"Spener is reported to have said that if holy Scripture was a ring, and the Epistle to the Romans its precious stone, chap. viii would be the sparkling point of the jewel."236
"It is undoubtedly the chapter of chapters for the life of the believer . . ."237
As the fifth chapter climaxed Paul's revelation concerning the justification of the sinner, so the eighth culminates the truth concerning the sanctification of the saint. Both chapters end by affirming the eternal security of the believer. In chapter 5 our security depends on the Son's life and in chapter 8 on the Spirit's power, both of which rest on the Father's love.238
This chapter explains the benefits of sanctification made available through the presence and power of God's Holy Spirit who indwells every believer.239
"It is altogether too narrow a view to see in this portion simply the antidote to the wretched state pictured in chapter 7. Actually the chapter gathers up various strands of thought from the entire discussion of both justification and sanctification and ties them together with the crowning knot of glorification."240
Paul proceeded to expound on the thought that he introduced at the end of verse 17. This passage gives a very wide perspective of God's great plan of redemption, which is the heart of Paul's theology.264
8:18 In the light of eternity we should view the cost of suffering with Jesus Christ now as insignificant in view of the glory that lies ahead for us (cf. 2 Cor. 4:17). Paul again used a word, pathemata, that means sufferings for any reason and in any form. By glory Paul meant the glory that we will experience at our glorification (v. 17). Our glorification is the third and final aspect of our salvation in which God will deliver us from the presence of sin forever. The Greek preposition eiscan mean either "to"(NASB) or "in"(NIV) and probably includes both ideas here in view of the vastness of this glory.
8:19 Paul broadened his view of glorification to include all of creation. He personified it as leaning forward eagerly in anticipation of the great day in which God will fully redeem it too (cf. Gal. 5:5; Phil. 3:20; Heb. 9:28). Then God will reveal His sons as such whereas now we appear simply as Adam's sons.
". . . the word here translated revealing' is apokalupsis, a removal of a covering,--as when some wonderful statue has been completed and a veil thrown over it, people assemble for the unveiling' of this work of art. It will be as when sky rockets are sent up on a festival night: rockets which, covered with brown paper, seem quite common and unattractive, but up they are sent into the air and then they are revealed in all colors of beauty, and the multitude waiting below shout in admiration. Now the saints are wrapped up in the common brown paper of flesh, looking outwardly like other folks. But the whole creation is waiting for their unveiling at Christ's coming, for they are connected with Christ, one with Him, and are to be glorified with Himat His coming."265
8:20 Because of the Fall God subjected the whole creation to "futility"or "frustration."Consequently it never reaches the perfection that He originally intended it to achieve. Probably God is in view as the one who subjected it though Satan and Adam were instrumental in that action.
8:21 In view of prophecies concerning creation's restoration during Messiah's earthly reign, that time was probably in Paul's mind (Jer. 30:23-24; 35). Paul did not have the annihilation of the present earth in view, which will happen at the end of Messiah's earthly reign (cf. 2 Pet. 3:11-13). He was writing of its transformation at the beginning of that reign.
8:22 The creation (excluding man, v. 23) acts as though it is going through birth pains in that it is straining to produce its fruit. Its sufferings are both a result of past events and a portent of future deliverance (cf. v. 20; Matt. 19:28).
8:23 The saints share the sense of groaning and anticipation that Paul described the creation feeling. God will fully redeem both it and us finally. However only the saints have the firstfruits of the Spirit.
God commanded the Israelites to present a portion of their harvest that ripened first as an offering to Himself (Exod. 23:19; Neh. 10:35). This offering acknowledged that the whole harvest was from Him and was really His. It was an offering that the Israelites made in faith confident that the rest of the harvest would follow.
Similarly God's gift of the Spirit at the commencement of the believer's Christian life is His pledge that He will complete the process of salvation. Even though He has redeemed and adopted us there is more of redemption and adoption for us to experience in the future (Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30; 1 John 3:2). When will that take place? It will happen at the Rapture when He glorifies our bodies by making them immortal (Phil. 3:20-21; cf. 1 Cor. 15:44; John 14:1-2). The judgment seat of Christ will follow when we will receive more of our glorious inheritance (1 Pet. 1:3-4; 1 Cor. 3:12-15; 2 Cor. 5:10).
