The Strand Study Bible

Written From Corinth During Paul’s Third Missionary Journey

ROMANS

1848

kindness (Isa 63:7, Psa 89:33,49 , Jn 14:6-11 and Gal 5:22 ) – God’s loving-kindness (Neh 9:17, Psa 25:6 & 103:4, Isa 54:8-10, Jere 16:5, Hos 2:19, Joel 2:13 and Jonah 4:2) is the “icing on the cake” of mercy (Hos 6:6/Mt 12:7); it’s the “peace” after the storm ( Gen 6:8 ). NOTE – His kindness is connected to His loving-kindness and His desire to encourage ( LUKE “MINI” SERIES – -FTTPO ). holiness (self-affirming purity - Isa 63:15,18, Psa 89:35, Isa 47:4, Jere 23:9, Hos 11:9, Jn 17:11 , Psa 16:10, Isa 1:4, Mk 1:24, Acts 2:27 & 4:27 and Isa 63:10-11, Psa 51:11, Mt 1:18 and Eph 1:13 ) – God’s holiness (Lev 11:44-45 & 19:2/I Pet 1:16 and Isa 6:3/Rev 4:8), by definition, is a separation from that which is “common” (man) or “unclean” (man’s old nature) ( Heb 12:14b ). NOTE – His holiness is connected to His glory ( Isa 6:3c and LUKE “MINI” SERIES – -FTTPO ). mercy (Isa 63:7,15, Psa 89:1,14 , Titus 1:4 and Jn 14:16 ) – God’s mercy has nothing to do with how He feels towards us, and everything to do with how He doesn’t want to give us what we deserve, which is Hell ( II Pet 3:9 ). NOTE – Whereas God’s grace is receiving what we don’t deserve ( Gen 6:8 ), God’s mercy (Gen 43:14, Psa 25:6 & 103:4, Jere 3:12 & 16:5, Lam 3:22, Dan 9:9 and Hos 2:19) is not receiving what we do deserve ( Gen 19:16,19 ). love ( Isa 63:9 , II Cor 5:14 and Gal 5:22 ) – God’s love (Prov 3:11-12/Heb 12:6, Mal 1:2/Rom 9:13, Jn 3:16 and I Jn 4:7-8) expresses the deep and constant interest of a perfect being towards entirely unworthy objects ( II Jn 1:6 ). NOTE – His love is connected to His loving-kindness ( LUKE “MINI” SERIES –-FTTPO ). truth (Isa 63:17, Psa 89:14 , Jn 14:6 & 19:11 and Jn 15:26 ) – God’s truth (Psa 119 and Ezk 24:18 ) is the glue that holds all of life together ( Colo 1:17 ). Thus, His truth (His Word/Law) cannot be broken without serious consequences ( Gal 6:7 ). NOTE – His truth is connected to His Word (Jn 17:17 and LUKE “MINI” SERIES – -FTTPO ). 6. Each Person within the Godhead is involved in works that only God can do Dr. James P. Gills in Exceeding Gratitude for the Creator’s Plan notes: Scripture teaches that everything that has been created had its origin in the bosom of the Triune God–Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Grasping this spiritual reality by faith will bring you into deeper worship and love for the One who formed you. 5 Cyril C. Richardson in The Doctrine Of The Trinity agrees. He notes:

In any divine operation, it is argued, the whole Trinity is at work; and it is at work in such a way that we cannot say that one event belongs to the Father and another to the Son, nor that one aspect of a given event belongs to the Father and another to the Son. To make such distinctions would be to compromise the simplicity of the divine essence which all three persons share and are. All three are equally and indistinguishably involved in all events. If we say the Father does “this,” while the Son does “that,” we are not speaking literally and properly. The only fitting thing to say is that the Trinity does both this and that. God operates as one. Hence, in the Lord’s Prayer, when we say, “Our Father,” our address is not to the Father alone, but to the Trinity (Aug. De Trin. 5. 11. 12). Similarly, in the incarnation all the three persons are involved (2. 5. 9), just as in the baptism of Jesus (4. 21. 30) and in the beginning of creation (5. 13. 14). 6

NOTE – According to the Bible, God’s work is sevenfold: (1) creation ( Psa 102:25 & Rev 4:11 & Jn 1:3 & Heb 1:2,10 & Gen 1:2 & Job 26:13 and Psa 104:30 ); (2) creation of man ( Rev 4:8-11 & Colo 1:16-17 and Job 33:4 ); (3) death of Christ ( Isa 53:4,10 & Jn 10:18 & Heb 9:24-28 and Heb 9:14 ); (4) resurrection of Christ ( Acts 2:32&Rom4:24& I Pet 1:21 & Jn 2:19&10:17-18 and I Pet 3:18 ); (5) inspiration of the Bible ( Heb 1:1 &I Pet 1:10-11 and II Pet 1:21 ); (6) indwelling of the believer ( Eph4:6 & Colo 1:7 and I Cor 6:19 ); and (7) security of the believer ( Jn 10:29 & Phil 1:6 and Eph 1:13-14 ). Bruce Demarest andGordon Lewis in IntegrativeTheology notes:

Although all three persons [the Father, the ‘Son’ and the Holy Spirit] are omnipresent and consciously interrelated in all their activities, each has some distinctive historical activities. In regard to creation, the Father calls forth energy- matter, the Logos [the Word of God] informs it and orders its law of change, and the Holy Spirit leads it to develop according to its nature and achieve its destiny. 7

7. Each Person within the Godhead receives the worship that only God is due: FATHER - Jn 4:21,23-24 and Rev 4:10 & 5:14 & 7:11 & 11:16 & 19:4 SON - Mt 2:2,8,11 & 8:2 & 9:18 & 14:33 & 15:25 & 18:26 & 20:20 & 28:9,17, Mk 5:6 & 15:19, Lk 24:52, Jn 9:38 and Heb 1:6 HOLY SPIRIT - I Cor 3:16, Ezk 3:24-27 and Acts 5:1-4 1:20 c God’s creative hand reveals His genius, thus men are “ without excuse ” when it comes to believing in God. 1:21 a According to the Bible, God is “knowable” ( when they knew God ). Man’s problem isn’t that he can’t find God. Man’s problem is that he loves darkness rather than light (Jn 3:19-20) and doesn’t want to find God. Concerning the origin of life and the evolutionist’s theory of spontaneous generation, in which living organisms can somehow spontaneously arise from non-living things (such as, the appearance of maggots in meat, molds on fruit, fungi on wood, or a variety of aquatic plants and animals in a newly formed and apparently lifeless pool of water), Henry M. Morris, William W. Boardman, Jr., and Robert F. Koontz in Science and Creation note: Our school books have always told us that Pasteur’s triumph over Pouchet, the advocate of spontaneous generation, was a great triumph for science and reason over superstition. But evolutionists are now again advocating spontaneous generation in a different form. 8 Meaning: Even though Louis Pasteur proved scientifically beyond a shadow of a doubt that the theory of spontaneous generation