Romans 5:6-8 NIV
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
That day Nicodemus interacted with the Lord Jesus, Christ made known a resounding revelation, saying, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Joh 3:16 NKJV). Hallelujah! The question that quickly comes to mind is, What had “[the people of] the world” done, in the first place, to deserve such incredible love, God’s love? Before we respond to that question, such are some of God’s deeds that provide clear evidence to the truth that His ways are higher than ours (Isa 55:9), and He is a class apart—all by Himself!
The Scriptures are filled with countless examples of God doing great things for people—not because they deserved it, but simply to glorify His name (Eze 36:22–23; Isa 48:11; 1 Cor 4:7). In that light, it is important to acknowledge and settle it that the good things we receive from God are not because we deserve them. Nevertheless, we should rejoice in the fact that He repeatedly chooses to glorify His name in and through our lives—making us partakers of His blessings and grace. Paul’s insight in our text of reference sheds great light on God’s passion for glorifying His name—to the advantage of the totally undeservingly!
Paul argued, “You see, at just the right time, when we were STILL powerless, Christ died for the UNGODLY. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were STILL sinners, Christ died for US.” Hallelujah! Thus, the response to the question that came to mind is this: mankind had done nothing to deserve God’s love. In any case, we were “still powerless”, “still sinners” when Christ died for the “ungodly” us. Blessedly, God’s name will be eternally glorified for victoriously raising His Son from the dead and for graciously giving us such great salvation!
Pst. Emmanuel