Paul's Epistle to the Romans — page 35

The first thing is the hope of our future redemption. Paul says: “we are saved in hope”. The King James Version says we are saved “by” hope, but it should be “in” hope. “Saved in hope” means that, when we believed in Christ as our Savior, it was with a view to having that final aspect of redemption. Thus, when we were “saved”, it was “in hope” or in view of something complete and final. God never intended that deliverance from the penalty of our sins should be an end in itself – however wonderful that is. He had before Him a complete salvation for His redeemed people. This great salvation includes not only what we were saved from, but what we are saved for – to be Christ’s eternal companions. And, if we are going to live with Him in heaven, we will have to be glorified – hence the need for the redemption of our bodies. We have this precious knowledge because of a revelation that was given to the apostle Paul, who in turn communicated it to the Church (1 Cor. 15:51-56).

As mentioned in chapter 5:2, “hope” in the Bible does not have the same meaning it has today. In the modern use of the word, a person will speak of hope as something they would like to see happen, but they have no guarantee that it will happen. That is not how the Scriptures use the word. Hope, in the Scriptures, is always a thing of certainty, but it is delayed. The thing hoped for will definitely happen; we just don’t know when. Therefore, it is a delayed certainty.

Knowing the glorious future that lies ahead of us sustains us along the way, because the thing hoped for is firm and sure. In hope we were saved, and in its power we live; and this gives us “patience” to wait for it. While we wait, we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Paul reminds us of this: “For the hope that is seen is not hope; for what someone sees, how will he hope for it? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience”. It has been said that faith and hope are good traveling companions for the Christian on his journey through the wilderness, and that is true. But at the coming of the Lord (the Rapture), we will part from these companions and enter heaven with the Lord, where love will remain alone. There we will not need faith and hope.

1. THE RESOURCE OF PRAYER AND THE INTERCESSION OF THE SPIRIT

(vv. 26-27)

The second thing God has given to sustain us until the hour of our final redemption is the resource of prayer and the helping intercession of the Spirit. Paul says: “Likewise the Spirit also helps our weaknesses; for we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the same Spirit intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be expressed”. As we live and move in this scene, where pain and suffering are felt on various levels because of the effects of the bondage of corruption, we can engage in prayer, which is an expression that we depend on God in these trials. This is our refuge. The Spirit takes up our cause to “help” us in times of suffering, for often we do not know what we should pray for in certain situations, but He is able to express perfectly to God what we feel, even though we are unable to utter it.

Often, without knowing it, we have selfish motives behind our prayers and we ask, without understanding, for things that are not the will of God. Perhaps we may see someone suffering, and our emotion and human pity rise up in us, and we ask something for them that would not be the best. But the Spirit of God knows the depth of our needs and the needs of others, and makes intercession “according to the will of God” (KJV). When God “searches” our hearts, He finds “the mind of the Spirit” formed there by the Spirit, even though we cannot express it.

It is truly a very comforting thing to know that the Spirit intercedes with “groanings”. This shows that He feels deeply for us because of what we are going through as we suffer in this groaning creation.

Thus, we have three “groanings” in this passage:

• Creation groans without understanding (v. 22).

• The Christian groans with a partial measure of understanding (v. 23).

• The Spirit groans with complete understanding, according to the mind of God (vv. 26-27).

1. KNOWING THAT GOD’S PROVIDENCE IS

WORKING FOR US BEHIND THE SCENES (v. 28)

The third thing we have, and on which we can count to encourage us, is the knowledge that God’s providence is working for us behind the scenes. Paul says: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose”. Although sometimes we do not know what to pray, we can still be confident that God is in control of the situation. We may not be able to understand the things that happen to us in life, but we know that God knows exactly what He is doing. Our lives, therefore, are not governed by chance, luck or fate, but are controlled by a Person who loves us. What a wonderful thought this is! If we have faith to believe this great fact, we will be comforted in times of suffering and sorrow.

