If God is for us: he did not spare his own Son, and nothing can separate us from his love (Romans 8:31–39)

Says "What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" (8:31, BSB). "He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?" (8:32, BSB). The argument runs from the greater gift to the lesser (lex.G3860).

Uncertain Whether τοῦ ἰδίου υἱοῦ οὐκ ἐφείσατο (tou idiou huiou ouk epheisato, "did not spare His own Son," 8:32) echoes Gen 22:12, 16, where Abraham did not withhold Isaac. This commentary follows the Hebrew note's lean that it does: Paul uses the Septuagint's verb, οὐκ ἐφείσω (ouk epheisō), with "son" as its object, and God gives up his Son as Abraham did not withhold his. The alternative takes "spare" as an ordinary verb, as in 11:21, and notes that Paul's ἰδίου ("his own") is not the Septuagint's ἀγαπητοῦ ("beloved") (note.language.Rom.8.32.gen-22-12-16; xref.Rom.8.32.Gen.22.12.heb).

Uncertain How 8:33–34 is punctuated. This commentary leans to the BSB: each question is answered by a statement, "It is God who justifies" (8:33, BSB) and Christ "is at the right hand of God—and He is interceding for us" (8:34, BSB), as 8:31–32 also answers its question; the Greek note leans the same way (note.language.Rom.8.31-Rom.8.39.tis-katakrinon-archai; lex.G1458). The alternative, which Augustine preferred (Tischendorf 8, p. 406), reads the answers as further questions expecting "no": "Is it God, who justifies?" and "Is it Christ, who died?" The early manuscripts have no punctuation, so the Greek allows both.

Says "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?" (8:35, BSB). Paul quotes Ps 44:22 (43:23 LXX): "For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered" (8:36, BSB). His Greek is the Septuagint word for word, with the spelling Ἕνεκεν, for ἕνεκα, as in ℵ, A, and T (note.language.Rom.8.36.ps-44-22; xref.Rom.8.36.Ps.44.22.heb).

Says "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (8:37, BSB) (lex.G5245). Neither death nor life, angels nor principalities, present nor future, powers, height nor depth, "nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (8:39, BSB) (lex.G26).

Implies ἀρχαί (archai, "principalities") and δυνάμεις (dynameis, "powers") in 8:38 are spiritual beings: they stand beside ἄγγελοι ("angels") in a list of created realities (8:39), as in 1 Cor 15:24 and Col 1:16 (lex.G746; lex.G1411). Whether a believer can finally fall away is treated in note.exegetical.Rom.8.28-Rom.8.39.can-believers-fall-away.