The Foreknowledge of God
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were actually still in Romans chapter 8 and were not going to get through the rest of the chapter tonight because there is so much stuff here let’s go ahead and read beginning in verses 26.
Romans 8:26-30
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. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 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. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
(Let’s Pray)
Last week Paul had written to us about how the Holy Spirit testifies to our spirit and we are Gods children but now He is going to go on and teach us about another aspect of Holy Spirits ministry within the life of the believer and he brings up the fact in verse 26 that the spirit helps us in our weakness.
That right there is shouting ground right there, just to know that God’s Spirit which is holy sees me and knows me weaknesses and knows my pain and sees where I am struggling and He helps, He doesn’t just sit back and wait He steps in and helps what an amazing truth.
I mean just think about all the implications of that...
the Spirit Helps our weakness
The Spirit helps our weakness
Paul is not saying that you and I occasionally have times of weakness, he is saying that we live in a constant state of weakness. He is rmeinding you and me that the Spirit helps our weakness. It’s an ongoing thing.
Now its one thing to know this its another thing to realize it and see it in our own personal lives and another thing to open our hearts to the Spirits help.
We go through hard seasons in life whatever it may be and when we do we recognize our weakness and we become pretty honest we come before the Lord in those times and we say Lord I need you I need you, but then what happens?
Then things get better the Lord helps us and things get better whatever the situation might have been and we start moving down the road and pretty soon were not really thinking were all that weak anymore and we just fall back into self reliance.
what we find is that we start relying on our own strength and our own ability to kind of meet the needs of life and handle the issues were facing. We dont even think about it that much until the next really hard time comes upon us.
Then we become broken again and we say Oh Lord I need you. What Paul is trying to teach us is the lyrics to the song.
LORD I NEED YOU OH I NEED YOU EVERY HOUR I NEED YOU
Were always weak and he is saying to us that the Holy Spirit helps our weakness and it blesses me to know this.
Paul knew this first hand he had to learn this the hard way.
Like most of us do, there was a time in Pauls life when he was afflicted with some sort of a thorn in the flesh we dont know what it was all we know is that Paul desperately wanted to be rid of it he tells the Corinthians that He begged God three times to take it away from him.
Ultimately the Lord told him there was a purpose there was a reason for that thing to be in his life but what the Lord said to him in light of that conversation is one of the greatest truths that I lean on regularly.
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.
2 Corinthians
He says I am going to boast in my weaknesses I am going to talk about the things I have trouble with why because I want the power of Christ to rest upon me, when we realize our constant state of weakness that is when the power of Christ rests upon me.
Paul says here in Romans the Spirit helps our weakness but let me tell you something the Spirit has a hard time doing helping you and me when we feel like we dont need His help. When were strong or feel like were capable in and of ourselves as it pertains to how we slove our problems and how we deal with life the Spirit takes a back seat in our lives.
he will let you and I get into the lead and call the shots and he will wait, now the moment we realize were not getting anywhere were spinning our wheels and probably making things worse and then we begin to confess that we need Him the Lord steps back in to the positio of helper and He guides once again.
He comes along side the paraclete and helps our weakness
Paul is trying to teach us that this weakness is a constant state in our lives we constantly are in need of His help.
Its also important to notice the fact that the word help here is in the present tense and that means its ongoing, its not past tense or future tense its right now.
You could literally translate this verse the Holy Spirit keeps on helping our weakness.
Thats good news.
So now Paul goes on to focus on one specific area where the Holy Spirit keeps on helping our weakness and its prayer
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.
Romans 8:
So this is the point Paul is trying to make this is an encouraging thing for people like me who have struggled with prayer I mean being consistent and being intentional in the past I have struggled in the area of prayer
This is a good word for someone like me bc I like hearing that the Holy Spirit is standing by my side and helping me in the area of prayer and Paul comes right out and He exposes our weakness
If someone asks you whats your biggest weakness in prayer, now people might say things like consistency or intentionality like I just mentioned but look what Paul says He says no the problem we all have is that we dont know what to pray for
He said thats our biggest weakness we dont know what to pray for. We dont know how to pray as we ought.
we know to pray and when we get into trouble we know to pray and sometimes we even know how to pray but bc we see through a mirror darkly as Paul will write elsewhere we dont know what to pray, or how to pray as we ought.
So the Spirit helps us
How does He help us He intercedes and the word for intercede means to intervene on behalf of someone isnt that cool.
In a situation where you dont know how to pray as you ought That can be true of all if us bc when we see things that need prayer we asses it with our human brain and our limited perspective and we think ok heres whats going on here so heres how i need to pray.
so the Spirit steps in to help us pray as we ought in other words what the need really isHe knows exactly what the need is and He helps us to pray as we ought now when this particular passage speaks of groanings too great for words some people think this is talking about the gift of tounges which I believe Biblical toungues still exist.
But clearly this is not what He is talking about because he says its groanings to deep for words and tongues is just other languages but it is normally languages that the speaker doesnt know but they are still languages and they are still made up of words
Paul is saying here that the intercession of the Spirit is beyond words its beyond human expression it is with groanings that are too deep too profound to even apply any human vocabulary.
We dont have words to describe the deep groanings of the Spirit who is coming alongside to pray and help us to pray as we ought.
