Romans 8:28-29 “Cooperating”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

²⁸And we know that all [things] are working together into good to the ones loving God, to ones being called ones according to purpose, ²⁹because whom He foreknew He also predestined [to be] ones conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be a firstborn among many brothers.

It is significant to note, when the Lord here promises to us that all things will work together for good, He does not leave us to decide how we want to define “good.” He goes on to say, in fact, we have been called according to “purpose” and that purpose is that we should be conformed to the image of Christ. The “good” He promises us is that He will make us like Jesus! All things are working together for the good purpose of seeing us become more and more like Jesus.

If we would pause and consider this, I think it first of all explains pretty much everyone’s problem with that word “good” and the “all things.” Our natural bent is always to be deciding for ourselves what we think is good and what is not. I like this, but I don’t like that. This is a good thing, but that is bad. I like people and situations that make me feel good, but I do not like people and situations that are for me anything less than positively pleasurable. The Lord steps into our world, promises us all things will work together for good, then immediately it starts raining right when I was going for a walk! Or maybe I’m told I have cancer.

“I don’t see how this can possibly be good,” we complain at the time. We believers have the wonderful opportunity to step back and re-think it all. Notice our verse starts with the words “And we know …” That is our hope. We know that “God is up to something.” I believe I can say, those simple words have at times kept me sane. When my eyes see nothing good about what is happening, I have that rock of faith to fall back on. “God is up to something.” “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” ‘No temptation has taken you except what is common to me, but God is faithful …” The assurance that the Lord has a purpose is certainly one of the rocks upon which we live our faith.

However, I believe this closer look at Romans 8:28,29 would help us to sharpen even this nugget of faith. We are not left to simply believe that God has some good purpose in it all. We know exactly what that purpose is. No matter what is happening, we know that God is using it to make us more like Jesus. That is His goal. That is why He is allowing it. That is what He wants to accomplish. He, in His infinite wisdom, may have a million other purposes, particularly in using us to somehow bless others, but as we hover here for a moment, let us lay hold of this granite truth. We know that for us, for ourselves and our own lives and who we are, God’s good purpose in whatever He is allowing is very specifically that He is molding us to be more and more like Jesus.

I can’t help but insert here that this whole paradigm is not in the least bit unfamiliar to us or anyone else in all of the human race. Anyone ever had a parent? A teacher? A coach? If they were good parents, teachers, and coaches, what do we remember about them? We remember their love and kindness, but we also remember that they pushed us! As a six year old, I stood in the gravel alley in front of our house on the first day of school and I totally could not understand why I had to go to school. I wanted to stay home with my mother. To me there was nothing “good” about this, but I knew I had to go. Then, I can say I had the best track & cross-country coach in the universe, but Louie Baker made me run until literally my lungs burned. In all my life, I never again felt the pain of any workout as much as what Coach Baker put me through.

Now here I am. I eventually made it all the way through Purdue’s (brutal) school of engineering and have reaped the benefits my whole life. I guess it was “good” for me to go to school! (I never did give up liking to be home with my Mom and still snuck in every chance I got! I had a teacher in the 4th grade who knew exactly what I was doing and let me get away with it!) And I got to enjoy the feeling of running miles actually in the 4:00’s! Words utterly fail to express how amazing it feels to be able to run that fast that far. And I’ve enjoyed running now for over 50 years, all because of Louie Baker, who was more concerned about making me a winner than whether I felt “good” at any particular moment.

My point is, isn’t that exactly what the Lord is doing? He has a goal. He is determined to make us winners, to see us walk across that stage, to see us standing up on that podium. In His case the goal we see here in Romans 8:28,29 is for us to be like Jesus. “He who begun a good work in us will continue it …”

That in itself leads in a million different directions worth pondering. However, I’d like to say, as we first of all simply take comfort in this knowledge, may it also help us to realize one of the most important things I can do, then, is to cooperate. If the Lord is trying to make me like Jesus, I need to get my own head lined up with that goal. I honestly didn’t mind Louie Baker making my lungs burn because I totally understood what he was up to. I wanted to be able to run a 4:00-something mile.

