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The “Good” in Romans 8:28

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romans 828One of the first promises of scriptures I learned as a new Christian that became a great comfort to me in times of trouble and adversity was Romans 8:28! The precious promise of that passage, not only comforted me as a new Christian, but it has been a source of abiding comfort throughout the years and even to this present day! Paul wrote to the Romans: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28 KJV)  The ESV (English Standard Version) puts it this way: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (ESV)  Yes! No matter what happens; the good, the bad, or the ugly, God is working it all together for our good!

Now, before we get to what the good is, I think it should be noted that this is not a blanket “everything is going to be alright” statement for everybody! Note that Paul didn’t say that all things work together for good for everybody! No! All things work together for good only for those that love God!  This “love” for God is not the emotional feeling that most people associate with love today, but rather it is a calculated faithful response to the grace of God.  The Apostle John wrote in 1 John 4:19: “We love him, because he first loved us.” (1John 4:19 KJV) In the very next verse, John further qualified what it really means to love God when he said: “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1John 4:20 KJV) In the Gospel of John, the writer equates loving God with obeying God. In John 14:15, Jesus said: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (ESV) So, we can gather from these passages that the ones who love God in Romans 8:28 are the ones who love their brothers and sisters and obey the commandments of God! Paul further stipulates who they are by identifying them as; “the called according to his purpose.” God’s purpose is God’s will, therefore, all things work together for good to and for them that live in accordance to the purpose and will of God.

Now, with all that being said, we still don’t really know what the “good” in verse 28 is! We know that all things work together for good to and for those that love (obey God and love their brothers and sisters) God and live according to God’s will. But, what is that good? Is the good; all things working together to turn out in favor of or to the advantage of those that love God? Is the good; all things working together for the health, wealth or prosperity of those that love God?  Just what is the “good” that all things work together for and to those that love God, who are called according to his purpose in Romans 8:28?

Well, we should note at this point that the Bible was not originally written in chapter/verse form! Therefore, the thought in verse 28 continues in verse 29! And I think the “good” of verse 28 is identified in verse 29! Roman 8:29 says: “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (KJV) “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.” (Rom 8:29 NASB [New American Standard Bible]) From verse 29, we can deduct the good in verse 28 is to be conformed to the image of his Son! The good that all things work together for in verse 28 is that we might be like Jesus! Therefore, all things work together in the believer’s life for the expressed purpose of molding and shaping the believer into the image of Christ!

Now, what’s really amazing is this: Genesis 1:27 says: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” (KJV) When man sinned, the image was not destroyed, but it was tarnished! Paul described Jesus in Colossians 1:15 as the one; “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.” (KJV) Therefore, since Jesus came to redeem man and Jesus was and is the image of God and all things work together to conform those who love God (accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior) into the image of Jesus. And it was always God’s purpose for those who love God to be conformed to the image of His Son. And man was originally created in the image and likeness of God, then the good in Romans 8:28 is all things working together to shape and mold those who love God into the image of God’s original intent!

Our Good or His Glory?

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GodgloryMy wife recently purchased a gospel CD to help choreograph a dance-skit one of our Dance-Ministry teams performed at this year’s Harvest-Fest Celebration. At our church, we discourage the celebration of Halloween and provide the children a Christian alternative instead, but that is beside the point of this post, so let me get to my point! The CD she purchased was by a well-known and respected Gospel artist. She played it so much during the rehearsals that I found myself humming the melody and singing the lyrics all of the time! The more I listened to the CD, the more I liked it! In fact, when she was not using it for rehearsal, it was in the CD-player in my car! Now, although most of the songs on the CD were geared toward uplifting and encouraging the listener, I found myself wondering about the biblical validity of the message the music was conveying. After taking a step back from this particular CD (I was getting addicted; couldn’t get the songs out of my head!) and listening to other artists, I noticed a common theme that is prevalent in gospel music today. Much of the music and songs are about things working out for “our good.” The artists tell the listeners things like: “This is your season for grace and favor; this is your time to be blessed!” “Everything is working out for your good!” No weapon formed against you shall prosper!” and “God favors me!”

Now, the purpose of all of these songs and sayings is to minister encouragement to people and I have no problem with that. My problem is I think that all too often, we (humanity) forget who is God! We did not create God to serve us; but rather, we were created by God to serve God! Or, as the psalmist of old put it in Psalm 100:3: “Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” Much of the music being produced today seems to imply that God exists for us and the ultimate goal is “our good!” But, the fact of the matter is this: We exist for God and the ultimate goal is “His glory!” What are we talking about when we talk about His glory? We’re talking about His fame and His reputation! We’re talking about His esteem and His honor! Everything God created (including and especially humanity) was created to bring Him glory and honor!

One of the first passages I learned as a young Christian was Romans 8:28. That verse says: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” I can’t tell you the number of times the Lord has used that verse to help me make some sense of the adverse things that happened in my life. Yes, most of us know and can quote Romans 8:28. However, Romans 8:28 was not meant to stand by itself! It can only be rightly interpreted and understood when it is combined with verse 29! Romans 8:29 describes and further amplifies the “them” in verse 28. By the way, with just 28, we must understand that all things don’t work together for everybody, only for “them that love (obey) God and are called according to his (God’s) purpose (plan and will). Romans 8:29 says: “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Taken in context, “the good” referred to in verse 28 corresponds with the phrase “to be conformed to the image of His Son” in verse 29. In other words, everything that happens in the believer’s life, God works it out and uses it to shape and mold the believer into the image of Jesus! The Bible says that Jesus was the visible image of the invisible God, thus to be like Jesus is to be like God, which was the purpose of our creation in the first place! Remember, Genesis 1:26-27? “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

The Bible seems to suggest that the prime objective, without a doubt, is God’s glory! Our good is not the main objective, but rather our good contributes to the main objective, which is God’s glory! It might be that I am just splitting hairs and making much ado about nothing. But I just think we all need to be reminded that it is in Him that we move and have our being. Whatever good, whatever grace and whatever favor that is granted in our lives, is not just for our good; ultimately, it is for His glory!