“2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake.”
Paul identifies this gospel, this good news. One way to gain confidence in the new message from God is to make people aware that this really isn’t something new. All that is leading up to this point is revealed in the prophecies of the Old Testament. Traditions of the Jews and interpretations of how those passages should be read took precedent over the revealed Christ, but the gospel of God is the fulfillment of Old Testament promises.
Paul wanted his people to realize God keeps his promises. Hundreds of years have passed. The Jews wondered if the Messiah would ever come. They go through horrendous suffering, but God can be trusted. It may look as if He has forgotten His promises, but He does not forget. Verse 2 is not only a statement about the content of the gospel, but is also a reason for believing it. If we can see that God promised Christ centuries before He came with many of the details and He fulfilled those promises, our faith is strengthened.
The wonderful thing to realize is the Bible is from God and can be trusted. As prophecies are shown to be fulfilled with Jesus, so we are at awe how current theses ancient writings are. You won’t find that anyplace else. These writings are called holy. If you have ever wondered why our Bibles say on its cover "Holy Bible" Romans 1:2 is the answer.
Paul also said in 1 Corinthians 2:13, "We speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit." In other words, Paul claims a special inspiration for his teaching. In 2 Peter 3:1, Peter says that some "people distort [Paul's writings], as they do the other Scriptures." Peter puts Paul's letters in the same category as the Holy Scriptures.
In Geneis 15:6, we will see how faith counted Abraham for righteousness. This is not a new message. The whole reason for Abraham’s blessing was his faith that resulted in his obedience.
The other aspect of the Gospel is not only because it is revealed in the word, but brought about by the person of Jesus Christ. Some people are offended when Christians talk about Jesus. Sometimes they’re offended because some Christians are offended in how they talk about Jesus. Many people in our culture wish we’d talk about God instead of talking about Jesus.
In his address to various religious leaders, Ted Turner said, "There is one God who manifests himself in many different ways… and that the heart of religion is to love people.” This is why some churches have moved away from being centered on Jesus Christ because He’s so exclusive, focusing instead on an inclusive God who’s known in all world religions. There is a movement of interfaithism that is uniting all religions together.
Paul wastes no time claiming He is the son of God. He is divine as well as He is human. He does fulfill the requirements as being the son of David just like the prophets foretold and He is also God’s one and only Son.
Prayer: You alone, Oh Lord, are the way, the truth and the life.
Dale
