With a master stroke, Paul manages to imply a direct challenge to the authority of the Roman emperors with just a short and condensed verse in his letter to the church at the empire's capital.
Perhaps with Claudius' death as an immediate context, the following verse challenges the deification of successive Roman emperors starting from Augustus to Nero's dead baby.
Romans 1:4 who was appointed the Son-of-God-in-power according to the Holy Spirit by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The first challenge is the appointment. Unlike the emperors who are deified by human agency either through the senate or the emperor himself, Jesus is appointed the Son of God not by human means, but by God Himself.
The second challenge is very obvious. Whereas the emperors are usually deified after their death, Jesus is deified because he is alive. Jesus' justification to be appointed the Son of God is because he defeated death through his resurrection.
With this comes the final challenge, demoting the power and lordship of the dead and live emperors to one that is below whom the Christians truly acknowledge as their king and the true Lord of the world.
Perhaps with Claudius' death as an immediate context, the following verse challenges the deification of successive Roman emperors starting from Augustus to Nero's dead baby.
Romans 1:4 who was appointed the Son-of-God-in-power according to the Holy Spirit by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The first challenge is the appointment. Unlike the emperors who are deified by human agency either through the senate or the emperor himself, Jesus is appointed the Son of God not by human means, but by God Himself.
The second challenge is very obvious. Whereas the emperors are usually deified after their death, Jesus is deified because he is alive. Jesus' justification to be appointed the Son of God is because he defeated death through his resurrection.
With this comes the final challenge, demoting the power and lordship of the dead and live emperors to one that is below whom the Christians truly acknowledge as their king and the true Lord of the world.
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