Brian Joseph Wangenheim ✞ RMNS CH1v1-7 ✞ 7 hours
Page 1
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle
and set apart for the gospel of God—
Paul explains who He is and why He is
doing what he is doing in these first lines. First
his name is Paul, second he is a servant of
Christ Jesus, next He is doing what He is
doing because he is called to be an apostle and
set apart for the gospel of God. Okay, so let’s
break down what each one of these mean so
that we can understand what the bible is
talking about…
First, he is a servant of Christ Jesus, meaning he serves the will and
desires of Jesus Christ. Paul mentioned “Christ” before “Jesus” to emphasize
the Messiahship of Jesus and to have people focus on that first, because the
first thing that the Jews needed to know was that Jesus is the Messiah. Many
people like to fancy themselves as “servants of God” but they do not know God
and only serve what they know on a human level, not actually serving the will
and desire of the Father. Being a servant of God is not a matter of knowledge
but of obedience to the Heavenly Father's will. To know the will and desire of
the Father, it simply requires real fellowship with God through prayer and His
Word. Paul was a real servant of God because his word still lives in the bible as
we know it today, that is proof that he said and did what the Heavenly Father
wanted. Also, it must be nice to live as a servant of Christ Jesus, I am certain
that it was definitely not easy, as Paul’s life proves, but I am 100% positive
that this way of life was rewarding and worth it. I know because I too have lived
as a servant of Christ Jesus for the past few years, maybe not like the Apostle
Paul, but nonetheless I have lived my life in light of God day by day. My life
has been bone grinding hard at times and I can’t talk about my pains and
sorrows because they are my bread and butter, but what I can talk about is the
glory of God. I have come to see more and more of the glory of God and what
Brian Joseph Wangenheim ✞ RMNS CH1v1-7 ✞ 7 hours
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kind of person He is, because of that, I have been truly blessed and I know I
will be rewarded for all of my labors and efforts when Jesus Christ comes
again, more than that I am confident that I have served God with a good motive
for His glory and for others sake which makes me even more confident that I
will be rewarded for my labors.
Second, Paul is called to be an Apostle. The word “Apostle” can have an
equivalent to “ambassador”. An ambassador represents an object, person, or
thing holistically. For example the Ambassador from Hawaii represents the
people, culture, rules, laws, and regulations of Hawaii very well. Paul was not
an ambassador of any kingdom here on earth but he was an ambassador of
God’s Heavenly Kingdom. This is what made Him so special, being an
ambassador is already a very important position, but then being a heavenly
ambassador is even greater. I ask myself, how can I be a better Ambassador of
and to Jesus Christ. Well for starters I can be in His Word more, with the Word
of God I can learn all about the kingdom of God and grow into the person that
God wants me to be. With my new direction to spend seven hours in testimony
writing on top of my obligation to spend seven hours with God and in the Word
on my own free will and accord, I now spend about 14 hours a week in the
word of God and in prayer. After doing this, I realize it is not that big of a deal
for one, but just a basic struggle or effort, I have not grown angel wings, when I
pray light does not shine on me from heaven, when I open my mouth fire does
not come out like a dragon, but I am learning to live in a way that can please
God, and more than that I am able to discern what God likes and does not like
more and more, with this simple skill of knowing what God likes and does not
like, I can live a truly meaningful and successful life of pleasing God. I see also
that there is a real need for faithful Ambassadors to God in our generation, many
people do not know what loving God is about, serving God, or having a
relationship with Him. If people do not know God, they can never fall in love
with Him and that is a shame. I will do my best to represent God in a truthful
way, sincere way, honest way, honorable way, and cool/fun way to appeal to
Brian Joseph Wangenheim ✞ RMNS CH1v1-7 ✞ 7 hours
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the youths of my generation in
order that they would love God in
the way that I love Him, and even
more. I pray that God would bless
us all to be faithful people to the
Lord and to represent Him as best
we can.
