Romans chapter 8 is one of the great doctrinal passages of the New Testament. In this chapter Paul will lay a doctrinal basis for the gospel and for the whole Christian faith.
It has been said by some commentators that verses 1 to 3 each correspond to what Paul has already written in chapters 5, 6, and 7 respectively of this epistle. Let's look first of all at verse 1 of chapter 8:
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
The thought of condemnation has been introduced in chapter 5 for in it Paul brings before us the condemnation that came upon Adam as a result of his sin. Verse 18 of chapter 5 says:
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
By one man's sin, death and condemnation came into the world, not only upon Adam himself but also upon all of mankind. Death passed upon all men for that all have sinned. Adam, and therefore all mankind, came under the condemnation of God because of sin. But in Romans 8:1, we are introduced to a new kind of man altogether. Here we read of those who are in Christ Jesus. What does it mean to be in Christ Jesus? If I am sitting inside a bus, then everything that happens to the bus also happens to me. If the bus stops, I stop: if the bus moves forward, then so do I. I am in the bus. The same is true of the Christian who is in Christ Jesus. Everything that is true of Him is true of me. It is not just those who are in Christ but in Christ Jesus they are in the ascended man, the man at God's right hand. He is in a place of acceptance the Cross is behind Him, with its condemnation of sin. There is no condemnation against Him now.
The source of this condemnation is neither from men nor from Satan it is God who condemned man in chapter 5, and it is God now who was bringing no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.
What characterises these men in Christ Jesus is that they walk not after the flesh. I take it here that we are not speaking of spiritual Christians in contrast to carnal Christians, but rather that which is the mark of every man in Christ Jesus that he does not walk after the flesh. A different walk now marks him he walks after the Spirit. After is kata which means according to. He walks according to the Spirit. The Spirit has become the controlling and guiding influence in his life. The contrast between after the flesh and after the Spirit will be expanded upon in verses 4 and 5 of this chapter.
There is a great deal said about the Spirit in Romans chapter 8. He is mentioned only once in the whole of chapters 1 to 7, but He is mentioned no less than 18 times in chapter 8. It is the Spirit who makes the Christian what he is today.
If verse 1 takes me out of the courtroom, now that there is no condemnation, then verse 2 takes me out of the slave market. I find myself in the place of liberty. Verse 2 is the answer to what we read of in Romans chapter 6. In chapter 6, we read of sin on no less than 17 occasions a remarkable number in a chapter of only 23 verses. Notice it is not sins which are the deeds of the flesh but sin which is the principle that works within a man. Also in chapter 6, we read of the idea of death sometimes we read of death, sometimes of died and dead, but the idea of death as a result of sin is introduced 15 times. Verse 23 sums it up:
For the wages of sin is death
Romans 8:2 is the antidote to chapter 6:
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
The idea of law in this verse is that of a ruling principle. I was once in bondage to the law of sin and death but now I am free through the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. The Spirit gives life and liberty.
What does the apostle have to say in verse 3 of Romans 8?
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
This answers to what Paul has written in chapter 7. From verses 13 to 25, Paul is wrestling with two forces within him. This is not the struggle of an unbelieving man, for an unsaved man does not have this internal struggle between good and evil. But it is rather the struggle of the carnal man ie the Christian who still finds the flesh working within him. He has a desire to do good, but finds it impossible to do so. He has an abhorrence of evil, but finds that he cannot help from falling into it. Verses 18 and 19 sums up Paul's feelings:
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
In chapter 7, Paul also had a desire to fulfil the law but again he was finding it difficult. Why did he have such difficulties? The fault did not lie in the Law the law was good but Paul was weak through the flesh. We see an illustration of this weakness in John chapter 5 the man by the pool of Bethesda. The pool is in Jerusalem the holy city. It is the time of a feast of the Jews. The pool I believe is typical of the law it had fixed boundaries and it had its limitations only one person could be healed by the action of the angel in disturbing the pool. The man whom the Lord singled out had a problem he had no man to help him into the pool. The healing process was weak through the flesh.
So in Romans chapter 8:3, how does he overcome this weakness?
