What Is God's Purpose In Providence

Between the Holy Spirit interceding “in” Christians (Rom. 8:26, 27) and the Son of God interceding “above” them at the right hand of God (Rom. 8:34), Paul showed what has been provided “for” them (Rom. 8:28-31). When the wireless equipment for communication was being demonstrated many years ago, a man who was present said, “It is wonderful but not new. The Psalmist said, ‘This poor man cried and the LORD heard him.’” The Psalmist was showing that the poor man on earth was crying, and the LORD in heaven heard his cry. “I sought the LORD, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them” (Psalm 34:4-7 NASB). After Paul stated the Father’s provision for His own in Romans 8, he used the first class condition conjunction ei with an indicative verb, meaning the condition is true. “What then shall we say [future active indicative of lego, meaning to say, speak, or tell] to these things? Since [not if] God is for us, who is against us?” (Rom. 8:31 translation). That is assurance.

In Romans 8:28, the true lover of Jesus Christ looks at the rainbow through the storm and discovers that seeming disaster becomes the shining way to the sovereign God. “And God said, This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. And it shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud, and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh” (Gen. 9:12-15 NASB). In our social life, we have to know in order to love; but in the spiritual life, we have to love in order to know. The love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit of regeneration (Rom. 5:5). It is out of that love that we learn, we know, and we practice what we are learning. The people of God have a covenant of grace which goes further than no more destruction of the earth by water.

The chosen people of God are the recipients of a great purpose. That purpose governs everything related to them. Since God’s decrees of natural law are necessary to hold our physical creation together, it is necessary that there be the Divine decrees of spiritual law to hold our spiritual creation in a state of fixed purpose. Its progress will reach its consummation in glorification. Here is pure and clear spiritual mountain air. Let us live in its atmosphere and breathe its spiritual purity. Neither God’s purpose nor His power can be regulated by man. Whether we think of the past, present, or future, God is for His people. Salvation in Jesus Christ began with a Divine purpose. It is consummated by a Divine process, and it leaves at its consummation a Divine product. One cannot leap from Romans 8:1 to Romans 8:28. All that comes between these two verses must be considered. A whole life span is included in that portion of Scripture.

In preparing for our study of Romans 8:28-31, we will touch some high points of Romans 8:1-27. The Roman believers have come to their Canaan experience. They have passed out of Egypt and through the wilderness. They have come to know the hindrances as well as the principle of sanctification. Sanctification is first positional and then progressive. Their position was confirmed in Christ, because the word “therefore” gathers into itself all that precedes (Rom. 5-7). Their condemnation because of sin had become “no condemnation” (Rom. 8:1). Their “no condemnation” is the fruit of the “law of Christ” which had satisfied “the law of justice” and cancelled the “law of sin.” No religion in the world believes that except Christianity. There was no cause for condemnation in the Roman saints because they had been redeemed by the death of Christ. No person could condemn them because God had justified them (Rom. 8:33, 34).

While there is no spiritual condemnation to the justified believers, there may be an experimental or sanctifying condemnation (I Cor. 9:27; 11:32; 5:5; I Tim. 5:24; I John 5:16). Conditional condemnation does not affect one’s position in Christ, but it does affect his rewards before Christ (II Cor. 5:10). Union with Christ is a mystery because it cannot be severed. There are three such unions: (1) Three Persons in one Godhead (one Triunity); (2) Two natures in one Person (Hypostatic union—two natures in Christ); and (3) The union of persons where persons and natures are distinct (the union of Christ and the elect). “There is therefore now [nun, an adverb of time meaning now or at the present—sometimes used as an adjective and as a noun] no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1 NASB). The Greek adverb nun in Romans 8:1 is not of time but of eternity. Our condemnation because of sin has now become “no condemnation,” judicially by the death of Christ and experientially by our being in Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, there is “no condemnation” (Rom. 8:1), “no charge against God’s elect” (Rom. 8:33), and “no separation of the elect” (Rom. 8:35-39).

The “law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2) is not connected with the “remaining sin” of Romans 7. Failure to distinguish between justification and sanctification leads to serious error. That is the one great error of Roman Catholicism. If “the law of sin and death” of Romans 8:2 refers to sanctification, it means the believer is already completely sanctified. However, Romans 8:12 and 13 makes such interpretation false. Paul said, “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (NASB). Therefore, the “law of sin and death” is in the flesh of the believer; but having been justified before God, the delivered man is free from it. The freedom is no more absolute than “sold into bondage to sin” is absolute (Rom. 7:14). Until the discovery of such deliverance, there will be the cry, “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin” (Rom. 7:24, 25 NASB).

No heretic can successfully prove that Paul was not systematic in his treatment of condemnation, justification, sanctification, and glorification—in that order. While final deliverance awaits either physical death or Christ’s second advent, the fact of present deliverance must not be overlooked. The Holy Spirit has poured out His love within the hearts of chosen ones (Rom. 5:5); but in Romans 8, He is the Spirit of life in a new order. In Romans 6, the believer learns to consider (v. 11, logidzomai, which means to count, calculate, weigh the evidence, compute, or ponder) himself alive unto God in Christ Jesus, but now he is spoken of as having the Spirit of life in Christ. In Romans 7:6, the believer learns that in his new relationship he is able to serve in newness of Spirit; but in Romans 8, it is life in Jesus Christ as liberating power. It is not resurrection life that is in view, but a life on earth in which the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us (Rom. 8:4). Paul did not cry in Romans 7:24, “Who shall justify me?”, but “Who will set me free?” Our inbred corruption can neither condemn us as to our standing before God nor separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Romans 8 portrays a present power that is delivering His people from the power of sin and not the guilt of sin. This is not talking about justification but progressive sanctification. The guilt of sin was taken care of at Calvary.

For the Christian there is present suffering and future glory. Paul said, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18 NASB). Sanctification begins with a crisis, which is a condition of instability due to a lack of knowledge and experience. However, it grows with a confidence (Gal. 2:20) and concludes with a crown (II Tim. 4:7, 8).

The “old man” has been crucified. This is an act rather than a process. Sanctification is a process, but crucifixion is an act. There is a difference between judicial and experiential crucifixion. There is no death for sin except in the death of Jesus Christ. The elect are legally dead, but the unregenerate for whom Christ died are not experientially dead. Their unbelieving ego is identified with the “old man.” The believing ego is identified with the “new man.”

There is a difference in the believer’s hope of Romans 5:5 and that of Romans 8. In Romans 5, it is the hope of a newly justified person. Mixed with his early Christian experiences, he realizes there is something better than what he is experiencing in his Christian life in this present world. In Romans 8, it is the hope gained through progressive sanctification. He has learned that perfect satisfaction is waiting for the redemption of the body, and for that he patiently waits.

Man has three days in his span of life—yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Yesterday is gone, and it cannot be redeemed. Today is here because it is now. Man lives in it, and he is accountable for it. He is responsible to make the most of time. Paul said, “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15, 16 NASB). Other translations say, “Redeeming [present middle participle of exagoradzo which means set free—middle voice means to make the most of, or to make good use of] the time.” Tomorrow is coming. What is man’s hope? Apart from the God of the Bible, there is no hope. The God of yesterday, plus His grace of today, gives hope for tomorrow. The three days are matched by the truths of our present study: (1) justification for yesterday, (2) sanctification for today, and (3) glorification for tomorrow.

There is a threefold groaning in Romans 8: (1) Creation is groaning—“For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not of it’s own will, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Rom. 8:19-21 NASB). Almost every note in creation is set in a low monotone. Our ears confirm the screech of the birds, the cry of the animals, the wind whistling through the trees, and the waves crashing on the seashore. All of these have a depressing effect on the spirit of man. (2) The children of God are groaning—“For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body” (Rom. 8:22, 23 NASB). We must not mistake groans for grumbles. It is interesting to note that we groan within ourselves—not in the assembly meeting, but in the secret chamber. (3) The Holy Spirit is groaning—“And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (Rom. 8:26, 27 NASB). Christians are grateful that the Holy Spirit intercedes for them in words they are incapable to utter. Therefore, in the power of the Spirit, our prayers become intense, intelligent, and in harmony with God’s will. These are the words that Christ our Intercessor takes before the Father on our behalf.