The Inward Work of God
Romans 8:26-30
And 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; [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. [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. [29] For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; [30] and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
Not only does the Spirit give the New Birth to our hearts, but He is continuingly ministering to us in our weaknesses. Paul says that we do not know how to pray. Oh, yes, we know the process of prayer. Yes, we know the avenue of prayer. However, how can we, who are finite, sinful, self-impassioned people know how to pray? How do I know what to pray? How do I know how long to pray over something? What is the motive behind my prayers? What is it that I really want God to do?
Well, God opens some understanding for us in knowing how to pray.
You can never pray wrongly when you give the Ruler of the universe His rightful place. And yet, even that act of adoration, is not from us, but generated by the Spirit. The Spirit will give us wisdom in a situation that, on the outside looks bad, but which, in fact God is using for our good, to raise praise from our hearts to Him rather than have a spirit of grumbling or complaint.
One aspect of praying that we need to keep in mind is that we need to have more of a focal point on the will of God for our lives than focusing in on what we want. That is what Jesus’ model prayer was about…His will, not ours. How is one to really know what God’s will is for any situation? Look at what Paul says in verse 27. He gives us a glimpse into the character of the God-head. What we find is complete unity. The One who searches the hearts has complete understanding of the Spirit’s intentions. The Spirit knows what the will of God is and intercedes accordingly. In our weaknesses in praying, the Spirit takes our prayers and turns them into His intercession to the Father that is in accordance with His will. I am reminded of the story of Joni Erickson.
In 1967 Joni dove into shallow water breaking her neck and turning her into a quadriplegic. Since that time, God used her to build a world wide ministry ministering to the disabled in dozens of countries through Joni and Friends. She recently admonished the church, saying that we (Christians, in general) are so afraid of suffering. But God says the righteous will suffer. She explained that had God not brought this disability to her life, she would never have come to truly know Him.
The apostle is saying that what the Spirit prays for is what happens. The Spirit prays according to the mind of God, and the Father answers by bringing into our lives the experiences that we need. He sends into the lives of those for whom we are concerned the experiences that they need, no matter what they may be.
This passage becomes a clear reminder to us that the Spirit prays, not according to our will, but according to the Father’s will. These verses present a New Testament mirror to the Old Testament passage in Isaiah 46:10b:
“My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure”
When studying this passage of Scripture, one must not read the verses separate of one another. How often I have heard verses twenty-six and twenty-seven read separate of twenty-eight through thirty. There is a fluidity in these verses that reveal the gracious, faithful and powerful character of our Heavenly Father that is missed when they are separated. I fear that there has been a significant deterioration in the body of Christ because of believers receiving false doctrines regarding the glory and goodness of God. The failure of scripture to be held up as the basis of God’s goodness is troublesome to me. The church has allowed worldly mindsets to dictate our understanding of God. For example, issues like: it is ok to be angry at God, He can take it; a name it and claim it mentality where as long as I believe something strongly enough and show God how determined I am to get it, and how much faith I have, He has to give it to me; God must do for me what I want, for He is a good God (if He doesn’t give me what I want He is not good. Isn’t this the mentality often times of our children? If we don’t give them such and such or let them do a certain thing, they say that we don’t love them.) We have people in the church who think that the depth of God’s love is determined by whether or not He does what we want Him to do for us. Do you see how unbiblical this is?
God’s love is dependent upon accomplishing acts of love toward His creation, but it is not incumbent upon Him to do what we want. He does and has done what is in accordance with what He has determined to be for our good (which in turn reflects His glory.) I would say that even the part of doing for us what is our good is secondary to His glory. It is not our good that He is so concerned about, but His glory. This is of great benefit to us because His character, His nature of being God is so tied to His glory that He can’t do anything that would not bring Him glory, which works for our ultimate good! This is confirmed in verse twenty-seven as the unity of the godhead (Spirit and Father) are working in concert for our good. How can I be angry at a God who is eternally for my good?
Verse twenty-eight establishes that God is eternally at work to “cause all things to work together for good.” There is a qualification in this verse. It does not say that His works always seem good. There are temporal things that move through our lives that seem eternal and seem bad. This creates a dilemma for us. Who will we believe? Will we take our definition of life from our experience, our feelings, our assumptions, or will the definition we choose to rest on be biblical or self-originating? Will I rest in God’s eternal goodness or will I demand that He do what I say is best for me?
How is it that I can even know what is best? The Eternal One knows. He has known the beginning from the end. That is one of His names…the Alpah and Omega. He not only knows what is best, but He has the power to work in me that which I could never do, in and of my own strength or righteousness. God’s ultimate work, according to verse twenty-nine, is to craft me, shape me, and mold me through the experiences of life, through the inner working of the Spirit, to make me into the image of His son. He is doing the work. He is causing it to be good. The work itself is good…the end product is good. As Jesus was coming up out of the Jordan, God spoke from heaven declaring that His Son was “well pleasing” to Him. He declared to His Son was good. And this is the track that God has us on. He is working in us that which is pleasing to Him that one day we will look like…in character…His Son and we, too, will be well pleasing to Him. On the final day, He will say to us, “Enter in good and faithful servant to the joy of your Lord.”
Verse thirty is a very important verse, though it might seem somewhat like a benedictory or automatic conclusion. In verse thirty God is simply restating His glorious intention. What began before the foundation of the world will be that which He will faithfully and completely finish. What glorious confidence that should give to you and to me! All that He says is an extension of His character. All that He does is an extension of who He is. He is eternal…His words and actions are eternal. He is holy…His words and actions are holy. He is righteous…all of His words and actions are righteous.