"Life in the Spirit" part 2 (Romans 8:26-39)

1.       Prayer & Provision (v.26-30)

Last week we talked about the freedom God had offered us through the sacrificial death of Jesus. As we identify with Jesus in his death and resurrection, and as we walk in the Holy Spirit, we are drawn into the family of God, where we are described as co-heirs with Jesus. All good news, very good news; but then comes the obligations. This all means that we are participating in God’s mission in the world, to work towards the redemption of all humanity and all of creation.

And this will involve suffering, for two reasons. Firstly, we are likely to experience opposition to our faith. Those around us are likely to be uneasy and disturbed by the fact that we can so confidently put our trust in Jesus. In many cases they will not have the background information necessary to understand our faith, and so they may remain at “arms length” from us. Does this mean that we hide or underplay our commitment to Jesus? I hope not! Some will be threatened by our ethical and moral positions that mean that we don’t just go along with the crowd or the cultural norms. We might be talked about behind our back; but that’s alright – as long as our light is shining!!

Then we also suffer because of the darkness that exists in this fallen world, involving behaviour that hurts and distresses even the innocent. And then we suffer too in solidarity with all the suffering encountered by others (in this disrupted and unjust world), like those in Norway and Somalia – we feel grief and discontentment (for the situation they are in).

So no wonder we are drawn into prayer. And no wonder at times we just can’t put into words what we are feeling and thinking. The pain is too great and the problem seems so large. There are longings and aspirations too deep for words (F F Bruce). We don’t know what to ask for, and we don’t know what might be the will of God for resolving our situation (P T O’Brien, G R Osborne).

Yet the desire to pray is already a prayer. For the desire to pray is an invitation for God to commune with us in our feeling and in our thinking. God’s Spirit draws deep and speaks within us ... in encouraging and uplifting ways. God’s mind mingles with our mind. God also agonises with us over the matters that worry us. We can then realise that no matter how troubled we are, our faith in God can see us through, for God is surely with us.

Abraham Lincoln wrote: “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day.”

Through the presence of God’s Spirit within us, God knows exactly what we feel and think; those wordless sighs are well interpreted. The Divine Spirit within us appeals to the Divine God above us (A M Hunter, C H Dodd). So in the presence of suffering, both ours and others, God hears and understands all our thoughts and concerns, as well as the needs that lie behind the tears and our cries for help. With this reassurance, words often do come eventually, and such words, being inspired by God’s Spirit, can also become a great encouragement to others.

This all reminds us to be open to how God will answer our prayers, and that God’s response may be very different to what we first imagined (of course, not only different, but better). And when we hear a “no”, this should be seen as God’s big “yes” ... in terms of our real need and the big picture of our lives. That God would say “no” proves his faithfulness to our best interests.

In this very dynamic of faith-filled communication (called prayer), we experience things turning toward the “good”. This may mean at certain times that circumstances change for the better; and we would naturally be happy and thankful for that. Yet we have to be careful not to take this often quoted verse (Romans 8:28) out of context. In context, what verse 28 really means, is that God has been allowed, at our invitation, to work within all the complexity of what is going on for us, and bring about “good”. It’s not that everything that will happen now is “good” in itself, far from it, rather, it’s that God can turn things toward the “good”.

In the context of this faith-filled prayer relationship, no matter what circumstances exist, we will become better people, that “good” will be done in us! This means that we will become more like God would have us be, we will become more like we were created to be – we will become “conformed to the image of [God’s] Son! God will actively work with what is happening in and around us for the “good” development of our character and future ministry.

The NRSV translates verse 28 as: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God...”, which is a fair translation of the Greek text, except that it has led to ideas of simple fate or karma, where people think things will just turn out the way they are meant to in the end no matter what. Yet the context of prayer here demands that we see God as the one who is bringing things together, not fate. God is the active force involved! Yet, I have to quickly add that, we are not just passive recipients here, but rather heavily involved seekers of God’s intervention – where we actively desire this “good” being brought out through our prayers.

So we often read the better translation: “We know that God works together all things for good for those who love God...”, or, “We know that God causes all things to work together for good for those who love God...”, or, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love God...”. The main point here is that it is God who is taking the action, and it is us who are seeking it!! This is co-operative and effective prayer. And when all this occurs we will likely begin to recognise the value to us of the experiences we have endured.

And as I said earlier, the chief end of this prayer is, as is stated in verse 29, that we will become “conformed to the image of [Jesus]”. What God is doing in response to our human difficulties and our resultant prayers, is working towards us becoming more like Jesus. This is so that the family of God (in which Jesus is the “firstborn”) becomes, very obviously, a bigger family day by day.

For from day one, the beginning of the creation of humankind in God’s likeness, and from when God deduced the way of salvation (in the face of humanity’s rebellion and lostness), it was always going to be God’s purpose for us, to not just stagger or crawl into the back door of his kingdom, but to embrace the concept of becoming like Jesus, to be fully re-made in God’s image (refer Genesis 1:26a). This was God’s grand vision for his people. And, challengingly, this is also an unconditional requirement for the true Christian!!

I know that I look a lot like my eldest brother, and not much like my middle brother. This often depends on which parent we physically take after more. I also have some similar behavioural traits to both my brothers. [Although being the youngest, there is one way in which I’m certainly superior to both my brothers ... I barrack for Carlton!] In the family, we are adopted into, the family of God, we have to allow for some re-creation and renovation, so that we can become like our older brother Jesus.

As we sincerely pray, sometimes wordlessly, God will work all things together for “good”. It is most comforting to know that the Originator of the awesome creation we live within, wants to be very personally involved within the details of our lives; there being no situation, however desperate, in which God cannot be found (C H Dodd)!

