Romans 1:1-7 - Daily Devotion - 1 June 2026

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

5 Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6 And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Stephen Shead

This month, we are beginning a devotional journey through Paul’s majestic letter to the early Christian church in Rome. The letter has some very personal sections, about both Paul’s ministry plans and the situation of the Roman church. But it is also Paul’s most complete explanation of his gospel, the great announcement from God that Jesus had sent him to announce to the Gentiles. And as Paul starts the letter, he wants that gospel to be front and centre.

I’m a big believer in being crystal clear on the gospel. And as I read these verses (for about the millionth time!), the first thing that struck me was Paul’s own gospel clarity: the gospel is about Jesus Christ. In fact, the whole Bible is God’s announcement about his Son – the news promised in the Old Testament and fulfilled in Jesus’ death, resurrection and exaltation as Lord. As I always used to tell my Bible college students in Chile: If you haven’t said something about what God did in sending Jesus, you haven’t told the gospel.

But I was also struck by the theological depth in this brief gospel summary. Paul hints at truths about the Incarnation, and the fact that in Jesus, the Son of God is both God and a man. Paul explains that God’s Son was a descendent of David in his earthly life, or “according to the flesh” (v 3). That implies that the Son of God also exists, and has always existed, outside the sphere of creation, in eternal relationship with God the Father. And yet even in his earthly life as the man Jesus, he was crowned as “the Son of God” and “the Lord” when he was raised from the dead by the Holy Spirit’s power (v 4).

Crystal clear in its essence; and with divine depths that we will never finish exploring. What a gospel!

But I also love how clearly and simply Paul explains what it means to be a Christian: it means “to belong to Jesus Christ” (v 6). And the way you come to belong to him is through “the obedience that comes from faith” (v 5) – by believing the gospel news about Jesus, which sets you on the path of learning to obey Jesus.

Praise God now for the clarity and the depth of his announcement about the Lord Jesus, and enjoy the assurance of knowing that you belong to Jesus.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephen is our senior minister.