Answer
People are plagued with phobias. Fear of death is a big one. We worry about the future and the cares of this life. Some people suffer from an extreme fear of heights, while others are terrified of deep, dark, confined spaces such as tunnels. In Romans 8:31–39, the apostle Paul identifies a range of desperately troubling circumstances and almost every human fear imaginable. He then pronounces one of the most comforting reassurances in all the Bible: “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 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” (verses 37–39, ESV).
Height and depth are terms used in Scripture to express the extreme nature of God and His great love (see Job 11:7–8; Romans 11:11). In Ephesians 3:16–19, Paul prayed for the Ephesians to grasp the width, length, height, and depth of Christ’s love. The perfect love of God in Jesus Christ is not just a comforting thought but a powerful force that can cast out all our fears (1 John 4:18). The born-again child of God is not just known in advance but chosen by the Father in love to be conformed into the image of His Son and to be justified and glorified (Romans 8:29–30). God’s love is so all-encompassing that absolutely nothing and no one, neither in this life nor in the life to come, neither angels nor demons, nor height nor depth, can harm the one who is kept in His loving presence.
The original Greek word Paul used (hypsōma), translated as “height” in Romans 8:39, means “that which is lifted up.” In this context, the word refers to the inhabitants of heaven, understood as occupying the transcendent heights. Thus, height here represents everything in the world above. Similarly, depth (bathos in Greek) refers to everything in the world below, in the transcendent depths. The wording “nor height nor depth” becomes “no power in the sky above or in the earth below” in the New Living Translation.
No matter how high we climb or how low we descend, nothing can separate us from Christ’s love. The psalmist affirms, “If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there” (Psalm 139:8). As believers, we are constantly enveloped in God’s loving care. We are safe, secure, and protected, no matter where we go, because nothing in all the universe can separate us from His love.
Paul’s list of potential fear-inducing situations represents the full spectrum of human horrors. Death and life are on opposite ends of the spectrum, as are angels and demons, the present and the future, and height and depth. Anything and everything that could cause us to fear, whether tangible or intangible, is powerless to break the bond of God’s love for His children. Anything we feel might barricade us from the Lord’s presence is dealt with under God’s sovereign control (Ephesians 1:22; 1 Corinthians 15:27–28; Hebrews 2:8).
God does not always spare us from life’s steep uphill climb or from traversing the depths of sorrow and pain. Sometimes, we need the difficulties to stretch us and cause us to grow spiritually (Romans 5:3–5; James 1:2–3; 1 Peter 1:6–7). But God does promise to walk beside us on the mountain and in the valley with His mighty, loving presence to dispel our fears (Psalm 23:4).
In both the heights and depths of our walk with God, in the joyous moments and the dark nights of the soul, we can trust and “know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). He allows these challenges for our good and His glory (Hebrews 12:10–11; 1 Peter 1:6–9; 4:13).
