How many times have you heard someone say this about the word all? “All means ‘all’ and that’s all that all means?” While this is true (the word all does mean “all”), the word all doesn’t always mean every possible thing all at once for every person in the world.

All doesn’t always mean every possible thing all at once for every person in the world.

While this may seem obvious, we don’t always apply this fact to the way that we interpret or apply Bible verses that use the word all. As a result, we refer to statements in the Bible wrongly. We easily misinterpret and misapply what the Bible says when it uses the word all. Romans 8:28 is an example of how we may commit this error.

A Promise for Everyone?

"All things work together for good." Is this a universal promise? Is it something you can say to any person, at any time, who is facing any kind of hardship? It is not. It is a promise given only to those who (from our perspective) "love God" and who (from God's perspective) "are called according to his purpose."

This is not a universal promise. It is only for those who love God.

So then, this is a promise for genuine believers. In fact, the Greek sentence structure places "the ones who love God" before "all things work together for good," which emphasizes the limited scope of this guarantee. This is not a universal promise. It is only for those who love God, for those who are genuine believers.

A Promise for Good Things Now?

What is the "good" that Paul mentions here? Is this a promise that every hardship you go through in this life will end up working out better at a later point in your life, in some positive and encouraging way? Not necessarily.

The "good" primarily refers to the final, ultimate outcome of God's purpose for calling you into an eternal relationship with himself. This purpose is to glorify him through your life. It is revealing his goodness and character through your life by transforming you into the likeness of Christ (Rom 8:29).

Most of this good will probably not occur until after this life has ended

In fact, some (or most) of this good will probably not occur until after this life has ended, when you appear before God and enter into his eternal kingdom (Rom 8:30).

Consider Romans 8:32, which uses all again. Does God intend to give us everything you can get in this world? No, he does not. But he does plan to give us everything possible in the life to come.

The Example of Christ's Suffering and Exaltation

When you scan the context of Romans 8:28-30, you notice that Paul made this statement as a response to the suffering that Christians endure (Rom 8:18-27). He continued his discussion of Christian suffering in the following verses (Rom 8:31-39), expanding our perspective to include the guarantee of future, eternal blessings which will follow.

For all the good that Christ did throughout his life, he ended his life with greater suffering, not less.

A key to understanding Paul's emphasis here is to recognize the supreme example of Christ (Rom 8:32-34). During his earthly life, God the Father did not deliver him from the horrors of suffering. In fact, for all the good that Christ did throughout his life, he ended his life with greater suffering, not less. The "good" that all his suffering procured happened after his death in his future, glorified state. In fact, because he suffered, he now sits on the seat of authority over all things (cf. Phil 2:9-11).

The Good Things Come in Eternity

For all the hard things you suffer in this life, you will experience all the "good" things that result from these hardships in the future - in eternity. This means that you may not see much of the good results of your suffering at all in this life.

You may not see much of the good results of your suffering at all in this life.

Is that okay with you? Are you prepared to suffer whatever you must for the Lord in you current earthly existence, waiting patiently for the good that will come afterward (and forever)?