8:19-25
We have previously seen that sin came into humanity through Adam. (Romans 5:12) But this passage tells us that not just humanity was affected, but the whole of creation.
As part of God’s judgment on Adam for his sin, God cursed the ground. Thorns and thistles grew on it, making it more difficult to grow food, which was no longer provided to Adam in the garden. Working the ground would be in pain, earned by sweat. (Genesis 3:17-19)
Paul summarized this by saying God subjected creation to futility. It is in bondage to corruption. (21) Paul personifies creation, saying it longs to be set free. It waits eagerly for it.
That freeing will come when Christ returns and raises believers, revealing the sons of God. (19) And believers also eagerly await the redemption of our bodies. We groan inwardly. (23)
Our hope for eternity is not that our spirits will dwell in heaven while our bodies lie buried on earth. Rather, our bodies are made new and glorified. They become imperishable, lasting forever. (1 Peter 1:4; 1 Corinthians 15:53)
And new, imperishable, bodies need an imperishable place to live. They need a new earth. When we are saved, we become a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17) This is only the beginning. It is completed when God makes all things new. Then there is a new heavens and new earth.
This new creation will be free from evil. All of the enemies of God will have been defeated by Jesus. (1 Corinthians 15:25) One of those enemies is death. It will be the last one destroyed, preparing us to live forever.
This creation will be new and perfect. (Revelation 21:5, 27; 22:3). God will prepare it for us, beautiful as a bride adorned for her husband. (Revelation 21:2) John saw it as a beautiful garden or oasis. He saw a river flowing from the throne of God running it through it, the banks lined with trees bearing fruit.
It sounds a lot like the Garden of Eden, doesn’t it? It had many beautiful , fruit bearing, trees. It had a river running through it to water it. (Genesis 3:8-10) It was a new and perfect creation before sin. And God will make a new creation that is perfect.
In the first garden, the Lord came and walked with the man and woman. (Genesis 3:8) I believe this was the pre-incarnate Christ. The best part of the new creation is that God the Father and God the Son will dwell there with us. We will be able to see them and worship them. And we will reign over the earth with them. (Revelation 22:3-5)
The Helper
8:26-27
While we wait for Christ’s glorious return, we do not wait alone and helpless. For, God sends us another helper, the Holy Spirit. (John 14:16-17)
One of the ways the Spirit helps us is in prayer. In our weakness, we do not know what to pray for as we should. (26) We do not always know what God’s will is. But, the Spirit knows the Father’s will and intercedes for us accordingly. The Father always grants the requests made in accordance with his will.
God Working For Our Good
8:28-30
The second reason that we do not wait alone and helpless is that God works all things together for our good. He does this for believers, those who love God and are called according to his purpose. This does not mean that everything that happens to a believer is good in the sense that it is enjoyable. But God works in all things for our good in the sense of our spiritual growth and sanctification.
How do we know God does this? Because of the chain of God’s actions toward his people. It is sometimes called the “golden chain of salvation”.
First, Paul calls believers those whom God foreknew. Some people hold the position that this means God knew who would believe on Jesus and acted in saving grace toward them. But, what the verse says is that God foreknew persons, not things about them. It says: “whom he foreknew”.
So, what does “foreknew” mean? The Greek word is “proginosko”. In Greek letters it is:
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προέγνω |
It means to know beforehand, choose, or foreordain. This fits with Paul’s statement that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. (Ephesians 1:4)
There are examples of this in the Bible. First, we see God calling Jeremiah to be a prophet and saying to him: Before i formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you…”. (Jeremiah 1:4-5) Second is the apostle Paul himself. He said: “But when he who had set me apart before i was born and who called me by his grace was pleased to reveal his Son to me…”. (Galatians 1:15)
So, those whom God foreknew, he predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus, his son. (29) “Predestined” means to be determined beforehand. We are conformed to the image of Jesus by believing in him and working with the Spirit to become holy like Jesus. Again, this is the doctrine of sanctification. This process is not optional. It is God’s plan for us as believers in his Son.
The reason for this plan to conform us to the image of Christ is that he might be the firstborn of many brothers. The Father wants the Son to have a people who believe in him and strive to be like him.
Those God predestined, he called. This means, through the work of the Holy Spirit, he drew us to Jesus. Jesus said “no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” (John 6:44) The Spirit convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment. (John 16:8) No one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3)
Those whom the Father calls will come to Christ, the Son, and he will justify them because they believe in the Son. He will impute Christ’s righteousness to them. He will save them and give them eternal life.
Then, those he has justified with also be glorified. They will be raised at the resurrection and receive glorified bodies.
This is the great statement of assurance for believers. If you believe in Jesus, you are one whom God foreknew, whom God predestined to conform to the image of his Son, whom he called to Christ and justified. And whom he will glorify on the last day. He has done these things and will do the these things.
Glory to God!
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