2.       Victorious Living (v.31-39)

God’s love is invincible and unbreakable! God’s faithfulness to us is complete. The resources we have in God are actually so vast, that any opposition is well and truly outnumbered! “If God is for us, [then] who [or what] is [left] against us”? We have the resources of prayer, and an indwelling Spirit, and a transforming dynamic is happening for us. And we can certainly wholly and completely put our trust in God because ... would the One who did not even hold back his Son from dying for us, ever sell us short!?! We will receive everything we need to become like Jesus and fulfil God’s purpose. God is totally committed to us.

Mud might be thrown, but ultimately, where it matters, it won’t stick! God will come to vindicate members of his family. God is our champion defender, and our older brother Jesus will stand up for us in the schoolyard. When we become isolated in our human weakness, and fingers are pointed at us ... what about him, what about her ... Jesus will say, “that is my brother, that is my sister, they are my kin”! “How can that be?”, some detractors might say. Then Jesus will say, “When I offered them a free gift of grace, these ones humbly accepted”! When we look like a failure, Jesus intercedes and says, “it’s okay ... I know him, or I know her – and I know what they are in the process of becoming”!

There is nothing on earth that can separate us from God’s love (unless we allow it to). There is nothing that life can throw at us that can ever remove us from the arms of Jesus (against our will). Not persecution, not violence, not pain, not any sort of hardship. In fact, it could be that we even experience more of God’s love simply because we sense God’s presence in the midst of our struggle. We would surely learn new values. When I have been down and disconsolate, it is the knowledge of God’s call on my life that has kept my head above water, and a strong sense of God’s love that has catapulted me forward.

The psalmist (from Psalm 44), who Paul quotes in verse 36, felt oppressed from every side, despite being an innocent and faithful worshipper of God. And Paul knew how that psalmist felt, as his own life was under constant threat. Yet Paul had learned that the events of earth could not take God away from him; indeed, they may just bring Paul a closer and more intimate appreciation of God’s glory. We just have to be prepared to stand on these assurances. We just have to persist through times of trouble. We just have to become convinced, like Paul was, that we are secure in Jesus. Can we all look back to a time in our lives when we suddenly discovered how God had worked at something troubling in our lives toward the “good”?

Now I would have to say that sometimes we don’t help ourselves very much. We could say that we leave too much to God, just like the rest of the Carlton players leave too much to Chris Judd to do. Raelene and I watched a film during the week where the mother of the family went on strike at Christmas because yet again everything had been left for her to do. There are things that we should take to heart, just so things might roll along a little smoother. Paul mentions some negative forces that can impact us through verses 38 and 39, and for sure we will make God’s job less complicated, and life easier for those around us, if we fully appreciate some of the threat here.

Certainly implied here are the powers both spiritual and earthly that will tend to take us down. Ultimately these cannot separate us from God’s love, as I’ve already alluded to, but we would be much better off if we dealt proactively with any pressure on us. There are certain attractions in the world (mainly material and sexual), there is the weakness of our own flesh, and there is the scheming opposition of ‘the devil’. At times this trio of realities may seem hugely problematical, but we have another trio on our side – ‘the Trinity’ (David Coffey). There will also be people who set out to control us, to make us a prisoner to their desires, to make themselves our ‘god’, and thus rob us of our freedom in Christ. And we need to say a big “no” to that! The employer who wants to own us, or the family member who wants to manipulate our priorities, have to be resisted.

And we need to also claim the victory over ‘Satan’ that Jesus won for us on the cross, without giving any ground that could be reclaimed. When temptation strikes, call on God’s strength through which you can stand firm. Billy Graham tells of the little girl who says that whenever the devil comes knocking with temptation, she sends Jesus to the door. The book of James says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (4:7b), then goes on, “Draw near to God, and [God] will draw near to you” (4:8a). And 1 John says, “for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (4:4b). Jesus himself, when tempted a third time by ‘Satan’ in the wilderness, this time with ‘Satan’ wanting Jesus to worship him, replies, “Away with you, Satan; for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only’.” That was enough of a statement to get rid of ‘Satan’ (Matthew 4:10-11).

There are certain places we don’t go, and certain things we just don’t get involved in. Want some examples: séances, tarot cards, so-called “mediums” and the like. I think we best avoid Halloween altogether. We certainly don’t get involved with anything that is spiritually dark. We don’t want to open up vulnerabilities to attack. Let God guide your pathways. Live in the light. Our life is lived with the Holy Spirit and no other spirit. Just as Jesus said, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only”. As we take this journey, we might come to recognise some of the ‘close shaves’ we had or the disasters we narrowly avoided.

And so we can be “more than conquerors” (v.37), which could be translated “super-conquerors”. This is because, in God’s love, and in God’s provision, we have been able to subdue the negative, defeat various attacks, and gain a masters degree in discipline. This is overcoming and “conquering”, but why “more than conquerors”, why “super-conquerors”? This is because we have been able, not only to survive, but to learn and grow and thrive and reach our potential ... and become more like Jesus! The siren goes ... the scoreboard says that we are at least one point in front ... we are declared victors (hopefully we are more like 100 points in front)!

God has already invested so much in us, he is not going to easily let us slip from his grasp. Ultimately it will never be our resources that will be sufficient to survive the journey, for we will surely need God’s resources through which to endure and become “conformed to the image of God’s Son”. Yet we can (I’m sure) co-operate with God towards the “good”. So let us be prayerful and invite God to work all things together for “good” in our lives. Amen!