What does it mean that God demonstrates His love (Romans 5:8)?

Remark, farther, how, while the enjoyment of the love is by the Holy Ghost dwelling in us, the knowledge and proof of it is in a work done outside of us, and wholly independent of us, indeed for us, when in an evil and wholly incapable state. "For," continues the apostle, "when we were yet without strength in due time Christ died for the ungodly." Ungodly, and without strength - such was our state when the glorious work of God's love was accomplished for us. But this gives us the certainty that the purity and perfectness of God's own work and nature were in it. It suits us, is without a motive for it in us save our ruined state. God's love as of Himself alone is its source and efficient cause. It is what is His own. Perhaps for a righteous man some might die - for some good one - dare to die; but God commends His love (that which is proper and peculiar to Himself) in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

We have now to note the reasoning of the apostle, not indeed to prove the love of God; but, beginning with it as known through the Holy Ghost given to us, he draws conclusions after a truly divine sort. Thus the consciousness of the Christian has its just and full place, and so has the proof of divine love. However shed abroad in the heart, its demonstration rests on the gift of Christ and His death for us, wholly without us. This presents the love of God toward us absolutely free from mixture with anything in us or of us. Hence, as there was nothing to draw it out and fix it on us, the result is no less sure. The reasoning is not at all from divine counsels about us or promises made to us, but from what God is; and He is love — love proved in Christ's dying for us, while we were yet sinners. "Much more therefore, having been now justified by his blood, we shall be saved through him from wrath." Most sound and conclusive!

But he proceeds in the next place to develop and apply it yet more definitely. "For if, being enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." Neither the weakness nor the positive enmity of man hindered that love but furnished the deepest occasion for its display. Certainly there is nothing that can frustrate its results now. We were but sinners then; we have been justified in virtue of Christ's blood now. We were foes of God, but have now been reconciled to Him through the death of His Son — infinitely precious in His sight, infinitely efficacious in its effects for us. Impossible that such love could fail for those whom it placed in a relationship so excellent. Assuredly the blood, the death, of Christ has done great things for us: now that he is risen again for our justifying, is all to prove abortive? It could not be. The wrath of God awaits the unbelieving soul, yea, abides on him that submits not to the Son. But we have received Him, believing on His name; we have been justified in the power of His blood; and we shall be saved through Him from that wrath.

Romans 5:7-8. "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." If the character and quality of love is to be determined by the character and condition of its object, how far divine love must transcend every illustration of human love! God only can love without a motive, save that which is within His own heart. Man must have a motive without, and his feelings and affections are thereby governed. He may be moved to esteem, to approval, by righteousness, and to affection by benevolence: but it is scarcely to be expected that any one would think of dying for a merely just or righteous man; though for a good man, a benefactor, such self-devotion might be found; but such love could not be surpassed among the children of men; this would be its strongest expression. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

But our knowledge of God’s love is small even at its best when compared with its own greatness, and the Holy Ghost does not turn our eyes within us to discover the measure of it there, but He turns us outward and backward to the death of Christ, and tells us that “God commends His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” His argument is arresting and impressive. Says He, “Scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.” A righteous man has some merit, and a good man more, and while it would be surprising yet it might be possible that someone might be found willing to sacrifice his life for such. But who’ll die for a sinner? Who’ll die for a wretch that is neither righteous nor good, who has no merit at all, and who has come short of God’s glory and is only fit for His just judgment? Who’ll die for such an one as that? … CHRIST. He will; He has done it, and in His death we behold the measure and the manifestation of God’s love toward us while we were yet sinners.

"But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Ver. 8.) This is characteristically divine and sovereign. We were powerless, unjust, evil, nothing but sinners, on the one hand; and God, on the other, had no motive for His love other than itself. It is emphatically His own love. As another apostle puts it, God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Only God can love thus. Man, the saint even, must have a motive without; God has none. He, and He only, is love. The spring is within, and He needs no object without to call it forth. Those whom His grace makes objects of His love are wholly and absolutely unlovable as to themselves, yet He loves them spite of all they are. While they were yet sinners, Christ died for them — the fullest proof of their sin and of God's love. Nothing less could avail; nothing more blessed could be done even by Him; nothing different would suit Himself. Thus He commends His own love. What a resting-place for both heart and conscience! He forgets nothing, judges all, yet loves us with a love that is perfect and altogether peculiar.

