SEV Biblia, Chapter 8:28
Y ya sabemos que a los que a Dios aman, todas las cosas les ayudan a bien, a los que conforme al Propsito son llamados (a ser santos).
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Romans 8:28
Verse 28. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God] To understand this verse aright, let us observe: 1. That the persons in whose behalf all things work for good are they who love God, and, consequently, who live in the spirit of obedience. 2. It is not said that all things shall work for good, but that sunergei, they work now in the behalf of him who loveth now, agapwsi; for both verbs are in the present tense. All these things work together; while they are working, God's providence is working, his Spirit is working, and they are working TOGETHER with him. And whatever troubles, or afflictions, or persecutions may arise, God presses them into their service; and they make a part of the general working, and are caused to contribute to the general good of the person who now loves God, and who is working by faith and love under the influence and operation of the Holy Ghost. They who say sin works for good to them that love God speak blasphemous nonsense. A man who now loves God is not now sinning against God; and the promise belongs only to the present time: and as love is the true incentive to obedience, the man who is entitled to the promise can never, while thus entitled, (loving God,) be found in the commission of sin. But though this be a good general sense for these words, yet the all things mentioned here by the apostle seem more particularly to mean those things mentioned in ver. 28-30. To them who are the called according to his purpose.] Dr. Taylor translates toiv klhtoiv, the invited; and observes that it is a metaphor taken from inviting guests, or making them welcome to a feast. As if he had said: Certainly all things work together for their good; for this reason, because they are called, invited, or made welcome to the blessings of the covenant, (which is ratified in eating of the covenant sacrifice,) according to God's original purpose first declared to Abraham, Gen. xvii. i5: Thou shalt be a father of many nations-and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him, Gen. xviii. 18. Thus this clause is to be understood; and thus it is an argument to prove that all things, how afflictive soever, shall work for our good while we continue to love God. Our being called or invited, according to God's purpose, proves that all things work for our good, on the supposition that we love God, and not otherwise. For our loving God, or making a due improvement of our calling, is evidently inserted by the apostle to make good his argument. He does not pretend to prove that all things shall concur to the everlasting happiness of all that are called; but only to those of the called who love God. Our calling, thus qualified is the ground of his argument, which he prosecutes and completes in the two next verses. Our calling he takes for granted, as a thing evident and unquestionable among all Christians. But you will say: How is it evident and unquestionable that we are called? I answer: From our being in the visible Church, and professing the faith of the Gospel. For always, in the apostolic writings, all that are in the visible Church, and profess the faith of the Gospel, are numbered among the called or invited; i.e. among the persons who are invited to feast on the covenant sacrifice, and who thus, in reference to themselves, confirm and ratify the covenant. As for what is termed effectual calling, as distinguished from the general invitations of the Gospel, it is a distinction which divines have invented without any warrant from the sacred writings. Our calling, therefore, is considered by the apostle in the nature of a self-evident proposition, which nobody doubts or denies; or which, indeed, no Christian ought to doubt, or can call in question, Taylor's notes.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 28. And we know that all things work together for good , etc..] There is a temporal good, and a spiritual good, and an eternal one. Temporal good is what the men of the world are seeking after, and generally have the greatest share of, and the saints the least; and yet they have as much as is needful for them, and what they have, they have with a blessing; and even sometimes afflictions work for the temporal good of God's children: spiritual good lies in a lively exercise of grace and a conformity of the soul to God; and is what the men of the world least regard, and the saints most; and sometimes afflictions issue in this sort of good, as they do also in eternal good, for they work for us an exceeding weight of glory: by all things may be meant, all beings good and bad: all good beings eternal or created: eternal, as Jehovah the Father, all his perfections, purposes, promises, provisions, and performances; Jehovah the Son, as the mighty God, and as Mediator, all that he is in himself, all that he has in himself, all that he has done, or is doing, all his