God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
God sent a man into the world, one who outwardly was no different from all other men in this sense He came in the likeness of sinful flesh. His was not sinful flesh but He came in the likeness of sinful flesh. He came as near to us as He possibly could. He was just like us as to His outward appearance. But God sent His own Son for sin ie as a sacrifice for sin. Sin in the flesh has been condemned because He was condemned on the cross. I am in Christ, so that sin in my flesh has also been condemned.
The first consequence of verse 3 follows on in verse 4:
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
The righteousness of the law was what every Jew was aiming for. He strove to achieve it by keeping the Law. The question is sometimes asked, Should a Christian have to keep the Law? We should ask ourselves another question, Which commandment would we like to break? Each one of the ten commandments finds a response in the language of the New Testament. In John 14, keeping His commandments is a proof of our love towards Him. But we go beyond His commandments. John 14 adds:
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
From verse 5 down to verse 27, Paul lays out before us the outcome of having the Spirit and of the beliver walking after the Spirit. A number of issues are raised:
- Verses 5 8 The mind of the Spirit
- Verse 9 The Spirit's indwelling is a proof of salvation
- Verses 10 13 The Spirit gives life
- Verse 14 Being led by the Spirit
- Verses 15 17 The assurance of being sons and heirs of God
- Verses 18- 25 Groanings after a new beginning
- Verses 26 27 The Spirit's intercession for us
1. Verses 5 8 The mind of the Spirit
Verses 5 to 8 draw the distinction between the mind of the flesh and the mind of the Spirit. Again the carnal mind in these verses is not a carnal Christian but someone who is unsaved. The portion says:
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
However morally good and upstanding an unsaved man might be, his mind is occupied with the things of the flesh. His mind is enmity against God for it is impossible for him to be anything else. The mind of the Christian is filled with the things of the Spirit. I would have to confess that my mind is often encroached by fleshly interests but we are not speaking of what may be true at times practically but what is true doctrinally.
The nature of the Christian is that he minds the things of the Spirit. What are these things. In the gospel by John, I learn that the Spirit is the Spirit of truth. He is within me to teach me the truth of God's word. If I do not seek the truth of God, there is something wrong with my profession. The Spirit is also within me to reveal Christ to me and to glorify Him. Do I treasure the things of Christ. He is within Me to show me things to come. Do I seek after an understanding of things which are yet to come?
The unsaved man who walks after the flesh cannot know these things, however intelligent he might be. They are spiritually discerned according to I Corinthians chapter 2:
9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
The eye and the ear of verse 9 is the eye and ear of the unsaved man. Verse 10, however, contrasts him though with the believer:
10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
The carnal mind can never be subject to the law of God, and they that are in the flesh cannot please God. It is an absolute impossibility.
Another effect of the Christian having the mind of the Spirit or as verse 6 says, being spiritually minded, is that we enjoy life and peace. Even without the future glories of heaven, the Christian life is a happy one. We are above the consequences of sin that fall upon so many what often start as simple pleasures become the ruin of so many. We have life, and in the Lord's own words, we have life more abundantly. If in this life only, we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied. We have hope today, and in the future.
The spiritual mind also has peace. We have peace with God because of justification by faith but we can also enjoy the peace of God through prayer and intercession. The Lord gave His peace to His disciples in John chapter 14:
27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
He whispered peace to those fearful disciples in John 20. Peace unto you. The mind of the Spirit gives life and peace.
