Tethered
Tethered
Romans 8:26-30
Nostalgia is the sentimental longing for the past; the wistful affection for what used to be. A few years ago our beloved Children’s Director, in a fit of nostalgic fervor, decided she wanted to add a tetherball set to our playground. Kids these days have Fortnite and Minecraft, but the kids of my generation had tetherball, a game of intensity and passion. A game destined to cause injury and bodily harm. A game so simple, yet so profound: a pole, a rope, and a ball. Two players matched up one-on-one with a singular purpose: hit the volleyball so it wrapped around the pole. I’ll be honest, when the idea was proposed I was both intrigued and skeptical. I remember the daily recess battles to become the tetherball champion in the schoolyard of Lincoln Elementary in Palatine, Illinois. But would the kids of this generation be captivated by a pole, a rope, and a ball?
I acquiesced to the request. Nostalgia won and, to my surprise, for a brief season, our kids loved tetherball–until the ball was lost. Eventually, kids come along who swing so hard that the ball becomes untethered from the rope, and the game is over. I wonder how many single poles stand tall in schoolyards across America with a rope and no ball. The Christian life can often feel like a tetherball. We are hit, batted, beaten, and knocked around, until eventually we feel lost and untethered. Paul wrote Romans 8 to suffering Christians to remind them that no matter how many times they are hit, batted, beaten, knocked around, kicked, and smacked, they will never be untethered from God and His purposes.
We all face suffering. Sometimes the suffering is external and comes from others or circumstances: our rent increases, our friends desert us, our job ends. Other times, our suffering is internal and comes from inside: we feel anxious, discouraged, depressed, or defeated. How do you handle it when you feel like a tetherball? How do you handle it when life constantly beats you down? Christian, you must remember Romans 8: no matter what life may “feel” like, you are tethered to God and His purposes.
Tethered by the Spirit’s Prayer
Paul is addressing both current suffering and waiting for glory both for creation and for human beings.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:18
We suffer now, but we look forward to the glory that is to come.
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:22–23
Creation groans as it waits for glory. Humanity groans as it waits for glory. Then Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writes something utterly profound, “Likewise.” The Holy Spirit groans with us in our suffering as we wait for glory.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26–27
Beloved, we are weak, and this world hates weakness. The world wants us to boast in our possessions and our accomplishments, but that is not the way of the Christian. We know we are weak. but when we are weak, God is strong. Paul knew about weakness. In 2 Corinthians 12, he wrote about a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass him, to keep him from being puffed up.
Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:8–10
When we are weak, we must rest on God’s strength. Our sufferings are meant to remind us of God’s justification. It is God who saves so no man may boast. We groan in our suffering, but our suffering strips us of our self-reliance and our boasting. Our suffering drives us to rely on God rather than ourselves.
When we are weak, we are never alone. The Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. As parents, when we see our children suffer, we groan for them in prayer. Our whole body hurts for them. This is a picture of the Spirit. When we suffer, the Spirit goes to the Father for us. How comforting is it to know that the Holy Spirit is interceding for you? As Christians, we often think of the glory of the intercession of the Son,
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John 2:1
Consequently, he [Jesus] is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:25
Jesus, our perfect High Priest, stands forever before the Father making intercession for us. No accusation can come against us because we have an Advocate before the Father who says, “He belongs to me. She is mine. Her debt is paid. He is counted righteous by my blood.” The Son stands before the Judge as our Lawyer and pleads our case forever.
The Spirit is not in heaven interceding for us; He is interceding as He dwells with us. We are never alone. Even when you feel afflicted in every way, you are not crushed. When you are persecuted, you are not forsaken. When you are struck down, you are not destroyed because the Spirit of God is always with you interceding for you according to the will of God. Verse 27 is a verse of confidence. We don’t know what to pray, but the Holy Spirit prays for us and, God, “who searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” If we ask anything according to God’s will, it will be done. What is the Spirit praying? He is praying that we would remain tethered to God and that all things in our lives would work for our good to transform us into the image of Jesus Christ.
We are tethered to God through the prayers of the Holy Spirit, so we need not be concerned about losing our way.
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Romans 8:14–17
We have the Spirit of adoption. He is with us always. As we suffer for Christ, the Spirit groans for us, interceding that the will of God will be accomplished in our lives. Even when we feel like we are battered and knocked around, the Spirit is praying that those batterings and beatings will accomplish God’s purpose.
Tethered by the Sovereign’s Plan
The Spirit is interceding for us, working in us to will and to work for His good pleasure. In verse 28, Paul goes on to give us an anchor of assurance as we face suffering. When the storm rages, this must be our anchor.
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 8:28
Notice how Paul begins with, “And we know.” God’s sovereignty is not obscure in the Scriptures. We know that God’s plan will always be accomplished.
For I know that the LORD is great,
and that our Lord is above all gods.
Whatever the LORD pleases, he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all deeps.
He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
who makes lightnings for the rain
and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
both of man and of beast; Psalm 135:5–8
Whatever the Lord pleases, He does. Where does He do what He pleases–in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the deeps, meaning everywhere. He does whatever He pleases, whenever He pleases, wherever He pleases, however He pleases. The Psalmist then gives two examples: creation and providence. God controls creation; He makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and He sends wind upon the earth. God also works by providence; He struck down the firstborn of Egypt. He was active in history to deliver His people from slavery.
Many think God is like a divine clockmaker. He winds up the clock and just lets the world tick away. But that is not the biblical picture of God. God is the Creator, and He is active in creation to bring about His purposes. Paul begins by saying, “We know.” This is a statement that is obvious to the Christian. Everything that follows is not controversial to Paul; he is simply stating facts. He is not making an argument for why he believes this; he is using the fact of God’s sovereignty as an encouragement to those who are suffering. As we approach this section, I pray we would receive these words, not as an intellectual challenge, but in praise for the power and majesty of God, who is working for us. Now, when I say “us,” I am referring to Christians. The promise of Romans 8:28 is only true for Christians.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (emphasis added) Romans 8:28
Paul describes Christians in two ways: those who love God and those who are called. They are both the same but come from different angles. To be a Christian is to love God, and to be a Christian is to be called by God. No one comes to God unless God calls him.
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:44
God calls sinners to Himself and, when he calls, His sheep come.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. John 10:27–29
God calls. We follow, and whoever God calls, He holds forever. He gives them eternal life. He adopts them as sons and daughters and will never disown them again. When Christians are called, they love God.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God…we love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:7, 19
The Apostle John makes this clear in his gospel and throughout his epistles. To be a Christian is to be called by God and to love God. We love God by obeying His commandments, by following His voice, and by loving as He loved us.
Romans 8:28 is one of the greatest promises in the Bible, but it is only for Christians. Have you been called by God? Have you repented of your sins and trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Do you love God? Are you obeying His voice? If you haven’t trusted in Christ, this verse is not for you…yet. But it can be. All you need to do is recognize that you are a sinner in need of a Savior. Turn from your sin and turn to Jesus Christ. Anyone here would be happy to talk to you about Jesus and share the evidence that has convinced us to follow Him.
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 8:28
Romans 8:28 is a mammoth promise. First, it doesn’t say all things are good. Suffering is not good. Cancer is not good. Slander is not good. All things are not good, but God will work all things together for good. Joseph is a prime example of this promise. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. He was then cast into prison based on a false allegation made by Potiphar’s wife. He would eventually rise to become Pharaoh's right hand man, ruling over Pharoah’s entire kingdom. When his brothers came to him looking for food, Joseph was able to provide for them. But his brothers were afraid when Jacob, their father, died. In Genesis 50, they said to one another,
It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him. Genesis 50:15
Then his brothers came to him, and said,
And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father Genesis 50:17
The text says, “Joseph wept when they spoke to him.” and he replied,
But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. Genesis 50:19–21
Joseph spoke to them through his tears. God’s plan to save them had not come without pain. Joseph had experienced evil, but the evil he experienced had a purpose. God worked it together for good, for the good of Joseph and the good of his brothers and the world.
Joseph is merely an example of an even greater picture of evil and redemption. The greatest act of evil ever perpetrated was the slaying of the sinless Son of God. God worked through evil men to bring about salvation. In the first Christian sermon at Pentecost, Peter preached,
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. Acts 2:22–24
Jesus was crucified and killed at the hands of lawless men. They meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. Jesus was delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God to save the world through His death and resurrection. As Joseph tearfully said to his brothers, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…so do not fear, I will provide for you.” The Lord Jesus, also through tears, said, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good so do not fear, I will provide for you.”
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is utterly astounding. We, like Joseph’s brothers, and the lawless men, sent Jesus to the cross. Our sin led Him to Calvary, and even though we meant Him evil because of our sin, He died for us. God worked the greatest evil to bring about the greatest good. Jesus Christ died and rose again so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:28 reminds us that we once were enemies of God, but now we have been brought near through the blood of Christ. Because we have been united with Jesus Christ, all things will work for our good. But what is this good? It is the good of being conformed into the image of the Son, leading to our full and final salvation. It is not merely for worldly comfort but for conformity to Christ.
God is working all things for the good of His people and for His own glory. We will not always feel this emotionally. When we experience deep pain and agony, it will not feel like all things are working for our good. It is precisely in these moments that we must cling to the hope of Romans 8:28. We do not know how, we do not know why, but we know that, for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. One day, God will remove the veil, and we will see the tapestry woven in complete perfection. Now we merely see the jumbled mess of threads on the back of the quilt, but God sees the other side. Corrie Ten Boom survived the German concentration camps of WW2. She saw evil first hand but wrote this poem about the tapestry of God’s sovereignty,
My life is but a weaving
Between my God and me.
I cannot choose the colors
He weaveth steadily.
Oft’ times He weaveth sorrow;
And I in foolish pride
Forget He sees the upper
And I the underside.
Not ’til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Will God unroll the canvas
And reveal the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful
In the weaver’s skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned
He knows, He loves, He cares;
Nothing this truth can dim.
He gives the very best to those
Who leave the choice to Him
Beloved, as one of our dear members often says, “Plant your flag on Romans 8:28.” God has tethered you to His sovereign plan. His purposes will be accomplished in your life for your good and His glory.
