Highfield, Ron

English

Pepperdine Digital Commons

All Things V/ork Together for GoodRow HTcHFTELDT\ ad things happen. When they strike and we seek orientation, comfort and hope from the community ofl{ fuith, inevitably someone will quote the first half of Romans 8.28: "And we know that all things workL) togeíher for gotd to those who love God" (KJV). And they would be quite right to do so, for believersin all ages have received great reasslrance from these words. They draw on our deeply held beliefs and speakcomprehensively about the human condition; they are sirnple and address our siluation directly. In our heart ofhearts we believe that the omnipotent creator of all things will work all things for our ultimate goocl, and thesewords remind us that we really believe this.In one sense the affinnation of Romans 8.28 needs no comrnentary, Believers at all levels of education, ofall ages and from every culture have found these words comforting even apart fi'orn sophisticated analysis.Like all texts, however, these familiar words can be misunderstood and abused. You will forgive me, then, fordeparting from the contemplative mode for a time to examine Paul's words a bit more analytically. I promise toretum to a practical and contemplative stance.Translation and MeanlngTlre Greek text reads: oidamen de hoti Iois agaposin lan theon pqnta sunergei eis agathon, tois lcataprolhesin kletoi.s ousin. The NIV translates it as follows: "And we know that in all things God works fortl, e good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Other possible translationsare (1) We know that all things work together for good to those who love God..." or (2) We know Íhatin all things God works together with those who love him to bring altout whal is good... " or (3) Weknow that for those who love God, in all things it: [the SpiritJ cooperates.[or good u¡ith Íhose... "' Thechief matter at dispute among these translations is how to translate hoti...panta ,sunergei. What is thesubject and what is the object of the verb o.work together"'l Does God work with or in all things or do allthings work together? Good scholars disagree, My sense of the meaning is: "God works all things for good."God is the subject of the verb and o'all things" is the object of the action. I tliink the translation "God worksin all things" could be rnisleading. The emphasis is not tliat God works inside the things that happen to us,although that rnay also be true, but that God works with them, that is, externally but comprehensively, toreorder them to God's chosen end.Some things are clear in all proposals. (1) The verse begins with'owe know" Paul expects no argument onthis point. Confidence that God works all things for good is part of the conrmon faith of the Christian communityand, h.ence, can serve as a presupposition for what follows. (2) The word translated "all things" (panta)covers everything, no exceptions no matter how good or bad they appear. Were this not so the text would beof little comfort. Its universality is the gronnd of its applicability to each person in evety circumstance. The all-inclusive scope of "all things" is confirmed by that list of frightening events and mortal enemies recorded in1 . For the sake of space I must ornit my reasons for rejecting (2) and (3). Briet'ly, the emphasis of the context falls on what Goddoes with the "stuff'that happens to us, not on what we do with it.LncruBus o¡l Rov,ms 5-8 LEAVEN LgI8.37-39. (3) The verb "work with" (.sunerger) refers to a hidden process of reordering all the bad things thathappen to us-*destructive if viewed apart from God's working-to a good end. Between the "all things" ofour experience and the ultimate achievement of God's goocl purpose lies the divine working. (a) Theprepositional phrase "for good" (eis agathon) should not be taken to mean a little temporal amelioration andsoftening of the bad things that have befallen us. The "good" may not becorne apparent tomorrow or next yearor even within our lifetime. As is clear throughout the eighth chapter of Romans, God's goal for us (hence our"good") is our glorification (8.17-18, 21, and 30). The "good" becomes manifest in eschatological achievementof 'othe glorious freedom of the children of Cod" (8.21).(5) The promise is addressed "to those who love God." Why? Paul does not deny God's generalprovidence, but his objective in this text is calling to rnind the sure ground of the hope Christians cherish (8.24-25). Those who love God place the higliest value on becoming like God and living with him forever. And this isprecisely why God allows us to suffer, that is, to suffer with Christ that we might share all things with him(8.1 7). If we love God, suffering the loss of property, social standing and even life is nothing compared withthe glory of attaining etemal communion with God (8. 