ROMANS 8:28-30 DO ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD?

 

Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones (1899-1980), the great Welsh Preacher,  is probably best known for his lengthy sermon series on the  epistle to the  Romans. It has been  published in 14 volumes.  He preached 72 sermons on Romans 8 alone. In his commentary on the 8^th chapter of Romans, he says that this chapter is “the brightest gems of all”[1]. It is a great chapter on Christian assurance. This  subject  and chapter is a tonic for our souls, and that is why we are taking our time to savour its contents. 

Assurance (Jesus loves me this I know!) is a vital component of spiritual health for all Christians. When you are secure in your faith and in God's love for you  it moves you from fear-driven performance to joyful obedience. 

Assurance is important when you experience the inevitable  attacks of the devil and when you go through personal struggles,  because  your faith is rooted  in Christ who has overcome the world.  

 REVIEW

This chapter begins with, “no condemnation” and ends with “no separation.”   God is so good!

·       Rom. 8:1-4. Here we find the governing thought of this chapter: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.”  In Romans 7 Paul showed us the real struggle between the righteous demands of the law and our inability to keep it.  This can be a very depressing problem. It  easily robs us of joy and assurance.  Who will deliver us from our sin? Thanks be to God – Jesus our Lord!  Therefore, we must learn to  look to Him- continually!  In this we are  helped also by the  indwelling Holy Spirit  by reminding us of the work of Christ: “the law of the Spirit of life has set us free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death”.  When this has happened we can grow in  the grace and the knowledge of God, even though we still must contend with indwelling sin.

·        Rom. 8: 5-11 shows the difference between the Christian and non-Christian. A Christian has their mind set on the things of the Spirit. The product is life and peace and the hope of eternal life. The non-Christian has their mind on the things of the flesh. They are hostile to God; they do not and cannot submit to God’s law.

·       Rom. 8:12 – 17   shows us that Christians, by the help of the Holy  Spirit can live differently to the world. A Christian  is  an  adopted son/ daughter of God. Belonging to a new  family they are not dominated by the spirit of slavery that makes them fall back into fear, but they are enabled by the Spirit of adoption to lean on God, their heavenly Father in the inevitable  trials of life.  

·       Rom 8:18 – 30 reminds   us   of the reality of suffering in a fallen world.  Our focus must not be on the suffering . It must be on the glory to be revealed.  In this, Christians in their weakness have the help of the Holy Spirit. He  intercedes for them with groanings too deep for words. And His prayers on their behalf are understood and heard by the Father –  A wonderful assurance!   

This brings us to 8:28-30. These three verses provide us with profound encouragement.  This is one of the most quoted passages in Romans. 

ROMANS  8:28-30    

1.       8:28a  Everything is ordered by God for our good

Even our sufferings! This is our context.  “ALL things work together for good!” All things?  Yes, everything!  Before we consider this strong assertion, we need to understand what Paul is not saying.

•  Paul is not saying that all things which happen to believers are good in themselves.  There are things that happen to us which are not good. There are evil things that others do to us which are not good. There are choices we make that are not good!   
• What Paul is saying is that God can use the evil things done to us, even our own poor choices,  for our ultimate good.  
• The comforting thought is this: We are not in the hands of an almighty devil; we are not in the hands of an evil world; we are not even finally in our own hands and of our bad choices, which can be very painful.  We are in the hands of a good God. He  is able  to work all things for good in the life of the believer. 

This needs to be seen in context of Rom. 8:26,27. 

What has Paul just said?  

He has said that the Holy Spirit helps us in our times of weakness.  These are times when you have no words to pray.  If you are in that position, then Paul has another word of comfort for you!  

1. Not only do you have a certain future hope when this difficult life is over 
2. Not only does the Holy Spirit intercede for you when you can’t pray 
3. But it is also true that God uses every event (even the messy ones) in your life to work for your ultimate good.  

He begins with this statement, "And we know that for those who love God ALL THINGS work together for good”.  We know!  We may not like to know this, but if you love God, then you know that He is with you in whatever happens …  a death; a severe illness of a loved one; the reality of recurring marital problems; problems with rebellious children; job retrenchment, and even some worse things.   

How can God be in this? How can these things be for good?  We don’t always know, and often it is very hard to see…even for a long time. But we know that God is not the Originator of sin. We also know that God is able to bring good out of evil. Just think what God did on the cross.  God turned a cruel cross into victory. 