2. Verse 9 The Spirit's indwelling is a proof of salvation
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
The first phrase in this verse underlines our previous statement that after the flesh in this chapter signifies an unbeliever and not a carnal Christian. Paul writes to the saints, But ye are not in the flesh. The proof of their salvation was that the Spirit of God was indwelling them. Outwardly, there may be little difference between a Christian and a good upright man of the world, but the Christian has something, or rather someone, that the unbeliever can never have, and that is the Spirit of God. According to the record of Acts chapter 19, the church at Ephesus consisted of people from very different backgrounds ranging from Jews to idolaters to those dabbling in black magic. But after conversion, one thing marked them all - they were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. It is impossible to be a Christian and not have the Spirit of God. We read therefore in Ephesians chapter 1, regarding the Lord Jesus:
13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise
3. Verses 10 13 The Spirit gives life
10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
In the AV, the word Spirit begins with a capital suggesting it is the Holy Spirit but in the context I believe it is our own spirit that is in view. Our spirit is life because of righteousness. The body, on the other hand, is dead because of sin. In Romans chapter 6:2, Paul tells us that we have died to sin. In verse 13 of Romans 8, we are to put to death the deeds of the flesh. Sin is no longer to reign in these mortal bodies. The body is dead because of sin, but in contrast to our dead bodies in verse 10, verse 11 begins:
11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
The Spirit now is the Holy Spirit which dwells in us if we are true believers. God raised up Jesus, the name often used on its own by Paul to highlight the humanity of our Lord. What God has done for the man Jesus, He will do for us and quicken our mortal bodies by His Spirit in the day of resurrection. Elsewhere, resurrection is seen to be the work of Christ. In John 6:54, the Lord says of him who has eternal life, I will raise him up in the last day. He is the resurrection and the life. But in Romans 8:11 God will raise us up by His Spirit. Resurrection will involve all three persons in the Godhead.
The thought here of Jesus being raised is brought out again in I Thessalonians chapter number 4:
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
What God has done for Jesus, He will do for all those who sleep in Jesus.
In verse 13, while our position is that the body is dead and that we are not after the flesh, Paul says that we still have to mortify the deeds of the flesh. We are not in the flesh but the flesh is still in us. How can we mortify these deeds? It is through the Spirit. Both Paul and Peter write about the sanctification of the Spirit. The Spirit gives the power to overcome the deeds of the flesh. If we succeed then we shall live ie we shall enjoy the spiritual life of the Christian.
4. Verse 14 Being led by the Spirit
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
We are introduced now to the sons of God. What is it that marks men out as being the sons of God? They are led by the Spirit of God. We have already seen that if we have the mind of the Spirit, we shall be interested in the word of God. The Spirit can use our reading of that word to lead us through life. He can also use the ministry of the word by others to lead us. Or He can act in His own sovereign way by so ordering our circumstances to lead us in His own purpose. We believe in the leading of the Spirit in our assembly gatherings and I am sure we have had many experiences of that leading the word spoken was just the word for us. The thoughts expressed by another in worship have matched perfectly our own thoughts at that very moment.
5. Verses 15 17 The assurance of being sons of God
but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
The word adoption in verse 15 is often translated as sonship. The word son suggests more than just relationship it carries with it the idea of responsibility and dignity. We can justly claim to be the sons of God. The Spirit creates this feeling of belonging, the strength of the family tie. We cry, Abba, Father.
In verse 16, we are the children of God. Again the Spirit of God makes this real in our hearts. He re-assures us that we are the children of God. Why does the AV say the Spirit itself, if the Spirit is a person and not a thing. It is purely down to grammar. The Greek word for Spirit PNEUMA is neuter hence the word itself.
We are sons and children now in verse 17, we are heirs:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
These verses underline for us the enormity of what God has done for us. In order to fit us for heaven, He had to deal with our sins. That He has done by the riches of His grace and He provided His Son as a sacrifice for sin. He could also have made us His servants but He has gone further in making us His sons. The prodigal would have been happy to know his father's forgiveness that he received. He would have been happy to become a hired servant he was welcomed back as a son. He would have been content with bread he got the fatted calf instead.
Here in Romans 8, we are not only sons, but heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ. We can understand why Christ should be an heir. He has purchased the world in His own blood, but it is amazing to think that God will share this inheritance with us. But where we are in this kingdom will depend on how we live today. Are we prepared to take our share of suffering with Him?
6. Verses 18- 25 Groanings after a new beginning
In the UK, we may not know much of suffering for Christ, but for many believers this is a painful experience. Is it worth it? - some may be asking. In verse 18, Paul compares present suffering with future glory and says, There is no comparison. All will be revealed in the millennial kingdom. It will bring in a world so different from what is true today. The creation that God made in Genesis 1 was perfect it was made subject to vanity and corruption by the entrance of sin. Eden's garden would be lost thorns and thistles would come forth. Adam the harvester of the fruits of Eden would have to toil in the field instead. Creation today is out of sorts it is groaning and travailing in pain waiting for it's day of deliverance. The day will be brought in by the manifestation of the sons of God.
What will be the changes brought about when creation is released from its bondage?
