"First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world."
- Romans 1:8
- Romans 1:8
This is an interesting statement and one that I think we can seem to fly right over without giving consideration when reading through the book of Romans. So, because of the lack of attention this verse gets some times, I'd like to spend an article reflecting back on this verse.
We are going to first start at the beginning. Novel Idea right? The first 3 words of the greek text are actually as follows:
Πρῶτον μὲν εὐχαριστῶ
The second word in this statement in the greek is rarely translated, but i think really gives a fuller meaning to Paul's passion behind this statement.
So just to emphasize the first three words of what we are about to study, we already get a sense of depth of how thankful Paul is. Paul doesn't just say, First I thank my God. He says, “First and Foremost, I truly thank my God for God’s good grace that your faith is spoken of throughout the world.” Paul isn't just thankful, he is extremely thankful. He is extremely thankful to a people group he hasn't even met yet. And He is thankful for the fact that the church in Rome is known for their faithfulness
So first off, Why does Paul use the terminology “My God”?
We are going to first start at the beginning. Novel Idea right? The first 3 words of the greek text are actually as follows:
Πρῶτον μὲν εὐχαριστῶ
The second word in this statement in the greek is rarely translated, but i think really gives a fuller meaning to Paul's passion behind this statement.
- Πρῶτον - "Proton" - first, in the first place, before, formerly
- μὲν - "men" - indeed, verily
- εὐχαριστῶ - "eucharistō" – literally, thankful for God's good grace.
So just to emphasize the first three words of what we are about to study, we already get a sense of depth of how thankful Paul is. Paul doesn't just say, First I thank my God. He says, “First and Foremost, I truly thank my God for God’s good grace that your faith is spoken of throughout the world.” Paul isn't just thankful, he is extremely thankful. He is extremely thankful to a people group he hasn't even met yet. And He is thankful for the fact that the church in Rome is known for their faithfulness
So first off, Why does Paul use the terminology “My God”?
In this era, the fact that Paul is using the Term “My God” and not just “God” is showing the significance that there is a relationship that Paul has with God. Unlike all the other gods of the culture at this point in time, Paul has a meaningful relationship with God showing that his God is the one True God. This also distinguishes him from all other “gods” and points out his express knowledge of God and faith in Him.
Then my second question is, why does he say through Jesus Christ? Why doesn't Paul just say, “I thank my God for all of you?”
Jesus Christ is our mediator, whom we have come to God. There is no way to God but through Christ, nor any sacrifice or anything can get us to God but through Christ, so it is highly appropriate that Paul would reference through Jesus Christ, our one and only mediator, not some other way to God, but only through Jesus Christ.
In this first verse, there are a few thoughts that came to mind here that I want to discuss with you.
The first was Pauls thankfulness. At this point in Time Paul was in Corinthians writing this letter, and do you know what was going on in Corinthians at this time? They were plotting to Kill him.
"The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. More than forty men were involved in this plot. They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, 'We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul. Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.' But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul." - Acts 23:12-16
In spite of knowing that he is being plotted against for death, Paul still finds thankfulness for the faithfulness of the church in Rome. How is it possible that he is thankful in still such a dire situation? Not only that, but this really brings up the question, how can we be thankful for other people’s success when we may be in a negative situation ourselves?
It’s all about perspective. I heard it said once that thanklessness is really a result of not getting what you think you deserve. So you’re thankful when you get what you think you deserve, and you’re not thankful when you don’t. But let me ask the question, what do we deserve? What do we truly deserve? Eternity in Hell. Having the perspective on our salvation can make it easier to be thankful for other’s successes, even when we may not have those successes, because we have way more than we deserve, which is our eternal inheritance.
What also amazes me about Paul is that he always expresses why he’s thankful. Try this for me this week. Next time someone does something that you would normally say thanks to, actually say what you're thankful for. Example, Someone opens a door for you, instead of of saying thanks, say thank you for opening the door for me. I appreciate you opening the door for me.
Moving on to the back half of Romans 1:8. What would you say your friends, your family, etc would say about you? What would other people who know you state what defines you? “What defines Jason? What is Jason known for?” What would they say?
What was Paul thankful for about Rome? This isn’t a church that Paul knew well, this wasn’t like what our friends and family would say about us. This is what someone who heard about us would say about us. Was the church in Rome known for it’s preaching or for it’s beautiful cathedral ceilings, or anything like that? No, they were known for their faithfulness.
Then, the follow up question is not, "what would other's say about you" but rather, "What do you want to be known for?". If someone hears about “Jason” what do I want my brand to be? What do I want people to think of?
The Church of Rome was know for their faith being spoken of throughout the whole world. This is the first reason Paul was thankful for the Church of Rome. He was thankful that, in a church that he wasn't well familiar with, their faith was known throughout the whole world. This should be our desire as well.
Then my second question is, why does he say through Jesus Christ? Why doesn't Paul just say, “I thank my God for all of you?”
Jesus Christ is our mediator, whom we have come to God. There is no way to God but through Christ, nor any sacrifice or anything can get us to God but through Christ, so it is highly appropriate that Paul would reference through Jesus Christ, our one and only mediator, not some other way to God, but only through Jesus Christ.
In this first verse, there are a few thoughts that came to mind here that I want to discuss with you.
The first was Pauls thankfulness. At this point in Time Paul was in Corinthians writing this letter, and do you know what was going on in Corinthians at this time? They were plotting to Kill him.
"The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. More than forty men were involved in this plot. They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, 'We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul. Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.' But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul." - Acts 23:12-16
In spite of knowing that he is being plotted against for death, Paul still finds thankfulness for the faithfulness of the church in Rome. How is it possible that he is thankful in still such a dire situation? Not only that, but this really brings up the question, how can we be thankful for other people’s success when we may be in a negative situation ourselves?
It’s all about perspective. I heard it said once that thanklessness is really a result of not getting what you think you deserve. So you’re thankful when you get what you think you deserve, and you’re not thankful when you don’t. But let me ask the question, what do we deserve? What do we truly deserve? Eternity in Hell. Having the perspective on our salvation can make it easier to be thankful for other’s successes, even when we may not have those successes, because we have way more than we deserve, which is our eternal inheritance.
What also amazes me about Paul is that he always expresses why he’s thankful. Try this for me this week. Next time someone does something that you would normally say thanks to, actually say what you're thankful for. Example, Someone opens a door for you, instead of of saying thanks, say thank you for opening the door for me. I appreciate you opening the door for me.
Moving on to the back half of Romans 1:8. What would you say your friends, your family, etc would say about you? What would other people who know you state what defines you? “What defines Jason? What is Jason known for?” What would they say?
What was Paul thankful for about Rome? This isn’t a church that Paul knew well, this wasn’t like what our friends and family would say about us. This is what someone who heard about us would say about us. Was the church in Rome known for it’s preaching or for it’s beautiful cathedral ceilings, or anything like that? No, they were known for their faithfulness.
Then, the follow up question is not, "what would other's say about you" but rather, "What do you want to be known for?". If someone hears about “Jason” what do I want my brand to be? What do I want people to think of?
The Church of Rome was know for their faith being spoken of throughout the whole world. This is the first reason Paul was thankful for the Church of Rome. He was thankful that, in a church that he wasn't well familiar with, their faith was known throughout the whole world. This should be our desire as well.