The Great Giver
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"He who spared not his own Son; but delivered him up for us all—how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" Romans 8:32
Having spoken of God's hidden love, the love which he secretly had for his people—Paul now comes to speak of it as revealed and avowed. He proves his secret love—by his public acts. He shows the love he had for us in eternity—by what he does for us and confers upon us in time. He is our sun—the Father of lights, giving all good; and he is our shield—preventing all evil. The passage we are about to consider is truly wonderful, and full of the richest, choicest comfort: "He who spared not his own Son; but delivered him up for us all—how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).
God's Glorious Gift. "He spared not."
To spare sometimes refers to justice. "God spared not the angels that sinned—but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment." As bright, as beautiful, and as glorious as they were—God would not spare them when they sinned. Nor would he spare the old world, nor the cities of the plain—but destroyed them for sin.
So, when his beloved Son had our sins laid upon him, and became answerable for them, God, as the God of justice, would not spare him—but cried, "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, says the Lord Almighty!" No mercy was shown to Jesus. No abatement was made. The whole debt was demanded. A full and satisfactory atonement was required. Therefore "it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he has put him to grief: his soul was made an offering for sin." "He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace—was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed!"
The punishment deserved by our iniquities—was laid upon him, and he endured it all. He suffered the whole of it. So that justice is fully satisfied, and the law is fully magnified, its dignity being maintained, its demands met, and its authority acknowledged.
To spare sometimes refers to benevolence, and indicates profusion. God is most unsparing in his gifts, his benevolence is most profuse. He so loved the world as to give his only-begotten Son. He gave him for sinners, to be their sacrifice and Saviour. He gives him to sinners, to be their life, their safety, and their portion. If he had withheld anything, it would have been his Son. But, to show the depth, the intensity of his love, he "delivered him up for us all."
"He spared not his own Son,"—his only-begotten Son. What could be dearer to him, or be more valued by him? Think of his worth and excellency. The Jews said that he made himself equal with God; and he never attempted to deny it—but said, "All men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father." The apostle says he was "in the form of God," and "thought it not robbery to be equal with God." Who, then, can estimate his worth? If the Israelites thought that David was worth ten thousand of them—how many was Jesus worth? All creation was produced by his power, and is sustained by his word; what, then, was the estimate his Father would put upon him? Yet "he delivered him up for us all!"
Think of the love that existed between the Father and the Son. Paul calls him "his dear Son," or "the Son of his love." And himself, speaking in the character of Wisdom, says, referring to his working of old, "Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him." What love the Father must have had for his co-equal and coeternal Son! In him he saw all his own perfections, attributes, and glorious excellences; and to represent the infinite nearness and dearness of his Son to him, he is said to be "in the bosom of the Father."
Yet, wonder, O heavens! be astonished, O earth! for God spared not his own, his well-beloved Son—but gave him up for sinners—vile, base, rebellious sinners!
Think of his infinite greatness. It is higher than heaven, what can you do? It is deeper than hell, what can you say? Ponder well the divine testimony as to the greatness of Jesus, the all-creating Son of God. "All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing and vanity." As vast as creation is, in comparison with him—it is nothing. As numerous as the creatures are, the whole of them, in comparison with him, are less than nothing and vanity. O how marvellous then the fact, that rather than we should perish, rather than we should reap the due desert of our deeds, "God spared not his own Son!"
"But delivered him up for us all." God was the great agent who delivered Jesus—to be condemned, buffeted, spit on, scourged, and crucified! To the insults of Herod and his degraded soldiers, to the cowardice and cruelty of Pilate, to the rage and malice of the priests, and to the madness and folly of the unfeeling populace—God delivered his only-begotten Son! To this Peter testifies: "Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain."
And this was done to commend and illustrate his wondrous love to us, as Paul witnesses: "God commends his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners—Christ died for us." Men were but instruments, allowed to display their hatred to goodness, their opposition to God, and the deep and total depravity of their hearts. Judas wickedly betrayed him, and delivered him up to the officers and priests; therefore Jesus said to Pilate, "You could have no power at all against me, except it were given you from above: therefore he who delivered me unto you has the greater sin." The priests delivered him to Pilate: "The chief priests and elders took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: and when they had bound him, they led him away and delivered him to Pontius Pilate, the governor." Then he was delivered to the people, not only to the Jews—but to the Gentiles, as we read: "And Jesus going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again." Thus when God delivered him up, men were let loose upon him, and all parties conspired and combined to insult, torture, and punish him.
