When you write a letter, how do you normally begin? "hey whats up guys!", "I hope your doing well", "Life is good here." Something along those lines right? Well, Paul took a slightly different approach to his greetings in letters. As a matter of fact, In his letter to the Romans, the last thing he does in his greeting is greet the Romans!
Paul uses his opening statements to pack in more theology and doctrine than we do in all our letters combined. Within the first seven verses, 132 words and 18 lines of Romans Paul establishes numerous thesis that he later goes on to explain in greater detail. Oh ya, he did it all in one sentence :) (in case you didn't know it, Paul is the king of run-on-sentences).
Here is a list of just some of the content in his greeting:
1. He acknowledges himself to be a servant of Christ
2. The doctrine of election
3. His particular calling to preach the gospel
4. The faithfulness of God
5. The fulfillment of prophecies concerning Jesus Christ
6. The incarnate deity of Christ
7. Faith in future grace
8. The purpose of Christs sacrifice
9. The Glory of God
10. The majesty of God
11. Adoption
12. The proof of Christ's existence through the scriptures
13. Salvation
14. His greeting to the Romans
Did I mention Paul did it in one sentence?
-Kyle-
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3 comments:
Wow, thanks for breaking the scripture down that way Kyle. It just shows how rich and profound even one sentence of God's word can be.
That’s Awesome! Thanks for once again pointing us to Gods word! It seems like those morning devotions in Romans are paying off. Keep up the great work!
Talk about only speaking words such as is good for building up others. I love how Paul follows his own teaching. Kyle, Piper made many of these same points, don't want to compare but maybe you should give him a call and you guys can compare note:)
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