On a fun side note one of my
ancestors named Hans Frieherr
Von Wangenheim was an
Ambassador of Imperial Germany. He served right before WW1 and right at the
beginning of it. (His picture is to the right)
Next, “Set apart for the gospel of God” When something is set apart it is
always set apart for a particular reason. Paul was set apart for the gospel of
God. The gospel contains everything about life and truth in that way we can
safely say the gospel really is “good news” We all like real life and truth, and
that is what the gospel is all about. The whole bible I consider as the gospel
because it tells the story of our origins, of our failure, of Gods efforts, of God's
plan, of the prophets, of Jesus Christ, of the place where Jesus died, of the
death and resurrection, of glory, and of God’s continued and focused efforts to
see that His will be done. In design the gospel is flawless and seamlessly
interwoven on many different levels. There is nothing like the gospel in terms of
content, truth, and divine power because it comes from God Himself. We can
simply say that the gospel is the only important thing here of earth because it
tells us of life itself and it comes from God. Paul was commissioned to preach
this gospel first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. He
went through an incredible shift in the history of
salvation going from the Jewish people who claimed to
know and love God, to the gentiles who lived however
Brian Joseph Wangenheim ✞ RMNS CH1v1-7 ✞ 7 hours
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they wanted. Being set apart for the gospel of God is being set apart for God
Himself. There is no difference between the gospel and having life to the full.
Because of the gospel we are saved, and because we are saved we preach the
gospel. When we embrace this we can live as true ambassadors of Christ
Jesus. The gospel is not dead because Jesus is alive. So anyone who preaches
the gospel and has no life must either, for one, not know the gospel, number
two, not believe in the gospel, or number three not preach the gospel. The
gospel is life and anyone who has the gospel should be living because of it.
Mainly the gospel is about Jesus life, death and resurrection. All of that is
really good news. I too am set apart for the gospel of God because I am saved
and I walk in salvation and there is no other better thing to do than to bring
this good news to others. I see that I should have a high standard for myself in
order to represent God the right way. Surely God will help me as I live for Him
and strive to teach the gospel in the correct way.
2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures
So we know that the gospel was promised even before the New Testament
because of what is written in the OT. The OT is just a time leading up to Jesus
Christ, the Messiah. Even in Genesis the first promise is given concerning God
the Father’s salvation plan for all mankind concerning Jesus. I did a quick
google search and easily found over 300
fulfilled prophecies, some I read seemed more
reliable than others, but nevertheless many
were undeniably true. So definitely God
promised to send Jesus Christ before He was
actually here on earth and thus fulfilled the
entirety of the gospel beforehand through his
prophets in the Holy Scriptures.
3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a
descendant of David,
Brian Joseph Wangenheim ✞ RMNS CH1v1-7 ✞ 7 hours
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“Regarding His Son” so the gospel or “good news” is regarding His Son Jesus
Christ. In this way the gospel points to and is all about Jesus Christ. Paul also
makes a remark that Jesus was a descendant of David. This simply means
exactly that, that Jesus came from David’s lineage. This is important to know
because Jesus was not just some spiritual entity but He was a real person
who walked the earth. Also, this shows that Jesus came in fulfillment of the
scriptures. I can trust Jesus more in my practical life because there is real
proof in the bible even of His earthly genealogy.
4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his
resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
Brian Joseph Wangenheim ✞ RMNS CH1v1-7 ✞ 7 hours
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Now here it gets kind of spiritually sophisticated. Paul says “through the Spirit
of holiness” The Spirit, which has a capital S, is referring to the Holy Spirit.
This is the technical aspect which took
place in the spiritual realm in order for
Jesus to be appointed as the Son of
God. This took place through the
power of the Holy Spirit after Jesus
Christ fulfilled the will of the Father.
This is like the spiritual inflection
point (google inflection point to find
out more) in which Jesus Christ was
brought from the belly of the earth to the right hand of the Father, or you can
say He “crossed over”. Then Paul declares that Jesus Christ is Lord. He is not
just saying this because he can, or for filler. But after all that Paul said
previously, Jesus rising from the dead and being back with the Father, proves
that Jesus Christ is the “Lord” or in other words the owner of life, the owner of
all things, because only God is capable to bring back from the dead. All things
die and have remained dead as far as we know it, but for something to happen
like it did with Jesus is shows the Father was on His side, and then whatever
Jesus says must be right then. I see that I can trust in Jesus Christ and put all
of my hope in Him because Jesus Christ is the Lord and He lives.
5 Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that
comes from faith for his name’s sake.
So here we see Paul use a lot of key terms that we are familiar with. These are
very big key terms, and this whole sentence can require a lot of meditation. We
see words like: grace, apostleship, gentiles, obedience, and faith all in one
sentence. Things like this that Paul says can easily be taken for granted because
the words he uses are found throughout the bible, but what He is saying has
very profound meaning.
