Four Factors

There are four factors related to “the family secret” that every believer should know.  These factors are found in our verse for the week, Romans. 8:28.

Let’s take a look.

The Family Secrets are Confidential

“And WE know…”

Note carefully this plural pronoun, WE. Yes, we know. This verse is not intended to be understood by the world. Because to the lost person, these words are folly and even foolishness. They cannot be understood. Why? Because this is our family secret: “WE know!” This verse only applies to true believers.  Existentialists* today who seem to see no real purpose in history, have no hope. If you confront them they will tell you that there is no explanation for sudden death, sickness, or various setbacks in life. The Christian comes along and says, “Yes, there is, but it is a family secret . . . ‘and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.'”

Interestingly, the Bible translates our English word, “know”, from a Greek word. This word means that we don’t even have to know experientially here, in this life.  It is a stated fact: WE JUST KNOW INTUITIVELY. We have this family secret within God’s family and it is confidential–“WE know!”

These Secrets are Constructive

“things work together for good”

This is one of the most comforting thoughts in all of Scripture, because things that happen in life have a way of working together for our good. They are constructive. Let’s look back over our Christian experience. How many events took place in our lives that we thought, at the time, were disastrous? However we found that, in the end, they actually worked out for good? Yes, “things work together” neither by accident nor blind chance. Why? Because God Himself is behind the scenes in each of our lives.

One Greek word, synergia**, translates this entire phrase in the language of the New Testament. We get our word synergy by transliterating this ancient word. Consequently, there is a constructive and synergistic principle at work in our family secret. This certainly does not mean that everything that happens is good, in and of itself. In fact, many are confronted with things that are bad. There are financial failings, sicknesses, and disappointments ad infinitum. However, it does mean that God can take our mistakes and messes and work them together for our own good. King David realized this and recorded these poignant words for all posterity: “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes” (Psalm 119:71). We, as believers, have a very special family secret that is confidential and constructive.

God’s Family Secrets are Comprehensive

“ALL THINGS work together for good”

When I meditate on these words, I am prone to ask myself, “Can I really believe this?” Had the apostle Paul said “some things” or “many things” or even “most things” it would be a bit more palatable. But “all things”? All things may include unfair things. This was certainly true for Joseph who was sold into slavery and later falsely accused of a crime that landed him in an Egyptian prison. All things may include difficult things. This was certainly true of Paul who was shipwrecked at Malta, stoned at Lystra and left for dead, and beaten and berated across the years of his missionary journeys. He knew well, from firsthand experience, what the Holy Spirit led him to write when he penned these words of our family secret in Romans.

Yes, all things are what? Working together. For what? Good. For example, I would not like to sit down for a meal and eat a bowl of baking soda because baking soda, by itself, is distasteful. In the same way, I would not look forward to eating a nice serving of flour. However, put them together, add a few other ingredients, stir them up, put them in the oven, and they turn into biscuits. And I love biscuits! All things, not necessarily in and of themselves, but when worked together in the tapestry of the cross, come out for our good and for God’s glory. Therefore, this family secret is not only constructive, but it is comprehensive. Yes, all things are working together for our good at this very moment.

An Interesting Poll

During an interesting and unofficial poll, Sunday-morning church attendees were asked to quote Romans 8:28. The majority of them left off the first phrase “And we know.” They simply began with the phrase “all things work together for good.” However, interestingly, they also left off the last phrase that states, “to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

The results of this poll lead us into our final factor–the conditional aspect of knowing the family secrets.

Our Family Secrets are Conditional

“to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose”

Our family secret is conditional. Therefore, it is not a blanket, unconditional promise for everyone. It is for those who “love God.” Those who do not love Him are generally resentful about certain things that come their way. Only those who love Him and sense that there is purpose in their lives can understand the deep truth of Romans 8:28 and say with Job, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

Love is something we do. Because of this, it is always equated with action in the Bible. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). John framed it by saying, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments” (1 John 5:3). Thus, we come to the bottom-line questions: Do we love God? Do we sense that we are called according to His purpose for our lives? Loving God and abiding in His will–His purpose–is the condition by which the truth of this verse comes home to our hearts. As you memorize Romans 8:28 this week, meditate on the deep reality that God is awake and aware of everything that comes our way. He has His own wonderful way of turning our bitterness into blessing. We have that family secret in God’s forever family.

Definitions

* What is the difference between essence and existence?

The proposition that existence precedes essence (French: l’existence précède l’essence) is a central claim of existentialism, which reverses the traditional philosophical view that the essence (the nature) of a thing is more fundamental and immutable than its existence (the mere fact of its being).

What does it mean to say existence precedes essence?

(b) But Sartre says that for human beings, existence precedes essence. Basically, we exist first and then we do things that define ourselves and live our lives in whatever way we choose (and this determines our essence, and what it means to be a human being.)

---

**synergy:  noun

the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.