Romans 1:1 – 7, A Meditation (11)

 

 

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as 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 born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles in behalf of His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

“to all who are beloved of God in Rome.”

 

Do we know that we are beloved of God? I realize that we may use the word “love” to speak of God, as in “God loves you. God loves us.” But what about the word “beloved”? Do you think the two words have the same exact ring to them? Are they the same, or are they similar?

 

If a husband says, “I love my wife,” is that the same as saying, “My wife is my beloved”?

A survey of the New Testament demonstrates that “beloved” is often used by the apostles when writing to those they served. I think this is more, much more, than us saying, “Dearly beloved,” when speaking to an assembly; for when we say “dearly beloved” I think we say it as a form of address, as contrasted with an expression of deep and affectionate love. Can we see ourselves saying to an assembly, “You are my beloved”? Can we see the difference? Do we say to God’s People, “You are God’s beloved?”

 

Can we hear the Father saying at Jesus’s baptism, “This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”? Can we hear the Father saying on the Mount of Transfiguration, “This is My Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to Him!”? Can we hear the Father speaking as we read the prophecy form Isaiah in Matthew 12:18, “Behold, My servant whom I have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased”?

 

Jesus Christ is beloved by God, and mystery though it is, we are beloved by God. Jesus prays, “I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected into one, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me…I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:23 & 26).

 

Notice in our passage that being called of Jesus Christ and being beloved of God are linked together, we are called because we are beloved. Keeping this in mind consider:

 

“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience…” (Col. 3:12).

 

“…knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you…” (1 Thess. 1:4).

 

We also see this in John 17 where we have been given to Jesus by the Father and drawn into the koinonia love of the Trinity.

 

Paul will return to our calling and God’s love for us in Romans 8:28 – 39, can you see this when reading this passage? Note Romans 8:29 – 30 and 38 – 39. Note 8:33, “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect?” and 8:35, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?”

 

We can live in confidence in God’s calling, His choosing, His election, and His incredible love for us in Christ Jesus; we can live knowing that we are beloved by God and that nothing can separate us from His love. Our lives are to be “rooted and grounded in love” and we are called “to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:14 – 19).

 

We are called to be a secure and confident People in God’s love and calling, with Jesus Christ as the Author and Perfector of our faith (Heb. 12:2), laying down our lives for one another and for this broken and sorrowful world (1 John 3:16).

 

When we see our brothers and sisters in Christ, do we see them as beloved by God? When we speak to them, pray with them, serve with them, are we doing so recognizing that they are the beloved of God?

 

How do we see ourselves? Do we see ourselves in Christ? Do we see ourselves at work, at home, in the community, as men and women and young people who are the beloved of God? Do we see our spouses as God’s beloved?

 

O dear friends, are we living as the beloved of God? Secure in His love, are we loving one another? (John 13:34 – 35; 15:12 – 13).