Grace Bible Church

4000 E. Collins Rd. P.O. Box #3762 Gillette, WY 82717 (307) 686-1516

“Preaching the Living Word through the Written Word (2Tim 4:2)”

THE WILL OF GOD

(Rom 8:28-30) 3/30/08

Grace Bible Church, Gillette, Wyoming

Pastor Daryl Hilbert

I. THE SPIRIT AIDS THE NEW CREATION IN SUFFERING (26)

A. The Spirit helps the believer’s (“our”) weaknesses, which are a result of the present suffering. “Help” (sunantilambánomai) literally means to take hold of another by the hand and be with them. The word portrays an active role in helping and supporting (Lk 10:40; Ex 18:22).

B. The Holy Spirit especially helps the believer in prayer. Believers do not always know how or what to pray. In such cases, the Holy Spirit intercedes for them.

C. The Holy Spirit prays and communicates to God with groanings too deep for words. These “groanings” (stenagmós from stenázō cp. Ex 2:24; Ps 6:6) are divine articulations, which convey deep expression and empathy (cp. 1Co 2:11). This in no way refers to speaking in tongues. In addition, the believer is to “pray in the Spirit” by praying according to the will of God.

D. “In the same way” that creation (stenázō - vs. 22) and believers (stenázō - vs. 23) groan in suffering, so the Spirit groans alongside of them and for them.

II. THE SPIRIT PRAYS ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF GOD (27)

A. Because the Holy Spirit is a member of the Godhead, and the Godhead is omniscient, one Member knows the mind of the Other. Therefore, the believer is assured that the Holy Spirit’s intercession (entugchánō - prayers and petitions on behalf of another) is always heard.

B. (Note: This verse supports the doctrine of the Trinity, which states that God is one in essence but subsists in three Persons.)

C. Not only are the prayers of the Hoy Spirit on our behalf heard, but also they are according to the will of God. Even though a believer may pray amiss, the Spirit’s prayers do not miss the will of God.

III. GOD ACTIVELY BRINGS ABOUT HIS SOVEREIGN WILL (28-30)

A. God’s Will Works All Things Together (28)

1. The prayers of the Spirit effectively bring about the will of God in the believer’s life. However, God also actively brings about His sovereign will.

2. Paul’s statement in vs. 28 is a statement he considered generally accepted (“we know” - oida - to see or perceive, a generally accepted statement, Ro 2:2; 3:19; 7:14; 8:22) among believers.

3. The statement is that God is literally “working all things together” (sunergéō - work [ergon - Eng. energy] & together [sun]) for good. God is able to work all things together because He is sovereign.

4. The sovereignty of God may be defined as,

a) God’s sovereignty means that He is the absolute and sole ruler who is independent of all other rule. Keathley

b) Divine sovereignty means that God is God in fact, as well as in name, that He is on the Throne of the universe, directing all things, working all things after the counsel of His own will. Pink

5. The sovereignty of God is declared in the Scriptures.

a) God is sovereign over everything that happens and does whatever He pleases (Is 46:10; Ps 103:19; 115:3; 135:6; Pr 16:4).

b) God is sovereign over everything that happens and no one or no thing is able to thwart His will (Job 11:10; Da 4:35; Ps 135:6).

c) God is sovereign in regard to the affairs and hearts of men (Pr 21:1; 2Ki 19:28; Job 12:19)

6. God’s sovereign will is for the purpose of good. “Good” (agathós) can mean that which accomplishes its intended purpose or is simply beneficial for another. Both of these are realized in God’s sovereign will.

a) God works all things together for the intended purpose of bringing glory to Himself (Ps 72:19; Is 48:11; Hab 2:14; Jn 12:28; 17:5).

b) God also works all things together to bring about the believer’s ultimate good. What is the believer’s ultimate good? It is whatever the All-Wise God deems as good. Notice that God works “all things” (pánta) together. Even the bad things that happen, God causes all things to work for His glory and man’s ultimate good. Paul will explain the believer’s ultimate good in detail in vs. 29.

7. The promise of God’s sovereign good is only promised to believers. They are “the ones who are loving God.” This is a description of the believer’s position and title. However, it ought to characterize the believer’s heart and life. Believers are also described as, “the ones being called according to His purpose.” God sovereignly calls the elect to Himself. However, the unbeliever, no matter how successful in this life, will not receive God’s ultimate good. They have not experienced God’s saving goodness. Their destiny is described as anything but good (Re 20:14-15).

