The Gospel Defined and Deployed
Introduction: The Constitution of a Kingdom
The book of Romans is the constitution of the Christian faith. It is the systematic, logical, and glorious unfolding of the gospel of God. In our day, a day of sentimentalism and therapeutic deism, the gospel has been reduced to a small, private affair. It is a spiritual pick-me-up, a ticket to heaven, something you keep in your back pocket for emergencies. But that is not the gospel Paul preached. That is not the gospel that turned the world upside down.
Paul, in these opening verses, is not writing a friendly letter of introduction. He is laying down the foundational axioms of a new world order. This is a declaration. It is a manifesto. It is the formal announcement that the true King has been enthroned and that His kingdom is now advancing throughout the earth. Paul is an ambassador for this King, and he writes to the believers in Rome, the very heart of the pagan empire, to fortify them in this reality. He is not asking for permission from Caesar to exist; he is announcing Caesar's eventual submission to Christ.
This introduction is one long, dense, magnificent sentence in the original Greek. It is packed with theology. It is the gospel in miniature. Before Paul addresses the sins of the pagans, or the Jews, or our own, he first establishes the unshakable reality of the gospel itself. He defines its messenger, its history, its subject, its power, and its goal. If we do not get this right, nothing else in Romans, or in the Christian life, will make any sense. We must understand that we are not dealing with a philosophy, but with a Person. We are not dealing with a set of suggestions, but with a royal summons.
The Text
Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, having been set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 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, through whom we received grace and apostleship for the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; To all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Romans 1:1-7 LSB)
The Messenger's Commission (v. 1)
Paul begins by defining himself, not by his resume, but by his relationship to the King.
"Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, having been set apart for the gospel of God," (Romans 1:1)
He gives us three identifiers. First, he is a "slave of Christ Jesus." The Greek word is doulos. In our culture, which worships at the altar of personal autonomy, this is a scandalous title. But for Paul, it is a badge of honor. To be a slave of a petty tyrant is misery. To be a slave of the rightful King of the universe is the highest freedom. It means you have been bought with a price. You are not your own. You do not belong to your own whims, or to the spirit of the age, or to Caesar. You belong to Christ. This is the foundation of Paul's identity. He is owned.
Second, he is a "called as an apostle." His authority does not come from a committee vote or from his own ambition. It is a divine summons. God reached down and conscripted him on the Damascus road. An apostle is a sent one, an ambassador with the full authority of the one who sent him. Paul is not sharing his personal religious opinions. He is delivering a message from the throne of heaven.
Third, he was "set apart for the gospel of God." This is his singular purpose. Everything else in his life, his learning, his history, his personality, was now oriented around this one thing. The gospel is not a department in his life; it is the center from which everything else radiates. He was a man with a monomania, and that monomania was the good news about Jesus Christ.
The Gospel's Pedigree (v. 2)
Next, Paul establishes that this gospel is not a novelty. It is not a first-century startup religion.
"which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures," (Romans 1:2 LSB)
The gospel has deep roots. It is the fulfillment of a story that God has been telling since the beginning. The entire Old Testament, the "holy Scriptures," was pointing to this moment. From the promise in Genesis 3 that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent's head, to the prophecies of Isaiah, to the Psalms of David, God was laying the groundwork. This is a direct refutation of any attempt to unhitch the New Testament from the Old. Christianity is not a new religion; it is the ancient religion brought to its glorious climax. The prophets wrote the promissory notes, and Jesus Christ is the payment in full.
The Gospel's Subject (vv. 3-4)
So what is this gospel about? It is not about a principle or a program. It is about a Person.
"concerning His Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 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," (Romans 1:3-4 LSB)
Paul presents the two natures of this King in perfect balance. First, "according to the flesh," He is the Son of David. This means He is fully human. He had a human mother, a human genealogy, and a legitimate claim to the throne of Israel. The gospel is not a fairy tale; it is grounded in real, verifiable history. He is the Messiah that the Jews were waiting for, the fulfillment of God's covenant with David.
But second, "according to the Spirit of holiness," He is the Son of God. He is fully divine. And the ultimate proof, the public vindication of this claim, was His resurrection from the dead. The resurrection did not make Him the Son of God; He was eternally the Son. Rather, the resurrection was the Father's public declaration, His thunderous stamp of approval on everything Jesus said and did. The word "designated" means He was marked out, publicly demonstrated to be who He always was. This was done "in power." The resurrection is the central, explosive, power-event of all history. It is the foundation upon which the entire Christian faith rests. If Christ is not raised, our faith is futile, and we are still in our sins. But He is raised, and therefore He is Lord.
The Gospel's Goal (vv. 5-6)
Because of who this King is, the gospel has a specific, global objective.
"through whom we received grace and apostleship for the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;" (Romans 1:5-6 LSB)
Through this risen Lord, Paul received two things: grace and apostleship. Grace is the unmerited power of God that saves him, and apostleship is the divine authority to proclaim that saving message. And what is the goal? It is "for the obedience of faith." This is a crucial phrase. Paul does not say faith and obedience. He says the obedience that is faith. True, saving faith is not mere intellectual assent. It is a radical, unconditional surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ. It is a transfer of allegiance. You stop being your own king and bow the knee to the true King. To believe in Jesus is to obey Him.
And what is the scope of this mission? "Among all the Gentiles." The gospel was not just for the Jews. It was for every tribe, tongue, and nation. This is the great commission in action. The gospel is a world-conquering message, destined to bring all the nations into the obedience of faith. And why? "For the sake of His name." The ultimate purpose of evangelism is not the betterment of man, but the glory of God. It is to see the name of Jesus Christ honored and exalted throughout His creation.
Then Paul brings it home to his readers: "among whom you also are the called." The Christians in Rome, living in the belly of the beast, were not there by accident. They were divinely summoned to be part of this grand, cosmic project.
The Gospel's Greeting (v. 7)
Finally, Paul addresses his audience directly with the blessings that flow from this gospel.
"To all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 1:7 LSB)
Notice their identity. They are "beloved of God." Their ultimate status is not defined by their circumstances in Rome, but by God's eternal affection for them. And they are "called as saints." A saint is not a spiritual superstar. A saint is a holy one, someone who has been set apart by God for His own possession. It is a statement of ownership.
And to these beloved, called-out ones, Paul offers the quintessential Christian greeting: "Grace to you and peace." Grace is the unmerited favor of God, the fountainhead of all blessing. Peace is the result of that grace. It is not simply the absence of conflict, but shalom, wholeness, right-relationship with God. You cannot have the peace of God until you have first received the grace of God. And notice the source of this grace and peace: "from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Paul places Jesus on the same level as God the Father as the co-author of our salvation. This is a profound statement of Christ's deity, slipped into a simple greeting.
Conclusion: A Non-Negotiable Reality
In these seven verses, Paul has laid the entire foundation. The gospel is not a self-help program. It is a divine announcement about a historical Person, Jesus Christ, who is both the promised Son of David and the vindicated Son of God. This gospel comes from God, was promised by God, and is about the Son of God. It demands a response, not of casual interest, but of unconditional surrender, the obedience of faith. And its goal is nothing less than the conquest of all nations for the glory of His name.
This is the reality that defines us. We are slaves of this King. We are called by Him, beloved by Him, and set apart for Him. And because of this, we have grace and peace. The world may rage, and empires may rise and fall, but this gospel, and the kingdom it proclaims, is an unshakable, non-negotiable reality. Our task is to believe it, to live it, and to proclaim it, until every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.