Salvation of the Triune God (1)
[Romans 8:1-4]
I would like to meditate on the Word of God under the title “Salvation of the Triune God” focusing on Romans 8:1-4. God the Father, Jesus the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one God. Romans 8:1 says “Christ Jesus” (God the Son), verse 2 “the Spirit” (God the Holy Spirit), and verse 3 “God” (God the Father). Today, I would like to think about the salvation of the Son Jesus in the “Salvation of the Triune God (1)”
Look at Romans 8:1 – “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” “Christ Jesus” is the Son of God [“His Son” (1:2, 3)]. Jesus, the only begotten Son of God the Father, became a man [“according to the flesh” (v. 3)]. Look at John 1:14a – “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, ….” Here, “the Word” refers to Jesus, the only begotten Son of God (v. 1). Jesus, the only begotten Son, was born of a descendant of David (Rom. 1:3). In other words, the only begotten Son of God, Jesus, came through the virgin Mary, a descendant of David (Mt. 1:20; Lk. 1:69). Also, Jesus, the only begotten Son of God the Father, was resurrected from the dead according to the Spirit of holiness (Rom. 1:4). That is, Jesus Christ rose from the dead by the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is risen and ascended into heaven to pray for us at the right hand of God.
The Apostle Paul used the conjunction “Therefore” at the beginning of Romans 8:1. This conjunction connects the preceding and following words. There are several interpretations of where the preceding words come from. For example, there are interpretations that link Romans 3:21 to 7:25. This conjunction connects three Bible verses: (1) (Rom. 5:6) “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” When we were weak and unable to do anything good, the Son Jesus Christ saved us by dying on the cross for us who are ungodly. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (8:1). (2) (Rom. 5:8) “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Through the disobedience of one man, Adam, sin entered into the world, and death through sin, so death spread to all men, because all sinned (v. 12). But while we were still sinners, the Son Jesus Christ died for us to save us. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (8:1). (3) (Rom. 5:10) “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” When we became enemies with God because of our sins, the Son Jesus Christ reconciled us to God by dying on the cross as a propitiation sacrifice. Those who have been reconciled will be saved through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (future salvation). Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (8:1). In this way, while we were still weak, sinners, and enemies, the Son Jesus Christ died on the cross to save us, so now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!
The Apostle Paul says “now” in Romans 8:1, where “now” means something different from before. It refers to everything different that is before Romans 7:25. For example, it is different from Romans 7:24-25: “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.” This is not the time of “Wretched man” or “the body of this death” (7:24), but “while we were still in weakness,” “while we were still sinners,” “while we were enemies,” Jesus Christ died for our salvation (5:6-8), and “now” we are in Christ Jesus (8:1).
The Apostle Paul speaks of “those who are in Christ Jesus” in Romans 8:1. Here, “those who are in Christ Jesus” refer to those who are united with Jesus Christ and have been saved. The Bible speaks of union with Jesus Christ in parables. One of those parables is the parable of the vine and the branches. Look at John 15:5-6: “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.” Jesus Christ is the vine and we are the branches. As branches, we are united to Jesus Christ, the vine, and apart from Jesus we can do nothing. Another parable is the head and body parable. Look at Ephesians 1:22-23: “And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Jesus Christ is “the head of the church,” and as we are united to Jesus Christ, we are “his body.” There is also the parable of baptism. Look at Romans 6:3-4: “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” The Apostle Paul described union with Jesus Christ through baptism. We are baptized into Christ Jesus. That is, we are baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are those who died and rose again in Christ Jesus.
The Apostle Paul says in Romans 8:1, “Therefore there is now no condemnation.” Here the word “condemnation” is a legal term. If the judge condemns, there is guilt; if the judge does not condemn, there is no guilt (not guilty). Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are united with Christ Jesus, whom Christ Jesus saved by dying on the cross for the weak, sinners, and enemies. The word “condemnation” occurs seven times in Romans [4 as a verb and 3 as a noun]. “Condemnation” in Romans 8:1 is a noun. Look at Romans 5:16 – “The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.” Because of the disobedience of one man, Adam, all men came to condemnation. Because Adam broke God's command and ate of the forbidden fruit, he was expelled from the Garden of Eden. Through him, sin entered the world, and we all became sinners. In this way, we were justified by Jesus Christ dying on the cross (God considers us innocent). Look at Romans 5:18 – “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.” One man Adam's one sin brought many to condemnation. But through one righteous deed of one last Adam, Jesus Christ, many were justified to eternal life. In this way, the salvation of Jesus Christ is sure and clear. In the Korean Bible, ‘never’ appears at the end of Romans 8:1, but when we look at the original language, it appears at the beginning. Also, in the Korean Bible it ends with “no,” but the original word says “no”: 'Never, therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.' This is to emphasize that “never” means “there is no condemnation,” and “never” emphasizes that salvation is inevitable. No one can condemn us in Christ Jesus. Look at Romans 8:33-34: “Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? ....” No one or anything can separate us from the love of Christ. Look at verses 35 and 39: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
We cannot save ourselves, but Jesus Christ saved us. When we were still weak, sinners, and enemies with God, Jesus Christ bore all our sins and died on the cross to save us. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus! (Rom. 8:1) We must go forward by faith toward the completion of salvation, enjoying salvation, with assurance of salvation. We must live the lives of those who have been saved.