So its referring to a wordless communication between the members of the trinity
God knows what we ought to pray He knows what we need to pray He knows what the need is in prayer.
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.
Do you understand that we dont always do that?
We dont always pray for the will of God even if we say those words I intercede for people but I dont always intercede for them according to the will of God I often intercede for people based on my limited knowledge while God sees the whole picture
Many times this falls outside of Gods will
We struggle to know the will of God sometimes people ask how can I know the will of god?
There are things that god has layed out in His word those are awesome but so many times we struggle to know the will of God there are just things we dont know.
How are we gonna pray as you ought is you dont know what the will of god is?
The Spirit speaks it to the Father on our behalf
The word here for helps is a beautiful word because it pictures someone coming alongside to carry the burden with you.
It is the picture of someone who is strong coming to help someone who is unable to carry on. Now let that sink in for a minute have you ever had times in your life where you were so overwhelmed with a burden that you simply did not think you could carry on?
That is when the Word of God says the Spirit comes along side and caries that burden with you.
What a beautiful picture of Gods love for you
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:
What this passage is saying and promising us is that no matter what does happen no matter what takes place in our ;ives God is going to work it for good in our lives.
HOW?
I don’t have a clue and frankly neither do you until it takes place. I have been in situations that were tragic and he only thought that could pop into my mind was ok Lord how are you working this for good?
But then you look up 15 years down the road and you say WOW I had no clue that was going to happen back there and now looking back I see exactly why that had to happen.
So there are times when we will find ourselves asking the same question how can God work this for good, and I have to say once again I dont know but I know He promised He would. Thats where faith is I know He promised He would I know that He keeps His promises therefore I trust even though it hurts He is doing this right now.
He tells you He is going to work for your ultimate good, but we need to be reminded of what our ultimate good is. Your ultimate good and mine is to be formed into the image of Christ. Your ultimate good is to be made into the image of His Son.
HE WILL BRING GOOD OUT OF THE ISSUES OF YOUR LIFE
But who is this promise given to?
to those who love God and to those who are called accroding to HIs purpose
to no other people is this guarantee spoken
This is not a general promise from Gods word that can be applied to all people. It is very clear that Paul is giving specific guidelines as to whom this promise is connected to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.
The word called means summoned
He is talking about believers so to you and I who are in Christ today this promise is a sure foundation.
Then Paul gives us in these last few verses
what Paul is going to do is lift you and I out of something you and I are stuck in you wanna know what it is?
TIME
Were stuck in time
Were stuck right here in time, we can only move as fast as time moves I have to wait until tomorrow to see what it holds just like you do we all are bound by time.
But not God
God is outside of time bc He created it, God is not limited by anything He created, time is a created thing,and one day time will be gone. There is just gonna be eternity, there will be no time in eternity.
He created time for us on this Earth days and weeks and months and years.... but it wont always be this way.
God stands back from time and He sees all of human history at once you and me have to read a book to find out what happened in the past or either we have to wait to find out whats gonna happen in the future but God doesnt wait for anything
He sees time from the perspective of eternity as a timeline, so when God speaks of your salvation when He speaks of our salvation He speaks outside of time He takes that step back from His perspective.
He is gonna talk about your salvation from Gods perspective
Thats what Paul is doing here under the inspirtation of the Holy Spirit
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
He knew you ahead of time, He knew what your name was what your personality would be why bc He knit you together in your mothers womb the Bible says and He knew you would come to Him by faith.
He predestined you from the very beginning to be formed into the image of His son in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers
And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Paul says to those who He foreknew
to foreknow means to know before
before you were even born God knew you before you even came onto the scene God knew your name He knew you would give your life to Him.
He didn’t sit around and wonder gosh I wonder if they are gonna come remember God waits for nothing.
He always knew
Since He already knew from before the foundation of the world you were chosen you were justified your sins were aquitted before you even committed them in a sense. Why?
IT was based on Gods foreknowledge HE KNEW
He knew you were going to come and take advantage of what Jesus did on the cross paying for your sins He knew that and you were aquitted before hand. But not only were you justified before hand, you are also glorified before hand.
You’ll notice He doesnt say those whom He justified He will glorify, He says those whom He justified He glorified past tense this is the interesting thing see when God talks about your salvation from His perspective His foreknowledge He talks about it in the past tense its done its over its finished.
Its the same as when Jesus hung on the cross died for the sins of mankind and said it is finished that is the exactly the same way God has always seen you from a salvific perspective bc He knew.
This ones a child of God, very cool
Your name has been in the lambs book of life its interesting the word predestined is a greek word that comes from two smaller root words one of them means before and the other one means to mark out a boundary.
when Paul says beforehand before you even came on to the scene your boundaries were marked out for you. So this is a crazy thought that is wild to even consider but like any biblical truth it needs to be held in tension with the rest of the word of God.
The balance of this truth is that we dont always see things from Gods perspective its nice when we get a glimpse but we often dont look at our salvation from God’s perspective do we?
How many of you come to Jesus actualy I have been aChristian forever before the world was created I was saved… nobody because that is not what this is for this is simply here enlightening us for a moment about the surety of our salvation it is complete it is accomplished and God knew all about since time began.