Brian Joseph Wangenheim ✞ RMNS CH1v1-7 ✞ 7 hours
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First, “Through Him” not “In Him” or “Because of Him” Through Him
means because of the things Jesus has done it is now possible. So because
Jesus died on the cross a way has been made through Him to go to the Father.
We also received grace and apostleship in the process. If it were not “through”
Jesus death on the cross, there would be no forgiveness and favor, in other
words no grace. If it were not “through” Jesus discipleship and forgiveness
there would also be no apostleship, because without forgiveness and teaching
we still live as enemies of God and are ignorant of who God is, then certainly
we cannot be ambassadors to God. This to
was possbile “through” what Jesus had done.
So through Him we received grace and
apostleship. This is really great news… But
why did we receive such things? What is the
goal or purpose of this grace and
apostleship? Paul says, “to call the gentiles to
the obedience” So now we have a target and a
goal, the target is the gentiles, basically
anyone who was not a Jew in Paul’s time.
Even today gentiles can be considered
anyone who is not a law-keeping orthodox Jew. So we are to call the gentiles
(basically everyone in America and most of the world) to the obedience. Paul
says “the obedience” meaning there is a specific kind of obedience Paul is
trying to talk about, “the obedience” The obedience is the kind that “comes
from faith for his name’s sake” So this is very important, because it may seem
like a lot of people obey nowadays. But by what means do they obey and why
do they obey? People can follow directions and seem to have faith, but maybe it
is just calculation, logic, worldly maturity, or maybe they just like a
comfortable church life. But God accepts that obedience that comes through
real faith, meaning based solely on who God is and what He has done, all
coming from the Word of God.
Brian Joseph Wangenheim ✞ RMNS CH1v1-7 ✞ 7 hours
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Second, “For his name's sake” Another thing to consider is people can
have real faith and do things by real faith in God, but maybe not for His name’s
sake. Think of Jacob who just obeyed God's commands to get what he wanted,
this was not for God’s name sake. I am confident that I have obeyed God thus
far for Him and Him alone, I have no greater confidence and I am so sure of it,
because I have been tested, and failed over and over, through this I have had
many chances to really question my motives and come down to the conclusion
what is really important in life, over and over again, loving God sincerely and
serving Him is the most important thing, all other things pass away and are
not remembered. For His name’s sake, meaning because of who Jesus is and
what He has done, do we live the lives we ought to live now. So both faith and
the desire to glorify Jesus should be there, otherwise it is no obedience or living
for God at all, just a religious life or some twisted form of Christian life. I am
glad that I never lie to myself so much as to get lost in this Christian life, but in
this Christian life, I have considered all things and even what all people say
very carefully, it has been hard to digest everything that comes to me, because
not everything has been good, but regardless, I have found out what is true in
this Christian life and what really matters, how to really live this life and how
to live in such a way to receive great rewards in heaven. A truly successful life
here on earth will mean a great reward in heaven with honor and reigning with
Jesus. I know how to live such a life and it is through suffering. I pray that all
people would serve Jesus mission with the right motives and a pure heart, not
just suffering alone…
Third, “the gentile people” This is my mission and target as well, gentile
people, specifically college students, college students are my target because I
was called in the midst of them and therefore I was trained to handle their
spiritual needs and desires, because I lived as them but was set apart for God.
Because of God’s calling I can deal with college students better than most and I
am capable of raising them up as disciples. So far I have successfully
established one disciple, the secret of disciple making is simply remaining in
Brian Joseph Wangenheim ✞ RMNS CH1v1-7 ✞ 7 hours
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Jesus, anyone who is in Jesus Christ will bear fruit, it is a natural process.
Some people think they are in Jesus because they go to church and read the
bible, but that is not what it means to remain in Jesus at all. Rather it requires
a focused effort to have a real relationship with God and do what pleases God
at all times, in heart, mind, and action. Anyone who does not remain in Jesus
is at a risk of being cut off so it is of utmost necessity in this life to have that
specific fellowship with God that comes through real faith.
6 And you also are among those Gentiles who
are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
Paul then addresses the audience and
says that I am among that gentiles and
are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
The first part if very straightforward, I
am a gentile. But the second part, Paul
describes very uniquely, regarding my calling. He says I am called to belong to
Jesus Christ. Not that I am called to teach the bible, not that I am called to
serve college students, not that I am called to write testimony, although I may
do all of these things, I am called to belong to Jesus Christ. This is of utmost
importance because we need to understand we are called to Jesus Christ
Himself and through Him we do all that we do. Unless we come to the source
we will never bear any fruit, we will just grow more and more religious. I will
never become some dead religious guru, or even a good religious Christian
alone, instead I am determined to focus on having fellowship with Jesus no
matter what the circumstance, and remaining in Him as of first priority, when I
do these I will bear fruit to the glory of God. We can work really hard with or
without faith, when we work hard without faith it will produce none to little
results, when we work hard with faith we will reap great things in Jesus Christ,
the whole thing is remaining in Jesus, each person as well as myself must
figure this out. Christian life is way more than just doing religious things, but it
Brian Joseph Wangenheim ✞ RMNS CH1v1-7 ✞ 7 hours
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10
is about having a real relationship with God and having real fellowship with God
that comes by faith.
7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you
from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
First, “to all in Rome” Paul wrote this letter for the people of Rome. He also
identified them as being loved by God and called to be his holy people. Paul
did not rebuke them but reminded them of God’s love. Maybe out of all people
Paul could easily rebuke anyone, but instead of rebuking, he reminded them of
God’s love. I see that this is really what people need, instead of trying to test
each other or point out each others character flaws, we need to remind each
other of God’s love, help each other to focus on Jesus Christ, and learn how to
treat each other in a manner worthy of Jesus Christ. If we cannot be kind to
each other we should not expect to receive anything from God or have any
eternal inheritance, being kind is an evidence of love, and it is the most basic
thing we can do in the church. We all need to learn what love is and love each
other more by focusing on the way Jesus has loved us and not taking anything
for granted. Not only that but we are called to be God’s holy people, so instead
of tearing eachother down, we need to build eachother up in love and not live
like wicked people in the world. We need to learn how to love each other
practically and live as normal people before God.
Paul then says “grace and peace to you from God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ” This shows that within the church there should be grace
and peace, love and holiness. I pray that we would all focus on God and learn
to love eachother so that our lives would honor God and that we each may be
rewarded according to our deeds and faith. I pray that we would also remember
the high calling that we received to take care of Jesus sheep and to be good
stewards over the earth, that we would be faithful before God because He will
call us all to account and reward each one of us according to our lives before
Him.
Brian Joseph Wangenheim ✞ RMNS CH1v1-7 ✞ 7 hours
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One Word: We live by the gospel so we live for the gospel!
Page 1
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle
and set apart for the gospel of God—
Paul explains who He is and why He is
doing what he is doing in these first lines. First
his name is Paul, second he is a servant of
Christ Jesus, next He is doing what He is
doing because he is called to be an apostle and
set apart for the gospel of God. Okay, so let’s
break down what each one of these mean so
that we can understand what the bible is
talking about…
First, he is a servant of Christ Jesus, meaning he serves the will and
desires of Jesus Christ. Paul mentioned “Christ” before “Jesus” to emphasize
the Messiahship of Jesus and to have people focus on that first, because the
first thing that the Jews needed to know was that Jesus is the Messiah. Many
people like to fancy themselves as “servants of God” but they do not know God
and only serve what they know on a human level, not actually serving the will
and desire of the Father. Being a servant of God is not a matter of knowledge
but of obedience to the Heavenly Father's will. To know the will and desire of
the Father, it simply requires real fellowship with God through prayer and His
Word. Paul was a real servant of God because his word still lives in the bible as
we know it today, that is proof that he said and did what the Heavenly Father
wanted. Also, it must be nice to live as a servant of Christ Jesus, I am certain
that it was definitely not easy, as Paul’s life proves, but I am 100% positive
that this way of life was rewarding and worth it. I know because I too have lived
as a servant of Christ Jesus for the past few years, maybe not like the Apostle
Paul, but nonetheless I have lived my life in light of God day by day. My life
has been bone grinding hard at times and I can’t talk about my pains and
sorrows because they are my bread and butter, but what I can talk about is the
glory of God. I have come to see more and more of the glory of God and what
Brian Joseph Wangenheim ✞ RMNS CH1v1-7 ✞ 7 hours
Page 2
kind of person He is, because of that, I have been truly blessed and I know I
will be rewarded for all of my labors and efforts when Jesus Christ comes
again, more than that I am confident that I have served God with a good motive
for His glory and for others sake which makes me even more confident that I
will be rewarded for my labors.
Second, Paul is called to be an Apostle. The word “Apostle” can have an
equivalent to “ambassador”. An ambassador represents an object, person, or
thing holistically. For example the Ambassador from Hawaii represents the
people, culture, rules, laws, and regulations of Hawaii very well. Paul was not
an ambassador of any kingdom here on earth but he was an ambassador of
God’s Heavenly Kingdom. This is what made Him so special, being an
ambassador is already a very important position, but then being a heavenly
ambassador is even greater. I ask myself, how can I be a better Ambassador of
and to Jesus Christ. Well for starters I can be in His Word more, with the Word
of God I can learn all about the kingdom of God and grow into the person that
God wants me to be. With my new direction to spend seven hours in testimony
writing on top of my obligation to spend seven hours with God and in the Word
on my own free will and accord, I now spend about 14 hours a week in the
word of God and in prayer. After doing this, I realize it is not that big of a deal
for one, but just a basic struggle or effort, I have not grown angel wings, when I
pray light does not shine on me from heaven, when I open my mouth fire does
not come out like a dragon, but I am learning to live in a way that can please
God, and more than that I am able to discern what God likes and does not like
more and more, with this simple skill of knowing what God likes and does not
like, I can live a truly meaningful and successful life of pleasing God. I see also
that there is a real need for faithful Ambassadors to God in our generation, many
people do not know what loving God is about, serving God, or having a
relationship with Him. If people do not know God, they can never fall in love
with Him and that is a shame. I will do my best to represent God in a truthful
way, sincere way, honest way, honorable way, and cool/fun way to appeal to
Brian Joseph Wangenheim ✞ RMNS CH1v1-7 ✞ 7 hours
Page 3
the youths of my generation in
order that they would love God in
the way that I love Him, and even
more. I pray that God would bless
us all to be faithful people to the
Lord and to represent Him as best
we can.
On a fun side note one of my
ancestors named Hans Frieherr
Von Wangenheim was an
Ambassador of Imperial Germany. He served right before WW1 and right at the
beginning of it. (His picture is to the right)
Next, “Set apart for the gospel of God” When something is set apart it is
always set apart for a particular reason. Paul was set apart for the gospel of
God. The gospel contains everything about life and truth in that way we can
safely say the gospel really is “good news” We all like real life and truth, and
that is what the gospel is all about. The whole bible I consider as the gospel
because it tells the story of our origins, of our failure, of Gods efforts, of God's
plan, of the prophets, of Jesus Christ, of the place where Jesus died, of the
death and resurrection, of glory, and of God’s continued and focused efforts to
see that His will be done. In design the gospel is flawless and seamlessly
interwoven on many different levels. There is nothing like the gospel in terms of
content, truth, and divine power because it comes from God Himself. We can
simply say that the gospel is the only important thing here of earth because it
tells us of life itself and it comes from God. Paul was commissioned to preach
this gospel first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. He
went through an incredible shift in the history of
salvation going from the Jewish people who claimed to
know and love God, to the gentiles who lived however
Brian Joseph Wangenheim ✞ RMNS CH1v1-7 ✞ 7 hours
Page 4
they wanted. Being set apart for the gospel of God is being set apart for God
Himself. There is no difference between the gospel and having life to the full.
Because of the gospel we are saved, and because we are saved we preach the
gospel. When we embrace this we can live as true ambassadors of Christ
Jesus. The gospel is not dead because Jesus is alive. So anyone who preaches
the gospel and has no life must either, for one, not know the gospel, number
two, not believe in the gospel, or number three not preach the gospel. The
gospel is life and anyone who has the gospel should be living because of it.
Mainly the gospel is about Jesus life, death and resurrection. All of that is
really good news. I too am set apart for the gospel of God because I am saved
and I walk in salvation and there is no other better thing to do than to bring
this good news to others. I see that I should have a high standard for myself in
order to represent God the right way. Surely God will help me as I live for Him
and strive to teach the gospel in the correct way.
2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures
So we know that the gospel was promised even before the New Testament
because of what is written in the OT. The OT is just a time leading up to Jesus
Christ, the Messiah. Even in Genesis the first promise is given concerning God
the Father’s salvation plan for all mankind concerning Jesus. I did a quick
google search and easily found over 300
fulfilled prophecies, some I read seemed more
reliable than others, but nevertheless many
were undeniably true. So definitely God
promised to send Jesus Christ before He was
actually here on earth and thus fulfilled the
entirety of the gospel beforehand through his
prophets in the Holy Scriptures.
