Romans 1 vs 1-6 - Corps Notes - 1
Publication Date: 1973
Victor Paul Wierwille was a Bible scholar and teacher for over four decades.
By means of Dr. Wierwille's dynamic teaching of the accuracy and integrity of God's Word, foundational class and advanced class graduates of Power for Abundant Living have learned that the one great requirement for every student of the Bible is to rightly divide the Word of Truth. Thus, his presentation of the Word of God was designed for students who desire the in-depth-accuracy of God’s Word.
In his many years of research, Dr. Wierwille studied with such men as Karl Barth, E. Stanley Jones, Glenn Clark, Bishop K.C. Pillai, and George M. Lamsa. His formal training included Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Theology degrees from Mission House (Lakeland) College and Seminary. He studied at the University of Chicago and at Princeton Theological Seminary from which he received a Master of Theology degree in Practical Theology. Later he completed his work for the Doctor of Theology degree.
Dr. Wierwille taught the first class on Power for Abundant Living in 1953.
Books by Dr. Wierwille include: Are the Dead Alive Now? published in 1971; Receiving the Holy Spirit Today published in 1972; five volumes of Studies in Abundant Living— The Bible Tells Me So (1971), The New, Dynamic Church (1971), The Word's Way (1971), God's Magnified Word (1977), Order My Steps in Thy Word (1985); Jesus Christ Is Not God (1975); Jesus Christ Our Passover (1980); and Jesus Christ Our Promised Seed (1982).
Dr. Wierwille researched God's Word, taught, wrote, and traveled worldwide, holding forth the accuracy of God's "wonderful, matchless" Word.
Romans 1:1-6
Lesson 1
The art of learning the Word of God is reading it. It will give you a feel of the whole
Word. Now, some people have a great ability and they like to memorize, you know, lots of
things. I don’t particularly ever memorize anything, deliberately. I never memorize as far
as I know anything deliberately. I know, a lot of things from memory but I don’t memorize.
And this is one reason people hear me talk at times and I say well, I’m sure this is in the
Bible but I don’t just know where it is and then people have already said well I’m sure it’s
not in the Bible. Well, they just keep looking, it’s usually there. And the reason is because
I’ve just read that Word and I’ve read it and I’ve read it and read it. I suppose I’ve read the
whole Bible maybe a hundred times just from a reading point of view. There’s a book we
got in the little book store written by my Donnie on the joy of reading or something, what’s
the name of it?
[Donnie:] So, You Want to Read Faster.
Yeah, it’s good. Enjoying what you read. People ought to sit down and just read for the
pleasure of reading. Like, we sit with each other just for the pleasure of being with each
other. Yeah, just because you’re around – like today working with you. And no money in
the world could pay for the joy that I have of just being with you. Just being out there with
you. There is no money in the world could pay me for it, because I don’t know what price
I’d put on it just to be where you are, and you to be where I am. I just get so blessed. And I
ride around and I see you guys just trimming off little shrubs, somebody else digging
stones out of the creek, you know. It just blesses my heart.
Well, the Word of God, you just have to read it, you just got to read it. You just start
and read it for the joy of it, just the joy of it. Not that you put in your head, “Well boy, I’m
going to memorize everything that’s in here, and I’m going to know everything that’s in
the Bible.” Many things in the Bible that I don’t know. A lot of things in the Word that I
still have questions in my mind about. But, generally I have an overall knowledge of the
Word, to the end that somebody says, “Well, this is what the Bible says.” Well, I usually
know whether it says it or it doesn’t say it. And if I have any questions, I reach in Daddy’s
cookie jar. That’s right. But that’s why you just read. Now, when I teach the class like this,
I just don’t always just read; I will stop to give you insights into the Word and so forth. But
I want you to just read the book of Romans.
I most likely will not ask you how many times you read it, because that’s just me. This
is not a kindergarten class, where I’m going to watch every breath you take. You know.
