Readers of Romans may be tempted to race through the letter introduction in an effort to get to the really good stuff.  After all, it’s just a bunch of preliminary material to get out of the way before diving into the deep theology, right?

Not at all!  The introduction of Romans contains a précis of the entire letter.

In Romans 1:5, Paul situates his apostleship in direct continuity with the mission of God to redeem the nations for the glory of his name.

through [Jesus Christ our Lord] we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the gentiles for his name’s sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:5-6).

This statement about his apostleship is not just a throwaway line.  He repeats this in Rom. 16:26, so it functions as a frame for the entire letter.

[my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ] has been made known to all the nations, unto the obedience of faith; to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen (Rom. 16:25-27).

Paul’s mission to bring about the obedience of faith among the nations is in direct continuity with God’s aim to redeem the nations through Abraham.

God’s original intention according to Genesis 1-2 was for humanity to spread out and fill the entire creation.  Humanity was to fill a role called “the image of God,” representing the Creator on earth.  They were to subdue creation on God’s behalf, bringing about its flourishing and overseeing the spread of shalom throughout the whole earth.

God’s intentions are subverted as humanity becomes “in the image” of creation, doing the bidding of the serpent rather than subduing it in obedience to God’s command.  The unfolding story of Genesis 3-11 is the pervasive spread of Sin and Death and the subsequent degradation of humanity.

God begins to reclaim creation and humanity by calling Abraham.  Abraham is chosen to be blessed by God and to be the agent whereby all the nations of the earth will be blessed (Gen. 12:3).

God later calls Israel out of Egypt and appoints them as a “light to the nations” and a “kingdom of priests.”  Their identity as God’s elect entails a vocation to teach the nations to worship the one true God, the God of Israel.  God’s intention in calling Israel was to restore and reclaim the nations of the earth so that the whole earth was filled with the knowledge of God.

Israel failed, however, imagining that God had chosen them instead of the nations.  They cut themselves off from the nations, refusing their vocation and compromising their identity as God’s chosen.

Despite Israel’s failure, God is still committed to his mission—both to restore the nations and to restore Israel.  God sends Jesus to call Israel to renewed faithfulness to its identity and mission to be a light to the nations.

The mission of God throughout Scripture shapes the identity and vocation of the church—God’s chosen people through whom God is seeking to restore the nations.

This mission also shapes Paul’s apostleship.  He is an agent of God’s mission to reclaim the nations of the earth so that the worship of the one true God will be universal.

And it is vital to this mission that there be a flourishing community in Rome of followers of Jesus made up of Jew and gentile who regard each other as siblings in God’s global family in Christ.