The Gospel in Romans 1:1-17

 

 

In recent years it has become far more apparent that most Christians have a misconceived conception of the gospel. As the reading of biblical scholars trickle down or (better) percolate up, the average Christian is becoming more aware of the deficiencies in our inherited definition of the gospel. Either from positive takes or by negative reactions, many believers are noting the possibility that a better definition is available. The traditional conception of the gospel, as passed down from the Reformers is popularly understood as follows: Jesus is born as God incarnate, lives a sinless life, is crucified on a cross, taking the penalty from God for our sins, so that he takes our sin, we take his righteous sinless life, which enables God to grant us mercy, so that when we die, we go to a reward in heaven, rather than sent by God to hell for eternal conscious torment. We could perhaps simplify this definition of the gospel with the term “justification by faith” or even as “God grants salvation to those who believe”. Now, there are some significant problems with the broader definition, but even if we summarized the gospel as “personal salvation”, we would still be mistaking a part for the whole, placing the other parts askew, and obscuring the necessary, overall framework. The problem is a misconception based on minimization; we’ve inherited a minimized gospel definition which results in a misunderstanding of its nature. Worse than the lack of accuracy, this misconceived gospel definition greatly affects how we then understand all the other subjects the gospel touches in the bible – significant subjects! While many more learned yet still mistaken Christians are aware of the fuller definition, they still prefer that which they learned in youth to the voluminous evidence to the contrary, standing athwart biblical scholarship, yelling “Stop”, on little islands of choice prooftexts, slowly sinking beneath the waves.

I would like to address a few of those prooftexts, while primarily focusing on Paul’s introduction to the Epistle to the Romans (1:1-17). This letter has been traditionally appreciated as the summa theologiae of Paul’s thought, particularly by the Reformed tradition that sees justification by faith as the gospel. In this regard, I want to look at several of the phrases Paul uses in his introduction, noting how they relate to the overall biblical understanding of the gospel as the Kingdom of God and its king, and showing that Paul’s understanding of the gospel conforms to the overall biblical picture.

Romans 1:1 – “gospel of God”

Is this the same gospel that Jesus taught in the Gospels: the good news of the Kingdom of God (Matt 4:23; 6:10; 9:35; 24:14; Mark 1:14-15; Luke 4:43; 8:1; 16:16; Acts 8:12; 20:25; 28:31)?

Romans 1:1, 4, 6, 7, 8 - “Christ”

The word “Christ”, of course, is a title referring to an anointed figure (a messiah), popularly understood to be a coming king like David.

Romans 1:3a – “concerning his son”

The “son” refers more to the king of Israel (see Ps 2:6-7; Acts 13:33-37; Heb 1:1-13 [Ps 110:1]; 5:5-6 [Ps 110:4]; Matt 26:63; Luke 4:41; John 1:49; 11:27; 20:31; Acts 8:37; 2 Cor 1:19; Gal 2:20; Eph 4:13; 1 John 5:20), than the second of the trinity.

Romans 1:3b – “descendent of David”

Throughout the Gospels, particularly in Matthew, Jesus is identified with David (Matt 1:1, 6, 17, 20; 12:3; Luke 2:11), as the Son of David (Matt 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30; 21:9, 15; Luke 1:27, 32, 69; 2:4; 3:31; John 7:42), and with Davidic passages applied to him (Matt 2:2, 9-10 [see Num 24:17]; 2:6 [see Micah 5:22]; 21:5 [see Zech 9:9; Gen 49:11; Num 24:17]; 22:42-45 [Psalm 110:1]).

Naturally, the references and links to David is to establish Jesus’ messianic kingship, but the reference goes even deeper than that. We have a first oblique reference to David in Gen 49:10-11 with the prophecies of Jacob about his sons:

“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. He ties his foal to the vine, and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine; he washes his garments in wine, and his robes in the blood of grapes.”

Note the scepter. Note the foal (ʿayir), the female donkey ('āṯôn), and the female donkey’s colt (literally “son” [bēn]).

