In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 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. 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.Here we see revealed a second aspect of the glorious future that we have as a result of our rescue from selfishness and sin. And that second aspect is that followers of Jesus have a glorious future that God affirms. In these verses, we see two different ways that God affirms our glorious future as followers of Jesus. First in verses 26 and 27, we see how the Holy Spirit affirms our glorious future. Paul explains that the Holy Spirit helps our weakness for we do not know how to pray as we should. What is so interesting here is that the word weakness, in the language this letter was originally written in, literally means to have a lack of confidence or a feeling of inadequacy that comes from a lack of spiritual insight.
Have you ever been there? Have you ever been in a place where you do not even have the words to pray? Have you ever been in the place where you feel inadequate, where you feel you have no confidence to pray to God because you do not even know where to start or what to pray? I know I have been there. Paul then explains that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words. When we feel inadequate; when we have no confidence; when we feel we have no insight, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with great concern in words that are inexpressible. When we feel like we have no insight, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with a depth of insight and concern that we could never find ourselves.
And if that was not enough, in verse 27 Paul explains that “He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” But what does that mean? If Paul was writing this letter in the language we use today, this verse would sound something like this: And God, who searches the core of our beings, knows the mindset of the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit intercedes and prays for us according to God’s desire for our lives. You see, God knows what the Holy Spirit intends, and there is perfect harmony between what God wants and what the Holy Spirit prays, because the Holy Spirit prays according to God’s desire for our lives.
Paul then reveals God’s desire for our lives by introducing a well known and generally accepted fact that the members of the church at Rome would have been aware of. And this well known and generally accepted fact reveals a second way that God affirms our glorious future. And whether you regularly attend church or this is your first time in church; whether you regularly read your Bible or have never read the Bible; you are probably familiar with what Paul states next. You are probably familiar because you have heard it used as a slogan or seen this verse on a bumper sticker of coffee mug: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good”.
But to understand what the Apostle Paul is communicating here we first need to do two things. First, we need to keep reading the rest of the verse. Second, we need to figure out what the word good means. So let’s do those two things together. Romans 8:28 says the following: “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.” You see, this is not a blanket statement for every human being on the planet. You see, God works with all things in the life of the follower of Jesus for good. God never promises to work with all things in the life those who are not followers of Jesus for good; so to quote this verse to someone who is not a follower of Jesus is to give them a wrong view of God and how He relates to those who are far from Him.
Paul’s point here is that for the person who has responded to God’s activity in their lives by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader, God works with every situation and circumstance, whether good or bad for good. Well then what does Paul mean when he says that God causes all things to work together for good? What is good in God’s eyes? We find the answer to this question in verse 29. However, to fully understand what Paul is communicating here, we first need to define some 50 cent theological words. When Paul uses the word foreknew here, this word means to know beforehand and to choose beforehand. Then there is the word predestined. Predestined, most simply put, is to pre-decide. To predestine is to decide upon something beforehand, to predetermine something.
God knew all of humanity before they came into existence on this earth. God is all knowing. He not only knows what you did yesterday; He also knows what you will do tomorrow, next week, and for the rest of your life. And God knew everything about what you were going to do here on earth before you were a twinkle in your daddy’s eye, so to speak. And already knowing what we were going to do before we even lived a day on this earth, God pre-decided to rescue us so that we would experience forgiveness and the relationship with God that we were created for, in spite of our selfishness and rebellion.
And God’s good for those whom He rescued; God’s good purpose in the lives of His followers is to shape and mold us in a way that we become more like Christ in character and conduct. As we live in the relationship with God that we were created for, God works with every situation and circumstance for His glory and for our spiritual growth and good. Every circumstance and situation God works with in order to make us more like Christ so that we would reveal and reflect Christ in a way that advances His kingdom mission and enhances His reputation.
And in case the members of the church at Rome missed his point, Paul reinforces his point in verse 30. To those whom God decided upon beforehand to rescue from selfishness and rebellion, God declares them not guilty of having a problem with God as a result of God’s activity through Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. And the person who has responded to what God has done in their lives by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader have a glorious future where we will be transformed into saints who never sin again that participate in the glory and splendor of God as we live in intimate relationship with Him.
Now here is a question to consider: how should we respond to what we have just heard? How should we respond to the fact that God chose us beforehand, knowing full well that we would be selfish and rebellious; knowing full well that are selfishness and rebellion would result in Him sending His Son, in order to declare us not guilty of our selfishness and sin and enable us to experience the relationship with God that we were created for.
As Paul concludes this section of this letter, we see Paul ask the members of the church at Rome this very question and reveal for us the third different aspect of our rescue that results in a glorious future that provides us hope. We will look at that tomorrow...
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