The Write Place

Every now and again, rereading something in scripture makes it pop in a way it did not before. The depths and unity of scripture are truly insurmountable. Take Romans 1:2-6.

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ

Romans 1:2-6

Paul’s description of his mission is beautifully rich. It is also fully formed, and easily Credal. This cuts heavily against the idea that the religion developed. Instead we find it appears fully formed. I for one, would like to see this adapted and used as a Creed. It already sounds a lot like the apostles creed. Paul expects complete success, in his lifetime or not. We see this by taking what he wrote elsewhere.

²⁵ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶ The last enemy to be destroyed is death. ²⁷ For “God^[a] has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him.

1 Corinthians 15:25-27

It also says a lot about the mission Paul knew he (and the Christians) had. One thing of note pops out to me in Romans 1:5.

through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations

This has deep implications the church has long misunderstood. Paul expects victory, not simply rescue. His mission is expected to have global and victorious implications.

What Paul is saying shows a clear understanding of the Great Commission.

¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷ And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:16-20

Methinks Paul talked to someone who was there (aside from agreeing with Acts 9:15). The apostle John repeats these passages in his own writing. One is particularly clear.

 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Revelation 22:1-5

These passages are saying the same thing. The only hope for the nations of the earth is the Christian mission to bring the Gospel and teaching all Christ commanded, to the world. That involves ethics, business, politics (no matter what your secularist state tells you as it vies for power and influence), family etc. all these are healed by the hope of the Gospel.

It is worth noting much of Evangelicalism has been so foreign focused and domestically defeatist we lost the culture, but Paul was decidedly postmillennial. We do need to pass the Gospel off to our next generation, and to the four corners of the world. Our hope is not the feminine rescue fantasy of dispensational defeatism, neither is the man-centered gnostic utopianism of Hegelian Gnosticism (Marxist or Fascistic). It is conquest through the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony (Revelation 12:10-12). It is a victorious, church triumphant that will spread the eternal Gospel of our Lord (Revelation 14:6). All the nations of the earth will be blessed. If we withhold applying God’s word to any part of life, we are hindering our mission and missing our calling as Christians.

So Christian, hope and trust rightly, and go share the Gospel of Christ that wars may cease and famines end. For the glory of our risen king, and the healing of the nations.