Romans 8:37-39
~16 min read
SERMON OUTLINE
- I. Can Death Separate Us From The Love Of God?
- II. Can Life Separate Us From The Love Of God?
- III. Can Angels, Principalities And Powers Separate Us From The Love Of God?
- IV. Can Things Present Or Things Future Separate Us From The Love Of God?
- V. Can Height Or Depth Separate Us From The Love Of God?
- VI. Can Any Other Creature Separate Us From The Love Of God?
TRANSCRIPT
hidden page for editing transcriptI greet all of you in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
In our previous message, we have considered how heresies and strange teachings had crept into the church at Colosse. Remember on one hand there were Gentiles who were influenced by the Greek philosophical system, very similar to Gnosticism in the second century. They believed that God was good and matter was evil. Since God was good, He could not have created a world that was evil. So He must have created this world using lesser gods, and since God was good, He could never become a man because man was evil.
Therefore, they rejected God as the Creator. And not only that, they also rejected the humanity and deity of Jesus Christ.
On the other hand, there were Jews who were influenced by the legalism of Judaism. If Jesus Christ was a created being according to their understanding, then He could not be God, and He alone was not sufficient for salvation. And so circumcision, the keeping of the Jewish dietary laws, and the observation of holy days were necessary for salvation.
Essentially, they were attacking the person of Jesus Christ — who He really was — and that was the centre and foundation of the Christian faith. So here in Colossians 1:16–17, Paul used this passage to explain that nothing was further from the truth.
Far from being a created being, firstly Paul said Jesus was the God of all creation. Beginning with verse 16: "For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven" —which means the universe above, the sun, the moon, and the stars.
"And that are in earth" — which means everything on this earth, the mountains, the sea, the land, and all the living creatures.
“Visible and invisible” — things we can see with our eyes and things we cannot see with our naked eyes.
"Whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers" — this was a reference to the different ranks of angels. In other words, far from being an angel, Jesus created the angels.
“All things were created by him, and for him” — everything began with Him and everything would end with Him. He was the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. The entire creation points to His glory and one day everything would give Him the glory.
Secondly, Paul said Jesus existed before all the creation. Because before the universe was created, He already existed.
Verse 17: "And he is before all things." Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." In the Greek language, ex nihilo, which means God created everything out of nothing. Jesus Himself said in John 8:58: "Before Abraham was, I am."
Thirdly, Paul said, as the Creator, Jesus controlled the entire universe and by Him all things consist, which means all things were held together by Him.
Take a moment and consider this: what happens if He is not holding everything together? The entire universe would be chaotic. If the earth draws closer to the sun than it is, you and I will be burnt to death. If it draws further away from the sun than it is, we will be frozen to death. If the earth stops rotating for just one second, there will be massive tsunamis and earthquakes. The entire universe will collapse and everything would die.
Now having said that, all of us may believe that Jesus was the Creator. He existed before all the creation. He controls the entire universe. But what has that got to do with us? How can this truth be applied into our lives?
Dear friend, in times of trials it is inevitable that people will ask many questions like: ‘Is God really in control? Is He really able to help us and deliver us? Does He really know everything? Is He really all-powerful?’ Perhaps the most common question is this: ‘does God greatly love me? Because I feel as if He has abandoned or forsaken me.’
Well, if Jesus is the all-powerful, all-knowing and all-present Creator of the entire universe, and He has redeemed us through His blood, and forgave all our sins, will He not love us to the uttermost? Most certainly He will.
This is where a consideration of Romans 8:37–39 will help us to better apply this truth into our lives. We are very familiar with the children's chorus: ‘Jesus loves me, this I know’.
So I've titled our message as ‘Jesus our Creator loves me, this I know.’
Let us turn to Romans 8:37. The Apostle Paul said, "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." "Nay" is an emphatic no, and "all these things" is a reference to the things mentioned in verse 35 — tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril and sword.
Interestingly, in the preceding verse, Paul said we are like “sheep for the slaughter." (Romans 8:36) And then here he said: "We are more than conquerors," which means over and above conquerors — in other words, super conquerors. What a switch!