It will be a day of plenty.
Amos 9:13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the ploughman shall overtake the reaper
Isaiah 35:1 says:
and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
The curse of nature will be abolished:
Isa 65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
It will be an age of peace.
Mic 4:3 they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
There is no mention of the Spirit in verses 18 to 22, but He is mentioned again in verse 23 when Paul again speaks of us. It is not only creation that is groaning, longing for this day but also those who have the first fruits of the Spirit. We are waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our bodies. Today our souls have been redeemed in this coming day, our bodies will be redeemed also. Salvation will be complete. And the Spirit of God creates these longings in our heart.
7. Verses 26 27 The Spirit's intercession for us
The final action of the Spirit in this part of Romans 8 is brought out in verses 26 and 27:
26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
It is good to know that we can come boldly to the throne of grace and get help for ourselves. It is good to know that brethren and sisters are praying for us too. But then in verse 34 of this chapter, we learn that Christ also is making intercession for us. Can we expect anything more? We can because the Spirit also is interceding for us. There may be experiences come our way that we cannot put into words, but the Spirit who knows our hearts can express the to God in the language of heaven. We might request things that are not I keeping with the will of God, but the Spirit of God makes intercession, according to the will of God.
Verse 28
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
This verse is often quoted to people who are passing through difficult times in their lives it is as though Christians are telling one another, Keep your chin up God knows what is best for you. But is this really what the verse is telling us that whether things good or bad come our way, they are all working together for our good? It is no doubt true that we can learn from life's experiences and perhaps be strengthened by them, but is our God really an ogre who is causing us to pass through hardships for our good. If I contract a serious illness, or if I suffer the loss of a loved one, or if I lose my job, is it all for my good? As I said, this I find hard to believe. What else can it mean then? Are not the all things of verse 28 to be explained in greater detail in the two verses that follow? There are five things in total that are true of them that love God. This description would include every Christian. We love Him, because He first loved us. We are also the called according to His purpose.
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
What is meant by God's foreknowledge? Some would tell us that God was able to look down the vista of time and know that one day in 1965 Walter Robertson would trust His Son, and in the light of that foreknowledge, God chose me. But that would mean that salvation is no longer a sovereign work of God, for God is being called upon simply to rubber stamp my decision to believe. Rather, I find it hard to separate the foreknowledge of God with the election of God. Peter, indeed, joins the two together in I Peter chapter 1, verse 2:
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father
Ephesians chapter 1 tells us when this election took place we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. It is wonderful to know that, although my interest in God began only when I was saved, God's interest in me began before the foundation of the world.
Election is often a taboo subject amongst us because we are afraid of where it might lead us, but it is everywhere taught in scripture that God has chosen people for Himself. We cannot understand it fully, but we should be thanking God that we are amongst His elect.
But others quoting the Westminster Confession of faith surely take things too far. This confession, upon which the Church of Scotland is supposed to be based, states the following:
III. By the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life; and others foreordained to everlasting death.
If it were true that some were foreordained to everlasting death, then could a man not stand before God at the Great White Throne and challenge God, You have no right to judge me, for you chose me to be here, therefore I had no choice in the matter. The argument is a just one that even God could not deny, if it were true. But men have a free will and they have made a wilful choice not to believe.
So God has foreknown us. Foreknowledge has to do with persons. The next step is God's predestination, and that has to do with our position or place before God. In Romans 8:29, we have been predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son. This is God's great purpose of the ages to fill the heavens with people just like His Son. Going back to Genesis chapter 1, God made Adam in the image and likeness of God. God made man to be a reproduction of Himself. But that likeness was marred by the fall. But what God lost then, He has regained through the Christian today. We have been chosen in Him that we should be holy and without blame two of the characteristics of His Son. This will be fulfilled perfectly when we get to heaven. We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. But it ought to be our aim to become more and more like Christ today. He as left us many examples to follow. How are we to love another? He taught His own That ye love one another, as I have loved you. His love was causeless, endless, and sacrificial - we are to follow His example in love. We are to follow His example in restoring a fallen one. If I then your Lord and master have washed your feet, ye also should wash one another's feet. We are to follow the example of divine unity. He prays for His own in John 17, That they may be one, even as we are one. Did the Son ever go in the huff with the Father, was the Father ever not speaking with the Son? Such thoughts are a nonsense. So the divine standard should be the standard of our unity today. What about His joy? Do we share His delight in doing the Father's will? I delight to do thy will, o My God. Do we share His delight in divine revelation? In Luke chapter 10, He prayed thus to the Father:
21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.
