Chapter # 8 Paragraph # 4 Study # 7
June 18, 2017
Humble, Texas
<100>
1769 Translation:
30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
1901 ASV Translation:
30 and whom he foreordained, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
- I. The Support For Romans 8:28 Continues...
- A. He foreknew (Aorist; typically past tense).
- B. He predestined (Aorist; typically past tense).
- C. He called (Aorist; typically past tense).
- D. He justified (Aorist; typically past tense)...
- 1. Of 36 matches found by the search engine looking for "justified" (dikaioo), 14 are found in Romans; the next closest "user" is Galatians with 6.
- 2. Those matches in Romans.
- a. In respect to an evaluation by the use of "Law", only those who actually achieve obedience to all of its precepts will be "justified" (2:13) [Note James' comment in James 2:10].
- b. Only God can "overcome" in such a setting (3:4).
- c. It was never the intention of "Law" to "justify" since the Law's function is to expose the presence and achievement of "sin" (3:20).
- d. The only human beings who are/will be "justified" are those whose approach to the issue is to appeal to God for "grace" (3:24).
- e. The "grace" of God is extended "freely" to those who "believe in Jesus" (3:26).
- f. Thus, "justification" is by "faith" in "grace" absolutely apart from the performance issues of "Law" (major conclusion: 3:28).
- g. God's application of "justification" is "by" faith in respect to Jews and "through" faith in respect to Gentiles (3:30).
- h. The major biblical illustration is Abraham (4:1-2), and he was one who did not work, but did believe (4:5).
- i. The chiefest "benefits" of such "justification" are "peace with God" (5:1) and deliverance from "the wrath of God" (5:9).
- j. The chief "mechanism" of "justification" is our "baptism" into His crucifixion/death-to-sin (6:7).
- k. The text under our current focus is 8:30.
- l. The outcome is that, since it is God Who "justifies", no one else's opinion or accusations matter (8:30; Paul's last use of this verb in Romans).
- 3. The significance of "justifying".
- a. In part, "justifying" means that God has determined to refuse to subject certain people to any kind of "legal" examination to determine the legitimacy of any accusations made (8:33). This is in exact harmony with Paul's argument in 4:5 where he claimed that those would be "justified" (even though they were "ungodly") who did not work, but did believe.
- b. Also in part, "justifying" those who were foreknown, predestined, and called also means that God pre-empted any efforts to keep His purpose from being accomplished.
- c. And, at the very root, "justifying" means that there will be no imposition of "wrath" or "retributive vengeance" of any kind upon those "justified".
- E. He glorified (Aorist; typically past tense)...
- 1. Is there a "pattern"? The "called" of 8:28 are clearly assumed to be the foreknown (strong implication of justification since it is Jesus' declaration to those who are lost, but clamoring for entrance into His Kingdom, "I never knew ((including "fore" knew)) you..."); and the foreknown are "predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son" (strong implication of "glorification" since being conformed directly addresses a change in "glory"); and the foreknown/predestined are "called" with "justification" and "glorification" following immediately.
CALLED ACCORDING TO PURPOSE
- a1. Foreknew...
- b1. Predestined...
- a2. Justified...
- b2. Glorified...
- 2. The issues of "glorification" are two: conformity to the physical condition of the resurrected Christ; and conformity to some degree to the character of the resurrected King. The first plays into predestination to have the vile body conformed to His glorious body (Philippians 3:21), and the second plays into the judgment seat of Christ where the issue is the placement of those who were "glorified" by the process of moving "from glory to glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
- 3. There are indications that both of these issues are in view since the overall issue of Romans 6-8 is this process and its hope of the transformation of the body.