“If God is for Us” (1)

[Romans 8:31-34]

Look at Romans 8:31: “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
The word “what then” is a conjunction that connects the previous statement with the following one. There are various scholarly opinions on what the preceding statement refers to:
(1) Romans 3:21-8:30,
(2) Romans 5:1-8:30,
(3) Romans 8:1-30,
(4) Romans 8:26-30.

In my opinion, the word “what then” connects us with the passage from Romans 8:29-30.
Romans 8:29-30 speaks of the five stages of God’s salvation:
(1) God foreknew us (loved us),
(2) He predestined (chose) us,
(3) He called us to believe in Jesus (to receive Him),
(4) He justified us (declared us righteous),
(5) He glorified us.

The Apostle Paul said, “What then shall we say to these things?” (v. 31).
Here, the Korean Bible uses the singular “this thing,” but in the original Greek, it is plural—“these things.”
“These things” refer to the five stages of salvation mentioned in Romans 8:29-30.
In other words, “these things” refer to God foreknowing (loving), predestining (choosing), calling, justifying, and glorifying us.
The phrase “What then shall we say to these things?” means that we have nothing to say.
The reason for this is that God has already accomplished these five stages of salvation, so we cannot add anything to God’s work of salvation.

In Romans 8:31, the Apostle Paul uses the word “if.”
This is not because he had doubts, but rather because he was fully convinced, which is why he used the word “if.”
His great conviction was that the God of salvation would surely complete the five stages of salvation.
In other words, the Apostle Paul was 100% sure that God, who loved and chose us before the foundation of the world, would call us, justify us, and glorify us.
That is why he said in Ephesians 1:4: “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.”
Moreover, when the Apostle Paul spoke of the five stages of salvation in Romans 8:29-30, he used past tense verbs because he had great certainty about God’s salvation.
Although his body had not yet been glorified, and was instead aging and suffering from a thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7), he was completely sure that the God of salvation, who had foreknown him, predestined him, and justified him, would surely glorify him.
The Apostle Paul was convinced that God had already completed salvation during Christ's first coming (“Already”), and would complete it during Christ's second coming (“Not-yet”).
As Christians living between the “already” and the “not-yet,” we are assured that, just as God’s will is accomplished in heaven, it will be accomplished on earth at Christ’s second coming.
For reference, the prayer taught by the Lord says, “… Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10, Contemporary Bible).
The foundation of the Apostle Paul’s confidence in salvation was the fact that God began the work of salvation in him.
Look at Philippians 1:6: “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (NKJV).
Therefore, when the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Philippi, he said that, when he was caught between living on earth and being with Christ in death, it was far better to depart and be with Christ. However, he stayed in the world to help the believers in Philippi progress in their faith and joy (Philippians 1:21-25).
The Apostle Paul desired that whether he lived or died, Christ would be magnified in his body (v. 20).
Although the Apostle Paul had not yet been glorified, he lived with the certainty that he would be glorified.

The Apostle Paul said in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Here, the modern version of the Bible translates “If God is for us” as “If God is on our side.” God is for us. God is on our side.
Therefore, the Apostle Paul was convinced that God is for us, knowing that before the creation of the world, God loved us, chose us, called us, justified us, and glorified us.
For this reason, he confidently said, “Who can be against us?” (v. 31).
In reality, the evil forces are against us, those whom God loved, chose, called, justified, and glorified before the creation of the world. These evil forces constantly attack us.
Satan sends his minions to attack us, whether through worldly temptations, through ourselves, through sin, and in many other ways.
Let us look at Matthew 24:24: “For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”
The evil forces attacking us, the false Christs and false prophets, even perform great signs and wonders [“great miracles and marvelous things” (Modern Bible)] in an attempt to deceive even the chosen ones.
In fact, Satan roams around the earth, trying to deceive, test, and attack us (Job 1:7).
The devil, like a roaring lion, prowls around seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).
The devil is going around, looking for ways to deceive and swallow those whom God has loved and chosen.
But since God is for us, Satan dare not oppose us (Romans 8:31).

Let us look at Zechariah 1:8: “I saw by night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were red horses, speckled, and white.”
In Zechariah, known as the “Revelation of the Old Testament,” the prophet Zechariah saw a vision of “a man riding on a red horse, standing among the myrtle trees in the valley,” and this “man” refers to the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
The fact that Jesus Christ is “standing” in the vision means He is standing, showing that He is ready to act.
Let us look at Acts 7:55: “But Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.”
Before being martyred, Stephen saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. In most scriptures, Jesus is described as sitting at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19; Luke 22:69; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3; 10:12; 12:2).
Why was Jesus standing at the right hand of God when Stephen was about to die, instead of sitting? The reason is that He stood because His beloved Stephen was facing great difficulty.
In the vision seen by the prophet Zechariah, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, was seen standing because He was there for us, ready to save us.
In the vision seen by Zechariah, behind Jesus Christ stood red, purple, and white horses (Zechariah 1:8), and those riding the horses were the ones sent by the Lord to go throughout the earth (v. 10).
God is for us and He sends these messengers (angels) to go throughout the earth and watch over us.
Therefore, no matter how much Satan tries to oppose us, we know that since God loved us beforehand, chose us, called us, justified us, and glorified us, He will certainly save us and glorify us, so that we will go to heaven and enjoy the glory there.

Therefore, we must live with the assurance of salvation and walk by faith.
The God of salvation loved us, chose us, called us, justified us, and glorified us before the foundation of the world. We must be 100% certain that we will be glorified and live eternally in heaven.
Furthermore, we should not be afraid.
Look at Hebrews 13:6: "So we can confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'"
We must also stay alert, be sober-minded, and pray.
Look at 1 Peter 4:7 and 5:8: “The end of all things is near; therefore, be clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray… Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil, like a roaring lion, prowls around seeking whom he may devour.”
We should be firm, unshakable, and always work more diligently in the Lord's service.
Look at 1 Corinthians 15:58: "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
Therefore, I pray that when we all stand before the Lord, we will receive His praise, saying, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your Lord" (Matthew 25:21).