“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28).
One of the key phrases in this well-known and well-loved scripture is “according to His purpose.” When we join “all things work together for good” with “according to His purpose” we see that all of our life, in every circumstance, whether it seems good or bad to the perception of our senses, is ordered and made to work together for our good according to God’s eternal purpose. That purpose was set down in God’s eternal covenant of grace in Christ (2 Tim. 1:9). Christ fulfilled that covenant by His own blood (Heb. 13:20; Matt. 26:28; Heb. 9:15-16, 22, 24-26). Christ administers all things in heaven and earth, even, and especially, His own incarnation and death. And He puts all things in their proper place, both the evil and the good. He works all things to the good of those God entrusted to His eternal care as their King and High Priest and Surety (Eph. 1:10-11). God’s covenant not only set forth what Christ must do to redeem His people and to bring them into the Jubilee of all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, but He also set down all things in order beforehand so that everything in time and creation would be accounted for in advance, according to His will. By Christ, all things in God’s covenant are brought to fulfillment by His death, by His resurrection, by His sovereign rule on the right hand of God as our covenant Mediator, and by His intercession there for us (Matt. 28:18-20; Rom. 8:34).
What a delight it is to have this hope. Christ is our hope (1 Tim. 1:1). Because He is our hope, we have the confident expectation that we will be made known by Christ to be the eternally loved, eternally adopted sons of God. We will be made known as the eternally redeemed of the Lord Jesus Christ, those He loved and washed from their sins in His own precious blood (Rev. 1:5; 1 Pet. 1:18-20). We will be made known as those who were perfected forever by Christ’s one offering of Himself to God for us (Col. 2:9-10; Heb. 10:14). We will be made known as those for whom Christ is their everlasting righteousness (Rom. 5:17-21; Rom. 10:4; 1 Cor. 1:30; Php. 2:6-11). Our hope is that we will stand perfect, without fault before God our Savior, on His throne, in His glory (Jude 1:24). Our hope is that we will see our Savior face to face (Rev. 22:4), and we will be forever with Him in intimate communion (John 17:24). Our hope is also that all things in life are working together for our good according to that same everlasting covenant of grace, in which God ordered all things in Christ for our good before the foundation of the world (2 Sam. 23:5; Heb. 13:20; 8:10-12; Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:21-37).
One of the key phrases in this well-known and well-loved scripture is “according to His purpose.” When we join “all things work together for good” with “according to His purpose” we see that all of our life, in every circumstance, whether it seems good or bad to the perception of our senses, is ordered and made to work together for our good according to God’s eternal purpose. That purpose was set down in God’s eternal covenant of grace in Christ (2 Tim. 1:9). Christ fulfilled that covenant by His own blood (Heb. 13:20; Matt. 26:28; Heb. 9:15-16, 22, 24-26). Christ administers all things in heaven and earth, even, and especially, His own incarnation and death. And He puts all things in their proper place, both the evil and the good. He works all things to the good of those God entrusted to His eternal care as their King and High Priest and Surety (Eph. 1:10-11). God’s covenant not only set forth what Christ must do to redeem His people and to bring them into the Jubilee of all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, but He also set down all things in order beforehand so that everything in time and creation would be accounted for in advance, according to His will. By Christ, all things in God’s covenant are brought to fulfillment by His death, by His resurrection, by His sovereign rule on the right hand of God as our covenant Mediator, and by His intercession there for us (Matt. 28:18-20; Rom. 8:34).
What a delight it is to have this hope. Christ is our hope (1 Tim. 1:1). Because He is our hope, we have the confident expectation that we will be made known by Christ to be the eternally loved, eternally adopted sons of God. We will be made known as the eternally redeemed of the Lord Jesus Christ, those He loved and washed from their sins in His own precious blood (Rev. 1:5; 1 Pet. 1:18-20). We will be made known as those who were perfected forever by Christ’s one offering of Himself to God for us (Col. 2:9-10; Heb. 10:14). We will be made known as those for whom Christ is their everlasting righteousness (Rom. 5:17-21; Rom. 10:4; 1 Cor. 1:30; Php. 2:6-11). Our hope is that we will stand perfect, without fault before God our Savior, on His throne, in His glory (Jude 1:24). Our hope is that we will see our Savior face to face (Rev. 22:4), and we will be forever with Him in intimate communion (John 17:24). Our hope is also that all things in life are working together for our good according to that same everlasting covenant of grace, in which God ordered all things in Christ for our good before the foundation of the world (2 Sam. 23:5; Heb. 13:20; 8:10-12; Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:21-37).
Rick Warta
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