One of the verses I have tenaciously clung to over the years following the death of my son is Romans 8:28, a verse that R. A. Torrey (1856-1928) once called “a soft pillow for a tired heart.” The King James Version (KJV) reads: “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.”
While bringing a certain degree of comfort to my heart, this verse has also brought probing questions to my mind. During World War II, one prominent preacher described this verse as “the hardest verse in the Bible to believe.”[i] The Old Testament patriarch Jacob certainly would have had a hard time believing it! Fearing that Joseph was dead, that Simeon was held hostage, and that Benjamin must also go to Egypt, he cries out in his crucible of suffering: “All these things are against me!” (Genesis 42:36, KJV).
I, at times, feel like Jacob. Maybe you do, too.
Not only is this well-known verse difficult to believe, it is difficult to understand. For sure, Paul wants us to know something. But the multiple and divergent translations of this verse leave us in doubt as to exactly what we are to know. Beyond the above cited version, here are two other popular translations of this verse:
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. (NASB)
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. (NIV)
So which is it? Are impersonal things somehow working together for good (KJV)? Or is God causing all things to work together for good (NASB)? Or is God simply working in all things for good (NIV)? Or is there another way to understand this verse?
While some aspects of this verse are not clear, a few are crystal clear. For example, Paul’s words concern believers—those who love God and are called according to his purpose. Believers are described from both a human and divine perspective. From the human perspective, believers are those who “love God” (1 Corinthians 2:9; 1 Peter 1:8). From the divine perspective, believers are those who are called for a specific purpose as further defined in the following verse—conformity to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). Moreover, from the first verse of this chapter, Paul is speaking about “those who are in Christ Jesus” (vs. 1) and as a result are “brothers and sisters” in Christ (vs. 12).
The second indisputable aspect of this verse is that “things,” “all things,” or “everything” (depending on the translation) refer to “our present sufferings” (Romans 8:18). Paul specifically mentions some of these sufferings later in this chapter, things like troubles, pressures, persecutions, deprivations, dangers, death threats, or even demons and death itself (vv. 35-39). It’s fair to say that today these “things” could include the events of 9/11, the tragic drowning of a child, or the diagnosis of brain cancer in a family member.
Finally, suffering in the believer’s life can result in “good.” Just what that “good” entails and how it is experienced can only be understood from the immediate context. More about that in a moment.
Beyond the fact that Paul’s words pertain to believers facing suffering that can somehow result in their good, the translations, interpretations, and practical applications of this verse vary widely.[ii] Our traditional understanding of this verse comes from three of our most popular translations. According to the KJV, “all things” is the subject: “And we know that all things work together for good . . . .” On the other hand, the translators of the NASB understood God to be the subject: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good . . . .” This is followed closely by the NIV that also understands God to be the subject, but with a slightly different nuance: “And we know that in all things God works for the good . . . .”
So, do things work or does God work things or does God work in things?
Does it mean (as some would say) that there are no accidents in God’s providence? Or that, if I just believe, everything will turn out OK?
Or is there a better option for understanding this often-cited verse?
Though all three of these translations are grammatically possible, they are not preferred. Below I’ll explain why. But first, we must consider the implications of our traditional understanding of this verse. In particular, the translations of the KJV (“all things work together”) and the NASB (“God causes all things to work together”) leave us with this impression: God has a detailed blueprint of our individual lives by which he is intentionally weaving together the good, the bad, and the ugly—all the circumstances, events, blessings, and tragedies of our lives—into a beautiful tapestry that reflects a higher good. Just as an apothecary can skillfully mix together several poisonous ingredients in view of making an appropriate medicine, or as a baker can mix together several distasteful ingredients (if eaten individually) to cook something delicious, so God intentionally “mixes together” all the circumstances of our existence in such a way that only good results in the life of the believer.
Following the murderous events of 9/11, one well-respected theologian wrote an article entitled, “Why I Do Not Say, ‘God Did Not Cause the Calamity, but He Can Use It for Good.’”[iii] Based on a rigid blueprint interpretation of verses like Romans 8:28, the author concludes that God indeed did cause that horrendous event (just as he also brought about the Holocaust). According to the author, just how God did this without negating human responsibility or compromising his own holiness remains a mystery! Some conclude that this “divine tapestry” understanding of Romans 8:28, not unlike the Islamic view of kismet, should increase our trust in God’s providential protection over our lives. Wayne Grudem writes: “It seems appropriate to conclude . . . that all that God does he has planned before the creation of the world—in fact, these things have been an eternal plan with him. . . . This should greatly increase our trust in him, especially in difficult circumstances.”(iv)
I understand the desire to adopt a narrative of life that helps take the cutting edge off the harsh realities that come our way. Nevertheless, I have not found such an understanding of this verse to increase my trust in God in the face of suffering. Nor have many others. To trust God in difficult circumstances does not entail adopting a pollyannaish view of the stark and dark realities of life. Does the believer have the guarantee that impersonal things always work together for good (KJV) or even that a personal God always causes things to work together for good (NASB) apart from the active participation of the one who loves God? Are we to believe that God, as the divine “puppet master,” pulls the strings behind every demonic debacle that brings inexpressible tragedy and suffering into the lives of his children in order to bring about good for them and glory for himself? Just because we as finite humans would need to meticulously control everything to bring good out of evil does not mean that the all-wise and sovereign God is under the same limitations.
