Elliff’s Living Room, March 5, 2008
28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
Romans 8:28-30
Around the year 60 A.D. the apostle Paul was seized by a mob of Jews in Jerusalem. This led him to a number of trials before Roman and Jewish authorities and, eventually, to Rome for a trial before Caesar. Paul was imprisoned in Rome for two years, near the end of which time he wrote a letter to the church in the city of Philippi. It is a remarkable letter.
It is remarkable because it was penned to a church that was under persecution by a man who was in prison and was facing the very real possibility of death in order mainly to tell them one thing: “rejoice always!” This man had a radical view of the world and particularly of suffering. It is seen in the truth of Romans 8:28.
There are few people who really get Romans 8:28. Plenty of people get it on a surface level when they read it and hear it taught, but when they sprain their ankle or lose a child because of cancer it dissolves and slips through their fingers. Not many get it then. One of my deepest desires for our group, because I think it is so fundamental to God’s glory in His Church, is that we will get Romans 8:28 and live it out like few people ever have.
There are two simple questions I want to ask about this passage tonight. First: What is the core truth that is presented in Romans 8:28-30? And second: What is the underpinning of our assurance that it is true?
Everything is Better
The answer to the first question (What is the main truth that is presented in Romans 8:28-30?) comes in verse 28: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.”
First, here is what Paul is not saying in this verse. He is not saying that there are certain things that happen in the universe that are outside the plan of God which He takes and molds so that they actually turn out for good. Paul has gone out of his way in the previous verses to say something deeper. The creation was subjected to futility “because of Him who subjected it” (8:20). And the same is true, by implication, of the futility and suffering of believers (8:23). We must understand the thrust of Romans 8:28 to be that God controls all things, making them work together in a plan, for the good of those who love Him.
The implications of Paul’s statement are gigantic and are not often fully thought out. So, in order to capture the breadth of it, let’s reflect on the meaning of the words “all things.”
The far-reaching nature of those words is often missed. It extends from occurrences and realities that seem to be completely unrelated to the Church, to your own battle with sickness and suffering. Consider the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. The fact that he was the leader of Iraq for so many years seems very disconnected from Christians in America. And if not disconnected, at least not connected for any good. But the biblical view is quite different. We must say first, that God caused him to be dictator of Iraq, and second, that God caused it for the good of His worldwide Church.
The collapse of the Minneapolis bridge last year also was caused by God for a specific purpose: the good of the Church. Or, to bring it closer to home, your asthma is caused by God for the good of the Church. It is for your good and my good and for the good of Christians worldwide that you struggle with that. The same is true of the fact that do I not have asthma. The universe revolves around the Church and, as we will see, God’s glory in the Church. This is the radically different vision of the world that Paul is begging us to take hold of. “God causes all things to work together for good.”
It is important to note here that Paul specifically has in mind the ultimate good that believer’s will experience when they are glorified in the future. The context from verses 17-25 (we have been saved in hope) dictates this and it becomes clearly defined in verses 29-30 which speak of our future conformity to the image of Christ. Everything that happens is a part of God’s plan to make our future good, as good as it is going to be. It is like a baking a loaf of bread. You must have all of the ingredients to make it what it is.
Let me put this thought in terms that have often helped me in the past: For the Christian, all things are better. No alternative option for anything could be as good as what God has chosen. Looking back, it would not have been as good for the Church if the bridge in Minneapolis had not collapsed. It’s just better. Hussein’s brutal regime was so much better for the worldwide Church’s future. Your struggle with asthma is so much better than freedom from it. And my freedom from it is so much better than a struggle with it.
This is a jaw-droppingly different view of the world. I pray that we will have it. We must rejoice that all things are better. When you sprain an ankle or when 10 years from now two of your children die, you must understand that it is not a breakdown of our salvation. Rather, it is a part of your salvation that is making the end glory as good as it is going to be.
That was Paul’s point in his letter to the Philippians. “Rejoice always” because “to die is gain” (not just not bad–gain!), because his imprisonment had turned out for the progress of the gospel, and because suffering in this life will result in a glorious future resurrection! All things, sufferings included, are better!
The Romans 8:28-30 Theology of Glorification
Now for the second question: What is the underpinning of our assurance that what Romans 8:28 says is true? Verses 29-30 hold the key. Observe the word “for” at the beginning. “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” God’s predestination of the Church to glorification is the support of Paul’s assurance that “God causes all things to work together for good.” In order to make this more understandable, I am going to systematically build a theology of glorification from these verses in five statements. And then I will try to fasten it to verse 28.
1. The glorification of the Church is all about holiness and blamelessness before God.
We are “predestined to become conformed to the image of” Christ. This is a reference to the resurrection and redemption of our bodies. Christ will “transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory” (Philippians 3:21). That is really what salvation is all about.
2. It begins in the foreknowledge and predestination of God.
“Those whom He foreknew, He also predestined . . .” The word “foreknow” should not be confused with “foresee.” It does not mean to “view beforehand.” It means to “set one’s affections on beforehand.” This is the basis of our future glory-God’s eternal love and purpose.
3. It is wrapped up in justification and its application by the Holy Spirit.
Paul again uses adoption as a picture of justification. We were predestined to glory “so that [Christ] would be the firstborn among many brethren.” Christ is the representative firstborn for his people in receiving the inheritance that they will receive by being “in Him.” This justification is applied to us by the “calling” (v. 28, 30) of the Holy Spirit.
4. It is certain.
It is to make the certainty of it unmistakable that Paul puts the verb “glorified” in the past tense at the end of verse 30. In the mind of God, our glorification is so sure that it can be considered as having been done already.
5. It is for the glory of Christ.
Paul says that our predestination to glory is “so that [Christ] would be the firstborn among many brethren.” In the end this is reason that all things work together for our future good–that Christ might be the preeminent firstborn whose grace, and love, and power is seen in the very existence of the many sons that He has brought to glory through His death and resurrection.
Our Predestination to Good Means that All Things are Better
Here is why all of that matters. Our future good for His glory is the plan! And if God controls everything with our good as His ultimate aim, all things must move toward it. God cannot work against Himself in anything. Therefore He must be working all things for Himself, which means that God causes all things for our good. Everything is better.
The knowledge of this should cause two life-long reactions in us: more trust in Christ and continual rejoicing!
Bryan Elliff © 2008 www.bryanelliff.wordpress.com
