Revelation of God's Glory

Excerpt from Glorification: Conformed to Christ for the Supremacy of Christ by John Piper

Romans 8:28-30

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. ²⁹For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; ³⁰and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

Ponder with me one of the implications of the "for" ("because") at the beginning of verse 29. This word means that verse 29 and the following verses are a support, or an argument, or a foundation, or ground, or basis for the promise in verse 28. In other words, Paul writes verse 29 so that you will be more confident in the promise of verse 28. I promise you, God says, that all the hard things in your life will work together for your good, because I foreknew you and predestined you and called you and justified you and glorified you. So be strong and take risks and go to the hard places of need and show the world by your love that you trust God and his promises more than wealth or weapons of police or alarm systems or good neighborhoods or available medical care.

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Now here's the connection with Romans 8:29. Paul wants us to have faith in the promise of Romans 8:28 — that God will work all things for your good — so that we will be radical, risk-taking, loving, sacrificial, Christians with a wartime mentality. But he knows that faith is based not on raw authority of mere statements. It rises in response to the revelation of God's glory. This is why he does what he does in verses 29-30, he shows us some of the ways of God. He gives us a spectacular glimpse into the sovereign, saving work of God from eternity to eternity — from the foreknowing-foreloving-forechoosing of eternity past, to the final glorifying of his people in eternity future. Seeing the glorious work of God in Christ in verses 29 is not just incidental information; it is the revelation of who God is, how God acts, how God loves and saves and keeps. The point of it is to display the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in Christ. And to make our faith in the promise of Romans 8:28 something it could never be without it. So rivet your gaze on the glory of God in the acts of Romans 8:29-30.

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