5 (a) It is through Him that we have received
grace (God’s unmerited favor) (b) and [our] apostleship to promote obedience to
the faith and (c) make disciples (d) for His name’s sake among all the nations,
• Vs.5a
Jesus is the reason we have Grace today.
Comment: What does Grace mean? It means
that God loves us and gives us favor even though we as sinners are not
deserving of His favor. In other words His Grace is unmerited.
Why is
Grace so important? Grace means that our lack of sin is not what brings us
freedom from eternal death, but rather the lack of Jesus’ sin brings life to us.
This is good news, because it is impossible for us not to have sin. To prove
that we are truly seen by God as being without sin, I have an interesting
example of how Grace makes us clean in God’s eyes. This is also the first
concrete or visible evidence in the Bible, (after Jesus died for us), that our
sin does not cause death anymore…
The O.T
priests use to meet with the Holy Spirit in the part of the temple called the
Holy of Holies. The Spirit of God used to hover as a ball of light or a cloud
above The Ark of the Covenant (also known as the Ark of the Testimony). It is a
chest described in Book of Exodus as containing the Tablets of Stone on which
the Ten Commandments were inscribed, Aaron's budding staff as well as pieces of
manna. Hebrews 9 of the N.T. explains
how our “works” or personal “sacrifices” are deemed worthless in putting us in
right standing with God i.e. obtaining righteousness.
Hebrews 9:6-9 (New Testament)
6 These arrangements having thus been made,
the priests enter [habitually] into the outer division of the tabernacle in
performance of their ritual acts of worship.
7 But into the second [division of the
tabernacle] none but the high priest goes, and he only once a year, and never
without taking a sacrifice of blood with him, which he offers for himself and
for the errors and sins of ignorance and thoughtlessness which the people have
committed.
8 By this the Holy Spirit points out that the
way into the [true Holy of] Holies is not yet thrown open as long as the former
[the outer portion of the] tabernacle remains a recognized institution and is
still standing,
9 Seeing that that first [outer portion of
the] tabernacle was a parable (a visible symbol or type or picture of the
present age). In it gifts and sacrifices
are offered, and yet are incapable of perfecting the conscience or of cleansing
and renewing the inner man of the worshiper.
No one
was Holy enough to face God and not die, under the Old Covenant/Old Testament,
except for the priests, who had to go through a strenuous ritual of spiritual
cleansing, repentance of sins and animal sacrifice to stand before God in the
Holy of Holies. These sacrifices and rituals could only ‘hide’ or ‘cover’ their
sins but could not take it away completely.
Numbers 18:7 (Old Testament)
Therefore you and your sons with you shall attend
to your priesthood for everything of the altar [of burnt offering and the altar
of incense] and [of the Holy of Holies] within the veil, and you shall serve. I
give you your priesthood as a service of gift. And the stranger [anyone other
than Moses or your sons, Aaron] who
comes near shall be put to death.
If these
priests did not honestly perform these rituals and cleansed themselves enough,
their sin caused them to drop dead in the presence of God. On the day of Jesus’
crucifixion, He performed a ritualistic cleansing of our sin, through His
death, that gave us (the believers) a permanent legal state of sinlessness,
which in turn led to the tearing open of the curtain that divided the Holy
Spirit from us (for our own safety up to that point). We would have died being
filled with the Holy Spirit, if we where not cleaned of all sin in the eyes of
God through the sacrificial death of Jesus.
This is
what Grace is all about. It is being guilty of sin but counted as being
innocent by God’s legal judgment, because judgment was executed on Jesus, on
behalf of all mankind.
Being
able to be filled with the Holy Spirit and not dropping dead is proof that
“Grace through Jesus” saves our life.
• Vs.5b
Jesus is the reason we have Apostles today.
Comment: Apostles are exclusively found
in the New Testament (N.T.) They take over from the Old Testament (O.T.)
Prophets in the task of interacting and or ‘connecting’ people to God through
faith and divine revelation. One of the big differences between the two offices
mentioned is that Apostles connect people to God by bringing them the Good News
of the Gospel, but once people accept this Gospel and become ‘saved’ the Holy
Spirit connects them with God through Jesus in a one-on-one relationship,
versus the O.T Prophets who where the only ones who could hear God and then had
to relate it 2nd hand to the people.
