 |  |
a
| Seen of Cephas.
b | Then of the twelve.
c | Of more than 500 brethren at once.
a | Seen of James.
b | Then of all the Apostles.
c | By Paul as of one born out of due time.
It will be observed that in explaining the gospel the apostle appears to consider the
establishing of the facts concerning Christ as of fundamental importance. He does not
refer to "us" except in the opening statement, whereas many of our attempts at defining
the gospel revolve around the thought that it is God's goodness concerning our salvation,
our peace, our glory; far from this being so, we shall find our next reference that the
gospel is God's good news concerning Christ. In the opening verses of Romans the
apostle give a clear definition of what he so often calls, "my gospel"; "Paul, a bond
servant of Jesus Christ, a called apostle, separated unto the gospel of God. . . .
concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord". By omitting for the moment the parenthesis
of verse 2, we see clearly that the gospel of God is CONCERNING HIS SON. Christ as
the Son around whose Person the gospel revolves, is set forth under two aspects,
according to the flesh, and according to the spirit.
1.
Who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh.
2.
Who was marked off Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness, by a
resurrection out from the dead.
There is only one Christ, and He the Messiah of Israel. As subsequent revelations of
the purpose of grace, were unfolded, new honours and titles were given to Christ, to mark
new relationships. It is necessary to make this obvious remark because some, in their
endeavour to discredit the teaching of the Mystery, discover a proof that the Church and
the Kingdom are not to be distinguished, by the apostle's reference to David in
II Tim. 2: 8. What does the apostle really say, "Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the
dead, of the seed of David, according to my gospel" (R.V.). This version follows the
order of the original which places resurrection first. The purport may be gathered better
if graphically set out as follows:--
A |
Jesus Christ.--The Person.
B
| Risen from the dead.--Special fact.
A |
Of the seed of David.--The Pedigree.
B
| According to my gospel.--Special aspect.
Paul is telling Timothy to "remember" something. He may have referred back to his
oft-repeated message spoken in Timothy's hearing; in any case, the record of his teaching
is found in the opening verses of Romans.
A comparison of the preaching of Paul and Peter in their opening addresses as
recorded in Acts 2: and 13: will further illustrate and enforce the apostle's meaning.
Peter and Paul quote the Psalms as foretelling the resurrection of Christ, and both speak
of David by name. Peter declares that David, being a prophet, knew that God had sworn
with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, He would raise up