Can He turn your cross into victory?  It is often hard to see…

This is where faith in the Word of God and the God of the Word becomes a Christian’s source of hope. A Christian is one who is loved by God (we shall see this now in 8:29,30) and who loves God., even in suffering and  times of trial. In God's  economy there is no wasted suffering.  It may be painful, and it may appear meaningless at face value, but it isn’t, because God remains your Father and you His beloved adopted child, and  as such He is committed to your  welfare,   even in the valleys of life.  

2.        8:28b This is a promise for believers alone!  

“For those who love God…”.  This is a word of comfort for Christians. We cannot use these words to an unbeliever whom you are visiting in hospital.  It belongs to those who love God… those who are called according to His purpose (the same thing).  And the reason they love Him is because He has called them. 

3.       8:29,30 God’s persistent love for His children

This is so big! Our life in Christ is in the hands of omnipotent love- whatever our experience!  

1. Paul says that there is no event in life that God doesn’t use for the good of believers (8:28a).                       
2. God’s promise is for believers alone (8:28b)
3. And now Paul shows us God’s glorious saving purpose from the beginning to the end (8:29,30). His involvement in the life of His children is all encompassing. It extends through their life in this fallen world with all its trials and tribulations. It continues until they are glorified, and back with Him in heaven.  This is so big!  This is the golden chain of salvation - an unbreakable, five-link sequence of God’s redemptive work.  And Paul  put’s it like this: Those God foreknows and predestines, these he  also calls, justifies, and ultimately glorifies - this is the golden chain of salvation. What mighty  assurance  we find here! 

THE GOLDEN CHAIN OF SALVATION 

a.        God foreknows His children. "For those whom He foreknew…". Some have thought that God foresaw that we would choose Him, and therefore, based on our choice, He chose us. That is not biblical. God’s choice of us never rested on our love, our works, or our decision. God‘s choice of us rests in His love for Jesus, His Son, to whom He has given a people, a church (ekklesia),a bride.  As such Jesus dies for those that the Father has given Him out of the world (John 17:2,6,9,10,24).  IN HIM  we  are loved by the Father.  We are  blessed  in the beloved. (Eph 1:6) 

b.      God has predestined His children to be conformed to the image of His Son.  God’s foreknowledge forms the basis of our predestination. Christians are predestined to be  conformed to the image of His Son.  They want to be like Jesus in His moral perfections.  They want to be holy as He is holy.  They want to share in His glory.  Paul also says here that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. We will share in the glory of our older brother! He is the first fruit of the resurrection. When He appears we will be like Him! (1 Jn 3:2) 

c.        Predestination is followed by the calling: While our predestination occurs before the beginning of time, our calling happens in time.  When you become a Christian, you hear the call of Jesus to come and follow (e.g. Matt. 1:18-22; Lk. 5:27,28). This call is irresistible, because it is the voice of the Good Shepherd. It is the voice of Home.

d.      Calling is followed by justification:  Justification is the legal declaration by God that a sinner is righteous i.e. not guilty. God does this by imputing the blood of His Son Jesus to  the sinner's  account.  Jesus our Lord was delivered up for our trespasses and raised  for our justification (Rom. 4:25).  There is now no condemnation (Rom. 8:1)  Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies (Rom. 8:3)

e.       Justification is followed by glorification.  This happens after death, when we, like Jesus following His death, will be clothed in our resurrection bodies.  The text here reads in the past tense, "And you have been glorified."  He speaks of it as if it has already happened. It is as good as done.

CONCLUSION

When we consider the big picture, then all our losses and crosses, all suffering, all unfairness, all our bad decisions, all sin against us, everything.... becomes bearable. Therefore we must persevere. We must be patient.  We must know that this temporary life, with all its hardships and sufferings is just that: temporary. And in the meantime, we must know  that  our Father in heaven is not going to exempt us from doing life with all its complexities.  But He will make sure that we have more than sufficient grace to manage our challenges- many of which will be expressed in groanings, which the Holy Spirit bears on our behalf to the throne of grace.  

But, everything will ultimately work for good,  and  we know this  finally and especially  when we  shall  stand in His presence clothed in our glorified bodies!

