Lede:
Paul continues to make the case for God’s righteousness; Absalom is banished and reinstated.
Intro:
Yesterday we launched Romans and heard the gospel as the revelation of God’s, then hearing about his righteousness in his wrath against the sin of the Gentiles. Today Romans focuses on the sins of the Jews, and tomorrow will present the sins of all people before then talking about his saving righteousness through Jesus.
New covenant:
Passage: Romans 2-3:8
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 37
Words: ~809
Wisdom:
Passage:
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses:
Words: ~
Old covenant:
Passage: 2 Samuel 13-14
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 75
Words: ~2233
Commentary:
So yesterday we heard about how central to the theology of the NT is the idea that God’s kingdom is, right now, a now-and-not yet. The “now” was inaugurated through Jesus’ intervention into history, death on the cross, and resurrection, and we await his return and ultimately completion.
Fulfillment through Jesus Christ, the Son of God
The NT highlights the fulfillment of God’s saving promises, but it particularly stresses that those promises and covenants are realized through his Son, Jesus the Christ.
Who is Jesus? According to the NT, he is the new and better Moses, declaring God’s word as the sovereign interpreter of the Mosaic law (Matt. 5:17–48; Heb. 3:1–6). Indeed, the Law and the Prophets point to him and find their fulfillment in him… (as) the true wisdom of God, fulfilling and transcending wisdom themes from the OT (Col. 2:1–3)…Recognizing Jesus as the Messiah is fundamental to all the Gospels and the missionary preaching of Acts, and is an accepted truth in the Epistles and Revelation.
The stature of Jesus shines out in the NT narrative, for he authoritatively calls on others to be his disciples, summoning them to follow him (Matt. 4:18–22; Luke 9:57–62). Indeed, a person’s response to Jesus determines his or her final destiny (Matt. 10:32–33; cf. 1 Cor. 16:22). Jesus is the Son of Man who will receive the kingdom from the Ancient of Days (Dan. 7:13–14) and will reign forever. The Gospels emphasize, however, that his reign has been realized through suffering, for he is also the Servant of the Lord who has atoned for the sins of his people (Isa. 52:13–53:12; Mark 14:24; Rom. 4:25; 1 Pet. 2:21–25).
This One who atones for sin is fully God and divine. (See The Person of Christ.) He has the authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:7). … (and the) use of Jesus’ name (throughout the NT) indicates his divinity.
…(His title as) “the Lord”…is…another clear piece of evidence supporting Christ’s divinity. Jesus is the image of God (Col. 1:15; cf. Heb. 1:3), is in the very form of God, and is equal to God, though he temporarily surrendered some of the privileges of deity by being clothed with humanity so that human beings could be saved (Phil. 2:6–8).
Jesus as the Son of God enjoys a unique and eternal relationship with God (cf. Matt. 28:18; John 20:31; Rom. 8:32), and he is worshiped just as the Father is (cf. Revelation 4–5). His majestic stature is memorialized by a meal celebrated in his memory (Mark 14:22–25) and by people being baptized in his name (Acts 2:38; 10:48). The Son of God is the eternal divine Word (Gk. logos) who has become flesh and has been identified as the man who is God’s Son (John 1:1, 14). Finally, in a number of texts Jesus is specifically called “God” (e.g., John 1:1, 18; 20:28; Rom. 9:5; Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:8; 2 Pet. 1:1).
Such texts involve no trace of the heresy of either modalism or tritheism. Rather, such statements contain the raw materials from which the doctrine of the Trinity was rightly formulated. [1]
Love you!
-Roger
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
[1] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 1803–1804.