Romans 8:39

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nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:39 (NKJV)

neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:39 (NIV)

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.

Romans 8:39 (KJV)

no power in the sky above or in the earth below — indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:39 (NLT)

nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:39 (ESV)

nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:39 (NASB)

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the [unlimited] love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:39 (AMP)

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:39 (AMPC)

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMPC), Copyright © 1954, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

I'm absolutely convinced that nothing — nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable — absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.

Romans 8:39 (MSG)

Scripture quotations from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.

New Covenant Meaning

The Exhaustive List That Ends With a Catch-All

Romans 8:38-39 is Paul's attempt to list every conceivable power, circumstance, or dimension that might threaten the love of God, and to declare each one powerless. Death and life. Angels and principalities. Present and future. Powers. Height and depth. Then, as if recognizing that someone might think of a category he missed, Paul adds: "nor any other created thing." The list is not just comprehensive in what it names. The final phrase closes every possible loophole. If it exists, it was created. If it was created, it is a created thing. And no created thing can separate you from the love of God in Christ. The only thing that could separate you from God's love would have to be uncreated, outside the creation. Nothing qualifies.

The Love Is Located In Christ Jesus

Romans 8:39 does not simply say that God loves you and nothing can change that. It says the love of God is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The love is not an abstract divine disposition. It is secured in the covenant relationship that exists in Christ. Because you are in Christ (Romans 8:1), the love of God that is in Christ is your permanent reality. You cannot be separated from it because you cannot be separated from Christ. John 10:28-29 makes the same argument: no one can snatch you out of His hand, and no one can snatch you out of the Father's hand. The security of the love is grounded in the security of your position in Christ.

Romans 8:38-39 is the conclusion of the greatest chapter in all of Paul's letters. Chapter 8 begins: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." It ends: nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. From no condemnation to inseparable love, the entire chapter is a declaration of the absolute security of the believer. Romans 8:38-39 is not wishful thinking or emotional comfort. It is Paul's reasoned theological conclusion, backed by the logic of justification (v. 30), the resurrection of Christ (v. 34), and the intercession of the Spirit (v. 26). The love of God in Christ is not fragile. It does not depend on your performance, your emotional state, or the severity of your circumstances.

Application for Your Life

This Verse Covers What You Are Afraid Of Right Now

Romans 8:39 does not need to be applied to some future crisis. It applies to what you are facing today. Whatever is threatening you, whatever feels like it might finally prove too much for God's love to hold onto, is already covered in Paul's list. Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword (v. 35) — and then height and depth and any other created thing. The verse was written to people who were facing real dangers, real suffering, and real reasons to wonder whether God still loved them. Paul's answer is the same for them as for you: nothing can separate us. Whatever you are looking at right now is a created thing. It does not qualify.

You Cannot Fall Out of This Love by Failing

One of the most common fears among believers is that their sin or failure has finally crossed a line that puts them outside the reach of God's love. Romans 8:39 does not leave room for that fear. The verse lists angelic powers, cosmic forces, the dimensions of space, past and future — and none of them can separate you. Your own failure is not in a special category that overrides the list. Paul himself said in Romans 8:38: "I am persuaded." Not: I am persuaded unless I mess up too badly. Not: I am persuaded unless my sin is too severe. The persuasion is unconditional because the love is located in Christ, not in your track record.

Prayer Based on This Verse

Father, I receive this. Nothing can separate me from Your love. Not what I have done. Not what has been done to me. Not the fear I am carrying. Not the failure I am ashamed of. Not the future I cannot see. Not death or life or angels or principalities or powers or height or depth or anything else in all creation. I am in Christ, and Your love is in Christ, and nothing is taking me out. I rest in that today. In Jesus name. Amen.