Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Romans 5:9
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
9. Much more ] i.e. as to our apprehension. After this amazing first step of unmerited love we can, with less surprise, rely on its gracious continuance.
now ] “As the case stands.”
by his blood ] Lit. in His blood. If “ in ” is to be pressed, the idea may be that of washing, (Rev 1:5,) though this would not be strictly germane. It is most difficult to pronounce on such uses of “in” in N. T. Greek, in which “in” certainly often = “by.” See on ch. Rom 1:9.
saved ] i.e. “ kept safe,” till the final preservation at the last day. See 1Th 1:10, where lit. “Jesus, who rescues us (or, is our rescuer) from the wrath to come.” Not only did He once die as our Propitiation, but, as the sure sequel, He lives, now and ever, to be, every moment, our accepted Representative and Intercessor; a Saviour in permanence. See Rom 8:34.
wrath ] Lit. the wrath; the wrath of final doom. The justified shall be preserved by their Lord unto, and through, even that crisis. Cp. Joh 5:24; 1Jn 2:28.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Much more, then – It is much more reasonable to expect it. There are fewer obstacles in the way. If, when we were enemies, he overcame all that was in the way of our salvation; much more have we reason to expect that he will afford us protection now that we are his friends. This is one ground of the hope expressed in Rom 5:5.
Being now justified – Pardoned; accepted as his friends.
By his blood – By his death; Note, Rom 3:25. The fact that we are purchased by his blood, and sanctified by it, renders us sacred in the eye of God; bestows a value on us proportionate to the worth of the price of our redemption; and is a pledge that he will keep what has been so dearly bought.
Saved from wrath – From hell; from the punishment due to sin; Note, Rom 2:8.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 9. Much more then, being now justified] If Jesus Christ, in his endless comparison towards us gave his life for ours, while we were yet enemies; being now justified by his blood – by his death on the cross, and thus reconciled to God, we shall be saved from wrath – from punishment for past transgression, through him – by what he has thus suffered for us.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The apostles arguing is cogent, for it is more to justify and reconcile sinners, than to save them being justified; Christ therefore having done the former, he will much more do the latter.
By his blood; i.e. by faith in his blood or sufferings.
From wrath; the Greek reads it with an article, from that wrath, whereby is meant the wrath to come, or eternal punishment.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9, 10. Much more then, being“havingbeen”
now justified by his blood,we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Much more then being now justified by his blood,…. The apostle here argues from justification by Christ to salvation by him, there being a certain and inseparable connection between these two; whoever is justified shall be saved; and speaks of justification “as being now by his blood”. Justification in God’s mind from eternity proceeded upon the suretyship engagements of Christ to be performed in time; the Old Testament saints were justified of God with a view to the blood of the Lamb which was to be shed; this blood was “now” shed, and an application of justification by it was “now” made to the persons spoken of; which is the reason of this way of speaking. The blood of Christ intends his death, as appears from the context, and shows it to be a violent death; death by the effusion of blood. There is an emphasis upon it, “his blood”; not the blood of bulls and goats, nor of a mere innocent creature, but of Christ the Son of God; which is therefore efficacious to all the purposes for which it was shed, and particularly justification. This being ascribed to it, shows the concern Christ had in it, his blood is here put for the whole matter of justification; the shedding of that being the finishing part of it; and that our justification before God proceeds upon the foot of a satisfaction made to the law and justice of God: hence such as are interested in it,
shall be saved from wrath through him: not from wrath, as a corruption in their own hearts, which oftentimes breaks forth; nor as appearing among the people of God one towards another, which is sometimes very bitter; or as in their avowed enemies, the effects of which they often feel; nor from the wrath of devils, which is as the roaring of a lion; but from the wrath of God, from a sense and apprehension of it in their own consciences, which the law works; from which justification by the blood of Christ frees them; though under first awakenings they feel it, and sometimes, under afflictive dispensations of Providence, are ready to fear it: and also from the infliction of vindictive wrath or punishment for sin; for though they are as deserving of it as others, yet as they are not appointed to it, so they are entirely delivered from it, through Christ’s sustaining it in their room and stead: wherefore they are secure from it both in this life, and in the world to come.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Much more then ( ). Argument from the greater to the less. The great thing is the justification in Christ’s blood. The final salvation (, future passive indicative) is less of a mystery.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Wrath [ ] . Rev., better, “the wrath of God.” the article specifying. See on ch. Rom 12:19.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Much more then,” (pollo oun mallon) “By much more therefore;” Since the work of redemption has been finished thru his death, Rom 3:20-28.
