Sermons through
Romans
The Purpose of God
Part Two
Romans 8:28-30
Conformed to the Image of Christ
With Study Questions
Pastor Paul Viggiano
Branch of Hope Church
2370 W. Carson Street, #100
Torrance, CA 90501
(310) 212-6999
pastorpaul@integrity.com
5/25/2014
The Purpose of God
Part Two
Romans 8:28-30
Conformed to the Image of Christ
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. 29 For
whom He foreknew, He also predestined to
be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among
many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also
called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these
He also glorified (Romans 8:28-30).
Introduction
In our last meeting we touched on how
the initial verse (Romans 8:28) conveys that God has a definite plan wherein He
is utilizing “all things” toward the
consummation of that which is “good”
and glorious. In life’s difficulties,
God does not enter in on the third, ninth or eleventh hour like the cavalry who
rescues then seeks to make the best of a bad situation. What we see in the course of human events is
according to a glorious and benevolent design.
God
from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will,
freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass: (Eph. 1:11, Rom.
11:33, Heb. 6:17, Rom. 9:15, 18)[1]
Our heavenly Father doesn’t merely see us
through the storm; He is the maker of storms (Psalm 107:25).
But the artwork of God’s hand is can be so
intricate that the strokes will often appear to us as random and even
devastating things. He is like the
artist you will sometimes see rapidly painting a picture on a stage to music—a
scribble here, a scrawl there and an occasional dot and it just looks like a
mess—until in the end he turns the canvas right-side up and you become
astonished at the portrait that was painted before your very eyes.
This masterful, yet often difficult to
identify, artwork is designed “for good
to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose”
i.e. Christians. We discussed last time
how we lose the richness of the fabric of this verse if we nurture a false
notion of what the “good” is that God
has in mind. What is the good of which
Paul writes? If we are called according
to God’s purpose, what is that purpose?
The noun “purpose” prosthesis means “that which is planned
in advance.” What is the resolve, the
purpose and plan of God to which the Christian has become such a central
component that we can view all of the operations of creation as having an aim
toward our good? I must say, it’s an
overwhelmingly optimistic view of life.
But we must dispense with the notion
that the “good” and “purpose” has to do with our dreams or
things working out the way we would prefer, which is where the verse often
brings us in our thinking. As if the
current difficulty is a bump in the road—a road leading to God eventually
giving me what I really want. Romans
8:28 is much greater than that!
As we seek the context of Romans 8:28 we
find a doctrine the Apostle connects to this great verse of encouragement that
wars against, not only the natural mind, but often finds disfavor within the
church itself. One might wish to
consider that the passages in the Bible that war against our natural intuitions
carry the most sanctifying messages; this certainly falls into that category.
We have been given the firm conviction
that our prayers are submitted “according
to the will of God” (Romans 8:27) by the Holy Spirit and, therefore,
answered in perfection. The Apostle
desires his readers enjoy the blessed assurance that all things, good and evil,
are operating according to the impeccable design of God for the good of His
children. This now culminates in an
explanation of God’s holy and eternal decree as it pertains to His unalterable
design for you and for me. This is
expressed in the next verse (and again in the one following).
For whom He
foreknew, He also predestined to be
conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many
brethren (Romans 8:29).
For Whom He
Foreknew
Since this is one of the many flagship
passages expressing the doctrines of grace, otherwise known as Calvinism, there
is a temptation to launch into an apologetic in defense of that position (and
there certainly will be a bit of that).
I would prefer, though, to remain tethered to the encouragement and
blessing (rather than entering into a polemic) the Spirit of God provides with
these words. The doctrines of grace should not be reduced to a mere theological
argument. The doctrines of grace are to
be presented as a blessing!
In order for the child of God to enjoy
the unadulterated encouragement designed lift us through and strengthen us in “the sufferings of this present time”
(Romans 8:18) this verse needs to be understood in its fullness. For that to be achieved, certain impositions
on the text must be addressed and dismissed.