Give you an examination every week to see if you did your homework. Really, I never
have question about a Corps person doing homework. If I just say one thing once, I never
have any doubt about people ever asking, well why does he want me to do it? It’s not a
question, not having anybody asking a question; it’s a question of doing it. So, when I say
read the book of Romans, I’m not going to ask you next week if you read it 20,000 times.
Because you’re Corps people, and it’s up to you to do it. That’s what you’re in the Corps
for; I just expect that – great people in the Corps, that’s all. So, if I say read it, you guys
read it. And that means, with everything else you’re doing. You’ve got to find some time,
some place along the line, to read the book of Romans. At least read one verse in it or do
something.
So, Paul a slave of Jesus Christ, and boy that is really the truth. Every place where the
word “service” is used regarding the same type of context, it’s always the word doulos,
which means a slave. A slave is one who is bought, paid for and totally belongs to the
purchaser. If he says jump the slave never asks how high, he just jumps. Now, a servant
might ask how high but never a slave. That’s why every place this word in the English is
translated servant, it literally should have been translated slave. He was a slave of Jesus
Christ. And I have learned from the Word of God and from my walk in the Word, that the
more you are a slave of Jesus Christ the freer you become. It’s a paradox that has no equal.
It’s just superbly superb. The more you are in alignment and harmony with Jesus Christ the
more sold out to him, the more freedom you have in life. It’s just the truth. And I’ve seen it
in the Corps. The more the people have been sold out as slaves to the Corps, the freer
they’ve been. The more they’ve been sold out as slaves to each other in the Corps the freer
the Corps has been. It’s a principle, it just works. That’s why, people laugh at communists
on the way they’re sold out. I thrill at them. The principle is truth, they don’t believe in it,
but it’s still truth. They just sold out to destroy and uproot – and they’re so totally
committed, that they’re just absolutely sure that they are absolutely sure. And that’s why
they have great freedom, being absolutely sure. Well, it just works this way. And if you
want to go with the greatness of God’s Word, you have to make that decision the first night
of your life. When you’re born again spiritually and somebody really lays it on you from
the accuracy of the Word. You’ve got to get to the place that you say all right, I don’t give a
damn what anybody else says or does, I’m a slave of Jesus Christ. Totally sold out, totally
purchased, totally his. And no matter what anybody says, no matter what anybody thinks,
no matter what anybody does, I stay put. I want to tell you if you can make that
commitment, you’re going to have the greatest freedom in the whole world. Because
freedom, is not determined about where you are; it is determined who you are with what
you are. That’s freedom.
Paul was in jail, you know, behind bars, and he was totally free. Other people never
behind bars, are totally enslaved. Isn’t that something? Boy, and its right here, kids. That
the greatness of the commitment in the heart of the life of the way Corps resides. The next
two years, you’re going to have a wonderful amount of opportunities to cop out, you know.
You may have an opportunity to quit the Corps. The only way you quit this Corps is if you
go feet first dead, without any breath. And that you can’t do, I won’t let you die. That’s the
kind of commitment you better make. If you don’t, the Corps will get you. To the end,
where you’re going to have the opportunities to cop out, because you won’t stand the
pressure. And it’s really no pressure; it’s just thinking it’s pressure. Look, we have 24 hours
in the day. Everyday has 24 hours, right? {Right.} OK. What we do with that time is the
only important thing. Time is the only important thing that’s important. Because, the
minute that’s past now, I can’t do anything about it. It’s always an eternal now, always an
eternal now, right now. That’s why we have to make our lives count every moment. The
slavery doesn’t become obnoxious, it becomes a freedom. It becomes something you just
got to experience, you can talk to people till you’re blue in the face, so on and so forth,
never helps. But boy once you’ve made that commitment you don’t have to talk to anybody,
you don’t need for anybody to talk to you because you’ll be totally free. That’s what Paul
is talking about and this is the foundational revelation to the church, that’s why I start in
Romans.