Tethered to the Son’s Picture
In the following verse, Paul continues to provide the foundation on which Romans 8:28 is built,
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:29
This is the goal of the Christian life. Everything is meant to conform those who love God and are called according to his purpose into the image of His son, Jesus Christ. All of history is moving toward this end when all the saints will see Christ and be transformed fully and finally into Christ’s image.
Paul is not making an argument for God’s foreknowledge and predestination. Rather, he is using the foundation of God’s foreknowledge and predestination to comfort believers with the fact God will use all things to conform them into the image of His Son. God will use all the suffering, all the bats and slams this world offers to ultimately mold us into Christ’s image. Now, Paul’s original audience would have believed in God’s foreknowledge and predestination, but what would they have believed about His foreknowledge?
Many Christians think that foreknowledge is merely God foreseeing things that will come to pass. They believe God looks into the future, down the tunnel of time to see who will eventually choose to follow Jesus. This is not a biblically accurate view of foreknowledge. As one pastor notes, “The true meaning of foreknowledge is to choose to love beforehand.” In the earliest pages of the Scripture, Genesis 4:1 says, “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain,” To know is to love intimately. The intimate love between a husband and a wife is a picture of knowledge in the Bible. As Adam knew Eve, intimately in love, God knows His people.
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah 1:5
It is what God says of Israel in Amos 3:2
“You only have I known
of all the families of the earth;
God has set His love intimately and exclusively upon Israel. By contrasting those He knows and does not know, Jesus uses the same language about those who are His through salvation,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Matthew 7:21-23
He says “I never knew you. We never had a personal, intimate love for one another. If you did know Me, you would have loved Me because those who are called by Me, love Me by obeying My commands.”
The Apostle Peter opens his first letter by connecting God’s electing love to His foreknowledge to Christians and to Christ.
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: 1 Peter 1:1–2
knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
The foreknowledge of God Peter mentions in verse 2 should be interpreted the same way in verse 20. As one pastor notes,
Now what does it mean that Jesus was foreknown by the father as it relates to his sin bearing blood shedding death upon Calvary’s cross? Well the answer very clearly for verse 20 is, is that God the father set his love upon God the son and said, “This is my beloved son in whom I’m well pleased,” and sent his beloved son into this world to shed his blood and to pay the price to secure our eternal redemption.
It doesn’t mean that God hadn’t – God just looking down the tunnel of time in order to learn what they’re going to do with my son, and I don’t really know and I’m going to gain knowledge once I look into the future and see where this takes Jesus. “Oh, they crucified him. Well, let me adapt my plan.” No, it means the God the father chose his son in eternity past...You take that meaning from verse 20, you put it in verse 2. We are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the father. We are chosen according to the exclusive saving special love of God the father for those who are his elect.
God’s foreknowledge is an incredible comfort to the saints. All our sufferings, all our pain, all our getting knocked around by this world cannot sever us from God the Father. He is not surprised by any of it. He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. He chose us in love. That’s a radically different view of God’s foreknowledge than many Christians hold.
God is working all things from eternity past to eternity future to bring us into conformity with Christ. Jesus is the Firstborn among many brothers. He laid down His life for us, taking our sin on the cross, and God raised Him up. The cross before the crown, and it will be the same for us and for all who have been called.
Tethered by Salvation’s Progression
What God begins, He completes. What God planned before the ages began, He will carry to completion on the Day of the Lord at the end of time.
And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Romans 8:30
I don’t have time to do this passage justice by looking at each one of these wonderfully rich, theologically robust words regarding our salvation. I simply want to focus on one word–the word used most often in this verse. Let me read it again. Do you hear it?
And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (emphasis added)
God foreknew. God predestined. God called. God justified. God glorified. God, God, God, God, God, God. Salvation begins and ends with the Lord.
Friends, whatsoever He pleases, He does. It was the will of God to crush the Son. We were rebels and sinners. We were haters of God, enemies. We loved wickedness and darkness. Yet, while we were still sinners, Christ died and was raised for us. Friends, do not get lost in this debate. God does whatever He pleases, and He is pleased to save. He is pleased to give grace to undeserving sinners. God was pleased to crush His son to pay for our sins. He was pleased to send His wrath on Him, so we could be forgiven. He was pleased to raise Him from the dead to give us eternal life, and He is pleased to keep us to the end.
We will be knocked around in this life. We will be beaten and slapped and battered around, but it will all be okay in the end. Our suffering is not senseless, our pain is not pointless, our sorrows are not empty. God is weaving His power through our weakness to bring about our good and His glory. As the great hymn reminds us,
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in God's excellent Word!
What more can be said than to you God hath said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
for I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
"When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
for I will be near thee, thy troubles to bless,
and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
"When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
my grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
the flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
"The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
that soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no, never, no, never forsake.
Jesus will never leave you or forsake you. He has promised,
We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
We know God and God knows all. We know God and God knows us, and He will know us till the end. You are tethered to God by His Spirit, through His Son, for a salvation ready to be revealed on that Day.