Where else does predestination take us? It would take us to Ephesians chapter 1, verse 5:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
This is another example of predestination bringing us into a position. God has predestined us to the position of sons. In the parable of the prodigal, the son would have been content simply to be received into the Father's house as a hired servant. But the Father will have none of it. He announces to his household, This my son was dead and is alive, was lost and is found. He received the best robe, the ring on his finger, shoes on his feet, and sat down to eat the fatted calf. The story of the prodigal is a perfect illustration of the first phrase of verse 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace. To be received back at all was grace. But all he hoped for was bread he got the fatted calf. He looked for a place as a servant he was received as a son. This was the glory of his grace. Then the father called upon the household to rejoice with him and so they did they began to be merry. God making us His sons is something He did not have to do if He simply wanted us to be in heaven as those who are forgiven. But He has made us His sons according to the good pleasure of His will. He did it because it was His pleasure to do so.
Verse 11 of Ephesians 1 takes us further into millennial blessings:
In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
We can understand how that Christ should be the head of this kingdom that God should gather up everything under His Son. But what really is amazing is that God would want to share this glory with Christ. We will share in His inheritance. Romans 8:17 tells us, If children then heirs, heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ.
Step three in God's list of blessings is His call It is stated simply Whom He called. Many are called in the gospel but few are chosen. I believe, however, the called in this verse are those who have heard the gospel call and have responded positively to it. They are the called of God.
Paul now goes on to step 4 Them He also justified. We have been declared righteous before God. The epistle to the Romans tells us of four things that were needed before we could be justified. Romans 3:23 is a much quoted verse in the gospel:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
This is a universal statement regarding the condition of mankind. But the following verse is beautiful, regarding those who have been saved:
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
If God moved on our behalf at all, it would have to be by grace. By grace are ye saved, through faith.
In Romans 5:9, we are also justified by His blood:
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
This incidentally is one of the proofs that we shall not go though the wrath of the tribulation, for we shall be saved away from wrath through Him.
In Romans 5, verse 1, we are justified by faith:
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
One element of justification that is often overlooked is His resurrection. His resurrection is as much a part of the gospel as His death. We needed the assurance that the One who bore our sins on the cross now sits in the presence of a holy God. He has not entered heaven with our sins even He could not do that our sins have gone.
Outside of Paul's writings, there is one further element justification by works according to James. These works are not the reason for faith but rather an evidence of faith.
The final element in these two verses has to do with glory:
and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Being glorified is surely something that awaits a future fulfilment, yet on God's calendar, it has already been accomplished. The process is complete.
How does the apostle sum up these three verses above?
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
The Christian can draw great comfort and assurance from these five things listed above. His position is unassailable. If God be for us, who can be against us? Paul gives us a further reason in the verse that follows:
He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
What did it cost God to bring us to Himself as His sons? It cost Him his own Son. We can understand it when Peter tells us that God spared not the angels that sinned they are reserved in everlasting chains until the day of judgment. The angels deserved this for their disobedience.
We can understand it when we read that God spared not the old world the men of Noah's day. Their wickedness had filled the whole earth. But God's own Son had committed no sin He was without spot or blemish yet God did not spare Him. What led God to make such a sacrifice? God delivered Him up for us all. Here is proof indeed of God's love for us.
Verse 34
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
We have seen already the intercession of the Spirit now we learn of the intercession of the Lord. In Hebrews 7, we learn that He ever liveth to make intercession for us. He is far better suited for this task than any High Priest who went before Him
- He ever liveth He will never be replaced by another priest who may not be sympathetic to our cause.
- Unlike the priests of old, He is not pre-occupied with sins, for He has dealt with them once and for all and sat down for ever at the right hand of God.
The chapter ends by referring both to the love of Christ and the love of God. Is there anything that can separate us from this divine love? There is nothing in heaven or earth that can separate us from such love.
