1Paul,
a servant of Jesus Christ, a called apostle, set apart into the Gospel of God …
And so it begins. I want to embark on a study of the book of
Romans. I may not live long enough to finish it, but I want to have at least
started. I don’t like the fact that I have been reading, enjoying, and nursing
on this book for all these years but never spent the time actually studying it
to be careful that I really did understand it. Also, I have always found with the
Bible there are diamonds and jewels to be had when I settle down and just mine
slowly and carefully through any book or passage. I expect the book of Romans
to be a literal goldmine. And so it begins.
The book of course is written by Paul. It is interesting to
note that his real name was Saul, Saul of Tarsus, but when he expanded his
ministry out into the Gentile world, he changed it to Paul. Actually, in the
Greek language, he changed it to Paulos. In our English tongue, we shorten it
to Paul, but in the language of the day, it was Paulos. For some reason, Greek
speaking people (and Latin too, I think), liked to add the “os” to the end of
names. Of course we like to add “y” or “ie,” so that Ruth becomes Ruthie or
Bill becomes Billy, but they like “os.” In Greek, it wasn’t just Christ but
Christos. Timothy’s actual Greek name was Timothaios.
All of this said, one would think his Greek name would have become
Saulos. There is a lot of debate about why that is not the case, but I
personally think the best explanation is that “saulos” is actually a word in
Greek, but it’s not good. It meant “conceited, affected, effeminate.” …And so
it became Paulos.
It is encouraging to stop and ponder even what seems to be
the routine opening words of the book. “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ…” Modern
commentators like to make a big deal about the fact the word translated “servant”
can mean “slave.” That can get great mileage with preaching but I think it
better to moderate our translation to “servant.” I certainly am very happy to
be the Lord’s slave, particularly with Him being the very kindest of masters,
but I think, in our modern world, “slave” carries too many negative images
which I doubt are in Paul’s mind as he uses this word. Throughout the Old
Testament, people were called “the servant of the Lord,” including Abraham, Moses,
David, Isaiah, the prophets, and more. I believe Paul is expressing in Greek
those same ideas from Hebrew.
It is a wonderful thing to be a “servant of Jesus Christ.”
In reality this is the highest title a person could possibly be given. What a
privilege to be counted a servant of Him who is the King of kings and Lord of
lords, to be servants of the Most High God. I enjoy going to work every day,
knowing I go as a servant of the Most High God. I go realizing this is His
world, that He today intends to do great good to His world, and that He is
allowing me to go being His representative, doing His work, and reflecting Him
to everyone I work with and for. All is His – every phone call, every work
assignment, every problem that comes up, it’s all His work and I get to be part
of it. I get to be His servant!
Paul in particular was called [to be] an apostle and set
apart for the Gospel. I insert the […] only to show that those words are not present in the Greek. It literally says
he was a "called apostle," as in my literal translation above. The problem is that isn’t how we probably would say it
in English. That literal translation is just a little awkward in our English
tongue. Regardless, the point we see is that Paul’s calling in particular was
to be an apostle and that meant very specifically that he was set apart to
spend his life in Gospel ministry.
Like each of us, he was a servant of Jesus Christ. However,
one aspect of being a servant is that we don’t get to pick for ourselves our
calling, our assignment under the Master. Each of us needs to accept his or her
calling and then go about that service with all our hearts. Paul’s calling was
specifically to be an apostle. That, of course, was a full-time ministry
position which included specific responsibilities. In Eph. 4:11 we learn that
this same Jesus “gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be
evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers …” In I Cor. 7:17,20,&24,
Paul advised, “each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned
to him … Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God
called him … Each man should remain in the situation God called him to.” For
the vast majority of believers, we’re called to simply live our lives for Him,
as in Col. 3:23,24: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as
working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance
from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Being
servants, what matters is that we do whatever the Master calls us to do,
whether Paul to be an apostle or one of us to be a candlestick maker.
As we read Romans 1:1, we can all be very thankful that Paul
accepted his calling and, in fact, worked at it with all his heart. We have the
book of Romans to study and ponder and nurse on, specifically because the Lord
called this one man to be an apostle, set him apart to the Gospel, and he
embraced his Master’s will and was faithful in it. Your calling and mine may
not seem so glorious, like just being a good parent, a good neighbor, a good
candlestick maker, but we can rest assured, the Master can and will use us just
as mightily, if we are but faithful to our calling. As a servant, I don’t
necessarily need to understand the Master’s plan, I just need to live out my
part, then leave it to Him to weave the tapestry according to His great wisdom.
Paul was set apart “unto the Gospel” and this very book –
the book of Romans – is a fruit of his faithfulness. My prayer as I study
through it is that, in many ways, the Lord will take this work of Paul’s and
write it on my heart. May He make us living epistles, known and read by all
men, not just engraved on tablets of stone, but written on the fleshy tablets
of our hearts, so that whatever we do, wherever we go, we spread the fragrance
of the knowledge of Christ. As we would go about our lives humbly serving the
King of kings, may His presence adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all
things and may He grant to some repentance, so that they may recover themselves
out of the snare of the devil and become themselves servants of this wonderful
Most High God!
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