8:24-25 In the meantime we should look forward with hope to what God has promised and patiently endure present sufferings (cf. 5:4).
"The point of these two verses is that the attitude of hope, so distinctive of the Christian, implies that there is more in store for him than anything that is his already."266
In the foregoing verses Paul spoke of God's plan for creation and the believer. In these verses he showed how central a place His children occupy in the plan He is bringing to completion in history.
8:26 Hope helps us in our sufferings (vv. 24-25) and so does the Holy Spirit. The context suggests that our "weakness"probably refers to all our limitations as creatures (cf. v. 23; 2 Cor. 12:9-10).
The NASB translators understood Paul to be saying, "We do not know how to pray as we should,"which implies ignorance concerning the proper method and procedure in prayer. The NIV translators thought he meant, "We do not know what we ought to pray for,"implying ignorance regarding the content and subjects of our praying. The Greek text permits either interpretation, though it favors the former interpretation. Jesus gave instruction to His disciples about both content and method (Matt. 6:9-15; Luke 11:2-4).
Perhaps what Paul meant was this. We know how to approach God in prayer and the general subjects that we should pray about. Still we struggle with exactly how to pray most effectively and with exactly what to pray. The basic principle of effective praying is that it must be in harmony with the will of God to be effective (1 John 5:14-15; John 14:13; 15:16; 16:23-24).267However what the will of God is is often hard for us to ascertain. The Holy Spirit comes to our aid by interceding for us (cf. Luke 10:40).268"Intercede"means to pray for someone else. "Groanings"or "groans"expresses feelings of compassion for our weak condition. The Holy Spirit requests the Father's help for us with deep compassion (cf. Eph. 6:18).
We should not confuse these "groanings"with praying in tongues. This passage promises all Christians God's help, not just those who had the gift of tongues. Furthermore the Scriptures never connect the gift of tongues with intercessory prayer. This verse seems to be saying that the Holy Spirit prays forus, not that He prays throughus to the Father.
"I take it that Paul is saying, then, that our failure to know God's will and consequent inability to petition God specifically and assuredly is met by God's Spirit, who himself expresses to God those intercessory petitions that perfectly match the will of God. When we do not know what to pray for--yes, even when we pray for things that are not best for us--we need not despair, for we can depend on the Spirit's ministry of perfect intercession on our behalf.'"269
8:27 The Father understands the Spirit's intercession for the saints even though we do not hear it. We can know that His intercession is effective in securing God's help for us because the Spirit prays in harmony with God's will.
Thus God Himself by the Spirit comes to our aid whenever we need help. He also assures us in His Word that we will get assistance from the Father. The consequence of this promise should be that when we feel frustrated about our inability to pray about a particular need we can relax. We can have confidence that our compassionate God understands just how we feel and what we want, and He will respond according to His will.270
8:28 "We have been dealing in the first part of the chapter with the human will and its consent to walk by the Spirit. Not so from the 28th verse to the chapter's end. It will be all Godfrom now on!"271
Different translators have interpreted this verse in different ways too. Some saw "God"as the subject and have translated it "God causes . . ."(NASB). Others believed that "all things"is the subject and rendered it "all things God works . . ."(NIV). However the differences are not significant. The whole chapter, even all of Scripture, presents God as sovereign over all the affairs of life. Consequently we know what Paul meant. God orders all the events of life, not just the intercession of the indwelling Spirit, so they culminate in the blessing of His children (cf. vv. 26-27).
"All things"means just that, all things. In the context these things include the adversities the believer experiences. The "good"is what is good from God's perspective, and in view of verses 18-27, conformity to the Son of God is particularly prominent (v. 29). Those who love God could be a group of believers who love God more than others. However since Paul described them from the divine side as the elect of God, those who love God must refer to all Christians (cf. 1 John 4:19). This is the only place in Romans where Paul wrote of the believer's love for God; everywhere else he referred to God's love for the believer.
This verse does not say that God causes all things, period. Nowhere in Scripture do we read that God causes sin or evil. He permits these things, but that is much different from initiating them. Therefore when tragedy touches a believer we should not conclude that this is one of the "all things"that God causes. Rather this verse says that God brings good out of all things, even tragedies, for the Christian. The causes of tragedy are Satan, the sinful choices of people, and the consequences of living in a sinful world (cf. James 1:13-14).
