II Corinthians 2:14

ROMANS 1:8

“The Whole World”

Romans chapter 1 verses 8-11 says, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established.”

The book of Romans is the New Testament book on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Of course all the books of the Bible are the Gospel of Jesus Christ but the book of Romans is considered the great doctrinal book on salvation because it goes into great detail about the sinfulness of man, the righteousness of God, and salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

First, in talking about the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ one should thank God because the gospel means, “good news.” Yes we live in perilous times. Yes, we live in the last days. Yes we live in the days which are perhaps near the end of the age of grace. Therefore we can be thankful for the righteousness of Christ and the eternal life that we have in Christ Jesus. And we can be thankful that when Christ returns in the twinkling of an eye we shall receive the full redemption promised in the gospel.

Romans 1:8 says, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.”

It is one thing to be thankful. But it is another to, “Thank my God through Jesus Christ.” It is like saying happy holidays instead of Merry Christmas or bless you instead of God bless you. Don’t leave out God or the name of God and especially the name of Jesus Christ. First I thank? No, No: first I thank my God through Jesus Christ.

Thankfulness and joy go together. And there is no greater joy than a joy that covers the whole earth. They shall break forth into singing. A joyful soul is a thankful soul. And if you want a fullness of joy then pray to Jesus and thank Him in your heart for the faith of other believers and their testimony in this world.

Romans 1:8 says, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.” Notice the phrase, the whole world. We live in a world today which is obsessed and enslaved to fame and to seeking fame. But even a world-wide fame is nothing compared to a faith spoken of throughout the whole world. Which do you prefer? Which do you seek after: fame or faith? Faith in Christ is always greater than the fame of the world.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:14, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.” Do not hide your faith in the promises of God. Just to have others around you know that you are a Christian is a testimony in this world. To be a Christian means that at some point in your life you have repented of your sins to Jesus, prayed to Jesus, asked Jesus into your heart. Thus for someone to know you are a Christian is itself a way of telling those around you about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The whole world; a faith spoken of throughout the whole world is something to be thankful for. The Christians in the Roman Empire in the days of the Apostle Paul were known through all the world because of their faith. They did not seek fame they sought faith in Christ.

We live in a world today in which it is very easy to become famous for your faith in Christ. Because of technology: satellites, sound, video and other things how easy it is for a Christian to become like a tree of the days of olde with a faith spoken of throughout the whole world.

Roman 1:9, “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers.”

God is my witness. Everyone needs a witness. The lost of this world need Christians to be their witness. And Christians need God to be their witness. A witness testifies of that which is true.

In thinking about and talking about the whole world, Who hath disposed the whole world? What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world? The whole world lieth in wickedness. The great dragon, that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan, deceiveth the whole world. But Jesus Christ is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Everyone needs a witness because the world is filled with liars. Most people in this world are liars. Who will be your witness when you are lied against? Who is your witness? If the only witness you have is the witness of Jesus Christ then you have all the witness you need in this whole world.

Roman 1:9, “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers.”

The word witness means martyr. A martyr of course is someone who dies for you. Jesus died for you. Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. Tis no wonder that God is my witness because Jesus is the Son of God and therefore Jesus is God. Ife you have Jesus as your witness then you do not need anyone else as your witness.

It is always helpful to have more than one witness especially when false witnesses are risen up against you. Sometimes however when we stand in the gape and are set for the defense of the gospel of Jesus Christ we may find that we stand alone with no one on this earth as our witness. In such times always remember Romans 1:9, “God is my witness.”

Jesus said in Matthew 18:16, “in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.” In talking about a witness when there is more than 1 person saying the same thing about you it lends strength to the credibility of what is said about a person. Sometimes people will lie but at least we know that God will never lie. God cannot lie. When you have God as your witness then you have 3 persons as your witness: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To have God as your witness is to have 3 witnesses. I John 5:7 says, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” God is my witness.

