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"I will declared the decree: the Lord hath said unto Me, Thou art My Son, this day
have I begotten Thee . . . . . Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron" (Psa. 2: 7, 9).
The word decree has much the same force as horizo, and it is possible that there is an
allusion to this passage in the apostle's words. A great number of commentators and
expositors translate the words "with power" adverbially, "powerfully demonstrated to be
the Son of God", referring the power to the act of demonstrating. The order of the words
in the original seems to be against that interpretation, for the ordinary Greek construction
was open to the apostle and would have expressed that meaning without ambiguity. We
believe that had he meant the words "with power" to be understood adverbially he would
have placed en dunamei between tou and horisthentoo; as it is en dunamei follows the
words huion Theou, "Son of God". Moreover it is not in line with Greek thought to use
dunamis, "power", for a "powerful" argument or demonstration. The simpler rendering
and the one that fulfils all requirement is to read, "The Son of God with power".
What are we to understand by the spirit of holiness? We may be fairly sure that the
Holy Spirit is not intended here, for the words used when the Holy Spirit or spiritual gifts
are intended are to pneuma to hagion, or pneuma hagion, whereas the words used here
are pneuma hagiosunes. Moreover the words "according to the flesh" and according to
"the spirit of holiness" are in such evident relation to one another as to demand the
meaning to be the setting forth of the two aspects of the nature of Christ. In resurrection
the Lord is called "Spirit":--
"The last Adam was made a quickening Spirit" (I Cor. 15: 45).
"Now the Lord (Jesus) is that Spirit" (II Cor. 3: 17).
"Offered Himself through the aionian Spirit" (Heb. 9: 14).
"Put to death in flesh, yet quickened in Spirit" (I Pet. 3: 18).
"Manifested in flesh, justified in Spirit" (I Tim. 3: 16).
"From resurrection of dead."--The word from is ek, out of suggesting origin. There
is no article before either resurrection or dead. The resurrection manifested Him to be the
Son of God with power. Why is the expression so vague? It does not definitely say
"by His resurrection" or "by the resurrection from among the dead", but just "by
resurrection of dead". Paul himself has made it abundantly clear in I Cor. 15: that all
who ever have or who ever will be raised from the dead are raised only through Christ.
The raising of Lazarus is closely associated with the confession of Martha, "I believe that
Thou art the Christ, the Son of God" (John 11: 27), and in fulfillment of that glorious title,
"I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11: 25). From the fact that the words of
Rom. 1: 4 may read, "by a resurrection of dead persons", some see a reference to
Matt. 27: 52, 53, where "many bodies of the saints which slept arose and came out of
their graves after His resurrection", and once again (in the context) we must meet with
the confession, "Truly, this was the Son of God".
In John 5:, by claiming to be the Son of God, the Lord came near to being stoned for
blasphemy, and He added to that claim the power to raise from the dead, "all that are in
the graves". All the claims made by the Son of God were vindicated at His resurrection.
Then it was that He was declared to be the Son of God with power. The resurrection of
Christ is the pledge given by God that all His purposes shall be fulfilled:--