Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ…set apart for God's Good News: ·which he promised through his prophets in the holy scriptures ·concerning his Son—who came from the seed of David according to the flesh, ·and who was with power ordained [Gr. horisthentos] Son of God according to the Spirit of relational holiness [Gr. hagiosunees][i], by the resurrection from the dead—Jesus Christ our Lord. ·By him we have received grace and apostleship, towards the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations—·among whom YOU also are the called-ones of Jesus Christ. To all those in Rome who are beloved of God, called and holy: Grace to YOU and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:1-7 PH)

I long to see YOU, that I… ·might have some fruit also among YOU, as well as among the remaining nations. ·I have an obligation both to ‘Greeks’ and to ‘barbarians’, to both the wise and the foolish— ·thus the eagerness in me to proclaim the Good News also to YOU…in Rome. ·…The Gospel…is the power of God towards the salvation of everyone who believes: first for both Jew and ‘Greek’. …·I too am an Israelite—out of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. …·My grief is great…·for…my kinfolk by the flesh…·who are Israelites. To them belong: the placement as sons [Gr. huiothesia] and the glory, as well as the covenants, the giving of the Law, the temple worship and the promises. ·To them belong the fathers, and out of them by the flesh (came) the Messiah, the One over all, God adored forever! …·God has not rejected his people whom he knew beforehand; …·a remnant has come into being, according to a gracious choice. (Rom.1:11,13-16; 11:1; 9:2-5; 11:2,5)

There is no distinction: for the same Lord of all—also of the Jew and the ‘Greek’—is rich towards all who call on him... ·All those led by the Spirit of God are sons [Gr. huioi] of God, ·And YOU…received the Spirit of placement as sons [huiothesia]—in whom we cry, “Abba, Father”. ·That same Spirit bears witness to our spirit, that we are sons and daughters [Gr. tekna][ii] of God—·…indeed heirs of God and heirs-together with Christ. …·With intense anticipation the creation awaits the revelation of the sons of God…,·and… the entire creation groans together and experiences birth pangs together until now. ·…We also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we groan in ourselves awaiting the placement as sons [huiothesia]—the redemption of our body. … ·Yet we know that in all things God works together with those who love him—towards their good, in accord with the advance-placing to which they are called. ·For the ones he knew beforehand he also destined beforehand [Gr. pro-horisen] to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the Eldest among many brothers and sisters. ·Moreover, the ones he destined beforehand [pro-horisen], these too he called, and the ones he called, these too he justified, and the ones he justified, these too he glorified. (Rom. 10:12; 8:14-17,19,22-23, 28-30)

Many Christians today are like the believers in Rome, because certain cultural and religious assumptions are also limiting their understanding of the Good News (Gospel) of Jesus as God's ‘Son’. Though the church in Rome was multi-ethnic, there are Jewish believers who still treat disciples of other nations as ‘foolish children’ (2:17-18). And some educated ‘Greek’ disciples continue to distance themselves from other believers who they view as uneducated ‘barbarian’ foreigners or as ‘lower-class’ (1:13-14; 12:16b NIV). Only a full understanding of Jesus as the Son of God can give us a healthy view of ourselves, and of all our brothers and sisters.

Therefore, in his opening words, Paul emphasizes three things about Jesus as God's ‘Son’. First, he is so, ‘according to the flesh’, as the promised Messiah and descendant of David (2 Sam.7:14, Med.#D). By this statement Paul underlines that Jesus came to us both as a Jew and as a human being. The incarnation is such an important part of the Gospel that, according to the apostle John, anyone who denies this truth is ‘not of God’ (Med.#55). Yes, Jesus is the divine ‘Word’ of God, says John, but he became ‘flesh’ to reveal the Father to us (Med.#58). One of the biggest barriers to Christians coming to know God as Father, is the religious filter that downplays Jesus' humanity as only a necessary requirement for his becoming the perfect sacrifice for sin.

Secondly, Paul says Jesus was ‘ordained Son of God with power—according to the Spirit’. This event took place when Jesus was about thirty years old, and was witnessed by John the Baptist. Then, after being given authority by the Spirit, Jesus began introducing God's kingdom into this world—by resisting all the temptations of the devil, and by walking in mature ‘relational holiness’ [Gr. hagiosunees][i] with his Father in all he said and did (Med.#26). Thirdly, three years later, he was ‘ordained Son of God with power’ on another level, by his ‘resurrection from the dead’. For it is only after his ascension that he is made truly great: with the ‘throne of his kingdom established forever’ (2 Sam.7:13, Med.#D), and with a place and a name (as 'Lord') above all rule and authority (Med.#44, Med.#56)—towards the goal that all powers in earth and heaven will be either reconciled to him (Med.#81) or finally destroyed (Med.#94)!