1 8). As long as we love God supremely we cannot losewhat we supremely love. However if one does not love God, one holds a different view of what is "good." Forthose who love the world, the thought of losing worldly goods and suffering pain and scorn looms as anunbearable and unredeemable evil. God does not work all things for our worldly comfort.The Broad Context in RomansNow we will back away from narrow focus on 8.28 to place this verse in the flow of Romans as a whole.Chapters I-4 speak of a new basis on which we can be judged as acceptable to God, As Paul finishes hisintroduction to the book, he announces his theme: the gospel is o'the power for the salvation of everyone"because in the gospel "a righteousness from God is revealed." (1.16-17). Paul then declares that God'scoming wrath and juclgment are already being revealed against all godlessness and wickedness. Although inPaul's thought "salvation" is a broad tenn encompassing rescrle from everything negative in the hrunancondition, including sin, death and ignorance, in these theme verses it is the judgment of God that is beingcontemplated. How can we survive Cod's just judgment? How can we be saved from the wrath that will fallon wickedness? In chapter l, Paul demonstrates that the Gentiles deserve divine condemnation, and in chapter2 he examines the clairns of the Jews. Simply having the law and possessing knowledge of God will not sufficeto guarantee a favorable verdict before the divine judge. We must keep the law, and not one person has keptthe law God's judgrnent is coming, and there are no righteous people on the earth. What a tenible thought!Who can be saved?Good news! In the gospel a "power" for salvation has been revealed (3.21tr). A new kind ofrighteousness has come to light, a righteonsness grounded in God's action, not in ours. God accepted JesusChrist's t-aithful obedience unto death as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. And God accepts our trust in Jesusas our righteousness so that we no longer stand under the condemnation of God. Faith binds us to Christ insuch a way that the just judgment God passes on Christ includes us also. And what is faith? Look to Abrahamwho trusted God agairst reason and custom; his þith was 'ocredited to him as righteousness" (4.5). Abrahambelieved God's promises and obeyed God's commands for no reason other than basic trust in God. We too canbe counted righteous if we "believe in hirn who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead" (4.24).Chapter 5.l-11 sumrnarizes the preceding argument about the basis of our acceptability to God and beginsto turn toward the theme of how we live as those justified by faith in Christ. Paul now speaks of the quality oflife of faith: "Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God. .." (5.1). In the ten versesthat follow, Paul introduces themes that will not be treated in detail until chapter 8: peace, sufTering, joy, hope,glory the Spirit and love for God. Before he can speak so directly about these existential aspects of theChlistian life he must deal with two opposing misconceptions: on the one hand, that God's glace liberates us tocontinue to live in sin (6.l-23) and, on the other hand, that faith in Christ is compatible with accepting theobligation to keep the law by sheer self-determinatíon(7.1-25). To prepare us for dealing with these twomisconceptions and for grasping the proper understanding of the Christian life, Paul sets before us two models,L92 LÐAVEN Fourth Quarter 2012two ages and two ways of life (5.I2¿l). Adam represents the way of sin, sorrow and death. In contrast,Christ brought righteousness, joy and life. There is no middle ground between these two ways, and the law,which, of course, is on the side of good, cannot give us the inner power to become good. The functiori of thelaw is to flush out into the open the inner coruption and rebellion in the human heart (5,20), so that theabsolute necessity of grace becomes obvious.Chapter 6 begins with a rhetorical question Paul hesitates even to frame: "Shall we go on sinning thatgrace may increase?" The question should evoke a chorus of loud "Nos!" without fuither argument. But Paullays out the reasons that the life of faith in Clirist is completely incompatible with a life of sin, Drawing on theopposition betweenAdam and Christ developed in the preceding chapter, Paul contends that we cannot have itboth ways. In baptism we died to the old life of slavery to sin and death and were raised to a new life ofriglrteousness, The goal of God's grace is deliverance from sin it:self'and not merely fromptrnishmenl for sin.Sir is its own punishment, identical in essence with death. In Chapter 7, Paul deals with a different mistake.Instead of following the seemingly easy course of self-indulgence, these Christians think they shouldfastidiously observe the law, and, in so doing, they make legal vigilance and self-discipline the central ethos ofChristian lif'e. But Paul destroys this approach by demonstrating its superficiality and ineffectiveness. Law,even divine law, merely informs us of what we ought to do and be. It cannot change a bad person into a goodone or give a weak person the power to obey. Hence, rather than helping us attain righteousness, the lawexcites rebellion, facilitates self-righteousness and existential blindness, or evokes despair. Only Jesus Christ,only the Spirit can deal with sin at its root (7.25).With the two mistaken views of the Cluistian life refuted, Paul now can set before us a vision of the newlife empowered by the Spirit and modeled by Jesus Christ. In Chapter 8, Paul shows how the work of JesusChrist and the Spirit actually accomplish what the law could not. Through faith in Christ we parlicipate in hisrighfeousness, and the Spirit empowers us for living as Jesus did. Paul opposes the Spirit to the "flesh" or "themind of the flesh." By flesli he does not mean simply the body but the spirit of selfishness and indulgence, overwhich the law has no power. But the Spirit can deal with our weaknesses at the most frindamental level. TheSpirit can change us into "children oflGod" (8.14), 'ocontrol" the mind (8.6), "give life to our mortal bodies"(8.11) and "help us in our weaknesses" (8.26), Each of these works of the Spirit is internal and spiritual; theycamot be accomplished by tlie law, which works externally. But Paul reminds us in 8. 