In this world today, if you have faith in Christ, then you most likely have a faith spoken of in the whole world. Considering this truth and the truth that God is our witness we also should be witnesses to the whole world. Paul the apostle served God and the way he did so is through his spirit. If you want to accomplish something in this life for the gospel of Jesus Christ then you need to learn to serve God in the spirit. John 4:24 says, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

There is a difference between the spiritual and the physical. The physical is temporary and the spiritual is eternal. There is nothing wrong with physical things. God created them. But ife you want to live for Jesus Christ and serve the gospel of Jesus Christ the way the apostle Paul did and the way the Christians of 2000 years ago did then you must serve in your spirit. To some degree serving God in the spirit has to do with the use of the human will, willpower, free will, the force of human will.

God has a will and man has a will. Most men use their will to resist God’s will. To serve with your spirit, “in the gospel of His Son” is to use your free will to do God’s will. John 6:29 says, “Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.”

The use of your free will and your will power is not depend on physical circumstances, nor is it dependant upon how much money or material possessions you have. The use of your free will is not dependent upon your health or even if you are bound in chains. The power of the human will is a God given power to all men. Hopefully you will choose to use the power of your will to serve with your spirit, “in the gospel of His Son.”

Roman 1:9 says, “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers.” Much of the work of serving God in the spirit is done by praying to Christ. To pray means to talk to God. There are many things to talk to God about. Everything, every desire, every need, every concern, every burden and suffering and every thought is something to pray to Jesus about. Just by doing this in prayer you will be serving God in the spirit in the gospel of His Son. Such a work, a work of prayer, is a work of faith spoken of throughout the whole world.

Romans 1:10 says, “Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.” In talking about prayer and specifically praying for other Christians Paul gave an example of what he prayed about in verse 10. Romans 1:10-11 says, “Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;”

Paul desired to see the other believers face to face. Paul desired a prosperous journey. And Paul desired to impart unto them spiritual gifts to build up their faith in the promises of God. These were the things Paul prayed about. These were the things Paul sought the will of God in.

Romans 1:10-11 says, “Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established.” Whenever you have a desire you should pray to God and seek His will. Most people in this world will never seek the will of God above their own wills. But even something as simple as a journey too and fro in this world is something to seek the will of God in.

We live in a world in which all the world is going to and fro on the earth. They go to and fro in cars and vehicles, they go too and fro by internet and cell phones, they go to and fro with airplanes and boats, they go to and fro with satellite and laser technology and the sound waves that connect them. In all this to and fro in all the earth how many ever make request by the will of God? If you want a prosperous journey in this life then such a journey begins by turning from your sins to Jesus. A prosperous journey reaps both everlasting life and all the goodness of His good pleasure in its fullness of eternal rewards. When you go to and fro in this world you should make request by the will of God.

Romans 1:11 says, “For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established.” A spiritual gift is not a physical gift. A spiritual gift is something that is used to strengthen a Christian’s faith. This means the teaching of the Word of God. Not every Christian is a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ but every Christian should use their abilities, circumstances, work and life to impart spiritual gifts unto other believers to strengthen their faith. A simple example would be the giving of food. If a Christian gives some food to another needy Christian reminds that Christian how it is God that has provided it for them then you have imparted unto them a spiritual gift by teaching the truth; by reminding someone of how God takes care of those that trust in Him. A spiritual gift is something that strengthens your faith in Christ. Such a gift is always centered around the teaching of the truth of the Word of God. If you use your time, your abilities, your resources, your circumstances in life to be a testimony, to teach God’s Word, to love in the Spirit of God, then you are imparting a spiritual gift, the gift of the truth of God’s Word.

Romans 1:11 says, “For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established.” The important word to notice in this verse is the word, established. There are several words used in the New Testament which are translated established. The word established carries with it the idea of something that does not change.