This is the first of the church epistles. There are seven church Epistles: Romans,
Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians. That’s all there
is, church epistles. Romans stands first. And by the way, in all the critical Greek texts, all
of the Estrangelo texts, the order of the Pauline epistles are always the same. In other
critical Greek texts, Estrangelo Aramaic texts, the order of the Gospels and the rest of the
epistles vary, but never the church epistles. Always stand the same. Romans first
Thessalonians last. Yet, chronologically, Thessalonians was written first, stands last. That’s
why when people talk to me about canonization you see, what they mean, just goes in one
ear and out the other. Because, it is not that men made the decision, it is because the spirit
of God is at work within us to will and to do His, what? {Good pleasure.} All Right, so the
book of Romans was read by people and the people put it first in the reading. Then they
put Corinthians, then they put Galatians, and you all have heard me teach a hundred times
if you haven’t at least once, that the book of Romans is the first great revelation to the
church of the body. Corinthians corrects the practical error that crept into the church due to
the failure of the adherence to the revelation given in the book of Romans. Galatians
corrects the doctrinal error which crept into the church due to wrong practice, which was
contrary to the revelation given in the book of Romans. That’s why they stand like they do:
Romans, Corinthians, Galatians. Then Ephesians is the greatest positive revelation the
church has ever had. Then Philippians corrects the practical error that crept in the church
because they failed to adhere to the revelation in the book of Ephesians. Then Colossians
corrects the doctrinal error because they practice. You see, you never make a doctrine out
of something until you practice error a time then you make a doctrine out of it, understand?
Then Thessalonians stands alone. Thessalonians stands entirely alone. Because
Thessalonians deals only basically with the return of Christ. And the return of Christ was
given first in the revelation. So that people would not be discouraged, thinking that he is
not coming back. That’s why it was originally given first to the early church, because after
all he was not on earth. Some place it says that he appeared to five hundred brethren and so
for many of which still live and yet some have fallen , what? {Asleep}. That’s right. And
you see in the early church, they were looking for his return. Paul understood this because
of the revelation. Sure did. Paul understood that Christ was coming back. And it is this
knowledge of his coming back that made it possible for him to be so positively positive
day after day. Paul even believed (well he taught it, and he was right) that the imminency
of the return of Christ was almost momentary. He figured Christ could return at any time.
And the reason this gives us in the Word of God is because the body of the church, its
fullness is dependent upon God and not upon your witnessing and mine. When the body is
full, Christ will return. And that could have happened one year after Paul spoke the
Revelation; it could have happened 10 years afterwards. That’s why you’re looking always
for the return of Christ. It’s always an imminency, is that a good word? The potential, the
possibility of his return is right now. Imminency of it.
He could return right now. On the other hand, it may be a 1000 years, I don’t know.
But, we look for his return. That’s what it says, you don’t look to criticize it. You look for
his return. Because, you become what you look at, that’s right. You look at the negatives
around you and what do you become? {Negative.} You look at the immediate task of
picking up grass, weeds, or something. And you become grassy or something. But if you
look at the beauty of how people will one of these days, walk into this place and say, man
isn’t that area on the other side of the Way headquarters, isn’t that the most beautifully laid
out and gorgeous place? Then you may get blessed, because if you only look at the task
and you don’t see the goal, you will always cop out. You become what you look at. So, you
look at the Lord Jesus Christ, and when you look at him, you see his return, and then you
get happy. I couldn’t stand the pressure of this ministry if I did not believe in his return.
And if I didn’t think he’s going to pay off. That’s right, because it says he going to give us
rewards, without fail, that’s right. Because he is going to reward us for our faithfulness.
And you look unto him, that’s the goal. You look unto him and what you look at you
become like. And so, you effervesce the greatness of the love of God in renewed mind in
manifestation. You just glory in the presence of his power, because you know he’s coming
back. And we’ve got the proof in speaking in tongues and all of the rest of it. See. So, you
become a slave, a doulos. A slave of Jesus Christ. Not a slave of Christ Jesus. You become
a slave of Jesus the humiliated one. That’s what I mean when I say: you have to get to the
place where you are so sold out to the Lord Jesus Christ that you can let people walk on
your feet until they learn to walk on their own.
