According to St. Paul, what can separate us from the love of Christ?

By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-10

In his Epistle to the Romans, the Holy Apostle Paul proclaims with absolute boldness that no external power, suffering, or trial has the capacity to sever the believer from the love of Christ.

He writes:

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: 'For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.' Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 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 8:35–39)

1. External Trials and Sufferings Cannot Separate You

St. Paul lists seven distinct earthly tribulations:

• Tribulation (affliction and outward pressure)
• Distress (anguish and inward grief)
• Persecution (suffering for the sake of the truth)
• Famine (lack of physical nourishment)
• Nakedness (extreme destitution and exposure)
• Peril (imminent danger)
• Sword (martyrdom and violent death)

None of these worldly afflictions can break the bond between the believer and Christ. Rather, through endurance and communion with the Crucified Lord, the faithful become "more than conquerors" (hypernikōmen). This truth is embodied supremely in the countless martyrs who went to the sword, the fire, and wild beasts without wavering in their love for Jesus Christ.

2. Cosmic and Spiritual Powers Cannot Separate You

St. Paul expands his declaration from the earthly realm to the entire created order:

• Neither death nor life: Death cannot destroy the bond, for Christ conquered death by His own death and granted life to those in the tombs. Life, with all its deceptive attachments and anxieties, cannot overpower His grace.
• Neither angels nor principalities nor powers: Neither demonic hierarchies nor spiritual adversaries have authority to forcefully tear a Christian away from God.
• Neither things present nor things to come: Neither present struggles nor unknown future calamities can overcome the protection of God's hand.
• Neither height nor depth nor any other created thing: No extreme in the visible or invisible cosmos has power against the love of God.

3. What Truly Separates a Person?

While St. Paul emphasizes that no created external force can take you away from Christ against your will, the Holy Fathers—such as St. John Chrysostom and St. Basil the Great—teach that there is only one thing that can separate man from God: man’s own free will choosing sin and unrepentance.

Exterior powers, demons, emperors, and bodily death are completely powerless to sever the soul from Christ. Only deliberate sin, denial of the true faith, and an unrepentant heart alienate a person from the divine life. As long as you remain united to Him through true faith, the Holy Mysteries (Sacraments), repentance, and obedience, nothing in all creation can pull you away from His eternal love.