The Son of God Appears in the Gospel
(Explanation of Romans 3)
Son of God in the Gospel
(Text: Romans 1:1 - 4)
Introduction: Paul testified of the gospel, saying, "This gospel was promised in advance by God concerning his Son through his prophets." And Paul testifies about this Son, who is the subject of the gospel, in two ways. “As for this Son, according to the flesh, he was of the lineage of David, and according to the spirit of holiness, he was recognized as the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead.” Paul testifies of his humanity and divinity through the birth of Christ and his resurrection.
1. The humanity of Christ
But on the other hand, if we insist only on the humanity of Christ, Christ is only a human being, like other great saints, and we have no choice but to bring him down from the place of God. If that happens, Christianity will become a lifeless religion that is no different from other pagan religions, and it will not be able to bring any hope to those who have fallen into sin and have been destroyed. Therefore, we must acknowledge Christ's divinity and humanity, saying, "He is both true man and true God." Christ is truly God and man.
(1) It is said that Christ was born of the line of David according to the flesh. The word “blood of David” means the descendants of the covenant. God used the word “descendant of woman” in Genesis 3 in the covenant about Christ. As history progressed, God's covenant was expressed as the seed of Abraham, and after that, it was also expressed as the son of David. The expression “son of David” was deeply planted in their hearts as the Messianic covenant to the Israelites (Psalm 89:3, 4, Isaiah 11:1-5, Jeremiah 23:5, 6, 30:9; Ezekiel 34:23). , 24, 37:24). This “line of David” refers to the system of physical blood in which Jesus will be born into this world. In reality, Jesus cannot be the son of David. In the midst of reproaching the Pharisees for their false Messiah crown, Jesus quoted from the Psalms and said, “If David calls the Christ Lord, how can he be his descendant?” He biblically revealed that the Messiah was the Lord of David. Matthew 22:41-45).
(2) The saying that Christ is the son of David is based on his humanity. Because God said that the covenant about the Messiah to be sent was the son of David, anyone who is not born as a descendant of David does not have the right to become the Messiah in any case. Therefore, if Jesus did not come as the Son of David, we would not be able to receive him as the promised Messiah of God. The work concerning the Messiah promised in the Old Testament was completed with the birth of Christ (Matt 1:1,16; Luke 1:26,27). The word pedigree means seed, seed, or offspring, and it means that Jesus was born with the essence of a human being.
(3) What did Christ do because he was born of the lineage of David? The fact that Jesus was born of the lineage of David refers to the fact that He came into this world from heaven. The saying that “the Word became flesh” means that God the Son, who was from the beginning, came into the world as a descendant of the covenant wearing the blood of David (John 1:1,14). When the Word became flesh, Jesus, who is God’s body, took on the form of a servant and came down to the throne of a human being, and God fulfilled the covenant he had given to Israel by allowing him to be born through the lineage of David.
Then, what did Christ do when he came to this world as the blood of David? He sympathized with human weakness and was even tempted (Hebrews 4:15, Isaiah 53:3). Christ came in the flesh to keep laws that humans could not keep. In order to fulfill the curse of the law that sinners must bear, He carried and fulfilled that burden. “You know that he was manifested to take away our sins; in him there is no sin.”
The most dramatic work that Christ did when he came in the flesh was his death on the cross. In fact, the purpose of his coming into the world in the flesh was for this purpose. The reason Jesus died on the cross was for the shedding of His blood. Because shedding of blood means “death,” it is essential for the remission of our sins and our deliverance from death to pay for our sins.
2. The Divinity of Christ
Regarding the divinity of Christ, Paul said, “He was declared the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead.” The humanity of Christ is important, but equally important is the divinity of Christ. The divinity of Christ refers to the fact that Christ is God. It is easy for anyone to acknowledge the humanity of Christ, but it is difficult for anyone to acknowledge his divinity. The fact that God came into the world as a man is difficult for human wisdom to believe. Therefore, Jesus said to Peter, “Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” and said, “Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to me” (Matthew 16:17, John 6:45).
(1) Jesus was recognized as the Son of God by his resurrection. Recognized here does not mean that God approved it, but that God showed us the evidence through the resurrection so that we could be recognized as the evidence of the promised Messiah. Even if Christ did not have a resurrection, he must still be the Son of God. However, it will be difficult for him to be recognized by humans as the promised Messiah. His resurrection is sufficient evidence that he is the Son of God (Acts 17:31).
(2) It is said that Christ was made alive by the spirit of holiness. The spirit of holiness means a spirit that is not polluted by sin. There is only one Christ who has this spirit. Although Jesus came into the world as the Word in the flesh, He also had a Spirit. The spirit he possesses is the Spirit of holiness, the Spirit of God who becomes his true life. The resurrection of Christ is the result of this spirit of holiness. His sinless spirit became the power to bring his dead body back to life. When we are united with Christ, we are united with the Spirit of holiness who raised Jesus, so that our mortal body is raised to life as his body (Philippians 3:21).
Conclusion: In this way, the Son of God revealed in the gospel is a person with both humanity and divinity, and he is both man and God. His birth is the sending of the promised Messiah, and His resurrection is the sure proof of God that He is the Messiah of the covenant. Our eternal life belongs only to Him.