his name. among whom also ye are the called
of Jesus Christ. To all that be in Rome, beloved
of God, called to be saints, grace to you and peace from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, look again at verse
4. and declared Son of God with
power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection
from the dead. Now, as we enter into this most
holy place, we notice that Paul has scarcely picked up his pen
and began to write until he very quickly mounts up with eagle's
wings as to the glory and the doctrine of our Lord. He sails
to great heights here in the first few verses of this epistle
as a consequence, I believe, of the mention of the gospel
in the first verse in which he names himself and declares this
to be his divine calling. Paul, he said, referring to himself,
formally called Saul of Tarsus, and at that time a rabid, violent
enemy of Christ and all things Christian. He was the most ardent,
fanatical defender of Judaism, but by a sovereign grace and
an irresistible call, now a servant of Jesus Christ, our Lord and
Son of God. In fact, he calls himself a bondservant. Literally, it is a slave of the
Lord Jesus Christ. a doulos, he calls himself, bound
to Christ, in subjection unto Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory,
and not just an ordinary saint or a layman, but a called apostle
separated unto the gospel of God. He says that he was made
a minister according to the gift of the grace of God in the effectual
working of God's power. Philippians and Ephesians 3.
And verse 7, His calling, however, was in conjunction with the gospel
of our dear Savior, separated unto the gospel of Jesus Christ,
or of God. Now, having mentioned His being
separated unto the gospel of God, the glad tiding, the good
news, the holy report, respecting the way of salvation, The apostle
then very quickly makes two connections to the blessed gospel right here
in our verses. First of all, if you notice in
verse 2, he says that the gospel was promised a fourth time by
the prophets of God. The record of the gospel is there
in their holy scripture. The gospel was foreshadowed or
foretold of all by the prophets of God and by their inspired
writing. Why is this important? Well,
it lets Paul know or let them know that he is not putting forth
something new, or putting forth some novelty, or putting forth
some strange doctrine that he calls the gospel. It was promised
of old in the prophet. It was talked about inherently
in the prophet. In fact, listen to Paul's witness
and testimony as he labors in the gospel. We go yonder in the
book of Acts. We find Paul there before Felix
in the 24th chapter of the book of Acts, having been accused
by his own nation of sedition. of trying to overthrow, saying
in verse 14 that he is a believer in all things written in the
law and the prophet. That's how Paul answered their
charge, that he was trying to overthrow the worship of God
in the way of God. No, says he, I'm a believer in
all things written by the law and the prophet. Again, in the
26th chapter, of the book of Acts, this time before Agrippa. And here Paul reiterates in verse
22 that he had said nothing but what the prophets and Moses did
say should come. And even in Rome in Acts chapter
28, I believe it's verse 23, while in custody, there he was
able to speak to the Jews that gathered around the house where
He was under house arrest and he said this, persuading them
concerning Jesus both out of the law of Moses and the prophets
from morning until evening. So, this conclusion Paul makes,
and we can make, the gospel is witnessed by the law and the
prophet. In fact, in chapter 3, he says
that righteousness apart from the law is witnessed by the law
and by the prophet. Then the second thing, the second
connection, is that the gospel of God, in verse 3, concerned
His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. The gospel is concerned with
the Son of God. He is the essence of the gospel. Robert Haldane, in his Roman
commentary, called Jesus Christ, quote, the alpha and omega of
the gospel, unquote. That is, he is the beginning
and he is the end of the gospel. He's the main subject of the
gospel. He's the main object of the gospel. Without Christ there is no gospel
to preach. Leave out Christ and His death.