Not only does such an understanding of this verse discourage confident trust in God, it furthermore encourages a passive response to evil and suffering in the world. If I believe that God is automatically working together all the evil and suffering that enters my life in a neat quid pro quo way in view of a greater good, then why should I intervene to change the course of events? After all, God wills it! In this case, I am simply called to be the passive recipient of the good that God is weaving into the tapestry of my life. But the believer is called to aggressively fight evil as a foe, not to passively accept evil as a friend by believing that it somehow comes from the hand of God. Otherwise, we could end up accepting things that come from Satan as coming from the hand of God! For example, does the downward spiral of temptation in our lives (evil desire, deception, and disobedience; cf. James 1:13-15) work together for good? No! Apart from the believer’s active participation with God in resisting Satan, sin, and self, it results in death!
Other than these observations, we must consider several grammatical considerations that point us toward a different and fresh understanding of this verse. The English expression “working together” translates the Greek word sunergeo (sun = with + ergon = work) from which we get our English word “synergy.” Synergy speaks of the interaction or cooperation of two or more individuals to produce a combined effect greater than the simple sum of its parts. According to the KJV translation, it is impersonal “things” that are somehow (under God’s direction?) synergistically working together for good in the believer’s life. On the other hand, the NASB depicts God as synergistically working with impersonal things for the believer’s good. However, the problem with both of these translations is that in the vast majority of cases where this word appears in the New Testament, it specifically refers either to God working in partnership with believers (not with impersonal things) or with believers working together. Here are just three examples among the more than forty in the New Testament:
Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it. (Mark 16:20)
For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. 1 (Corinthians 3:9)
As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. (2 Corinthians 6:1)
When we interpret Romans 8:28 in light of how this term is consistently used throughout the New Testament, we conclude that (1) impersonal things and circumstances are not necessarily working together for good on our behalf; nor is (2) God working primarily with impersonal things and circumstances in view of our good; but rather (3) God is personally, dynamically, and lovingly working in partnership with people who love God in order to advance his good purposes in and through their lives. In other words, what happens in us is for more important the what happens to us.
This understanding of God working with believers (not things) is further supported by the use in this verse of what is called the dative case in the Greek language. The dative expresses the idea of personal interest, accompaniment, and means. For example, on my granddaughter’s birthday, I might buy a book for my granddaughter, give that book to my granddaughter, and read the same book with my granddaughter. If expressed in the language of the New Testament, each of these phrases—“for/to/with my granddaughter” —would require the dative case. The difficulty, however, is that the little preposition (“for,” “to,” or “with”) is often not present in the text. The specific nuance must be determined by other factors in the context. This helps explain why we have different translations of the dative in Romans 8:28 such as “. . . for those that love God” (ESV), “. . . of those that love God” (NLT), or “. . . to them that love God” (KJV). However, many translations overlook the fact that the verb “work together” (sunergeo) most frequently takes the dative of accompaniment (“with”) in order to indicate two partners working alongside each other with the same objective in view. The question then is not “what does God work together?” but rather “with whom does God work together?” Fortunately, it is here that the translations of the Revised Standard Version (RSV), the Good News Translation (GNT), and a small footnote in the New International Version get it right!
We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. (RSV)
We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose. (GNT)
And we know that God works together with those who love him to bring about what is good—with those who are called according to his purpose. (NIV, marginal note)
As the church father Athanasius of Alexandria once said, “To all who choose the good, God works with them for the good.”[v] With this understanding of the verse, the focus moves from what God is doing in things to what God is doing in and through me.
But there is more. The majority of Greek manuscripts do not specifically state that it is God who is working together with believers to bring about what is good.[vi] Given that the preceding verses speak of the ministry of the Holy Spirit toward the believer in the midst of suffering, it seems preferable to understand the third person of the Trinity to be the implied subject of verse 28. F. F. Bruce calls this an “ancient and attractive interpretation” that, unfortunately, has been ignored by many translators and commentators. Citing the translation of the New English Bible, he suggests that Romans 8:27-28 could read: “. . . he (i.e. the Holy Spirit) pleads for God’s own people in God’s own way; and in everything, as we know, he co-operates for good with those who love God . . . .”[vii] As God lovers, we can be assured that the Spirit of God who lives in us (v. 23) and intercedes for us (vv. 26-27) is also desirous of cooperating with us to bring ultimate good out of every suffering we experience in life.
