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Preaching the Living WORD through the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4:2 - |
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THE INSEPARABLE
LOVE OF GOD IN CHRIST (Rom 8:35-39) 4/13/08 Pastor I. NO HARDSHIP CAN SEPARATE
US FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST (35-36) A. Paul asks another
rhetorical question concerning the “love of Christ.” His point is that
nothing will be able to separate the believer from the love of Christ (35). 1. The word
“separate” (chōrízō) has various usages in the
Scriptures. a) The basic
idea of chōrízō is to put apart or sever from
something or someone. It can mean divorce, a separation in marital status (Mt
19:6; 1Co 7:10, 11, 15). It can imply holiness, a separation from sin (He
7:26). It can imply death, a separation of the body from the spirit (Jas
2:26). b) Here in Ro 8:35, chōrízō
means that there will never be a separation of the believer’s
relationship from Christ and His love. 2. Paul
emphatically lists items that cannot sever the believer from the love of
Christ. a) Tribulation
(thlípsis - to crush, press) can be outward pressures that the
believer faces when serving the Lord (Ac 14:22; 2Co 4:17; Ep 3:13). b) Distress (stenochōría -
tight or restricted pressure) can refer to the inner anguish that
believer’s experience (2Co 6:4). c) Persecution (diogmós - being
pursued or chased) is the hostile response of the world against Christ
and His followers (Ac 8:1; 13:50). d) Famine (limos) refers to hunger or
want of food through poverty or a catastrophe (Ac 11:28). e) Nakedness (gumnótês) is
being destitute of convenient or decent clothing (2Co 11:27). f) Perils (kíndunos) are
dangerous and threatening circumstances (2Co 11:26). g) Sword (machaira) is a metonymy
that includes both threats of violence and acts of violence, even including
death (Lk 22:52; Jn 18:10; Ac 12:1-2; He 11:37). 3. The
list just mentioned (increasing in intensity) cannot separate believers from
the love of Christ. Indeed, they are part of the “all things” that God causes
to work together for their good (Rom 8:28). B. In order to
show that the believer experiences constant tribulation with great intensity,
Paul quotes Psa 44:22 from the LXX (36). 1. Psa
44 is a lament of God’s people with a history of unequaled disaster (Psa
44:9-22). The psalm is also a remembrance of God’s people with a history of
unequaled divine victory (Psa 44:1-8). Based on these past victories, David
cries out to the Lord for deliverance (Psa 44:23-26). 2. Paul uses verse 22 to point out that
God’s people experience intense tribulation. They experience it continually
(“all day long”), with great intensity (“sheep to be slaughtered”), on behalf
of God (“your sake”). 3. Paul himself experienced all of these
difficulties and dangers (2Co 11:23-28), yet none of them separated him or
other believers from the love of Christ. II. NOTHING CAN CONQUER AND
SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST (37) A. Paul’s point
is that just as there is unequaled tribulation for the believer, there is also
unequaled victory. B. Because the believer is a son of God,
guaranteed a future inheritance and glory, as well as enjoying the eternal
favor of God, he is considered “super-victorious.” The believer is a
“super-conqueror” through Christ. C. The Greek word is hupernikáō
and is made up of two words; hupér which can mean over and
above, and nikáō, which means victory, to conquer or
prevail (Ro 12:21; 1Jn 2:13, 14; 1Jn 4:4; 1Jn 5:4, 5). Together they mean one
who does more than conquer. It is one who brings about utter defeat and
therefore is a super-victor and super-conqueror. D. It was used in the Dissertation of
Epictetus of the warrior who was unconquerable outwardly and inwardly. Not
even the threat of death could cause him to deviate from the right path (I,
18,22). E. No one or no thing can conquer the
believer and separate him from the love of Christ (Jn 10:28-29; Ro 8:31-34).
