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 thy 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 (agape) loved us.
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The agape love of Christ pervades the entire scripture both Old Testament and New. “The love of Christ” is indispensable not only to divine doctrine and our faith, not only to Romans 8, but to us personally. We are in Christ Jesus; He is our very essence; we are rooted in Jesus’ love. The grace of the Holy Spirit is even now equipping us in His agape love, so that, we may glorify the Father through His Son Jesus.
From God’s point of view human normality is no longer our life focus! Oh, it’s there all right, it is still in our substance but it is no longer who we are; we have been adopted into the family of our living, almighty, Father God; we are His workmanship created for good works; we are eternally established; we are the “Bride of Jesus!” Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
The scripture makes clear in Romans 8:9-11 that the old nature is dead when Jesus is created new in us but because of its active influence in our flesh, many teach it is not dead, causing us to distort the scriptural truth in our actual living experience. It is intentional that we should have this conflict because through it, the Holy Spirit reveals both the resurrection power of Jesus in us and our complete dependency in Jesus for our faith and His grace. Yes, we are in a Boot Camp and it is both rigorous and glorious!
I was raised, like many others, that being saved is our primary issue in this life. I knew John 3:16 and Revelation 3:20 early as a young child but didn’t understand about the glory of God being manifested in daily living. I didn’t understand salvation as just the beginning of life, not after death in heaven, but here, right now on earth! We are to grow Spiritually in Christ Jesus and experience the fullness of God internally while still wearing sandals and walking on dirt just like Elijah, and he walked on a whole lot of dirt! Our own self- flesh is at war against our new identity in Jesus.
To make matters worse, we have new contenders challenging our identity in Jesus. AI (Artificial Intelligence) is on the verge of penetrating our human culture with non-God values. As more and more AI products are released into human culture, human bias is introducing things like racism and sexual identity into our way of thinking and finding expression in daily choices corrupting God centered Truth and what righteousness looks like with natural eyes.
We now are children of God and joint heirs with Jesus. We now are able to Spiritually discern between things in this world and the things of God. We are able to separate things in this world from eternal things in Christ Jesus. We are now in a Spiritual Boot Camp learning the impact of worldly things in the context of Jesus who is head over all things in both heaven and earth. There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.
Paul closes his Romans 8 expositions dealing with these Spiritual conflicts within us, in Whom we now exist since being created new in Christ Jesus. In the previous verses Paul challenges Romans 8 doctrine with negative assertions against our new identity with: “What shall we say then to these things” in verse 31. But his emphasis here, in verse 35, is about the dogma of the word itself and the Person of Jesus related to us and not things. Here he contends Christ Jesus is more than adequate as Overcomer and guarantor of God’s truth both about who we now are in Jesus, our eternal security in Jesus, and our eternal reality moving into the future of non-time.
Paul changes focus off from our Lord Jesus and on to us, you and me, as individuals, in verse 35! Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Historical record clearly shows we are temporally vulnerable people even though born new in Jesus. Paul borrows the “we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered” quote from Jewish history in Psalm 44.
In other words, the external pressures against human life like tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, no matter the danger or sword, these externals are real and important, but the issue is what will separate us, born-again children of God, from Jesus’ agape love!
God is love. God’s agape love is in us but our human source is affection or phileo love. The importance of agape love contrasted to human philio affection is illustrated for us in John 21 by Jesus Himself.
Our resurrected Jesus appears on the shore where John, Peter, Thomas, Nathanael and two other disciples were fishing during the night not far from shore. At the break of day, Jesus appears on the shore with a charcoal fire burning with fish on it. Jesus invites them for breakfast and tells them to bring fish they had just caught with Jesus’ help.
After breakfast, Jesus takes Peter for a walk on the beach, with John trailing behind. Jesus confronts Peter with a question: “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Peter responds with: “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
In the Greek two different words are used in this text for love. Jesus uses the Greek word agape while Peter uses a different Greek word, phileo! The word Jesus uses speaks of the deep love of God while the word Peter uses refers to human affection.
A second time Jesus asks the same question: “Simon, son of John, do you (agape) love me?” A second time Peter responds: “Yes, Lord, you know that I (phileo) love you.”
