Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary (4 vols)

Romans 8:28

Romans 8:28. And we know. Comp. references under Romans 8:22. Here the context unmistakably indicates that this is an expression of Christian experience.

All things. All events, even afflictive ones (Romans 8:35), indeed all created things (Romans 8:38-39). Some ancient manuscripts insert ‘God' in this clause, giving the sense: ‘God works all things together, etc. But the insertion can readily be accounted for; it gives a correct explanation of what is here implied, and the word ‘ God ' would naturally be taken from the context (In the Greek' to them that love God' comes first)

Work together. The usual sense: cooperate, combine to produce the result, is preferable. Others explain: ‘contribute,' ‘help,' work together with Christians.

For good. For their advantage, including their eternal welfare.

To them that love God. In emphatic position in the original. This distinguishes the class referred to; and is not in itself the main reason of their security. ‘The love of believers for God is therefore not the ground of their confidence, but the sign and security that they were first loved of God' (Lange).

Who are the called. Some would explain: ‘who are called,' which would be equivalent to ‘since they are called,' but it seems more in accordance with grammatical usage to take the phrase as a description of Christians from another point of view: ‘as being those who are the called.' The context shows that the call has been accepted, and hence that this is not a general expression for hearing the invitations of the gospel.

According to his purpose. The call is in accordance with the purpose (comp. Romans 8:29-30); the former becomes a fact we can perceive, the latter we cannot perceive, but receive as a fact, for all things cannot work together for good to them that love God, unless God has a purpose, with which what occurs accords. It should be remembered that to limit the efficacy of His purpose is to deny freedom to Him, in our anxiety to maintain our own freedom. If our hearts rest on HIM, in hope and trust and love, then we know that in order thus to rest, we must feel that He is infinitely free, strong, and right, as well as loving. The difficulty which arises in reconciling God's sovereignty and man's free will confronts us whenever we accept the existence of a Personal God, and is not peculiar to Christianity, much less to some one school of Christian theology.

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Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary (4 vols)

Romans 8:28

Old Testament

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