8:35 Whose love is Paul referring to here - our love for Christ or His love for us?
8:35 Whose love is Paul referring to here - our love for Christ or His love for us?
Most Christians believe that it is Christ's love for us that Paul is referring to here, but there are some in the church who believe it is our love for Christ.
They hold that the evils listed in V35 might affect men, but not Christ, and if we do not permit them to affect our love for Christ, then we are safe from all danger of backsliding This view has merit but it is out of context with what Paul is teaching in V31-39, and is therefore not correct (CP V31-39). When we study Paul's teaching in its entirety here it is plainly evident that it is Christ's love for us Paul is referring to in V35, not our love for Him.
Paul shows in V31-33 that God's love for us is such that none can accuse or harm us - God's love is demonstrated through Christ's atoning death (CP V32 with Jn 3:16; 15:13; Ro 5:8-11; 1Jn 4:9-10). In Ro 8:34 Paul gives us the assurance that Christ will be judge over all the earth, but He will not condemn us, and even now makes intercession for us with God (CP V34 with 1Ti 2:5; He 7:25; 9:24; 1Jn 2:1). In Ro 8:35-36 Paul declares the permanence of God's love.
The adversities we have to contend with in our Christian walk do not mean that God has forsaken us or stopped loving us, as many think. In fact, the opposite is true. God loves us more in our suffering for Christ's sake (CP V35-36 with Mt 5:10-12; Lu 6:22-24; 2Cor 1:3-5; 4:7-14, 17; Jas 5:10-11; 1Pe 2:19-21; 3:14-17; 4:12-19).
Ro 8:37 teaches that it is God's love for us that enables us to overcome all the trials of life (CP V37 with Jn 10:28-29; 16:33; 1Cor 15:57; Ga 2:20; Php 2:12-13; 2Th 2:16-17; 3:3-5; 2Ti 1:12; Jas 1:12; 1Jn 5:4, 18; Jude 24; Rev 1:5-6; 3:9-10). The word himself in 1Jn 5:18 (KJV), is an incorrect translation.
The Greek root word should have been rendered him as in all the modern versions of the Bible. Thus the correct translation is "..but He that is begotten of God keepeth him, and that wicked one toucheth him not". He that is begotten of God is Jesus. Finally, in Ro 8:38-39 Paul expresses his belief that nothing in creation whatever, now or in the future, can ever come between us and God's love for us manifested in Christ (CP V38-39).
Christ's atoning death is the assurance that God is for us in all things necessary for our future glorification with Jesus (CP Ro 5:8-11; Ga 4:4-7; Eph 1:3-14; 2:4-7; 3:1-12; Col 1:12-22; Tit 2:11-14; He 12:9-10). The angels referred to in Ro 8:38 along with principalities, are fallen angels, because principalities are satanic forces (CP Eph 2:2; 6:11-12; Col 2:15). In closing, we should note that Paul is not justifying God's love in the face of evil in Ro 8:31-39, but celebrating the power of His love over evil.