Jump to Numbers 22. The prophet Balaam is ordered by Balak, king of the Moabites to curse the Israelites (vv. 6-20). Balaam rides a female donkey ['āṯôn] to do so (vv. 21-33). In chapter 24, Balaam predicts a star and scepter shall come forth from Jacob that will crush Moab and possess Edom (vv. 17-18). We know this is referring to David because of 2 Samuel 7-8. When King David lived in his house and Yahweh has defeated his enemies, he attempts to build a house (a Temple) for Yahweh (2 Sam 7:1-7). Yahweh responds by promising that after David dies, he will raise up a descendant who will build that house (vv. 8-13). Significantly, Yahweh promises that this descendant’s kingdom will be established forever (vv. 13, 16). In the following chapter, David defeats Moab and Edom, fulfilling the Numbers 24 prophecy.

The question then becomes when and how will God fulfill his covenant promise to David and establish his kingdom forever (Pss 2; 18; 110; Isa 9:7; 2 Chron 13:5; 21:7; 33:7; Isa 9:7; 16:5; 22:22; Ezek 34:23; 37:24-25; Hos 3:5; Jer 23:5; 30:9; 33:15-26; Amos 9:11). Psalm 89 is a good example of the continued reaffirmation of God’s promise to establish a Davidic kingdom forever:

“I have made a covenant with my chosen; I have sworn to David my servant, I will establish your seed forever and build up your throne to all generations” (vv. 3-4)

Yet, the idea of a human king over Israel seems to conflict with God’s original intent that he should be king over Israel – a plan Israel had rejected (1 Sam 8; Judg 17:6; 18:1; 21:25). So while we read passages about a Davidic messiah’s eternal kingdom (particularly Psalms 2, 8, 89, 110, and even Daniel 7), we also see continued references to Yahweh as king, both of Israel and all of creation (Exod 15:18; 1 Chron 16:31; Psalm 5:2; 10:6; 24:8, 10; 29:10; 44:4; 45:11; 47:2, 6-8; 68:24; 74:12; 84:3; 93:1; 95:3; 96:10; 97:1; 98:6; 99:1; 145:1; 146:10; Isa 6:5; 24:23; 33:2; 41:21; 43:15; 44:6; 52:7; Jer 8:19; 10:10; 48:15; 51:57; Mic 4:7). Jesus appears to note this tension between a human king and God as king in Mark 12:35-37 (Matt 22:41-46; Luke 20:41-44), citing Psalm 110 as a riddle:

“How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself said in the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’ David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?”

At his trial, Jesus will apply both Psalm 110 and Daniel 7:13 to himself (Mark 14:62; Matt 26:64; Luke 22:69), the latter reading,

“I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, one like a Son of Man was coming, and he came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.”

The following verse reads:

“And to him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed (v. 14)”

The vision is then interpreted in verses 18, 22, and 27:

‘The saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come’ …  the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom … ‘Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.’

In both passages cited by Jesus, we have evidence of a human figure being given the kingdom along with God himself. An even stranger passage comes in Zechariah 9:9:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your king is coming to you;

He is just and endowed with salvation,

Humble, and mounted on a donkey,

Even on a colt (ʿayir), the foal (bēn) of a donkey ('āṯôn).

Deutero-Zechariah (chps. 9-14) alludes to the Genesis 49:11 prophecy about the Davidic messiah.

However, as the context makes clear, the king here is Yahweh himself (9:1, 4, 6-8, 10-16). Zechariah 14 makes this explicit:

“And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and his name the only one” (v. 9).

“Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts” (v. 16).

It appears that Deutero-Zechariah has combined the messianic David figure (see references to David in chps 12-13) with Yahweh himself.

Certainly, Matthew and John regarded Jesus as both the Davidic messiah and Yahweh himself.

When Jesus makes his triumphal entry into Jerusalem the week of Easter, both writers quote the Zechariah 9:9 prophecy (Matt 21:5; John 12:15). However, while both mostly follow the LXX in their quotes, they both diverge with the wording of the donkey but not in the same way. Looking at the Greek of Zechariah 9:9, it’s apparent that the LXX translator missed the reference to Genesis 49:11. Both Matthew and John attempt to rectify the LXX’s error, bringing their Greek closer to a reference to Genesis 49:11.