“[We] know” is a technical expression used in many places in Paul's epistles. It denotes the normal Christian understanding of the truth, on account of the revelations that were given to the Church through the apostles (1 Cor. 2:10-12). Using this expression as Paul does here, the Christian knows that God is in control of everything that is happening in his life, and that He is using “for good” (Lam. 3:37). Note that he does not say: “All things are good.” He says: “all things work together for good”. This is because some things that happen to us can be bad, but God uses even those things to produce something good that we will take with us into eternity. Thus, we may not know what is happening to us, but we know why it is happening – God is working things in our lives that are “for” our good. These “things” may seem to us a tangle with inexplicable details, but when the Lord comes, He will unravel everything for us, and explain the whys and the wherefores, and everything will make sense then. The Lord does not promise, nor does the apostle say that this will be remedied here and now. But even so, faith can praise Him for it now.

God's Ultimate Goal in Our Sufferings and Trials

Chap. 8:29-30 – This leads Paul to speak of God's intention in allowing suffering and trials in the believer's life. His great goal is that we be “conformed to the image of His Son”. God loves and delights so much in His Son that He purposed to fill heaven with redeemed people who are exactly like His Son! On the day of our final redemption, we will be conformed to His image physically, having bodies like Christ's glorious body (Phil. 3:21). But while we wait for that day, God is working to conform us to the image of His Son morally, so that we may be like Him in our walk and our ways now. As “Firstborn among many brothers”, Christ is the Head of a new race of men who will be exactly like Him – morally and physically; and they will reign with Him in His millennial kingdom.

Verse 29 clearly states that God's purpose regarding our life is centered in His Son. In verses 30-31, Paul refers to it as a chain of five links, having its beginning in the past eternity and its end in future glory. He shows that nothing can prevent God from reaching His divine end with us, for no link in the chain can be broken! We are foreknown, predestined, called, justified and glorified.

• “Foreknew” – God knows everything about our lives long before the world was made.

• “Predestined” – God orders the eternal destiny of those whom He chooses in grace.

• “Called” – At a certain moment, God makes us hear His voice through the call of the gospel and we respond by believing.

• “Justified” – When we believe, God delivers us from every accusation against us, placing us in a new position before Him in Christ with a new life that has not sinned, nor can sin.

• “Glorified” – God's final work with us by which our bodies are transformed into the likeness of Christ's glorious body.

Notice the frequent use of the pronoun “He” (JND) throughout this passage. It refers to God Himself, whose heart of love and grace is for us, ordering all things for our blessing! Thus, His heart of love is the source of all our blessings. These things are mentioned in the past tense – even the last link, which has to do with our being glorified! Since we are not yet actually glorified, it is clear that Paul is not speaking of what is being worked out at present, but is viewing these things as being in accordance with God's eternal purpose. From that perspective, our glorification is seen as something already complete.

Summary of the Different Operations of the Spirit in Romans 8

In this chapter, we have a wonderful revelation of the truth about the Spirit of God and His many functions in a Christian.

• He gives power for our walk (vs. 1-4). In this prerogative, He is called “the Spirit of Life” because He leads us to live a life of holiness.

• He occupies us with the interests of Christ, which Paul calls “the things of the Spirit” (vs. 5-8). In this prerogative, He is called “the Spirit”.

• He forms Christ in us (vs. 9-10a). In this prerogative, He is called “the Spirit of Christ”.

• He leads us to live the resurrected life in communion with God (v. 10b). In this prerogative, He is called “the Spirit life” (JND).

• He will quicken our mortal bodies (v. 11). In this prerogative, He is called “the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus” (TB).

• He enables us to mortify the deeds of the body (v. 13). In this prerogative, He is called “the Spirit”.

• He leads the children of God (v. 14). In this prerogative, He is called “the Spirit of God”.

• He makes us know our freedom in the presence of God, for which we cry “Abba, Father” (v. 15). In this prerogative, He is called “the Spirit of adoption”.

• He testifies that we are children of God and therefore heirs of God (vs. 16-17). In this prerogative, He is called “the Spirit Himself” (JND).

• He is the Firstfruits giving assurance that our complete deliverance is coming (v. 23). In this prerogative, He is called “the firstfruits of the Spirit”.

• He is the Helper of our weaknesses (v. 26a). In this prerogative, He is again called “the Spirit Himself” (JND).

• He is our Intercessor in connection with all our cares (vs. 26b-27). In this prerogative, having the knowledge of the will of God, He is “the mind of the Spirit” (JND).

THE BELIEVER'S SECURITY IN THE POWER AND LOVE OF GOD

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