8:29 Paul next explained God's calling in terms of His foreknowledge and predestination. It is a mistake to conclude that God knew beforehand who would believe on His Son and then predestined those individuals for salvation. Foreknowledge is a term that specifically describes God's decision to elect (cf. ch. 9; 1 Pet. 1:20). Notice that it is only those whom He foreknows that He predestines, not everyone. This indicates a "limited"foreknowledge, not just general knowledge of everyone and everything. Foreknowledge does not mean simply knowledge that precedes an event.272The reason for that choice was not human merit (Eph. 1:4) or even the faith of the elect but God's love and purpose (v. 28; cf. Deut. 7:6-8).
"Theologians rightly point out that prior to knowledge must be the divine decree. Unless God determines in some sense that something will happen, he cannot know' that it will. For God to foreknow requires an earlier decree."273
Predestined means that God determined the destiny of the elect before Creation (Eph. 1:3-4). That destiny is specifically conformity to Jesus Christ's image, much more than just deliverance from sin and death. God accomplished this goal partially through believers' justification. He is presently accomplishing it partially through our progressive sanctification, and He will accomplish it completely through our glorification.
"This blessed hope--that believers will be conformed to the image of His own Son--explains God's dealings with them as His chosen sons in this present age. He is ever at work to reproduce the moral image of Christ in them. All that now comes into their lives He uses for their good to further that glorious goal. His aim for them now is not to make them happy, materially prosperous, or famous, but to make them Christlike. He now uses all things,' the sad as well as the glad, the painful as well as the pleasant, the things that perplex and disappoint as well as the things they eagerly strive and pray for, to further His eternal purpose for them. In His infinite wisdom He knows what is needed to bring about that transformation. For some of His own He may need to use hotter fire and strike with harder blows than in His dealings with others to effect the formation of Christ's image in them. This may be because some believers may be more resistant to His moulding activities or are more prone to insist on their own efforts."274
The Son became as we are (v. 3) so that we could become as He is. In this respect we are brothers of Jesus Christ. "First-born"refers to Jesus Christ's relation to resurrection (cf. Col. 1:15), the event that inaugurated His entrance into the glorified state that we will share with Him eventually.
"This distinctive designation of Jesus Christ expresses His position of priority to and preeminence over all the other members of the family."275
8:30 Paul summarized the steps involved in our realization of God's purpose: calling, justification, and glorification. Though glorification is yet future the apostle spoke of it here as past. He could do so not because it has already happened but because it is so certain to take place that it is as good as having happened already (cf. Isa. 53). Probably Paul left sanctification out of this list because it is the one stage of our salvation in which human cooperation is essential. Paul listed only those things that God does by Himself to stress His sovereign working to bring the believer to His goal.
"The argument, when condensed, comes to this: that the very ones He foreknew, these, without the loss of one, He glorified."276
"Bridging the gap between predestination and justification by faith, God's effectual call brings the elect to salvation. This effectual call consists of a divine summons to salvation along with illumination, through which the elect rightly perceive the gospel and inevitably trust in Jesus Christ."277
"God's intention, Paul emphasizes, is to bring to glory every person who has been justified by faith in Jesus Christ. Our assurance of ultimate victory rests on this promise of God to us."278
The apostle developed the fact that God will not lose one whom He has foreknown in this climactic section, and he gloried in this great truth.
"Nowhere in the annals of sacred literature do we find anything to match the power and beauty of this remarkable paean of praise."279
"This whole passage . . . strikes all thoughtful interpreters and readers, as transcending almost every thing in language . . ."280
". . . God's, or Christ's, love is the motif of this paragraph, mentioned three times (vv. 35, 37, 39; cf. Rom. 5:5-8)."281
8:31 The key to the believer's security is that, "God is for us."What He has done for us through His Son in the past and what He is doing for us through the Spirit in the present should give us confidence. He will certainly complete His work of salvation by glorifying us in the future (cf. Phil. 1:3). Nobody or nothing can stand in His way.