If I want to be more like Jesus, and if I can just remember that is why this is happening, it should be one more source of strength to get me through. I need to be (humbly) asking, “Lord, what are you trying to teach me?” As I’m reading the Word and sitting in church, I need to be listening for anything the Lord would say to me that would speak directly to whatever I seem to be suffering through. I would suggest, the more you and I cooperate, the faster we’ll learn. Maybe it might even mean the trials can be shorter. If the goal is to teach me something, maybe the faster I learn it, the sooner it can be over!

I don’t like pain. I don’t want pain. It’s okay to say, “Let this cup pass from Me,” but, on the other hand, Lord, help me to get mentally on Your team. Help me to remember I know exactly what You’re up to. And help me to do whatever I can to actually cooperate with You.

Let us sing and mean it, “O to be like Thee, Blessed Redeemer!”

 

Romans 8:28-29 “Purpose”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

²⁸And we know that all [things] are working together into good to the ones loving God, to ones being called ones according to purpose, ²⁹because whom He foreknew He also predestined [to be] ones conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be a firstborn among many brothers.

It is interesting to me to note what the Lord calls us in v.28: those “who love Him” and “have been called according to His purpose.” That is who we are. Stop and think about it. Here we are in this passage called “the pinnacle of the entire Bible.” God could have identified us by seemingly a thousand other names used elsewhere in the Bible. Yet He chooses to refer to us as those “who love Him” and “have been called according to His purpose.”

“Those who love Him.” What a difference it would make if right now, at this very second, every person in the entire world who calls themselves a Christian would stop and ask themselves, “but do I love God?” “Have I actually entered into a love relationship with the God of the Bible?” Yes or no. The problem is that our claim to “Christianity” can be based on a million other reasons: “I got saved,” “I went forward in an invitation,” “the pastor prayed with me,” “I’ve been baptized,” “I am a church member,” “I go to church,” I repented of my sins.” Everyone of those claims, however, still hasn’t answered the real question: … but have you ever entered into a real love relationship with God?

Salvation isn’t simply a matter of getting your Jesus ticket stamped. It isn’t just having gone through any “ritual,” even if it was something so sacred as praying “the sinner’s prayer.” The problem is, even that can be done as nothing more than that, a ritual. God isn’t interested in stamping people’s Jesus tickets. He wants to have a relationship with you and me. Real salvation is entering into that relationship. It is becoming one of those people who “love Him.”

Of course, none of us loves Him like we should, but those of us who are genuinely born-again would say that is one of our deepest griefs – that I don’t love Him more. The question is, do you really love Him at all? Is love between Him and yourself the most important issue in your life? Do you know in your heart of hearts that if you had to give up all else, you could never give up this love relationship you and Him enjoy? Again, we all know we are dirty little Peters who would deny Him three times in a heartbeat, but, once again, that very fact grieves my heart. I want to love Him. I don’t want to be a Peter. I don’t want to fail Him. I just know what a rotten sinner I am. In fact, my only real hope is in His grace, that in that moment of trial He would help me to stand, in spite of who I know I am.

Real born-again Christians are “those who love Him.” Even back deep in the Old Testament, David said, “Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise Thee” (Ps. 63:3) and “You have shown me the path of life: in Your presence is the fulness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore (16:11). It is real. It is a relationship. Even God Himself values it so much that here in “the pinnacle of the Bible” He call us “those who love Him.”

Then He says we are those “who have been called according to His purpose.” We are “called ones.” I like that He added this. The question above, “Do you love Him,” is of course a haunting question even for those of us who do because we are so keenly aware of what failures we are. We squeak to Him, “I do love You … help me to love You!” However, when He couples with it “those who are called,” now we’re talking about what He does, not me. “Oh, good,” my heart says! And yes, I am called. In my heart of hearts, I know I am. He is there. He’s just there. I know He is, and I want Him to be. For myself, it was crystal clear that day when I stood up from my bed and “the lights came on.” In the flash of a second, I just simply knew it was all true, that He is God, that Jesus is real, and I wanted Him in my life. That wasn’t my doing, at all. I don’t even know what I was thinking about. I just know in that second, He stepped into my life and He’s been there ever since.