2) “Being now justified by his blood,” (dikaiothentes nun en to haimati autou) “Now (and forever hereafter) having been justified (acquitted) in or by his blood; Rom 3:24-25; Rom 3:28; Rev 5:9; the term “being justified” is a passive verb and expresses a present state of condition of being of the believer, the righteous person –not a progressive active verb or participle that would reflect an unfinished or uncertain outcome of adjudication, Joh 5:24.
3) “We shall be saved,” (sothesometha) “We shall be saved or (delivered),” not we may, might, or have a good chance of being saved on condition of-our good works or righteousness, See Eph 2:8-10; Rom 11:6; Tit 3:5-6; 1Jn 3:1-3; Joh 10:27-29.
4) “From wrath through him,” (di’ autou apo tes orges) “From wrath through him,” away from, separated from wrath to come through Him, Jesus Christ, thru faith in Him, not thru baptism, church membership, morality, or good works; Rom 1:18; 1Th 1:10; 2Th 2:7-10.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES
Rom. 5:10. When we were enemies.Indicates relation to God rather than conduct. But Flatt says, Resisting Gods will, and so liable to punishment.
Rom. 5:11.The at-one-ment. Article points out only one way of salvation, through faith in Christ.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Rom. 5:9-11
Christian assurance.The Roman Christians would require all the helps which could be furnished. The apostle seeks to surround them with all safeguards, and to bring forth every argument and every consideration to strengthen them in the faith and prepare them for all trials. There are for us also peculiar trials, and we must seek to strengthen and encourage ourselves by the consideration of our privileges. Let us strengthen ourselves in the faith by taking account of the grounds of our assurance.
I. Confidence from the initial process.When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God. If the divine Being considered us kindly and compassionately in a state of enmity, surely He will not forsake when the alienation has been removed and a state of friendship has been established.
II. Confidence from the further development.Being justified, delivered by the blood of Christ, we shall finally be saved from wrath through Him. If grace has begun, surely grace will consummate. Can there be unfinished works in the divine path ways? Can it be said of God that, having begun to build, He was not either able or willing to finish? Let us have confidence in Gods good-will. Let us believe in His omnipotence and in His ever-enduring mercy.
III. Confidence from the unseen.Reconciled by the death of Gods Son, saved by His lifesaved by His earth life as a stimulating example, as an elevating and sanctifying influence. From the death of Christ we go backward and forwardbackward to the earth life, forward to the heavenly life. Saved by His earth life as our examplesaved by His heavenly life as our intercessor, as our appropriator, as our guide and protector. He ever lives to intercede. We have a great High Priest. Let us have holy boldness. He appropriates not to Himself but to believers the benefits of His mediatorial work. Sacred and benign influences come to us from the mediatorial throne. He is our guide and protector. He is the Good Shepherd guiding the sheep to the sweet pastures, where the verdant glades are ever green and refreshing streams are ever flowing. Let us follow where He leads, being assured that He will lead aright. Our times are in His hands. He is watching over our welfare.
IV. Confidence from the inward.The emotional is to be watched, but not to be ignored. Our own thoughts, feelings, and experiences are to be reckoned. Some there are who make light of inward experiences; but here St. Paul seems to make the inward the climax of his argument. Not only so, but we joy in God, we exult in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have received the at-one-ment, the reconciliation.
V. Christian joy is well founded, springing from the atoning work of Jesus Christ.Glory in self-righteousness, in fancied goodness, in good works, is vain. Not thus can we rightly joy in God. Such joy is like the chaff of the summer threshing floor which the wind will soon drive away. Let our joy spring from the finished work of the Saviour. He that exulteth, let him exult not in himself, but in that good God who gave His only begotten Son. Christian joy should be raised above the storms and tempests of time. The greater the outer darkness, the clearer shall be the inner light of Christian joy; the fiercer the outward heart, the more cheerily shall the inner joy glow and refresh.
VI. Christian joy is abiding.God cannot change. Jesus is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. How soon our earth joys fade! How often we have joy in anticipation and sorrow in realisation! Heavens joys do not fade. The believer joys in God as a present possession. He joys in anticipation of eternal union, and the realisation of that bliss will be bliss indeed. I will see you again; I will remain with you: and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. Soul joy is abiding and eternal. Surely we ought to have strong confidence who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us in the gospel.
