Thomas Aquinas Commentary Romans 5:6-11

"For while we were yet weak, in due season Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: for peradventure for the good man some one would even dare to die. But God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath [of God] through him. 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; and not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation." — Romans 5:6-11 (ASV)

1. After disclosing that our hope is firm because it is a gift of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle now traces its firmness to the death of Christ.

1. First, he asks a question.
2. Second, a difficulty arises in answering it, at for scarcely for a righteous man will one die.
3. Third, he answers the question, at but God demonstrates His love.

2. First, therefore, he says that it has been stated that hope does not disappoint. This is clear to anyone who considers the question: Why did Christ, while we were still weak—that is, languishing in sin—die for the ungodly? As the Psalm says, Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing (Psalms 6:2).

For just as bodily sickness destroys the proper balance of physical health, so sin removes the correct order of our affections. Therefore, when we were still helpless, Christ... died for the ungodly. As the Apostle Peter writes, Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous (1 Peter 3:18).

And this happened at the right time; that is, He was to remain dead for a definite time and then rise on the third day: For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:40).

Therefore, this is marvelous if we consider who died, and also if we consider for whom He died. But it would not have been so marvelous if no fruit were to be gained from it: What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? (Psalms 30:9). There would be none, if the salvation of the human race did not follow.

3. Then when he says, for scarcely, he raises a difficulty concerning those for whom Christ died—that is, the ungodly—saying, for scarcely... will one—that is, anyone—die for the release of a righteous man. Instead, the righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart (Isaiah 57:1). That is why I say that scarcely... will one die, yet perhaps for a good man someone would dare to die, on account of his zeal for virtue.

This is rare because it is such a great act, for greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). Yet what Christ did is something that is never done: to die for the ungodly and the unjust. That is why there is reason to wonder why Christ did this.

4. This passage can be interpreted in another way, so that a "righteous man" is one trained in virtue, and a "good man" is one who is innocent. And although according to this the righteous man would be more excellent than the good man, yet scarcely anyone dies for the righteous man. The reason is that an innocent person, understood here as "good," seems more worthy of pity on account of his youth or something similar. But the righteous person, because he is perfect, lacks any defect that would elicit pity. Therefore, if anyone were to die for an innocent person, it might be out of pity; but to die for a righteous man requires a zeal for virtue, which is found in fewer people than the emotion of pity.

5. Then when he says, but God demonstrates, he answers the preceding question.

1. First, he presents his answer.
2. Second, he argues from this point toward his main conclusion, at much more.
3. Third, he shows why this conclusion necessarily follows, at for if, when we were enemies.

6. First, therefore, he says: the question was asked why Christ died for the ungodly. The answer is that, through this act, God demonstrates His love toward us. That is, through this He shows that He loves us to the highest degree, because while we were still sinners... Christ died for us, and this at the right time, as was explained above.

The very death of Christ shows God’s love for us, because He gave His own Son to die in making satisfaction for us: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son (John 3:16). And so, just as the love of God the Father for us is shown by the fact that He gives His Spirit to us, as was said before, so also it is shown by the fact that He gave His Son, as is said here.

By using the word demonstrates, he indicates the immensity of the divine love. This is shown both by God's own deed, because He gave His Son, and by our condition, because He was not moved to do this by our merits, since we were still sinners: But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:4–5).

7. Then when he says, much more, therefore, he draws his intended conclusion from the preceding argument, saying: if Christ died for us while we were still sinners, much more then, having now been justified by His blood, as was said above—He whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith (Romans 3:25)—we shall be saved by him from the wrath of God. This "wrath" is the vengeance of eternal condemnation, which people incur by their sins: You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (Matthew 3:7).

8. Then when he says, for if, when we were enemies, he shows the necessity of his conclusion, which proceeds by arguing from the lesser to the greater. One should observe here two comparisons from lesser to greater: one on our part and one on Christ's part. On our part, he compares being enemies to being reconciled, for it is a far greater thing to reconcile an enemy than it is to save one who is already reconciled. On Christ's part, he compares death to life. For His life is more powerful than His death because, as is said in 2 Corinthians: For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God (2 Corinthians 13:4).

This is why he says he rightly concluded that much more, being brought to life, shall we be saved through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God, and this by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.

9. Now, one should note that a person is said to be an enemy of God in two ways.

1. First, because he practices hostility toward God when he resists His commands: He runs stubbornly against Him with a thick-bossed shield (Job 15:26).
2. Second, a person is said to be an enemy of God because God hates what is evil in people—not, indeed, the people He created, for in this regard it is said, For you love all things that exist, and have loathed nothing that you have made ; but rather in regard to the sin that the enemy of humanity, the devil, has worked in them. As it is written, the ungodly and his ungodliness are both alike hateful to God , and the Most High hates sinners .

10. Once the cause of enmity—namely, sin—has been removed by Christ, reconciliation through Him follows: that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself (2 Corinthians 5:19). For our sin was removed through the death of His Son. In this regard, it should be noted that Christ’s death can be considered in three ways.

1. First, simply as a death. In this sense, it is said that God did not make death in human nature, but it was brought on by sin. Accordingly, Christ’s death, considered simply as death, was not in itself what reconciled us to God, because God does not delight in the death of the living .
2. Second, Christ’s death can be considered with an emphasis on the action of His killers, which greatly displeased God. Hence, St. Peter says against them: you denied the Holy and Righteous One... and you killed the Author of life (Acts 3:14). From this perspective, Christ’s death could not be the cause of reconciliation but rather of indignation.
3. Third, it can be considered as it proceeded from the will of the suffering Christ—a will shaped by obedience to the Father to endure death, for he became obedient to the point of death (Philippians 2:8), and by love for humanity, for Christ loved us and gave himself up for us (Ephesians 5:2). From this perspective, Christ’s death was meritorious and satisfied for our sins. It was accepted by God as sufficient for reconciling all people, even those who killed Christ, some of whom were saved at His prayer: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).

11. Then when he says, not only that, he shows what benefits we obtain even now through grace, saying, not only that—that is, not only do we rejoice in the hope of the glory we expect in the future—but we also rejoice in God. This means we rejoice in being united to God even now by faith and love: Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:31 and 2 Corinthians 10:17). And this is through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation, so that we have been changed from enemies to friends: and through him to reconcile to himself all things (Colossians 1:20).

12. The verse, not only that, can be connected with the preceding one, so that the sense would be: we shall be saved by His life from sin and punishment. And not only shall we be saved from evils, but we shall rejoice in God—that is, in the fact that we will be one with Him in the future: that they may be one, even as we are one (John 17:22).