17 that sharing inChrist's victory necessitates that we share also in his sufferings. And with this idea we move from the broadcontext of 8.28 to its narrow context.The Immediate ContextIn8.18-27 Paul follows up on the warning voiced in verse l7 that because Christ suffered, we must suffer inthis world. Even as those who are justified by faith in Jesus, who stand finn in God's grace and who are led bythe Spirit in the way of righteousness, we experience suffering, weakness, groaning, fiustration, clivinehiddenness and bondage to decay. But in all these negative experiences the Spirit gives to our spirits comfort,hope and patience. Then in 8.28 Paul answers a question that may have arisen in his readers' ntinds: 'oHowcan our present situation of suffering, confusion and weakness lead to the glorious destiny that we have beenpromised? How can all this stuff work out for my good?" The answer rings out in verse 28: "We know that tothose who love God, God works all things for good," In the next eleven verses (8.29-39) Paul draws out andillustrates what he means by "God works all things for good." God's knowledge, decisions, planning andworking stretch from etenrity to etemity. Nothing and no one can separate us from "the love of God that is inChrist Jesus our Lord" (8.39). In light ofall these considerations I offer this paraphrase of8.28 as aninterpretation of its irnport: "For those who love God and have been called in flilfillment of his purpose, Godworks with everything that happens so that in the end everything turns out right; it leads to our glory."T\ro Mistaken InterpretationsI need to address two of the most common mistaken interpretations of Romans 8.28. The first reads the textas saying that each and everything that happens to us is good. It's good that you suffer financial loss, good thatLDCTURDS oN RoM^Ns 5-8 LEAVEN L93you got cancer, or good that your spouse died. But the text does not say tliat "all things" are good. Such aninterpretation ignores the preceding context. Paul's readers do not experience the events he mentions in verses18-27 and 35-39 as good. As isolated events they are clestructive and frustrating. Only if God weaves theminto his plan can they work out for good. And this is what is asserted in 8.28: No matter how bad things lookfrom the eye of the storm, God will work them for good. A second misinterpretation makes the opposite eror.For these interpreters it is very clear that such things as the death and destruction brought by natural disasters,children dying of cancer and car wrecks that wipe out whole families are really bad. And in this I believe theyare correct. But their gaze is so fixed on the badness ofthese events that they cannot believe that even Godcan reorder them for good. They complain, "IfGod used 'bad' events for a good end, such occurrences couldno longer be considered bad; they would be good! But we know from experience that some things are so badthat they carurot be made good. No good end is worth the suffering of one innocent child!" Hence, for thesecond group, Romans 8.28 cannot mean that God makes all things "tum out right," as my paraphrase wouldhave it; rather it means that God does the best God can to bring some good from them or to heal thosewounded by them. But this interpretation fits the context no better than the first mistaken interpretation. Ofwhat comfort would such weak assurances be? The context, as we have seen, affirms a well-founded hopefor triumph over all enemies ancl safe passage through the worse possible events. Nothing but full confidencethat no event we can conceive or enemy we can imagine can deter God from bringing us to the glory Godpromises can do justice to this great text.Practical LessonWhat is Paul attempting to do for us, and what is he asking us to do? He does not say explicitly. But I think wecan be pretty sure of what he would say. As we saw, the first part of Romans shows how we can be savedthrough faith in Jesus Christ from irnpending divine judgment and from destructive powers of sin and death. In8.35-39, Paul lists some of tl, e most dreaded possibilities human beings can imagine and concludes that "in allthese things we are more than conquerors tlirough him who loved us" (8.37). Paul is well aware that we aretempted to keep silent in the face of persecution, to give up hope in times of trial, to lose faith at the prospectof hardship, to feel abandoned in sickness and deatli ancl to indulge in self pity in loss. But in this great text heurges us not to give in to despair, but to summon our corrage, maintain hope and walk confidently through thedarkest valley. We can live a victorious life.,.because we know thal God works all things-no matter howterrible they seern-jbr good.RoI\I HIcHTTT,I,D TEACHËS ]:HEOL()GY AI PEPPERDINE UIIIvnnsITy AND SBT{VES AS AN ELDT]R F.OR THE UNIVNRSITYCrruRcn or Cunrsr rN MALIBU, C.,tuFonNI¡r (RoNALD.HIcItrmlo@nePPlRlrNr.enu).x

All Things Work Together For Good

https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2201&amp;context=leaven

All Things Work Together For Good

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Pepperdine Digital Commons