Inseparable
When our son was a toddler, he had a unique way of expressing his dismay: “Nobody’s not my friend!” So cute, but despite the double-negative, he was saying he felt everyone had abandoned him. Children learn early to use hyperbole (exaggeration for the sake of illustration) to make their point. By complaining that nobody was his friend, Spencer was saying that all people were against him. But of course, that was not true. So, was he lying? No, hyperbole can be a legitimate and effective part of communication. He was letting us know he had hurt feelings. We felt sorry for the little guy. It worked. (By the way, now that Spencer is a grown young man, “nobody’s not his friend,” literally. Everybody loves him. No exaggeration.)
Does the Bible use hyperbole? It’s used repeatedly in scripture and it helps make the point. However, we must be careful to see the difference between exaggeration for the sake of illustration and extreme but true statements. For example, Jesus said, “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you;” (Matthew 5:29). Did He mean that literally? In all my years of teaching the Bible, I’ve never encouraged what Jesus described. Jesus was also extreme in Luke 14:26 when He talked about “hating” your family to be His disciple. Such exaggeration no doubt got people’s attention and graphically but effectively made His points.
There are many examples of biblical usage of words like “all,” “never,” “nothing” and “everyone” to express the unexaggerated truth. Paul is not using hyperbole here: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). You can’t read that and assume he’s only referring to certain people. And should we live in fear of another worldwide flood although God promised: “never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh” (Genesis 9:15)? You can find many more such apparently exaggerated but literal biblical statements that unquestionably mean what they say.
In one familiar passage, the words and word pictures Paul uses seem extreme. One might assume he is using hyperbole. But this is how Paul describes the impossibility of anyone or anything separating us from the love of God in Christ, and it’s no exaggeration. He includes everything from the most challenging human circumstances to a broad list of created things as no match for God’s love. Put it all together, and the meaning is clear: nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39).
It’s no overstatement to say that the truth of the inseparability of God’s love is the most remarkable, incredible, monumental, indescribably good reality we see in the whole universe! Well, at least in God’s Word. It is literally an eternally reassuring truth. All those superlatives may make it sound too good to be true, but it’s true. Nothing can separate us from God in Christ.
There are other passages to back this up. For example, Jesus says, “I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28); “no one” means “no one” and “never” means nothing but “never.” Thus, Jesus is not dishonestly exaggerating.
Yet some conclude Jesus didn’t mean no one and never. What He meant, they say, was “no one, except.” In other words, separation from the love of God can happen to those who have it. They believe the unwritten truth is that “no one” does not include those in Christ who do something to separate themselves from God’s love. If you prefer accurate theology, it’s wise to avoid the “unwritten truth” when the written truth is so clear: nothing can separate.
“…for He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,’” —Hebrews 13:5