Romans 1:4 (the introduction) Part 2

 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,

I apologize for finishing the posting last week.  I will do my best to get caught-up.

The term "Son of God" in this instance refers to the willful subjugation of God the Son to the Father's will in all things.  One of the Messianic titles that Jesus has is one that I will bet you have not heard of: the Slave of YHWH.  Isaiah 52:13-14 and 53:11 both use the Hebrew word `ebed (eh bed) to refer to this slave who was both suffering and exalted.  One of the problems that arises is that nearly all Bible translators wimped out and put servant instead; in like manner the Greek word doulos (doo los).  We all know how much baggage the word slave carries in American culture, however in the days of the Bible it was possibly even more so.  Unfortunately, I can only speculate as my attempts thus far to garner clarification on the world-wide-web have been mostly unsuccessful.  It is too bad that I got rid of a book called Slave by John MacArthur that could have shed some light on the issue.  Philippians 2:6-8 further expands on the submission of the Son to the Father's will, "who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped (or asserted), but emptied (i.e. laid aside His privileges) Himself, taking the form of a slave, and being made in the likeness of men.  Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."  It is interesting that Paul make the distinction of pointed death on a cross specifically.  At that time prominent orators like Cicero described crucifixion as, "a most cruel and disgusting punishment," and suggested that "the very mention of the cross should be far removed not only from a Roman citizen’s body, but from his mind, his eyes, his ears."  It was not even allowed in polite conversation among Roman citizens.  It is also possible that Deuteronomy 21:23 (quoted by Paul in Galatians 3:13, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us-- for is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree [or cross]--') could be referring to the infamy of that form of execution in the Jewish mind.  If Paul were not a Roman citizen, you can bet that is the how Nero would have killed him.

 The next part, "...with power by the resurrection from the dead," is an engaging thing to consider.  The Greek word for power is dunamis (doo-nam-is) which is where we get our word dynamite.  The resurrection is quite possibly one of the most important things that we as Christians often overlook.  We often like to say that Jesus died for our sins (and He did) but we commonly do not include He was raised again on the third day.  The thing is that if Jesus did not rise again then our sins are not forgiven.  Paul tells us in 1st Corinthians 15:12-17, "Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of  the dead?  But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain.  Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.  For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins." (emphasis mine).

"according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord."  Now to wrap up this amazing verse.  The Holy Spirit may be one of the most important parts of Christianity that we almost never mention.  Without Him we would have no Bible, we would have no spiritual gifts, no indwelling spirit to convict us, and finally no salvation without the regeneration of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit did mighty works in Jesus during His incarnation when He walked among us and rose Him from the dead.  Here is what it is all about: Jesus Christ our Lord.  When you take apart the last bit of the verse: Jesus means Jehovah is salvation; Christ means anointed and is the Greek word of the Jewish Messiah; and Lord comes from the Greek word kurios (koo-ree-os) which speaks to His supremacy over all things even as it is written in Philippians 2:9-11, "For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness,
Because of your truth.