Wednesday in the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time

Romans 5:6-11

See What Kind of Love the Father Has Given to Us

When considering our Triune God, we are accustomed to thinking of the Son as the loving member of the three; after all, he is the one who gave himself to appease the Father’s wrath against sinners.  (By the way as God is one, all members of the Trinity share in God’s relations with the world, meaning that the Son and Spirit would also share that same wrath.)  But actually when it comes to crediting one of the members especially with loving mankind, the Bible designates the Father as the One who is so loving.  John 3:16 comes to mind, but also 1 John 3:1: “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God: and so we are,” and 2 Corinthians 13:14: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”  Although all persons of the Trinity share these qualities, generally power is attributed to the Spirit, grace to the Son, and love to the Father.

In this short passage, Paul shows us the Father’s love by employing what we often call a “least to greatest” argument.  His argument goes like this: Someone might die for a good man, and someone might even give his life for a really great man—but the Father shows how much He loves us by sending His Son when we were sinners, indeed, when we were His enemies!  And then piggybacking on this blessing, Paul adds another “least to greatest” argument that goes like this: If we have been given a right standing before the Father by His Son’s blood (that is, his death), well then how much more shall we be saved by His Son’s life (that is, his resurrection)?  And then Paul adds to this: If we were reconciled to the Father by His Son’s death when we were still His enemies, well then how much more having been reconciled shall we be saved by His Son’s resurrected life?  These are rhetorical questions to which the answer is: Well, bunches!  And it was our loving Father who sent His Son to do this for us, and at just the right time, too.

Paul has been speaking of justification throughout this letter, but here he suddenly begins speaking of another very important word in the New Testament that is also a result of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and that word is “reconciliation”: “The restoration to friendship and fellowship after estrangement” (Merrill Unger, Bible Dictionary, 914).  But we were not just estranged, we were enemies of God.  And so again we see the magnanimous love of this God, of our Father: He reconciled us, brought us back into fellowship with Himself by sending His Son on our behalf when we were yet His enemies and didn’t even give a care.  “See what kind of love….”

Author: The Reformed Baptist

My name is Stephen Taylor, ordained Baptist minister of eighteen years pastoral experience with a Ph.D. in Historical Theology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Better than that, I am married to a godly woman, Karla, who has been very patient with me since 1989. I have two daughters, both of whom I homeschooled for extended periods of time, who became godly young women, and who ran off and married godly young men, all of which is very proper. The oldest daughter has even seen fit to bless me with a grandson and a granddaughter, and my youngest daughter with a grandson, all three of whom are bundles of exceeding joy. As you can see, I am quite blessed. This website is dedicated to helping people grow in the wisdom and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ through the gift of writing that the Lord has given to me. It is specifically about helping His people grow in godliness, the theme you see repeated above. I write devotions with this aim and hope that they might be of some help to God’s people. Full disclosure: I am of a Reformed bent, meaning that my understanding of Scripture is primarily informed by the Reformers and their successors of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. However, as a student of church history and theology, I strive to remain true to that teaching handed down once for all unto the saints through every age of the Church. I like to think of myself as a “catholic” Christian, as the Reformers thought of themselves. At any rate, feel free to read, pray, and contact me if you wish, or correct me if need be. As you can see, I tend to follow the church year. Of course, I make no special claims about these devotions. I know very well that others have written better and plumbed the depths of God’s word with greater insight. But if my musings help someone draw closer to the Lord, well then, I have my reward. Blessings to you and may the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ speak to you that word which He knows you especially need to hear. Grace & peace, Stephen Taylor View all posts by The Reformed Baptist