The Circle of Christ

We begin in Romans 1:1-7

1Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, 4who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; 7to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I tried to figure out what Paul was saying here. Sure, you have his greetings and such, but why did he go to such lengths to explain who he is, who his audience is, and why we should care what he has to say? Many times we are told of Paul’s explanation of declaring himself a servant first and foremost of Jesus. This time, I looked a little further than that. Think about verses 5 & 6

Not only do we call on Christ for our salvation, but he calls on us. As we look to him to save us from ourselves, he calls us to represent him. By receiving apostleship, sometimes referred to as “The Great Commission,” we are called to be representatives of Christ to the rest of the world. How do we do that? Through obedience of faith. As we grow in faith, we become more obedient. Not because we have to, but because we want to. Our faithfulness breeds obedience. Obedience to what? The calling of Jesus Christ.

I never saw our relationship with Christ in this light before. As we call on Him, He calls on us and as our faith increases, so does our obedience.

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