עירה וְלַשֹּׂרֵקָה בְּנִי אֲתֹנוֹ (Gen 49:11)

τὸν πῶλον αὐτοῦ καὶ τῇ ἕλικι τὸν πῶλον τῆς ὄνου (LXX Gen 49:11)

וְעַל־עַיִר בֶּן־אֲתֹנֽוֹת (Gen 49:11)

ἐπὶ ὑποζύγιον καὶ πῶλον νέον (LXX Zech 9:9)

ἐπὶ ὄνον καὶ πῶλον υἱὸν ὑποζυγίου (Matt 21:5)

ἐπὶ πῶλον ὄνου (John 12:15)

If this is what Deutero-Zechariah is doing, then not only does it fall into line with the conception of Christ from the Gospels and other early Christian sources; it points to a single messianic figure who is also the coming of Yahweh.

Paul also identified Jesus with Yahweh. In 1 Corinthians 8:6, Paul quotes the monotheistic Shema prayer of Deuteronomy 6:4 and includes Jesus within it. In both Romans 14:11 and Philippians 2:10, he will apply Isaiah 45:23 to Jesus. In the latter passage, Paul says that Jesus “existed in the form of God” but “did not regard equality with God a thing to be ἁρπαγμὸν.” A similar idea appears in Colossians 1:15-18.

What mattered most of all is that this coming messiah, this descendant of David, would bring this eternal kingdom, whether human or divine, bringing this eschatological Kingdom of God to earth as it is in heaven.

Romans 1:4 – “declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead.”

Jesus was put to death for falsely claiming to be the King of the Jews (Matt 26:63-66; 27:11, 29, 37; Mark 14:61; 15:9, 12, 18, 26; Luke 22:70f; 23:3, 37f; John 18:33, 39; 19:3, 7, 19, 21 [see also Matt 27:54; Mark 15:39; cp. Luke 23:47]). The resurrection vindicated his claim (Acts 13:33).

Romans 1:9 – “the preaching of the gospel of his son”

Again, a reference to kingship.

Romans 1:16 – “the gospel … is the power of God for salvation”

Does this refer to the traditional view that the gospel is about how one gets “saved”? Is it about justification by faith? No. Rather, what Paul is referring to is what he himself saw on many occasions. When the gospel of the Kingdom of God is preached, the Spirit calls people who hear it to accept the message in faithful obedience. You can see this by looking at 1 Thessalonians 2:12 and 2 Thessalonians 2:14. The gospel of the Kingdom is preached, and God calls them into that Kingdom. In 1 Thessalonians 2, Paul speaks to them the gospel of God (2:2, 4, 9), and, thru the process of that preaching/proclamation, “God calls [them] into his own kingdom and glory” (v. 12). As he notes in his follow-up letter, God calls them through their proclamation of the gospel (2 Thes 2:14). The content of the gospel isn’t about how one gets saved, but its proclamation does save. The good news of the Kingdom of God is power for salvation, even if the specific content of the gospel isn’t salvation.

Many who prefer to keep hugging the cherished familiar definition of the gospel they heard as children, will hunker down for their last stand in 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.”

However, like complementarians circling the wagons around 1 Timothy 2:12 but suddenly surprised by 1 Timothy 4:14, 5:1-2, 17, 19, the traditionalists have little ground to on which to stand. As in the Thessalonians, reference to the gospel’s saving power does not contradict the all the other references to the gospel as the good news of the Kingdom of God.

Again, Jesus is referred to as Christ, or king (v. 3). Again, his resurrection from the dead vindicated his claim to be the king of the Jews (v. 4). In verses 5-9, Paul lists numerous witnesses to that resurrection.

Around 30 CE, the disciples have witnessed the death and resurrection of Jesus. Luke wants to explain what happened afterwards. So, Jesus was speaking to them concerning the Kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). The disciples ask about restoring the Kingdom to Israel (1:6). Jesus replies that only the Father knows (1:7), BUT they are to receive the Spirit in power and be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth (1:8). So right off the bat in Acts, the subject of concern in the disciples’ commission is the Kingdom. This should be no surprise given the numerous, notable examples (Luke 1:33; 6:20; 8:10; 9:11, 27, 62; 10:9, 11; 11:2, 20; 12:31-32; 13:18, 20; 13:29; 17:20-21; 19:11; 21:31; 22:29; 23:42, 51). Just as in Paul, Luke understands that the gospel is the Kingdom (Luke 4:43-44; 8:1; 9:2, 60; 16:16), which is why it was being preached, proclaimed, and taught even before the crucifixion and resurrection. In Luke 9:1-6, Jesus commissions the disciples to go out preaching the gospel (v. 6). What is this gospel that he commissions them to preach (prior to his death and resurrection)? The Kingdom of God (v. 2).

