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Here then we have the purpose of God's predestinating grace--the creation of a new
race displaying the Creator's glory. The Apostle Paul now concludes this portion of the
epistle and deals with the final triumph of the believer.
"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
He Who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us al--how will He not also . . .
graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has
chosen? It is God Who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus who died--
more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand and is also interceding for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution
or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written `For your sake we face death
all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered'. No, in all these things we
are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us. For I am convinced that neither
death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor anything
else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus
our Lord" (verses 31-39, N.I.V.).
In verse 31 the point to note is not are we on God's side, but is He on ours and
assuredly He is, and so the only conclusion is if God is on our side who, or what, can be
against us? The answer is nothing. The cost to God for our justification, salvation and
final glorification is beyond our comprehension--"He that spared not His own Son".
There is surely here an allusion to Gen. 22: 12 where Abraham does not spare the
promised son, Isaac, and it is significant that the LXX here uses Paul's word `spared' in
verse 12. There now follows rhetorical questions. The answer to each can either be a
statement of fact or a question as the RSV text and margin show. Who shall bring any
charge against God's elect? Will God (the Judge of all) who justifies us? Who can
condemn us? Will Christ Who died for us and is now risen and at the right hand of God?
Will the One Who suffered for us, bore our sins and endured the shameful death of the
cross, will He condemn us? The answer is decidedly "NO" or all He has done is in vain.
He too is interceding for us as the Holy Spirit is (verses 27 and 34). What a strong
position we are in then! These two Persons of the Godhead constantly praying for us!
The Apostle now lists those who are our enemies and asks "Can these separate us
from Christ?" The answer again is "Certainly not". He refers to persecution and possibly
this had already fallen on the Roman church. It was already dangerous to profess
Christianity and he quotes Psa. 44: 22, "we are counted as sheep for the slaughter".
Paul's reference to "principalities and powers" are evidently the evil spirits forces under
the control of Satan mentioned in Eph. 6: with which our warfare is now concerned.
Height and depth were technical terms in astrology and later appeared in Gnosticism.
These spirit forces were believed to control the movements of the planets and the
destinies of men. "In all these things we are more than conquerors" (literally
super-conquerors). The Apostle concludes by saying that nothing in the realm of the
whole universe can sever the children of God from him.
The chapter starts with "no condemnation" and ends with "no separation". What a
triumph for the believer! And all because of the great plan of God and redeeming grace!
If only we could constantly remember these glorious truths even when pain and problems