A Trinitarian Gospel in Romans 1:1-4

1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh, 4and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.

- Romans 1:1-4 (ESV)

Unwritten Trinitarianism

It is a common objection to the doctrine of the Trinity to assert that the Scriptures do not explicitly state that God is one in essence and three in persons. Some will insist that the Johannine Comma does,[1] though this remains debatable. Nonetheless, Fred Sanders reminds us that “the sense of Scripture is Scripture”,[2] and that even if Trinitarian doctrine is unwritten but implicit in the text of Scripture, the doctrine itself is Scriptural.[3]

Paul’s writings are obliquely Trinitarian, since he never argues dogmatically for the doctrine, but is usually laying out specific themes in his epistles in a Trinitarian structure.[4] Therefore, the doctrine is present but substructural, found in smatterings of texts and providing the underlying framework all through his letters. Romans 1:1-4 is such a text.

The gospel of God

Very quickly one sees in v 1 that the gospel is “of God”. The Greek word for God, Theos, is rendered in the possessory form, Theou, thereby indicating God’s possession of the gospel. As Sproul was so fond of saying, the gospel belongs to God. He originated it, He authored it and He owns it. Yet Paul is not writing about God in the absolute sense, as in the triune Godhead. In v 3, he indicates that God in v 1 refers to the Father, by calling the Son “His Son” (v 3).

A common misconception in modern Christianity is that Jesus Christ was at odds with His Father with regards to the salvation of His people. Therefore, He independently produced the idea of the gospel, went to the cross and died to turn away the wrath of the Father upon His beloved people. Nothing could be further from the truth. Christ tells us Himself that the gospel originated from the Father, for it was the Father who so loved the world that He gave His Son (John 3:16). The gospel was authored by the Father, because He loved the world despite its great sin against Him. Therefore, we see that the gospel is from the Father.

The gospel concerning His Son

In v 3, Paul writes that the gospel is concerning God’s Son, peri autos yhios. The language quite clearly provides the idea that the gospel from God, is about His Son. As Ursinus was keen to say,

“Or, we may, in accordance with the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth questions of the Catechism, define the gospel to be the doctrine which God revealed…teaching that the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption…satisfying for the sins of the human race, restoring righteousness and eternal life to all those who by a true faith are ingrafted into him, and embrace his benefits.” (emphasis mine)[5]

I left out much of his definition for brevity, but encourage all to read in greater depth questions 18-20 of the Heidelberg Catechism and this portion of his commentary in full.

According to the language of the Apostle and from the understanding of the Reformed, the gospel, while from the Father, concerns and teaches on the Son. Its main character is the Son incarnate, Jesus Christ. Its main message is the work that the Son has done. Its main objective is to direct people to faith in the Son. The gospel is about the Son.

Promised through the prophets, raised in the Spirit of holiness

The third piece of the puzzle Paul places involves the Holy Spirit. It is not as direct as the first two persons of the Godhead, but it is as present. First, he writes that the gospel from the Father and about the Son, was “promised beforehand through the prophets in the holy Scriptures” (v 2). We know from retrospective identification that it was the Spirit particularly who inspired the prophets in their prophecies (2 Peter 1:21). Therefore, though the gospel was from the Father concerning the Son, it was promised in the Spirit as He inspired the old men to proclaim the promise of salvation from the seed of the woman (Gen 3:15). Furthermore, in v 4, Paul insists that the capstone of the gospel, that glorious resurrection of Christ, was done in the Spirit of holiness.

Though more indirect and obscure,[6] the Spirit’s role in the gospel is equally present as the Father’s and the Son’s, for the gospel is in the Spirit. We see that even today, where the gospel is preached by the Spirit through sinful men to sinful men, bringing many to faith in the Son; the gospel is given in the Spirit.

A Trinitarian gospel

Putting all the pieces together, we note how the gospel that Paul introduces in Romans 1:1-4 is so inherently Trinitarian that it can be nothing but Trinitarian. It is not as though Trinitarianism is one of many interpretative options to understand the gospel – it is the only and necessary way to correctly grasp the true gospel.

This is because only with the Trinity as the overarching framework within which the gospel operates, can the gospel be said to be from God, about God, in God. The effects of this Trinitarian gospel is also Trinitarian: because of the gospel, Father, Son and Spirit is “God above us, God [amongst] us, God within us”.[7] Therefore, though Paul’s writings are obliquely Trinitarian, the doctrine of the Trinity is so present that we must necessarily conclude the faith once for all delivered to the saints is first and foremost Trinitarian.

One step further

A further step will reveal that the Trinitarian nature of the gospel with regards to its origin, content and delivery, is first rooted in the antecedent nature of the Godhead. Since the Father is the Unbegotten, all things proceed from Him. Since the Son is the Begotten, all things proceed through Him. Since the Spirit is the Breathed, all things proceed in Him. Therefore, it is appropriate to say the gospel is from the Father, about the Son and in the Spirit, because the work of the gospel is from the Father, through the Son and in the Spirit; opera ad extra always reflect the ad intra realities of God.

For all who will believe

Who then, is the gospel for? Paul completes the circle with v 16: the gospel is for everyone who believes, the Jew and the Gentile. Thus, the gospel is from God, about God, in God, for all who will believe.

In the final analysis, the gospel is the news of the triune God’s work, in saving for Himself a people from all nations and tongues. Paul’s gospel was Trinitarian and any message that is not must necessarily be the kind of message he condemns (Gal 1:8-9).