What does it mean that neither death nor life separates us from the love of God (Romans 8:38)?

Once more the challenge goes out: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" Every enemy that might be thought likely to do so is named—tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword—and in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. These are the enemies that are found in the wilderness; they are not the inhabitants of the land of promise, not the wicked spirits in the heavenly places. But these things cannot separate us from the love of Christ, though they may separate us from our best friends upon earth. But the truth is, it is for His sake that all these things come upon us. But He holds up His hands in intercession for us; they never grow weary. And His eye sees all the difficulties of the way, and He knows all our sorrows, and He sympathises with us and ministers to us all the grace and strength that we need. We are more than conquerors, for tribulation will work patience, and we greatly profit by all our exercises.

Now the apostle says, "I am persuaded." He does not say the Romans were persuaded. It is our privilege to be persuaded as He was, but he does not say we are. He singles himself out three times in this epistle in this way, once in the second verse, where he says that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus had made him free from the law of sin and death. This is so experimental that every one must speak for himself. Then again in verse 18 he says, "1 reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory "that shall be revealed in us." It is not every believer who reckons in this way. We surely ought to reckon as he did. And now again for the third time he has to say something of the way in which he views things, and he is persuaded that nothing is able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. He was personally persuaded, but he was as fully persuaded about the Romans as about himself. Death, life, angels, principalities, powers, are more spiritual foes and more terrible to meet than those in verse 35; but they cannot separate us from the love of God. Death cannot separate us from the love of God, it is in death the love of God has been expressed to us; it is the witness of the love of God to us. Life cannot separate us from it, for the love of God is the life in which we live and shall live for ever. Angels cannot separate us, for they are appointed in the love of God to minister to us in our journey through an evil world. And they are greatly interested in the grace that has come to us in Christ. And as to evil angels they are powerless to hurt us. Neither can height nor depth rob us of that love. It has been expressed in Christ, and it has found its resting-place in Him, and God has brought us to Himself in the One in whom it rests, and therefore we are persuaded there can be no separation from it. If there is no separation from the love of God for Christ, there is none for us, for it is in Him that that love is ours.

Indeed “in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” This is proper Christian character: victory is a fully assured thing. Christ has loved us: how then could it be otherwise? “More than conquerors” is a blessed word: it is not merely triumphing over opposition: it is the soul lifted far above it all into God's own presence of infinite and eternal bliss — “through Him that loved us.”

Is it any wonder then that Paul does not hesitate to record the deep persuasion of his soul concerning the blessed, sure portion of the beloved people of God? “For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creation, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus ourLord.” Death is mentioned first — that which is man's greatest fear and dread. But its sting is gone for the believer (1 Cor. 15:54-57). But what of life with all its vicissitudes, trials and adversity? It is but a brief transitory thing, a little thing compared to His greatness. Or all those things positionally above us — angels, principalities, powers? God is greater than they: and He is for us. And things — whether present barriers that appear insurmountable, or future possibilities, or that which is higher than our understanding, or low mysterious depths of evil that chill men's souls? Again, the ringing answer is simply “God for us.” None of these, “nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The answer is that none of these shall for one moment separate us from the love of God. That love rests on us in Christ Jesus our Lord. He is the worthy and all-glorious Object of that love, and we are in it because connected with Him. The love reached us in Him, and we, as now in Him, stand abidingly in that love. If Christ can be removed out of the embrace of that love, we can be. If He cannot be, neither can we. Once grasp that great fact and Paul's persuasion becomes our persuasion. Nothing can separate us, for which eternal praise be to our God!

Can death? It was in that very thing it was expressed in all its greatness. Can life? Love is the very thing that has quickened me into life, and I have found that all life is in the love of God. Outside the love of God lie death and corruption. Can angels? They are but the servants of that love sent forth to minister to those who are the objects of it. Can principalities or powers? They learn in the kindness of God to us the power of that love that picked us up from the pit of destruction and gave as to have part with Christ above every position that they are privileged to occupy. Can things present? These all work for good to them that love God. Can things to come? These things will all be according to God, where He will rest in His love and where we will be displayed in Christ’s glory in such a way that all will know that God has loved us as He has loved His Son. Can height? It is in the height of heaven we know it best. Can depth? Nothing can be deeper than the judgment under which we lay, and love reached us there and removed the judgment from us. Can any other creature? No, because it is only a creature, and the love in which we boast is the love of the Creator Himself.

Yes; but it is about us all, for he says nothing shall separate “us”—not “me.” It takes all in The next thing is “life.” Life cannot separate, for Christ Jesus our Lord is now in life and God’s love is in Him. Nor “angels, nor principalities, nor powers”—none of these things can separate us, for Christ is exalted above and over all—“nor things present, nor things to come, nor height”—“for the love of God in Christ is in the height nor depth”—Christ has been into the depths. Whichever way you look, there is not a single thing that exists now, or ever shall, that can separate us from the love of God. Look into death—God’s love has been there! Look at life—God’s love is there! Look at all the vast range of angels, principalities, and powers—the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord is above all! Look at the present things, look at the future things, look up into the height, look down into the depth, the love of God is beyond, above, and has been in Christ beneath all! Look at any other creature, if there is another anywhere to be found—still the Word says, “Nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!”

It has been announced that I will speak to you on a subject which has occasioned a good deal of controversy among the people of God. I want to take as a starting point - not exactly as a text, because we shall be looking at a good many Scriptures - Romans 8:38-39: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor power, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This is the inspired answer to the question of verse 35: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” That is, once we have been justified by faith, who is there, what power is there, that can separate from the love of Christ? And the answer, how full, how clear, not a shadow, not a doubt, not a question left, when the apostle says that neither death nor life shall separate! Can you think of anything which is neither included in death nor in life? Neither death nor life shall separate!