Let sickness blast and death devour,
If heaven but recompense our pains;
Perish the grass and fade the flower,
If firm the word of God remains.
The dead and living Christ.For if, when we were enemies. There are four distinct facts or events given us here, on which the argument of the passage builds itself. Two of these have reference to the history of the sinner, and two of them to the history of the sinners Deliverer. The first two are, mans enmity and mans reconciliation; the last two are, the Saviours death and the Saviours life. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. There having been in His infinite bosom this exceeding love before He gave His Son, it is wholly incredible that He should be less gracious now, less willing to bestow all needed gifts. For
1. That gift did not exhaust His love. It did not empty the heart of God, nor dry up the fountain of His grace.
2. That gift has not thrown any hindrance in the way of Gods love. It is not now a more difficult thing for God to love us; nay, if we can say so, it is easier than ever. All hindrances have now melted away. Having thus briefly noticed this important truth, we now pass on to consider the three special heads of argument.
I. If God did so much for us when enemies, what will He do, or rather, what will He not do, for us now that we are friends?Our enmity, great as it was, did not hinder His bestowing such an unspeakable gift: what is there, then, within the whole circle of the universe, which we may not count upon, now that that enmity has been removed, and we have entered into eternal friendship with Him? There may be said to be three stages in this love, at each of which it rises and increases:
1. He loved us when enemies;
2. He loves us more when friends, even in this imperfect state of still-remaining sin;
3. He will love us yet more when imperfection has been shaken off, and we are presented without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. Here, then, is love in which we may assuredly triumph. It was love which expressed itself by an infinite gift. He is loving us and blessing us here; oh! will He not love us and bless us in the day when we take possession of the provided inheritance?
II. If Christs death did so much for us, what will not His life do?If a dying Saviour did so much for us, what will not a living Saviour be able to do? The expression saved used here denotes the whole blessing which God has in store for uscomplete deliverance in every sense of that worda complete undoing of our lost estate. Its consummation is, when Jesus comes the second time without sin unto salvation. The apostles argument rests on the fact of the existence of these two opposite states of beingthe two opposite extremities of being, death and life. Death is the lowest pitch of helplessness, lower even than the feebleness of infancy. It is the extremity of weakness. It is the utter cessation of all strength. Life is the opposite of this. It is the full possession of being, with all its faculties and powers. It is the guarantee for the forth-putting of all the vigour and strength which belong to the individual in whom it dwells. And it is thus that the apostle reasons: If Christ in His lowest state of weakness accomplished such marvels for us, what will He not be able to do for us now that He is in the full exercise of His almighty strength?
III. If Christs death did so much for us when enemies, what will not His life do for us when friends?In other words, if a dying Saviour did so much for us when enemies, what will not a living Saviour do for us when friends? If a father, in the midst of poverty and weakness, will do much for a prodigal child, what will he not, in the day of his riches and power and honour, do for a reconciled son? Hear how Scripture speaks of His life. When He who is our life shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory. His appearing as our life shall bring with it all that blessedness and glory which pertain to Him as the living Oneas our life. Because I live, ye shall live also. He cannot die; He liveth for ever. He is the resurrection and the life; therefore life, and all that life comprises, shall be ours. He ever liveth to make intercession for us. Of what, then, is it that this life of Christ gives us the assurance? Of salvation, says the apostle: We shall be saved by His life. Reconciliation is the result of His death; salvation, of His life!H. Bonar.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Rom. 5:9-11
Ground of confidence.Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. This and the following verse draw the obvious inference from the freeness and greatness of the love of God, as just exhibited, that believers shall be ultimately saved. It is an argument fortiori. If the greater benefit has been bestowed, the less will not be withheld. If Christ has died for His enemies, He will surely save His friends. Being justified. To be justified is more than to be pardoned; it includes the idea of reconciliation or restoration to the favour of God, and the participation of the consequent blessings. This idea is prominently presented in the following verse. We are justified by His blood. This expression, as remarked above, exhibits the true ground of our acceptance with God. It is not our works, nor our faith, nor our new obedience, nor the work of Christ in us, but what He has done for us. Having by the death of Christ been brought into the relation of peace with God, being now regarded for His sake as righteous, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. He will not leave His work unfinished; whom He justifies, them He also glorifies. The word wrath of course means the effects of wrath or punishment, those sufferings with which the divine displeasure visits sin. Not only is our justification to be ascribed to Christ, but our salvation is through Him. Salvation, in a general sense, includes justification; but when distinguished from it, as in this case, it means the consummation of that work of which justification is the commencement. It is a preservation from all the causes of destruction, a deliverance from the evils which surround us here or threaten us hereafter, and an introduction into the blessedness of heaven. Christ thus saves us by His providence and Spirit, and by His constant intercession. There is therefore most abundant ground for confidence for the final blessedness of believers, not only in the amazing love of God, by which, though sinners and enemies, they have been justified and reconciled by the death of His Son, but also in the consideration that this same Saviour that died for them still lives, and ever lives to sanctify, protect, and save them.Hodge.
