IV. Separated unto the Gospel of God

A) Paul takes his description of himself and his ministry another step higher
1) He doesn’t mean here simply “called to preach the gospel,” that was true of
all the apostles and multitudes of servants
2
B) Remember Paul is validating his authority before the Romans
1) “My authority is from God the Father Himself from before the foundation
of the world”
i. Separated- “set apart” seems to be a play on words by the apostle, as he
had been the ultimate “separatist” having segregated himself as a
Pharisee
a) Pharisee- “separated one,” “one set apart or divided from the others”
ii. Perhaps his thinking is “I once separated myself in self-righteousness,
but the truth is that God had actually separated me from before I
existed”
a) Gal 1:13-16- Ye have heard of my former separation, but then came
the true
b) God picked me and prepared me to do this work, including the
writing of this epistle to you
1. “Separated from my mothers womb”
(a) Jer 1:5- God said the same of Jeremiah
(b) John the Baptist was “filled with the Spirit from his mother’s
womb
(c) Consider also Moses, Samson, Samuel, and many others
c) The Roman epistle is full of this teaching on the foreknowledge and
predestination of God
1. Rom 8:29-30 & Rom 9:10-13
iii. Acts 15:18- Known unto God are all His works from the beginning
a) Paul’s call was no afterthought, nor was it a reaction to Israel’s
rejection of Christ
b) God had been preparing Paul for this ministry from before his birth
1. No coincidence that Paul was born in Tarsus, a center of union
between the Greek culture and the Jewish religion
2. No coincidence Paul was a Roman citizen
3. No coincidence he was educated as he was
4. No coincidence he was trained in the Law
c) All of this is actually the ultimate defense against the “Johnnie come
lately” accusations many were making against Paul
1. There also is no coincidence in the timing of Paul’s call, and the
fact that he was allowed to blaspheme and persecute
2. This is all to the glory of God and His power of effectual calling
by grace
(a) For certainly no one could argue that Paul “decided” for the
Lord, or even desired to become a Christian
3
(b) And yet by the power of the sovereign and almighty God, the
worst of men was made the best of apostles
(1) Election is only troublesome when we consider ourselves
(men), rather than simply focusing on the power of God
(2) When we only consider things from God downward,
election is the only thing that makes sense
3. This ought to be not only the most amazing, but the most
humbling things for a Christian to consider, that God knew me
and chose me before the world was, and has been preparing me
from my mother’s womb and laying out my course before me
(a) “I can hardly believe the truth concerning myself, but I have
no problem believing it concerning God” - MLJ