So, when the Spirit is poured out in Acts, and Peter gives his first recorded sermon to launch the Church, it's on the promised descendent of David on the throne (2:30), who would be resurrected (2:31), to which the disciples are *witnesses* (2:32; see 1:8 again). In the sermon’s climax, Peter quotes Psalm 110 about a king given dominion over the world and seated next to God (see also Acts 5:31; 7:56). He identifies Jesus' as the christ/king. Of course, in Luke 20, Jesus follows up a discussion on the resurrection with one on the christ/king/descendent of David in Psalm 110. During his trial, Jesus is asked if he is the christ/king. He affirms it, citing Psalm 110 and Daniel 7 (Luke 22:66-71). So, Jesus is put to death for claiming to be the christ/king (Luke 22:71; 23:2-3, 11, 35, 37-39, 42). Joseph of Arimathea (who Luke notes was waiting for the Kingdom of God) takes Jesus' body (23:51). The resurrection is God overturning the verdict, vindicating Jesus as the true christ/king.

Back in Acts, Phillip preaches the gospel of the Kingdom of God (8:12), as does Paul (20:25; 28:23). In fact, the preaching of the Kingdom of God is the last line of the book (Acts 28:31). Paul preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God in Rome (28:31) as a witness (28:23), goes back to the start of the book: preaching the gospel of the kingdom towards the ends of the earth as witnesses to the resurrection that proved Jesus was the king of that Kingdom.

Back to 1 Corinthians 15, remember that Paul’s objective here is to explain the general resurrection at the end of the present age to gentiles somewhat unfamiliar with this distinctively Jewish idea. In doing so, he naturally points to the most obvious (and so far only) example: the resurrection of Jesus. And since the resurrection vindicated Jesus’ claim to be the king of the Jews, and his crucifixion “enthroned” him in his Kingdom, and since the final, general resurrection of believers coincides with the full consummation of the Kingdom, it should no surprise that Paul mentions the gospel of the Kingdom of God and a few of the relevant passages. Again, Paul refers to Jesus’ kingly title of Christ throughout this passage. In verse 23, he refers to Jesus’ final appearance as a parousia, a technical expression to denote the arrival or visit of a king. Some 13 years after Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, when Emperor Nero visited the city of Corinth, advent coins were struck that carried the legend Adventus Augusti Corinth. The Latin word advent here corresponded to the Greek word parousia.

Importantly, in verse 24, Christ hands over the Kingdom to the Father, when he has katargese all rule, power, and authority. In verse 25, Paul expounds Psalm 110:1, the kingly psalm mentioned by Jesus at his trial and Peter at Pentecost, both identifying Christ as king of the Jews and denoting the coming of the Kingdom of God. In verse 27, he quotes Psalm 8:6, a psalm that mentions “son of man” (a phrase which Jesus called himself, and in which he linked to Daniel 7 and quoted with Psalm 110 at his trial). Psalm 8 is also a probable allusion to Adam and God granting authority to “him” (Gen 1:26-28). Paul had just mentioned Adam in verse 22 and will do so again in verse 45. The reference to Adam in verse 22 approximates a similar reference in Romans 5:14.

               So, while in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul continues his assertion that the proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom of God is a power to salvation by the simultaneous calling of the Spirit, his explanation for the resurrection, both of Christ and all believers, necessarily contains Kingdom of God language, verses, and references. Therefore, we can understand why Paul refers to the gospel in Romans 1:16 as “the power of God for salvation.”

Romans 1:17 – “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed.”

Here we have one of the most significant ideas of Romans, perhaps, as many believe, the single point that Paul wants to convey to the Roman church. Significantly, as the New Perspective on Paul has shown, the righteousness of God (θεοῦ δικαιοσύνην) refers to Yahweh’s characteristic faithfulness to the covenant he made with Abraham and the other patriarchs (Gen 12, 15, 17). It is not an attribute that can be imputed into the believer.

