Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church.
And it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.
A special welcome if you are new or visiting with us. We're glad that you're here.
And we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats,
but because we're following Jesus together as one community.
And as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced that there's no one so good.
They don't need God's grace and no one so bad that they can't have it,
which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in his word.
We're continuing this morning our series in the book of Romans that we started just last week.
And you'll remember that the book of Romans is a letter.
It's a letter written by the Apostle Paul in the 50s AD.
And the book of Romans is called Romans for a very simple reason,
which is that it is written to the churches that exist in the city of Rome.
It is about fundamentally the gospel, the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection.
And Paul's hope is that those who receive this letter,
the original recipients primarily and us secondarily,
would be established in the gospel.
In fact, he makes this explicit in verse 11, which we will get to before too long.
Now, there are many applications that we'll see throughout this book,
and all of them ultimately are going to come back to the gospel.
There will be many spokes that will center over and over back to the hub,
which is the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection.
In those applications, Paul has this special focus on the mission and the unity of the church.
As I told you last week, as you see that we are moving very slowly, fear not.
We will, in fact, speed up.
But as we're here at the introduction, it is, in fact, hard to go fast
because Paul lays out so many different things in these first seven verses.
He gives us some of the primary themes of the book.
Last week, we looked at verse 1, and we saw primarily two things.
First, that Christians live for the Lord,
that it is our first and our only safe commitment.
And that's because the Lord is the only one who loves us more than we love ourselves.
He's the only one who fully knows what's best for us.
We also saw that all of us are called to be set apart for the work that God has given for us,
that there are things He's chosen for us from before the foundation of the world,
and He's prepared us for those things.
And we're going to move forward this morning in verses 2 through 4,
and we're going to see outlined for us part of the hope of the gospel.
And so it's with that that I invite you to turn with me to God's Word,
and you can turn in your Bible, you can turn on your phone,
you can turn in your worship guide.
No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's Word.
God tells us that His Word is more precious than gold, even the finest gold,
and it's sweeter than honey, even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb.
And so that's why we read now Romans 1, starting at verse 1.
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures,
concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh,
and was declared to be the Son of God in power,
according to the Spirit of holiness,
by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.
I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's Word.
Our Father in heaven, we do thank you and praise you
that we don't live in a world where we're at the mercy of the latest man or woman
with money or power or influence,
but instead your Son and our Savior, our Lord Jesus, is the King of this world.
We ask that you would show us him and his glory again this morning,
and that you would grow our love, our affection, our joy,
our reverence and awe for him, our obedience to him.
And we ask these things in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
And we're picking up this week in verse 2 of chapter 1,
and I read verse 1 for you simply for context.
As we begin verse 2, we're told something right away,
which he promised beforehand.
So there is something that we're meant to be looking for here,
a promise that was made a long time ago.
And to find out what that promise is,
we simply have to look back to what we saw last week in verse 1.
The promise that was made beforehand is the gospel of God.
So we see that as we look back to verse 1.
As we look forward to verse 3,
we then understand more what the gospel is about.
It is concerning his Son.
Jumping back to verse 2, where did he promise this?
Well, he promised it through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.
And so as we return to Paul's introduction in this letter,
one of his longest introductions in all of the letters that he writes to the churches,
he begins here with this very simple point.
Jesus fulfills the promises of the Old Testament.
Jesus comes and makes true everything that we were told would happen
in the 39 books that come before the New Testament.
Now, you might think to yourself,
man, that's pretty neat.
Also, why in the world should I care?
Jesus is here, right?
He has come.
Why does it matter whether he has or has not
fulfilled some sort of promise that has come beforehand?
In fact, many people think just that.
They think the Old Testament, that's irrelevant.
There are pastors and teachers around today
who will tell you that very thing.
You know, we just mostly need to focus,
maybe we exclusively need to focus on the New Testament.
We don't need to worry about what's come before.
Paul here seems to have a very different opinion.
For him, it appears to be extremely important.
And the answer to that question, why does it matter,
is something we've already read.
