Romans 8:31 “What Shall We Say?”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

³¹Therefore, what shall we say toward these things? If God [is] on behalf of us, who [can be] down upon us?

I want to slow down and actually consider Paul’s question here. “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”

Well, what shall we say?

Here we are each in our own world swirling with joys and sorrows, good days and bad days, good memories and bad, dreams and fears, plans we’ve made while in other ways feeling down-right confused, with no idea where we’re going. Into that world, the Lord places before us Romans 1 through 8, the Gospel. And what has that told us? Everything that really matters. It has told us clearly what is our problem, what’s wrong with us and what’s wrong with this world. It tells us what’s really going on in this world – our world – is a massive spiritual conflict of eternal consequence. And it tells us that our God reigns over it all, that He Himself has provided the answer to it all in the Person of His Son Jesus Christ, that in Jesus, we have the glorious opportunity to become God’s own children, to step into a place of total security, where we can live even in our swirling world, knowing we’ve been foreknown, predestined, called, justified, and even glorified!

What shall we say to these things?

What shall we say?

I honestly think the first thing we should say is nothing at all. If you or I really comprehend the enormity of all of this, how can we but sit in silent wonder, at a complete loss for words, counting on the blessed Holy Spirit to do what only He can do, expressing it all for us to the Father in “groans that words cannot express” (v.26).  In fact, perhaps the only words which are appropriate are those He gives us,  “Abba, Father!”

Yet still the question remains, “What shall we then say to these things?” Like Mary, sitting at Jesus’ feet, at some point we do have to stand up and get on with it. As I sit here myself, I’m thinking the answer to that question is faith itself. Do I believe Romans 1-8? Is God really absolutely in control? Is the problem with this world really sin? Is the entire answer really to be found in Jesus? Can I totally trust this God of the Gospel? Can I believe He really is working all things together for my good? Can I believe that He is for me, and therefore nothing can really be against me?

If yes, then why should I fear? As I look into His eyes, I feel Him asking me as He did Peter, “Why did you doubt?” Why did I? Why do I? As I think about Romans 1-8, there really is no need for fear.

However, isn’t that exactly the point where we should be? Especially in difficult times, is that not exactly what I need to do? Do I not need to look my fears straight in the face, then, on the other hand, to consider the truths of the Bible and ask myself, “Which will it be? Will I let fear control me, or will I allow the truths of the Gospel to lift my heart to faith in God?”

If I may run ahead, I even think Romans 12-16 give us a practical answer to this question. In 12:1,2, Paul says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.” He goes on all the way to chapter 16 with many practical applications, many ways to do just that, to be transformed. It means we really can live Paul’s admonition to Timothy, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a well-ordered mind” (II Tim. 1:7).

“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”

What shall we say?

What shall we do?

Sit in wonder, then rise up to try again – to try again to live this life of faith, this life driven by my trust in God.

 

Romans 8:30 “Glorified?”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

³⁰And whom He predestined, them He also called;

           and whom He called, them He also justified;

      and whom He justified, them He also glorified.

One more thing I’d like to note that I have never seen before. Notice those last four words, “them He also glorified.”

Glorified.

Glorified. Me? That’s what it says.

Of course, God alone is worthy of glory. Jesus is the One before  whom “every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth” (Phil. 2:10). Back in Daniel’s vision He was given “authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped Him” (7:14). Even in heaven, what do people do with the crowns they’ve been given? “Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and worship Him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say, ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power…’” (Rev. 4:9-11). Those crowns represent a part of the “glory” that God is willing to bestow on believers, but, even having received them, those men and women never forget who is truly “the worthy One.”

Okay. So we all understand that the Lord is the only One truly worthy, the only One worthy to be glorified. And yet what does He say about us? We’ve not only been called and justified, we’ve been glorified. Glorified. Of course we all know about the crowns. We’ve read many times “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him” (Ja. 1:12). We are all aware that we may receive crowns in heaven. We know there will be some sort of recognition, but then I’ve never noticed that the Lord states it so bluntly, that He glorifies us.

What is amazing me is the realization that He doesn’t have to do that. God is under no obligation to grant “glory” to anyone. He is the One who is great. He is God. He is infinite. I’m just a man, a created man, very weak and fragile at best, a rotten rebellious sinner at my worst. He owes me nothing. He could go on being “great,” grant none of it to us, and be perfectly just in doing it. Yet what does it say? “Whom He justified, them He also glorified.”

How many “great” people spend their time trying to make “great” those who serve them? Wouldn’t it be a very rare thing indeed to observe a “great” person, like a famous movie star or singer, or a basketball player or quarterback, who was known for working hard to elevate the others around them? “Making great,” of course, is the parents’ heart. From the time a good parent (and especially the mother) knows they’ve conceived a child, their entire soul becomes consumed with the welfare of that child. The prayers start shooting to heaven, the budget gets re-arranged, the house gets re-arranged, the schedule gets re-arranged, and that parent would literally die first before any harm ever came to that child. That parent, though they may be “great” themselves at whatever, will live first and foremost to see their child become the “great” one. (I realize there are way too many wicked parents in this world of whom none of this is true, but I’m not talking about them. I’m talking about good parents).