No unseen powers can separate the believer from Christ, “neither angels, nor principalities, nor powers.” These terms are used again and again in the New Testament, particularly in the Epistles, for angelic hosts, good and evil. When our Savior rose from the dead He spoiled principalities and powers, that is, He defeated all the hosts of evil led by Satan; and so we may take it that the angels referred to here are good angels, and the principalities and powers are possible evil angels. But there is nothing that good angels would do and nothing that evil angels can do which will result in the separation of the believer from Christ. And then further he says, “neither things present nor things to come.” Again let me put the question, Can you think of any experience through which a believer might ever go which is neither a thing present nor a thing to come? And the Holy Ghost says that neither things present nor things to come shall be able to separate us from the love of Christ. As though that were not enough, He speaks in a more general way when He says that neither “height nor depth (nothing in heaven, nothing in hell), nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It looks to me as though we are safe if we are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

In delivering an address on the eternal security of the believer, I quoted the closing verses of that chapter, in proof that creation above and beneath, past and future, was challenged to produce anything that could separate believers from God's love. At the close of the happy service, a friend remarked, "I can tell you something not named in these verses, which will assuredly separate you from God's love." Surprised, I asked, "What is it?" The answer was promptly given, "Sin." Once more we read the precious words: "For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Sin is not named, but it is surely included in the expression "things present", for, the Apostle says in chapter 7:21: "Evil is present with me." Thus we regard these verses as conclusively proving the ever abiding security of all in Christ Jesus.

Nothing, then, can separate us from the love of Christ. For of all that is against us, there is nothing which is not His creature, and as such, the servant of His love to usward who believe. All thus work for good, and not for evil, though the intent of the enemy who uses creature power against the truth be not so. No attribute of God can cross this love; for already He has glorified all His attributes in binding us to Himself in Christ. No species of trial can separate us; for it is God who in the trial proves His own work, that it may be for praise, and honour, and glory, in the day of salvation and of rest (1 Peter 1:7). Life may not do this; for already we are dead with Christ. Death cannot do it; for already we are alive in Christ from the dead. Neither angels nor principalities nor powers, can reach for harm the place of the believer who already is exalted in Christ, and made to sit with Him above the heavens. Present things may not separate, though fear may be on every side; for the power of God is already known in victory, and His sustaining presence as the God of all comfort is sweetly witnessed by His Spirit in the heart (1 Cor. 15:57; and 2 Cor. 1:3-4). Things to come, instead of separating, shall by their advent bring yet nearer the hour of our hope; for the day of nature's dread, the day of judgment, has no fear for those whose boldness in that day is, that they are already one with Him who is the Judge (1 John 4:17). Height or depth are equally vain to obstruct the energy of a love which has already measured all heights and sounded all depths in the effectual operation of redeeming grace (Eph. 4:8-10). And is there any other creature which might lift itself in anger against the peace of God's beloved? The Spirit of God finds none. Having filled the blessed vessel of God's choice with the pure knowledge of Divine love, as witnessed in the Father's unspeakable gift, persuasion of eternal exemption from all ill becomes the necessary effect of our being thus beloved.

"Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution?" More perhaps than cares; it is the cross that answers to the crown. "Or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." So the apostle had the thorn in the flesh — that which to human eyes, and to his own, was a great hindrance to his preaching, making him awkward in his ministry; but he gloried in it. The me was put down, and it paved the way for the power of Christ. It was not that he did not feel it, but he says, "I glory in infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me"; and in Romans 5, "We glory in tribulations." I have the key to it all in knowing that God is for me and that "He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous"; so I can glory in it. It is more than submission. It is the apprehension of the ways of God through this world, and the knowledge that there is a perpetual care over us making everything work together for our good. Let Him work, though in trial; He wants to do me good in my latter end.

"For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come nor height. nor depth, nor any other creature. shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." No suffering that can come to me through a creature can separate me from this love which is in God. It is a love which is divine in its nature, and which comes down into all my circumstances. God is thinking of me in the trial; He knows beforehand all about it. He did not pray that Satan might not sift Peter, but that Peter's faith might not fail. He had to be sifted. Why so? Because there was confidence in himself, and this must be broken down. But then there was the danger that he might despair, and go out and hang himself like Judas, and so the Lord prays for him. He must be sifted, like you and me, but it must be under God's eye that he may learn the perfect character of God's love to him in it all.

176 Further, there are difficulties, trials, dangers in the way, death, the high and holy place so far removed, Satan's power against us. First, as to difficulties and trials, we more than conquer. It is the very path of blessing and honour: there Christ trod; there His power and mind are with us. Take all on high moreover, or in the depth: angels and powers, all are creatures - creature power or creature weakness. They cannot separate us from the love of God: this is more, more sure, more strong than any creature; yet it is in Him who, as Man, has met for us all of hostile power and death in the way, and is on high for us. It is the love of God, the sureness of divine love, and that in Christ Jesus our Lord, who has been through all, and is now on high for us. This secures us against all and through all for glory.

Here alone in this epistle, to bring in His intercession, the ascension is spoken of: "It is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us." He has gone down to the depth for us in sorrow and the ruin of man, and risen in power and victory over it now as the exalted Man; He is interested in us, intercedes for us, finding needed help and mercy: what then shall separate us from His love? Here it is the love of Christ, that we may know Him and His love, as Man gone down to depth, and gone up on high as Man, still interested in and caring for us. In verse 39 it is the love of God in Christ, that we may know the love to be divine, supreme, and immutable, above everything that might separate in us - stronger than everything which, without us, might seek to separate us from this love.