26 July 2020
Romans 8:28-30
You are
God’s Handiwork
A prayer for Pentecost 8: O God, the Protector of all who trust in
You, without whom nothing is strong and nothing is holy, increase and multiply
Your mercy on us that with You as our Ruler and Guide we may so pass through
things temporal that we lose not the things eternal;[1]
The Psalmist
David declares, “The heavens declare the
glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.” Psalm 19:1
St. Paul
writing in our Epistle in essence states that you, the child of God, also
declare the glory of God and show forth His handiwork in your life.
How is this
so? Let us consider this wonderful thought, you are God’s Handiwork!
I.
We are the handiwork of God because He made us to be His own. Paul
reminds us, “For those God foreknew He
also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son that He might be
the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called;
those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.”
Vv.29-30
A. God determined to make us His own.
1. He foreknew us. “For those God foreknew He also predestined…” V.29a The Father knew
you! God knew you way before you had any knowledge of Him. What’s even more
amazing – in love He chose you to be a part of His family. Before this world
was ever created.
Children who
are adopted are twice loved. – The parents chose to bring the child into their
family. – The child is born in the parents’ hearts. This is how the Father
loves you. He determined to make you a part of His gracious family. And this
decision came from the very heart of God.
2. He predestined us. To be conformed to the
likeness of His Son.”…that He might be
the firstborn among many brothers.” V.29 The child becomes an extension of
the parents. – The child takes on the same characteristics as the parent. He
uses the same manors, and gestures. The child mimics the parent – using the
same phrases she uses the same inflections in her mother’s voice. Like father –
like son; like mother – like daughter!
In the Father’s family Jesus holds the highest honor in the great family
of God. – You have been known and predestined, to become just like Christ –
highly favored by your heavenly Father.
B. He unilaterally made us to be His own,
independent of our trespasses and sins. “And
those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those
He justified, He also glorified.” V.30
1. He called us. Luther explains it this
way. “I believe that I cannot by my own
reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to Him. But the Holy
Ghost has called me by the Gospel.”
a. The Gospel is God’s good news of Jesus
Christ.
b. It is the message of the bloody cross and
empty tomb.
c. It is a message, which has transformed
our lives to this very hour.
2. He justified us.
a. Justification is the chief article of
our Christian faith.
b. God looks at me “Just – if – I –had never sinned!”
3. He will glorify us.
a. At death you and I will take a walk. - From
one end of the kingdom to the other; from the kingdom of grace into the kingdom
of glory.
b. In eternity we will live and dwell with
Him and all the saints.
Transition: We are the handiwork of God
for what He has done to us in time - when Christ broke into time and space. We
are the handiwork of God for what He continues to do in our lives.
II.
We are the handiwork of God because He consistently works in our life
for good. “And we know that in all
things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called
according to His purpose.” V.28
A. God works for good in every experience of
our life. There is not one thing that passes by without His knowledge and
concern. In every circumstance of life. Either for good or for ill -He is
concerned. He is interested in you!
1. God your heavenly Father is never absent
from any of our experiences.
a. Psalm 121: “I will life up my eyes to the hills where does my help come from? My
help comes from the Lord the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your
foot slip He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over
Israel will neither slumber nor sleep…The Lord will keep you from all harm – He
will watch over your life: the Lord will watch over your coming and going both
now and forevermore.” Vv.1-4; 7
b. Matthew 10:30, “And even the very hairs on your head are numbered. So don’t be afraid;
you are worth more than many sparrows.” Vv.30-31
2. God often works for good in our life
behind the scenes of our current awareness.
We cannot always see God’s hand at work. Yet He continues to move. Shaping
the circumstances of your life. To bring
it into conformity; to bring it into agreement, with His ultimate god for you.
In other
words, God is God and you are you and there is a huge difference between the
two!
a We cannot know the mind of God. “Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and
knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments and His paths beyond tracing
out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor?” Romans
11:33-34
b.
God’s ways are not our ways. “For
My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the
Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than Your
ways and my thoughts than Your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
c. God
has made us to be His own. He works consistently in our lives to accomplish His
good purpose. Truly you are the handiwork of God!
The Father’s goal is your justification and
glorification (v. 30), which entails being “conformed
to the image of his (God’s) Son” so that you might become part of God’s
large family (v. 29).
From the beginning, you were created in God’s image
(Genesis 1:26-27), but that image was distorted and broken in the Fall (Genesis
3).
The Father knew that we would fall, but instead of abandoning
us, began his work of restoring us by sending Christ into our world. Now you
bear the image of Christ. In Christ you are complete. To live before God in everlasting
innocence and blessedness.
Words – 1,055
Passive Sentences –3%
Readability – 82.2%
Reading Level – 4.4
Luther’s Seal copyright © Ed Riojas, Higher Things
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