Justify here means deliver from.Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. The word justified is here used to denote delivered, as may be inferred from the connection of the argument. Christ died for us, saith the apostle, and thus justified, that is delivered, us from death, which was our due. And if we are already delivered from death by the shedding of His blood, much more shall we be saved from wrath, that is from future punishment, through Him. Such is the argument. But if we should suppose the word justified to have its most usual meaning, namely, accounted righteous, there would be no room for the further effect here mentioned, of delivering us from future punishment. For justification denotes both delivering from wrath and also holding us entitled to the reward of righteousness. The apostles assertion therefore is, that being delivered by the death of Christ from the dominion of sin and from that death which was due to us, we shall through Him also be saved from the wrath to come. The expression much more shall we be saved from wrath implies that Christs dying to save us from the death due to us as sinners was the most important part of the plan of salvation; and this essential part of the dispensation being already accomplished, there can be no doubt that the natural effect of this part of it, namely, saving us from future punishment, will in due time take place also.Ritchie.
The word atonement may be used.The word here translated the atonement is twice, in the preceding verse, rendered by the word to reconcile; and it would have expressed the meaning more exactly had the passage been rendered by whom we have received the reconciliation. For, according to common use of language, an atonement is a sacrifice offered for sin; and it is received or accepted by Him whose law has been violated, and whom it is intended to propitiate. Strictly speaking, therefore, we do not receive atonement. It is both offered to God and accepted by Him. At the same time, the use of the word atonement instead of reconciliation makes no change in the meaning. For reconciliation is altogether the effect of the Atonement. It is this which removes the displeasure of God which lies on mankind as sinners, and renders Him willing to receive them into His favour. And we may without impropriety be said to receive the Atonement when we accept of these fruits of it, as they are offered in the gospel.Ritchie.
Jesus reveals the love of God by deeds.Francis Turretin says the doctrine of the Atonement is the chief part of our salvation, the anchor of faith, the refuge of hope, the rule of charity, the true foundation of the Christian religion, and the richest treasure of the Christian Church. When prophets and apostles have given us their message, their work is done. But it is different with Christ Jesus. Far more of God is revealed in what Jesus was, in what He did, and in what He suffered, than in what He taught. He revealed the mercy and tenderness of God more by His deeds than His words. Others had spoken of the beautiful, but none lived so beautifully. The evangelists give lengthened accounts of His death: the Saviour Himself ever kept it before Him, because it was of a sacrificial character. Jesus viewed death with terror, while the martyrs viewed it with delight. Surely this terror was not caused by the prospect of crucifixion, though painful. The only explanation of His death is His own: He gave His life a ransom for many; His blood was shed for the remission of sins. The cross, the symbol of dishonour and weakness, is the mightiest power in the universe. Peter, in his early discourse, refers to the death of Christ as a crime on the part of the Jews in order to lead them to repentance. It is significant that Peters whole thought should be concentrated on the cross and resurrection. How was it that Peter referred so much to His death? Christ suffered for us. It is not said that Christ taught or worked miracles for us. St. John strongly sets forth Christs death as a propitiation, and St. Paul maintained that Christ died for our sins. The history of the doctrine is a. proof that the idea of an objective atonement was not invented by theologians.Abstracted from, The Atonement, by R. W. Dale.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(9) From wrath.From the wrath, the divine wrath, or the wrath to come.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘Much more then, being now accounted as in the right by his blood, will we be saved from the wrath (of God) through him.’