titles, characters, and relations; Jehovah the Spirit, in his person, offices, and operations; these all have worked together in the council of peace, in the covenant of grace, and in redemption; and they do work together in sanctification, and so they will in glorification, and that for the good of the saints: all created ones, as good angels, good magistrates, good ministers of the Gospel: all evil beings, as devils, persecuting magistrates, heretics, and false teachers: all things, good and bad: all good things, outward peace and prosperity, external gifts, the ministry of the word, the administration of ordinances, church censures, admonitions, and excommunications; all evil things, sin the evil of evils: original sin, or the fall of Adam, which contains all other sins in it, was attended with aggravating circumstances, and followed with dismal consequences, yet has been overruled for good; hereby a Saviour became necessary, who was sent, came, and wrought out salvation; has brought in a better righteousness than Adam lost; entitled his people to a better life than his was, and makes them partakers of the riches both of grace and glory: actual sin, inward or outward; indwelling sin; which is made use of, when discovered, to abate pride, to lead to an entire dependence on Christ, to teach saints to be less censorious, to depend on the power and grace of God to keep them, and to wean them from this world, and to make them desirous of another, where they shall be free from it; outward sins, of others, or their own; the sins of others, of wicked men, which observed, raise an indignation in the saints against sin, and a concern for God's glory, and to look into their own hearts and ways, and admire the grace of God to them, that this is not their case; of good men, which are recorded, and may be observed, not for example and encouragement in sin, but for admonition, and to encourage faith and hope under a sense of it; of their own, for humiliation, which issues in weakening the power of sin in themselves, and the strengthening of the graces of others: but from all this it does not follow, that God is the author of sin, only that he overrules it to wise and gracious purposes; nor should any take encouragement to sin, to do evil that good may come; nor is sin itself a real good; nor is it to be said that it does no hurt; for though it cannot hinder the everlasting salvation of God's people, it does a great deal of hurt to their peace and comfort; and that it is made to work in any form or shape for good, is not owing to its own nature and influence, which is malignant enough, but to the unbounded power and unsearchable wisdom of God: all evils or afflictions, spiritual and temporal, work together for good; all spiritual ones, such as the temptations of Satan, which are made useful for humiliation, for the trial of grace, to show us our weakness, our need of Christ, and to conform us to him, and also to excite to prayer and watchfulness; the hidings of God's face, which make his presence the more prized when enjoyed, and the more desirable. Temporal afflictions, afflictions in body, name, or estate, nay even death itself, all work together for the good of God's people. The Jews tell us of one Nahum, the man Gamzu, who, they say, was so called, because of everything that happened to him he used to say, hbwjl wz g , Gam zu letobah, this is also for good: and they give instances of several misfortunes which befell him, upon which account he used these words, and how they proved in the issue to his advantage: agreeably to this is the advice given by them, for ever (say they f154 ) let a man be used to say, all that the Lord does, dyb[ bjl , he does for good.
Now that all things do work together for good, the saints know, and are firmly persuaded of; both from the word and promises of God, and from the instances of Jacob, Joseph, Job, and others, and also from their own experience: and it is to be observed, that it is not said that all things have worked together, and so they may again, or that they shall work together, but all things work together for good; they now work together, they are always working together, whether it can be observed or not: prosperity and adversity, whether in things temporal or spiritual, work together, and make an intricate woven work in providence and grace; which will be viewed with admiration another day: one copy reads, God works together, or causes all things to work together for good; and so the Ethiopic version, we know that God helps them that love him, to every good thing: and to this agrees the Syriac version, we know that to them that love God, he in everything helps them to good; and certain it is, that God is the efficient cause, that makes all things work together for his people's good. The persons to whom all things work together for good, are described as such that love God ; a character, which does not agree with all the sons and daughters of Adam: love to God is not naturally in men; it is wrought in the soul in regeneration, and is an evidence of it; it grows up with faith, which