“If God is for us, who can be against us?” “Who (or what) shall separate us from the love of Christ?” What wonderful questions! What wonderful answers: No one and nothing! God’s bottom line is: if Jesus Christ has taken away our sin, then nothing can stand in the way between us and God. Here in the last nine verses of Romans chapter 8, we will see that God is literally “hyper” about us!
Paul asks, “Who shall bring any charge against God’s chosen ones?” Who’s got the legal ammunition that can wrench us away from God and cast us into the pit of hell? God is the One who declares us not guilty. Who’s the innocent party who has the legal standing to point the accusing finger at us? Only Jesus Christ, and he’s the One who died to put us right with God, who rose from the dead to clear our way to God, and who at this moment continues to plead for us at the throne of God. He’s gonna accuse us?? I don’t think so! In the person of Jesus Christ, God has suffered all the pain of hell in our place, so that God can embrace us as beloved children, so that we may be reconciled and reunited with the One who loves us more than words can say.
What else can stand in the way between God and God’s children? Can some evil power drive a wedge between us, or steal us away from the arms of God? Is there anyone powerful enough to out-wrestle God for our souls? Is there some Incredible Hulk out there who’s gonna step in and say, “Get lost, buster! He’s mine! She’s mine!”? Is there some future event in our lives, some scandal, some horrible mistake, that’s going to tear us away from God? Can any death we could die turn God against us?
Can altitude or geography separate us from God? Is there a windswept peak, or some dark ocean trench, that is literally God-forsaken? Is there any planet in space where we can say that we are no longer in God’s grasp? Paul’s answer is a resounding “No!”
All that’s left that can possibly alienate us from God is the bitter circumstances of life, and what they may do to us from within. Pressure, anxiety, harassment, starvation, not having a thread to wear, danger, lethal weapons pointed straight at us – Paul writes that none of these can stand between God and us, but they all have the potential to erect huge barriers in our hearts toward God, to turn us away from God. Only an inside job can do that.
“If God is for us, who can be against us?” The word Paul uses to mean “for” us is the word “hyper.” Here it means “in our place”. It also means “over the top” (which is what we mean when we say “hyper-active” or “hyper-sensitive”).
The word hyper is used 132 times in the New Testament. Twelve times it is used in a geometrical sense (“above” – Matthew 10:24, 1 Corinthians 10:13), plus five times in the figurative sense “beyond” or “more than” (2 Corinthians 11:23). But it is used 132 times to mean “for” or “on behalf of,” including 23 times to speak of praying “for/on behalf of” someone. Jesus says in Mark 9:40 (= Luke 9:50), “Whoever is not against us is for us,” i.e. they’re on our side.
Hyper can be used to speak of someone risking their life “for/on behalf of” someone (such as in Romans 16:4), suffering for/on behalf of someone (2 Corinthians 1:6), boasting for/on behalf of someone (2 Corinthians 12:5), or serving on someone’s behalf (Colossians 1:7). It is also the word used for offering sacrifices “on behalf of” someone (such as in Hebrews 5:1). This includes the greatest sacrifice, to die on behalf of someone, to lay down one’s life “for/on behalf of” one’s friends (John 15:13).
26 times we are told that God Incarnate did this for us. Jesus told us he would do this at the Last Supper (Mark 14:24, Luke 22:19-20, 1 Corinthians 11:24 – see also John 6:51). Paul tells us twice in Romans 5:6-8 that Christ died “on behalf of the ungodly…while we were still his enemies.” Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:3 that one of the most important parts of his Gospel was that “Christ died for our sins.” Want more? See John 10:11-15, Romans 14:15, 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, Galatians 1:4, 2:20, and 3:13, Ephesians 5:2 and 5:25, 1 Thessalonians 5:10, 1 Timothy 2:6, Titus 2:14, Hebrews 10:12, 1 Peter 2:21 and 3:18, and 1 John 3:16.
Why do I belabor this point? Because today there are many voices out there that question and/or deny the substitutionary atonement of Christ. To do so, we must either close our eyes to all of these passages, or chop them out of our Bible. No, the truth that Jesus died on our behalf, as our substitute, is absolutely central to the Good News we proclaim to the world. Here in the cross of Jesus Christ and all that he has done for us, we see that God is literally “hyper” about us!
When we take a quick look at Romans 8:31-39, we find the word “hyper” four times. Verse 31 – “If God is hyper us” (if God going to bat for us in our place), “who can be against us?” Verse 32 – God “gave up his Son hyper us” (in our exchange). Verse 34 – Christ is at the right hand of God, “pleading hyper us” (on our behalf).
All these meanings would come to mind for Paul’s audience when they heard the word “hyper” used to describe God’s attitude toward us. God is hyper about us! That doesn’t mean that God’s whole being revolves around us, as if God existed just for us. It does mean that God is on our side, that God has gone over the top for us. It does mean that God has gone to bat in our place, that he has suffered the pain of hell so that we would never have to do so. It does mean that God is pulling for us when we’re down. It does mean that God is our greatest fan. God’s love goes “over the top” for us!
The last time the word hyper is used is in verse 37, as part of a compound verb. It says that in all the worst that can happen to us, we are “hyper-conquerors” through the One who loved us (Christ). We are “more than conquerors.” We are far more than winners! We may not feel like it, when life comes crashing in on us. We feel like we’re just barely surviving. That’s why Paul needs to remind us otherwise by putting our suffering into perspective for us. God’s love makes us “hyper-conquerors!” We are more than winners! We’ve got a God who is hyper-us, who is on our side! Don’t let life’s frustration lead you to throw away your victory crown!
Paul says that nothing in all creation can separate us or “put space” between us and the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. “If God be for us, who can be against us?” If God loved us so much as to take our place in hell, what further proof do we need that God is absolutely crazy about us? God is for us! God’s love has gone “over the top” for us! And no one can drive a wedge between us! So don’t LET anything in your heart stand in the way between you and God. Don’t let bitterness over past or present stand in your way. Don’t let people stand in your way. Don’t let idols stand in your way – anything you love more than God. If you place your faith in Jesus and what He has done for us, nothing can ever come between you and God again.