How can we who are helpless sheep getting ready to be slaughtered be more than conquerors? It is not because we are able, intelligent, smart, strong, or we have made a good decision or a series of good decisions. It is through Him that loved us — that great Shepherd of the sheep. In and of ourselves we are nothing, but through Jesus Christ we are more than conquerors.
Verse 38: "I am persuaded." It was not just some theological knowledge that Paul was giving to the people because he used the personal pronoun ‘I’, referring to his own personal testimony — what I've been going through and how I've experienced the hands of God working in my life. I am persuaded.
Personal testimony, though it cannot substitute biblical truth, but it is so crucial and fundamental to our Christian faith. To be persuaded means to be fully convinced and confident.
Dear friend, we cannot preach passionately the Gospel to our unbelieving loved ones if we ourselves are not fully persuaded. If we are not fully convinced that we are eternally saved, eternally secured, we will not lose our salvation — how can we teach our children to rest upon the assurance that they are eternally secured if we are not fully confident that nothing can separate us from the love of God?
How can we teach others to stand strong and not doubt the love of God in times of trials? You and I must be fully persuaded, convinced and confident.
Do not be like the story of the little boy in the church. When someone asked him, ‘What do you believe in?’ He says, "I believe in what my parents believe in.’ ‘And what do your parents believe in?’ ‘My parents believe in what my pastor believes in.’ ‘And what does your pastor believe in?’ ‘My pastor believes in what the church believes in.’ ‘And what does the church believe in?’ ‘Well, the church believes in what I believe in.’ In reality, he does not know what he believes in.
We must know what we believe in — fully persuaded, convinced and confident in the Word of God and the Holy Spirit working in our lives as we go through the trials, circumstances and situations.
Is there anything in this world, in this life, that can ever separate us from the love of God?
In life there are many things that are ‘separators’. By that I mean, when a particular trouble creeps into our lives, oftentimes we feel that that thing has separated us from the love of God.
So here the Apostle Paul listed 10 possible ‘separators’, and he emphatically said none of them can separate us from the love of God. I urge all of us to take each one of them and then ask ourselves: Can this thing separate me from the love of God?
I. Can Death Separate Us From The Love Of God?
Can death separate us from the love of God? Perhaps for the vast majority — the most fearful thing — is death. We see our loved ones, relatives and friends passing away, and it is common knowledge that one day it will be our end. It is a reality. Apart from what we have been told in the Bible about death and eternal life, death is basically unknown. It is frightening.
Francis Bacon, the English philosopher, said: ‘Man fears death as children fear darkness.’ And yes, they do. People tremble when they are faced with death. They may put on a strong demeanour, but deep down in their hearts they are afraid.
Death is the greatest of all separators. Obviously, death separates us from life itself. It cuts us off. Death separates us from the people whom we love, from the things we are familiar with.
Imagine yourself lying on your deathbed in your own room, surrounded by your children, grandchildren. The environment is very familiar, but you know in your heart that soon death will separate you from all these things.
Most importantly, death separates the soul from the body. That is the reason why when our loved one passed away, no matter how loud we cry or scream, they cannot respond to us. Because when the soul leaves the body, the soul takes away all the faculties, like the emotions, the feelings, the will, the thinking — everything. And what is left is only the physical body.
If you are an unbeliever, death will separate you from God forever and ever. Death is the most frightening separator. Perhaps that was the reason why Paul began with death.
For the believer in Jesus Christ, death is not the final word. Death may separate us from the people whom we love, from the things we love, from the things we are familiar with. But it can never separate us from the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That is the reason why the Bible tells us, on the cross of Calvary, Jesus has conquered death.
1 Corinthians 15:55-57: " O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Instead of separating us from God, death actually ushers us into His presence. That was why Alexander Maclaren, the theologian, said: ‘The separator that is death now becomes the uniter.’
Are you afraid of death? If you are an unbeliever, you ought to be afraid, because the Bible says: "It is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgement." (Hebrews 9:27)
The day will come when you have to stand before the Almighty God to give an account of all the sins you have committed, and you will be sent to the eternal lake of fire.
