Lesson 412

(Lesson 412)(10-01-12) Romans 1:1-17, "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."

This lesson is part of a letter from Paul to the believers in Rome. At the beginning, Paul refers to himself as a "called" Apostle of Jesus Christ. This is significant in that Paul's calling to the Apostleship separates him from 'run-of-the-mill' preachers. Jesus granted certain powers to the Apostles that was never granted to any other individual.

In a statement made directly to Peter and the other Apostles, in Matthew 16:18-19 Jesus grants this power when He said, "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Through their unique calling, the Apostles were thereby empowered to be the only conduit through which Jesus would ,"build My Church".

As the Church grew, the same power was given to the Church as a body. This is verified by what Jesus said when addressing the Church as a whole in "Matthew 18:18, Jesus said, "Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

At that point Jesus authorized the Church, as a collective body, to receive and "bind" new members.

Also, in this lesson, Paul expresses his desire to get back to Rome to "establish" their collective membership, "For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me."
It is clear by what Paul said, that there were believers in Rome, but that the Church had not yet been "established".~