Luke 9:51, “And it came to pass, when the time was come that He should be received up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.” Here the word established is translated steadfastly. In thinking about how Jesus Christ steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem and to die on the cross for the sins of the world we know that it was the will of God, The predestined will of God. That is why in Revelation 13:8 Jesus is called, “The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

Something that is predestined is established because it will come to pass no matter what happens. Predestination is an ineluctable force, the ineluctable force, the unstoppable force of the will of God. Yes man has a free will but God has a free will too. God’s free will is eternally more powerful than the free will of man. For someone to be truly established in the faith it must be by the will of God and not the will of Man. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is steadfast, established. Since and before the foundation of the world. It does not change. It will not pass away. Eternal life is eternal. Nothing could stop Christ from dying on the cross and rising from the grave. And nothing can stop the return of Jesus Christ at the twinkling of an eye.

Luke 22:32, “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” Here the word established is translated strengthen. To be established in the faith is to be strengthened in the faith. If you want to help other Christians be established in the faith then learn how to follow the will of God in your life. If you follow God’s will then you will be helping to establish other believers in their faith in the promises of God. This is how you get a faith spoken of throughout the whole world: by being established and strengthened in the faith.

Romans 1:11 says, “For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established.” Another way of understanding what it means to be established in the faith is by thinking of established in terms of law and grace and in terms of the righteousness of Christ which is imputed unto someone upon salvation.

One of the words used in the New Testament to mean established is a word which is used in reference to the law and is translated, “received the law.”

Hebrews 7:11 says, “If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?”

Hebrews 8:6 says, “But now hath He obtained a more excellent ministry, By how much also He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.”

If you are established then you have received the law upon better promises. What promises? The promises of forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ, the promises of the righteousness of God by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. In other words there are in a way two kinds of establishment. The first kind is the kind which comes at the moment of salvation. At the very moment that you confess your sins to Christ and accept Him into you heart as your Savior you receive the law, or you could say, receive the fulfilling of the law through the work of Christ. Christ fulfilled the law. Christ died on the cross for your sins. Christ rose from the grave. Christ defeated death. Therefore you are established at salvation because through Christ you have received the law.

The other kind of establishment is the kind that refers to more than just your positional righteousness in Christ. But it refers to a believer increasing in their knowledge and understanding of the Word of God, increasing in their experience at walking with God day to day, and therefore increasing in their faith. To be established is to know the difference between law and grace and understand the imputed righteousness which is of faith.

Hebrews 13:9, “Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.” Established with grace, received the law upon better promises? Received the law by grace? The grace of Jesus Christ.

Ife you understand the difference between law and grace then you are established with grace. When a person is saved they are established with grace because salvation is not based on your own works or own efforts, it is based upon the righteousness of Christ, the work of Christ: grace through faith. Simply believe what the Bible says. To truly believe means repentance of sin to Christ. To know the difference between law and grace means that you will always rely upon the grace of Jesus Christ regardless of what happens to you in life. You will that God loves you and that Jesus will always be there to guide you, to bless you, to give you a prosperous journey in this life. This is grace, the grace of God. Are you established with grace. Have you received the law upon better promises? Received the law by grace? The grace of Jesus Christ?

In our world today it is good to know the difference between the physical brain failing and a person failing in the faith. Satellite technology will affect a person’s physical brain functions. The failing or controlling of a person’s physical brain functions by sound waves is not the same thing as a Christian failing in the faith.

A Christian should desire to be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us thank God. Let us remember that we, the church, we the followers of the way, we the children of God, we have a faith spoken of throughout the whole world: Christianity. We make request by the will of God to have a prosperous journey through this life because we are strangers and sojourners. Your faith can grow each day or it can weaken. Hopefully it is growing day by day in the promises of God.

Ife you have never been established in the faith or established in eternal life you can turn from your sins to Jesus Christ. You can pray to the Son of God and receive the gift of eternal life. “I thank my God through Jesus Christ, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son throughout the whole world.”

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