Romans 8b Commentary
Suffering is one condition that the scripture has covered quite extensively. Humanity has endlessly asked the question: Why is there suffering? The word ‘frustration’ is the reality of suffering. Isn’t God powerful enough to save humanity from suffering?
Chapter 8 has an answer. The Creator God subjected His own creation to suffering for a purpose. Won’t creation realize its own desperate situation and look up to God? All questions on suffering (endless questions), invite the intervention of the Creator God. The Creator God inspired the questions in the hope that men and women would look up to God for salvation.
What about the saved? They too groan inwards as they await the adoption to sonship. Verse 23.
But the saved have a unique situation. The Spirit is present to carry them through it all. Being the saint’s helper, the Spirit helps the saint to pray.
And now the world-famous verse: “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.” Verse 28.
The word all things, is the author referring to a list of things he has just pointed out? Like having pointed out A, B, C, and D, is the term ‘all’ referring to all the items from A to D? Or, does the term ‘all’ mean all things universally?
Depending on your faith, all things mean all things. We may also want to focus on the suffering or frustration the chapter mentioned just before this declaration. All moments of suffering, including the WHAT, the WHEN, and the HOW, all end up with the WHY of God – His purpose.
With suffering, the saint no longer talks about IF. The question is what, when, and how? The Creator God is the WHY. They trust their God. They love their God. Their God has good plans for them. He is in charge. He is sovereign. He is all-powerful – the ultimate authority. At this point and with this thought, they no longer worry. Anxiety disappears. Fear disappears. Peace returns.
How can you blame the author? He is dealing with the all-knowing God. Even with our guesswork, a pregnant woman knows a baby will eventually be born. She goes ahead and prepares nappies for her child, well before time. Won’t the LORD who knows the end from the beginning prepare for His children?
Suppose a teacher is given the ability to see which of his students will pass the exam. In that case, he can probably (in foolish excitement) announce the results to everyone even before the exam is written! And why not prepare awards in advance? Purely based on knowledge (foreknowledge), predestination is a powerful word in this chapter. But salvation by ‘Grace’ is such a strong argument in this same volume that you simply cannot ignore it. Who can understand the mind of God?
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