Now, Britt read for us Genesis chapter 3,
which sets out the tension and the problem
that the rest of the scriptures seek to answer.
Remember what we read in Genesis chapter 3?
There's this curse that comes on the world
because of Adam and Eve's disobedience
to what God has commanded them.
And we see a variety of curses.
Verse 16 of Genesis 3,
the woman is going to experience pain in childbirth
and disunity in marriage.
Verse 17, the man is going to experience futility in his work.
Of course, there's a sense in which, right,
these cross over.
Women also experience futility in their work.
Fathers will also experience pain in raising children.
And so this is the point at which paradise is broken.
The perfect fellowship that humanity experienced with God
has come to an end.
There's disunity rather than unity.
There's disconnection rather than connection.
Thankfully, though, that's not the only thing we saw in Genesis chapter 3.
If you go back before the curse is given to the woman and the man,
there's a curse put on the snake in verse 15.
God addresses the serpent and says this,
I will put enmity between you and the woman
and between your offspring and her offspring.
He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel.
In other words,
evil has been introduced into the experience of humanity,
but, and that's not the end of the story.
There is one coming who will crush the head of the serpent.
There will come a time when the curse will be reversed.
A moment will arrive when Adam and Eve
and their sons and daughters
no longer suffer the consequences of sin.
So why does it matter
that Jesus fulfills the promises of the Old Testament?
It matters
because he is the one who fulfills
the promise of Genesis chapter 3,
that the serpent's head will be crushed.
that we will finally be able to return to Eden.
Whether you're familiar with the Old Testament or not,
whether you care about the prophets who wrote it or not,
if you are a human and you live in this world
and you are honest with yourself,
you long to return to Eden.
You long for the curse to be undone.
You long for the serpent's head to be crushed.
And you feel it not just in moments
when we read passages from the Bible together.
You feel it when you have that longing
to experience only connection
and never disunity with others.
You feel it
when you look for healing
spiritually or emotionally or physically.
you feel that longing
when you look in the mirror.
And you wish that you could only feel good
about yourself and your body.
You feel it as you experience the grief and loss
that comes as your body ages
and your powers fade and wane.
And you feel it as you long for the evil
in your own heart
to be wiped out once and for all.
And that longing that you feel
is a longing that's been felt
ever since Genesis chapter 3.
And Paul here comes to say,
Jesus is the one
that makes the promise come true.
Jesus is the one
who makes it possible
to return to Eden.
In his book,
Mere Christianity,
C.S. Lewis says this,
If I find in myself a desire
which no experience
in this world can satisfy,
the most probable explanation
is that I was made
for another world.
And if you're honest,
you can feel that you were made
for another world.
You may try to hide it
with consumption
and busyness
and pleasure.
And at the end of the day,
it's still there.
And so here again,
remember I told you,
when it comes to the book of Romans,
we're going to have many spokes
and those spokes
will always come back
to the hub of the gospel.
And here,
right at the very beginning,
verse 2,
we're back to the hub again.
Jesus is the one
who resolves
the tension of humanity.
Jesus is the one
who allows
God's people
to return to Eden.
Jesus is the one
who makes that longing
not simply a longing,
but something real
and full
and complete.
There's a theologian
named Bill Wilder
who describes the story
of the Old Testament
this way.
He says,
it is a story
in which God's people
have to leave
God's presence
in God's land.
They're cast out of Eden,
right?
And so the question
that is attempted
to be answered
throughout the rest
of the Bible
is simply this,
how will God's people
return to God's land
in God's presence?
How is it
that God's people,
his family,
will experience
Eden
once again?
The answer
is Jesus.
because he is the one
who fulfills
what was promised
beforehand
through his prophets
in the Holy Scriptures.
He is the one
who makes all things right.
He's the one
who comes to crush
the head of the serpent.
He's the one
who brings God's people
back to God's land
in God's presence.
You'll remember
last week
I told you
that as we look
at these first
seven verses
we're going to see
some of the major themes
of the book of Romans
outlined for us
and we're going to do
that once again.
One of the major themes
that Paul has already
hit on for us here
is this,
that God is a God
who keeps
his promises.