There is
also a distinct difference between O.T. prophets and N.T. prophets. O.T
prophets heard from God directly and wrote the O.T. through this divine
revelation. Today’s prophets are not appointed to add to the Bible; their job
is to edify and uplift the congregation through their spiritual gifting as can
be seen in this N.T. verse:
1 Corinthians 14:26
What then, brethren, is [the right course]? When you meet together, each one has a hymn, a teaching, a disclosure of special knowledge or information, an utterance in a [strange] tongue, or an interpretation of it. [But] let everything be constructive and edifying and for the good of all.
There is
also a difference between the Apostles who lay the foundation of the early
church and the Apostle described in the 5-fold ministry office (Apostle, Prophet,
Teacher, Pastor, Evangelist - Ephesians
4:11) i.e. today’s Apostles. Original Apostles walked with Jesus as His
disciples, with the exception of Paul who was radically converted from a
Christian murderer, (working for the Jewish order), to becoming the Apostle
that wrote 2/3 of the NT. (See Acts 9 Saul
became Paul)
What is
the job description of an Apostle? It is one who promotes obedience to the
faith and also makes disciples of people in every Nation of the world,
including you.
• Vs.5c
Make disciples
Comment: What is a disciple?
John 8:31
“So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in
Him, If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance
with them], you are truly My disciples.”
Vincent's Word Studies
Believed
on Him (πεπιστευκότας αὐτῷ)
Note the
different phrase, distinguishing the Jews from the mixed company in John 8:30. Rev., rightly, believed Him.
If ye
continue (ἐὰν ὑμεῖς μείνητε)
The
emphasis is on the ye, addressed to those whose faith was rudimentary; who
believed Him, but did not yet believe on Him. Rev., abide.
In my
word (ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τῷ ἐμῷ)
Literally,
in the word which is mine: peculiarly mine, characteristic of me. The
expression is intentionally stronger than my word. Compare my love (John 15:9).
Indeed (ἀληθῶς)
Literally,
truly; as Rev. As those who believe on me, not as those who are moved by
temporary excitement to admit my claims.
• Vs.5d
For His name’s sake
Comment: See the same wording in Psalm 106
Psalm 106:8
“Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his
mighty power to be known.”
Geneva Study Bible
Nevertheless
he saved them for His name's sake, that he might make His mighty power to be
known.
The
inestimable goodness of God appears in this, that he would rather change the
order of nature than have His people not be delivered, even though they were
wicked.
Clarke's Commentary on the Bible
He saved
them for His name's sake - למען שמו lemaan
shemo, "on account of His name;" to manifest His own power, goodness,
and perfections. There was nothing, which He could draw from them as a reason
why He should save them; therefore He drew the reason from Himself.
Romans 1:5
5 It is through Him that we have received
grace (God’s unmerited favor) and [our] apostleship to promote obedience to the
faith and make disciples for His name’s sake among all the nations,
After
studying the full meaning of the ‘carefully selected words’ Paul used in the 5th
verse of Romans 1, this is my
interpretation and understanding of it…
5. Jesus
is the reason we have unmerited favor, this means that on the day of Jesus’
crucifixion, He performed a ritualistic cleansing of our sin, through His
death, that gave us (the believers) a permanent legal state of sinlessness, and
ever lasting life, which in turn led to the tearing-open of the curtain that
divided the Holy Spirit from us. We would have died being filled with the Holy
Spirit, if we were not cleansed of all sin in the eyes of God through the
sacrificial death of Jesus. This unmerited favor is called His Grace. His Grace
is our ‘free pass’ to everlasting life. I, Paul, as one of God’s appointed
Apostles have taken over from the Prophets of old to introduce to you the truth
of who the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob is, according to the New Covenant
that Jesus brought into being. As an Apostle I am commissioned to fill you with
the Holy Spirit trough the laying on of hands and equipping you to become a
person who relies on Christ, not as those who are moved by temporary excitement
to admit His claims, but one who lives and breaths by the words in this Holy
Bible that is so peculiarly His and characteristic of Him. We as believers hold
fast to being His followers because we believe the fact that He saved us on
account of His name, to manifest His own power, goodness, and perfections, as
there was nothing, which He could draw from our forefathers as a reason why He
should save all the nations of the world. Therefore He would rather change the
order of nature and draw the reason from
Himself than to let us perish in hell for all eternity.
Bibliography:
- Geneva Study Bible - Bible Suite by Biblos
- Geneva Study Bible - Bible Suite by Biblos
- Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Bible Suite by Biblos
- Vincent's Word Studies - Bible Suite by Biblos
-
Amplified
Bible
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