“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.” (Romans 8:28 (NASB95)
Romans 8:28, along with John 3:16, are arguably the two most frequently quoted verses of Scripture. Today’s text may be found on plaques, t-shirts, billboards, social media platforms, and the theme of many worship songs.
When our daughter was born and admitted into a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), my wife and I quoted, sang and prayed the following lyrics from a popular worship song at that time by songwriters Babbie Y. Mason and Eddie Carswell.
All things work for our good
Though sometimes we don’t see
How they could
Struggles that break our hearts in two
Sometimes blind us to the truth.
Our Father knows what’s best for us
His ways are not our own
So when your pathway grows dim
And you just don’t see Him,
Remember you’re never alone.
God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don’t understand
When don’t see His plan
When you can’t trace His hand
Trust His Heart.
The Holy Spirit constructed Romans 8:28 on the foundation of the previous twenty-seven verses of the same chapter, and the previous seven chapters of the Epistle to the Romans. We must understand what Paul previously wrote in order to understand the meaning contained in this one verse.
“Paul has shown that for those who are in Christ Jesus there is now no condemnation (verses 1–8). They are indwelt by that Spirit who will even raise their bodies gloriously (verses 9–11). They receive the assurance that they are God’s children, and as such, his heirs (verses 14–16). Their present suffering for Christ and for his cause means that one day they will share his glory, a glory so marvelous that in comparison with its hardships fade away into nothingness (verse 18). They will dwell in that new heaven and earth to which all creation with groaning is looking forward (verses 19–22). They themselves also groan as they eagerly await their adoption (verses 23–25). In all their weaknesses the Holy Spirit helps them. That Spirit always intercedes for them in harmony with God’s will, so that this intercession, accompanied by wordless groanings, will certainly be effective (verses 26, 27),” explains Dr. William Hendriksen.
We know what Romans 8:28 says. We must also understand what the verse means and how we may apply it in our lives in comprehending the scope of God’s providence.
“And we know.” This phrase in English is one word (Οἴδαμεν; Oidemen) in the Greek. It is also a perfect, active indicative verb. This means that it is a past completed action with continuing results. This knowledge and understanding Paul spoke of pertains to a past comprehension of truth which continues in the present. What is it believers in Christ know and understand?
“That God causes all things.” This rendering in the New American Standard Bible (NASB) is an example of a textual variant. The more common translation is “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose,” (Romans 8:28 (ESV). The issue at hand is whether the subject is “God” or “all things.”
“Though no one knows how this variant originated, its acceptance results in a sentence that would make Paul a rather clumsy stylist. Besides, if Paul really dictated, and Tertius really wrote, “In all things God works for good,” or “God causes all things to work for good,” it is very hard, indeed, to believe that this second mention of the word God—the first was in the clause “who love God”—would ever have been dropped from the text,” states Dr. Hendriksen.
“The old—yes, very old! —rendering, namely, “… all things work together for good” should stand. It is only fair to add that whether one translates one way or the other—that is, whether one (a) erroneously accepts the word “God” or “he” [the Spirit] as the subject of the clause; or (b) correctly views “all things” as being the real subject—hence, “all things work together for good”—the result remains about the same, namely, that in God’s all-embracing providence all things work together for good to those who love God.”
“All things work together for good” (πάντα; panta) refers to the whole or every kind of event or situation in life and living. All things in life work together (συνεργεῖ; synergei) for good (ἀγαθόν; agathon) meaning what is proper and satisfactory. For whom does God give this promise?
“Those who love God, to those who are called.” The individuals who love (ἀγαπῶσι; agaposi) God are those who God called (κλητοῖς; kletois) or invited into a covenant relationship with Him. This is by God’s sovereign grace alone, through faith alone in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone (Romans 8:29-30). It is to these individuals all things work together for good.
“According to His purpose.” However, the ultimate good is God’s purpose (πρόθεσιν; prothesin) or plan. “In His providence, God orchestrates every event in life—even suffering, temptation, and sin—to accomplish both our temporal and eternal benefit,” explains Dr. John MacArthur. This is additionally clear from the following passages: Exod. 20:6; Deut. 7:9; 8:15-16; Neh. 1:5; Ps. 37:17, 20, 37–40; 97:10, 116:1; Isa. 56:6, 7; 1 Cor. 2:9; 8:3; James 1:12; 2:5.
“Thought the elect and the reprobate are indiscriminately exposed to similar evils, there is yet a great difference; for God trains up the faithful by afflictions and thereby promotes their salvation,” states John Calvin.
This truth of God’s purposeful sovereignty in our lives, even in the midst of evil, will be explored in greater detail in the next installment of this series.
What things have occurred in your life for which you may praise the Lord? This includes the good, and the bad. In both, God has worked His purpose.
Soli deo Gloria!
His Word Today 