ROMANS UNWRAPPED 223

"Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy; as it is written,  FOR THIS CAUSE I WILL CONFESS TO THEE AMONG THE GENTILES, AND SING UNTO THY NAME.   And again He saith,  REJOICE YE GENTILES WITH HIS PEOPLE.   And again,  PRAISE THE LORD ALL YE GENTILES; AND LAUD HIM, ALL YE PEOPLE.   And again Isaiah says,  THERE SHALL BE A ROOT OF JESSE AND HE THAT SHALL RISE TO REIGN OVER THE GENTILES; IN HIM SHALL THE GENTILES TRUST.   Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.                                                    Romans 15v8-13

No one can escape the meaning of the above verses.   What he is describing is world evangelization through Jesus Christ, via the Jews to all the Gentile nations.   No less than nine times from verses 8 - 19 does he refer to "the Gentiles."   Paul is now speaking of global evangelism which will take place through the agency of the Jews, keeping in line with his emphasis throughout this epistle "to the Jew first and also to the Gentile."   The importance of the essential unity of all believers as indicated in verse 6, is illustrated here.   Such a gospel that God has outlined, that involves the blessing of all nations including Jews, must not be hindered in any way because of our disunity.   World evangelism will be best served in a culture of unity as stated by Jesus in John chapter 17  "That the world may believe that thou hast sent Me."  

In these verses the apostle says that the work of Christ was two-fold; first, to bring the truth of God to Israel and second, that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy.   This is the world mission of Jesus Christ, whose work goes on while He is back in heaven.   He is described as "a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises unto the fathers."    In our language the word  "minister" has come to mean someone of status, but in fact it just means servant.   it goes back to the description of the Messiah in Isaiah chapter 42 onwards  "behold my servant."   Among many things said about the Messiah as God's servant, what is emphasized is the fact that he will succeed in everything that He does to accomplish the purposes of God.    Isaiah 42 v 4   "He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He hath set judgement in the earth: and the isles shall wait for His law."   Isaiah 52 v 13  "Behold my servant shall deal prudently (prosper, or succeed) He shall be exalted and be extolled and be very high."   Isaiah 53 v 10   "He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand."   God's servant, the Messiah, who was sent on a mission, will continue that mission until all the purposes of God in Him have been fulfilled.   Believers, therefore must tune into this great song that will be sung between now and eternity, while Christ brings blessing to all peoples of the world and glory to God in the gospel.   It should be obvious therefore that this should be our main focus, and our behavior will be in line with this great mission, that is going on before our very eyes.  

Paul goes on to quote four times from various parts of the Old Testament that predicted all this.

• Psalm 18v49     -     "For this cause I will confess to Thee amongst the Gentiles and sing unto thy name."
• Deuteronomy 32v43     -     "Rejoice ye Gentiles with his people."
• Psalm 117v1     -     "Praise the Lord all ye Gentiles, and laud Him all ye people."
• Isaiah 11v1     -     There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that rise to reign over the Gentiles; in Him shall the Gentiles trust."

All the quotations by Paul are taken from the Septuagint version of the Old Testament (which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures).   As we can see this has been God's purpose from of old; we are today involved in the purposes of God which are timeless.   We are heading towards the end of world history, not in tragedy but in ultimate triumph that will bring joy to all who believe, and that will bring glory to the everlasting God.   If we can somehow capture a sense of the glory of this, we would see all our efforts in the gospel in a greater light.   In the rest of the chapter Paul will gives us a missionary report on what he has done, on what he is doing, and of what he intends to do in this greatest of all works.   Meanwhile, he concludes, "now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing."   For followers of Christ the future is glorious: this is no forlorn hope that we Christians have. Jesus Christ the Messiah, the servant of God will not fail, He will accomplish all that God sent Him to do and we should be living in the good of it right now.   His request is that his readers  "abound in hope," that they should bring the glorious future of the gospel to bear now on their lives.   For this they will need the power of the Holy Spirit, who alone can bring the things of eternity into time and make them real.   It is surely Paul's intention here to cause the "big things" of God's world programme to overcome the "small things" of our individual scruples.   The message loud and clear in these verses is  "keep your eye on the big picture."   There is nothing, and no one that will stop the progress of God's perfect servant.   We should be inspired that we are part of this!