“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”
The full verse · Romans 8:31 · KJV
shall these ? be , can be ?
Asked by
Paul: the apostle writing to the church at Rome, drawing a conclusion from all he has said about God's purpose for His people (Romans 8:28-30)
The Scene
Paul has just traced God's purpose for His people from foreknowledge to glory ("whom he justified, them he also glorified," Romans 8:30), after speaking of present sufferings and groaning (Romans 8:18-23).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionPaul stops to ask what all of this adds up to. "These things" are what he has just laid out: God's adoption of His children, the Spirit's help in prayer, and God's unbroken purpose to bring them to glory (Romans 8:15-30). Barnes explains that God has shown Himself to be our friend in exactly these ways. The second question then presses the point: if God is on our side, who could succeed against us? Barnes notes that sinners and the great enemy may oppose believers, but "their power to destroy us is taken away." Gill says "these things" may mean either the afflictions Paul has spoken of or the blessings he has just listed; if the blessings, nothing can be added to them and nothing said against them.
The Response
What Scripture recordsPaul answers his own question in the verses that follow. God "spared not his own Son" (Romans 8:32). No charge can stand, because "It is God that justifieth" (Romans 8:33). No one can condemn, because "It is Christ that died" (Romans 8:34). And nothing in all creation "shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39). The implied answer is: no one who can finally prevail.
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsPaul wrote Romans to believers in Rome, "beloved of God, called to be saints" (Romans 1:7). A few verses after this question he names tribulation, persecution, famine, and sword among the things they might face (Romans 8:35). Barnes ties Paul's question to Psalm 118:6, where the psalmist says, "The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?" Paul's question rests on the same confidence the psalm expresses: God's presence on His people's side changes what any enemy can do.
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThis question turns Romans 8 from teaching into worship. Paul has just described what Matthew Henry calls "a golden chain, one which cannot be broken": foreknown, predestined, called, justified, glorified (Romans 8:29-30). Every link is God's action. So the question is not "Are we strong enough?" but "Is God for us?" Barnes answers simply: "God is more mighty than all our foes."
The question does not deny that there are enemies. Paul goes on to list real dangers (Romans 8:35-36). It denies that any of them get the last word. Matthew Henry writes, "While God is for us, and we keep in his love, we may with holy boldness defy all the powers of darkness."
Look Closer
What does "these things" point back to in Paul's question?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Father, You have shown that You are for me; what am I treating as stronger than You right now?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- When you feel opposed, do you first ask "Who is against me?" or "Is God for me?" How does the order change what you feel?
- Tell about a time when something you feared turned out to have no final power over you.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
You will face opposition. Paul does not pretend otherwise. But you can measure every threat against this question: if God is for you, what can it finally do?
This confidence rests on what God has done, not on how strong you feel. Paul builds it from God's work: calling, justifying, glorifying (Romans 8:30). When fear rises, go back to what God has already done for you in Christ.
This does not mean everything will go your way. The same chapter speaks of groaning and sword (Romans 8:23, 35). "God is for us" promises His presence and His final victory, not an easy road.
Scripture's own application: Hebrews 13:5-6
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”
“Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect?”
“Who is he that condemneth?”
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”