Romans 8:26-30
The ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Believer
Welcome!
Would you open your Bibles to...
Rom.
Rom.
Rom. 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Rom. 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Rom. 8:30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
Pray
Intro
The Person & ministry of the Holy Spirit (vs. 26-27)
Rom. 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Rom. 8:27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
√ The Person and work of the Holy Spirit
There is much confusion as to the nature of the Holy Spirit. Some like to think of the Holy Spirit as an impersonal force, or influence.
Ex. The J.W.’s deny that the Holy Spirit is a “Person” – believe He is the active force of Jehovah.
Ex. “Ghost” – me as a scared young Catholic boy.
However, in verse 26 Paul clearly describes the Holy Spirit as being an Individual – “Himself”.
Ap. We don’t have time to do the subject of the Holy Spirit justice this morning – let’s grab some highlights and you can continue your study on your own.
√ Let's start by talking about who He is not!
He is not a…
Force
Power
Influence
He is God and has the characteristics of a PERSONAL being.
Again, this is what makes Christianity different from all other religions. It is a religion based upon relationship with a personal God, not an impersonal power or force that we learn to manipulate.
This is important because the "god" of the Antichrist, the "god" of the last days One World Religion, is a god of forces - see Daniel 11:38!
Dan. 11:38 "But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses (forces - KJV; SRN 4581); and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things."
√ The Holy Spirit is a Person (not a human) - that is He has all the characteristics and qualities, personality, of an individual versus a force.
Note vs. 26…
“but the Spirit Himself”
Ex. Gravity is a force. Gravity does not have emotional feelings; you can't lie to gravity, you can't make gravity sad, gravity can't comfort you – can’t have a relationship with gravity.
The Holy Spirit on the other hand does exhibit all of those qualities and more clearly demonstrating that He is a Person – a equal member of the Godhead which we call the Trinity.
√ Note the ministry of the Holy Spirit
Rom. 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Rom. 8:27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Ap. In our section in Romans this morning Paul tells us that the Holy Spirit personally intercedes for us when we are weak.
He is able to search our heart and know our individual needs – then look at the Father’s heart and know how to meet those needs.
He then prays for us according to God’s best for us!
That’s great because often times we don’t know what’s best for us, or even how to pray!
Ex. A person gets in trouble – do I pray that they get off the hook and avoid jail? Or do I pray that they get a little jail time to give them some time to consider the path they’ve chosen?
I’ve had people tell me that it took getting busted and some time in jail to get them to the place where they’d listen to God.
√ The ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives
He TEACHES us (John 14:26)
He CONVICTS us of sin (John 16:7-8)
He CALLS people to service (Acts 13:2)
He LEADS us (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:18 & Luke 4:1)
He SPEAKS to us (Acts 21:11)
We can LIE to Him (Acts 5:1-3)
We can GRIEVE Him (Eph. 4:30)
We can quench (or resist) Him (I Thess. 5:19)
We can INSULT Him (Heb. 10:29)
These can only be attributed to a Person, an Individual – not a force, or influence, or power.
The promise of God’s goodness (vs. 28)
Rom. 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
√ This is perhaps one of the best known, and most often quoted verses in the Bible!
When confronted with a tragedy, or a disappointment in life, this verse comes to mind as a source of comfort because in it we find the promise that God has a plan for our life and will somehow work the tragedy or disappointment out for good in our life.
Ex. Joseph sold into slavery, falsely accused and imprisoned for a crime that he didn’t commit – was able to say in retrospect…
Gen. 50:20 “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
However, I’d suggest that it’s easier to give this advise, than to live it!
That’s because while we can believe God’s promise from the comfort of our living room, it’s a whole lot more difficult to live it in the midst of trouble.
That’s where learning to trust God comes in.
Learning by experience as we walk with Jesus that He can be trusted to do what is promised here.
Note:
“And we know that all things work together for good”
Interesting because the word for “know” that Paul uses is…
SRN 1492. eidw eido (i'-do)
…used only in certain past tenses with the idea that it is knowledge of which one is sure – no doubting.
Contrast that to the other word often used for “know” in the Greek which is…
SRN 1097. ginwskw ginosko
The difference is that ginosko suggests a progress in knowledge, while oida suggests a fullness of that knowledge.
Look with me at how Jesus uses these two words in…
Joh. 8:55 “Yet you have not known (ginosko) Him, but I know (oida) Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know (oida) Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know (oida) Him and keep His word.
