The book of Romans is a book on the gospel of God (1:1). The entire book, from chapter one on the person of Jesus Christ the God-man and on the righteousness of God to chapter sixteen on the local churches as the expression of the Body of Christ, is the gospel, the good news and the glad tidings (Rom. 10:15), of God to men in its completeness. No other book presents us the gospel of God in such a complete way as Romans does. Do not think that only the first four chapters of Romans on justification by faith are the gospel of God. That is too shallow. You have to realize that every chapter in this book is a part of the gospel of God.
The Body of Christ is first mentioned in the New Testament in Romans 12. It is not mentioned in the four Gospels or in the Acts. But Romans takes the lead to use this extraordinary term the Body of Christ. The last five chapters in Romans begin in chapter twelve with the Body of Christ and conclude in chapter sixteen with the local churches for the fellowship and communication of the Body of Christ. Do not think that the local churches are one distinct side, and the Body of Christ is another distinct side. These two sides are one entity. They refer to the same thing. The Body of Christ is unique in the universe, but it needs an expression on the earth. These expressions on the earth are the local churches. The local churches are the Body of Christ, and the Body of Christ is the local churches. This is like saying that Brother Lee is W. Lee, and W. Lee is Brother Lee. We must see that the Body of Christ is the very organism of the Triune God, and the local churches are the fellowship and the communication of the Body of Christ.
Now we need to consider what the center of the gospel of God is. When I was young, I was told that the book of Romans mainly speaks of justification by faith. In other words, the center of the book of Romans should be justification by faith. But actually, justification by faith is just an initial part of God’s salvation. When a person first learns how to read, he learns the alphabet and then some simple words. Justification by faith is just like that. It is not high or deep. It is the initiation.
Then what is the center of the book of Romans, which is on the gospel of God? The center is a person, the most wonderful Person in the whole universe. He is an unlimited, all-inclusive, and all-extensive person. In Ephesians 1 we are told that this all-inclusive and extensive person fills all in all in the universe (v. 23). The measurement of the universe has no end. No one can tell how big the universe is or how many things are in it. But Ephesians 1:23 tells us that Christ is the One who fills all in all. Such a person is the center of the gospel of God. The gospel is concerning Jesus Christ the God-man; hence, Jesus Christ the God-man is the center of the good news and the glad tidings of God to men.
This center, Jesus Christ the God-man, is mainly of two aspects: His person and His work. The entire New Testament reveals to us Christ Jesus in these two aspects. This message is on the essence of the person of Jesus Christ the God-man. We may know a certain brother or sister, but do we know him or her essentially? If there is any person on this earth who knows a certain brother or sister, it would be their spouse. A piece of metal, for example, has an outward appearance, but within the appearance there is the inward element, and within the element is the essence. Now we want to see the essence of the person of Jesus Christ. Crystallization, in our usage, is based upon the essence.
I have spent over sixty years in studying the Bible. Romans was and still is my first favorite book in the Bible. After over sixty years of study, by the Lord’s mercy and grace, I can tell you that the Lord has shown me the essence of the person of Jesus Christ. To know the essence of an orange, you have to open the skin to see the contents. First, you can see the element, then within the element, there is the essence. It is the very essence of the orange that nourishes us.
Jesus Christ is famous today on this earth. Everywhere nearly every person knows something about Jesus Christ. But who knows Jesus Christ’s essence? Some have said that Jesus Christ is God becoming a man, so He is a God-man. This is good, but do we know the essence of this God-man? He first was God and now He is both God and man, so He is called the God-man. Over sixty years ago, I read a book which used the term God-man. That was very fresh to me. I was with the Brethren for a number of years, and I heard hundreds of messages from them. They told me that Jesus Christ is our God and that one day He became a man. But they never told me that this Jesus Christ, who is God become a man, is the God-man.
But now we need to ask, “What is the essence of Christ being God? What is the essence of Christ being a man?” Let us read Romans 1:3-4: “Concerning His Son, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.” When I was young, I read through these verses again and again, but I could not understand them. I could realize something about the seed of David and the Son of God, but I did not know what the rest of these verses were about. I learned, bit by bit, year after year. Eventually, twenty years ago, I had a life-study on Romans in the winter training. I defined all the phrases and the terms in these verses. The Recovery Version is full of notes on these verses. But even if you read these verses with their accompanying notes a number of times, I am still concerned that you will not get anything. These two verses touch the essence of the person of Christ.