And as a consequence of being accounted as righteous by His sacrificial death for us, we will ‘much more’ be saved from ‘the wrath’ (God’s wrath) through Him. Rom 1:18 to Rom 3:23 had concentrated on the fact that God’s wrath had been revealed towards us as worked out through this present era, bringing about man’s degradation (Rom 1:24-27) and making man’s mind go astray and become ‘unfitting’, resulting in deeper and deeper sin (Rom 1:28-30), and Rom 2:5 had pointed ahead to ‘the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God’. Thus wrath is both present and future, being experienced to some extent now, but coming to its climax on the day of Judgment. Now, however, Paul emphasises that for those who believe in Him (Rom 5:1) the consequences of that wrath have been removed from us ‘through Him’ (Jesus Christ). Thus while we may still be subjected to ‘tribulations’ (Rom 5:3), or to chastening (Heb 12:3-11; 1Co 11:30-32), we may be sure that we will never again suffer under the wrath of God. And this results from the fact that we have been ‘justified (accounted as righteous) by His blood’ (compare Rom 3:24-25), that is, as a result of His sacrificial death for us. The Judge of all men thus now ‘accounts us as righteous’, that is as ‘free from all charges’, because of His righteousness given to us through Christ (Rom 1:17). It is this that enables God to actively give us ‘life’.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Rom 5:9. From wrath See on chap. Rom 1:18 and 1Th 1:10.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Rom 5:9 . To prove that hope maketh not ashamed (Rom 5:5 ), Paul had laid stress on the possession of the divine love in the heart (Rom 5:5 ); then he had proved and characterised this divine love itself from the death of Christ (Rom 5:6-8 ); and he now again infers , from this divine display of love, from the death of Christ, that the hoped-for eternal salvation is all the more assured to us.
] The conclusion does not proceed a minori ad majus (Estius and many, including Mehring), but, since the point now turns on the carrying out of the divine act of atonement, a majori (Rom 5:6-8 ) ad minus (Rom 5:9 ).
] expresses the enhancement of certainty, as in Rom 5:15-17 : much less therefore can it be doubted that , etc.; stands in reference to in Rom 5:8 .
. ] we shall be rescued from the divine wrath (1Th 1:10 ; comp Mat 3:7 ), so that the latter, which issues forth at the last judgment (Rom 2:5 , Rom 3:5 ), does not affect us. Comp Winer, p. 577 [E. T. 743]; Act 2:40 . This negative expression for the attainment of the hoped-for renders the inference more obvious and convincing. For the positive expression see 2Ti 4:18 .
] i.e. through the operation of the exalted Christ, , Rom 5:10
Faith, as the of justification, is understood as a matter of course (Rom 5:1 ), but is not mentioned here, because only what has been accomplished by God through Christ is taken into consideration. If faith were in the judgment of God the anticipation of moral perfection (but see note on Rom 1:17 ), least of all could it have been left unmentioned. Observe also how Paul has justification in view as a unity , without different degrees or stages.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Ver. 9. Much more then ] It is a greater work of God to bring men to grace, than, being in the state of grace, to bring them to glory; because sin is far more distant from grace than grace is from glory.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
9 11 .] The Apostle further shews the blessed fruits of justification , viz. salvation , both from wrath , and with life . The argument proceeds from the beginning of the chapter: but the connexion , as so frequent with St. Paul, is immediately with the parenthetical sentences just preceding. Much more then (if He died for us when sinners , a fortiori will He save us now that we are righteous by virtue of that His death) having been now justified by His blood (see remarks on ch. Rom 4:25 ) we shall be saved by Him from the wrath ( to come , or of which we know : force of the art.).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rom 5:9 f. : The argument is from the greater to the less. The supreme difficulty to be overcome in the relations of man and God is the initial one: How can God demonstrate His love to the sinner, and bestow on him a Divine righteousness? In comparison with this, everything else is easy. Now the Apostle has already shown (Rom 3:21-30 ) how the Gospel meets this difficulty: we obtain the righteousness required by believing in Jesus, whom God has set forth as a propitiation through faith in His blood. If such grace was shown us then , when we were in sin, much more, justified as we have now been by His blood, shall we be saved from wrath through Him. : the wrath to come: see note on Rom 1:18 . This deliverance from wrath does not exhaust Paul’s conception of the future (see Rom 5:2 ), but it is an important aspect of it, and implies the rest. Rom 5:10 rather repeats, than grounds anew, the argument