God-Love and its Associated Knowledge

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8 v 28 ESV

A few days ago, Romans 8 v 28 was the Verse of the Day on the YouVersion Bible app and whenever I am in a settled state of mind (on break at work, or back at home), I always like to click that particular notification on my phone and spend some time reading and re-reading the verse. So, as I sat at my dining table, killing time before my wife and I had to head out to church on Sunday, this verse clicked in my mind, by God’s infinite grace, in a very different way for me than it had at previous times.

So, here are some thoughts on Romans 8 v 28:

The verse begins: “and we know…” The astute question in response to this is: what do they know? (We will get to that later). The wise observer would also be interested in what came before the ‘and’.
To know with certainty that an eventuality that is out of your own control will happen requires a real knowledge. Confidence comes from knowledge so confidence is real if the knowledge is real.
Furthermore, knowledge comes from truth. As above, knowledge is real if the knowledge is true.
The knowledge here (and the confidence from that knowledge) is based on truth: that there is a real God, who is alive, active and unchanging.
Clearly, the knowledge in this verse has distilled into an understanding of who God is and His ways.
So, who is God? He is love. He is sovereign, faithful and unchanging.
And what are God’s ways? He calls, receives, forgives and saves. He inspires faith, hope, trust, joy and love. He calls to His purpose, He only does good things and He does them well.
It is important to note that God’s presence in human life has the common denominators of who He is and His ways.

Moving on…

Before a “we” ever comes into existence, there was an ‘I’. So, the “we” in this verse speaks to a truth tested by multiple people and not found lacking.
This truth resulted in real, shared knowledge and real, shared confidence. Hence, “we know”.
In life-in-Christ, the “we” is God-ordained. The “we” is a check and balance, a system of accountability and a way of building up the body of Christ.
The only time God will leave a thing in one person’s hands is when that one person is Him. For example, Elijah thought he was an only one but there were seven thousand others.
“Those who love God” as identified in the verse are not a different set of people to “those who are called according to His purpose”, although they both can represent different stages in the Christian walk. The separation in the verse, in certain Bible versions, of the two phrases or groups could seem to suggest a difference. However, this is not the case.
God’s call can exist without our love. Our love cannot exist without His call. There cannot be love for God without a call from God. This is the link between the two groups or phrases.
In essence, all things work together for good for those who remain in the journey of God-call to God-love. Continuing with this visual, God-call and God-love are not two distinct points at opposite extremes. The call is eternal and the love for Him is intended to be eternal so the working together for good is also eternal. Isn’t that beautiful?
The chronological order of the verse is interesting. Why is love for God mentioned before called according to His purpose? We know this is not the natural order of things. We love Him because He first loved us. So why is the chronological order this way?
One thought is that this verse links love for God more closely to knowledge of who God is than it does to being called according to His purpose. To put this another way: being called to God’s purpose without a response of love will leave a person just as blind as they are but a response of love is good soil for the knowledge of God to grow.
So, love for Him can be taken as proof of an answered call to His purpose.
Note: the specific knowledge in this verse comes after love for Him.
We will never know that all things work together for good for those who are called according to God’s purpose until we answer the call to His purpose by loving Him.
Those that do not love God cannot have real confidence that all things will work together for good. That confidence (and the knowledge) only comes after love.
We will not know that life-in-Christ will work out until we are living life-in-Christ. The premium is on faith not calculation.
Life-in-Christ does work out (many of us can say that, looking back). However, to reach the knowledge for ourselves that it works out requires a step of faith from us which is love for Him.
To know life-in-Christ works out is tied to receiving God’s love and loving Him in response.
God’s love and His call will not bring confidence without our love simply because if you know you don’t love Him, you have no confidence.
Our love is key. Hence its prime placement in the verse.

I hope you are still with me.

Knowledge is important too and it follows after love.
Taking the verse literally: and we know (i.e. in addition to what we have discussed previously, we include the knowledge that…)
Continuing to take the verse literally: …all things (God’s love and purpose, God’s call and our love, our knowledge and the shared knowledge) work together for good. They are the things that work together. They must all be present to be able to work together. The loop must be closed.
So, knowledge (individual and collective) as referred to in this verse has a purpose. There is a level of “good” that is not achieved if you only love but have no knowledge that all the things (whatever they may be) must work together.
So, our love of Him is unto something more. The love we return to God leads to knowledge.
Continuing down this road, according to this verse, God-love on its own will not achieve all things working together. Knowledge is part of the equation.
What does Daniel tell us about those that know their God? See Daniel 11 v 32.
Note: when we come to know that things will work out is not when it became so that they would work out. The place of truth, knowledge and confidence – the shadow of the Almighty – has always existed.
The truth that all things work together – based on God’s unchanging nature – is an eternal thing. It did not become a truth when we first gained the knowledge about it. It is a foundational truth that needs to be known so the rest of the house can be built.
Not knowing about the rod, Moses waited by the Red Sea and nothing happened. (And Moses loved God). Knowing about the cloak and hitting the water with it, Elisha parted River Jordan the same way Elijah had done in front of his eyes. Knowledge is critical.

To wrap up…

An unanswered call (no love) to God’s purpose will not be met with the same response (all things working together for good) as an answered call.
There is a general call to the family of Jesus Christ and there is an individual, specific call to a certain place, vocation or people as an ambassador of Jesus Christ.
The specific call may become apparent before ever we are in right standing with God. However, the general call always comes first (that we listen to it or not is a different thing) and it comes to us because we are not in God’s family.
The truth, the knowledge and the confidence about the sovereign God only belong to those who follow the requirements of that truth and knowledge.

With a slight change in the placement of the comma, re-read Romans 8 v 28 below as two parts (one part before the comma, the other part after it):

And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose.

The full verse is real truth leading to real knowledge and real confidence because it based on a real God. It is settled in heaven and earth. Let us act on it!
After the comma is real truth leading to real knowledge and real confidence because it based on a real God. But it needs what lies before the comma to be achieved in our lives.
Before the comma – the love and the knowledge of Him – requires God’s call and our response of love. So let us ask for ears to hear the call and willing hearts to obey it, in Jesus’ name, Amen!

In conclusion, Romans 8 v 28 is a statement of truth that applies to those living their lives in Jesus Christ. The confidence that Romans 8 v 28 inspires is accessible only to those living their lives in Jesus Christ. We will not know God’s saving power and have confidence in it until we are saved by it.