If you have believed in Jesus Christ for salvation, then death is nothing to be afraid. Because you will be ushered into the presence of the One who says: “In my Father's house are many mansions… I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:2-3)
It is sad that someday we have to say goodbye to our children. It is sad that someday we will have to leave behind our loved ones. But if we are all true believers, we can say to them when death knocks on our doors, ‘In the sweet by and by, we shall meet again on that beautiful shore in heaven.’
II. Can Life Separate Us From The Love Of God?
Can life separate us from the love of God? For many people, life can be more cruel than death. Is it not true? That is why sometimes people would call death a release? Life and its experiences can be very painful. It can separate us from our loved ones and friends. Poverty can cause a person to work in a far away place, so far that he cannot be with his family.
At times, illnesses and sicknesses may strike us. We may be hospitalised and who knows how long we will be separated from our families.
As we age, our abilities become more limited and restricted. Our hearing and our sight will fail us. The faculties of our minds and our memories will slowly fade away. All of a sudden, we will not be able to do those things we used to do. All of a sudden, activities that were once so familiar are now separated from us. Life itself is a separator.
Today we read of wars happening all over the world. In Russia and Ukraine, in Israel and the Middle East, in Myanmar, in the Korean Peninsula. Many countries are divided and families broken. It is so painful.
Life and the events of life may separate us from people we love, things we are familiar, but one thing it can never do—it can never separate us from the love of God. Jesus Christ, who loves us, loves us to the uttermost.
III. Can Angels, Principalities And Powers Separate Us From The Love Of God?
Can angels, principalities or powers separate us from the love of God? Some commentators believe that the word ‘angels’ refers to good angels, whereas the word ‘principalities’ refers to evil beings or fallen angels. If that is true, we understand that fallen angels may try to separate us from God, but why would good angels do that?
Well, here Paul was using a hypothetical way of speech, like the way he said in Galatians 1:8: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” He was not saying that he or the other apostles or an angel from heaven would preach another gospel of a different kind than what was in the Bible. He was simply emphasising the point that it would not happen. In other words, no angels, good or bad, can separate us from the love of God.
It is true that fallen angels will try to do that. In fact, the name ‘devil’ means separator. The devil and his demons would try to create havoc amongst the believers. They would try to produce separation in the church. But no matter what kind of separation they try to inflict us, they cannot separate us from the love of God.
The original Greek word for ‘power’ is from where we get the English word for dynamite. When we hear the word ‘dynamite’, we think of something very powerful. Some commentators believe that it refers to miracles or mighty deeds. Others believe that it refers to people of power and authority, because it is used as a figure of speech. But regardless of the specific meaning, the emphasis is that no power whatsoever on the face of this earth will be able to separate us from the love of our God.
So no angels, principalities or powers will be able to separate us from the love of God.
IV. Can Things Present Or Things Future Separate Us From The Love Of God?
Next, Paul said, “Nor things present, nor things to come,” (Romans 8:38) which means not at this moment or even in the future. At this present moment, you may be hard-pressed by troubles. You may be struggling. In the future, you may face difficulties and continue to face adversities until the day you die. It is possible. It is not a scare tactic.
But none of those circumstances can separate you from the love of God. Why? Because the God who loves you. He’s the God of history. He’s the God of circumstances. Nothing is beyond His control, and He will never forget, neither will He forsake you. When Jesus says, ‘I will be with you unto the ends of the world’ He says what He means, and it means what He says.
We used to sing the song ‘All the Way My Saviour Leads Me’. Some of us can even sing it by memory. This song was written by Fanny Crosby. Fanny Crosby was blinded at the age of six weeks because of some improper medical treatment, but God used her to write almost 8,000 hymns. Amongst all the beautiful hymns, this was one of them.
Do you know how she wrote this hymn ‘All the Way My Saviour Leads Me?’ One day she needed $5 desperately. In those days, it was a huge amount. She was blind with no one to help her. The only thing she could do was to pray. And so she prayed.
Within a few minutes, a stranger came by, knocked on her door and gave her the exact amount. Fanny Crosby said, ‘I have absolutely no way of accounting this, except to believe that my God has answered my prayers. And my first thoughts were, it was so wonderful how the Lord has led me and has always been leading me. I must put it into a song.’ That was how she wrote ‘All the Way My Saviour Leads Me’.
