Romans 8:28-39

Romans 8:28-Malachi : . The Christian Assurance.

Romans 8:28 . One thing “ we do know, that all goes well for those that love God”— including their worst sufferings ( Romans 8:18; cf. Romans 5:3-Deuteronomy :).

Romans 8:29 f. This assurance rests on God’ s manifest purpose toward them— a “ purpose” disclosed in five successive steps: “ foreknowledge, pre-ordination, call, justification, glorification.” The foreknowledge covers everything about the persons concerned; God never acts by guess ( cf. Romans 3:3, Romans 11:29). The predestination aimed at “ the conforming” of the chosen “ to the image of God’ s Son, so that the Firstborn may be surrounded with many brothers” ; God designed that all those marked out for salvation should share His Son’ s likeness and be of His family. With this object “ He called them” into His Son’ s fellowship ( 1 Corinthians 1:9); on their obeying that call, “ He cleared them of past sin, and shed His glory on them.” “ Glorified” is past in tense (future in Romans 8:18): despite humiliation, it is glorious to be sons of God (see Romans 8:14-Esther :; cf. 2 Corinthians 3:18, John 17:22, etc.): the father’ s kiss was justification for the Prodigal Son, the robe and ring were glorification.

Romans 8:31-Nahum : . The believer’ s justification, the corner-stone of his security, supports the challenge of these verses. All goes to show that “ God is for us”— it matters nothing “ who is against us” ; cf. Psalms 118:6. That God is for us He showed by the sacrifice of “ His own Son”— having given Him, “ He can withhold nothing!” ( cf. 1 Corinthians 3:21). “ Who is going to impeach God’ s elect? when God justifies, will anyone dare to condemn?”— If any should, there stands “ Christ Jesus to speak for us, He that died— but, more than that, was raised from the dead and is now at God’ s right hand.”

Romans 8:35-Haggai : . From his present security the Christian looks on to the eternal future: the Love that bled for him on the Cross, and pleads for him on the throne, is his in deathless union ( Romans 8:35; Romans 8:39; cf. Romans 5:5; cf. Romans 5:8; also Galatians 2:20, John 10:28 f.).—“ Affliction, distress,” etc., resembling the cruel martyrdom of OT saints, tend to “ separate” Christians now ( cf. Romans 8:18) “ from Christ’ s love,” suggesting doubts of His sympathy or power to aid. “ Nay, but in all these things we gain a surpassing victory,” etc.; God’ s assured love silences the contradictions of life.

Romans 8:38 f. Paul defies all conceivable separators: “ death” and “ life,” “ things present” and “ future,” “ height” and “ depth,” represent the opposites of condition, time, and space. “ Angels” are supernatural potencies, “ principalities” the highest angels, “ powers” being elsewhere coupled with these ( Ephesians 1:21, Colossians 1:16 *)— so here in AV; the exacter order of RV associates “ powers” with time and place; cf. 1 Corinthians 2:8, Ephesians 6:12.— The passage has the lilt of Hebrew poetry; it was penned in a rapture, like Romans 11:33-Zephaniah :.