Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 84:2 (Fall 2022)
Article: The Gospel Of God Concerning His Beloved Son: Further Steps On A Well-Traveled Text
Author: David B. Garner

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The Gospel Of God Concerning His Beloved Son:
Further Steps On A Well-Traveled Text

David B. Garner

David B. Garner is Professor of Systematics at Westminster Theological Seminary.

In Rom 1:3–4, the apostle Paul deploys a theologically rich formula concerning Christ Jesus, the Son of God. With some exceptions across history, early interpreters received this christological formula as an assertion of ontology—Christ’s humanity and divinity—while more recent interpreters have understood the apostle Paul to speak with reference to the two states of Christ—his humiliation unto exaltation. In this article, we discover how the distinctive reference to King David further elucidates this frequently considered christological formulation. To wit, the reference to David reinforces a redemptive historical interpretation, wherein the two states of the Son of God with reference to their Davidic covenantal antecedent are foremost in Paul’s mind. That the incarnate One is the eternal Son of God is assumed by the Apostle to the Gentiles. That the Son of David becomes Son of God in power at his resurrection is his supreme concern, because the historical and gospel-critical exaltation of David’s greater Son is what yields saving effect for all the people of God, both Jews and Gentiles. The character of that salvation and inheritance secured by the Messianic Son draws overtly on its OT prophetic backdrop, and in particular, on the integral lineage and attainment features of its Davidic covenantal expectations. This study illumines how this is so, and why it matters for Paul’s proclamation of the gospel.

I. Romans 1:3–4: A Brief History Of Interpretation

What most scholars believe to be a pre-Pauline confession embedded in the prologue of Romans, Rom 1:3–4 has magnetized attention since the earliest years of the church. Two prominent approaches to the Son of God put forth in Rom 1:3–4 have dominated the interpretive landscape: the ontological interpretation with reference to the hypostatic

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union (e.g., Calvin and Hodge) and the redemptive-historical interpretation with reference to the states of Christ—his humiliation and exaltation (e.g., Vos and Gaffin).

Though these divergent accents surface across church history, “most modern readings have used the verses to support a two-stage enactment of Jesus’ messianic career, [while] ancient interpreters saw the verses as providing evidence for the two natures of Christ.”