The Golden Chain (Romans 8:30)

In this verse, Paul continues to describe aspects of the role played by the heavenly Father in helping his people. He has been referring to the Father throughout the chapter as well as to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. In this verse he refers to four acts of the Father. The first act (predestinated) occurred in eternity past, the second and third acts (called and justified) occur at conversion, and the fourth act (glorified) happens later.

We saw when thinking about verse 28 that predestination is connected to God’s determination to provide certain benefits for those he foreknew (fore-loved). That verse (28) says he predestinated the final outcome, which is total likeness to Jesus. Our verse indicates that he has also provided the means by which this likeness will be achieved and mentions three of them.

The Father’s call

The first is divine calling. We are aware that the term ‘calling’ is used in different ways in the Bible. In order to understand the differences we have divided the usages into two categories. One of those categories is what is called God’s general call to sinners and the other is what is called God’s effectual call of sinners. Which is intended here?

God’s general call occurs whenever the gospel is mentioned to a person who needs it, whether in a sermon or in a conversation or in a book. In this general call God publicly invites sinners to believe in Jesus and receive eternal life. This is obviously a gracious call to undeserving sinners. Moreover it is a genuine call – God means what he says when he makes it.

Every Christian has received this call at least once. It is impossible normally for a person to be converted without being aware of the gospel invitation. Of course, it is a fact that most believers confess, and confess sadly, that they refused or ignored the gospel invitation many times.

The general call comes to us because of God’s love for all his creatures. None of them are excluded from its invitations. Every person is invited to come to Jesus immediately. Each of us has had many invitations. It is often said that the general call shows the weakness of the message when it is not accompanied with divine power. No doubt that occurs, although we should remember that in Romans 1:16 Paul says that the gospel is the power of God. Refusal shows more than the weakness of the message; it also shows the determination of sinners to resist God’s way of salvation.

The call that is mentioned in our text does not refer to the general call in particular, although we must remember that the general call is part of the effectual call. The call Paul has in mind here is the call of the Father that always results in specific converts whom he addressed in a life-giving manner and they responded in repentance and faith. One way of illustrating the difference is that in the general call God invites people to Christ and in the effectual call he draws them to Christ. The effectually called person needs both.

How are we to deal with this twofold call if we are in a state of uncertainty about whether or not we have responded to the gospel in a saving manner? I have read and heard some people say that a good response for a seeking sinner is to pray to God that he would make the general call effective. That is a very subtle way of getting a person away from the gospel and to look at his own prayers rather than to focus on the promises of God. If we are uncertain, the best response is to accept the general call that God makes.

God’s effectual call is in line with his eternal plan. This actually is good news because for him to do otherwise would mean that he subsequently found a better way to do things. What kind of abilities would such a divine being have if he has to admit that a better plan came to his mind subsequent to when he thought he already had the best plan? This means that every time he effectually calls a sinner the outcome if for his glory.

God’s effectual call is sequential whereas when the same number was predestined it was simultaneous. He does not follow the alphabet and call all the As first, followed by all the Bs. Instead he follows his own wisdom and calls them one at a time, while they live in different centuries and places.

God’s effectual call gives great pleasure to him. Every time it happens, it is an experience for him of his loving power as he draws to himself by the power of his Spirit an individual for whom his Son died an atoning death.

Justified by God the Father

There is not a time gap between the effectual calling of a sinner and his subsequent justification – there is an order of application, with others also occurring, but they happen at the same time. Between the calling and justification there is on the divine side the act of regeneration and on the human side the spiritual responses of repentance and faith by the saved sinner.

Paul has already explained the doctrine of justification previously in this letter and only needs to mention the word in order for his readers to know that he is referring to a significant doctrine. We too have heard the doctrine explained to us many times and we need only refer to some necessary aspects of it.

First, the doctrine of justification describes how God as judge deals with a converted sinner. In a similar way, we can say that the doctrine of adoption describes how God as Father deals with a converted sinner and brings him into the family.

Second, justification has to do with the removal of barriers that prevent us from being accepted by God. God could not accept us as long as those barriers remained because he is a righteous God who must punish those who sin against him.