 

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[1]  Martyn Lloyd Jones, ROMANS 7:1-8:4, p.258f, Banner of Truth,1973

Isaiah 52:1-12 - "The Lord’s Coming Salvation" (PALM SUNDAY)

As we focus on the  last week of Jesus’ earthly ministry, we begin with His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. 

This  event is described in all four gospels [1] and it  is  specifically prophesied  by the prophet Zechariah (Zech.9:9) and in so many other indirect ways  in the  Old Testament, such as this passage in  Isaiah, which precedes  the  famous Isaiah 53 passage  which we shall  consider on Easter Friday.

Today we remember the occasion   when Jesus,  the  chosen  servant of God[2] came riding on a humble donkey   to fulfil  the work that the Father  had given  Him to do in laying down His life for His people[3]. 

As He entered  the city, He was received  in the manner of  a conquering King, although “he had no  form or majesty  that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him…”  (53:2), and yet the crowd  received Him  with  these words, 

"Hosanna[4] to the Son of David”. 

This   was tantamount to saying (and so  it was understood  by the Pharisees e.g. in Lk 19:39) that He was the long expected Messiah of Israel.    

In Luke’s account of the triumphal entry, Jesus  following His entrance into Jerusalem is deeply disturbed at what He sees. 

He weeps over Jerusalem  (see Lk  19:41- 44 ; and see  also  Lk  13:34 – 35).  

This is followed  by the famous  temple cleansing (Lk. 19:45-48; Matt 21:12-17)

It is particularly   Lk  13:34 – 35 that gives us an insight  into  the spiritual state of Jerusalem. 

It was this city  that  had killed the prophets. 

It was this city that would kill the Son of God, and amazingly, Jesus  knew that  this was going to happen! 

What was the purpose for which Jesus rode into Jerusalem to lay down His life?   It was  to hand Himself over to wicked men  to do what they had wanted to do all along, BUT  in this  atrocious act  He  would  also make atonement for the sin of the world! 

By His  death He would  secure  eternal life for  all his own people,  for all those “who did receive Him, who believed  in His Name” (John 1:12). It was  ultimately  to secure for them a  future, not in this earthly Jerusalem, but  in the new, the heavenly Jerusalem, the home of every true believer  which Jesus went to prepare in John 14:1-4  and of which  we read in   Revelation 21.

Now we know from the history of Jerusalem  that she had been  besieged and captured many times. In the days of  Israel’s  occupation of Jerusalem[5], this city was  sacked  eventually by the Babylonians in around  586 BC. She  was  burned and destroyed and her  people taken into exile in  Babylon, just as  Isaiah and Jeremiah and others had said. But before that, approximately 135  years  earlier,  in the days of Isaiah,  this city  was also threatened by the Assyrians  who did in fact capture the northern territory of Israel and with it 10 tribes, who were sent into  exile in 722 BC (2 Kings 17:5ff).   All prophets, particularly the  major  prophets such as Isaiah and Jeremiah, and later the Lord Jesus, God’s final Revelation (Hebr. 1:1-3) saw  that the continued rebellion  of this city  that had experienced  so much  of God’s favour, in terms of hosting  the temple of God, and therefore  the visible presence of God in Israel, that this city  would  face the wrath of God.  This leading  city  of the Jews   had lost the vision   of God in her midst.

Isaiah’s  prophecy  can be divided into two parts. 

The first part, chapters  1-39  focus on God’s judgement on Israel and the surrounding nations  for idolatry, injustice and reliance on foreign powers rather than on God

The second part in chapters 40 – 66,  is known as the 'book of the messianic  servant'. It offers  comfort to  the exiled people, and  the promise of the return of a remnant. 

Isaiah’s vision is big!  

Not only does he  include future events from his own perspective in about 722 BC;  Isaiah also  sees  the restoration of Israel  after the Babylonian captivity, much later in 520 BC, when he was long dead. 

But more  than that, Isaiah’s  prophecy anticipates  the  ministry and mission of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ (whom we shall meet as the suffering servant in  Isaiah 53) more than 700 years later! 

And from our perspective Isaiah  foresees  even more than that. He foresees  the rule  and restoration  of all things under Christ  in  days to come, which,  even from our perspective is STILL  in the future!

