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Romans 1:3

— regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David,

V.3 is the start of Paul’s clarification of what he is talking about when he mentions the gospel in vv.1-2; the gospel in which he will be going further in depth of later in the letter. The whole sentence is talking about Jesus, because Jesus is the gospel. In this verse Jesus is described as being God’s son, and also a descendant of David. Why did Paul take the time to clarify Jesus’ heritage?

Son of God

As we’ll explore in depth in v.4, Jesus is the Son of God, appointed to that role through the Holy Spirit. Being the child of someone gives you quite a connection to them; you share their DNA, proneness to balding and when they die, their inheritance will go to you (if they haven’t spent it on cruises). As Schreiner (1998) writes ‘…if Jesus is God’s true son, then membership in the people of God depends on being rightly related to Jesus’. This is relevant because the Jews in Rome, who are part of God’s chosen people (Israel), didn’t agree that Jesus was the Messiah that the prophets of the Old Testament were talking about.

Son of David

The Jews, rightly, believe that the Messiah will come from the line of David (2 Samuel 7:12-17), a King of Israel and man of God. Paul is providing evidence to the Jews that the gospel he brings does fit with the Old Testament promises. He is also reminding the Gentiles that Jesus was a Jew, and as we’ll see further in the letter, Paul will be constantly reminding the Gentiles of this fact to ensure they know that the Jews are, and will always be, God’s chosen people. Paul also points out that only in his earthly life was he a descendant of David. Jesus existed eternally before and will continue to exist as the Son of God.

ASK YOURSELF: Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? What impact does that have on the way you share the gospel?

I pray that God will give me continual guidance and wisdom as I explore and learn concepts, some of which are far beyond our human understanding.