There is no good news for the world or for sinful people. Nor is there salvation, no sacrifice,
no atonement for sin, no mediator between God and man if we leave
out Jesus Christ. He'll call him the sum and substance
of the gospel, much the same way as before. For the main essence
of the gospel, what we have to preach, the good news to men,
is Christ crucified. buried three days and three nights
in the grave, risen again, ascended yonder to the right hand of God
where He takes a seat. And in verse 3, let's quickly
notice the names that Paul uses to identify the one that he has
in mind and that one's relationship unto God. First, we notice it
is His Son, that is, God's Son. Christ is God's Son. And this expresses the eternal
relationship of Jesus Christ unto God. The one by whom God
made the worlds. The one by whom God has spoken
unto us in these last days. In Hebrews 1. 1 and 3, who is
the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person. Also, Paul calls Him by, I guess
what we would say, the human name of Jesus, what some have
called. But even this name, Jesus, is
significant because Jesus, the name Jesus, is the Greek name
for the same Hebrew word named Joshua or Jehovah saves, the
same word for Matthew 121. Call His name Jesus, for He shall
save His people from their sin. Call Him Jesus, Savior Jehovah
saved, for He shall save His people from their sin. Also Paul uses another name,
Christ. And this means the anointed and
identifies him as the Messiah. It is a designation of Messiah. The anointed one. The anointed
of God. In fact, in Acts chapter 4 and
verse 27, Jesus whom you have anointed. We look at Luke 4 and
verse 18, quoted from Isaiah 61, 1 and 2. The Lord said, The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for He hath anointed me to preach
the gospel. Finally, Paul calls Him Lord. He calls Jesus Lord. Our Lord. Kurios. the supreme in power and authority,
the controller, in short, the sovereign over all things, the
one who has absolute power. Thus, He is Jesus, the Savior. He is Christ, the Anointed One,
for to be a Savior. And He is Lord, as having all
power, in heaven and in earth. Now, in the last half of the
third verse that we read, Paul speaks of the incarnation of
the eternal Son in flesh, whereby he assumed human nature in union
with his divine nature. so that He is the God-man. He is God and He is man. He is one person with two natures,
hypostatically unionized into one person, and what Shedd called
the composite person of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son." Now,
the manner of the Incarnation is fully told in Scripture. Paul sums it up here in very
few words. He says, which was made of the
seed of David according unto the flesh. the humanity of the
God-man descended through the house and the lineage of David. He was born of a woman, Galatians
4 and verse 4. The woman was a virgin and the
manner of his conception was without man and by the Holy Spirit,
Matthew 1.18 and Luke chapter 1 and verse 35. The humanity
of Christ was not brought with Him from heaven, as some have
said, nor was it created out of nothing, but it was procreated
by being conceived and born of a woman. And it was said to Mary
in that passage in Luke 1 and verse 35, that holy thing that
shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God. That holy one born of you shall
be called the Son of God. Now, we maintain that the Son
of God is and was and continues to be the eternal Son of God
as to His divine nature. And in the Incarnation, I learned
a new word from a commentary who said concerning the Incarnation,
Here we see, quote, that sonship efflorescing into human manifestation
by reason of his being born through the power of God, unquote. In other words, he was God manifest
in the flesh, 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16. Now, coming to
verse 4. Here, let us move deliberately
but carefully For the verse may not be as clear at first reading
as it appear, and there might be more here than we first thought
before reading the verse. We may have come up short. in
making an application of this verse. Now, we see that verse
3, and all that goes before, merges here into the fourth verse. That not only was the Son of
God made according to the seed of David as to the flesh, yes,
He was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, but without depravity. He came and He had no beauty
that we should desire Him, Isaiah said. Paul says that He was crucified
in weakness. And here in verse 4, He was declared
the Son of God with power. Now we want those two words to
be emphasized and not lost sight of. Declared the Son of God with
power and that by the resurrection from the dead. Now, let's stop
and ask ourselves this question. What have we here? At first glance
