God sent him into the world to do some definite thing. For every man God has a plan no man's life is purposeless. He thought of God as separating him for the task he was to do even before he was born ( Galatians 1:15). Twice in his life this very same word (aphorizein, G873) is used of him. He was conscious of a double setting apart in his life. (iii) Paul describes himself as set apart to serve the good news of God. Paul did not think of life in terms of what he wanted to do, but in terms of what God meant him to do. Jesus said to his men, 'You did not choose me, but I chose you' ( John 15:16).

Paul never thought of himself as a man who had aspired to an honour he thought of himself as a man who had been given a task.

Jeremiah and Isaiah were prophets because, almost against their will, they were compelled to listen to and to answer the call of God ( Jeremiah 1:4-5 Isaiah 6:8-9). Moses answered God's call ( Exodus 3:10). Abraham heard the call of God ( Genesis 12:1-3). In the Old Testament the great men were men who heard and answered the call of God. (ii) Paul describes himself as called to be an apostle. So then, the slave of Jesus Christ describes at one and the same time the obligation of a great love and the honour of a great office. Their greatness and their glory lay in the fact that they were slaves of God, and so did his.

When Paul calls himself the slave of Jesus Christ he is setting himself in the succession of the prophets. The proudest title of the prophets, the title which distinguished them from other men, was that they were the slaves of God ( Amos 3:7 Jeremiah 7:25). Joshua was the doulos ( G1401) of God ( Joshua 24:29). Moses was the doulos ( G1401) of the Lord ( Joshua 1:2). In the Old Testament it is the regular word to describe the great men of God. (b) But slave (doulos, G1401) has another side to it. On the one side slave describes the utter obligation of love. Jesus had loved him and given himself for him, and therefore Paul was sure that he no longer belonged to himself, but entirely to Jesus. Paul thought of himself as the slave of Jesus Christ, his Master and his Lord. The opposite of Lord (kurios, G2962) is slave (doulos, G1401). It means master or owner in the most absolute sense. In Greek the word kurios ( G2962) describes someone who has undisputed possession of a person or a thing. (a) Paul's favourite title for Jesus is Lord (kurios, G2962). In this word slave there are two backgrounds of thought. (i) He calls himself the slave (doulos, G1401) of Jesus Christ. Because of that he chose his words and thoughts with the greatest care. He was writing to a church which was situated in the greatest city in the greatest empire in the world. When Paul wrote his letter to the Romans he was writing to a church which he did not know personally and in which he had never been. Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a letter to all the beloved in Rome who belong to God, those who have been called to be dedicated to him.

You are included amongst these Gentiles, you who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ. It is of Jesus Christ, our Lord, of whom I am speaking, through whom we have received grace, and an apostleship to awaken a faithful obedience for his sake amongst all the Gentiles. It is good news about his Son, who in his manhood was born of David's lineage, who, as a result of his Resurrection from the dead, has been proved by the Holy Spirit to be the mighty Son of God. This good news God promised long ago, through his prophets, in the sacred writings. A CALL, A GOSPEL AND A TASK ( Romans 1:1-7 )ġ:1-7 This is a letter from Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart to serve the good news of God.

Romans bible study