You and I have to bleed our heart out. Golly, if you can’t stand working 20 hours a day,
something’s wrong with you. I want to tell you something. I bet you, you can work if
somebody held a shot gun to your head, and you knew he was going to blow it off if you
didn’t work. I will bet you, you will work 20 hours a day. Read that slave trip, whatever his
name is...they can get up at four o’ clock in the morning, have a little fish, bread. Hard
bread and dried fish for breakfast, work 12 to 14 hours come back in, have a little soup. I
forget, was it fish again? Day after day and week after week and year after year for nine,
twelve years. Because he knew if he didn’t carry out the work, he wouldn’t get any food at
all, and that would be worse. Now, I will tell you something, if a man will do that because
of fear, and because somebody holds a shot gun to my head, then if I am really a believer
then I can because of love. For I have freedom to do it. I can discipline myself. To do
lovingly what I would do under a shot gun. I think love is the greater of the two. That’s
why there is discipline in the Corps. That’s right. Because, if you will only discipline
yourself because somebody is holding a gun to your head, you ain’t worth being in the
Corps. It’s because we discipline ourselves for the joy of doing it. And we just don’t get
soup and dried fish. We get chicken, mashed potatoes, peas and gizzards. He’s a doulos. A
slave of the humiliated, the Jesus side of it who is the Messiah. That’s why, you got to be
able to take it. You got to be able to stand it. If you can’t stand it, no hope kids. Nobody
else has ever stood it. If you can’t stand it there’s nobody going to stand it period. That’s
the end of it. That’s right.
It says called, doesn’t mean yelled, says called. And that literally means if I would say,
“Joe Coulter.” I would have, what? {Called}. Called, all right. You hear the Word, the
Word calls you. Got it? Same type of trip. God calls in the sense that the Word is given.
The Word is given, you respond to that Word. It’s just like my calling Doug Murphy and
Doug responds by saying, “present.” If I say, “Doug Murphy,” Kurt better not say
“present.” Because I’m not talking to Kurt I’m calling Doug. The Word of God; God called.
You understand how he calls? The Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word. And
that Word, his response to it, is what made him an apostle. An apostle is one who is sent.
Now, one he may have a sweet smelling savor, what is that fragrance? Could be a scent too.
I know, Henry Ford used to say you can give your son the cents you got working but you
cannot give to him the sense you got making your money. An apostle is one who is sent.
He’s called, he responds to the call and then he’s sent. And he has only one message he’s a
doulos of Jesus Christ. He only speaks what God says because he’s a slave to whom? To
God! You don’t go out of this ministry and speak what you want, you speak what the Word
says. That’s right. An apostle is one who is sent. It’s new light to his generation, it may be
old but its new to the generation to whom he speaks. It’s an apostle. And it’s a calling of
God, there are five ministries, apostles, what else? Prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers;
they’re listed in the book of Ephesians which is the greatest revelation ever given, that’s
why there in Ephesians. Here it just mentions one here. He is called an apostle. Called an
apostle. And when he is called as the doulos, he is separated. You know, it says come apart
and be separated and touch not something unclean. They think it’s because an unbeliever
dates a believer, that’s how copped out they are. That’s how screwed up they are about the
whole thing. How are you ever going to win an unbeliever if you don’t talk to them. And
just because a believer has a date with an unbeliever doesn’t mean it’s a sin. Bless God, it
wouldn’t hurt some unbelievers to have a date with some of our believers. They might get
to be believers (those unbelievers), that’s right. If they turn your head, then you haven’t
come to the place in the Word anyway. Used to say to me Van Wert, you know people,
aren’t you afraid somebody’s going to steal your people. That’s what every denomination
is scared of you know. They come in and they steal the Presbyterians over to the
Methodists and the Methodists steal them back to the Presbyterians. Well, the church door
in Van Wert the middle one swung both ways. In and out, I like it, that’s right. Because, I
want to tell you something, if anybody’s big enough to steal you away from this ministry.
