Join us on a captivating journey to understand the theological underpinnings of Paul’s writings in Romans 8. Discover the remarkable parallels with the book of Ezekiel and understand the significance of Jesus’ presence on Earth. Gain insights into Paul’s revelations, showing how Scripture’s promises are fulfilled through Christ’s atonement.
00:10:30 Colin Cook’s Personal Reflection and Study
SPEAKER 01 :
So here we are at this wonderful passage in Romans chapter 8, one of the greatest passages in Scripture, in my opinion. And, of course, we talked a little bit about it last time, just to get it started. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for your sake, we are killed all day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. It’s a marvelous passage. And, you know, years ago, well, I won’t say years ago, even up to a year or two, maybe three ago, I assumed that Paul just generated these thoughts from his own mind. I believed in his message, and I believed in the inspiration of Scripture, but I had that little sneaky feeling that he conjured all this up from himself. And where did he get it from? And, you know, it makes you feel that, well, yes, Paul believes that, but how true is it in relation to all Scripture? But in the last passage, Well, year to three years, while doing this research on the manuscript that I’ve just completed… You remember I’ve told you about that. I came across… some studies, some rather, I came across the book of Ezekiel in a more detailed way, and I became fascinated, in fact astonished finally, that it appears that Paul, in writing this passage in Romans chapter 8, verses 31 to 39, was pulling his conclusions from the book of Ezekiel. Now, of course, more than that, he had the conclusions of Jesus Christ’s presence on earth and the sacrifice of the Son of God for him, and also the time when Jesus met him on the road. But there is evidence, clearly, that Paul was being a faithful student of Scripture, and he was coming to the conclusions from that study in this passage. Now, you may say, well, how do you come to that conclusion, Colin? Well, let me read to you what I have written in my manuscript, one page of it, in regard to the comparisons between Ezekiel and Paul. Are you ready? Ezekiel, God’s wrath is on their whole multitude, that is Israel. That’s Ezekiel 7.12. Paul, the wrath of God is revealed on all the godliness and wickedness of men, Romans 1.18. Ezekiel, God, quote, gave them up, end quote, to their evil rituals. Ezekiel 20, verse 25. Paul, God, quote, gave them up, end quote, to the worship of idols. Romans 1, 24, 26, 28. Ezekiel, they worshipped creeping things, abominable beasts, and other idols. Ezekiel 8, 10. Paul, they worshipped birds and four-footed animals and creeping things, Romans 1.23. Ezekiel, God brought judgments of famine, wild beasts, pestilence, and the sword. Ezekiel 5, verse 17 and 14, verse 21. Paul. Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword shall not separate us from the love of God. That’s Romans 8, verse 35. Ezekiel. By these judgments you shall know that I am the Lord. Ezekiel 5, verse 17 and 6, verse 7. Paul, in those judgments we were more than conquerors, Romans 8, 37, and they shall not separate us from the love of Christ, Romans 8, 25. Ezekiel, the result of God’s judgments is that they shall know that I am the Lord, Ezekiel 7.27. Paul, the results of mankind’s imprisonment in sin is that God will have mercy on all, Romans 11.32. Ezekiel, God will provide a sacrifice of atonement to forgive Israel for all they have done. Ezekiel 16, verse 63. Paul, God provides a sacrifice of atonement in Christ to justify all mankind. Romans 3, 25 and 518. Ezekiel, Israel fears their hope is lost and they are cut off. God assures them he will raise the whole house of Israel from the dead. Ezekiel 37 verses 11 to 14. Paul, Israel fears that they are cast away. Paul assures them that it will lead to their acceptance, the reconciliation of the world, and life from the dead. Romans 11, verse 11 and 15 and 26 and chapter 5, 18. Ezekiel, God says of Israel, I am for you. Ezekiel 36, verse 9. Paul says, if God is for us, Nothing in the whole world can be against us, Romans 8, verses 31 to 39. Ezekiel, the whole house of Israel will be redeemed, Ezekiel 37, verses 11 to 14, and 39, verse 25. Paul, all Israel will be saved, Romans 11, 26. Doesn’t that astonish you? You may not have been listening all that closely, but maybe you were clued in. But the parallels are remarkable. And what it shows us is that Paul was drawing on two sources for his statements that God is for us and nothing in all the universe can separate us from the love of God, not even all the famines and so on, and evil and terrible things. Two things. the prophecies and the prophets of the Old Testament, and Jesus’ presence in the world when he sacrificed himself on the cross for all humanity. And so you can gain some further assurance through this that Paul is not speaking off the top of his head, that Paul is not drawing all this data from his own ideas, that Paul is a serious student of Scripture, and he has brought those Scriptures together, in the light of Christ’s presence on earth. You can imagine Paul struggling to find out what the meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection are, is rather. in regard to what the Old Testament has said. And sure enough, he finds that the promises of the Messiah and the atoning sacrifice are right there in the book of Ezekiel, and as the promise of atonement in Ezekiel chapter 16 says, says that all Israel will be saved, then Paul concludes from this that Christ’s sacrifice means that the whole world will be saved, because Israel is a representation of all the world. That is, God’s actions towards Israel is a representation of his actions towards the whole world. This is just wonderful. Now notice, what then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Now some people, for some people, their God isn’t big enough. And they can say, well, I know God’s for me, but all the people I know are against me. My family’s against me. My workmates are against me. Everybody’s against me. No, that can’t be true. If God is for you, everything in the world, and all people are for you, even when they are against you. Because why? Because God has gained victory over all the forces in the world. God is sovereign, and he can direct the antipathy, the animosity of your enemies. He can direct that antipathy in your favor. He doesn’t control people’s minds, but he is able to redirect the consequences of their actions against you. I remember my dad when I was a young kid, and he was joking, but we’d be running for the bus. The bus was catty-corner to our house, and we’d look over on the other side to see that it was coming. And then once it was coming, if it was a cold winter day, then we’d run out of the door and run to the next bus stop. And he would say to me, and I would be limping because of my polio leg I had a brace on, he’d say, come on, son, keep running. Everything in our favor is against us. That was his joke. He was a very positive man, but that’s how he said it. Everything in our favor is against us. But when I became a Christian, I realized the opposite is true. Everything against us is in our favor. Because God, like he did with Joseph and his sons who kidnapped him and had him sold to Egypt, God is able to take the animosity of our friends or our family or our workmates, those who resist us and don’t like us, and he is able to redirect the consequences of their actions into not their actions because they have chosen those actions, but the consequences of their actions, so that those consequences fall out to our good. And so this is what you can believe. Your God is big enough. If God is for us, nothing can be against us. Who can be against us? And notice another thing. Paul says, if God is for us. Did you notice he didn’t say if Christ is for us? That’s rather odd, isn’t it? Because most of what Paul has been talking about in these previous chapters is what Christ has done for us. But what Christ did for us was on behalf of his Father. And so when we look at the life of Christ and how he sacrificed himself for us, how he died on the cross for us and rose again for us, we are looking at what God has done. Because God the Father gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. And so, you see, Jesus’ actions are God’s actions. If you want to know the heart of God, then look at the life and the words of Jesus, because he is telling you the words of the Father. Thank you for listening today. Colin Cook here. And you’ve been listening to my broadcast, How It Happens. You can hear the broadcast on the radio at 10 o’clock in the evening, repeated at four in the morning on KLTT AM 670 in the Denver and Colorado and surrounding states areas. And if you would like to make a donation to this program, it would be so appreciated. Send your donation to Faith Quest, P.O. Box 366, Littleton, Colorado, 80160. Or make your donation online at faithquestradio.com. 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