Who can separate us from Christ’s love?
- Trouble / Distress
- Persecution / Hunger
- Nakedness / Danger / Sword?
For I am convinced that neither:
- death nor life
- angels nor principalities
- things present nor things to come
- anything above nor anything below
- nor anything else in all creation
can separate us from the Lord of God in Christ Jesus.
What can separate us from Christ’s love? “Nothing and no one” is the simple answer.
Notice the way Paul arranges these 7 physical threats and 10 spiritual dimensions.
Notice how he pairs the spiritual dimensions but leaves “powers” on its own. Why? Dunno, you figure it out.
But the baseline message is that nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing (to clip the words or a song) can separate us from His love.
Paul includes another interesting little element.
As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long. We are thought of as sheep to be slaughtered.” [Ps. 44:22.] No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through the one who loved us.
Romans 8:36-37
Why does Paul include this quote from Psalm 44:22. Clearly he is thinking of the threats arrayed against us and the fact that we are “being killed all day long”. But then adds “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through the one who loved us.”
Let’s clip the whole section from the Psalm. So often we just look at the portion that was quoted. But the writers of the New Testament are meaning for us to recall the whole passage. That is because they know the readers have memorised it all.
Would not God discover this? For He knows the secrets of the heart. No, but for Your sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord? Arouse Yourself, cast us not off forever! Why do You hide Your face and forget our affliction and our oppression? For our lives are bowed down to the dust; our bodies cleave to the ground. Rise up! Come to our help, and deliver us for Your mercy’s sake and because of Your steadfast love!
Psalm 44:21-26
Notice the section of the Psalm begins with a question, like Paul’s thought. Then it closes with “love” and included are the threats to our very existence. Has Paul taken his thought from this part of the Psalms? Paul’s section is heavily laced with the Love of God. What can separate us? More than conquerors through Him who loved us. Such an encouraging passage,
God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.
Ian Vail