it might seem that Paul is simply writing and saying that the resurrection
is irrefutable proof of the sonship of Christ Jesus our Lord. That all the claims of Christ
are riding on His resurrection. His claims to being the Son of
God, of being equal with God, of all the times that He called
God His Father, Of all the times He said that He had come down
from the Father in heaven, of all those times that He let it
be known that He is the great I Am that so offended the Jews. What's more, we notice that He
often said that He would die and after three days that he
would arise again out of death and out of the grave. He said
on one occasion in John 2, destroy this temple. and in three days
I will raise it up again." On another occasion he said that
as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish,
so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the
heart or the bowels of the earth. Matthew 12 and verse 40. And as the Lord spoke to that
great fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land. Even so,
the Lord would arise off of his couch of death after three days
and three nights. Three days and three nights and
I will live again. Perhaps that's one of the most
stupendous and amazing claims that our Lord ever made during
His ministry. I shall die. They shall kill
me. I will be crucified and I will lie in a tomb three days and
three nights and then I will take up my life again." Well,
of course, this would validate our Lord's claims to sonship. And it is true that His coming
out of the grave confirmed His claim that He had made, but also
it fulfilled the prophecy of the Scripture, such as Acts 16,
verse 8 through 11, quoted by Peter in Acts chapter 2, in verse
24 through 27. All of this is true, that it
validated his claims to be the son of God when he got up out
of the grave after three days and three nights. This is true. We do not doubt it. The question is, Is this what
Paul is saying in this place in the Holy Scripture? That is,
is his purpose to show that the resurrection confirmed Jesus'
claims of sonship? Is this the message and the only
message that we have in the fourth verse? Now, let's dig a little
bit deeper. We need to take a closer look,
first of all, at the word declared, which is used in the King James
Version of the Scripture, you might notice that the alternate
word given in the margin is determined. So, declared or determined the
Son of God in power. Now, it is amazing, the word
here is an important biblical word, It is the word horizzo
and comes from the word horion, which speaks of a boundary line
or a horizon, a limit or a border. And it gives us a point of comparison
to work from to see how the same word is used and applied in other
places in the New Testament Scripture. Huridzo. I counted it eight times
in the concordance, unless I missed some. Here are some of the ways. In Luke chapter 22 and 22, it
says, The Son of Man goeth as it was determined. That's the
same word that we have here in Romans 1 and verse 4. You see
it again in Acts chapter 2 and verse 23, Jesus being delivered
by the determinate counsel of God, hōrizō, same word. In Acts 10 and 42, He, Jesus,
was ordained by God, there's that same word again, to be the
judge of the living and of the dead. You have it again in Acts
11 and verse 29, the disciples determined, the disciples, same
word, determined to send relief unto the brethren that were needy
in Judea. And again, in Acts 17 and 26,
you have that word, God determined, there's that word, God determined
the time and the bounds of the habitation of the inhabitants
of the earth. That is, He set limits upon them. He ordained the place of their
habitation. Let me give you one more, and
it's found in Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 7. Here the word,
at least in King James, is translated limited. That is, He has set
or limited a particular day. He had put a bound or a horizon
upon a particular day. Now with all of that, Let's go
back to Romans 1 and verse 4. Jesus did not become the Son
of God at His resurrection. I think some have taught that
in the world. Just as He was not constituted
Son of God by being made of the lineage of David or being born
of a woman. Treading carefully here, we further
go on to say that the resurrection of Christ was another one of
many evidences of the divine Sonship of Christ. And I agree
with those theologians who think that though His resurrection
is indeed proof beyond question of His Sonship, it is not all
that Paul is teaching us here in Romans 1 and verse 4. That here in verse 3 and in verse
4, Paul is not just speaking of the two natures of our Savior,
but as the notes In the New Geneva Study Bible, King James Version,
if you have one of those Bibles and access to the footnote, on
Romans 1, verses 3 and verse 4 said, quote, it is a description