Jesus’ point is that the religious leaders had not even begun to know the Father, while Jesus could say that He knew the Father with perfect, or complete knowledge.
The point for us this morning is that when we begin a relationship with God through Jesus Christ we begin to know Him (ginosko) by experience.
However, as we grow in Christ we begin to know (oida) more fully until like Paul we can express with great confidence that we…
“And we know (i'-do) that all things work together for good”
Ex. We learn by our daily experience with Jesus that we can trust Him. When we first begin to walk with Him our level of trust is not complete or perfect because we don’t yet “know” Him as we one day will.
Ex. Abraham had to learn to trust God for the promised son.
Ap. What if you’re in a difficult time this morning? Maybe you’ve had well meaning people quote Romans 8:28 to you – yet you’re not comforted.
Hang in there! God can be trusted to work it out for good – He’s teaching you to trust Him so that like Paul and Abraham you will grow strong in your faith.
√ Note the promise
The promise is that God will work everything out for good. But, understand that we may not see what good God has planned until we’re with Him!
Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Sometimes the good that we hope for is not ours to experience! We live in faith and do what God has asked of us knowing that the end result will be good – but like so many of the saints we may not experience it in this life.
Ex. Jim Elliot
√ Note the condition
“…to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
It’s not a general promise to all people. Rather, it’s a conditional promise to those who love God!
Reminds us that God is not a genie who is obligated to do our bidding! So, for the non-Christian there is no promise or hope that “all things work together for good.”
That’s a bummer!
Ap. Give your life to Jesus – He alone can turn it around and make what others (even you) may think is a mess into something good and wonderful!
Ex.
A certain hope (vs. 29-30)
Rom. 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Rom. 8:30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
√ There are a lot of things that we hope for in life…
Ex. Homemade bread! Winning the Lotto!
I can think about the bread my wife makes and look forward with eager anticipation to how good it’s going to taste – hot out of the oven – fresh butter melting into it – yummy!
On the other hand – it’s kind of pointless for me to think about how much money I’m going to have and what I’m going to spend it on when I win the Lotto…
…cause I don’t play.
The point?
My hope for some great homemade bread is a fairly certain hope because my wife loves to bake!
On the other hand, my hope for winning the Lotto is not a very certain hope because I don’t play it – therefore – it’s pointless to think about it.
Spiritual application?
Paul has spent all of chapter 8 telling us about all the benefits of walking in the Spirit and the hope that we have that one day the work of sanctification will be completed and we’ll be like Jesus.
However, as you and I look at our lives this morning we can be tempted to doubt that we’re ever going to be sanctified.
Therefore, our hope for that future glory and the eternal bliss of living with Jesus in heaven can look a bit uncertain from our perspective.
Good news – Paul tells us in this section that the whole work (enchilada) is God’s deal!
You see, God has provided the certainty of our sanctification – that the work will actually be completed in our lives…
…because the whole work from regeneration to glorification is God’s deal!
Phil. 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
√ Look at our verses again…
Rom. 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Rom. 8:30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
Paul explains here what it means to be one of…
“those who are the called according to His purpose” vs. 28
And, why it is that God continues to work all their experiences in life for their ultimate good.
“whom He foreknew” = Believers
“He also predestined” = Predetermined believers destiny
“Firstborn” = Preeminent – the ruler
Jesus, the resurrected and glorified Lord of all, will become the Head of a new race of humanity purified from all contact with sin and prepared to live eternally in His presence!
√ The work of sanctification
Between the start and finish of God’s plan are three steps:
Being Called
Being Justified
Being Glorified
Note that it is God’s work!
He Called
He Justified
He Glorified
And without losing any of those He chooses! In fact, the word “glorified” in vs. 29 is in the past tense because this final step in God’s plan for us is so certain that in God’s eyes it is as good as done!
“Glorified” is another way of saying, “conformed” to the image of His Son. That of course is God’s ultimate plan – to make each of us who believe to be like Jesus!
Ap. You and I can be certain that our hope to be saved and made into the image of Christ is a sure thing because it’s God’s Work!
Close
√ God’s purpose in our lives is to make us like His Son!
HE does so by the transforming power of His Spirit within us. The Holy Spirit not only works in us, He also prays for us when we don’t know what to ask!
√ Take heart – it’s His Work!