"You see, at just the right time ...". Paul has just said that God's love has been poured into our hearts. Now he is going to explain how this is. When we speak of heart we think primarily of our emotions, but in the Bible our heart is not restricted to our emotions, but includes both the rational and emotional. So when Paul says the God's love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit he is not just talking about feelings, but also about our understanding the depths of God's love for us (see Ephesians 3:18,19).
So now Paul explains God's love, and we should expect the Holy Spirit to open our minds and hearts to the truth of this love. Christ died for us at just the right time, while we were still powerless. He died for the ungodly. Why was it the right time? Well it was the right time in God's plan. We cannot fully understand why it was at exactly this point in history, but we can see some evidence that it was the right time. The Roman empire was such that there was a common language among much of Europe, namely Greek. Moreover, there was a good transport network, and the Roman empire meant there was relative order in the world. So the conditions were ripe for the good news to spread far and wide.
"While we were still powerless". We did nothing to earn salvation. The only thing we contributed were the sins that nailed Jesus to the cross. But note that it implies that we are powerless no longer. God died for the powerless, but it is not His intention that we remain powerless.
Christ died for the ungodly. We need to remind ourselves of this constantly. When we despair of our failings we should not think that are beyond the reach of God's love. Conversely, when we make progress and see His power at work in and through us we should be under any delusion that we somehow merit salvation.
So now Paul explains God's love, and we should expect the Holy Spirit to open our minds and hearts to the truth of this love. Christ died for us at just the right time, while we were still powerless. He died for the ungodly. Why was it the right time? Well it was the right time in God's plan. We cannot fully understand why it was at exactly this point in history, but we can see some evidence that it was the right time. The Roman empire was such that there was a common language among much of Europe, namely Greek. Moreover, there was a good transport network, and the Roman empire meant there was relative order in the world. So the conditions were ripe for the good news to spread far and wide.
"While we were still powerless". We did nothing to earn salvation. The only thing we contributed were the sins that nailed Jesus to the cross. But note that it implies that we are powerless no longer. God died for the powerless, but it is not His intention that we remain powerless.
Christ died for the ungodly. We need to remind ourselves of this constantly. When we despair of our failings we should not think that are beyond the reach of God's love. Conversely, when we make progress and see His power at work in and through us we should be under any delusion that we somehow merit salvation.
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