I, Paul.

 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God~ Romans 1:1

The inspiration for this new series came to me whilst listening to a Sermon on this very verse, by Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones,  hitherto known as The Doctor. It is fair to say that I am likely to lean heavily on him,  certainly for this first devotion.

It seems to me that to get an entire sermon out of this verse is a bit of a challenge. But I am given to understand that The Doctor Could spend weeks on a verse,  such was his attention to detail and understanding. He even preached,  famously,  on a full stop.  (period to my USA brothers and sisters).

And he points out to us that it is a mistake to rush through the introduction just to get to the meatier bits.  He says we should always pause here and see what God is saying.

Firstly, Paul writes to a church he has never visited. So some sort of introduction is essential. Indeed all of the epistle is,  in some sense,  an introduction.  Paul is laying out his credentials, authority and authenticity through his message.

The Doctor points out,  much as Jesus and the gospel came at exactly the right time,  Paul was exactly the right man.

The roman empire were road builders. Greek was the trade language of the time (the English of its day) and Jerusalem and Israel at the crossroads of the known world.

All these factors came together to bring the perfect conditions for the spread of the gospel. And boy, did it?

God knew the exact time to send his son and bring the gospel.

And here comes Paul. Formerly the Pharisee Saul.

A Roman Freeman,  with the citizenship that enables him to go anywhere in the empire. Literally his get out of jail card on occasion.

A speaker of Greek,  raised in Tarsus,  one of three Greek cultural hubs. Raised in the knowledge of the Greeks,  in their history and philosophy.  A man of great wisdom.

As mentioned,  a Pharisee, (a pharisee of pharisee's) with exacting knowledge of the Jewish belief system,  knowing Jewish arguments better than the Jews themselves. Perfectly placed to challenge Peter,  who was succumbing to the Judaisers. Literally saving the church.
And a man called to the gentiles.

When you think of Paul, more than any other man apart from the man Christ Jesus,  you think of the man who is responsible for your salvation.

And God set this man apart for the Gospel.

I am so,  so grateful he did.

What a legacy.

And yet this man,  with his phenomenal natural gifts says of all that stood in his favour,  that he considers it rubbish that he may gain Christ.

There is no place for glorying in his natural gifts,  for all gifts are from God. The giver of all good things.

You see here at the start,  the perfect meeting of human and divine.  That the scripture comes from a real historical place,  from flesh and blood human authors and yet it is the divine and inspired,  God-breathed word of life.

And all this, all of this,  why?

So that you can be bought to God.

Sovereign God who appoints our time's.

For if Paul was placed,  the right person at just the right time,  then so are you,  for what God has for you to do.

You were born for such a time as this.

Yes. Even the name Paul,  can carry this weight, right at the beginning.

So come closer and lean in to hear what the spirit is saying to you.  Lean in to Romans. The sovereign God of heaven has a plan for you too.

Because here we can meet God,

The God of this day,
And all days

Amen.