Romans 1:3,4 - Declared to be the Son of God in power

1:3

The gospel is focused on the Son of God. Everything is fulfilled through Him and because of Him. Humanly speaking Jesus was descended from David. Now, we might wonder why does this matter? In fact, to be honest, for most of us Gentile believers his Davidic descendancy is of little or no importance, it does not impact our faith from day to day. However, it demonstrates the intrinsic link between the Old and New Testaments. Jesus is the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets, and it shows that Israel is still important. In fact the salvation of Israel is important to all of us. Chapters 9-11 of Romans will major on this.If Israel cannot be saved then neither can we be saved, for we are just as sinful as she is.

1:4

Jesus was declared to be “the Son of God in power”. This does not mean that Jesus became the Son of God, He is eternally the Son of God. Rather prior to the resurrection He lived among us in weakness, in a sense. I say in a sense because He did rather a lot of powerful things! However, He could be killed, as indeed He was. But God raised Him from death. He has all power and authority in heaven and on earth. He is “Jesus Christ our Lord”. Any view that sees Him just as a good teacher, or a good example, is wholly inadequate. He is the Lord of All. The “Spirit of Holiness” is the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit bears witness that Jesus is Lord.