Third, justification is the initiative of God alone to deal with the problem. The solution did not come from outside of him. It is an expression of his wisdom as well as of his love. I refer to his wisdom because in justification he deals with the problem of forgiving a guilty sinner who deserves to be punished, and the God who found the solution has to punish the guilty.

Fourth, justification through the work of Christ deals with the twofold problem that each believer has. Those problems are (1) his responsibility to provide God with a lifetime of perfect obedience and (2) his responsibility to provide God with the payment for all the sins done by that believer. How did God deal with those two problems? He sent his Son to do so and by his perfect life dealt fully with the first problem and by his death on Calvary dealt fully with the second problem.

Fifth, sinners enter into the state of justification by faith in Jesus. When they initially believe in Jesus, God the Father imputes to them the benefits of what Jesus purchased for them through his life and death. His perfect lawkeeping is imputed to them as their standing in the presence of God and makes them accepted in the Beloved. His atoning death ensures the forgiveness of all their sins.

Sixth, justification does not make us righteous. Instead we are declared to be righteous by God in his sight. The person declared righteous by God does have a new nature through regeneration, but he is still a sinner. Yet he is also regarded as righteous as far as the penalty for sin is concerned. It is important that justification is not something done by us, nor is it based on something done in us; instead it is something done for us by the Father because the Son did something for us in his life and death.

Seventh, the status of justified cannot be altered by the sins that a believer will commit after his conversion. Nor is it confirmed or made more secure by the repentance or the dedication that the believer will have after his conversion. Justification is a judicial act of the Father based on the perfect work of his Son.

We are familiar with the statement of Luther that justification is the article between a standing and a falling church. If the doctrine of justification is preached, it is a church that will survive because God’s blessing will rest on it. If the doctrine is diminished, that church is under the judgement of God. To hide this doctrine is a great offence to the God of whom it is an amazing expression of his wisdom as the Saviour of sinners.

Glorified by God the Father

It is often said that the verb ‘glorified’ is in the past tense because Paul was so certain about what would happen in the future to believers. While that may be correct, I think it sounds unusual to say that a past tense describes a future experience, especially in a sentence where the other verbs retain their tenses. So I think it is worthwhile asking if there is a meaning or meanings of ‘glorified’ that could describe all the justified but be true of their present as justified rather than of their future. In other words, are there any verses that indicate believers are glorified even while living here on earth so that it would have been possible for Paul to say to his friends at Rome, ‘Each of you is predestined, called, justified and glorified?’

One verse that could indicate present glorification is Ephesians 2:6: God ‘raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.’ Paul there is describing a temporary aspect of union with Jesus in which believers share his exaltation while still living on earth. Union with Christ involves the reception of a status of glory that is given to every believer when they are justified. And in that verse in Ephesians the divine Person who bestows it is the Father, which fits in with what Paul says in Romans 8:30 about the Father glorifying his people.

Another verse that could point in this direction is 1 Peter 4:14: ‘If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.’ Describing them as having the Spirit of glory rest on them suggests a kind of glorification. Paul has said a great deal about the work of the Spirit in Romans 8, so could he mean that possessing the Spirit even as the firstfruits of salvation means believers can be regarded as glorified? Moreover, the one who gives the Spirit in Christ to his people is the Father.

Paul also describes an experience of glory in 2 Corinthians 3:18: ‘And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.’ That verse describes a progress in glory that occurs now in the life of a believer, and it is a reflected glory that is connected to the glory of Christ. While it is not to the same degree as will be known by God’s people in the eternal state, it does follow the same method of reception in that it comes from the glorified Christ.

It looks as if those verses say that we can describe Christians as already glorified in different ways. So it could be that Paul has in mind under ‘glorified’ the aspects that happen in this life as well those aspects that will occur in the next life. And since this explanation includes features of glorification that happen to believers at the time of their justification we can see why Paul would use the past tense to describe it. So we should focus on what God the Father has done in this regard.

Responding to such grace

How should we respond to such a concise but comprehensive description of the Father’s purpose for his people? There should be gratitude for being so blessed, there should be wonder at such a divine display of kindness, there should be assurance that the Father will complete what he commenced, and there should be dedication to the service of such a kind and wise God.