of Rom 5:9 . : this is practically equivalent to . The state of sin was that in which we were , and the whole connection of ideas in the passage requires us to give the passive meaning which it undoubtedly has in Rom 11:28 , where it is opposed to . We were in a real sense objects of the Divine hostility. As sinners, we lay under the condemnation of God, and His wrath hung over us. This was the situation which had to be faced: Was there love in God equal to it? Yes, when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son. is a real passive: “we” are the objects, not the subjects, of the reconciliation: the subject, is God, 2Co 5:19-21 . Compare Rom 5:11 : . To represent by an active form, e.g. , “we laid aside our hostility to God,” or by what is virtually one, e.g. , “we were won to lay aside our hostility,” is to miss the point of the whole passage. Paul is demonstrating the love of God , and he can only do it by pointing to what God has done, not to what we have done. That we on our part are hostile to God before the reconciliation, and that we afterwards lay aside our enmity, is no doubt true; but here it is entirely irrelevant. The Apostle’s thought is simply this: “if, when we lay under the Divine condemnation, the work of our reconciliation to God was achieved by Him through the death of His Son, much more shall the love which wrought so incredibly for us in our extremity carry out our salvation to the end”. The subjective side of the truth is here completely, and intentionally , left out of sight; the laying aside of our hostility adds nothing to God’s love, throws no light upon it; hence in an exposition of the love of God it can be ignored. To say that the reconciliation is “mutual,” is true in point of fact; it is true, also, to all the suggestions of the English word; but it is not true to the meaning of , nor to the argument of this passage, which does not prove anything about the Christian, but exhibits the love of God at its height in the Cross, and argues from that to what are comparatively smaller demonstrations of that love. : the is instrumental: cf. Rom 5:9 . The Living Lord, in virtue of His life, will save us to the uttermost. Cf. Joh 14:19 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
blood. Compare Rom 5:1 with Rom 3:24.
saved. First of eight occurances in Romans.
wrath. See Rom 1:18. 1Th 1:10.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
9-11.] The Apostle further shews the blessed fruits of justification, viz. salvation, both from wrath, and with life. The argument proceeds from the beginning of the chapter: but the connexion, as so frequent with St. Paul, is immediately with the parenthetical sentences just preceding. Much more then (if He died for us when sinners, a fortiori will He save us now that we are righteous by virtue of that His death) having been now justified by His blood (see remarks on ch. Rom 4:25) we shall be saved by Him from the wrath (to come, or of which we know: force of the art.).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Rom 5:9. , Being justified) The antithesis to sinners, Rom 5:8.-, now) The remembrance of Jesus Christs death was at that time fresh among believers.- , from wrath) which otherwise does not cease: wrath abides upon those who do not attain to grace.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Rom 5:9
Rom 5:9
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him.-If, while we were enemies and rebels against God, Jesus Christ died for us, much more now, being reconciled to God, justified by his blood, we shall be saved by him from the wrath to come. God is more willing to save those who have accepted the redemption offered through Christ than he was to save while they were yet enemies. When Christ died, he invested, as it were, his lifeblood in those who accept him. The redeemed by this become so much the dearer to God. And we shall be saved by living the life Jesus lived. We are able to live this life by the Spirit he has given us.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
being: Rom 5:1, Rom 3:24-26, Eph 2:13, Heb 9:14, Heb 9:22, 1Jo 1:7
we shall: Rom 5:10, Rom 1:18, Rom 8:1, Rom 8:30, Joh 5:24, 1Th 1:10
Reciprocal: Lev 17:11 – I have Num 16:46 – from off Isa 53:11 – justify Mat 3:7 – flee Luk 11:13 – how Luk 22:32 – I have Joh 3:36 – but Joh 6:47 – He that Joh 10:28 – they Act 13:39 – by Rom 3:25 – through Rom 5:2 – wherein Rom 8:17 – if children 1Co 6:11 – but ye are justified Gal 2:16 – but Col 1:21 – sometime
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
5:9
Rom 5:9. Justified by his blood is explained at chapter 3:25, 26. Through such a complete satisfaction offered by the blood of Christ, the wrath of God against sin will be turned away from us.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rom 5:9. Much more therefore. The inference from Gods love as displayed in the death of Christ (Rom 5:6-8), is the assurance of full salvation. An argument from the greater to the less. If Christ died for His enemies, He will surely save His friends (Hodge).
