Romans 8:28 – #3

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (NLT)

Although other translations will do the job, the NLT has the better presentation of what is here meant. That is important for 8:28. It also is important for 8:29f. Remember, every text has a context. We come up short if we cherry pick. We may well miss the intent of God in saying things as He does. Keeping that in mind, let’s look at how Paul elaborates upon the working of God in regard to believers who are suffering.

29 For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified.

See that little word “for” which sets in motion v.29? Well, it is no mean word.  “For” is the link, the connector. It leads to the reason for the “we know” of v.28. The reason we have confidence in what God is doing about our trials in the present is because of what He already has done ABOUT US in the past and will do in the future – and how He looks at it all. What God has, in Christ, done ABOUT us far outweighs anything life can do TO us! (That, by the way, is the basic message of the book of Revelation to believers suffering unspeakable things at the hand of persecuting Rome. You may want to look at some of that.) Here, Paul wants us to see our temporal trials as God sees them. Perspective in our pain can be huge! (Remember from the last note: we may never understand but we can stand under certain staggering realities about the God we know and love in Jesus.

So, 8:28 is true because 8:29-30 is true – and 8:28 is going on because 8:29-30 has already gone on, in the mind and purposes and workings of the One Who is before and above all. Regardless of how you slice 8:29-30, Paul’s point is this: from beginning to end, God has, according to His eternal wisdom and power, worked out His perfect arrangement in Christ for our eternal blessing and well-being. It is a done deal in the eyes of God. Regardless of its severity of the moment, suffering and hardship in this life cannot torpedo God’s arranged redemptive plan for all those who love Him in Christ. 8:29,30 is a panoramic statement of immense magnitude. It is overwhelming. It leaves Paul open-mouthed, saying, “What then can we say to these things” – 8:31? It is as if he were saying, “This is too good to be true.” Well, considering that God is in the middle of the whole movement, it is too good NOT to be true. It is the difference God makes in Christ and in YOUR trials. Paul is in awe of it. Is that not what you get out of 8:31-39? Look at it:

31 What then are we to say about these things?
If God is for us, who is against us?
32 He did not even spare His own Son
but offered Him up for us all;
how will He not also with Him grant us everything?…
35 Who can separate us from the love of Christ?
Can affliction or anguish or persecution
or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?… 
37 No, in all these things we are more than victorious
through Him who loved us.
38 For I am persuaded that not even death or life,
angels or rulers,
things present or things to come, hostile powers,
39 height or depth, or any other created thing
will have the power to separate us
from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!

If you don’t mind,  I would like to come back to this. I need this for me. Do you need it for you? Here is a thought: why don’t we read 8:28-31 every day for the next week? Then, pray believing it. You see, having God’s perspective on things elevates everything about our lives as believers, especially how we think and how we pray. Nothing here has been said in levity or indifference about our hardships and heartaches. We dare not minimize the pain and fears many experience. But it emphatically matters that we get God’s view of the whole thing, don’t you think?

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