Through the Bible in One Year

Day 266

Romans 8:31-39

We now come to the conclusion of the second quarter of Paul’s letter to the Roman church.  Paul concludes this quarter and chapter 8 by telling us that this new life of liberty from the law of sin and death, that is life a glorious hope and glorious power, with the glorious power come through spirit-led prayer and the providence of God.  But more importantly this new life of glorious hope and glorious power enables us to face the future without fear.

What, then, shall we say in response 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, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died —more than that, who was raised to life —is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.—8:31-34

The implications of the five certainties, that they discussed previously, are that nothing can come between us and God (John 10:28-29).  We return to the law-court: no opponent can have any weight (Romans 8:31), and no charge can be brought now that God has justified us (Romans 8:33).  The reason no one can accuse us is that God justifies us.  Paul also adds another reason in verse 32: God has done the hard work in sending his Son to us, and so what remains (giving us all other things) is easy by comparison.  We also learn for the first time in the letter that not only has Christ died for us and risen from the dead but he is seated at the right hand of God and praying for us (Hebrews 7:25).  Through these prayers Jesus acts as our defense advocate.  He has died for us; therefore, no charge can be brought against 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 any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.—8:35-39

Paul then supplies two lists of events that may cause us to think that Christ no longer loves us or that we can be separated from God.  The individual points in the first list are general, except that “sword” (Romans 8:35) refers probably to capital punishment from the Roman Empire.  Paul’s quotation from Psalm 44:22 in Romans 8:36 reinforces the point that these things may be expected for the people of God (indeed were expected centuries earlier when the psalm was written).  Christians not only survive these things because we have the guarantee of eternal life, but we are more than conquerors because we will share in the glory of Christ.  The items in Paul’s second list also have no power over us, as is implied by Paul’s conclusion, “nor anything else in all creation” (Romans 8:39).  Death, life, angels, demons, present, future, powers, height and depth—none of these can have any effect on us; they are all part of God’s creation, and so logically they could not dent the plans of the Creator, who is Lord over them.

To finish up this last section of chapter 8 we are going to come back to verse 37, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”  The entire phrase “more than conquerors” is one word in Greek—“hupernikomen.”  This compound word appears once in the entire New Testament, as part of this verse.  “Huper” means “over, above,” and “nikomen” means “victors, conquerors.”  Paul is saying that rather than being “victims” of our suffering and circumstances in a sinful world, we as followers of Christ are “over and above victors” or “super victors.”  Rather than barely getting in life’s difficult circumstances, we as Christ’s followers are “overwhelming conquerors.”  That is because Jesus won the victory for us through his death on the cross.  Because of his victory, we can now have spiritual salvation and the presence of the Holy Spirit living in us, supplying the power for us to be “more than conquerors” through life’s struggles.  And that is where we will pick up tomorrow as begin the third quarter of Paul’s letter to the Roman church, which is dealing with how all Israel will be saved.

Tomorrow’s Bible Readings:

Isaiah 43:14-45:10, Ephesians 3, Psalm 68:1-18 and Proverbs 24:1-2