What I mean by that is this verse presents God as much more sovereign
(or in control of all events, including our very hearts) than people are
comfortable with. Because of this, the
verse gets thrown into an exegetical blender where men push the button of human
autonomy.
We find one example of that in the
opening phrase “For whom He foreknew.” This phrase has been the source of continual
and often acerbic debate for centuries.
A popular understanding (the first one given to me as a young Christian)
is that of God looking down the corridors of time and knowing in advance the
choice a person will make. It is in the
light of that knowledge that He predestines them to be conformed to the image
of His Son.
There are numerous variations of this found
in Pelagianism, semi-Pelagianism, Arminianism, Molinism, Open theology,
etc. But these all amount to
approximately the same thing—that God will not impose His will upon the
creature. Of course with that comes the
necessity of a reconstruction of our understanding of the level of sin and its
damaging affects upon the human heart and will.
If you will indulge a few short answers
(since I do prefer to offer why this is such a blessed message, I will be
brief): Scriptures are not short of
passages which teach of complete and total inability found within the natural
human heart to seek after God.
As it
is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none
who understands; There is none who seeks after God.12 They have all
turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does
good, no, not one” (Romans 3:10).
So, if foreknowledge meant that God
was looking for who, in the future would, according to their own will, seek
after Him, it would be an empty set. Not
to mention that if God sees that they will choose Him, what necessity is there
in Him predestinating them? They can get
there on their own just fine.
Recognizing this difficulty, some
suggest that the Holy Spirit will supply a certain level of prevenient
grace. He will sort of pick up the
incapacitated sinner and seek to shake him to his senses. But in the final analysis, it is left to the
sinner to exercise his own independent volition to grab hold of salvation. He will lift us to the top of the tree, it is
supposed, but we must pick the fruit. He
will throw us the life-saver, but we are left to our own will to grab it.
A question that is so often left
unanswered in this brand of grace is what is the independent antecedent cause
for the right choice of the sinner? If
it is not God who effectively and graciously changes the human heart leading the
sinner to most assuredly grab the fruit, then what is it? Who is it?
What is it about you that brought you to say “yes” to Christ—to cry out “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15)? Some say free will, as if the human will is
an uncaused cause, rather than the hinges on the door of decision which must be
pushed in one direction or the other.
It is precisely here that we begin to
underestimate not only the strength of God’s hand in our salvation, but the
eternal, infinite love of the Father toward those who have called upon His
name. If our eyes have been opened by
the grace of God to the truth of Christ our minds must go deeper than thinking
that God is a friend that we just happened to meet—even though He knew in
advance that it would take place.
“For
whom hos He foreknew” is much
more personal than simply knowing an event will happen, as if God is an
infallible fortune teller. “For whom He foreknew” conveys a
superior thought than “For what He
foreknew.” What this verse loses in that
inferior understanding is that God knew you and He knew me.
What we find if we look through the
Scriptures which speak of God knowing you or me is a reference to God’s eternal
and covenantal love for those whom He has chosen. One of many examples can be found in God’s
calling of Jeremiah as a prophet. There
is a parallelism with God’s knowledge, consecrating and appointing:
Before
I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I
ordained you a prophet to the nations (Jeremiah 1:5).
The verse is not limited to saying God
knew what would happen with Jeremiah.
From eternity past God knew him, sanctified him and ordained him to be a
prophet. When God knows someone it is
not relegated to simple fact gathering or our resume—past, present or future. In Amos 3:2 God says of Israel, “You only have I known of all the families
of the earth.” Did God not have
infinite knowledge of the surrounding nations as well? He certainly did; but not in the same way.
In a very personal, intimate, loving
and covenantal (promise making and promise keeping) way, God has known you from
eternity past and has decreed—predestined—that you would not be left in your
sins but that you, brothers and sisters in Christ, would be “conformed to the image of His Son.”
Predestined
“Predestined”
has become a provocative word.
Mention it in the Bible study and the eyes will roll and the excessive
carbon dioxide which accompanies the immoderate exhaling, no doubt, contributes
to the global warming crisis. But the
word is in the Scriptures (numerous times) so to avoid it for the sake of peace
does harm to the message contained therein.