Then Jesus asks a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” This time Jesus uses Peter’s word, phileo. And Peter responds: “Lord, you know everything, you know that I phileo love you.” This scriptural narrative is loaded but our focus here is the importance of agape love contrasted to phileo love.
Agape love comes within our born-again package through our indwelling Holy Spirit. When we are created new in Jesus, we are Spiritually equipped to hear with Spiritual ears the words Jesus shares with us in His Word. We have this new Spiritual capacity within ourselves as compared to the old natural phileo love Peter offers. This is the same natural love we also have to offer the Lord on our human level ... but now we are Spiritual, Jesus Christ is in us providing us with His agape love!
God has provided and is providing agape love on His level into us if we will take it and consume it at our new Spiritual level. One of the primary reasons we have conflict and tribulation, as born-again people, is we fail to grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus Himself within our own self. Christ Jesus is within us, drawing us to Himself if we but take the time to “agape love” Him, understanding His word given by the Holy Spirit concerning our new identity in Him.
In this final focus of chapter 8, Paul is putting us front and center. How do we, within our own reason and regard, look at our relationship to God the Father, His son Jesus and the Holy Spirit? Is it intentional or are there questions and maybe a little uncertainty? Is the Lord Jesus being glorified within us or weakened by doubt? If we seek Him, we will find Him.
Look at the love issue illustrated by Elijah in 1Kings chapters 17 thru 19. Elijah appears face to face with the king of Israel, Ahab: “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” -1Kings 17:1b.
About 58 years earlier, after the death of Solomon, Israel separated into two kingdoms. Since then, the ten northern tribes of Israel had at least ten different “bad” kings and fallen into debauchery worshiping idols and Baal instead of their true living God.
Elijah, the Tishbite, had traveled across northern Israel from the east side of the Jorden. He lived in rugged country and probably wore sheep skin or camel hair for a cloak. He was either from the tribe of Gad or Manasseh and had heard how Israel had forsaken God and turned to Baal and idols. Jezebel, Ahab’s wife, “owned” the priests of Asherah.
“As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”
The draught in Israel had already begun in Israel so Elijah had Ahab’s attention. Immediately after this encounter, the word of the Lord came to Elijah to retreat to the brook Cherith on the east side of the Jordan. There the Lord had ravens feed Elijah meat in the morning and evening and he drank water for the brook until it dried up from the drought. The Lord then sent Elijah to Zarephath in Sidon (Jezebel country). Elijah immediately met the poor intended widow when he arrived at the gates of Zarephath. She had only one meal left for herself and her son when she met Elijah. The Lord replenishes her jar of flour and jug of oil while Elijah remained at her house. It was here, while living with her, Elijah raised her son from death.
Three years had passed since Elijah encountered Ahab with: “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” Now the Lord instructed Elijah to return to Ahab and confront him once again: “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.”
For three years and six months the whole land suffered drought. When Ahab meets Elijah this second time three years later he says: “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?”
Ahab had been searching throughout the country for Elijah without success! Now Ahab is ready to listen and Elijah instructs: “Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
Ahab complied and had all the people of Israel including false prophets at Mt. Carmel. Elijah has two alters prepared, one for the prophets of Baal and another for himself before the Lord God of Israel. The Baal prophets went first, calling down from the heavens a fire to consume their offering. They tried for hours but failed. Then Elijah had God’s alter soused with water before calling upon the Lord God. Fire came down immediately and consumed not only the offering but the water and the rocks too!
“And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, ‘The Lord, he is God, the Lord, he is God.’” -1Kings 18:39.
Elijah then told the people to seize all the prophets of Baal and Elijah took them to the brook Kishon and killed them all.
Elijah warned Ahab that rain was coming so Ahab went quickly to Jezreel and Elijah followed him there. “And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.” Here is God’s agape love, “the hand of the Lord was on Elijah” as he ran as fast as Ahab’s horses!
At Jezreel, Ahab shared with Jezebel all that had taken place including the death of all her prophets. Jezebel immediately sends a messenger to Elijah telling him that by this time tomorrow, you are a dead man!
Now we come to the point of this illustration about the vulnerability of the man of faith who is wearing flesh!