From the present perspective  of Isaiah, and from Christ’s perspective, when He rode into Jerusalem, and also  from our own perspective, this earthly Jerusalem  was and is  anything but a holy city.   

But  Isaiah  sees  beyond that,  and he, like His Messiah, the Lord Jesus look  to the far future  when things will look very different. 

And it all began  on that day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem. 

On this day  He came to  Jerusalem  to  secure the future  of  the inhabitants  of a far greater Jerusalem. He came to  do this   in His death  and resurrection, described  in Isaiah 53. 

In preparation for that let's  take a look at  this text[6] which precedes the phenomenal  events of Isaiah 53,  and view it  just as the triumphal entry  precedes the phenomenal events of the week that lay ahead:

1.Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean.

Obviously,  the prophet is not speaking here of  a political  entity  called  Jerusalem. He is speaking  of  that future city where  there  shall be no sin – the heavenly Jerusalem of  Revelation 21. That  is the city that Jesus ultimately  came to establish when He came riding into  this sinful Jerusalem, that killed the prophets, and therefore the prophet continues …

2. Shake yourself from the dust and arise; be seated, O Jerusalem; loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion. 

What did the Lord Jesus  achieve  in his death and resurrection?  He  purchased  freedom  for a people in the dust, a people enslaved by sin. He freed them  for citizenship in the new Jerusalem,  by the shedding of His blood.

3.  For thus says the Lord: “You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.” What does this   mean?  In context  this  would refer to the Babylonian captivity. Babylon acquired   Judah and paid nothing for  her when they took her captive in 586 BC. However,  roughly 70 years later under Cyrus  the Persian and then Artaxerxes [7]  she was freed  without the payment of money,  when men like Ezra and Nehemiah led the people back to Jerusalem  from captivity, being in fact supported by the Babylonians to rebuild Jerusalem[8]. But in a greater sense it would mean  that the sin which our  first father Adam committed, and of which we had borne the fruit, would now  be borne  by Christ in His death, BUT no  one has  to pay for their redemption. It was free for those who would take it.    

This  was the purpose for which  Jesus  came to ride into the city! 

4 For thus says the Lord God: “My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing. 

Israel’s first stint away from their   earthly Jerusalem in Canaan  was  experienced when they had lived  for 430 years in  Egypt, after which they returned under Moses and Joshua  to Canaan, their promised land.  Then  David  established the   physical Jerusalem  for Israel, but under  the often foolish rule of his  grandsons, substantial chunks of the kingdom were gradually lost – first under the  Assyrians, who   claimed the northern kingdom of Israel.  

In Christ’s day the  Jews were oppressed  by the  Romans, and the Jews hoped for  their Messiah  to return to  deliver them from the  Roman yoke. But was this ultimately the yoke  that  they needed to be  delivered from? Was not the yoke of sin their ultimate problem?  And who alone could effectively deal  with sin, if not the Son of God? And so Jesus rode into Jerusalem …

  

5 Now therefore what have I here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail,” declares the Lord, “and continually all the day my name is despised. Many a time when Israel was  attacked by her enemies (no doubt, due to their own foolishness, which resulted in the hand of God being lifted from them),  their enemies  were  blaspheming the  name of God  when they  taunted  Israel: “Where now is your God?”  (e.g. Ps 42:10;  115:2; Joel 2:17). In truth, this was also  the  general attitude of the Jews   to Jesus. When he hung on the cross they mocked Him, saying: “He saved others, let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One.”(Lk. 23:35). The truth was that in continually  mocking Christ they were continually mocking the work of God. 

And so Christ rode into Jerusalem on  this day  to make a distinction between the righteous and the unrighteous!  

6 Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am.” In the  historical context  the  release from Babylonian captivity and the rebuilding of Jerusalem would be  a true testimony  to the power of God.  Nehemiah confirms this in Neh.6:15,16  when he says, “… all the nations around us …perceived that this work  had been  accomplished with the help of our God !” But in a greater sense  the greatest work  would be the   establishment  of the  eternal city of God, the heavenly Jerusalem, which would be populated by  those who had been redeemed by the blood of Jesus.  

Jesus came riding  into  Jerusalem  to  declare that He would do this ON THE CROSS!   

This  is  therefore what gives rise to the next verse!  Here is the gospel  of the good news   for all the people… for all the nations !

