GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR MAN FROM START TO FINISH

Part IV: God's Righteousness Granted In Sanctification, Romans 6:1-8:39

H. God's Sovereignly Good Work In The Believer's Experience

(Romans 8:28-30)

I. Introduction

A. After writing about the believer's hope of being glorified by God at the rapture in Romans 8:18-25, Paul clarified that God sovereignly worked in his current earthly experiences in his best interests, Romans 8:28-30.

B. We view this Romans 8:28-30 passage for our insight and edification (as follows):

II. God's Sovereignly Good Work In The Believer's Experience, Romans 8:28-30.

A. Paul claimed that we believers intuitively know (oidamen) a great truth from the Lord though we "may not always fully understand and sense it experientially," Romans 8:28a; Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 473.

B. That truth is the fact that God is currently in the process of (present tense, sunergei) working all things together for the good (Ibid., p. 474) of the believer, Romans 8:28b. This means that everything that can possibly affect the believer in the natural as well as the spiritual realm is under God's complete sovereign control, and that He is orchestrating all these things for the believer's ultimate eternal good (as follows):

1. Everything in the stellar universe, including the galaxies, the sun, the moon, the stars, the planets and comets, etc., the meteorite dust that hits the earth's atmosphere to affect the formation of rain clouds, etc. and affect the earth's oceanic temperatures and hence weather patterns are being used of God to work for every individual believer's ultimate good.

2. Everything in the physical earth that affects the believer's moods and physical body as to diet, temperature, volcanic activity, water table, health, etc. are being orchestrated for the believer's ultimate good.

3. Everything in the spirit world, be it other human beings, saved or unsaved, angelic beings, demonic or good angels, and Satan and God are being carefully orchestrated by the Lord for the believer's ultimate good, Ephesians 1:20-22a. (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 where God let a demonic spirit afflict Paul to keep him humble regardless of his great revelations that he might continue to be an effective servant of God)

4. Everything in the Church universal or the local church, material or spiritual as to realm, is under God's sovereign control, and He is orchestrating them toward the believer's ultimate good. (Ephesians 1:22b-23)

C. This work is for them that love God, namely, for those who are called according to His purpose, Rom. 8:28c.

D. That purpose is explained in Romans 8:29-30 as follows:

1. In eternity past, God foreknew those who would be His people, those who would trust in Christ as Savior to be justified by Him, Romans 8:29a.

2. Those God thus foreknew would be His people He also predestined through a great series of events, including the rapture itself, to predestine them to be conformed to the image of His Son that Christ might be the exalted Firstborn among many brethren who have been purified from sin and formatted to live forever with the Lord, Romans 8:29b. This conformity involves practical sanctification in the experiences of life and the ultimate sanctification of the rapture when the believer is forever removed from all sin, Ibid.

3. Accordingly, this goal led to God's deciding to call through the Gospel those He had foreknown to be His people and thus also predestined to be conformed to Christ's image, Romans 8:30a.

4. Those He had thus called through the Gospel God also justified when they then believed in Christ, and those He justified he also glorified, Romans 8:30b,c. The verb "glorified" is written "in the past tense because this final step is so certain that in God's eyes it is as good as done," Ibid.

Lesson: Though we may not always know this by experience due to the seemingly debilitating drain of life's trials, we believer's intuitively know that God is currently working all things in our experience, be they in this current life or at the rapture to come, for our ultimate eternal good. Accordingly, having foreknown us to be His people from eternity past, God predestined us through all things in this life as well as the rapture to be conformed to Christ in His righteousness for the glory of Christ. This includes God's calling us through the Gospel, then justifying us when we believed in Christ and finally glorifying us at the rapture.

Application: (1) May we realize that even in the experientially hard times of life, God works everything that affects us for our eventual, eternal good in conforming us to the righteousness and holiness of our Savior, Jesus Christ. (2) Thus, (a) may we rejoice in this intuitive knowledge and (b) trust God's goodness no matter what we currently face, (c) obeying the Lord in faith that He "will perfect that which concerneth me!"(Psalm 138:8)