Then either this ministry didn’t have it or you ain’t it. One of the two. And it’s good
riddance both ways. If the ministry hasn’t got it you ought to leave, right? {Right.} And if
you left because you don’t believe the greatness of this ministry you ought to go anyways.
It’s as simple as that. [I’m] never afraid of people stealing my sheep, ha. Shoot if you want
to go to hog country with no good food, bless God go, it’s your privilege. So, you just, I
just expect to have the best food in the world. Anybody who has common sense wants to
be where the food is if he’s hungry. If he’s not hungry, sit on a street curb. But you’re
separated, you’re separated.
You hear me talking about sticking out like a sore thumb. You see the little things that
go through my IBM, words like separated. Well, blessed God, if you’re separated from the
crowd, you’re going to stick out like a sore thumb. Because, the crowds, the born again,
unbelievers, even the believers are not very much in believing you know. The born again
ones aren’t walking very big and tall spiritually. Usually the most negative people you can
be with, that’s right. But we’re separated. And boy it says we’re separated, well bless God,
act like it. And walk like it. Separated in one thing what? The gospel of God. And it puts in
the genitive of case to put the emphasis on God and not upon the Gospel. The genitive of
something, it’s a figure of speech.... It’s the Gospel of God, the emphasis is on God, not on
the Gospel. The Gospel is fantastic I tell you God’s bigger than the Gospel. Henry is bigger
than the Ford. That’s right. We’re separated onto the Gospel of God. God’s gospel. Well,
bless God, if we’re separated, we’re separated, right? They like it or don’t like it we’re still
separated under the Gospel of God. And in that separation we walk united. That’s the
greatness of it. And we are slaves of Jesus Christ. That’s right. If a guy can practice seven
hours to eight hours a day for seven years to run in a race that’s over with in less than two
minutes, then I can at least give an hour a day to the Lord and maybe if I can squeeze out
the time? Come on. You did professional skating right? Did you practice 15 minutes a day?
What’s the most practice you ever put in, in a day’s time over a period of time in order to
become a professional skater?
[Student:] Seven hours a day, every day during the summer.
To skate in the winter. Now, if she’s going to do that, I may sit her down in that Corps
trailer there and make her sit for seven hours a day and do nothing but the Word. Because,
if you’re going to do it to skate on ice, and it’s usually thin ice, why not skate on thick ice
of the greatness of the word. Don’t you see why, we get to people with just plain, good
honest sense thinking. We communicate the Way Ministry because we’re open, we’re
honest and above board and we just lay it out like it is, that’s all. It says we’re a slave. But
you see we’ve never believed this of the spiritual things. We believe in ice skating,
jumping hurdles, running the hundred. That’s where people and making money, oh yeah. A
man will get up at four every morning in order to make 250,000. He wouldn’t even get up
by ten in the morning to hear you teach the Word maybe. That’s man. We’re a slave of
Jesus Christ separated, separated, we are a peculiar people. The Word says, we’re separated.
A peculiar people under God, we are separated to the gospel and the word “gospel”
means “good news.” That’s what the word means. There’s a lot of different kinds of good
news you know, could be. If you were terribly thirsty it would be good news to have a
drink coming.... If you’re hungry, it would not be good news to have a glass of water or a
bottle of pop. The different kinds of good news, don’t get hung up on it because the
theologians say the gospels is the same as the gospel in the epistles. That’s a bunch of
bologna. Anybody knows, if you’re hungry mashed potatoes are better than a glass of H2O;
but if you’re thirsty, H2O better than mashed potatoes. Different gospels, this is the Gospel
of God. God’s gospel. Which He first made known to the apostle Paul. It’s the greatest
revelation, the mystery; the mystery trip. And people it’s almost unbelievable that he never
mentions this thing until the last chapter of Romans.... Now, to him who is of power to
establish you according to my gospel. Hey, I thought it was whose gospel? In the first verse
he says it’s God’s gospel. In the last verse he almost says it’s whose gospel? Paul’s. An
apparent contradiction. When you have an apparent contradiction the first place you look is
where? In your head, do you understand what’s written? If you do, and there’s still a
contradiction, it has to be in translation; well it isn’t translation, it’s just a
misunderstanding. It couldn’t be his gospel if it wasn’t whose gospel? God’s Gospel
because God gave it by revelation as a gift. That’s why it’s his gospel. The same as what
I’m teaching you now is your gospel. Because the same gospel I am giving it to you. Now
it’s yours, who’s responsible for it? You can go out and you can say to people look, I’m a
slave of Jesus Christ and I’m teaching to you, I’m separated unto the gospel of God, which
is my gospel. And they say, “You crazy lunatic. What’s the matter with you?” Well you
turn right around and you say, “You crazy lunatic. Nothing matter with me, it’s with you.”
