"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28
What are the all things of Romans 8:28?
Are they the things in the verses following? Some say so; for example, "The things embraced in this lesson are foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, and glorification. All things don't mean everything that is going on in the world but what God determined to do for his people."
Are they all things that are happening in our lives? Spurgeon said, "He knows too that God is always wise, and, knowing this, he is confident that there can be no accidents, no mistakes; that nothing can occur which ought not to arise. He can say, "If I should lose all I have, it is better that I should lose than have, if God so wills: the worst calamity is the wisest and the kindest thing that could befall to me if God ordains it."
Are the all things not "everything", but all of the things God has ordered for our good - a sort of general good? Adam Clarke wrote, "Whatever troubles, or afflictions, or persecutions may arise, God presses them into service; and they become a part of the general working, and are caused to contribute to the general good of the person who now loves God."
These are all the options of which I can think. There may be other views that I have not heard. I believe Romans 8:28, considered with other scriptures, means that God provides and works together all things that happen to us -- every pain & every joy, every victory & every defeat, every laugh & every tear, every getting & every losing, every rending & every mending -- for our ultimate good, that is for His people.
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