Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of Romans Chapter 5
Metaphysically Interpreting Romans 5:1-11
5:1Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; 5:2through whom also we have had our access by faith into this grace wherein we stand; and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 5:3And not only so, but we also rejoice in our tribulations: knowing that tribulation worketh stedfastness; 5:4and stedfastness, approvedness; and approvedness, hope: 5:5and hope putteth not to shame; because the love of God hath been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which was given unto us.
5:6For while we were yet weak, in due season Christ died for the ungodly. 5:7For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: for peradventure for the good man some one would even dare to die. 5:8But God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 5:9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him. 5:10For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by his life; 5:11and not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
January 20, 1929: Romans 5:6-10
In verses 6 to 10 of this lesson Paul states that we are saved from our sins by both the death and the life of “Christ.” Explain. The terms, “Jesus” and “Christ,” have come to be used synonymously by many professed Christians. But a distinction must be perceived in order to get a true understanding of Jesus Christ, and of “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” of which Paul wrote in Colossians 1:27. Jesus represents the natural man who has fallen short of the divine man, Christ. On the cross Jesus died to sin; that is, the sinning consciousness is crossed out. In this respect Jesus died for us. He crucified the consciousness of sin. Christ, the man of God, restored the divine life to the purified body, of Jesus. Thus Jesus died for us and Christ lived for us, as explained in verse10. “For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”
April 14, 1935: Romans 5:6-10
In what sense does Christ still die? Christ dies in the sinner, because sin thrusts the one who sins outside the Christ consciousness, so that it seems to him no longer to exist.
What is mysterious about the sacrifice of love? Its unfailingness. The willingness of love to continue to give without thought of return has always been a mystery, because it is centered in God, whom the sense man cannot know.
Explain the saving power of the Christ. When we consciously try to follow the Christ principle in all that we do, we call the saving power of the Christ into expression. Living the right life saves us.
Why is intelligence omnipresent? Because Divine Mind gives itself to all its creation, thus endowing all its creatures with the essence of divine wisdom and intelligence.
November 22, 1936: Romans 5:6-11
Who are the “ungodly”, for whom "in due season Christ died"? Those who live entirely outside the Christ consciousness after they have once come to know its saving power are ungodly.
Name the saving grace that effects man's threefold salvation. The Christ life saves man wholly. To be saved in body, soul and spirit, man must be reconciled to God and willing to merge his will in the divine will.
“We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Interpret this statement. Everyone whose life is founded in Christ lives joyously. He who faithfully expresses his true self knows joy greater than any merely intellectual delight.
What is the proof of our being reconciled to God? When we are reconciled to God we are restored to harmony with our source. When we are consciously one with Divine Spirit, our whole being is filled with the joy of the Lord.
From what bondage does freedom in Christ lift us? Bondage to prejudice, to misunderstanding, and to the materiality of intellect: forms of bondage to which all in the sense nature are subject.
August 3, 1941: Romans 5:1-2
What effects follow justification by faith? To have one's course proved right beyond all question brings peace of mind. Serene faith in God and the daily following up of one's understanding bring one into consciousness of the grace of God. Hope, wisdom, knowledge, and divine love are then man's daily resources.
October 4, 1942: Romans 5:1-11
Why does faith in the Christ bring peace to the mind and heart of man? Because such faith is a sure foundation on which the mind and heart can base a sense of security, and this sense of security brings peace.
How can anyone “rejoice in tribulations”? No one can, except he who understands that the Christ consciousness turns all things to his final benefit. Since the Christ consciousness is constructive power it must bring good into his life, no matter through what avenue it comes. Met in the right spirit, tribulation builds up steadfastness, which is a spiritual quality greatly to be desired.
What does steadfastness gain for us? By successive stages it leads us into a consciousness of divine love in our own heart.
Of what value is hope? It tides us over seasons of depression and despair, until we become strong enough once more to express courage, divine wisdom, intelligence, and power and to demonstrate in our life and affairs all that these qualities accomplish for us.
March 19, 1950: Romans 5:1-8
What is justification by faith? It is having our course proved right without the actual experience of furnishing the proof ourselves. Faith requires us to hold to a higher and better order than we can yet prove. Faith proves itself to us in the form of inner conviction, which no argument or external happening can shake.
What makes it possible for us sincerely to rejoice in tribulation? The attainments that tribulation brings us. Rightly met, tribulation develops our inner resources until we find ourselves in possession of such steadfastness, “approvedness,” hope, and confidence as we would not have dreamed possible to us otherwise. Further attainments along the way of tribulation are consciousness of divine love and of the Holy Spirit.
Transcribed by Lloyd Kinder on 10-29-2013