7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” Paul quotes this passage in Rom 10:15.  The point is that whatever historical situation brought  the good news  in Isaiah’s day, he was looking much further, when our  Messiah  made the gospel  terms  effective  by His death and resurrection.

For this reason Jesus came riding into Jerusalem.

8 The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy;  for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion.  In the  historical setting this  was accomplished  when God restore the Jews to liberty under the leadership of men  like  Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Yet again,  and in a greater sense, these things were fulfilled in Christ’s coming into Jerusalem  for this purpose – that He might lay down His life for a great number of people  and to establish  for them a city whose foundations cannot be shaken.

9 Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.  Historical deliverance happened  under Cyrus, (2 Chron. 36:22,23). The  Lord  displayed his power among the Medes and Persians, but afterwards he made it visible to all the nations. But again, see the ultimate fulfilment  in this  text. The Abrahamic covenant  is being fulfilled, as not only Jews but  gentiles  were participating in the salvation of God in Christ. 

All this began  to be fulfilled  in Christ riding into Jerusalem  to lay down His life for  Jews and gentiles. 

11 Depart, depart, go out from there; touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the Lord. 12 For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. In context  this was a call to  all  the Jews to leave Babylon, and to leave the things of Babylon behind. Those  that were  carrying the vessels of the Lord ( i.e. the vessels  for the temple), the priests, these were to be  especially consecrated. 

The redeemed would not need to  leave in haste as they had done when they left Egypt in the Exodus. They were completely free. God would go before to lead them and behind to protect them as they journeyed to their Promised Land (cf. Exodus 13:21-22; Exodus 14:19-20). In our context, it is important that we need to leave the city of destruction and make sure that we are on the  road to the heavenly  Jerusalem. (Pilgrims Progress)  

Here then,  in this  part of  Isaiah’s prophecy  the dual implications of the prophet's promises are very clear.  

1. The Babylonian captivity  formed the background  to what  Isaiah  said, 

2. ... but  Isaiah  had the larger issue of  SIN SLAVERY  in mind.  Return to the land was in view, but even more so, the opportunity to return to the Lord through spiritual redemption was His greater focus. 

God would deal with the result in Israel's case, captivity, but He would also and more importantly deal with the great cause of  every man's   problem, namely sin !

All this Jesus  came to do when he rode on that donkey  into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  

Hallelujah, what a Word! 

Hallelujah, what a Saviour! 

AMEN .

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[1] Matthew 21: 1- 11 ; Mark 11:1-11 ; Luke 19:28-40; John 12:12-19

[2] Note the four servant   passages  in this regard :  42:1-9; 49:1-7 ; 50:4-11 ; 52:13-53:12

[3] i.e. as the Lamb of God for His sheep

[4]  Lit. “save now”

[5] This city was captured by David from the Jebusites  in  2 Samuel 5:6-10 , after which it was called “the city of David”

[6] The proper  parameters for this text is  Isaiah 51:1-52:12. The chapter division at 52:1 is unfortunate . Similarly  the chapter division should not begin with 53:1, as it does, but should start at 52:13.

Outline of Ch.  51:1- 52:12 : 1. A threefold  call  to listen :  i.e.  51 : 1; 4; 7   2. A threefold  exhortation to awake  : 51:9;17 & 52:1  

[7] Ezra 1:1; 4:7

[8]  Ezra 1:2ff ;Neh. 2:8

ROMANS 8:26-27 THE HOLY SPIRIT HELPS US IN PRAYER

 

Romans Chapter 8 is a wonderfully uplifting chapter, following a very sobering assessment in preceding chapters  concerning our true state before God.

All of mankind – you and I included, are God’s created people. 

But we are also fallen beings. 

We are no longer what God had purposed us to be. 

Sin has distorted us – more than we realize. By nature, we are under the wrath of God (Rom. 1:18-32).  The Bible read and understood helps us to see ourselves as God sees us. Paul was helped to see himself realistically in Romans 7. But he also was helped at once to see the solution to all our trouble: Jesus Christ the Saviour (7:24)!  And that is why he begins with that great truth statement in  Romans 8:1-2:

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”

Jesus Christ frees us from the righteous wrath of God! THEREFORE, look to Him and believe in Him!  And then, look again at those two opening verses and find mention made of the Holy Spirit, who is mentioned 20 times in this chapter.  