I don’t know if everyone who is born again can express their confidence in being “called” the way I do, but I’m betting, if you are really born again, you’ve got your own “calling” that is undeniable in your heart. You know you’re “called,” and there is no question in your heart that it had nothing to do with you. God did it and you’re eternally glad He did. You and me are “called ones!”

Last of all, I want to note how much “purpose” there is here in vv.28 & 29. You can’t exactly see it in English, but in Greek there are three words that begin with the preposition “pro,” which, one way or another means “before.” That preposition actually does come down to us in English in words like “prognosis,” where the doctor tells you beforehand what to expect medically, or in a book’s “prologue,” those usually brief thoughts expressed before the author heads into whatever he has written in his book.

In v.28, we are called “according to [His] purpose.” The word “purpose” in Greek starts with “pro,” but then even in English we would all agree the idea of “purpose” expresses the idea of “before.”  In v.29, we are described as those He “foreknew” and “predestined.” Both of those are “pro” words, and, again, even in English, we see “fore” and “pre-.” Three “before” words. Three “purpose” words.

Here we are in “the pinnacle of the Bible,” in a passage where the obvious intention of the Lord is to comfort us in this world of suffering, and what is He telling us? “I’ve got this covered.” He’s in control. Even our very salvation itself is His doing. He called us. He foreknew us. He predestined us. I would suggest it should be one of our greatest comforts, especially in suffering, that He’s the Rock, not me. I can have hope not because I trust me, but because I trust Him.

He will elaborate this very point for the rest of this chapter, that He is quite in control, but notice for now what exactly He says is His purpose: that we should be “conformed to the image of His Son.” Notice He didn’t say, “that we should go to heaven.” He certainly didn’t say “to give us an easy life.” His purpose for which He called us and foreknew us and predestined us was to make us like Jesus. Therein is the answer to our “but, why …?” Why the suffering? All of it is very specifically for this purpose (this “before” thing) to make me like Jesus. Unfortunately, it too often takes suffering for Him to get our attention, to get us to slow down and listen.

One reason I study the Bible is exactly this, that I don’t want Him to have to crush me every time He wants to teach me something. I want to be in the Word saying to Him, “Please teach me. I want to learn.” I would like to believe it is possible for Him to teach us a lot, if only we give Him the chance. On the other hand, I am sadly aware that, sooner or later, the only way this “desperately wicked” heart will ever learn is that it has to be crushed. Sometimes I find even those things I’ve “learned” from my Bible study only truly take possession of my heart when later I have to face pain.

That is His purpose, to make me like Jesus. I want Him to. I’m glad He does. However, it is enormously encouraging to know that was His “purpose” all along. His Son Jesus is so great, He would fill heaven with people just like Him, “that He might be the firstborn among many brothers!”

Romans 8:28-29 “Amazing”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

²⁸And we know that all [things] are working together into good to the ones loving God, to ones being called ones according to purpose, ²⁹because whom He foreknew He also predestinated [to be] ones conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be a firstborn among many brothers.

Wow. Now I really feel I need to take off my shoes. As I’ve related earlier and many others have said, Romans 8 is the pinnacle of the whole Bible. Then within Romans 8, this passage from v. 28 to 39 is the pinnacle of it all! Verse 28 is perhaps the most practically helpful verse in the entire Bible, but I think we’ll find v. 39 is nearly heaven’s doorstep! For now, I’ll try to content myself with a close look at vv. 28,29.

We start with those glorious words, “And we know that all things work together for good…” Who among us doesn’t nurse almost continually on these words? All. All things. All things are working together for good. Good. All things. All. I am very aware that I (and I’m sure you too) desperately need this verse because life is so overwhelmingly painful. I’ve never noticed, though, that that is not only true, but it is actually the context! What has been Paul been talking about ever since v.17? Suffering.

In fact, if you look at it closely, you’ll see that is the subject from v.17 all the way to the end of the chapter. Anyone else notice the paradox? The pinnacle of the Bible is a discourse on suffering, the theology of pain, if you will. Sufferology, I suppose. So, a proper sufferology begins with the assurance that all things, even pain, are working together for good, and concludes with the assurance that nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord...and those two truths are the pinnacle of a believer’s life as we journey through this world! Hmmmm. That calls for some serious pondering!

