In what has been called the greatest thesis on
Christianity ever written by man, Paul's letter to the Romans proclaims the
mysteries of God as revealed in Jesus Christ. His "doxology"
catches the power of the glory and the majesty of Christ: "O the
depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how
unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! for who
hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counselor?
Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory
for ever. Amen" (11:33-36). The heart of Paul's letter to the Romans is
the continual proclamation of what God has done for man.
The Epistle of Romans is the greatest story
ever told. It is the powerful and good news that God the Father has sent His
Son, Jesus Christ, into the lives of all men to baptize them with His Spirit
to take them where they could not and would not go themselves. In the
first 17 verses of Romans 1, Paul reveals the truth of God: the
gospel of Christ, which contains both the righteousness and the wrath of
God.
The theme of Romans then carries its readers
through the fall of man. In chapters 1:18-3:20, the fall of man
begins when man fails to worship God as the source of his life ("they
knew God, they glorified him not as God"). This failure spreads
throughout all men until all are sinners and all are in need of salvation.
The salvation of man is revealed in
chapters 3:21-5:21. Even though man is now ungodly, a sinner, and an
enemy of God, God still loves him and has sent His Son into the life of man
to save him. Man is actually saved from himself and this salvations
comes not from works, rituals, or keeping the law. He is justified by
faith. Moreover, this faith that saves is the faithfulness of God not
the faithfulness of man.
In what
is now known as chapter 6, the restoration of man is seen as being in
Christ. The continual dying off of the flesh in order that the Spirit
within may be raised to life is the mystery of life. The secret that
lies in coming to understand (experiential knowledge) that Christ is the
source of all life ("I experience Christ, therefore I am) is the secret
that enables man to experiences life as God intended. The preciseness of
this chapter
tells the whole story of the essence of how Christ lives in the believer.
In perhaps the most provocative passage of recorded Scriptures (chapters
7:1-11:36), the challenge of man is revealed. From the opening
pages of Genesis to the closing remarks of Revelation, the story remain the
same. Man is given the unique opportunity to experience the life of
God. It is unique in that he not only experiences the life of God but
he is able to know what he is experiencing. This unique ability to
understand, however, also brings his challenge. Can man, with his
ability to think about his thinking, rest in the life he is experiencing and
not attempt to control it? Using Israel and the remnant within Israel
to illustrate the challenge of man, Paul shares his understanding of life in
the flesh and life in the Spirit.
Experiencing the life of God is to live in His grace. God not
only allows His life to be experienced but He also provides the means to
experience it. The reasonable service of man is to simply let God be
God in his mind. In chapters 12:1-16:27, Paul shares the glory of
living in the grace of God. He shares what it means to understand and
to live in the ultimate reality of all truth: "For of him, and through
him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen."
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