As we begin to look at our text, there are some considerations that need to be examined.
- Who did the translation, one person or a team of translators? If one person did it, there is a high risk of preconceived ideas being brought into the text. This is a risk with a team as well, but not as likely as when one person is doing it.
- Reliability of the manuscripts. Do the manuscripts used have a good number of copies that are in agreement?
- The difficulty of going from one language to another. In every language, there are lots of idioms that are commonplace and are difficult to say in another language, specifically, in a few words.
- What did the text mean to the first-century readers? Their context may be difficult to ascertain since we are far removed from it.
- What does it say to us today? We should be on guard lest we interpret Scripture through our culture, experiences, or preconceived ideas.
Having said this, let’s begin to look at our text.
OUR TEXT FROM SEVEN TRANSLATIONS:
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. NKJV
And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose. AMP
We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose, CEV
Moreover, we know that to those who love God, who are called according to his plan, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good. J.B. Phillips
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. NAS
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. NIV
We know that God makes all things work together for the good of those who love Him and are chosen to be a part of His plan. NLV
After looking at the text in Greek, my preference is the New International Version, which I believe to be the most accurate and meaningful.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. NIV
As we unpack this verse, we discover there are four great truths that we should examine.
- We know.
- That in all things.
- God works for the good.
- Of those who love Him and are responding to His call.
In the following, we will look at corresponding passages that will shed light on these statements.
DOES GOD HAVE MANY WILLS?
Life seems to lead all of us into situations where we have to ascertain what is the best course of action. We pray, ask for counsel from a friend, read the Bible, and often still are unsure what God wants us to do.
For us to be convinced that all things are working out for our good, we must know what the will of God is.
Not everything that happens to us is God’s will! The world system is against us. Acts 2:40 says, “And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse (evil) generation.” 1 John 2:15-17 also says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life- is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” John 10:10 says, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.”
Romans 12:2 says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
The way this verse is translated leaves us with the idea that God has two or three different wills. It has often been said that He has a permissive will and a perfect will. Many of us were raised in churches where this was taught. But is this what the Bible teaches?
“Do not conform any longer 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.” (NIV) Notice that the word ‘will’ is singular.
I have yet to find any mention in the Bible of God having different wills on the same subject.
As we review the Scriptures, we find that God has a specific will and plan for us. For example: notice 1 Thessalonians 4:3, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…” Very specific.
Colossians 4:12 says, “Epaphras…laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete (fully assured) in all the will of God.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” It is always the will of God to give Him thanks.
Galatians 1:4 says, “Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present age, according to the will of our God and Father.” It is the will of God for us to overcome this world system.
Hebrews 10:36 says, “For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.” It is the will of God that we always receive the benefits of God’s promises.
1 Peter 4:2 says, “That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.” It is the will of God that we do the will of God!
1 John 2:17 says, “And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
As we evaluate our circumstances, we often see that there are multiple paths we could take. Which one will be the most productive? Which one will God bless? How can I know what to do?
All of us have been there. What if there was someone who had been here before us who knows what we should do? There is! God sees the end from the beginning, and He knows everything in between. He knows everything that is involved in either of the paths that we could take. But since He only wants what is best for us, He will direct us in that path. Can we choose to do otherwise? Yes. But there is sure to be heartache if we take the path that is outside the will of God!
Can Satan attack us when we are in the will of God? Certainly. The apostle Paul and the saints mentioned in Hebrews 11 are proof of that! Many saintly people living today are also proof of it.
Are difficulties indicators of being either in or out of the will of God? No, they are not. If you live a godly life you are subject to Satan’s attack and persecution. 2 Timothy 3:12 says, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” Proverbs 18:15 says, “And the way of the transgressor is hard.” KJV
How can we discover the will of God for our life? First and foremost, we can find it in the Bible. It is full of commands, statements, and illustrations of the will of God. We are told in Colossians 3:15, “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful.” The Holy Spirit leads us into the will of God. He never leads us outside the will of God! Prayer can also help us discover the will of God. Ephesians 6:18 says, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”
We will find that we can step out in bold faith when we know what God’s will is even when there are still questions left unanswered.