That’s why it’s his gospel. And the preaching of Jesus Christ is what he’s talking about.
According to the revelation of the what? {The Mystery.} Which was kept secret since the
world began but now, lately it’s been made manifest. And by the scriptures of the prophets,
after the Pentecost. According to the command the everlasting God made known to all
nations for the obedience of faith, believing. Isn’t that something? Never comes right out
and mentions it until the last verses. The Mystery. And yet that’s what it is all the way
through. You see, verse two is in parentheses. So, you read on from “separated under the
gospel of God, Concerning his son,”... The words “Jesus Christ our Lord,” hold them in
abeyance for a moment, I will read them where they belong. “Concerning his Son who was
made of the seed of David according to the flesh and marked out.” The son of God, marked
out, what? “The Son of God with power, according to spirit of holiness by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ our Lord from the dead.” There’s your text accurately. Really something.
Separated under the gospel of God, concerning His son. That’s how you’re separated under
the gospel of God, the gospel of God, concerning His Son. Concerning His what? {Son.}
Well, bless God, when are we ever going to believe it? Quit arguing, believe it. He is His,
what? {Son.} He was made of the seed of David. According to the flesh. And he was
marked out. Why? The Word declared marked out because the slave had a what on it? A
brand. A brand of cows, they belong to you. He was marked out; he was branded. Marked
out, branded. I sometimes think when we translate this we ought to put the word “branded”
there, maybe it would communicate to people. To be marked out, doesn’t communicate,
declared does not communicate. Maybe, in our culture the word “branded” would
communicate. Because, if you’re branded, you can’t get the brand off of you. It’s got to be
eternal life, because you can’t get rid of the brand. How do you like that? Isn’t that
something? Branded, marked out, the son of God with power. You think the Greek would
stand that good, Water? The marked out trip? Are you with me?
[Walter:] I don’t know the Greek word that well.
OK, good. Some of you in your set of reference will have something for declare.
What’s your center reference say? {Determined} Yeah, it’s no use even thinking about it.
And determined the son of God, no, no, no. Does Bullinger do anything with it? {Marked
out.} That’s the word? Has to be! But you see, it’s the mark that’s important that’s why I
think of terms of branded when I read this. You’ve got the brand mark on you. We’re
ambassadors right? Beloved now are we, what? {Sons of God.} There isn’t one scripture
addressed to the church that contradicts it. It couldn’t. We’re branded. And you can’t lose
the branding mark, that’s why it has to be eternal life. I don’t know, they should have,
could have, known eternal life from that verse alone. The first thing in the Word. Separated,
branded. Really great. Boy, when you were born again what happened? You were separated
right? And you got the brand on you. Walter:
[Walter:] This is the same word that is used in Acts 2:23 where he was delivered by the
determinate council and foreknowledge of God.
And it’s the determinate.
[Walter:] Right. Determinate.
They were branded too; other side, seed of the serpent
[Walter:] This was Jesus being delivered by the determinate council.
Yeah. You got it, kids. Isn’t that wonderful? Well, that’s enough. That’s the greatness
of the Word.