<p>8:39 Nothing shall separate us from the love of God in Christ, as revealed in the cross (Rom. 8:39). The idea of the love of Christ nearly always refers to the cross. And yet the same word occurs in Heb. 7:26, to remind us that the Son of God is &ldquo;separate from sinners&rdquo;. Here again is the paradox. We are sinners. And yet we cannot be separated from He who is personally separate from sinners. Again, the conviction of guilt is required so that we can know His saving grace. But it&rsquo;s possible to understand this contradiction as just that- a contradiction. The Lord Jesus is separate from sinners; but nothing shall separate&nbsp;<i>us</i>&nbsp;from Him, although we are sinners. This can be seen as yet another of the many irreconcilable paradoxes which express the purity of God&rsquo;s grace. We have elsewhere commented upon the way that God angrily speaks of permanently rejecting His people, and yet says in the same breath almost that He has not and will never reject them, because of His tender love for them.</p><p><i>Nor height nor depth nor any other creature</i><i>, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord</i>- &ldquo;Height&rdquo; and &ldquo;depth&rdquo; may refer to creations supposed to exist beneath the earth or above the heavens. But no created thing can obstruct God&rsquo;s feelings for us in Christ. Because we are human we tend to view life in a materialistic way; what is visible and concrete assumes huge importance for us. But no created thing can get in the way of God&rsquo;s love for us- perhaps, the implication being, because this God who so loves us is Himself the creator of all things. Therefore no created thing, in any dimension, in this world nor any other world or dimension, can affect His feelings for us.&nbsp;<br /></p><p>In exalting about the wonderful power of God in human life through Christ, Paul exalts that &ldquo;neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come: nor height (Gk.&nbsp;<i>hypsoma</i>&nbsp;&ndash; the highest point a star reaches) nor depth (Gk.&nbsp;<i>bathos</i>&nbsp;&ndash; the abyss from which a star rises), nor any other creature, are able to separate us from the love of God&rdquo; (Rom. 8:38,39). &ldquo;The position of the stars was supposed to affect human destinies. &lsquo;Whatever the stars may be supposed to do&rsquo;, Paul says, &lsquo;they cannot separate us from God&rsquo;s love&rsquo;&rdquo; (5). Likewise by referring to &ldquo;any other creature&rdquo;, Paul seems to be saying that there is no reality, nor even any supposed reality in heaven and earth, that can separate us from God&rsquo;s loving power. It seems to me, given the facts that Paul doesn&rsquo;t teach the existence of a personal Satan / demons and so often deconstructs the common ideas about them, that Paul is effectively saying here: &lsquo;Even if you think these things exist, well they are of utterly no power and consequence given the extraordinary and ultimate nature of God&rsquo;s power&rsquo;. And so the argument is wrapped up. God&rsquo;s love for us who are &ldquo;in Christ&rdquo; is part and parcel of His love for Christ Himself, His dearly beloved Son. We will be saved, because we are in Christ. And totally nothing and nobody, not even our own humanity and failure, can separate us from Him and His love.</p><p><b>Notes</b><br />(1) F.F. Bruce,&nbsp;<i>Paul And Jesus</i>&nbsp;(London: S.P.C.K., 1977) p. 78.<br />(2) Thomas Weinandy<i>, In the Likeness of Sinful Flesh</i>&nbsp;(Edinburgh: T &amp; T Clark, 1993) p. 79.<br />(3) Vincent Branick, &ldquo;The Sinful Flesh of the Son of God&rdquo;,&nbsp;<i>The Catholic Bible Quarterly</i>&nbsp;47 (1985) p. 250.&nbsp;<br />(4) Stephen Finlan,&nbsp;<i>The Background and Content of Paul's Cultic Atonement Metaphors</i>&nbsp;(Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2004).<br />(5) A.M. Hunter,&nbsp;<i>Romans</i>&nbsp;(London: S.C.M., 1981) p. 87.</p>