Romans 1:3 Concerning his Son Jesus
Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the
flesh;
In Romans 1:1 we are introduced to Paul and the fact that he was separated unto the Gospel of God. Verse 3 is the explanation of what the Gospel of God concerned. The Gospel of God concerns Jesus Christ being the Son of God, and the fact that He was made of the seed of David according to the flesh. Verse 4 gives us some more information on the Gospel of God, but we will talk about that when we get there.
As I stated earlier, many struggle with this verse but it is very simple. Where many get tripped up is the fact that we know Paul preaches an unprophesied message, but here we read he is separated unto something preached before. What we need to know and understand is that Paul was given a message that was unprophesied, something which was kept hid in God from before the foundation of the world, and we need to know that the Gospel of God was not part of the mystery. The Gospel of God is a foundational truth we must all know and understand. Is it necessary to know Christ was the Son of God? Yes. Is it necessary to know Christ was made of the seed of David according to the flesh? Yes.
We should not get tripped up on the fact that Paul preaches the Gospel of God and then later preaches another Gospel. Many say that Paul curses himself by doing so and they quote Galatians. The issue we need to consider is the truth of progressive revelation.
Did Paul receive everything about the Dispensation of the Grace of God at once? No. In fact, he says that he will come to visions and revelations of the Lord in II Corinthians 12:1. He knew there was more information to come. From the time he is struck down on the road to Damascus until his death, Paul received many visions and revelations of the Lord. The new Gospel he was to preach was not taught in seminaries, much like today. Paul learned this new message from the mouth of the risen Christ Jesus. He was not taught it by man, but by Jesus Christ Himself.
This is why we must study God's word in context. All to often, men pluck a verse out of the Bible and interpret it based upon their theological upbringing. We are not to handle God's word so deceitfully. Does Paul condemn himself by preaching another gospel? No. The Gospel of God is something everyone should know as a basis to move on to deeper concepts.
Greg Resor
Complete in Him