Who is the Holy Spirit?  What is the nature of His Being? What is the nature of His work?  We are best helped by considering Jesus’ own teaching concerning Him in John 14:15-18; 14:25-26; 16:7-15.

In a nutshell: 

The Holy Spirit is the promise of the Father (Acts 1:4, Jn.14:16,26) and of the Lord Jesus (Jn.16:7). 

Following Christ’s ascension (Lk. 24:50-53; Acts 1:6-11), the Holy Spirit would be the Helper (parakletos) who comes alongside and inside God’s people, being the Spirit of Truth (Jn.14:17;16:13; Rom.8:11). The Holy Spirit would not leave the people of Jesus as orphans (Jn.14:18) [Note, in Romans 8:15, He is the Spirit of adoption by who we cry Abba, Father!]. He is the One, says Jesus, “teaching you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (Jn.14:26). 

He is the One who will convict the world concerning sin.... (Jn. 16:8) 

He is the outpoured Holy Spirit of Acts 2. It  is He who makes all the difference in us, because He embodies all that God is! He, the outpoured Spirit makes the difference in us- experientially! Let us learn to appreciate Him, to honour Him, to praise Him as the third  member of the Holy Trinity!  

Paul reveals Him in Romans 8 as the Spirit of life- the life - giving Spirit, who sets us free from religious formalism (i.e. mere adherence to the law) (8:2). 

He helps us to walk not according to the flesh (i.e. by giving into sinful impulses) (8:4). 

He helps us to set the mind on godly thoughts (8:5) 

He produces life and peace in the soul (8:6).  

He makes us feel that we belong to a new family, because He is the Spirit of adoption (8:15). To be a Christian is to be a son /daughter of God. To be a Christian means that we have new abilities through His indwelling presence and power. We are able to overcome sin. The Holy Spirit makes the difference even while you and I  continue to live in a fallen body, and in a fallen world in which Satan exercises his destructive and deceptive rule.  

If you have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, remember  that  the Holy Spirit is the Helper - He  helps you even when you still struggle with sin  in every conceivable way (Romans 7:15-20). 

Truly, this world is a battleground for the Christian. It is a peculiar mixture of suffering and glory. This is the  subject we considered last time in 8:18-25.  Take courage! 

The Holy Spirit is here to help you in the midst of your  groaning [1].  This is a word which we find three times in this chapter:  8:18,22,23.  There we find that (i) creation groans (ii) we groan) (iii) the Spirit groaning  on our behalf  making our groans intelligible before the Father’s throne of grace. Groaning  will accompany us (and all of creation) in this life, and on our way to future glory. We groan under the weight of the wages of sin.  

Is there any help available?  Jesus has saved us, and for this we are immensely thankful, but how will we cope NOW whilst living out our lives in this fallen world, and in this fallen body? The answer is : BY PRAYER! 

I trust that these 2 verses will help and encourage you greatly.  

THE HOLY SPIRIT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE IN PRAYER: 8:26,27

Our text begins with an affirmation: “The Spirit helps us in our weakness“.  That word ‘help’ is a very long word in the biblical Greek[2]- made up of three words.  The word conveys the idea of assisting; to help another in sharing a burden – to jointly tackle a task.  

The word is used in Luke 10:40 where Martha asks Mary to help her with food preparations. 

Notice then, the Holy Spirit does not take our responsibility away. He helps us.  He assists us, particularly in our state of weakness.   

What is that state of weakness? Here it is: “For we do not know what to pray for as we ought....”. Isn’t that a real problem for us in prayer? How do we ever know what to pray for? We don’t always know what is best for us. If that frustrates you then remember that we are in good company. 

Paul did not always know where the Spirit of God would take him next (e.g. Acts 16:6-10 and the Macedonian call).  

Furthermore, Paul asked the Lord three times to remove the thorn in his flesh in 2 Cor.12:8-10, thinking that this was a hindrance to ministry, but God said, “no! My grace is sufficient for you...”.  Who would have thought that the thorn in the flesh was a good thing for Paul?  

And, what should the Apostle Paul pray according to Philippians 1:23?  Here he is at the end of his life and in prison, potentially facing execution. He has a desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but is it not perhaps better for the sake of the church that he gets out of prison and remains useful a little longer?  Can you sense the tension – we do not know how to pray as we ought?  What is better? Well, God’s plans are better. They may take us via some strange providences, but if the outcome is that He get’s more glory, then that is the better way.

