If God be for us
Romans 1:4.
V
ERSE 31. What shall we say to these things? That is, what is the inference
from what has hitherto been said? If God be for us, if he has delivered us
from the law of sin and death, if he has renewed us by his spirit which
dwells within us, it he recognizes us as his children and his heirs, and has
predestinated us to holiness and glory, who can he against us? If God’s
love has led to all the good just specified, what have we to fear for the
future? He who spared not his own Son, will freely give us all things. This
verse shows clearly what has been the apostle’s object from the beginning
of the chapter. He wished to demonstrate that to those who accede to the
from what has hitherto been said? If God be for us, if he has delivered us
from the law of sin and death, if he has renewed us by his spirit which
dwells within us, it he recognizes us as his children and his heirs, and has
predestinated us to holiness and glory, who can he against us? If God’s
love has led to all the good just specified, what have we to fear for the
future? He who spared not his own Son, will freely give us all things. This
verse shows clearly what has been the apostle’s object from the beginning
of the chapter. He wished to demonstrate that to those who accede to the
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plan of salvation which he taught,
i.e. to those who are in Christ Jesus,
there is no ground of apprehension; their final salvation is fully secured.
The conclusion of the chapter is a recapitulation of all his former
arguments, or rather the reduction of them to one, which comprehends
them all in their fullest force; God IS FOR US. He, as our Judge, is satisfied;
as our Father, he loves us; as the supreme and almighty Controller of
events, who works all things after the counsel of his own will, he has
determined to save us; and as that Being, whose love is as unchanging as it
is infinite, he allows nothing to separate his children from himself.
It has been objected, that if Paul had intended to teach these doctrines, he
would have said that apostasy and sin cannot interfere with the salvation
of believers. But what is salvation, but deliverance from the guilt and
power of sin? It is, therefore, included in the very purpose and promise of
salvation, that its objects shall be preserved from apostasy and deadly
sins. This is the end and essence of salvation. And, therefore, to make Paul
argue that God will save us if we do not apostatize, is to make him say,
those shall be saved who are not lost. According to the apostle’s doctrine,
holiness is so essential and prominent a part of salvation, that it is not so
much a means to an end as the very end itself. It is that to which we are
predestinated and called, and therefore if the promise of salvation does not
include the promise of holiness, it includes nothing. Hence, to ask whether,
if one of the called should apostasies and live in sin, he would still be
saved, is to ask, whether he will be saved if he is not saved. Nor can these
doctrines be perverted to licentiousness without a complete denial of their
nature. For they not only represent sin and salvation as two things which
ought not to be united, but as utterly irreconcilable and contradictory.
VERSE 32. He that spared not his own Son, etc. That ground of confidence
and security which includes all others, is the love of God; and that
exhibition of divine love which surpasses and secures all others, is the gift
of HIS OWN SON. Paul having spoken of Christians as being God’s sons by
adoption, was led to designate Christ as his own peculiar Son, in a sense in
which neither angels (Hebrews 1:5) nor men can be so called. That this is
the meaning of the phrase is evident,
1. Because this is its proper force; own Son being opposed to adopted
there is no ground of apprehension; their final salvation is fully secured.
The conclusion of the chapter is a recapitulation of all his former
arguments, or rather the reduction of them to one, which comprehends
them all in their fullest force; God IS FOR US. He, as our Judge, is satisfied;
as our Father, he loves us; as the supreme and almighty Controller of
events, who works all things after the counsel of his own will, he has
determined to save us; and as that Being, whose love is as unchanging as it
is infinite, he allows nothing to separate his children from himself.
It has been objected, that if Paul had intended to teach these doctrines, he
would have said that apostasy and sin cannot interfere with the salvation
of believers. But what is salvation, but deliverance from the guilt and
power of sin? It is, therefore, included in the very purpose and promise of
salvation, that its objects shall be preserved from apostasy and deadly
sins. This is the end and essence of salvation. And, therefore, to make Paul
argue that God will save us if we do not apostatize, is to make him say,
those shall be saved who are not lost. According to the apostle’s doctrine,
holiness is so essential and prominent a part of salvation, that it is not so
much a means to an end as the very end itself. It is that to which we are
predestinated and called, and therefore if the promise of salvation does not
include the promise of holiness, it includes nothing. Hence, to ask whether,
if one of the called should apostasies and live in sin, he would still be
saved, is to ask, whether he will be saved if he is not saved. Nor can these
doctrines be perverted to licentiousness without a complete denial of their
nature. For they not only represent sin and salvation as two things which
ought not to be united, but as utterly irreconcilable and contradictory.
VERSE 32. He that spared not his own Son, etc. That ground of confidence
and security which includes all others, is the love of God; and that
exhibition of divine love which surpasses and secures all others, is the gift
of HIS OWN SON. Paul having spoken of Christians as being God’s sons by
adoption, was led to designate Christ as his own peculiar Son, in a sense in
which neither angels (Hebrews 1:5) nor men can be so called. That this is
the meaning of the phrase is evident,
1. Because this is its proper force; own Son being opposed to adopted
sons. An antithesis, expressed or implied, is always involved in the use
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of the word
i]diov, see Acts 2:6; Romans 11:24, 14:4; Titus 1:12. The
Jews, we are told, took up stones to stone our Lord, because pate>ra
i]dion e]lege to<n Qeo>n, thus making himself equal with God. Christ is
in such a sense the Son of God, that he is of one nature with him, the
same in substance, equal in power and glory.
2. Because the context requires it, as Paul had spoken of those who were
sons in a different sense just before.
3. Because this apostle, and the other sacred writers, designate Christ as
Son of God in the highest sense, as partaker of the divine nature; see
Jews, we are told, took up stones to stone our Lord, because pate>ra
i]dion e]lege to<n Qeo>n, thus making himself equal with God. Christ is
in such a sense the Son of God, that he is of one nature with him, the
same in substance, equal in power and glory.
2. Because the context requires it, as Paul had spoken of those who were
sons in a different sense just before.
3. Because this apostle, and the other sacred writers, designate Christ as
Son of God in the highest sense, as partaker of the divine nature; see
Romans 1:4.