Those who love God

 

 

 

 

 

[Romans 8:26-30]

 

 

 

C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), one of the greatest Christian apologists of the 20th century, said in his book “The Four Loves”: ‘To love is to be weak. Love anything. Then your heart will be troubled and probably broken.  If you want to keep your heart intact, don't give it to anyone.  Avoid all complex relationships and keep them safe in the box of your selfishness.  But even in the safe box it will change.  It will not be broken, but it will seldom break and become something incomprehensible’ (Internet).  What do you think of this word?  I personally agree with Lewis.  In particular, I wholeheartedly agree with the saying that to love is to be weak.  I think that loving people in human relationships, such as husband and wife relationships at home, relationships between father and son, and relationships between friends, brothers, and sisters, can make our hearts suffer or break.  So, I also think that to love is to make ourselves weaker and weaker.  However, if we don't like being weak, we don't want to be hurt or broken, and if we keep our loving heart safely in the box of selfishness, then of course our heart won't be broken, but also, it's hard to break and it's hard to understand.  But honestly, when I look deep inside myself, God's love has been poured into my heart (Rom. 5:5), and I know that I have to live a life of loving my neighbors with that love.  Sometimes, in the midst of suffering and pain, there are times when I want to hide the heart of love in a box called selfishness.  But looking at it, I see that my heart is seldom broken and is changing into something I can't understand.  How can we stop our hearts from changing like this?  I think there is only one way.  It is to love God and love our neighbor according to the commandments of Jesus.  Because we love endlessly, when we seek change, we can prevent our own deterioration.  Therefore, we must choose, resolve, and devote ourselves to love God and love our neighbors today as well.  Even though we ourselves are broken, afflicted, and weak, we must choose to love and walk the path of that love.

 

In today's text Romans 8:28, the apostle Paul speaks of “those who love God”: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  Who are those who love God Paul is talking about here?  They are “those who are called according to His purpose” (v. 28).  And those who are called according to God's purpose refer to those whom God foreknew (v. 29) and those whom God predestined (v. 30).  In other words, they are the ones who have been called according to God's purpose, and they are the ones whom God loves and cares for in advance [Ref.: Ps.1:6, Hos.13:5, Am. 3:2, Mt.7:23 (Park)].  Those whom God chose before the foundation of the world were saved (effective or special calling) and became “saints” (Rom. 1:7) by allowing them to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ (general calling) and believing in Jesus Christ.  They are the called according to God’s purpose, and they are the ones who love God.  Those who love God love God because God first loved them.

 

God loves those who love Him.  How do we know this?  I hope and pray that we will experience God's love while meditating on two things, centered on the words of today's text Romans 8:26-30.

 

First, God the Holy Spirit is interceding for those who love God.

 

Look at Romans 8:26b and 27b: “…  but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words  …  because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”  The Holy Spirit is still praying for those who love God, that is, for the saints who are called according to His purpose.  Indeed, how is the Holy Spirit praying for you and me who love God?

 

  • The Holy Spirit Himself intercedes for us “with groanings too deep for words.”

 

Look at Romans 8:26 – “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”  Why is the Holy Spirit Himself interceding for you and me with deep groanings that cannot be expressed in human words?  The reason is because we are weak (v. 26).  Because we are weak and do not know what to pray to God as we ought, the Holy Spirit Himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groans (v. 26).  In other words, because we are spiritually ignorant due to sin and corruption and do not know how to pray to God, the Holy Spirit is interceding for us.  God the Holy Spirit, as the Spirit of adoption within us, not only inspires us to pray by calling God “Abba, Father” (v. 15), but also prays for us in our hearts (Park).  Hebrews 7:25 says that Christ, as the eternal High Priest in heaven, always lives to make intercession for us.

 

  • The Holy Spirit intercedes for us "according to the will of God."

 

Look at Romans 8:27 – “and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”  The Holy Spirit is interceding “according to the will of God” for you and me.  What does “the will of God” mean here?  It points to the glory that will be revealed to us in the future.  More specifically, the Holy Spirit is pleading for “the redemption of our body” (v. 23).  In order to obtain the glory of the redemption of our body, that is, the resurrection, the Holy Spirit is still interceding for us instead of us.  Only the creation and God's children groan (v. 22) and do not wait for the glory to be revealed (vv. 23, 25).  Even the Holy Spirit Himself pleads with groanings unspeakable (v. 26) for the redemption of our body, the glory of which we shall appear.  In this way, God the Holy Spirit prays for you and me, those who love God, with groanings that cannot be expressed.  If so, how could this prayer not be answered?  Clearly, Heavenly Father is answering this prayer of the Holy Spirit and will answer in the future, so that the salvation of the weak me and you will be accomplished forever.

 

Second, God loves those who love Him, and all things work together for good.

 

Look at Romans 8:28 – “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  When Paul wrote a letter to the saints in Rome, he said, “we know,” but do you really know it?  Do you really believe that God will make all things work together for good to those who love Him, to you who are the called according to His purpose?  What does “all things to work together for good” mean here?  It means that God orchestrates everything that happens in our lives (even suffering, temptation, and sin) in His providence to achieve our momentary and eternal benefits (MacArthur).  In other words, God brings together everything that happens in our lives so that it is beneficial to our salvation in the end.  So Augustine said: ‘Even the sins of the saints cannot be harmed but will be helpful to our salvation through God's mighty rule’ (Prov. 16:4) (Park).  Our God is a good God.  Therefore, God has no choice but to make everything work together for good in our lives, the children of God whom He loved and chose.  Therefore, you and I, who are called according to God's will, must taste and know that God is good (Ps. 34:8).  Paul, who had tasted the goodness of God, was able to be sure that all things work together for good to those who love God as he writes a letter to the saints in Rome.  It is because he believed in the immutability of God's unchanging love and the decree of election.  In other words, Paul was convinced that God loved and worked in the lives of His children whom He chose before the foundation of the world to finally save us.  That is why he used all the verbs in the past tense, saying that God “foreknew” (Rom. 8:29) and “predestined”, justified, and glorified God (vv. 29, 30).  In other words, Paul used all the verbs here in the past to show that the future salvation of the elect would be certain (Park).  He was convinced that God foreknew and predestinated people by calling them to believe in the gospel, counting them as righteous only through the merits of Christ, and eventually resurrecting them on the day of Jesus' second coming to make them partakers of the Lord's glory.  Those whom God loves, that is, those who are chosen by God, must be saved to the end.  Why?  The reason is never with us.  The reason is God.  In other words, because God loves me and you, God will complete our salvation.  God will glorify us who love Him in the future.

 

God loves you.  He loves you even to the point of crucifying His only begotten Son, Jesus, to die on the cross.  Therefore, even today, the Holy Spirit who dwells in the saints who have been justified by believing in Jesus is praying for you with inexpressible groans according to God's will.  Also, all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.  By feeling and experiencing this love, I hope and pray that we will love the Lord more and more.