One of the best examples of the truth of Romans 8:28 is seen in the Old Testament account of the life of Joseph (Genesis 37-50). The entire account is replete with examples of how God by his Spirit actively and lovingly works with people in the context of their everyday life circumstances to accomplish his good purposes. Therefore, he was able to “stay under” in the most severe trials and temptations. Joseph’s brothers saw only with their physical eyes. Joseph saw with the eyes of the heart (Genesis 50:19-20). Though he didn’t have the additional revelation of the New Testament teaching concerning the believer’s joy in trials, his life is a testament to how God works with us and in us through suffering to accomplish his good purposes.
A multitude of “accidents” or “coincidences” took place that resulted in Joseph becoming a prince in Egypt. It began when Jacob decided to send Joseph to see how his brothers were doing while grazing their sheep (Genesis 37:13). Jacob believed his sons were in Shechem (v. 12). If he had known they were in Dothan, a town much further away, he most likely would not have sent him (v. 17). When Joseph arrived in Shechem, he happened to run into a stranger who knew where his brothers were (v. 15). However, the stranger knew this because he had just overheard a conversation by men in a nearby field (v. 17). When the brothers plotted to kill Joseph, Reuben intervened, convincing them to throw him into a cistern (v. 23). But Reuben just happened to be away when the Egyptian traders came by, enabling Judah and the others to sell Joseph into slavery (vv. 26-28). Once Joseph arrived in Egypt, he encountered the enticement of Pharoah’s wife along with the false accusations that led to his imprisonment. Yet it was in prison that Joseph met Pharoah’s cupbearer whose dream he interpreted (Genesis 40). All this eventually led to Joseph’s reinstatement as an attendant in Pharoah’s government (Genesis 41) and paved the way for the arrival of Jacob’s family in Egypt (Genesis 42-46). In his infinite, matchless wisdom God knew, in every circumstance and situation, not only what was and what would be, but also what might be and what could be . . . depending on the free choices made by Joseph, his family members, and others. And through it all, God was working to accomplish good in the lives of those involved.
But what about the sinful choices made by those in this narrative? This patriarch’s “bio” is full of some of the most devastating suffering and injustices imaginable (Genesis 35-39). Following the death of his mother, Joseph’s brothers threatened him with death, mercilessly threw him in a pit, and eventually sold him to Egyptian merchants as a slave. In Egypt, Joseph felt the loss of home and family, endured sexual propositions from his master’s wife, and was finally imprisoned under false pretences. Nevertheless, when his brothers finally confessed the wrongs they committed against him, Joseph redirects their focus away from their sin to God’s overriding redemptive design: “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:19-20). Joseph’s declaration to his brothers certainly reflects what it means to “live above” the suffering and injustices of this life. But how are we to understand Joseph’s words to his brothers in light of Romans 8:28?
Some take Joseph’s statement to mean that God sovereignly planned (even predestined) the evil that was in the brothers’ hearts in order to transport Joseph into Egypt. However, such a view poses insurmountable problems. Earlier, Joseph tells his brothers, “And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you” (Genesis 45:5). Are we then to conclude that each murder, kidnapping, incident of sexual abuse, and robbery is ultimately designed by God in view of his redemptive plan? And should the perpetrators of such crimes not be distressed or angry with themselves because they are unwittingly playing a key role in the realization of God’s will? Would not such a conclusion only “insult the pain of the victims by providing the criminals with excuses”?[viii]
I believe that God no more planned the sinful reactions of Joseph’s brothers than he planned the negligence of the owner of the hotel where my son died. Evil intentions on the part of Joseph’s brothers were “evil” precisely because they were not according to the will of God. To say that God ordained the brothers’ evil acts to accomplish a higher good is to say that God wills what is contrary to his will. Yet Jesus’ declaration is unequivocal: “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined . . . ” (Matthew 12:25-28). It is one thing to say that God brings good out of evil once evil is present as the result of the choices of free moral agents. It is quite another to say that God plans it in order to accomplish good. The former places before us the wonderment of God’s infinite, unfathomable wisdom, whereas the latter impugns the character of God in whom there is no darkness. French theologian Henri Blocher is correct when he writes: “When evil is already present, if God makes use of that hostile reality as an opportunity to act, and even as a means to punish and to warn, the fact in no measure lessens the malignity of evil, and in no way allows for any insinuation that God might be its accomplice.”[ix]