But we know that when we do the will of God, He will be working, in everything, for our good!
DOES GOD OVERRIDE OUR WILL TO GET HIS WILL ACCOMPLISHED?
In this article, we are primarily referring to events and scriptures from the New Testament to ensure that we do not get Old Covenant experiences mixed with New Covenant teaching.
The Apostle Peter gives us some insight on this question when he says in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Yet we know that many die daily without having made Jesus the Lord of their life. Because they have rejected what Jesus provided for them on the Cross, they have brought condemnation upon themselves. John 3:16-19 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.”
We are made in the image and likeness of God. Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth’.” He has free will and He gave the same to us. As part of the inner man we have a will that can choose what our beliefs and actions will be. We can accept or reject the teaching of the Bible. We can choose to obey or disobey what it says. If we disobey we will suffer the consequences of that choice. Does God ever give up on us and stop loving us? No, definitely not.
Our text says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” NIV
All the time the individual is rejecting the love of God, He is still working in the realm of the unseen to cause circumstances, people, and His Spirit to bring them into His will. Since He knows what is best for each of us all that He does is for our good, both for now and in eternity.
Because we do not see God doing anything outwardly does not mean that He is not at work. Even when we have prayed and sought His face with no immediate response, this does not mean He has said no to our request. He is still working, do not stop believing His word. This is where faith comes into the picture. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Will we ever understand everything that is going on? Perhaps not, on this side of Heaven. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of the law.” God does have some secret things that He has chosen not to reveal at this present time. The Apostle Paul was shown some things that he could not reveal. 2 Corinthians 12:4 says, “How he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”
The Apostle Paul quoted Isaiah 64:4 when he wrote to the saints in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 2:9 where he said, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” Usually, we stop reading there and say ‘we will find out when we get to Heaven.’ But read on and see that this refers to now. 1 Corinthians 2:10 says, “But God HAS revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep (secret) things of God.” Verses 11 and 12 continue on to say, “For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we HAVE received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that WE MIGHT KNOW THE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN freely given to us by God.’ Yes, there will be many things that we will know or understand until we get to Heaven. But there are many more that we could know now if we realize it is God’s will for us to know them, He has put them in the control of the Spirit who lives IN us now.
God wants us to know what His will is. He wants us to live in it completely. The only things that He is keeping from us are things that He knows we are not yet able to handle. As we mature spiritually He can then reveal more to us. He is working to get us to the place to reveal lots of them to us.
DOES GOD’S FOREKNOWLEDGE CONTROL OUR DECISIONS?
One of the attributes of God is His knowledge of everything and everyone, the past as well as the present and the future. If He had less than that He would not be God. He has given each person a will whereby he can make choices according to his desires.
Does He approve of all our choices? No. But He still allows us to make them, even when He knows that they will be injurious to us.
When speaking to a group of Jews who rejected His Lordship, John said about Jesus in John 1:11, “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.” Jesus said in John 5:40, “And you are not willing to come to me that you may have life.” They wanted to hold to their religious traditions instead of the radical change of direction that would have been required of them to believe in Him. The same is true today with many people.
To do good research on a text, we need to see what is said before and after it so that we can see it in context. Romans 8:26-27 says, “Likewise the Spirit helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Several things stand out to me in verses 26-28:
- God knows more about us and our circumstances than we do.
- We often don’t know how or what to pray.
- The Spirit makes intercession for us.
- He makes intercession according to the will of the Father.
- We know that in all things God is working for our good.
- We love God and are called to do His purpose for our life.
Now we can see that He was addressing a specific class of people, namely, those who love God and are called to do His purpose.
To look at it in a little more depth, I quote from my book THE GOSPEL OF GRACE pages 84-87.