He was delivered up for us all. The Father delivered him up as a lamb, God's lamb, the lamb that God could accept, and with which he could be satisfied, to be the sacrifice for our sins. Our sins, therefore, were transferred to him, they were laid upon him, and he was treated as if he had been guilty of them. The globe was turned into an altar; upon that altar the victim was laid; there he expiated our transgressions, and put away our sins by the sacrifice of himself. The smoke of that sacrifice darkened the heavens; the sufferings of that victim shook the earth, rent the rocks, opened the graves, and hid the face of God—as if the sight had been too dreadful even for God to bear.
He was made a curse for us, therefore he was hanged on a tree. The curse of the law was transferred from us to him; and by enduring it, he removed it from us, and opened a way for the blessing of Abraham to come upon us.
He really suffered for our sins. He suffered for us—that is, instead of us; and in this way we are spared, and spared in strict accordance with all the claims of law and justice.
He was delivered up "for us all," for all whom he represented—all for whom he became a surety—all for whom he was accepted as a substitute; for all who ever did, or ever will, believe on his name; for all alike and equally; for each one who shall trust in his blood; for all who shall be saved from wrath through him. Whatever the word "all" may mean in some places, it cannot here mean every individual who had lived, or should live; but those whom the apostle had been speaking of as predestined, called, justified, and glorified; or, all his sheep, as Jesus said, "I lay down my life for my sheep;" or the whole church, as Paul wrote, "Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it." This leads us to—
Paul's Comforting Inference. Having given his only-begotten Son, "How shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"
Having given, which displays the benevolence of his nature, he will give. Having given the greater—he will not withhold the less. If there had been any difficulty, it would have been in parting with his Son, and in delivering him to die, even the death of the cross; but having done this, assuredly he will now withhold no good thing from those who walk uprightly. As the Father of lights, represented by the sun, he will pour down showers of blessings.
He is not, he cannot be, under any obligation; for "who has first given to him—that it shall be recompensed to him again?" Yet, though there be no obligation, he will give, and freely give us all things. We have now the covenant grant: all things are ours—all things necessary for both worlds—for "godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come;" all things needful for the whole man, both body and soul, as Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you,"—that is, all temporal good things necessary for us.
So Peter speaking of the promises says, "According as his divine power has given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who has called us to glory and virtue; whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." Everything, therefore, that will really benefit us, or turn to our spiritual advantage—God will give us, and give us freely. O wondrous benevolence! What faith it requires to believe it; what hope to expect it; and what love sufficiently to praise God for it! Freely, certainly, with Jesus God will give us all things!
God has proved and pledged his great love to us. And this he has done in such a wonderful, glorious, and stupendous way, that we may well exclaim, with the apostle, "Herein is love, not that we loved God—but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins!" He has already given us the greatest and most precious gift. The gift of heaven—is not to be compared to the gift of Christ. Nothing greater, nothing more costly—can God give. Can he give anything so great, so costly? Are all his other gifts to even be compared with this one? Ought we not, with Paul, to exclaim, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift?" This is the grand commendation of God's love. Paul considers ultimate salvation to be less than this; therefore he says, "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."
God gave his Son in order that he might give other things honourably. In the person, work, and death of Jesus, he demonstrated his justice, and kept up the authority of his law. "God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." By a glorious ransom price he bought us; and having met all the claims of the law, he delivers us; and now, God, in perfect consistency with the claims of law and justice, can treat us as beloved children, and confer all kinds of favours and blessings upon us.
He gave Jesus freely—to show in what way he would give us all other blessings;—not for our duties or deserts; not for our feelings or merits. Freely, as a matter of grace, and on the ground of grace alone—God will give us all things. Let us not, then, look within at our feelings, nor without at our works, for a reason why God should give us the blessings we ask; for the reason is in himself—in his own free and exuberant grace!
God gives all—with Christ. In receiving Christ, we receive a title to all new covenant blessings. Having Christ, we may now expect every good thing together with him. To those whom he has given Christ, he will give anything he consistently can. Those who have given themselves to Christ, may expect anything, however good or great, from God.
God's love is infinitely great. It passes knowledge. It defies description. It cannot be conceived by us. Our powers are too feeble to comprehend or fully know the wondrous love of God. We may believe it; we may trust it; we may enjoy it; but we cannot fully know it.
Our comfort is inexhaustible. The love of God is the ocean that contains it, the fountain from which it flows, the great and grand cause of it. While, therefore, the love of God is infinite—our comfort must be inexhaustible.
Our obligation is endless. If God has so loved us, how ought we to love him? how ought we to adore him? how ought we to obey him? We are bound by the sweetest, strongest ties, to dedicate and devote ourselves, with all that we have and are, to the Lord's service and praise; and it is the highest ingratitude to withhold anything from God, or to think anything hard that he requires of us. O for grace, evermore to glorify God, in our bodies, souls, and spirits, which are his!
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