In Mark 12:26-27 (Mat 22:23-33; Luke 20:27-40), Jesus answers a question from the Sadducees about the authenticity of the resurrection. In doing so, he notes the incident of Moses and the burning bush, quoting Exodus 3:6, in which Yahweh says, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Exodus 3 does not refer to any sort of resurrection; so why did Jesus say (in Luke 20:37) that Moses showed the dead are raised (see also Matt 22:29-32; Mark 12:26-27)? Here Jesus isn't citing the passage as proof text for the resurrection, but rather pointing to what the passage says about the character and nature of God, which then results in resurrection. Exodus 2 ends noting the bondage and affliction of the Israelites, and that God is remembering his covenant with the patriarchs, which had predicted the Egyptian enslavement and liberation (Gen 15:13-14). So, in Exodus 3 (a mix of the J, E, and P sources), God identifies himself to Moses as that God of the patriarchs (v.6), the one who hears the affliction of his people (v.7), who liberates (vv.8-9), who keeps his promises (v.8). In vv. 14-16, there's a repeat of God's identification with the patriarchs twice more, adding his name: Yahweh. Based on the verb "to be", it indicates both a character & relationship: "I am what I am, I will be what I will be." A name to be remembered thru all generations (v.15). Yahweh is saying that his character and nature is one in which the Israelites of all generations can depend, that he is with them, and that he keeps his promises. That's part of the covenant, beginning with Abraham and the other patriarchs.

So, again, Jesus is pointing to a Pentateuch passage, recording an event after the death of the patriarchs of the covenant, which references the covenant, references the patriarchs, and expresses the dependability of God's character as evidence for the resurrection. The way the redactor put the Pentateuch together (& the way the Yahwist put his narrative together) the calling of Abraham & the election of Israel (Gen 12) is about how to fix the fall of humanity from Genesis 3 to 11 and onward. Part of that fall is the introduction of death in humans (Gen 3).

Again, the Gospels are about the good news of the Kingdom of God and God becoming king through Jesus; from his David-like anointing by John the Baptist to his enthronement on the cross.[1] Mark opens his “beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ (1:1) with three references to the exodus. Verses 2-3 of the first chapter mix Exodus 23:20 and Malachi 3:1a (which is referencing Exodus 23:20) and Isaiah 40:3 which is a part of Deutero-Isaiah's new exodus motif.[2] Malachi 3:1b predicts Yahweh appearing in his Temple (see Mark 11:15). The "dead" Moses appears in Mark 9. Yahweh has returned to the Temple like Malachi 3:1 predicted. The glory of God is now in Jesus, not the Temple. The theophany of the burning bush is being referenced by the greatest theophany of them all. Jesus is about to have his Last Supper, a Passover meal. He's about to be crowned king of the Jews on the cross, during Passover. His death will be a baptism (Mark 10:38-39), later understood by Paul as like the parting of the Red Sea (1 Cor 10:1-4). He's about to launch the greatest Exodus of them all in his resurrection.

So, in Mark 12:26-27, Jesus is talking about resurrection just days before his own, affirming its validity by referencing a theophanic story about the character, dependability, covenant-faithfulness (righteousness) of God. That's exactly how Paul himself describes the gospel in Romans 1:17.

In conclusion, as can be seen from the terms & phrases he uses, Paul is making many references indicating that his understanding of the gospel as the Kingdom of God and Jesus as its king conforms with that of the Gospel writers and Jesus himself. Rather than being about justification by faith or how one gets “saved”, the gospel is about God’s rule and reign thru Jesus Christ, which then brings salvation in its proclamation, but also peace, justice, and healing.

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[1] Intended by the Romans to be a macabre, mocking parody of the charge against Jesus, the soldiers dress him up as a king with robe, staff, and crown. They then put him on the cross and hang a sign above his head, “This is the king of the Jews” (Matthew 27:37; Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38; John 19:19). In the most startling, scandalous, ironic event in human history, Jesus becomes King of the Jews and King of the World by being humiliated and executed on a Roman cross. This is his coronation and enthronement. This is how his kingdom arrives.

[2] This passage also references the “good news” (bāśar; εὐαγγελίζω [LXX]) twice in verse 9.