THE COSMIC CLIMAX
Opening Prayer
Holy Lord, may Your Word and Your Spirit empower me to live life each day in Your might and victory.
Scripture Reference
ROMANS 8:31–39
Read
More Than Conquerors
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 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? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 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. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake, we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[a]
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 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.
Footnotes
- Romans 8:36 Psalm 44:22
- Romans 8:38 Or nor heavenly rulers
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
Consider
He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.”’1
Think Further
It is impossible to imagine a more generous statement than verse 32: the God who has already given his own Son – and so God’s very self – is committed to giving us all things! How much does such a promise leave out? We are truly heirs of all things along with Christ (v 17), and it does not get any bigger. If Christians were as generous as the God in whom they believe, the church and the world might be very different places.
The emphasis is upon the confidence we may have that God is for us, that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love in Christ and that the fulfillment of God’s purpose is finally irresistible. In the short term, humans are able to resist God: what is a sin if not resistance to God and God’s purpose? The Roman Christians were almost certainly facing resistance to their faith and to their presence in Rome (v36). However, God is finally irresistible, otherwise, God would not be God. Nothing in the universe can ultimately stand against the Lord. Until that day, every Christian needs to take hold of their confidence in Christ to persevere. Faith, hope, and love are all needed.2 We can be confident that anything that happens to us will, by God’s power, be turned into some kind of good (v 28). Nothing in our experience needs to be wasted. We can live fully meaningful lives.
Where is the guarantee that these things will be? It lies in the fact that in the presence of the Father there is one human being who alone has successfully completed the human journey. Because He has done this He is the sign that others will follow. He is the firstborn over all creation,3 the first fruits from the dead,4 and a mighty harvest is to follow.
Apply
Thanks are to God for His indescribable gift!’5
Closing Prayer
Mighty God, I rest in Your lordship over all things. Sometimes life seems so confusing, but I rest assured that nothing will ever separate me from Your love.
1 Rev 21:6 2 1 Cor 13:13 3 Col 1:15 4 1 Cor 15:20 5 2 Cor 9:15
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Last Updated on August 20, 2022 by kingstar
