◄ What Does Romans 1:1 Mean? ►

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

Romans 1:1(NASB)

Verse of the Day

In the first verse of the epistle to the Romans, we are introduced to the man who was called by God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to be the apostle to the Gentiles: set apart for the gospel of God. This bond-servant who was set apart from birth by God's grace, is the man who personally authored the thirteen epistles that are specifically directed towards Church-age believers today.

As a slave of Christ, Paul willingly delighted to serve the Lord and submit to Him in everything. Called by God as an apostle, Paul had been sent by the highest authority and commission with a peculiar service. Indeed, he uniquely fulfilled the singular requirement of an apostle, which was to SEE the resurrected Lord, which he did on the road to Damascus.

Paul was given a special role, by revelation from God. This consisted of preaching the good news of the gospel of grace to the Gentiles, which involved numerous missionary trips, shipwrecks and prison stays. And so, because of his unique calling by God, should we not pay particular heed to all he teaches us in all his epistles on how to live godly in Christ Jesus?

We may not have been called in the same way as Paul, but we can follow his example of love, reverence, and devotion to Christ. We can search Paul's writings so that we too may know Christ and the power of His Resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering.

We too can live our life for Christ in the place where God has planted us as we wait for His any day appearing.

We too should learn from Paul: "The servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God."

My Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for revealing the mystery of the Church through Paul and opening up the light of the glorious gospel Christ to all who believe in Christ Jesus as Saviour. In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN.