Rom 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Here Apostle Paul is underlining his experience as a disciple of Jesus Christ that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (V28). This is a great privilege because if all things works together for good and if we know that and are sure about that then all our anxieties, worries, disappointment, insecurities, hardship, toughness etc will turn into a great blessing in our life. Everyone likes to have this great privilege but it is not for all human beings. It is for those who love God and they are called by God for a specific purpose. So it is very important in our life to make sure whether we belong to this special privileged class of people or not. God is doing a continuous, progressive, wonderful work, which is getting brighter and brighter every time in their life. Of course it is possible only if the disciple depends on God by faith.
In verse 29 & 30, Paul explains this wonderful work of God for each disciple. This is a great encouragement for our Christian life. We get a very clear picture about our calling and the work God is doing in our life to complete His will for us. Our goal is to conform to the image of Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
Jesus came to this world as the only begotten son of the father to save the fallen mankind (John 3:16). But when God resurrected Jesus, He became the first born among many brethren (John 20:17 & Rom 8:29). The Holy Spirit started this transformation work on each disciple of Jesus Christ on the day of Pentecost and is continuing it even today.
Our goal is to conform to the image of Lord Jesus Christ.
God not only foreknew the disciples of Jesus Christ, but He predestined them to become conformed to the image of Lord Jesus Christ. This makes it very clear, without any doubt, about God’s will and purpose for each disciple – Being Conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.
Verse 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
Foreknew is a word with very great meaning. Even though God knows very well about our nature and what all are going to happen in our life, He predestined us to become like Jesus because He loved us so much. He has the solution for all our weaknesses and failures. So when we hear the call of God through different ways and circumstances, we can be sure that we are the one whom God has predestined and that if we continue to believe in Him and accept His ways, God will lead us into justification and glorification. This is a continuous and progressive work which God is doing in every disciple’s life.
So God called every one of us with a primary purpose of becoming like Jesus and God causes all things work together for good (become like Jesus). He will complete that work in us if we believe and trust in Him.
Let the coming days see this wonderful promise become a reality in our life.
May God bless all of us