8:32 God's plan for us cost Him dearly. He did not spare His own Son (cf. Gen. 22). Having made the greatest possible sacrifice for us already we can know that He will also do whatever else may be necessary to conform us to the image of His Son (cf. 2 Pet. 1:3).
"If you buy a costly watch at the jeweller's, he sends it to you in a lovely case which he gives you freely--with your purchase. . . . For all things' of this created universe,--yea, even all gifts or blessings God may give us, here or hereafter, are but nothing, compared with Christ!"282
"Romans 5:8-10 and 8:32 appear to me to be unanswerable texts for those who deny the scriptural teaching of Christ's substitutionary atonement. These passages state plainly that, if Jesus gave Himself for us in atonement, everything else must follow because, having done the most that He could do in dying as our substitute, the lesser things--such as conviction of sin, repentance, effectual grace, faith--must inevitably follow. God's great eternal purpose, expressed so beautifully in 8:28-30, must reach its fruition in glorification for all those for whom He died."283
8:33 The question that opens this verse, along with the two others that follow in verses 34 and 35, brings out the implications of "If God is for us, who is against us?"(v. 31).
Satan is the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10; cf. Job 1-2). He charges the elect with sin. However, he gets nowhere with God because all sin is against God ultimately (Ps. 51:4). Therefore God is the only one in the position to charge the believer with guilt. He will not do so because He is for us. He has provided His Son to pay the penalty for our sins, and He has already declared us righteous.
8:34 Jesus Christ is God's appointed judge who will condemn the unrighteous (Acts 17:31), but He will not condemn the elect. Paul cited four reasons. First, He died for us and thereby removed our guilt. Second, He arose from the dead and is therefore able to give life to those who trust Him (cf. John 1:25; 14:19). Third, He has ascended to the position of supreme authority in heaven where He represents us (v. 29).284Fourth, He presently intercedes to the Father for our welfare (Heb. 4:4-16; 7:25; cf. Rom. 8:26).
8:35 Present trials and sufferings are no indication that God has withdrawn His love from us. Even though the Father allowed His Son to suffer He did not stop loving Him. The Father deals with His adopted sons as He dealt with His unique Son (cf. John 16:33).
8:36 Suffering has always been the portion of the righteous (Ps. 44:22). The sufferings in view are the consequence of our identification with Christ (cf. Acts 5:41; 1 Pet. 2:21-25; 4:14-19).
8:37 Verses 37-39 express very eloquently the impregnability of our position as believers. The Greek word hypernikomensuggests "hyper-conquerors."Our victory is sure! The Cross is the great proof of God's love for us, and it is the basis for our victory. It proves that God is for us (v. 31).
8:38 God will continue to love us when we die, and He will continue to love us whatever may befall us now. He loves us on both sides of the grave. Helpful or hostile angelic beings cannot change God's commitment to us. Nothing that the present or future may hold can do so either. No force of any kind can remove us from His loving care.
8:39 Space cannot separate us from His loving care either. Finally nothing in all creation can drive a wedge between the loving God and His redeemed people. That must include the behavior and belief of His own children as well. Not even the redeemed can remove themselves from God's love in Christ Jesus!285
Someone might contend that even though God will never stop loving us He may withdraw salvation from us if we do not keep loving and obeying Him (cf. Jude 21). However such a statement reflects failure to appreciate the full significance of God's love for the believer. His love involves a commitment to finish the good work that He has begun in us. God has revealed all of Romans 6-8 to help us appreciate this fact. Furthermore the nature of our salvation argues against this view. Salvation is a gracious work of God for us. The fact that we have responsibilities in our progressive sanctification does not mean we have to keep ourselves saved. Our sanctification is only a small part of our total salvation. Sinful behavior cannot separate a believer from his salvation any more than sinful conduct can separate a beloved child from his relationship to his loving Father.
Paul's peon of praise concludes this section of the epistle that expounds God's present work of salvation in and for those He has redeemed (chs. 6-8).
"Nowhere has the feeling of St. Paul been displayed in such overflowing measure, and yet the thread of logical deduction is not broken for an instant. This passage sums up, as we have seen, all that Paul has hitherto expounded in this Epistle."286
"The results of justification are thus fully presented (chapters 5 to 8). No one has ever set them forth so compactly and so profoundly, in a way that is so stimulating, effective, and uplifting."287