In this regard I  remind you also  that even the Lord Jesus, experiencing life as a man (yet without sin) praying as a man, bearing our sins as a man,  asked  that this cup of suffering might pass from Him, knowing that God’s will, not His be done. Jesus knew what God's will was, and we know what God’s will was for Jesus, but can you see the real struggle involved in prayer in this fallen world? Can you hear Jesus’ real groaning? And aren't you thankful that He took the way of the cross?

You and I will praise God in eternity for Christ’s active obedience!

Next, we read, 

“...but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words”. 

Here is the help that the Holy Spirit provides for us in prayer. Dear friends, God knows our weakness. He knows that we are subject to the fall and He bears with us, and He helps us by the Holy Spirit  to articulate our groanings and perplexities in prayer.  

The same idea is found in Matthew 11:28ff where Jesus says, 

“Come to me all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest ...”.  

Here are people that are groaning under the weight of their crushing burdens – and Jesus says, “Come to me... I will help you.”  Think of a heavy object that is too much to carry for you. Another person comes along and says, “let me help you”, and the two of you manage that heavy load. Your helper does not do all the work. He helps you. He helps  to carry your heavy load successfully and effectively. This text does not teach us to be passive.  The Holy Spirit helps us, and in this case, He helps us by interceding for us. 

The word[3] used for intercession is only found here in the NT, and it translates best as making representation for another person. He is, as it were, taking upon Himself my muddled thinking, my overburdened mind, and my inability to formulate something correctly, and with words unutterable He presents the prayer in an understandable form before the throne of God. So, I am helped in prayer.

I have a confession to make: I mostly don’t know how to pray for you, particularly if I have little understanding of your situation and your spiritual well being. I confess, that I mostly groan and trust the Holy Spirit to make my prayers for you legible in the Father’s heavenly courts.

Two things must be said about the Holy Spirit’s groaning on our  behalf :

(i)             He is the omniscient Spirit. Sharing the attributes of God, He knows everything. So, it cannot mean that He is struggling to understand or interpret my prayer. His groaning simply amounts, from my perspective,  to being “too deep for words” (NIV groans that words cannot express) - literally 'wordless' language. But the effect of the Spirit’s groaning upon my groaning  is that my  Heavenly Father receives an exact interpretation of that which I actually need.

(ii)            It cannot refer to speaking in tongues, as some have maintained. The translation is “too deep for words”. This excludes language – even tongues, which  are also a form of  language. This is much deeper.  At any rate, the onus here is not on the speaker but on the Holy Spirit,  formulating in wordless language my groaning before the throne of mercy.  Thank God for the great help which is promised to us in prayer. I am so encouraged by this!

Finally, in 8:27 we read, 

“And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”  

God is the searcher of our hearts. He is also the One who is  in eternal fellowship with the Holy Spirit. He knows the mind of the Spirit.  Father, Son and Holy Spirit truly KNOW one another in the fullest sense of that word. 

There is a actually  never any explanation needed between them. They perfectly understand each other. And their  greatest certainty and agreement is this: God‘s people, here called saints, must be brought safely home through this temporary trial, in which they will suffer many things.  They must be helped in prayer and they must  be  glorified.  The 8th chapter will take us steadily into that direction.  The Holy Spirit has been given to that end, and the work of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit will be completed to that end.  You, dear saint, are safe in  God’s  hands.

What you read here is indeed high theology. But it has been written for people like you and I, who are not God. It is written for people who see in a mirror dimly.  What is utterly clear to God is not yet clear to me, and when I look into His Word, and consider  texts like these, I am given a perspective that is not ordinary. This perspective tells me that, despite my experience, God knows what He is doing.  And He knows and He helps His people in their weakness.  He helps them  in prayer.   

This puts a fresh perspective on prayer and I trust that you will be bold enough to test God in this matter. Ask Him this week to help you in prayer.

 

 

 

 

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[1] Gr.  stenazo - groan, sigh, express deep inward  grief - from steno – narrow/ constricted - being in a tight spot

[2] Gr sunantilambanetai

[3] Gr. huperentugchanei – to intercede for another person