What a wonderful hymn. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross of Calvary because of us, who shed His precious blood to save us and forgave all our sins—He will lead us not just today or tomorrow, but every day of our lives. There is nothing now in this present age, there’s nothing in the future age, that will separate us from the love of God.
It is so sad to see Christians who are unsure of what will happen in the future. Instead of looking to the Almighty God who is in control of the circumstances, they look to the situation. They are overwhelmed and depressed, and then they drift away from God. So tragic.
There are others who are troubled. There’s always this fear in their hearts, and the worst fear is to hear a preacher telling them that they have unconfessed sins. They may not know it, but God knows, and He will judge them and they will be sent to eternal hell.
That is impossible for the true believers, because nothing present and nothing future will separate them from the love of God. Not even His judgment, because He has saved them from the wrath to come.
No believer would face the judgment of God. Even before the foundation of the world, God has already elected and predestinated you to be His child. It is impossible for you to undo something that God has already ordained for all eternity.
Are you more powerful than Him? Most certainly not. Our eternal security is not based on what we have done, or our keeping of the salvation. No man can do that. It is solely based on the work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. So it is so comforting to hear the Bible says, neither things present nor things to come can “separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:39).
Surely we do not know what is lurking ahead of us. We may anticipate certain things to happen based on the normal trends of things, but we can never foresee the future. But there is One who is in control of the future and He loves us with an everlasting love. And we look to Him, trusting in Him that nothing present, nothing future, can separate us from His love.
V. Can Height Or Depth Separate Us From The Love Of God?
Paul went on to talk about height and depth. Here he turned from human experiences, spiritual powers and time, to talk about space. Neither heights nor depth can separate us from the love of God. Those are astrological terms. Those are words to refer to a point—a high point above the horizon or the lowest point beneath the horizon. In other words, nothing above and nothing below can ever separate us from the love of God.
Do you realise how interesting it is that we often measure love using height and depth? We say things like ‘My love for you is higher than the highest mountain and deeper than the deepest ocean.’ Right? As parents, we love our children most dearly. We will do everything within our means to help them, to be with them, to assist them. But someday, that love will come to an end when we die.
If I may put it simply this way: the love of God is everywhere. It is endless in every direction. You and I will always be in His love. Even in heaven, we will be dwelling in His love.
VI. Can Any Other Creature Separate Us From The Love Of God?
Lastly, “nor any other creature.” What does ‘any other creature’ include? It includes everything that exists, except God, because God created everything. He’s the Creator of the entire universe. So if God is for us, if He controls everything else, then there is absolutely no other creature that can separate us from His love. Nothing in this universe is more steadfast, everlasting and great than the love of God.
Dear friend, can you say without a doubt that you are fully persuaded that your salvation rests entirely on the One who died on the cross and shed His precious blood to save you?
Are you fully persuaded that the God who loves you, loves you to the uttermost? The God who saves you, saves you to the uttermost? Are you fully convinced that no man can snatch you out of His hand? Are you fully confident that death, life, angel, principalities, powers, things present, things to come, height, depth, or any other creature—they cannot separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus?
If you can say that with full assurance in your heart, this is the thrust of the message: Jesus, my Saviour, my Lord, my Creator, loves me—this I know. Someday, when we cannot remember anything else, we pray that we can remember this one thing: Jesus loves me, this I know.
Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, indeed as we consider this portion of Scriptures in the book of Colossians 1:16–17 about our Lord Jesus who is the Creator. He existed before all the creation and He is in control of the entire universe. And we learn from the book of Romans 8:37–39, how this blessed truth can be applied into our lives.
Nothing can separate us from Jesus, who has redeemed us through His precious blood and forgave all our sins. Not death, life, angels, principalities, powers, things present, things to come, height, depth or any other creature—nothing can separate us from the love of God.
We want to dwell in Thy love. And as we face the challenges and issues of life, we know that there will be trials, troubles and afflictions, sicknesses, illnesses and ultimately death. But our hearts are comforted because of this blessed assurance. Nothing can ever separate us from Thy love.
Help us to dwell in Thy love always. Help us to live our lives in view of Thy love. We love Thee because Thou first loved us. We give Thee thanks and we pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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