https://youtu.be/WGkCipHuZPs
In our verse-by-verse study of Romans last time we completed our expanded translation of Rom 8:34; "Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one having died, yes rather, having been raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us."
Rom 8:35; This verse begins to explain suffering as the fourth challenge to the mature believer. Many people lose sight of God's plan when there is too much pain and suffering. The verse starts with the phrase "Who will separate us from the love of Christ?"
The nominative singular of the interrogative pronoun "tis" (who) plus the future active indicative of the verb "chorizo" (separate) that means to divide or to separate. This is a deliberative future tense that is used for a rhetorical question taking the place of a direct assertion of doctrine.
The active voice describes seven categories of suffering that are listed in this verse as producing the action of the verb. The indicative mood is an interrogative indicative, that assumes that there is a doctrinal rationale that can be stated to answer to the question.
The direct object is the accusative plural from "ego" (us) so it starts with "who shall separate us?" Then the prepositional phrase, "apo" (from) plus the ablative of "agape" (love) with the article "ho" (the) referring specifically to God the Son's love for the mature believer.
All believers are targets of God's personal love because of the judicial imputation of God's righteousness to every believer at salvation. The object of God's love must always be perfect.
God's righteousness is perfect so God always loves His righteousness. God's righteousness is imputed to us while we are sinners without destroying God's perfection because of Jesus' substitutionary work on the cross.
That work is in view at this point: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" the subjective genitive from "Christos" (Christ), with the definite article "ho" (the) making it monadic "the Christ" referring specifically to the previous reference in the context.
The subjective genitive is used when a noun in the genitive produces the action of the verb. Separation from the Lord Jesus Christ and His love for us is impossible. Once we believe in Jesus Christ we have God's righteousness that is the target for the personal love of all members of the Trinity.
In this case it is the Lord Jesus Christ who is described as having personal love for us because we possess His righteousness. He loves His righteousness wherever it is located and nothing can interdict it. Nothing can come in between God's love and the believer because the believer possesses God's righteousness.
Nothing can separate us from the personal love of Christ for us any more than anything can separate Jesus Christ from His perfect integrity. Believers have God's righteousness that is a facet of God's integrity so we will always be the objects of God's personal love.
He cannot dislike or reject His integrity, wherever He finds it. Just as God the Son cannot reject His own integrity He cannot reject the mature believer or any other believer.
This passage is specifically describing God's personal love for the mature believer but it is the same for the reversionistic believer because the same principle of the judicial imputation of God's righteousness applies.
Like all of God's attributes of God's love belongs to God's essence. God is love regardless of having any object for His love. But because God is perfect His personal love can only be directed at a perfect object.
That means that God's love is objectively is directed toward other members of the Trinity. Subjectively God's love is directed toward His own integrity. God loves His righteousness that is the principle of His integrity and God loves His justice that is the function of His integrity.
Since believers in Jesus Christ possess God's righteousness by judicial imputation and since we also possess Jesus Christ's righteousness through our union with Christ, we are the objects of the personal love of Christ as described in this passage and we are the objects of the personal love of God the Father as described in Romans 8:39.
We see here that because of the permanence of God's judicial imputation nothing can separate us from the personal love of Christ, and furthermore nothing can separate us from the personal love of God the Father.
Therefore, while the personal love of the Father and the personal love of the Son do not provide blessing for us it does frame the relationship we have with God forever.
God will deal with us right up to the judgment seat of Christ with His justice. The last time God's justice will be the frame of reference for our relationship with God is at the judgment seat of Christ.
Rom 8:35; Next in our verse is a list of the sources of the suffering: "will tribulation" - the nominative singular of "thlipsis" (pressure, affliction, oppression). This refers to the extreme pressure of distressing circumstances so we could call it tribulation or circumstantial pressures such as occur in historical disaster or natural catastrophe.