of the two stages of the Savior's ministry." Not just a description
of the two natures made of David according to the flesh, Son of
God by nature. A description of the two stages
of our Lord's ministry. One part on earth and one part
in heaven. One before his resurrection,
and the other after his resurrection. The Israeli high priest, you
remember, made a sacrifice at the altar. He slew the beast,
he caught the blood, and such like. Then he entered with that
blood into the first veil, into the second, where he put that
blood there on the ark before the cherubim in the very presence
of God. Then he comes back out again
to lift his hands and bless the people. As Paul lays it out in
Philippians, the second chapter, the state of humiliation, then
the state of exaltation. Maybe we'll look at that in a
bit. We cannot have his death. without His incarnation. We cannot
have His resurrection without His death or dying, nor His ascension
to heaven without His resurrection, nor His sovereign lordship without
His exaltation to the right hand of God. John Murray, I think,
has a very good commentary on the book of Romans, and in that
commentary, he makes one of the strongest and also one of the
longest arguments that Paul here, in verse 4, is setting forth
the Son of God as to the two stages of the ministry of the
Lord. He notes some parallels and some
contrasts that are visible here. For example, in verse 3, look
at the word born. while determined, appointed,
or ordained, in verse 4. In verse 3, according to the
flesh. In verse 4, according to the
Spirit of holiness. That it was by His incarnation
in the flesh, taking upon him impeccable humanity by partaking
of flesh and blood, Hebrews 2, 15 through 17, that he got a
body that he would give as a sacrifice for the sins of his people. And it was by his resurrection
and consequent exaltation or glorification that he was invested
with an absolute sovereign lordship. He was raised in great power
and glory. He was made mediatorial sovereign
in that great exaltation. Of course, Jesus was Lord. He had sovereign power while
He dwelt here on the earth in His flesh prior to His death
and resurrection, as was many times demonstrated that He had
sovereign power and that He was Lord over all things. He stilled the storm. He raised
the dead. He cured filthy leprosy when
men were at the point of death. And we repeat for emphasis, and
to avoid any misunderstanding or coming short of the glory
of our blessed Lord, or in any way be charged with impugning
the eternal and incarnate sonship of Christ Jesus, God's own Son
and our Lord. So let's say it plainly, that
the contrast in verse 3 and verse 4 is not between a time when
Jesus was not the Son of God and when He was the Son of God. Or as Mary wrote, He is the incarnate
Son of God in both states, incarnate and exalted. In His humiliation,
in His exaltation, He is and continues to be the Son of God. In His humiliation, He allows
Himself to be crucified in weakness. Being raised from the dead, He
was raised to a mediatorial sovereignty and invested with all power and
authority, who in Hebrews 1.3, when He had by Himself purged
our sin, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. So let us focus now on His post-resurrection
Lordship of Christ, which one writer referred to, quote, a
new phase of sovereignty, unquote, to exercise a mediatorial lordship
with regard to applying the salvation that He had gained for the elect
in His death upon the cross. Now, there are two passages that
do clearly set forth the post-resurrection lordship of Christ our Savior. I want us to take a look at them
individually, not long, but take a look at them. The first one
to consider is Peter's Pentecostal sermon in the second chapter
of the book of Acts. This is a part of that sermon
that he preached after the Spirit came on the day of Pentecost. He said that though Christ was
put to death by wicked hands, Yet He is alive from the dead. Even as David predicted in the
16th Psalm, that it spoke of Jesus' resurrection. That David was not talking about
himself, but about the resurrection of Christ. And in Acts 2 and
31, Peter said then in verse 32, we are witnesses to His resurrection
We saw Him. We touched Him. We talked with
Him. So if He is alive, where is He
now? Someone might ask them. Not in the tomb. Not yonder in
a mountain apart, praying as He often did. Not yonder in agony
in the garden. Not in custody of Pilate and
of the Sanhedrin. Where then is the resurrected
Christ? Has he simply resumed life upon
the earth to go about like others that were raised from the dead
did? Where is this resurrected Christ? And Peter says, Acts 2 and verse
33, being to the right hand of God exalted. And in Acts 2, 34 and 35 is fulfilled
Psalms 110 And verse 1, the Christ will
sit on God's right hand until His enemies are all made His