B. God’s Will is Conformity to Christ (29)

1. God’s ultimate good is described in vs. 29 as the conformity to the image of Christ. The word for “conformed” is súmmorphos and refers to a similar form or nature. The believer is literally being, “morphed” into Christ’s image (eikon - likeness or nature). The good that God is working in a believer’s life is the molding process into the character of Christ. Therefore, everything that happens in the believer’s life is making him more like Christ.

2. In fact, the believer’s conformity has been predestined. The word, “predestined” (proorízō) means predetermined or foreordained. The biblical doctrine of Predestination includes not only bringing about the initial act of faith, but also the conformity to Christ’s image in the course of life.

3. Furthermore, Predestination extends back to a time when God foreknew the elect. “Foreknowledge” does not mean that God looked down through the corridors of time and chose those who were going to choose Him. Foreknowledge is God’s choice to enter into a relationship with the elect beforehand (cp. Ge 4:1; Je 1:5).

4. As the believer is conformed to Christ, Christ is in essence the firstborn among many brethren. “Firstborn” does not suggest that the eternal Son of God had a beginning; rather it refers to Christ having the firstborn rights to the inheritance. The believer looks to Firstborn, is made like Firstborn, and shares the inheritance of the Firstborn.

C. God’s Will is Sovereign from Beginning to End (30)

1. In speaking of God’s sovereign will, Paul reveals just how sovereign God is. Paul teaches, in what is sometimes called, “the Golden Chain,” that God is sovereign in His redemptive plan from beginning to end.

2. Paul’s description really begins in vs. 29 when he says, “those whom He foreknew.” So those with whom God entered into a relationship (“foreknew”) He predestined.

3. Here predestination, though it encompasses the conformity to Christ, would refer to God’s foreordination with respect to salvation. In other words, God ordains whatever He has chosen (Ac 13:48; Ep 1:4).

4. Logically, if God foreordained the elect, then He would carry out His own foreordained plan. Thus, those He predestined, He also called. Here the calling (kaléō) of God does not refer to a general call to all men, but the efficacious call to the elect (Ro 1:6; 1Co 1:9, 24; 2Pe 1:3). This means when God draws and calls men, they come (Jn 6:37 cp. 6:44).

5. We know that those who are called will come, because God says that they will be “justified.” Justification is the theme of the book of Romans. Justification means to be declared righteous with Christ’s righteousness. This is in response to faith in Christ’s death on the cross (Ro 4:25). It is clear from this passage that those who have been predestined will exercise their faith and be justified.

6. The Golden Chain reveals even more. Those who are justified will also be glorified. Salvation is secure because a sovereign God made it secure. The believer’s salvation is so secure that God uses the past tense for “glorified.” In the aorist tense, the believer’s glorification has already taken place in God’s mind. Using a sorites (a series of logical connections), Paul teaches that God is so sovereign that those whom He “foreknew,” He ultimately “glorified.”

IV. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS

A. Rest in God’s Sovereign Will

1. The believer can have peace knowing that the Holy Spirit is praying according to God’s will for him. Furthermore, God is actively bringing about His sovereign will.

2. Therefore, there is a better chance than not that God’s will is going to be accomplished in the believer’s life.

3. This does not mean that a believer cannot disobey God’s will, but all of heaven is on his side (Ro 8:31).

B. View Trials as Part of God’s Will

1. When a believer goes through trials, he should not become preoccupied with the agent. Rather, he should view God’s sovereign hand, which first allowed the trial.

2. Then the believer should give thanks to God that He is working this trial for His glory and the believer’s ultimate good (1Th 5:18; Ep 5:20).

C. Focus on the Purpose of God’s Will

1. The believer should also focus on God’s purposes in trials. God is using all things, including trials and suffering, to conform the believer to the image of Christ.

2. The believer should discern through Scripture what specific qualities of Christ God is molding in him.

3. Some of the character of Christ, in which God is conforming in the believer through trials and suffering are joy (He 12:2), servanthood (1Pe 3:18), patience (1Ti 1:6), comfort (2Co 1:3-5), and love (Ro 8:35).