What does Paul mean by “at the right time”?

Explanation:

What does it mean that while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly? We can detect from the context that Paul likely includes the phrase at the right time to emphasize the fact that it was when we were weak that Christ died for us. We can detect this because Paul opens Romans 5:6 with the conjunction for, which connects Romans 5:6 with what he wrote previously, that God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. So Romans 5:6 is connected to the fact that God loves us. ³ This helps us understand why Paul includes at the right time. He includes it because he says in Romans 5:6 that Christ died for us while we were still weak, and he uses the phrase at the right time to emphasize this fact. That is, the phrase emphasizes the fact that it was at the time when we were weak that Christ died for us, which demonstrates that God loves us. ⁴

Counterargument:

If we widen the scope of the context slightly, we reach back to Romans 5:3 where Paul encourages the Romans to rejoice in their afflictions. What Paul likely has in mind when he refers to their afflictions is the trouble believers will endure at the last days of salvation history. Paul knows that with Christ, we have entered the final stages of history, and that tribulation will cause affliction during this period, so he calls the Romans to endure this with rejoicing. Now Paul says in Romans 5:6 that Christ died while we were still weak. Given what he has said about rejoicing in afflictions, and that afflictions are a sign of the end of the ages, when he refers to Christ dying for the weak, he likely has in mind our weakness due to the afflictions we endure because it is the end of the ages. Thus, when we broaden the context slightly, we notice Paul is not emphasizing God’s love when he refers to according to time, but he emphasizes that Christ died for us when we were weak due to the afflictions of the last stages of salvation history.⁵

Response to counterargument:

First, it is not clear that the affliction Paul refers to in Romans 5:3 has to do with the affliction of the end of the ages. Rather, Paul may simply have in mind rejoicing in our general afflictions. Second, it is more likely that the weakness Paul refers to in Romans 5:6 has to do with our sinfulness and moral failings than the afflictions Paul mentions in Romans 5:3.⁶ Finally, third, it is best to take Romans 5:6–8 as a unit, so that what Paul says throughout Romans 5:6–8 plays a controlling role in understanding what he means in Romans 5:6 Now, we already know that Romans 5:6 is connected by the conjunction for with Romans 5:5, where Paul highlights God’s love for us. Importantly, Paul will repeat this notion of God’s love in Romans 5:8 when he writes that God shows his love for us in that Christ died while we were still sinners. That God shows his love in that Christ died while we were sinners nearly repeats Romans 5:6 and the fact that Christ dies for us while we are weak. Taking all of this together, we can deduce that Paul is emphasizing the love of God in this section, demonstrated by the fact that even at the time when we were weak, Christ died for us.

Explanation:

To understand what it means that Christ died for the weak at the right time, it is important to notice the grammatical correspondence between Romans 5:6 and Romans 5:8. In Romans 5:6, Paul uses the adverb still to denote that while we were still weak, Christ died for us. He also uses the phrase while we were. Paul repeats both the adverb still and the phrase while we were in Romans 5:8. There, instead of writing still, while we were weak, Christ died for us, as he does in Romans 5:6, he writes, still, while we were sinners, Christ died for us. So there is correspondence between Romans 5:6 and Romans 5:8 where Christ’s dying for those who are weak is akin to his dying for those who are sinners. Now, this grammatical connection is important because in Romans 5:8, Paul says that God is showing his love for us when Christ dies for us while we were still sinners. So Christ’s dying for us while we were weak and sinful has to do with showing God’s love. And this explains Paul’s use of at the right time in Romans 5:6. That is, in Romans 5:6, Paul is emphasizing that Christ died for us at the time that we were weak and sinful, while in Romans 5:8 he emphasizes that doing so demonstrates God’s love for us.

Counterargument:

The grammatical correspondence between Romans 5:6 and Romans 5:8 does not indicate that the phrase at the right time ought to be taken in the sense of at the time that we were still weak. Rather, the grammatical connections simply indicate that while we were weak and sinful, Christ died for us. Of course, that Christ died for us while we were weak and sinful is consistent with multiple understandings of at the right time. For example, Paul could be saying that at just the right time in history, Christ died for us while we were still weak and sinful. Or he could be saying that just at the right time according to God’s purpose, Christ died for us while we were still weak and sinful. Thus, the grammatical correspondence between Romans 5:6 and Romans 5:8 is not enough to help us decide what at the right time means.