While God is always at work to bring good out of evil, he never works the evil out of which he brings good. And the good that he does bring about is, what C. S. Lewis has termed, a “complex good.” In our fallen and chaotic world characterized by unimaginable suffering, we can distinguish (1) the simple good which comes from God (James 1:17); (2) the simple evil produced by Satan, sin, and sinners (James 1:14-15); (3) the exploitation of that evil by God for his redemptive purpose (Psalm 76:10); and (4) the resulting “complex good” experienced by lovers of God who cooperate with him in his loving intentions (Romans 8:28). In this case, Joseph pursued God’s will, consciously and deliberately cooperating with the “simple good.” On the other hand, Joseph’s brothers opposed God’s will by intentionally carrying out “simple evil.” Nevertheless in doing so, they contributed, albeit unconsciously and without their consent, to the “complex good.” Joseph served God as a son, freely and deliberately. His brothers served God as a slave, unconsciously and unwillingly. All will ultimately contribute to God’s good purposes. The question is whether we will do so like Joseph or like Joseph’s brothers.[x]
Joseph’s words to his brothers are best understood as, “You had thought evil, God thought it for good.” God, in his matchless wisdom, was able to anticipate a response to every motivation and decision conceived in the heart of Joseph’s brothers. As the divine chess master, he was able to take the malevolent intentions and actions of Joseph’s siblings and turn evil back on itself by accomplishing his good and perfect will. Joseph’s brothers intended his suffering for evil; God used it for good. Satan intended Job’s suffering for evil; God used it for good. Satan intended Paul’s suffering for evil; God used it for good. In each case, God’s purpose prevailed. Satan intends your suffering for evil; God can use it for good to the degree that you “live above” by cooperating with the work of his Holy Spirit in the midst of your suffering.
Whose purpose in your suffering will prevail?
Remember Claire, whom I mentioned in chapter 1? [xi] One day I asked her,
“How did God work with you to bring about good from the pain of your childhood sexual abuse?” The setting of the question was idyllic, a crisp spring day in Tennessee. The sun’s rays breaking through the forest provided a reminder of God’s all-embracing love that warms the heart. The pointed question, however, brought back cold, dark memories that one would rather forget . . . forever. However, after a moment’s reflection, but more than fifty years of reckoning with one of the most painful injustices in this life, she said, “God used it to bring me to himself.” She went on to share how in the ensuing years her Heavenly Father wisely and lovingly used the sting of that evil act to sensitize her young heart to her need of the Savior and of his perfect, unfailing, life-giving love in a cruel and confusing world. Yes, God can even use what he hates to accomplish what he loves. Furthermore, God's loving design is that we who love him be "conformed to the image of his Son" (Romans 8:29).
With those who choose the good in the face of suffering, God by his Spirit works with them for good. God is good to all in some ways, by giving rain from heaven and food from the earth (cf. Acts 14:17; 17:24-28). But he is particularly good to some in all ways, the “some” being those who love him and are called according to his eternal purpose. In the crucible of suffering, we can be assured that God’s Spirit is at work with us—relationally, personally, intimately—to bring redemptive meaning out of every circumstance of life, whether sweet or bitter, bright or dark, good or bad, happy or sad. That means I can persevere through the tears and heartaches, the hurts and disappointments, the horror and the nightmares, the losses and sleepless nights and, at the end of the day, stand on top of Heartbreak Hill and boldly declare, “In all these things I am more than a conqueror though him who loves me!” (Romans 8:37).
NOTES
[i] See D. Edmond Hiebert, "Romans 8:28-29 and the Assurance of the Believer," Bibliotheca Sacra 148 (April-June 1991), 171.
[ii] A detailed outline of the many exegetical concerns in this verse is found in C. E. B. Cranfield, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. Volume 1. The International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T & T. Clark, 1975), 424-430.
[iii] https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/why-i-do-not-say-god-did-not-cause-the-calamity-but-he-can-use-it-for-good.
[iv] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994], 333 [emphsis mine]).
[v] See Roger T. Forster and V. Paul Marston, God’s Strategy in Human History (Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1973), 14, note 25; James Denney, St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans in The Expositor’s Greek Testament, ed. W. Robertson Nicoll, Vol. 2 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, n.d.), 652.
[vi] The Greek word theos (God) was added in several early manuscripts (Papyrus 46 dating to about A.D. 200), uncials A (fifth century) and B (fourth century), and cursive 81 (ca. 1044). They also appear in two of five known quotations of this verse in the writings of Origen. See D. Edmond Hiebert, op. cit., 175.
[vii] F. F. Bruce, The Epistle of Paul to the Romans in the Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, ed., R. V. G. Tasker (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1963), 175-176.
[viii] Henri Blocher, Evil and the Cross, Trans. David G. Preston (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 128.
[ix] Ibid., 89.
[x] C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain (Québec: Samizdat University Press, 2016), 69-70.
[xi] See David E. Stevens, Life with a Limp: Discovering God's Purpose in Your Pain (Washington, D.C.: Vide Press, 2022).