Epistle of Saint Ignatius

Romans 8:35-39

Brethren: who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation? or distress? or famine? or nakedness? or danger? or persecution or the sword? (As it is written, for Thy sake we are put to death all the day long: we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.) But in all these things we overcome because of Him that hath loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor might, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Haydock

Verse 35. &c. Who then, or what shall separate us from the love of Christ? Neither devils, nor men, nor any thing in nature, unless it be by our own fault, and unless we wilfully and sinfully leave God. — I am sure. In the Greek, I am fully persuaded, that nothing can separate us, &c. In fine, another argument to prove we ought to have a firm hope in God, is that Christ Jesus, who sits at the right hand of God, also intercedeth for us. Christ, as man, intercedeth, prayeth for us, is our advocate and chief mediator See Heb. vii. Christ is truly said to pray for us in heaven, though it is not the custom of the Church to call upon him in this manner, “Christ pray for us;” because being God, as well as man, he has all things under his command. Wi.

Verse 39. So powerful and efficacious, so certain and unchangeable is the love of God, which conducts us to the kingdom of bliss, that no creature can separate us from it, either by making us cease to love him, or by frustrating our love of its effect, viz. life everlasting. Estius.

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