If we think about a parent’s heart, I believe we can understand God’s heart here. He created me. He made me His child. He wants me to cry, “Abba, Father!” And what has He been doing ever since? Working “all things together” for my “good.” He wants me to be glorified. As with a parent, it doesn’t take from their “glory” to give glory to their child. In fact, this universe works exactly opposite of that. What does it do for any parent to have a child who rises to any kind of greatness? It makes us enormously proud and, though we never sought it, it makes others admire us when they see our children do well. Their “glory” only adds to ours!

So, I can understand God’s heart here.

But I’m still amazed.

Me? Glorified? How utterly humbling is that – to think the Lord of glory wants me to be glorified? Just think about it: Not only justified. That would be amazing, that a sinner like me should be forgiven and made a child of God, but … glorified?

What an astoundingly kind God He is!

I’ve noted before that Eph. 2:6,7 tells us “God raised us up with Christ, and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” God is glorified in His kindness to us, and what does Rom. 8:30 tells us that kindness includes? Glorifying us.

What an incredible kindness. I’m sitting here looking Him in the eyes and I feel such a swirl of emotions. At the same time, it is enormously humbling. I’m painfully aware of how unworthy I am of such kindness. Then it just makes me want to sit here praising Him. Then it makes me feel so loved. Then it makes me want to rise to whatever it is He wants me to be and do. Just the thought that He would glorify me, makes every corner of my soul want to lay a crown at His feet!

Now we remember, what is the context of this passage? Suffering. Everything the Lord says here in this passage we call the pinnacle of the Bible – it’s all in the context of suffering. This wonder that I am feeling as I look in His eyes and ponder that He would glorify me – that wonder is another of His kindnesses, something that can and should sustain my heart even as I face this world’s seemingly endless cruelty and pain and trouble!

I have for a while been thinking about that illustration that our lives are each (and together) a great Divine tapestry that the Lord is daily weaving. I’m keenly aware that all we see is the “underside” of the tapestry. And what do we see? It’s a mess.  I look at my own life and yes, that’s about the best I can see – the underside of a tapestry, a shapeless mangle of colored threads. A mess. However, in that Day, when we get to look down from above instead up from beneath, what will we see? A beautiful tapestry! A tapestry of the Lord’s weaving! That’s part of the glory we’re talking about in Rom. 8:30! Our Lord is so great and so kind, He can take even the mess that we are, and the mess we seem to be weaving, and yet turn it into something truly beautiful.

Wow.

Lord, You alone are worthy of glory and honor and power, but thank you that you would raise me up, that you would take even the mess of who I am, and make something out of me. And it’s almost hard fo me to acknowledge this, but You said it, that You will actually glorify me.

Wow.

“All praise to Him, who reigns above,

in majesty supreme,

Who gave His Son for man to die,

that He might man redeem.

Blessed be the name!”

 

Romans 8:30 “His”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

³⁰And whom He predestined, them He also called;

           and whom He called, them He also justified;

      and whom He justified, them He also glorified.

This is another simply amazing verse in this amazing passage of scripture, the pinnacle of the Bible, the pinnacle of it all. Just looking at it, my mind swims with all the observations I’d love to write. I feel a little ike John did at the end of his gospel, “Jesus did many other things as well. If everyone one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written!” (21:25). Indeed, if you try to read commentaries, you’ll start to think there’s no end of what has been written about this very verse!

I suppose anything I say is just adding to that cacophony of feeble humans scratching on the infinite wisdom of God! However, having studied through it, I do want to record a few thoughts that particularly strike me. Perhaps one of my great-grandchildren, who shares at least a few genes with me, will also find these thoughts helpful?

First of all and for whatever it’s worth, notice the order. I have arranged the verse above in stanzas, so to speak, to at least try to portray the order of the words in Greek. As is always the case, anytime one finds order in the Bible, you can rest quite assured it was deliberate. We may not always (yet) be able to figure out the point of the order, but I believe we should note it. In this case, notice first of all there are three lines. From cover to cover in the Bible, there is no question that three is God’s number. Obviously, the point of this passage is that our God is totally in control, that it is all about Him and what He does. Not surprising if Paul decided to insert this triad of lines to emphasize that very point.

For anyone digging deeper, also notice in Greek the first line starts with a de, the second a kai, and the third another de. Grammatically, the third should have been another kai. Why use a de? The two words basically mean the same thing, so they can be used somewhat interchangeably, but each does have its usual proper grammatical usage. Why depart from that? My suggestion would be that was very deliberate and done to call attention to the order. Ancient people loved what some have called “bookends,” words used at the beginning and end of some discourse, specifically to call attention to whatever was their point and to communicate that what they said or wrote was intended as a single unit of thought. Anyone lazily listening to Paul’s words would have expected to hear a kai to begin that third line. To hear instead a de would have been a jolt, so to speak, to “listen up!” and probably calling their attention to the very deliberate order. The fact the verse started and ended with a (seemingly misplaced) de would alert listeners that what he just said was a single important point.