You'll want to remember
that when we get
to Romans chapter 9
and 11,
you know,
in 20 or 30 years.
Because Paul's hope
there is to remind us,
look,
no matter what you see,
no matter what's happened,
God has kept
his promise.
What he said
in Genesis chapter 3
verse 15
will and has
come to pass.
Now the other theme
that we're going to see
throughout the book
that's highlighted here
is this,
that there is one story
from beginning to end.
The Old Testament
and the New Testament
are two halves
of the same book.
We'll see that even more
when we get to Romans
chapter 4.
I also told you last week
that Romans is referred to
as the fifth gospel.
That is what Paul teaches here,
Jesus taught first.
And we don't have to go
to just one place,
we can go to two places.
We have the famous passage
in Luke chapter 24
when Jesus,
after his resurrection,
is walking with two men
who are walking
on this road to Emmaus
and he explains to them
that the Old Testament
is about him.
In John chapter 5,
Jesus is arguing
with the Jews
and he reminds them
of this,
if you believed Moses,
you would believe me
for he wrote of me.
Who wrote the book
of Genesis?
Moses.
What was Moses
writing of
in Genesis chapter 3, 15?
He was writing
of Jesus,
the one who would crush
the head
of the serpent.
C.S. Lewis
in that same section
of Mere Christianity
goes on to tell us this,
I must keep alive
in myself
the desire
for my true country
which I shall not find
till after death.
I must never let it
get snowed under
or turned aside.
I must make it
the main object
of life
to press on
to that other country
and to help others
to do the same.
Christian,
you must make it
the main object
of your life
to press on
to that other country
and to help
others
to do
the same.
Jesus is the one
who fulfills
what is promised
beforehand
through his prophets
in the holy scriptures.
Paul goes on
to tell us
even more
in verse 3.
We find out
that Jesus
is not simply
the one who's promised.
This is concerning
his son
who is descended
from David
according to the flesh.
Now the word flesh
in the New Testament
can mean a variety
of things.
We want to be clear
about what it means
in this context.
Here, flesh
is simply saying
Jesus was actually
a human.
So going back
to our confession
of faith
earlier in this service,
remember we said
Jesus is 100% God
and 100% man.
And that's what
Paul is saying here.
According to
his humanity,
Jesus was descended
from David.
Of course,
he's not descended
from David
according to
his divine nature
because he
preexisted David.
No, it's according
to his human nature.
This gives us
another piece
of Old Testament
fulfillment.
It's not just
the promises
and the prophets
beforehand
when it comes
to Genesis chapter 3.
It's the promises
we see throughout
the Old Testament.
And one of the most
important promises
comes in 2 Samuel 7.
God comes to David
and he says to him,
look,
you're the king now
and guess what?
An even greater
king will come
from your line.
The ultimate
and final king
is going to come
from the line
of David.
Now,
you might
be wondering
how exactly
this is going
to happen.
We'll get to that
in a minute.
But remember
just that quote
from Gregory of Nazianzus,
what was not assumed
cannot be healed.
Jesus assumed
full humanity
so he could save
us as humans.
We're going to get
to even more of that
in Romans chapter 5.
So in verse 3,
we're told
that he's descended
from David
according to the flesh.
And then in verse 4,
we find out
he's declared
to be the son of God
in power
according to the spirit
of holiness
by his resurrection
from the dead.
Jesus Christ,
our Lord.
Some people
have misunderstood
or twisted
this verse
to say
that Jesus
was at some point
actually not divine.
He was only a man.
And then later,
you know,
God looked on him
and said,
you know what?
I think Jesus
is such a great guy.
And so I'm going
to declare him
to be the son of God.
And so it's important
that we understand
clearly
what's being said here.
The word is declared.
The word is not
to make
or to become.
Okay?
It is not that Jesus
was not the son of God
at some point
and then was declared
to be at another point.
No,
what he's telling us
is that the resurrection
clarifies
and certifies for us
what was already true.
