Intro to Romans

[Unofficial Reverand Alex]

"Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus,
called to be an Apostle and set apart for the Gospel of God,
which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
the Gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh,
but established as Son of God in power
according to the Spirit of holiness
through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Through him we have received the grace of apostleship,
to bring about the obedience of faith,
for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles,
among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ;
to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ."
​

The introductions to Paul's letters are a part I tend to skim over until I can get to the meat of the letter. But today, the daily readings present the opening of Romans as the First Reading, making me rethink how I few the first verses.

I had several thoughts about this, and I'd like to see your thoughts, as well. One thing I noticed was an expression of the Trinity; St. Paul refers to Jesus as God's son, descended from David according to the flesh, established as Son of God in power (hypostatic union?), seeing Christ as "our Lord" (God the Son), according to the Spirit of holiness (God the Holy Spirit), with God the Father referenced by referring to Jesus as the Son.

And if you would like to see the daily readings as we progress through Romans & beyond, here's a link that presents new readings every day, including a psalm, a Gospel, and for Sundays, a reading from old and new, still with a Psalm and a Gospel. It's quite a beautiful way to get a thorough understanding of Scriptures, and reading it daily exposes you to most of the Bible every 3 years! October 14 2019

May God bless us all as we grow more literate of Scripture!

 

[Christ is Lord]

I’ve been study the book of Romans as well. One early observation is that Paul has a long introduction.
Paul typically states the recipient in his letters within the first two or three verses. (cf. 1 Cor 1:1-3, Gal 1:1-2, Titus 1:1-4) However, in Romans he does this much later in verse 7. The most apparent reason for this is maybe because Paul did not establish the church in Roman nor did he ever visit it. Paul’s lengthier introductory remarks are similar to what a person might do today when having first contact with someone by email or a letter.