And what is that single important point? The same reason there are three lines. God is totally in charge! Again, here we are in a passage where the actual context is suffering. Suffering has been the context starting at least at v.17 and it will continue to the end of the chapter. In the midst of our suffering, what is the single most important truth we must embrace? Our God is totally in control! And why is that so important? Is it not because it’s when we’re suffering that we most need the assurance that God is in control and that He loves us? In suffering are not we all haunted by our unworthiness? “God has given up on me and I deserve it. Why should He care? He knows my evil thoughts and those things I’ve done I shouldn’t have. Now He’s punishing me,” are the kind of dark thoughts that invade our minds at those times when we most need instead the assurance of God’s loving control!

Romans 8 would blast through our darkness, throw open the blinds, and fill our mind instead with these wonderful truths: “All things for good;” “He has a purpose in this – He’s making me more like Jesus;” “He foreknew me, He predestined me, He called me, He justified me, and He has already promised to glorify me!”

You’d think someone would jump up and ask, “Well, if God be for us, who can be against us?” Oh, yeah. That’s the very next verse, isn’t it? Do you see, that is the point? These verses are not just nice Christian cliches to hang on your wall. They are the very truths that will sustain you and me through the hard times of this life! We are at the pinnacle of the Bible and what do we learn? Our God is bigger than our suffering! How many times a day do I need that assurance? Well, there are 1,440 minutes in a day. That’s about right. Then again there are 86,400 seconds. Yeah, that’s a little closer. I might just make it with 86,400 reminders every day that the Lord is totally in charge and He loves me! I’ll bet you feel the same?

Something I need to say here – all you have to do is pick up any commentary and you’ll find this very verse buried in controversy. What does it say? “And whom He predestined, them He also called; and whom He called, them He also justified; and whom He justified, them He also glorified.” In the verse before we learned that He “foreknew” us. The theologians completely freak out over these thoughts. There are those who cannot accept that our salvation is secure in Jesus, so they need to write for pages explaining away these words. There are those who object to this idea saying things like that, if God predestined some of us to be saved, then He is predestining others to hell. Did anyone else notice the passage doesn’t say that? It.does.not.say.that. Our feeble, childish minds may decide that is a logical inference, but it.does.not.say.that.

I refuse to build my faith on what I think are logical inferences from what God said. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. By the Word of God. By listening to what He says. By letting Him say what He says and simply believing it. I’m in the middle of a passage where the Lord is speaking to me about my salvation, my relationship with Him. He wants me to know I’m here because He brought me here. As I sit here thinking about it, I have absolutely no problem with that truth. I know it’s true, somehow. Yes, I had to have faith, but then again, I know if it wasn’t for Him, I would still be dead in my trespasses and sins. It was Him who made me alive. I’m thrilled to know that He actually foreknew me, predestined me, called me, justified me, and already has and will glorify me.

So what does that mean for unbelievers? He isn’t talking to or about unbelievers. If you want to know about them, go find passages where He’s talking to them. Seems to me when He’s talking to them I remember words like, “Whosoever will may come.”

I won’t belabor the point, but this is exactly why I study the Bible and why I study the way I do. My first goal in study is to determine exactly what God said – and what He didn’t say – then to the best of my ability to just let the truth of what He said stand on its own. I personally don’t find anything controversial about this passage. I think what it says is quite clear. It is only “controversial” if someone simply doesn’t like what it says. And if someone doesn’t like what it says, they need to take that up with Someone a whole lot more important than me!

What it does say is monumentally important as it speaks to the very thoughts we must think especially when we believers find ourselves suffering. That is the context and that is the point. The Lord would have us absolutely assured He is in control and He loves us. Always has. Always will. It’s too bad all that ink gets wasted arguing about things the passage doesn’t say, instead of shouting the wonderful truths of what it does!

My last thought to inject is to remind us all that we are dealing here with the Word of God. The infinite One. His thoughts are not our thoughts nor His ways our ways. “As the heavens are higher than the earth …” It is a fact of math that human logic fails at infinity. Infinity + infinity does not equal 2 x infinity. It’s still just infinity. That’s illogical, we might say. Yep. That’s because human logic doesn’t work at infinity. That’s why us humans need to be humble enough to just let God speak, then believe what He says. I suspect if a lot of the “theologians” were to take their objections to God, His response would be, “Who is this that darkens counsel without knowledge?” And their right response would be to clap their hand over their mouth and repent in dust and ashes.

Instead of all that, let’s you and me just rejoice in the wonderful assurance our kind, gracious God speaks to us here, and may it leave us only praising Him more, even as we face the hardships of this life! I am His.