Title: Romans 1:8-9, Intercession
Contents
Unit 2 (8-15) Purpose of going to Rome
8 Intercession
“First, I thank my God for all of you through Jesus Christ, because your faith is preached in the whole world. The God whom I serve with my heart in the gospel of his Son is my witness, always speaking of you in my prayers without ceasing” (1:8-9).
① “First, I thank my God for all of you through Jesus Christ” (8a).
㉠ The apostle begins with “the first”. If that's the case, shouldn't we do the second and third? But there is no such word under it. The Apostle Paul doesn't seem to be too attached to that. We focus only on what will be contained in it. So it means “first of all” or “first of all words.”
㉮ In the letter to the church in Corinth, “I always give thanks to God for you” (1:4),
㉯ In the letter to the church at Ephesus, “without giving thanks for you” (1:16),
㉰ In the letter to the Philippian church, “I give thanks to my God whenever I think of you” (1:3),
㉱ In the letter to the Church of Colossae, we find that whenever we pray for you, we give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:3). The first is thanks.
② An audit must be first in order as well as in weight. In a sense, we are people who have nothing to ask of but to be grateful for.
㉠ That's why Paul says, "Give thanks in everything." The root of thanksgiving is grace. When we think of the free grace He has bestowed upon us, who deserves the wrath of the contrary, far from deserved or merited, what else can we say other than “thank you”? The Apostle Paul gives thanks for the grace given to the Roman saints.
③ That is why it says, “Your faith is being preached in all the world” (8b).
㉠ Rome was the center of the world at that time. He must have also thought about the fact that Israel was under Roman rule and that the Lord suffered under the Roman governor Pilate. However, it must have been a thrilling fact that the gospel had finally reached Rome. There were also rumors that the seeds of the gospel had fallen and were growing.
④ The apostle says, “I give thanks to my God.”
㉠ 7 says “our Father,” but in verse 8, when we pray, it says “my God.” Have you ever called your brother, “My God,” when he was alone with God? It is not the habit of saying “thank you to God” as soon as you open your mouth, but the passionate gratitude that comes from the depths of your heart in a secret encounter with God while tasting God’s presence. This is the meaning it contains.
㉡ Pascal's “Pangse” also has this passage. “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, and my God,” that God is Paul’s God, and also “my God,” the God of the brother.
⑤ Another aspect of the apostle Paul's prayer is found in verse 9, “God is my witness, and he always speaks of you in my prayers without ceasing”.
㉠ “Speaking of you without ceasing” was not limited only to the Roman saints. Because we see the same thing in correspondence to other churches. If busy, who else could have been as busy as Paul? But the apostle says, “I always speak of you in my prayers without ceasing.”
㉡ In prison in Philippi, you will encounter a scene where “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and praising God” (Acts 16:25). Even in prison in Rome, he said, “For this reason, I kneel before the Father, who has given names to every tribe in heaven and on earth” (Ephesians 3:14), and he encounters Paul praying. Who could have known Paul's feelings, his tears, and his prayers? There is only one God who sees, hears, and answers that prayer... , that is why it says, “The God whom I serve with my heart is my witness.”
⑥ The apostle speaks of “serving” in verse 9. In Exodus 29:1, God says, “Give them the priesthood to serve me.”
㉠ A priest is an office that serves before God on behalf of the people. Let's not forget that "intercession" is the most important task among the many tasks to be served. The service of intercessory prayer offered “without ceasing” for the saints truly belongs to hard work.
㉡ The apostle says in 2 Corinthians 11:28, “There are things that are pressed down within me daily, let alone other things, which I am concerned about for the sake of all the churches.” The apostle enumerates before him, “Forty times less with one rod, five times, three times with a rod, and once with stones… Rather than being unable to sleep many times, hungry and thirsty, many times starving, cold and naked, for the churches, the intercession I offered without ceasing in the spirit of “Whoever was weak, I am not weak, and who stumbled, I did not mourn?” It is confessing that it was a service that was difficult to bear.
⑦ Through the text, we see the priestly apostles who are separated from each other in the body, but enter God's secret place, the Most Holy in front of the throne of grace, meeting and serving God alone.
㉠ Doing this is intercession. This does not belong to the ceremonies of serving with the blood of animals, but the workers of the new covenant serve with the spirit. That is why it is said, “The God whom I serve with my heart is my witness.” Keep in mind that brothers are also priests who must serve God with their hearts.
Let's meditate.
1. What is the first thing in prayer?
2. What does Paul mean when he calls “my God” in relation to prayer?
3. In the work of serving, what only God knows?