Useful Bible Studies > Romans Commentary > chapter 1

Christ is God the Son

Romans 1:3-4

Christians are people who accept Christ as their Lord.

The word for ‘Lord’ has two meanings. It means a master; in other words, Christians should obey Christ. However, Paul’s word for ‘Lord’ is also the translation of God’s holy name from the Hebrew language. Therefore, Paul taught that Christ is God.

There are different opinions about the meaning of verse 4, and these differences show in some Bible translations. However, in the original language (Greek), verses 3 and 4 seem to discuss the nature of Christ’s body, and of Christ’s spirit. Christ has always been God (John 1:1-4), but he became a man in order to help us to know God (John 1:9-14).

So, Christ was born into the family of King David (Luke 1:27; Luke 2:4). That was Israel’s royal family, although they had lost their power several centuries earlier. However, God’s plan for that family had not ended. So, Isaiah 11:1-5 promises that a truly great king would come from the family of Jesse, David’s father. Micah 5:2 says that this king would be from Bethlehem, David’s town. These passages are about Christ.

In our opinion, verse 4 is about the true nature of Christ’s spirit. The spirit is the reality of who someone is. The reality is that Christ is God the Son. There is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4), who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Many people consider it difficult to believe that Christ is God. However, that fact becomes clear when we realise the greatness of his power. Christ defeats the power of death (1 Corinthians 15:55-57), the devil (Hebrews 2:14) and evil deeds (8:1-4). He causes dead people to live again (8:11). So, God’s people will always live with him (Romans 8:18-21; Revelation 21:1-5). However, even his enemies will have to recognise who Christ really is (Philippians 2:9-11).

Next part: How to obey God by faith (Romans 1:5)

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