“J. B. Phillips says, ‘Moreover we know that to those who love God, who are called according to His plan, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good.’ I have never been convinced that everything that happens to us is working for our good. But I believe that in everything that happens God is working for our good. Satan is out to kill, steal, and destroy us. But our heavenly Father has purposed that we live in His abundant life! God has a plan for every life. He has gifted every one of His sons and daughters with a call to be His Ambassador. 2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us; we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.” His grace has enabled each one to do the assignment He has given them to do. Ephesians 3:7 says, “Of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.” Ephesians 4:7 says, “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” Too often we have interpreted the term ‘calling’ to mean only a Pastor or Evangelist but every Christian has a calling.
“What is God doing while we are facing the challenges of life? He is working in the unseen realm to get people and situations where they need to be so His will can be accomplished. He is also working in our soul and spirit realms to perfect character while bringing forth the fruit of the Spirit. James 1:4 says, “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” And He will continue doing that all our life.
“For whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be confirmed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He predestinated these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom he justified, these He also glorified (Romans 8:29-30).
“For those whom He has known beforehand He has also predestined to bear the image of his Son, that He might be the eldest in a vast family of brothers; and those whom He has predestined He also has called; and those whom He has called He has also declared free from guilt, and those whom He has declared free from guilt He has also crowned with glory. (WEY).
“God is taking us somewhere. In these verses, we see a progression from that point in eternity past when He conceived the plan for His creation all the way to eternity’s future after the consummation of the ages. God is never taken by surprise nor put in a situation where He does not know what is going on or what will happen! From his foreknowledge, He has determined that each of His children should be conformed to the image of Jesus. He has called each with a heavenly calling. When they make Jesus their Lord, they were justified and glorified even though parts of it will be entered into in the future.”
From this, we can see that God’s foreknowledge, callings, etc. in our text is specific to those who love God and are fulfilling His call in their life.
God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. In this text he is not talking about God’s foreknowledge related to every person but those specifically who love God.
BRINGING OLD COVENANT CONCEPTS INTO THE NEW COVENANT
Too many of us live on the wrong side of a personal Pentecost. We have believed that the Day of Pentecost was a historical event but that it has little significance for today. And as a result of that, we live powerless lives.
In the same way, many try to interject Old Testament teachings into the New Testament and interpret the Gospels, and Epistles accordingly.
The Apostle Paul dealt with this problem in the Galatian churches. There were Christians who had come out of Judaism and faced persecution and hard times because of it. When they were tempted to go back, he said to them in Galatians 5:1, “Stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”
The writer of Hebrews also dealt with similar concerns. In referencing Jesus as our High Priest, he said in Hebrews 6:22, “By so much more Jesus has become surety of a better covenant.” Hebrews 8:6-7 also says, “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which is established on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.”
The Old Testament contains history, prophecy, and poetry, and is full of types, shadows, and prophecy related to Jesus. But now that Jesus has come we do not need to live under the Mosaic law anymore. Jesus was the fulfillment of the law.
I have a picture of my wife on my desk. When she is not around I can look at it for it reminds me what she looks like. But when she is in the house with me, I do not need to look at the picture; I can see her in person.
So, what does all of this have to do with our text? Many people read Romans 8:28 and they see hardships, trouble, sickness, premature death, etc. as something they have not been redeemed from and use this passage as an excuse to stay in their circumstances with little faith that they can ever be in a better place. These are things that the law brought, but we have been redeemed from the curse of the law! Galatians 3:13-14 says, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written: ‘curse is everyone who hangs on a tree,’ that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”
Romans 8:1-3 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His Own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin; He condemned sin in the flesh.”
Our text says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” No matter what you are facing, our God is constantly working in the spirit realm to bring to pass the very best for you! Read the promises of the Word that tell you who you are and what you possess in Christ Jesus. Live under the terms of the New Testament. Forget what society says you are, believe what the Word says you are. ‘You are who He says you are, and you can do what He says you can do.’