Verse Three

Part one:
Verse three
For through the grace given to me…
Λέγω γὰρ διὰ τῆς χάριτος τῆς δοθείσης μοι…
What grace was given to Paul? To understand this we need to look at Paul’s beginning. We first encounter Paul (Saul) in Acts 7:58 as he watches the robes of the ones stoning Stephen. In chapter 8 we see that Paul (Saul) not only agreed with what they were doing but became the Christians chief persecutor. We next see Paul (Saul) in Acts 9 leaving for Damascus with letters to arrest followers of the Way. In verse 4 we see that Paul (Saul) meats Christ. After this we are introduced to Ananias. I want you to notice what God tells Ananias, But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Acts 9:15-16 (NASB95)
The next thing that we need to see about Paul is found in 2 Corinthians 6:4-10. This is a list of the grace given to Paul and it is the basis for Paul to “prove what the will of God is”. Notice in the list of things that Paul went through that God was always faithful. By the time that Paul wrote Romans he had already written 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, and Galatians. The church at Rome would have been familiar with at least one or two of these books if not all of them. So what Paul is saying here is “because I have found God faithful do this thing”.
not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think
μὴ ὑπερφρονεῖν παρʼ ὃ δεῖ φρονεῖν
What is being spoken of here is a self assessment. It used to be known as a proper self esteem, but self esteem has grown to mean self love so I hesitate to use that term. Instead think of it as a self assessment based upon experience. To understand this we will need to consider:
1. How God sees us apart from Christ.
2. How God sees us in Christ.
3. How we are to function in Christ.
4. How that functioning enables us to grow.
5. The assets provided to us for growth.
6. How we properly assess that growth.
7. The outcome of growth.
All of this must be considered so we can think about ourselves with sound judgment. Once we understand this then we will know where we stand in our relation to God, to others and to ourselves.

Self Concept

As we begin this next section (verses 3-8) we shall do so in three parts. Part one is verse three, part two is verses four and five and part three will be verses six through eight.
We need to understand that the truth in these verses build upon and are possible because of our understanding of verses one and two. As we begin to understand our place in God’s plan and begin to act upon His will our understanding of ourselves will become clearer. This understanding grows over time; it is not an all at once kind of thing.
One last thought before we begin, our self concept is not all about us. It is a correct understanding of our place in Christ. If one tries to find oneself outside of Christ the only thing that that will be found is a shell filled by the world. If one tries to find oneself within Christ then true self will be found.