"or distress" the nominative singular from the noun "stenochoria" (oppression, anguish, or mental pressure). These words could be used to describe the tribulation or circumstantial pressure of the immature believer but in this verse they refer exclusively to the undeserved suffering of the mature believer.
"or persecution" is the nominative singular of "diogmos" (persecution). This refers to the legitimate persecution because of a mature believer, not persecution that occurs because of misapplication of doctrine.
"or famine" the nominative singular of "limos" (being deprived of food).
"or nakedness" the nominative singular of "gymnotes" (being deprived of clothing). This is not self-induced nakedness it is nakedness from being deprived. It means to have insufficient clothing when the temperature is cold and there is no heat.
"or danger" the nominative singular of "kindynos" (danger).
"or sword" the nominative singular of "machaira" (sword) referring to suffering from criminal violence or warfare.
Expanded Translation Rom 8:35; "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation (circumstantial pressure, historical disaster), or anguish (mental pressure), or persecution, or famine, or nakedness (deprivation from necessities), or danger (physical or natural catastrophe), or sword (crime, violence, or military disaster)?"
We see here that no catastrophe or disaster of life is greater than the person of God or the plan of God and for the mature believer every catastrophe of undeserved suffering is added blessing from God. We may fail God in adversity but God never fails us in adversity.
In the midst of the greatest sufferings of life the mature believer still possesses God's righteousness and because of that still receives blessing as a real imputation from God's justice. Between God's justice and righteousness all pressures and adversities of life are diminished to insignificance.
Rom 8:36; is a prophecy that describes the imputation of the blessing of dying grace or martyrdom for the mature believer. Technically, martyrdom is the death of a mature believer from undeserved suffering for blessing.
"Just as it has been written" introduces a quotation that starts with the adverb "kathos" (just) plus the perfect passive indicative of "grapho" (written) for an Old Testament quotation of Psa 44:22; that Paul quotes as a prophetic description of dying grace.
The perfect tense of "grapho" is a dramatic perfect that is a rhetorical application of the intensive perfect that means that Paul recognizes the Old Testament canon as being a part of God's immutable Word of truth so he takes a verse out of the Psalms and quotes it in Romans, recognizing that what he is writing is God's Word and that all of it together is the canon of Scripture.
The passive voice: the canon of Scripture receives the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of the fact that Psa 44:22, as found in the Old Testament, is a part of God's Word.
And as quoted it is still a part of God's Word. Then a conjunction follows, "hoti" that in this case acts as quotation marks.
Sometimes "hoti" is translated (that) when it is used in indirect discourse, or used to introduce a subordinate clause, but here it is used as quotation marks. Psalm 44:22; is quoted from the Greek Septuagint, not the Hebrew TANAKH.
"For your sake we are killed all the day long" the Hebrew translation is: "Know indeed, for your sake we are slain continually; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter."
This psalm contains a description of what the Jews had suffered for the Lord's sake as God's people living behind enemy lines in the devil's world so Paul quotes it to interpret the sufferings of the Church Age believer that are similar.
The quotation begins with an improper preposition that is formed by the adverb "eneken" (sake or on account of) that becomes a preposition.
It is used with the genitive singular of the personal pronoun "su" (you) so we have "On account of you". Plus the present passive indicative of the verb "thanatoumetha"(we are being put to death).
The present tense is a descriptive present that describes what is happening during the reign of Nero. The passive voice describes any great believer who receives the action of the verb. The indicative mood describes what is happening verbally.
Plus the accusative singular direct object from the adjective "olos" (entire or whole). Followed by the noun "hemera" (day or all day long), it actually means more than an actual 24 hour day because it refers to the entire historical era when Paul was writing.
This is a prophetic statement by Paul to describe contemporary history under Nero's rule. Paul wrote this in 58AD. Just four years before Paul wrote this in 54AD Nero became emperor because his mother poisoned his step father, Claudius.
The phrase, "the whole day," refers the entire reign of Nero that would terminate with Nero's death a few weeks after Nero executed Paul.