Being now justified, or, having been justified, at the present time, now, in contrast with while we were yet sinners (Rom 5:8).
By his blood, lit., in. A concrete expression for the atoning death of Christ, which is the meritorious cause of our justification (comp. chap. Rom 3:25).
Saved through him from the wrath. That this means the wrath of God admits of no doubt. The full final escape from wrath, at the last judgment, is suggested, but this is only a negative expression for the hope of the glory of God (Rom 5:2); there being no middle position between objects of wrath and heirs of glory. The Apostle thus joins together the certainty of salvation with the fact of Gods wrath against sin and the certainty of its execution upon unbelieving sinners. As respects the word wrath, it denotes a personal emotion, and not merely an abstract attribute. A divine emotion is a divine attribute in energy. In relation to it, the oblation of Christ is called propitiation (1Jn 2:2; 1Jn 4:10). The feeling of anger towards sin is not incompatible with the feeling of com-passionate benevolence (Rom 5:7) towards the sinner. The very Being who is displeased, is the very same Being who, through a placatory atonement of His own providing, saves from the displeasure (Shedd).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
As if the apostle had said, “He that loved us when we were enemies, will not damn us now we are his children. He that reconciled us to himself by his Son’s death, that is, for the sake of his Son’s sufferings, and satisfaction, will certainly save us from wrath to come by his life, or for the sake of his prevailing intercession;” If when enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son.
Here note, That this word (if) is not a word of doubting, but of argumentation. The apostle supposes it a known truth, or a principle yielded by all Christians, That the death of Christ was to reconcile sinners unto God.
Learn hence, That Christ has reconciled God and us by the satisfaction which his death has made to the justice of God for our sins; and reparation being made, the enmity ceases on God’s part if the terms of reconciliation be accepted on our part.
Our reconciliation with God, when enemies, was effected,
1. By the sacrifice of the death of Christ, which was the price that purchased it.
2. By the application of that benefit to us through faith:
And, 3. By Christ’s potent and eternal intercession, whereby our state of reconciliation is confirmed and all future breaches prevented: For if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, even Christ the righteous, 1Jn 2:1-2.
We dare not say, that God could not have reconciled us any other way but this; but we may safely say, that no way like this was so expressive of his love to us; it was the most obliging and endearing way imaginable, to reconcile us to himself by the death of his Son.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Rom 5:9-11. Much more then Since, therefore, it hath pleased the blessed God to give us such an unexampled display of his love as this, how high may our expectations rise, and how confidently may we conclude, that much more, being now justified by his blood Shed for us: that is, by his death, which is the meritorious cause of our justification, while faith in that blood is the instrumental cause; we shall be saved from wrath From future punishment, from the vengeance of eternal fire; through him If he so loved us as to give his Son to die for us, when we were mere guilty sinners, we may assure ourselves that, having now constituted us righteous, and accepted us as such, pardoning all our sins for the sake of the sacrifice of Christs blood, he will certainly save us from eternal damnation; us who continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel. For if when we were enemies Through the perverseness of our minds, and the rebellion of our lives, (see Col 1:21;) we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son Which expiated our sins, and rendered God reconcileable, and which procured for us the Holy Spirit, to remove the enmity from our minds, giving us, at the same time, such a display of the love of God to us, as won our affections over to him; much more, being thus reconciled, we shall be saved Sanctified and glorified; by his life Restored in order to our being thus saved: that is, by his ever living to make intercession, and his thereby receiving for us, and communicating to us, continual supplies of grace. He that has done the greater thing, which is, of enemies to make us friends, will certainly do the lesser, which is, when we are friends to treat us as such, and be kind and gracious to us. But the opposition is not only between reconciling enemies, and preserving friends, the latter being less difficult than the former, but also between Christs death and life; his life here spoken of, being not his life in the flesh, but his life in heaven, that life which ensued after his death. See Rom 14:9. Now if his death, when he was crucified in weakness, performed the harder work, that is, reconciled his enemies, shall not his life, which is stronger, (for he liveth by his divine power as the Prince of life, that could not be held in death,) effect the easier work, and preserve and save to the uttermost, those that are already made his friends? For, we are reconciled by Christ humbled, and finally saved by Christ exalted, it being in consequence of his exaltation to the right hand of God, and his being invested with all power in heaven and on earth, and made head over all things to his church, that he completes and consummates our salvation. And not only so Namely, that we should