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Paul knew from painful experience the attitude of the circumcision to his gospel, and
it was necessary therefore when writing to the saints at Rome to begin with Christ
according to the flesh and to lead on to Christ according to the Spirit. Paul's gospel
necessitated Jesus Christ "made of a woman, made under the law" (Gal. 4: 4), to touch
the need of Gentile and of Jew, more than Christ as the Seed of David. Paul needed to
emphasize that Christ was the Seed of Abraham (Gal. 3: 16) for the Gentiles' sake, rather
than His descent from David. Christ as the Seed of the woman, the Seed of Abraham,
and the Seed of David are the three great foundation stones of the gospel. At the same
time Paul adds "according to the flesh", and as such he had already declared that he no
longer knew Christ (II Cor. 5: 16). Christ according to the flesh is connected with Israel:
"Who are Israelites . . . . . and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came" (Rom. 9: 4,
5). Until the Lord died on the cross He was "straitened", and limited His ministry to the
lost sheep of the house of Israel:--
"Now this I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of
God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers" (Rom. 15: 8).
Not until He was raised from the dead could the Gentiles glorify God for His mercy
(Rom. 15: 9-12, 16). The Gentiles' relation to Christ as root of Jesse is clearly millennial
in its full application (Rom. 15: 12; Isa. 11:). The reference to Christ as the Seed of
David according to the flesh is preparatory to the second statement.
"And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by
the resurrection from the dead."--There are a series of problems that need solution in
this verse. What is the meaning of horizo, "declared"? Do the words "with power" read
with the word "declared", i.e., powerfully declared, or do they read with the words "the
Son of God"? Do the words "spirit of holiness" refer to the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the
Spirit given at Pentecost, or the risen and spiritual nature of Christ? Finally, does the
resurrection of the dead refer to the raising of such as Lazarus, or to the saints as recorded
in Matt. 27: 52 and 53, or to the resurrection of Christ Himself? Quite a number of
answers have been given to these questions.
Horizo, "declared", and aphorizo, "separated" (verse 1), have much the same meaning.
The ancient Syriac translates horizo by "known to be". The Latin Vulgate reads
"predestinated". The primary idea of the word is "to be bound", "to fix the limits", as in
Acts 17: 26, "and hath determined (horizo) the bounds (horothesio)". Then, to
determine as a purpose (Luke 22: 22; Acts 2: 23). The resurrection of the dead marked
off the Lord Jesus as the Son of God with power. It fixed a boundary, it indicated a phase
of the purpose of God. Scripture declares that Christ "was crucified through weakness,
yet He liveth by the power of God" (II Cor. 13: 4). Scripture declares that "Christ dieth
no more", and it is equally true to say Christ suffereth no more, is weary no more,
is hungry no more, is tempted no more, weeps no more, shall be buffeted and scourged
and spit upon and crucified no more. The boundary fixed by God for that weakness was
at the cross. The resurrection marked Him off the Son of God with power. It will be
remembered that Peter quotes the second Psalm in Acts 4: and Paul quotes it in
Acts 13: In that Psalm we read:--