Romans 1:1

Romans 1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

Paul introduces the epistle written to the Romans much in a similar fashion as he does all of his epistles, that is his name.  You may ask, why is that important to note?  The reason that is important to note is because Paul writes or dictates 13 epistles found in the so-called "New Testament" and he begins each of them with his name.  (cf. Romans 1:1, I Corinthians 1:1, II Corinthians 1:1, Galatians 1:1, Ephesians 1:1, Phillipians 1:1, Colossians 1:1, I Thessalonians 1:1, II Thessalonians 1:1, I Timothy 1:1, II Timothy 1:1, Titus 1:1, Philemon 1:1)  There are many today who affirm that Paul wrote the book of Hebrews, yet that book does not bare his name. (cf. Hebrews ?:?)  There is great controversy to who penned the book of Hebrews, but this author is wholly convinced that Paul is not the author for various reasons, this being one of them.  This is a rudimentary reason, but a good one nonetheless.  There are many wonderful differences between the 13 epistles attributed to Paul and the book of Hebrews, of which, we shall see some of them as we move forward. 

Paul goes on to tell us a little about himself.  Namely, that he is a servant of Jesus Christ and that he is called to be an apostle.  Let us first take a look at what it means to be a servant of Jesus Christ.  Then we will look at his calling to be an apostle.

A Servant of Jesus Christ

A servant is one who works for, is useful or of service to, helps, renders active service to, or renders obedience or homage to someone in authority.  This tells us a lot about Paul and even more about Jesus Christ.  If Paul is a servant of Jesus Christ, then Jesus Christ must have authority in the life of the Apostle Paul.  A servant is usually someone who chooses to be of service to someone else; therefore, because of the authority Jesus Christ has, Paul chose to be a servant of Jesus Christ.  Paul is willing to work for and be obedient to Jesus Christ.  Today, we must stop to see who we are serving.  I would almost promise that many today are not choosing to be servants of Jesus Christ, but rather their own pre-conceived notions. 

How many people are taking up a cause for preaching the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ?

On the other hand,

How many are taking up a cause for water baptism? 

How many are taking up a cause for lent?

How many are taking up a cause for speaking in tongues?

How many are taking up a cause for handling serpents?

How many are taking up a cause for prosperity?

How many are taking up a cause for healing?
How many are taking up a cause for positive thinking?

The Calling to Be an Apostle

This is one of the most contested issues concerning the Apostle Paul.  Not so much his apostleship, but his true place within the pages of scripture and God's plan. 

Paul spent most of his life defending his apostleship and today we defend his unique apostleship.  His apostleship was unique from that of the 12 Apostles chosen by Christ and the 13th apostle, Matthias, who replaced Judas after the resurrection of Christ.  How was his apostleship unique from theirs?  Simple, he had a different gospel, he was sent to a different group of people, and he presented to the world God's wonderful mystery, which was kept secret since the world began.  Paul was given a message which was never preached before. 

What does it mean to be called to be an apostle?  It means he was separated unto the gospel of God. 

The Gospel of God
This has been a bone of contention among many Biblical scholars; however, if we allow God's word to speak for itself then we will be able to understand the verse more clearly.  We should note the verse ends with a comma, which means we are about to receive some more information and clarity to what the Gospel of God is about.  Therefore, we will leave this to our next verse.

Greg Resor
Complete in Him