be reconciled and saved; but we also joy, Greek, , glory, in God In the relation in which he stands to us as our God, and in all his glorious and boundless perfections, which we see are engaged for us; through our Lord Jesus Christ By whom we are introduced into this happy state, who is our peace, and hath made God and us one; by whom we have now That we are believers; received the atonement Greek, , the reconciliation. So the word signifies, and in all other passages where it occurs is so translated, being derived from the verb , which is twice rendered reconcile in the preceding verse, and to which it has so apparent a reference, that it is surprising it should have been here rendered by so different a word as atonement, especially as it is quite improper to speak of our receiving an atonement which God receives as made for our sins. But, when we are made true believers in Christ, we receive the reconciliation, and that not only averts the terrors of Gods wrath, but opens upon us all the blessings of his perpetual friendship and love; so that the Father and the Son come unto us, and make their abode with us, Joh 14:23; and we know and believe the love that he hath to us, and in consequence thereof dwell in love, and therefore dwell in God, and God in us. The whole paragraph from Rom 5:3-11 may be taken together thus: We not only rejoice in hope of the glory of God, but also in the midst of tribulations, we glory in God himself through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have received the reconciliation.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Vv. 9, 10. Much rather then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much rather, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
The , then, concludes from the proof of love already received to the proof of love to be hoped for. The is certainly taken here in the logical sense: much more certainly, and not: much more abundantly.
Meyer is right in saying that the conclusion proceeds not from the least to the most, but from the most to the least. The work already finished is summed up in the words: being now justified by His blood. The word now contrasts the present state of justification, on the one hand, with the former state of condemnation (the: yet sinners of Rom 5:8); and, on the other, with the state of future salvation (we shall be saved). The state in which we now are is greatly more inconsistent with final wrath than that from which we have already been rescued.
But what is that wrath from which we have yet to be delivered? That spoken of by Paul, Rom 2:5-6, in the words: the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, the day when God will render to every one according to his deeds; comp. 1Th 1:10; 2Th 1:8. Our Lord speaks, Luk 12:47-48, of the punishment in store for the servant who knew the will of his master and did it not: he shall be beaten with many stripes. To whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required. A ground this for serious vigilance on the part of the justified man, but not of fear. Paul explains why: there is in Christ more than the expiation (the blood) by which He has introduced us into the state of justification; there is His living person, now glorified, and consequently able to interpose in new ways in behalf of the justified, and to bring to a successful end the work of salvation so well begun in them. Such is the meaning of the words: we shall be saved through Him ( ). Comp. Rom 8:34 : Who died, yea rather, that is risen again; who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us; Gal 2:20 : I live, yet not I, but Christ in me; Heb 7:25 : Ever living to make intercession for us; Joh 14:19 : Because I live, ye shall live also. Paul here explains himself clearly regarding the double mediation indicated (Rom 5:1-2) by means of the two , through: through our Lord…(Rom 5:1), through whom also…(Rom 5:2). The one expressed in Rom 5:1 was that which was implied here in the words through Him: we are delivered from all fear through Him (as to our future). The other, expressed in Rom 5:2 (through whom also we have obtained access…), was that of His blood, through which we have been justified, delivered from condemnation (as to the past). It is obvious how profoundly the apostle’s work is weighed, and that we were not mistaken in alleging that in the words: We have peace with God, he had his eyes already turned to the future, the final salvation.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him.
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
9. Then how much more now, being justified in his blood, shall we be saved from wrath through him.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from {k} wrath through him.
(k) From affliction and destruction.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
So far Paul had referred to five benefits of justification. These blessings, in addition to justification itself, were peace with God (Rom 5:1), access into a gracious realm (Rom 5:2), joy in tribulations (Rom 5:3-5 a), and the indwelling Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5 b). Still there is "much more" (cf. Rom 5:10; Rom 5:15; Rom 5:17; Rom 5:20).
What Paul next described is a benefit that justified sinners will experience in the future, namely, deliverance from the outpouring of God’s wrath on the unrighteous (cf. Rom 1:18). Jesus Christ’s blood is the symbol of His death and the literal expression of His life poured out as a sacrifice (cf. Rom 3:25). Having done the harder thing, namely, justifying us when we were yet sinners (Rom 5:8), how much more will He do the easier thing, delivering us from coming wrath.