I’m also struck by the realization of who is writing these words. Remember Paul is the guy who said of himself, “I have worked hard, been in prison frequently, been flogged severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked” (II Cor. 11:23-27).

I point all this out because so often we struggle with those words “all things … for good.” Good? “How can this be good?” we often ask ourselves. Maybe it helps to remember the guy who wrote those words? If anyone ever had a right to question the “good” in “all things,” it certainly would have been Paul. However, notice he didn’t say everything is good. He said all things work together for good.

Here's how I believe we have to understand this: In all of God’s creation, there are two beings who were given the power of choice, angels and humans. Apparently sometime after they were created, the angels of heaven were faced with the choice of being God’s servants or not. Satan obviously chose not (Isa. 14:12-14; Ezek. 28:12-14) and apparently took one third of the angels down with him (Rev. 12:4). They all became demons, while apparently the rest of the angels were “confirmed” in holiness. Meanwhile, God also created mankind, gave us the power of choice and we chose badly too. For whatever reason, God gave humans the ability to procreate and then each individual, in the lifetime they are given here on earth, much choose for themselves, Then, only upon death are we, like the angels, “confirmed” either in holiness or eternal damnation.

So, then, our present created universe is filled with creatures who’ve been given the freedom to choose, which on the upside is a great dignity, but on the downside our greatest danger -- the power to choose badly. In addition, as we learned earlier in Romans 8, because Adam chose sin, he, as the Federal Head, took down the entire creation with him, so that the very world in which we live is cursed and trying to kill us. And where does all of this choosing badly get us? It means we live in a universe of constant evil, pain, heartbreak, trouble, and sorrows. When those troubles come, is it God’s fault?  Obviously, no. It was our choice. He in fact wants to give us heaven. “I go to prepare a place for you,” Jesus said. Now we see the amazing wisdom and power and love of God, who is so great, He takes hold of all our bad choosing and says, “I will commandeer it all so that, for those who love Me, in the end it will actually turn out for their good.”

Joseph understood. “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” Joseph was sold as a slave by his own brothers, falsely accused, thrown into prison, and forgotten for years. There was a LOT of bad choosing that went into all of that suffering, but what does he say, “God meant it for good.” For you and me, all of the bad choosing (ours, others, and that of demons) guarantees that ours will be a world of constant trouble. Sometimes that trouble may even be horrific – because we as humans are quite capable of unthinkable evil and cruelty to each other, while the demons and our world are literally trying to kill us! But our great God, while He grants to us that enormous dignity of choice, yet, commandeers it all so that even the worst of it, in the end, is for our good.

Personally, I think that is amazing.

It is a great source of hope to know that, no matter how bad the evil this world throws at us, our God has promised He will turn it all for our good. However, and I am absolutely convinced this is true – it is a FAR greater hope to know that the “all” includes my bad choices! As scary as this world’s evil may be, I am profoundly aware I am my own worst enemy. If there is anything that could keep me out of heaven, it will be me. In the end, none of all this sufferology really offers me any real hope unless I am assured that God’s love is greater than me and my stupidity.

Peek ahead again and how does He conclude this passage, the pinnacle of the Bible? “Nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!” Praise be to Jesus that “nothing” includes me! Now that He has claimed me and caused me to cry, “Abba, Father!” even I can’t stop Him from loving me!

I say all of this knowing there are many well-meaning Christians who want to believe and teach that our salvation is conditional, that we can lose it if we really screw it all up. In layman’s terms, my answer to that is simply this: “I am my own worst enemy. If Jesus didn’t save me from me, then the plain simple fact is He didn’t save me at all.” Well, praise God He did. The book of Hebrews says He saved me “to the uttermost.” Earlier in Romans we learned that “God commends His love to us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (5:8).

What an amazing hope it is for us to know our God has promised to work all things together for our good. However, what I find most amazing is to realize that even includes my bad choices. I’ve made MANY since the day He saved me, but He has taken even my bad choices and turned them around in the end to bring about great good in my life. I don’t want to make bad choices. I’m very glad the day will come when I too will be confirmed in holiness and never even want to sin again, but until then, I know myself and, no matter how hard I try, I will still screw it all up.

But He says, “All things …”

“Nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God …”

That, to me, is amazing.