Openly Declared as the Son of God—Romans 1:3-4
“Regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 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” (Romans 1:3-4)
It is important to see Jesus in light of his humanity and divinity. Both natures had specific roles to play in the redemption of mankind. This is why Paul opens this letter with the revelation of this duality.
Paul is setting the stage to prove our redemption was done legally and would be verifiable in the highest of courts
In this letter, we learn the gospel promised beforehand that God’s Son Jesus was a descendant of David. For the Jews, this would have been critically important information. Beginning in Genesis and going forward, there were many prophecies about the lineage of the Christ coming through the line of King David. I doubt few people would have listened to Paul’s claims if Jesus hadn’t been a descendant of David.
However, what I find fascinating is that Christ had any ancestors at all! Simply put, Jesus had ancestors because He had a human nature. And guess what? A human redeemer was also a promise foretold in the scriptures.
At this time, Jewish law included a provision allowing kin to redeem their family’s property that had been sold so it would never be lost forever. These people were called kinsman redeemers (Lev. 25:25). Considering how Adam sold us all into slavery in the Garden of Eden and forfeited his dominion over the earth, which had been given to him by God, to Satan—lock, stock and barrel (Gen. 1:26, 28; 2:15, 19; Matt. 4:8-9; John 12:31), we were in dire need of kinsman redeemers, people like us who could redeem us.
Paul’s claim about Jesus’ lineage goes deep. Paul is setting the stage to prove our redemption was done legally and would be verifiable in the highest of courts. In one sentence, Paul shows how Jesus was a descendant of King David with a legal right to become humanities’ kinsman redeemer—wow!
Satan’s claim was voided as Jesus rose from the dead
The Book of Hebrews expounds on Christ’s humanity and his role as redeemer: “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Heb. 2:14-15). Jesus choose to become human in order to redeem us fully and thereby legally nullify any claim that sin, Satan, and death had over us—double wow!
When Christ’s earthly life was finished, Satan’s claim was voided and Jesus rose from the dead and ascended through the heavenly realms. The Spirit of Holiness then openly declared Him as the Son of God in a striking, triumphant, and miraculous manner.
Today, I am so thankful for Jesus, the Son of God and mankind’s kinsman redeemer.
Do Some Digging…
Have I sparked your curiosity? If so, then please take a deeper look at a few of these links.
Interested in prophecies about Jesus’ lineage?
Check out this blog post on Messianic Prophecies, especially the section about His lineage .
Interested in the transaction between Adam and Satan in the garden?
Authority and Dominion Was Transferred to Satan during the Fall—Hebrews 2:5-8
Full Authority and Dominion Was Won Back By Jesus at Calvary—Hebrews 2:5-8
Everything is Subject to Jesus—Hebrews 2:5-8
Jesus Shared in Humanity to Destroy the Power of Death—Hebrews 2:14-15
The Law of Substitution—Romans 5:12
Interested in how our redemption was done legally?
Ever Thought About How God Bypassed Condemning You?
Sin’s Claim Was Nailed to the Cross—Colossians 2:13-14
God is both Just and the Justifier—Romans 3:26
The New Covenant—Hebrews 8:10-12
Previous: Romans 1:2 Next: Romans 1:5-6
Original article published May 2, 2009.