3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a
descendant of David,
Brian Joseph Wangenheim ✞ RMNS CH1v1-7 ✞ 7 hours
Page 5
“Regarding His Son” so the gospel or “good news” is regarding His Son Jesus
Christ. In this way the gospel points to and is all about Jesus Christ. Paul also
makes a remark that Jesus was a descendant of David. This simply means
exactly that, that Jesus came from David’s lineage. This is important to know
because Jesus was not just some spiritual entity but He was a real person
who walked the earth. Also, this shows that Jesus came in fulfillment of the
scriptures. I can trust Jesus more in my practical life because there is real
proof in the bible even of His earthly genealogy.
4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his
resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
Brian Joseph Wangenheim ✞ RMNS CH1v1-7 ✞ 7 hours
Page 6
Now here it gets kind of spiritually sophisticated. Paul says “through the Spirit
of holiness” The Spirit, which has a capital S, is referring to the Holy Spirit.
This is the technical aspect which took
place in the spiritual realm in order for
Jesus to be appointed as the Son of
God. This took place through the
power of the Holy Spirit after Jesus
Christ fulfilled the will of the Father.
This is like the spiritual inflection
point (google inflection point to find
out more) in which Jesus Christ was
brought from the belly of the earth to the right hand of the Father, or you can
say He “crossed over”. Then Paul declares that Jesus Christ is Lord. He is not
just saying this because he can, or for filler. But after all that Paul said
previously, Jesus rising from the dead and being back with the Father, proves
that Jesus Christ is the “Lord” or in other words the owner of life, the owner of
all things, because only God is capable to bring back from the dead. All things
die and have remained dead as far as we know it, but for something to happen
like it did with Jesus is shows the Father was on His side, and then whatever
Jesus says must be right then. I see that I can trust in Jesus Christ and put all
of my hope in Him because Jesus Christ is the Lord and He lives.
5 Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that
comes from faith for his name’s sake.
So here we see Paul use a lot of key terms that we are familiar with. These are
very big key terms, and this whole sentence can require a lot of meditation. We
see words like: grace, apostleship, gentiles, obedience, and faith all in one
sentence. Things like this that Paul says can easily be taken for granted because
the words he uses are found throughout the bible, but what He is saying has
very profound meaning.
Brian Joseph Wangenheim ✞ RMNS CH1v1-7 ✞ 7 hours
Page 7
First, “Through Him” not “In Him” or “Because of Him” Through Him
means because of the things Jesus has done it is now possible. So because
Jesus died on the cross a way has been made through Him to go to the Father.
We also received grace and apostleship in the process. If it were not “through”
Jesus death on the cross, there would be no forgiveness and favor, in other
words no grace. If it were not “through” Jesus discipleship and forgiveness
there would also be no apostleship, because without forgiveness and teaching
we still live as enemies of God and are ignorant of who God is, then certainly
we cannot be ambassadors to God. This to
was possbile “through” what Jesus had done.
So through Him we received grace and
apostleship. This is really great news… But
why did we receive such things? What is the
goal or purpose of this grace and
apostleship? Paul says, “to call the gentiles to
the obedience” So now we have a target and a
goal, the target is the gentiles, basically
anyone who was not a Jew in Paul’s time.
Even today gentiles can be considered
anyone who is not a law-keeping orthodox Jew. So we are to call the gentiles
(basically everyone in America and most of the world) to the obedience. Paul
says “the obedience” meaning there is a specific kind of obedience Paul is
trying to talk about, “the obedience” The obedience is the kind that “comes
from faith for his name’s sake” So this is very important, because it may seem
like a lot of people obey nowadays. But by what means do they obey and why
do they obey? People can follow directions and seem to have faith, but maybe it
is just calculation, logic, worldly maturity, or maybe they just like a
comfortable church life. But God accepts that obedience that comes through
real faith, meaning based solely on who God is and what He has done, all
coming from the Word of God.