That if there was
any doubt
about Jesus' identity,
there should be
no doubt
no more
as we look
and see him
as the resurrected
son of man
sitting at the right hand
of God,
the Father Almighty.
That he was
the son of God
and is now declared
by his resurrection
with greater clarity
than ever before.
A man named
John T. Rhodes
does a fantastic job
illustrating this
with this quote
on page seven
of your worship guide.
as Elizabeth II
became queen
on the death
of her father
in February 1952,
but wasn't crowned
until June
the following year,
Christ was king
from his incarnation,
but took his throne
at the resurrection.
Okay?
He was declared
to be
the son of God
with power.
The resurrection
is the coronation,
it's the announcement,
it's the certification
of what was already
true
about Christ.
Now,
you might be wondering,
okay,
wait,
if Christ was king
from his incarnation,
what about before
his incarnation?
Well,
he's king
from his incarnation
according to his
human nature
in the sense
that he fulfills
the promise
of 2 Samuel 7,
but of course
he's the son
of God
for all
eternity.
Eternity past,
eternity future.
And so it's not
that Jesus
becomes God,
he was always God,
it's that there
is now
a new phase
in the history
of redemption.
There's a new
chapter
in the story
of God's
redemption
of his people.
There is
something different,
it's not something
different in Jesus'
nature
or his character,
there is,
however,
something different
in his glory.
And you'll see
this on page
eight of your
worship guide.
Didn't Jesus
always have
supreme authority?
As God,
yes.
But considered
as a man,
the resurrection
ushers in
a new degree
of glory
even for Jesus.
Jesus rises
from the grave,
changed,
glorified,
with a more
majestic body
than before.
And I'll bring
this down
to earth
for you.
Before
Jesus'
resurrection,
it was possible
for Jesus
to get a
cold.
Before
Jesus'
resurrection,
there might
have been
times when
in his
human nature,
he would
have done
really well
to get
some antibiotics.
After
Jesus'
resurrection,
there were
no more
colds.
Jesus has
a perfected
and resurrection
body.
Jesus has
a glory
according to
his human
body that
he never
had before.
And he is
now,
we're told,
in verse
four,
the Son
of God
in power.
There's a
new expression
of Jesus'
power.
There's
something true
about the way
he expresses
his power.
There's
something of
its intensity
that was
not
realized
before that.
We're told
in verse
four,
this new
power is
according to
the spirit
of holiness,
which is a
reference here
to the Holy
Spirit.
And so we
can remember
Jesus'
teaching in
John chapter
14.
He says
this,
I will
ask the
Father,
and he
will give
you another
helper to
be with
you forever.
Jesus is
telling his
disciples,
look,
there's
going to
be
something
in the
future
that I'm
going to
ask for
and give
to you.
You don't
have the
Holy Spirit
in the way
that you
will have
it.
You will
receive it
after my
resurrection
and my
ascension.
And then
what do we
see in the
history of
the church?
Acts chapter
two,
Peter is
preaching this
sermon.
Pentecost
happens where
there's this
great pouring
out of the
Holy Spirit,
a pouring
out such as
has never
been seen
in the history
of God's
people.
And Peter
says this,
speaking about
Jesus,
being therefore
exalted at the
right hand of
God and having
received from the
Father the
promise of the
Holy Spirit,
he has poured
out this that
you yourselves
are seeing
and hearing.
Jesus,
in his
resurrection
and his
ascension,
pours out
on his
people
even greater
gifts and
power than
ever before.
It is
better
for you
to be a
Christian now
after Jesus'
resurrection
and ascension
than it was
to be
Abraham.
It is
more and
greater,
you experience
a greater
presence of
the Holy
Spirit than
Moses and
the people
who were
with him.
Why?
Because he
was declared
to be the
Son of God
in power
according to
the Spirit
of holiness
by his
resurrection
from the
dead.
Paul is
telling us,
teaching us,
reminding us
that Jesus'
resurrection
and his
ascension to
the right
hand of
God the
Father
means more
blessings and
power for
his people
than ever
before.
In other
words,
the resurrection
proved
something
and the
resurrection
did
something.
