Romans 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? In order to grasp the argument we must understand that Paul is speaking to believers in the midst of a groaning world whose hope needed to be sustained by the strongest evidence. It was not enough to speak of God's purpose, and promise, so a more triumphant argument was used. God has already done so much that all that remains to be done is nothing in comparison. As a pledge to us that the great scheme of redemption shall not be defeated, God has Himself embarked in it so vast an investment that failure would not only be disastrous to us, but would involve a Divine bankruptcy — omnipotence baffled, external purpose defeated, an infinite outlay of Divine love thrown away. Let us look — I. AT OUR PRESENT STANDING PLACE BETWEEN THE PAST AND THE FUTURE. 1. The past — "God hath not spared His own Son, but given Him up for us all." "For us all" suggests a collective interest, and not merely an individual share in the great transaction. If at times the soundness of redemption is felt to arise from a personal appropriation of its benefits, yet there is peculiar consolation in the view of it which embraces the entire Church of the firstborn. 2. That which is to come is the gift of "all things" which are to "work together for good to them that love God" (see also 1 Corinthians 2:21). Not only shall existing agencies, however adverse, be pressed into the service of redemption; but fresh agencies shall be brought forward at their appointed time to complete the work. We may therefore hail every fresh discovery in science, etc., as only another helper of God's work. "The earth shall help the woman," and all the wealth of nations shall flow into the city of God. 3. Our position on this line of redemption is between the past and the future. The one gift is ours, the second gift not yet. The extent of our realisations as compared with the extent of our hopes leaves much to be accomplished. II. THE PLEDGE WHICH IS THUS FURNISHED. We are not left to the bare power or willingness or promise of God to finish the work; we have in the past gift an advanced security as to the triumphant result. I know of no text that is better adapted to give a material guarantee of the final emancipation of the sons of God. As we contemplate the Cross of Christ we may adopt the sentiment of Manoah's wife (Judges 13:23). In arguing from the past to the future we mark — 1. That, as a Divine work, the greatest thing is done already. In looking along the line of redemption we see that the crisis of it is past. To us the benefits of salvation widen and grow in value, but to God the most valuable thing has been introduced into the process. 2. The sufferings of Christ. He was not spared. And now God hath exalted Him to His own right hand to perfect the work. And we may observe — (1) That one part of His mediatorial work cost Him much more than the other. "We are reconciled by His death, and we are saved by His life." One part cost Him tears, agony, and blood; the other is carried on amidst the joy of His exaltation. (2) That the most costly part is that which is past and finished, and the less costly part of it is that which is to come. (3) That the connection between the two is that the finishing of the salvation is the very fruit of all He endured. If God spared Him not, shall He not let Him see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied? 3. The grace which pervades the entire plan of redemption. It was not because He owed it to us, but because His own heart was set upon it. And shall the love which gave us Christ begin to measure out niggard bestowments when the greatest triumph is about to be realised in peopling heaven with redeemed souls? 4. The objects of Divine mercy. What has been done in the past was done whilst we were yet enemies. But we are now sons. Shall God do so much for His enemies, and then begin to withhold His hand? In conclusion: Our subject — 1. Affords the strongest possible assurance of the completion of God's great plans. The Cross and the empty grave are pledges that the issue shall be triumphant, and that all things shall serve that end. 2. Shows who they are who are the real beneficiaries of God, whom all things serve. With Christ, not without Him, are all things ours. (P. Strutt.) Parallel Verses KJV: He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? |
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