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Second, “For his name's sake” Another thing to consider is people can
have real faith and do things by real faith in God, but maybe not for His name’s
sake. Think of Jacob who just obeyed God's commands to get what he wanted,
this was not for God’s name sake. I am confident that I have obeyed God thus
far for Him and Him alone, I have no greater confidence and I am so sure of it,
because I have been tested, and failed over and over, through this I have had
many chances to really question my motives and come down to the conclusion
what is really important in life, over and over again, loving God sincerely and
serving Him is the most important thing, all other things pass away and are
not remembered. For His name’s sake, meaning because of who Jesus is and
what He has done, do we live the lives we ought to live now. So both faith and
the desire to glorify Jesus should be there, otherwise it is no obedience or living
for God at all, just a religious life or some twisted form of Christian life. I am
glad that I never lie to myself so much as to get lost in this Christian life, but in
this Christian life, I have considered all things and even what all people say
very carefully, it has been hard to digest everything that comes to me, because
not everything has been good, but regardless, I have found out what is true in
this Christian life and what really matters, how to really live this life and how
to live in such a way to receive great rewards in heaven. A truly successful life
here on earth will mean a great reward in heaven with honor and reigning with
Jesus. I know how to live such a life and it is through suffering. I pray that all
people would serve Jesus mission with the right motives and a pure heart, not
just suffering alone…
Third, “the gentile people” This is my mission and target as well, gentile
people, specifically college students, college students are my target because I
was called in the midst of them and therefore I was trained to handle their
spiritual needs and desires, because I lived as them but was set apart for God.
Because of God’s calling I can deal with college students better than most and I
am capable of raising them up as disciples. So far I have successfully
established one disciple, the secret of disciple making is simply remaining in
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Jesus, anyone who is in Jesus Christ will bear fruit, it is a natural process.
Some people think they are in Jesus because they go to church and read the
bible, but that is not what it means to remain in Jesus at all. Rather it requires
a focused effort to have a real relationship with God and do what pleases God
at all times, in heart, mind, and action. Anyone who does not remain in Jesus
is at a risk of being cut off so it is of utmost necessity in this life to have that
specific fellowship with God that comes through real faith.
6 And you also are among those Gentiles who
are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
Paul then addresses the audience and
says that I am among that gentiles and
are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
The first part if very straightforward, I
am a gentile. But the second part, Paul
describes very uniquely, regarding my calling. He says I am called to belong to
Jesus Christ. Not that I am called to teach the bible, not that I am called to
serve college students, not that I am called to write testimony, although I may
do all of these things, I am called to belong to Jesus Christ. This is of utmost
importance because we need to understand we are called to Jesus Christ
Himself and through Him we do all that we do. Unless we come to the source
we will never bear any fruit, we will just grow more and more religious. I will
never become some dead religious guru, or even a good religious Christian
alone, instead I am determined to focus on having fellowship with Jesus no
matter what the circumstance, and remaining in Him as of first priority, when I
do these I will bear fruit to the glory of God. We can work really hard with or
without faith, when we work hard without faith it will produce none to little
results, when we work hard with faith we will reap great things in Jesus Christ,
the whole thing is remaining in Jesus, each person as well as myself must
figure this out. Christian life is way more than just doing religious things, but it
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is about having a real relationship with God and having real fellowship with God
that comes by faith.
7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you
from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
First, “to all in Rome” Paul wrote this letter for the people of Rome. He also
identified them as being loved by God and called to be his holy people. Paul
did not rebuke them but reminded them of God’s love. Maybe out of all people
Paul could easily rebuke anyone, but instead of rebuking, he reminded them of
God’s love. I see that this is really what people need, instead of trying to test
each other or point out each others character flaws, we need to remind each
other of God’s love, help each other to focus on Jesus Christ, and learn how to
treat each other in a manner worthy of Jesus Christ. If we cannot be kind to
each other we should not expect to receive anything from God or have any
eternal inheritance, being kind is an evidence of love, and it is the most basic
thing we can do in the church. We all need to learn what love is and love each
other more by focusing on the way Jesus has loved us and not taking anything
for granted. Not only that but we are called to be God’s holy people, so instead
of tearing eachother down, we need to build eachother up in love and not live
like wicked people in the world. We need to learn how to love each other
practically and live as normal people before God.
Paul then says “grace and peace to you from God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ” This shows that within the church there should be grace
and peace, love and holiness. I pray that we would all focus on God and learn
to love eachother so that our lives would honor God and that we each may be
rewarded according to our deeds and faith. I pray that we would also remember
the high calling that we received to take care of Jesus sheep and to be good
stewards over the earth, that we would be faithful before God because He will
call us all to account and reward each one of us according to our lives before
Him.
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One Word: We live by the gospel so we live for the gospel!