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8. Commendeth. Gr. sunistÄ“mi, which may also be rendered, “establishes,” “proves” (see on ch. 3:5). Hence the passage may be translated, “God gives proof of His love to us.” The Greek word also carries the meaning of “to recommend” (see Rom. 16:1; 2 Cor. 4:2). Hence the KJV “commend” may be appropriate here as covering both possible senses, and both may be implied in this context. Christ’s death for sinners not only proves God’s love to be a fact but also sets this love before us in all its greatness and perfection.

The form of the word in the Greek indicates that God continues to prove and commend His love for us. The sacrifice of Christ remains as the greatest demonstration of His love. Jesus died once for all, yet in the enduring results of His death we have ever-present proof of God’s love for each of us.

His love. Literally, “His own love.” The love of God the Father was displayed in the death of Christ. This vital fact must be recognized for a correct understanding of the atonement (see on ch. 3:25). Christ did not die to appease His Father or to induce Him to love us. It was divine love that conceived the plan of atonement and salvation in the beginning, and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have all worked together in perfect harmony to effect it (see John 3:16; 10:30; 14:16, 26; 15:26; 17:11, 22, 23; Rom. 3:24; 8:32; Eph. 2:4-7; 2 Thess. 2:16; 1 John 4:10).

Some find it difficult to reconcile this conception of the eternal love of God with the frequently mentioned divine wrath. But divine wrath is God’s antagonism to sin, resulting ultimately in the complete eradication of sin from the universe. So long as men choose to remain under the dominion of sin they are inevitably involved in God’s wrath (see on Rom. 1:18). It was His own love for sinners that led God to give His Son to die, and He gave Himself in that atoning sacrifice (2 Cor. 5:19).

Yet sinners. There was nothing in man to deserve God’s love. The hypothetical “good man” of v. 7 was benevolent and lovable and inspired affection. But the love that God exercised toward us was not a response to any love we had for Him, for we were His enemies. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us” (1 John 4:10).

For. Gr. huper, which may be taken to mean “in behalf of,” “instead of.” Paul does not say only that Christ died “in our stead,” as “a propitiation” (ch. 3:25), as “an offering and a sacrifice” for us (Eph. 5:2), and as the “ransom for all” (1 Tim. 2:6). If Christ’s death had been an unwilling one, it would have been enough to say that He died “instead of us.” But Paul says also that Christ died “for” us, “in our behalf.” As our Champion, Friend, and Brother, He deliberately and willingly gave His own life for our sake, because He loved us (Eph. 5:2). By this sacrifice He became our Representative, for when “one died for all, then were all dead” (2 Cor. 5:14). Thus it is correct to say that Christ died “in our stead” and “in our behalf,” and the simple word “for” seems to be an appropriate choice to cover both of these ideas.