And the word does mean what it sounds like.
“Predestined”
proorisen in the Greek, similar to
English is comprised of a prefix pro
meaning in front of or before and horizo
meaning to mark out definitely or to determine; all this to say that our
destinies are determined by God “according
to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His
will” (Ephesians 1:11). God has a
purpose for you and me. There is a place
where we are being brought—a destiny He has determined.
This is not presented to us by Paul,
or by the Holy Spirit, to goad us into an argument or for us to figure out ways
to dismiss it because, at first blush, it appears to violate our notions of
human freedom. This is presented to us
that we might rest in the peace of knowing that in the same way (to go back a
few verses) our prayers are presented refined and perfected by the Spirit; in
the same way every last single event is designed for good to those who love God
and are called according to His purpose; that God has, and will continue to
work out His immutable purpose to bring those whom He knew in eternity past to
be conformed to the image of His Son.
Humans, for some reason, like things to be
left (at least to a certain extent) to chance.
We like games where you roll the dice or deal cards. We like to combine that chance or luck with
our own skill to see what we can do what we’ve been given. From a certain perspective life can be
observed this way. But the last thing we
should desire is that our eternal destinies be left to chance combined with human
wisdom and virtue.
When, by the Spirit of Christ we cry “Abba, Father,” when we, though
checkered with sin and doubt, come to realize that we have faith in Christ,
that says much more than we initially realize.
We can rest assured that God has “put
His seal on us and given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee” (2 Corinthians
1:22). We can know that “all the promises of God find their Yes in
Him (Christ)” (2 Corinthians 1:20).
God knew us from eternity past and will most assuredly bring us to His
desired good of which verse 28 speaks.
So what is the destination? What
is the good toward which all things work?
Verse 29 seems to indicate what God is doing in us and verse 30 what He
has done for us. We will speak of what
God is doing in us then get to verse 30 in our next meeting.
The Image of His
Son
The good to which all things are
working and that which God has predestined to take place in all believers is
that we “be conformed to the image of
His Son.” In an ultimate and
eschatological sense we see this reach its fullness in the final resurrection when
the Lord Jesus Christ…
…will
transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that
enables him even to subject all things to himself (Philippians 3:21).
The
first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As
was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man
of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we
have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the
man of heaven (1 Corinthians 15:47-49).
But the conforming to Christ is not
restricted to the final resurrection.
One might say the eschaton has invaded human history. For even though we will one day in glory
fully bear the image of the man of heaven, it would be a mistake to assume that
God is not currently doing that work of transformation.
And
we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being
transformed (present, passive, indicative) into the same image from one degree
of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2
Corinthians 3:18).
No doubt this comes from the pastoral
heart of the apostle. It comes from the
pastoral heart of pastors, parents and all those seeking to see Christian
maturity in those under their care. As
Paul wrote:
…my
little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ
is formed in you (Galatians 4:19)!
This is the good to which all things
are working. As discussed earlier, this
can be a highly uncomfortable process.
For
the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it
yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it
(Hebrews 12:11).
The “good” to which “all things” work
should not be thought of as the events working out as much as the training of
our souls. All of creation is God’s
classroom and we are His students. He will
faithfully train us. He will complete
the work He began (Philippians 1:6) and then we will, like Christ, referred to
here at the “firstborn among many
brethren” enter glory. Paul will
build on what that glory consists of in the following verse.
Questions for Study
- Where is God when it comes to the storms of life? How is this comforting to the Christian
(pages 2, 3)?
- Define the foreknowledge of God. What is it? What are some ideas people have about
what it is (page 4)?
- Why do people choose to believe in Christ (pages 4, 5)?
- What is predestination and why is it so provocative
(pages 6, 7)?
- What does it mean to be conformed into the image of
Christ (page 8)?
- What is the good to which all things are working (page
9)?
[1] The Westminster confession of faith.
(1996). Chapter III, 1. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
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