Then, by pouring out his Spirit on us, Jesus as our Eldest Brother began building an eternal ‘household’ for the Father's name (Med.#44)—so that we might shine with him as sons and daughters in our Father’s family kingdom (Med.#17). When Jesus' disciples were given a brief glimpse of his eternal glory in this kingdom, they too heard the Father's declaration: ‘This is my Son’; and they saw two other people shining in glory with Jesus (Lk.9:28-35, Med.#84). Therefore, after Paul has introduced Jesus as ‘Son of God’ in these three ways, he goes on to address all the believers in Rome as ‘holy’ and ‘called’ by ‘our Father’. And later he refers to them all as ‘sons and daughters’ of God who are now able to call him Dad (Heb. Abba), because of having all received ‘the Spirit of placement as sons [Gr. huiothesia]’.

Yet Jesus did not begin building this eternal multi-ethnic household from scratch. He first became Messiah and Eldest Brother to the nation of Israel that God ‘knew beforehand’ (Med.#45). This very human people, with all their failings, are still loved by God (Rom.11:28), and so should be honored among us as ‘the first to trust in the Messiah’ (Med.#8). Disciples from this ‘eldest-brother’ nation (Med.#C) have always been in the Church as a ‘remnant’, as divine testimony that all Jews have never been ‘rejected’ by God. So non-Jewish believers may never see themselves as having replaced the Jews as God's people (Rom.11:19). How tragic it is, and shameful, that many Christians down through history have behaved in opposition to Paul's teaching. Many still fail to admit this failure of the Church, and many have yet to repent of their own anti-Semitism!

At the same time, Paul did not mean that his own nation should be given preferential treatment, as some Jewish believers in Rome were demanding. The ‘placement as sons’ [huiothesia]—that for which all humanity was 'chosen' at creation and were 'destined beforehand' to receive 'in Christ' (Med.#8)—may have first ‘belonged’ to the Jews as a promise. But this 'coming of age' by the Spirit (Med.#4) has now come to all believers! All who are in Christ are now being conformed to the image of their Eldest Brother. For through the Gospel, believers of all nations are now ‘co-heirs’ (Med.#6): whether educated Greek-speakers or uneducated foreigners, high class or low class; whether Jews or Scythians (Col.3:11), freeborn citizens or slaves, men or women. And like Jesus, all his disciples become ‘heirs’ of the Father and ‘saints’ in two power stages. By ‘the Spirit of relational holiness’ we come into an intimate, partnership relationship with our Father. And one day, by a bodily resurrection (Med.#94), we will receive our full and final ‘placement as sons’.

Through this hope, and our faith in Jesus' resurrection, we gain a new view of ourselves and of our brothers and sisters. Also of all our neighbors; for we are the heralds of what God has also done in Christ for them. And by fixing eyes of faith on Jesus—the Son of God who is now enthroned in an immortal human body, in the glory of the Father (Med.#48)—we gain a true understanding of what it means to be human. And in that next meditation (#48), we will look at some practical advice Paul gives to the Roman believers about how to live now: in the power of Jesus' resurrection, and as ‘holy’ partners with the Father by the Spirit.

We praise you, Father—Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and our Father—for choosing us in him before the creation of the world, and in love pre-destining [Gr. pro-horisen] us towards the 'placement as sons' to you, through Jesus Christ, in accordance with your pleasure and will to the praise of your glorious grace. Also for giving us redemption through his blood, in accordance with the riches of your grace, and for empowering us with the Holy Spirit—the first fruits of our inheritance—until our bodies are redeemed and we are revealed to all creation: as your sons and daughters in our glory with Jesus, like Moses and Elijah on the mountain. (Eph.1:2-7,13-14; Rom.8:23,18a-19; Col.3:4; Lk.9:28-31)

[i] For an explanation of the Greek word, hagiosunees, see Med.#32 (footnote [ii]).

[ii] When adults are in focus, I render the plural word tekna as ‘sons and daughters’ rather than as ‘children’ (see explanation in Med.#5, footnote [ii]).