Welcome to Tuesday's Things Unseen. And first of all, maybe I should apologise for leaving

you dangling on the edge of a cliff yesterday when I signed off. But I did say that today

I tell you what strikes me as being a rather unusual feature of Romans 8 verses 28 to 39

specifically of verses 31 to 35. And I do think it's really quite significant. And

when you notice it for the first time, as I said, it tends to stick in your mind. So

what is it? Well, it's the fact that this series of verses is actually framed by a rapid

fire series of questions. If God is for us who can be against us, who shall bring any

charge against God's elect? Who is to condemn? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

It's not just the simple fact that there's this rapid fire series of questions that strikes

me as significant here. Of course you get a sense from Paul that he's got tremendous

confidence that nothing can withstand the purposes of God or the power of the gospel.

But what's significant, I think, is that all of these questions begin with the same

interrogative pronoun. And it's not just that the interrogative pronoun is the same each

time. It's that the interrogative pronoun on each occasion is a personal pronoun. He

doesn't ask what, but who? It's not what can be against us or what can constitute a charge

against us or what can condemn us or what shall separate us. It's who? Who? Who? Who? Who?

All the time. And that surely can't be accidental. After all, when he asks his fourth question,

he goes on to give a list of potential separators, doesn't he? Tribulation, distress, persecution,

famine, nakedness, danger, sword. And all of these things are it's. But he doesn't ask what

shall separate us. So there must be a reason he uses the personal pronoun who and not the impersonal

one, what? Why? Well, you've perhaps already guessed the answer. It's because all opposition

to the Christian and to his or her relationship to the Lord Jesus is not ultimately rooted

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