“Then he (Elijah) was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”
Because we have divine access and recognition, it does not mean we will ride on our white stallion as the conqueror over our own flesh and the world! Our faith is vital but it is also fragile. We have already seen our faith to be the weak link in our personal relationship with our own heavenly Father, but it can also be our strength. It is up to us!
Elijah had been depending upon God for years, even before he began his journey from across the Jordan. He trusted God as he confronted Ahab, the king of Israel; he trusted God at the creek Cherith and with the poor widow woman in Zarephath. He stood before Israel and called upon God to consume the offering on Mount Carmel, alone?
And then he ran because of a threat by Jezebel. He didn’t even take the time to lay it before the Lord his God. He just ran!
We are in a stronger position than Elijah, God was with him, the hand of God was upon him, but God is in us! God has provided us with His resurrection power within our own person, He has reconciled Himself to us through Jesus. What are we now doing in us with His resurrection power? Are we reconciling our own selves back to Him? Are we departing from Him through weak faith or reigning fear? Are we certain what it is we really want? God has us in His own Spiritual Boot Camp!
The agape love of God is deep and faithful. He uses grace to grow us out of our fear and poor decisions. Elijah is now heart broken because of his own bad choice but God is faithful regardless of our vulnerabilities. Here is Elijah feeling sorry for himself under a broom tree in the middle of nothingness. How does God respond to His unfaithful servant?
Our Lord is tender in meeting the needs of His servant Elijah. “And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angle touched him and said unto him, ‘Arise and eat. And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water.’”
Our Lord, sensitive to the physical needs of his servant, gave Elijah sleep and food. He didn’t give him chastisement in the form of rebuke and failure. Yes, Elijah did leave the scene from Ahab just as Israel was ready to accept him as their own prophet, looking to him for leadership. But the Lord is faithful, nursing Elijah back to Spiritual health; He agape loves him!
Humanity is frail. The flesh needs something to fill the God shaped vacuum within every soul. God designed us this way, for fellowship with Himself through Jesus. He is a jealous God! Our goals and aspirations easily become idols obstructing faith. We are weak and cannot fulfill our intended purpose on our own. God designed us this way. We are intended to walk in agape love and thereby produce the fruits of the Spirit by being overcomers walking in faith! Our fears deprive us of faith.
God’s agape love is expressed into us through His grace. Our agape love, in Jesus, is expressed to Him through our faith.
Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes for our learning. As the world’s wealthiest King, he pursued everything the world had to offer, everything “under the sun!” This man controlled the economics of the world and used it to chase every life pleasure, exploring the wonders of life itself and everything else “under the sun.” Solomon, the wisest man in history, concluded: “I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.” Even though it is easy to get wrapped up in our own pursuits, in Jesus’ name, only in faith do we grow in grace and have fellowship with God through Jesus.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who (agape) loved us.
Scripture itself shows us how easy faith failure occurs in time. The letter to the church at Ephesus (Ephesians) was written around 62AD. The Revelation letter to Ephesus is considered to be around 96AD. Assuming the accuracy of these dates, a severe change took place in the church at Ephesus in a span of about 35 years. The words of Jesus to John tells us this church lost the agape love they first had:
“But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love (agape) you had at first. Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen; Repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”
-Revelation 2:4-5.
Jesus’ words to His church in Ephesus reveal a departure from His agape love “lavished” upon them. This is God’s example to us; this is God sharing with us the consequence of our self-life or fear. Fear is the opposite of faith but if we let God be our fear then we become overcomers.
These words of Jesus to John proclaims the divine importance of participating in God’s agape love and grace thru our faith. Grace is given to us because of God’s love; our faith is a fruit of God’s agape love. We are His children; we have received His divine gift of agape love and eternal life and nothing, nothing can separate us from the (agape) love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In the letter written to the church at Ephesus, Paul affirms our redemption through Jesus’ blood, the forgiveness of our sin, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished into us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ Jesus. This demonstrates the deep, deep level of God’s love in us. If we walk in the light as He is in the light, others will see His light in us. We are holy because He is holy! This is possible because of God’s agape love is given to us because He is in us!
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who (agape) loved us. I press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus!