The Son of God of the Seed of David

The Son of God of the Seed of David

“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God, which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh.” Rom. 1:1-3.

The authority of Paul’s letters did not lie in the fact that he was the most knowledgeable, or that he had been given a special position. His authority lay in the fact that he was a servant of Jesus Christ who was fully dedicated to the gospel of God. When Paul first met Jesus on the road to Damascus, his first question was: “Who are You, Lord?” He immediately knew that he now had a new master (boss) and wanted to know who He was. As he began to serve Christ and dedicated his whole life to Him, the answer to this question became more and more clear. When he later wrote to the Romans, he could say with full and unwavering confidence: the Son of God, “who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh.”

As Paul served Christ and came to know Him, he also came to know himself. He likely quickly came to the acknowledgment in chapter 7, verse 18: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.” There isn’t a single person on earth who doesn’t have the same experience when they want to do what is good.

When Jesus partook of David’s flesh, He partook of that flesh in which nothing good dwells. From this flesh arises all the evil that is done in the world. Jesus thus took all the sins of the world upon His body, and there in His body the work of salvation took place. It was there that Jesus began to sacrifice, as the very first One to do so. He offered the entirety of man’s “self” as a sacrifice. He bore it all onto the cross where He left it to die. Therefore, there is not a single sin that has not been atoned for through death on the cross. In this way Jesus also destroyed him who had the power of death, the devil. The fact that Jesus was born of the seed of David, and that He had the same flesh as us, is therefore of crucial importance for our own salvation.

Chapter 8, verses 12-13: “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” People who want to be considered as good citizens apply the brakes on the desires in the flesh. But the flesh makes its demands, and no human being can escape them completely. Secretly, they allow themselves to enjoy those things that the lusts and desires of the flesh draw them towards. Jesus—even though He had partaken of David’s flesh—was totally pure from this. He lived for God, He was led by the Spirit, and every time the flesh made its demands, it ended up on the cross. Therefore, we owe nothing to the flesh, because Jesus has put it to death, and through Him we have been given access to live by the Spirit and to be led by the Spirit. This is the word of faith which we preach. This is the work of God in Jesus Christ.

The gospel of God, to which Paul had been dedicated, is thus the gospel of Him who is able to set free from all the sin that came in through the Fall. By this gospel—by the words that proceed from the mouth of the Lord—we shall live. Not just hearing them, but doing and living them. Jesus asked: “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” Luke 6:46. The power of life in Jesus’ words became evident in the life He lived as a human being. But that’s why every person who appoints Him as Lord (boss) and does what He says can also experience the same divine, victorious power of life.

It is written about Jesus that as a young boy, He increased in wisdom and stature with God and men. We see that He grew in wisdom. He never sinned, but He had to learn obedience. As a man in David’s flesh, He had a will that was opposed to God’s will, but He chose obedience to God’s will every single time, without exception.

Romans chapter 1 verse 4: “and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” Jesus’ resurrection from the dead proves that everything that dwells in the flesh and drives people, was put to death. It wasn’t suppressed, it was killed. It was completely gone when He breathed His last there on the cross. That is why He could rise from the dead.

Jesus Christ is not our exalted saint, He is our first brother, our forerunner, who is well acquainted with all that comes from the flesh that we have. He is the One who bore it all onto the cross, He is the One who died and rose again. Now the call goes out to be baptized by one Spirit, into one body, to become part of His body, where we walk on the same way. We share in His tribulations, in His death, but also in His resurrection. What a glorious, divine calling!