Indeed, He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things?
Truth to Learn
God has freely given us the payment for our sins and has also freely given us everything we need to be godly people.
Behind the Words
The word “spare” is translated from pheidomai, which means “to spare” or “to treat leniently.” God was not lenient toward His Son, but gave Him to suffer for you and me.
“Delivered” is translated from paradidōmi, which is made up of para, meaning “beside, to the side of, or over to” and didōmi, meaning “to give.” Hence, it means “to give over to” or “to surrender to.”
The word translated “freely give” is charidzomai, which means “to willingly bestow an undeserved favor.” This same word is translated “having forgiven you” in Colossians 2:13.
Meaning Explained
Paul has just declared, “If God is for us, who is against us?” We know from other passages of Scripture that God is Almighty, that is, All Powerful. No one is more powerful than God (our father is stronger than their father). But, just because He can do anything to protect us and defend us doesn’t mean that He will make our lives one of ease and prosperity. In fact, because He is an all-knowing God, He knows what things will make us most Christ-like. He knows that times of trial and difficulties in our lives will make us stronger. That’s precisely the issue that Paul is addressing in this verse.
God the Father, did not spare His only Son, Jesus. In fact, God the Father, sent His only Son to live a perfect life and then freely offered that life as a substitutionary sacrifice to pay for your sins and mine. He permitted His precious Son to be subjected to one of the most cruel and painful tortures ever invented by the sin-sick minds of man. Then, once our sins were paid for, He then declared us to be righteous and adopted us as His children. That has been His plan since before time began and nothing can alter that plan.
So, Paul’s point in this verse is very simple; if God is willing to offer up His only Son so that He could adopt us as His children as well, He must really love us. And if He loves us this much, surely He will freely give us all that we need, or as Paul put it; “how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things?”
But what does Paul mean by “all things?” The Apostle Peter gives us the answer to that question in his second general epistle to the church:
His divine power has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the full knowledge of him who called us through glory and worthiness. (2Peter 1:3)
Thus we see that in addition to giving the life of His Son to pay the penalty that we can’t pay ourselves, God gives us everything we need to live full lives as godly people.
Application
Not only is our Father the strongest around, He loves us more than we can comprehend! And, now that you know that you have everything you need to live a godly life, what are you going to do about it?
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved