For if while being enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
Truth to Learn
Our debt was paid by Jesus’ death, but it is his resurrection to life that secures our salvation.
Behind the Words
“Enemies” is from echthros, which means “hatred, enmity, hostility, or antagonism.” In Greek, this word is expressed in the nominative, plural. Therefore, a literal translation is “hated ones” or “enemies.”
The word translated “reconciled” is the Greek word katallassō, which is made up of kata, used as an intensifier and allasso, meaning “to change the form or nature of something.” In the New Testament this word is used to indicate the change that God makes in man through conversion so that he may be reconciled to our holy God.
The words “much more” are pollō mallon in the Greek. Mallon is a comparative indicating “more in quality or quantity” and pollō means “much in quantity or amount.” The word pollō has its own comparative form, indicating more of one thing than another. The fact that both words are used together indicates an emphasis in the comparison, that is, “a whole lot more!”
Meaning Explained
This verse represents one of the pinnacles of great theological truth found in the book of Romans. In the previous verse we learned that we were justified by the shedding of His (God the Son’s) blood and, as a result, we will be saved from His (God, the Father’s) wrath at the judgment. Now we see that it was through the death of Jesus Christ that this reconciliation took place. And now that we have been reconciled, of even greater importance is the fact that we shall be saved (from the wrath to come) by His life.
There is a subtle statement here that we don’t want to read past without recognizing. Yes, we will be saved from the wrath of God (from the Great White Throne Judgment and the lake of fire) which we discussed in the previous verse, and this is a particular point that Paul wants us to understand. The previous verse said that we will be saved from the wrath through Him. However, this verse amplifies that statement by saying that we will be saved through “His life.” Do you see that? It is the blood that satisfies God’s justice but it is Jesus’ resurrected life, the fact that he lives to intercede for us, that guarantees we will be saved and live eternally. That is the essence of the gospel which we must believe to be saved; Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, and He was raised from the dead (given life) that we might be saved from the Wrath of God. His eternal life is the guarantee that we, too, will be given eternal life. We must believe both in the death and the resurrection, for according to Paul, it is this resurrection and the life that He now possesses by which we will be saved.
Jesus gave His life to pay the penalty of our sins, and God the Father gave that life back to Him so that we might be saved from the wrath of our sins, if we believe in it.
Application
Do you believe it? If so, you will be saved from the wrath that you deserve. However, if you don’t believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you will suffer the wrath that God says we so justly deserve.
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved