…but god Romans 3: 1-4
Transcript
“Then what advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? Great in every respect. First, that they were entrusted with the actual words of God. What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? Far from it! Rather, God must prove to be true, though every person be found a liar, as it is written: “So that You are justified in Your words, And prevail when You are judged.”
Romans 3:1-4 NASB2020
Paul uses the word logion to which means oracle or mostly short sayings that were passed down from generation to generation. The context of these Oracle‘s refer to the living voice of God and the truths which God spoke to the Jews. God entrusted these truths to the Jews over long periods of time. The Jews collected them and they are recorded throughout the Old Testament but the context of this word itself stresses the particular utterances of God. The fact that all these utterances came to the Jews was certainly to their advantage! (Wycliffe Bible Commentary.)
Why is this so important? Over and over again in the New Testament the gospel is presented to Jews first.
Jesus brought the gospel all over the land to the Jews. He was a Jew, his first sermon was to the Jewish leaders in the synagogue when he was 12. After his resurrection he tells the disciples to be his witnesses, first in Jerusalem.
“So, when they had come together, they began asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time that You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” But He said to them, “It is not for you to know periods of time or appointed times which the Father has set by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.””
Acts 1:6-8 NASB2020
Paul is also reiterating what he said earlier in this letter when he explained:
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written: “But the righteous one will live by faith.”
Romans 1:16-17 NASB2020
“God is revealed From Faith to Faith.” The only way this is done is through the oracles, or the word of God which was given to the Jews and it is the faith that if these words are passed down from generation to generation those words gives life to the testimony of the gospel. As the writer of Hebrews explained:
“Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen. For by it the people of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the world has been created by the word of God so that what is seen has not been made out of things that are visible.”
Hebrews 11:1-3 NASB2020
It is because of the oracles of the Jews that we know of the Faith that the heroes of the Old Testament lived by and that the gospel of Christ began with them. Because the gospel, the very word of God has been with us since the beginning of time…
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.”
John 1:1-3 NASB2020
Amen, Amen and Amen!
Shalom shalom. Blessings! Press in and press on!
by Chad McBeam