This was accomplished through (día with the genitive - agency)
the agency of the One who loved us. III. NOTHING IN GOD’S UNIVERSE
CAN SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD (38-39) A. Paul’s
conviction of the love of God is literally translated, “have been and
continue to be convinced” (perf pass B. Paul listed the extreme hardships of
tribulation and persecution that cannot separate the believer from the love
of God (35-37). Paul now elevates the list to anything in God’s universe
cannot separate the believer from the love of God (38-39). 1. “Death”
(thánatos) is first on the list and here refers to physical
death. It is appointed for man to die because of his sin. But, a believer
does not have to fear death because in death the believer is ushered into the
presence of God (2Co 5:8-9). Christ possesses the power over death because of
His work on the cross (Rev 1:18). Therefore, for the believer, death is
swallowed up in victory (1Co 15:54-55). 2. “Life” would encompass anything that
could befall the believer, even up to the point of death. Believers are in
the presence of God both in life (Mt 28:20) and in death (2Co 5:8-9). 3. “Angels” can refer to the general category
of angels (fallen or unfallen). Paul used the term when he safeguarded the
gospel in Gal 1:8. Even if an unfallen angel hypothetically were to fall and
oppress the believer, he could not be separated from the love of God. 4. “Principalities” most likely speak of
fallen angels ( 5. “Things present … and to come” represent
everything a believer is experiencing or could possibly experience under any
scenario. God causes all these things to work together for good (Rom 8:28).
Good for the believer would have to include never being separated from the
love and presence of God. 6. “Powers” (dúnamis) are used
figuratively of persons in positions of authority and power. This could refer
to human and/or celestial powers (cp. Eph 6:12). In either case, the believer
need not fear. C. Paul concludes
with metaphorical language to account for everything and anything that one
might think of that could separate the believer from the love of God (39). 1. Neither
“Height, nor depth” could refer to the whole measurement of God’s visible and
invisible universe (Pr 25:3). There is no place of habitation where a power
could undermine God’s love for the believer (Ep 3:18). 2. In fact, there is absolutely no “other
created thing” in God’s realm of creation that can sever believers from God’s
love. D. The conclusion
of all that has been said in this last section of Romans 8, is that there is
not one thing that can separate the believer from the love of God. The
believer should be totally convinced of it. E. Note that both the Father (vs. 39) and the
Son (vs. 35) eternally love the believer. It is impossible for the love of
either to fall short. The fact that the Son’s love is equivalent to the
Father’s love implies the deity of Christ. In either case, it assures the
believer that God’s love will never fail (1Co 13:8a). IV. APPLICATIONS A. Only Unbelievers are Separated
from God 1. It is
difficult to comprehend all the grace that our grace-giving God has given the
believer. 2. However, the sad reality is that the
unbeliever, who rejects of God’s grace in Christ, will be eternally separated
from God’s grace and love. B. The Believer’s Greatest
Foe Cannot Separate us from the Love of God 1. The
believer’s greatest foe is Satan. 2. Though he is more powerful than the
believer, ultimately, he cannot conquer the believer. C. The Believer Cannot
Separate Himself from the Love of God 1. The
Scriptures state that no “created thing” can separate the believer from the
love of God. 2. The believer is a “created thing” and
therefore a believer cannot separate himself from the love of God. 3. Furthermore, there can be no sin that
separates the believer from the love of God. The reason is that Christ died
for and forgave all of our sin (past, present, and future) the moment we
trusted Him as Savior. This would include the sins that some believe will cause
us to lose our salvation. a) May not
true believers, by reason of their imperfections, and the many temptations
and sins they are overtaken with, fall away from the state of grace? b) A. True believers, by reason of the
unchangeable love of God, and his decree and covenant to give them
perseverance, their inseparable union with Christ, his continual intercession
for them, and the Spirit and seed of God abiding in them, can neither totally
nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but are kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation. ( D. Imperfect Thinking Can
Only Separate us From Complete Joy 1. Even
if a believer’s thinking is imperfect concerning God’s love, God’s love does
not change. 2. Such thinking may rob the believer of his
rightful joy, but it cannot rob him of the faithfulness of God’s love (1Jo
4:16-19). |
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