The Great Eight - Pt 37

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:31-37 ESV).

This phrase, “the love of Christ,” that Paul uses in this series of questions is very powerful. There are three specific layers of meaning in the use of this language. First, it is an indication that Christ is loving us now. God’s love is not a memory. It is a moment-by-moment action of the living Son of God. Let me illustrate it a bit for you. Someone who has experienced the death of a loved one might say that “nothing” will separate them from that love. They might be talking about how powerful and precious the memory of that loved one is in their life; however, they cannot be with them. Christ is alive and is still loving us now. He is at the right hand of God and is therefore ruling for us. And he is interceding for us, which means he is seeing to it that his finished work of redemption does in fact save us hour by hour and bring us safe to eternal joy. His love is not a memory. It is a moment-by-moment action of the omnipotent, living Son of God, to bring us to everlasting joy. The second layer of meaning is that the love of Christ is effective in protecting us from separation. It is not a universal love for all, but a particular love for his people. It is Christ’s love for the church, his bride (cf. Ephesians 5:25). Christ has a love for all, but he has a special, saving, preserving love for his bride. You know you are part of that bride if you trust Christ. Anyone, without exception, who trusts Christ can say, I am part of his bride, his church, his called and chosen ones. These are the ones who are kept and protected forever no matter what. And, the third layer of meaning is that this omnipotent, effective, protecting love does not spare us from calamities in this life, but brings us safe to everlasting joy with God. Paul makes this crystal clear in verse 35: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” No. But someone might say, “Oh, but what he means is that God will not let these things happen to his bride.” That is not the case. However, Jesus is mightily loving his people with a powerful love that does not always rescue us from calamity but preserves us for everlasting joy in his presence even through suffering and death.