footstool and put under His feet. Then Acts 2 and 36 is our focal
point. It is the definitive declaration
that we want to look at here. Quote, Let all the house of Israel
be assured, know of a certainty beyond all doubt, that not only
is Jesus raised, not only is He exalted to the right hand
of God, but God hath made this same One whom you crucified,
both Lord and Christ. Now, made here, M-A-D-E, is a
verb. God made him to be Lord and Christ. Christ is Messiah, or the Anointed
One. Lord is kurios, a supreme one,
having authority, having power, all things being put under his
authority. He is a controller. Neither sinners nor carnal Christians
make Jesus Lord of their life. God has made him Lord and Christ,
and Lord of all, by the way, as Peter says at the house of
Cornelius in Acts 10 and verse 36. Now, let me say this. There is hardly any preaching
today on the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And I think that's for
a very good reason. You hear very, very little preaching
on the sovereign Lordship of Christ. Apostate preachers tell
sinners They must crown Jesus the Lord of their life. There
is even the teaching of carnal Christianism. I hope to preach
on this in a week or so, maybe. Made famous by Campus Crusade
and some heretic by the name of Watchman Nee. That one can
accept Jesus as a personal Savior here, and years and years later,
before ever recognizing Him as Lord. That's a heresy. God has
made this same Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. But there's another great passage
that looks at both stages as well. It's the one in Philippians
chapter 2, and the last act, verse 9 through verse 11. In verse 6 to verse 8 of Philippians
2, you have the humiliation of the Lord, His most degrading
and shameful death upon the cross. But then, He arose from the dead. He was made Lord and Christ. He was made higher than the heavens,
Hebrews 7. and verse 26, for a time, yes,
he descended into the lower parts of the earth, Ephesians 4 and
verse 9, for a season was made a little lower than the angels,
Hebrews 2, 9, for the suffering of death, but then when His suffering
and time in the grave, when His resurrection came, when the suffering
was over, then He was made higher than the heavens. As the Scripture
said, exalted above all, given a name which is above every name,
highly, highly exalted. It was what John Eady called
quote, an uncommon exaltation, unquote, none, had ever been
so exalted before. He's given a name above every
name. This is the source of His glory. And that holy, holy name Every
knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth. There is no other name under
heaven given among men whereby sinners must be saved. Acts chapter
4 and verse 12. By the way, I think We also see
the same two stages in Isaiah's great prophecy in chapter 53. For example, in verse 10, 11
and 12. The prophet said that after bearing
the iniquity of many, being bruised by the Lord, then in verse 12,
listen, I therefore will divide him a portion with the great,
he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He has poured
out His soul unto death, was numbered with the transgressors,
and bear the sin of many. So the post-resurrection exaltation
of the Son of God has two aspects or two ways in which we might
view it. Number one, it is of course a
reward for his full obedience and his suffering according to
the will of God, in honor of his enduring the sins of many,
laying down his life for those the Father had given him. But
secondly, we can't leave out He is invested with mediatorial
sovereignty to administer the covenant of grace and to accomplish
the purpose of God that was formed in Him. God has given Him power
over all flesh. John 17, 1 through 3. For what reason? That He might
give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given unto Him."
People don't like to hear the sovereign Lordship of the Christ
today. They like to hear of that Christ
who waits and begs for them to come and let Him become their
Savior or Lord. But we must tell them that He
is invested with all power, that He has power over all flesh,
that He has power to save or to them that power is in the
hand of Christ. God has put all things in his
hand, given him to be head over all things to the church, which
is his body. Ephesians chapter 1. So I think
we can close by saying there is no doctrine more important
than the sovereign lordship of the Son of God. He has been made
and still reigns as Lord and as Christ. He is the sovereign
over all the affairs of God, the administrator of the purpose. He is no sissy begging at your
door. He is seated in the right hand
of God, having been given all power over all flesh. Let all know that God hath made
this same Jesus, who was crucified, both Lord and Christ. That's the Lordship of our blessed
Savior.