Covenant of Redemption #3
Rom. 8:28‑30 is commonly known as the “Covenant of Redemption.” It is an unconditional covenant that God made with himself to procure the salvation, new birth, and glorification of those he foreknew.
The statement at the beginning of this passage has been a subject of much discussion and controversy in religious circles thru the ages. This statement causing controversy is “All things work together for good to them that love God.” The controversy revolves around the meaning of the word “all.” Is the “all” in this passage a universal “all” or a contextual “all?” All can be universal, i.e., embracing everything without exception or it can be contextual, i.e., embracing only those things within the context. If the “all” is universal, then the statement would teach that everything that ever happens whether good or bad ultimately works together for good to them that love God. If, however, the “all” is contextual then the statement would be referring only to the things within the context, i.e., God’s foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, and glorification. Using the contextual “all” would teach only that “all” refers to the above five things and these five things are working together for good to them that love God.
Sometimes, I hear people make the statement after something good has happened to someone that “all things work together for good to them that love God.” I, personally, have never heard anyone say that after something bad had happened to someone!
Now, if the “all” in “all things” is universal then all sins, evil, the devil, his angels, and every catastrophe as well as everything else that happens in the universe would work together for good to them that love God. For the all to be universal there could be no exceptions. Since the above listed things such as sin, evil, the devil, his ministry, and catastrophes don’t on the surface appear to be working together for our good, God is assigned the responsibility of controlling those things in such a way that ultimately they work together for good for those who love God. Usually the passage where Joseph told his brethren, who sold him into Egyptian slavery, is quoted, “ye meant it for evil, but God meant it for good,” to attempt to substantiate a universal “all” things.
When in doubt about the meaning of God’s word, our best course of action is to let the scriptures speak as to the meaning. Rom. 3:7, 8 reads, “For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? Whose damnation is just.” Paul said it was a slander for anyone to report that he or those with him said “Let us do evil that good may come.” Now if my or anyone else’s evil deeds result in good to them that love God, then why did Paul say it was a slander? Thus it would appear that the universal “all” theory does not stand up under the scrutiny of God’s word.
Now all this is not to say that sometimes God providentially intervenes in our lives and turns “lemons into lemonade.” This has happened, no doubt, many times in the lives of his people, but this doesn’t justify saying that God will take every evil and every sin that is ever committed and make each of them work for our good.
My conclusion is that the “all” in Rom. 8:28 is a contextual “all” and that everything about God’s foreknowing a people, predestinating them to be conformed to the image of Christ, calling them, justifying them and glorifying them works together for our good. Paul concludes in v. 31, “What shall we then say to “these” things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” The “these things” are the “five things” in v. 29 and 30 which are the “all things” in v. 28.