Pentecost
would not
and could
not happen
until Jesus
was sitting
at the
right hand
of God
the Father
Almighty
fulfilling
his promise
to his
disciples
to send
the Holy
Spirit
in full
measure
upon his
people
and on
the church.
It is
good news
for us
that he
has been
raised from
the dead
in power
according to
the Spirit
of holiness.
Now I'll ask you
the same question
I asked you
about prophecies
from the Old
Testament being
fulfilled.
Why do you
care?
We cared
about Old
Testament prophecies
being fulfilled
because it means
the return
to Eden
the resolving
of what was
broken
in the
garden
and we
care that
Jesus was
raised from
the dead
in power
according to
the Spirit
of holiness
because it
means his
gifts to
his people
are greater
than the
past.
John D. Rhodes
goes on to
tell us this
Jesus has won
every blessing
for us
now he will
make sure
those blessings
are poured
out from
on high.
it is as
if at
the atonement
Christ won
the right
to a
treasure chest
of jewels
kept by
the Father.
The Father
then joyfully
gives these
jewels to
Christ's
people as
and when
he is
asked.
Jesus'
gifts to
you and
to his
church are
greater than
ever before
because of
the resurrection
from the
dead
in power
by the
Spirit
of holiness.
That's our
hope when we
have our
confession of
sin.
That Jesus
who is risen
and is with
God the
Father Almighty
intercedes for
us.
We're going to
go on to
hear in
Romans chapter
8 that in
fact he
intercedes for
us with
groanings too
deep for
words.
It's our
hope and
our confidence
that he
represents us
before the
Father.
We pray in
Jesus' name
with greater
access than
the saints
of the Old
Testament.
Another
theologian,
Herman Boving,
reminds us that
the resurrection
is the
declaration,
it's the
reminder to
us that our
sins are in
fact forgiven.
If we ever
had any doubt,
we need to
remember that
Jesus has been
declared the
Son of
God.
Even more
than that,
he reminds us
there's various
places throughout
Paul's letters
where he tells
us, look,
evil forces and
powers are more
restrained than
they ever have
been.
Because Jesus
has put,
God the
Father has put
all of those
things under
Jesus' feet.
And so we're
reminded definitively
there's been this
power that's
exercised over
evil and its
forces.
It no longer
rules and
reigns.
Jesus is the
king of the
world.
He was declared
to be the
Son of God
in power
according to
the spirit of
holiness by the
resurrection from
the dead.
As the fifth
gospel,
Jesus teaches
us the same
things.
Remember in
John chapter
17, he has
his high
priestly prayer
and he asks
for many
things including
the unity of
his people.
He also asks
for glory.
He says,
and now
Father glorify
me in your
own presence
with the glory
that I had
with you
before the
world existed.
Man, that
sounds an
awful lot like
declared to be
the Son of
God in power.
And then as
Jesus gives
some of his
final words to
his disciples,
as he leaves
them, Matthew
chapter 28, he
tells them this,
all authority
in heaven and
on earth has
been given to
me.
Man, that
sounds a whole
lot like
declared to be
the Son of
God in power.
And how does
he end that
sentence in
Matthew chapter
28?
He says this,
and behold, I
am with you
always to the
end of the
age.
That's why we
follow him.
That's why we
obey him.
That's why we
hope in him.
That's why we
can sing together,
Jesus the
Savior reigns,
the God of
truth and
love.
When he had
purged our
stains, he
took his
seat above.
His kingdom
cannot fail.
He rules
o'er earth
and heaven.
The keys
of death
and hell
are to
our Jesus
given.
Let's pray.
Our Father
in heaven, we
do thank you
and praise you
that Jesus is
the King of
the earth,
that he rules
and he reigns
with a power
that the Old
Testament saints
could only
imagine, and
that he takes
the treasures
that you have
given him and
he casts them
out on his
people with
great blessing
and power.
We ask that
you would remind
us of that
hope and that
we would hold
on to it more
and more,
knowing even
more than that,
that it's Jesus
who holds on
to us.
We ask all
these things in
his mighty
name.
Amen.