Behind the righteousness and the power of God is the love of God. The cross of Christ, as in Romans 5, is at once the witness of the righteousness and the love of God. For while God has shed His love abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which He has given us, our enjoyment of the love of God is not the measure of it. NO! Christ's death is the measure of the love of God, and thus, "God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

In verse 7, the Holy Ghost goes on to show the wonders and reality of God's love in giving His Son, and the love of Christ in dying for us. "For scarcely for a righteous man would one die." If there were a righteous man, who was perfectly just and unblameable in his ways, yet there would be nothing in that to draw out the affections, and it would be difficult to find one who would love him enough to die for him; but possibly there might be a good man, be loved by all, and some one might possibly be found to lay down his life for him. But if such a thing really happened, what a stir and talk it would make! The life of this good man, beloved by all, is in jeopardy; can any one be found who will risk their lives to save his? Yes; one has actually been found to do it! But what a wonder of love. This would be the greatest proof of love in man. But God's love far eclipses it, as we read in verse 8: "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that," while we were neither good nor righteous, but "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." That is why it is called His love, because it is a love peculiar to God Himself. With us, there must always be something in another to draw out our love; in other words, there must be something to love. But God loved us when there was nothing in us to love, but our hearts at enmity to Him, and nothing but a mass of sin; for it was "while we were yet sinners" that God's love went out toward us; and the perfect expression of that love was, He gave His Son to die for us, so that now (verse 9) we are "justified by His blood." His precious blood meets every charge that the enemy could bring against us; and now, being already justified, we shall be saved from the wrath that is about to be revealed upon a guilty world. If we believe in the love now, we shall be saved from the wrath that is coming; but if the love is rejected, wrath must be the consequence.

But in that same cross His love has been brought to light. He could very well have shown His hatred against sin by the eternal condemnation of the sinner, but instead of doing this He sent His only-begotten Son to bear our deserts, and thus declared the infinite love of His heart, “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” When our lost condition had been thoroughly brought to light, then the “due time” was come when God took our salvation into His own hand, and manifested a love toward us such as never had been seen upon earth, “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners. Christ died for us.” Where His hatred against sin was fully declared, there also was manifested His great love to the sinner. This makes the cross infinitely precious to us. And surely above all thought precious to God and to us is the One who gave Himself that we might be saved, and that God might be glorified in our salvation.

Nevertheless, while giving this inward foundation of joy, the Spirit is careful to refer it to God, and to what He has done outside us, as regards the proof we have of it, in order that the soul may be built upon that which is in Him, and not on that which is in ourselves. This love is indeed in us; it sweetly explains all; but the love which is there through the presence of the Holy Ghost is the love of God, proved, namely, in that when we were destitute of all strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. The due time was when man had been demonstrated to be ungodly, and without strength to come out of this condition, although God, under the law, showed him the way. Man can devote himself when he has an adequate motive; God has displayed the love that was peculiar to Himself, in that, when there was no motive for Him in us, when we were nothing but sinners, Christ died for us! The source was in Himself, or rather was Himself. What a joy to know that it is in Him and of Him that we have all these things!

This leads us to notice, secondly, that God has manifested His love. It is not only a divine revelation that "God is love," but that He loves, and loves us, and that this has been most blessedly and suitably manifested to us in the gift of Jesus. "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (vv. 9, 10.) The love of God then to us has come out, both in its richness and freeness, springing only from God (not from us), coming down to us in all our uncleanness and ruin, putting away our sins, and giving us life — eternal life. How exactly, then, this love has come to us where we were, and met our need; and it is this surely which the gospel declares, for "God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8.) The depth, therefore, of this love extended to us when in our sins, and as it were on the brink of hell; it met us by Christ making atonement for our sins, even when we were dead in sins; and God, having raised up Jesus from the dead, and given us life, righteousness, and acceptance in Him, now exalted to His own right hand, the object of the grace of God so far is attained; which is, that we might live through Him. The circle of divine love is thus complete. It is from heaven to heaven. It flows from the throne of heaven down to where we were as dead in sins and guilty before God; and having accomplished atonement for us by the death of the cross, it takes us up in risen life to stand in Him who is gone back into heaven at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Surely this is "Love that no tongue can teach, Love that no thought can reach; No love like His. God is its blessed source; Death ne'er can stop its course; Nothing can stay its force; Matchless it is."