Response to counterargument:

While the grammatical correspondence between Romans 5:6 and Romans 5:8 might be consistent with various interpretations of the phrase at the right time, the correspondence suggests the most likely interpretation is at the time when we were still weak. For in both Romans 5:6 and Romans 5:8, Paul’s point is to highlight how highly improbable, from our human perspective, it is for Christ to die for us while we are weak or sinful. In other words, it is the fact that Christ died for us at the time when we were still weak and sinful this is important to Paul in this section. And Paul highlights the importance of the fact that Christ dies for us at the time when we are weak and sinful by using the same grammar in both Romans 5:6 and Romans 5:8 to emphasize this point.

The weakness of this view is that Paul has already highlighted the significance of the fact that Christ died for us while we were weak, with the adverb still. That is, the adverb still highlights the significance of the fact that Christ dies for us while we are weak, making it slightly unnecessary to point this out again with the phrase at the right time.

Explanation:

Paul writes that Christ died for us while we were weak at the right time. The phrase is only found here in the New Testament, so it is a difficult phrase to translate.⁷ Still, we know that in other passages, Paul talks about Christ coming at just the right time, in the sense that he came at just the right moment in salvation history. For example, in Galatians 4:4, Paul writes that when the fullness of time came, God sent his Son. Likewise, in Hebrews the author writes that in these last days, God has spoken to us through his Son (Hebrews 1:2), referring to the last days of salvation history. Further, in Hebrews 9:26 we read that Christ appeared once at the end of the ages, referring to the last stage of salvation history. So there is a theme in Scripture of referring to Christ’s coming at just the right time, that is, the last stage of salvation history. Likewise, Paul is likely saying in Romans 5:6 that Christ died for us who are weak at the right time in salvation history.⁸

Counterargument:

The problem here is that when Paul refers to Christ’s coming at the right time, as in, the consummation of the age, he qualifies what he means by time.⁹ For example, in Galatians 4:4 Paul writes that when the fullness of time came, God sent forth his son. Paul uses the term χρόνος rather than καίρος for time, and he characterizes it as the fullness of time. Further, in Hebrews the author refers to the last days, and the end of the ages, but does not use the unique phrase at the right time. So passages like Galatians 4:4, Hebrews 1:2, and Hebrews 9:26 are not relevant to Paul’s meaning in Romans 5:6.

Response to counterargument:

While it is true that Paul does not use the exact phrase at the right time elsewhere, there is relevance in the fact that other passages refer to the significance of the particular time of Christ’s coming. For Paul may be doing just the same in Romans 5:6, which is corroborated by the fact that other passages do something similar, albeit with different terminology.

Explanation:

When Paul writes that Christ died for the weak at the right time, he has in mind that Christ died at the right time. In other words, he emphasizes the fact that the atonement was no afterthought for God. Rather, it was part of God’s master plan to redeem humanity. In fact, we know from other passages, such as Acts 2:23, that Jesus was delivered according to the definite plan of God, and it seems that Paul has this same sentiment in mind. That is, Paul seems to have in mind that the atonement was no afterthought, but an event that fitted God’s purpose. ¹⁰

Counterargument:

The argument does not support the interpretation. This view has it that we ought to interpret the phrase in the sense of at the right time in salvation history. Such an interpretation is possible given the phrase. Still, the argument it uses to support the interpretation is that Paul is saying the atonement is not an afterthought, a notion that is supported by other passages such as Acts 2:23. Of course, whether or not the atonement was an afterthought has nothing to do with its timing. That is, Paul is not saying that Christ died for the weak according to God’s plan, but that he died for the weak at the right time, which could mean, at the time when we were weak, or, at just the right time. Unfortunately, this argument does nothing to resolve which interpretation is more likely.

The weakness of this view is that the timing of God’s plan does not seem relevant to Paul’s concerns in this section. Rather, what is most important to Paul is the surprising fact that Christ would die for us at the time when we were weak, ungodly, and sinful.