works by it; without it, a profession of religion is vain; and where it is once wrought, it lasts for ever; it ought to be superlative and universal, constant, warm and ardent, hearty and sincere: such who have it, show it by a desire to be like to God, and therefore imitate him, by making his glory the supreme end of their actions; by being careful not to offend him; by delighting in his presence, in his people, word, ordinances, ways, and worship; and by undervaluing the world, and all things in it, in comparison of him; who is to be loved for the perfections of his being, the characters and relations he stands in and bears to his people, and on account of the love with which he has loved them, and which is indeed the spring and source of theirs. They are further described, as such who are the called according to his purpose . The called of God and of Jesus Christ; not to any office, or by the external ministry of the word only, but by special grace; from darkness to light, from bondage to liberty, from the company of sinful men to fellowship with Christ, from a trust in their own righteousness to a dependence on his, to grace here, and glory hereafter; which is done according to the purpose of God: the persons called are fixed upon by God; none are called but whom God purposed to call; those who are called can assign no other reason of it than the will of God; and no other reason but that can be given why others are not called; the time when, the place where, the means whereby persons are called, are all settled and determined by the will, and according to the purpose of God.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 28-31 - That is good for the saints which does their souls good. Ever providence tends to the spiritual good of those that love God; i breaking them off from sin, bringing them nearer to God, weaning the from the world, and fitting them for heaven. When the saints act out of character, corrections will be employed to bring them back again. An here is the order of the causes of our salvation, a golden chain, on which cannot be broken. 1. Whom he did foreknow, he also di predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. All that God designed for glory and happiness as the end, he decreed to grace an holiness as the way. The whole human race deserved destruction; but for reasons not perfectly known to us, God determined to recover some by regeneration and the power of his grace. He predestinated, or befor decreed, that they should be conformed to the image of his Son. In thi life they are in part renewed, and walk in his steps. 2. Whom he di predestinate, them he also called. It is an effectual call, from sel and earth to God, and Christ, and heaven, as our end; from sin an vanity to grace and holiness, as our way. This is the gospel call. The love of God, ruling in the hearts of those who once were enemies to him, proves that they have been called according to his purpose. 3 Whom he called, them he also justified. None are thus justified but those that are effectually called. Those who stand out against the gospel call, abide under guilt and wrath. 4. Whom he justified, them he also glorified. The power of corruption being broken in effectua calling, and the guilt of sin removed in justification, nothing can come between that soul and glory. This encourages our faith and hope for, as for God, his way, his work, is perfect. The apostle speaks a one amazed, and swallowed up in admiration, wondering at the height an depth, and length and breadth, of the love of Christ, which passet knowledge. The more we know of other things, the less we wonder; but the further we are led into gospel mysteries, the more we are affecte by them. While God is for us, and we keep in his love, we may with holy boldness defy all the powers of darkness.
Greek Textus Receptus
οιδαμεν 1492 5758 V-RAI-1P δε 1161 CONJ οτι 3754 CONJ τοις 3588 T-DPM αγαπωσιν 25 5723 V-PAP-DPM τον 3588 T-ASM θεον 2316 N-ASM παντα 3956 A-NPN 3956 A-APN συνεργει 4903 5719 V-PAI-3S εις 1519 PREP αγαθον 18 A-ASN τοις 3588 T-DPM κατα 2596 PREP προθεσιν 4286 N-ASF κλητοις 2822 A-DPM ουσιν 5607 5752 V-PXP-DPM
Vincent's NT Word Studies
28. Work together (sunergei). Or, are working together, now, while the creation is in travail. Together refers to the common working of all the elements included in panta all things.For good. Jacob cried, all these things are against me. Paul, all things are working together for good.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
8:28 {All things work together} (panta sunergei). A B have ho qeos as the subject of sunergei (old verb, see on 1Co 16:16; 2Co 6:1). That is the idea anyhow. It is God who makes "all things work together" in our lives "for good" (eis agaqon), ultimate good. {According to his purpose} (kata proqesin). Old word, seen already in #Ac 27:13 and for "shewbread" in #Mt 12:4. The verb protiqemi Paul uses in #3:24 for God's purpose. Paul accepts fully human free agency but behind it all and through it all runs God's sovereignty as here and on its gracious side (#9:11; 3:11; 2Ti 1:9).
