Chapter 7.11

God Around Us

Extra-biblical Revelation through Divine Deeds

Table of Topics

A) Introduction to Extra-biblical Revelation

B) Fulfilling Promises through Miracles: The most wonderful things in life

C) The Present Promised Deeds of God: Wonderful but relatively few

C.1) Unconditional promises for the present

C.2) Conditional promises for the present

D) The Prayed-for Deeds of God

Extras & Endnotes

Primary Points

• A primary source of personal revelation has been God’s deeds categorized as: 1) His past deeds recorded in Scripture, 2) His present deeds promised in Scripture, and 3) His future deeds promised in Scripture.
• Regarding the first category, it becomes evident that the deeds of God recorded in Scripture are a powerful revelation of His character.
• Divine deeds are miraculous and often occur in order to fulfill a promise.
• No doubt, all Christians have experienced God’s miraculous intervention in their life in some additional way beyond salvation.
• God’s deeds in our life are some of the most powerful and impacting revelations of God and nothing is more wonderful.
• It is important to remember God’s deeds in the past so that we might have evidence for the faith we need in the present.
• God’s present promises are either 1) unconditional and certain, or 2) conditional and dependent on something we do.
• God’s present unconditional promises include 1) saving His elect, 2) indwelling us with His Spirit, 3) continuing the sanctifying work in us that He began, 4) not allowing us to be tested beyond what we are able, and 5) giving us a spiritual gift to serve Him in a unique way.
• God’s present conditional promises include 1) meeting our needs if we give generously, trust Him, and pursue God’s will first, 2) giving us the desires of our heart if we delight in Him, 3) giving us grace, comfort, and peace when we trust, obey, and pray to Him with thanksgiving, 5) protecting us from evil if we pray, 6) a divine blessing for children who honor their parents, 7) granting our prayer requests if we pray according to God’s will, 8) conforming us to the character of Christ through our circumstances if we love Him in them.
• The prayed-for deeds of God open up all kinds of possibilities for God to personally and miraculously reveal Himself to us.

A) Introduction to Extra-biblical Revelation

In the previous chapters we discussed what we consider to be the supreme means of divine revelation: Scripture. Our purpose in the following chapters is to discuss other essential methods by which God provides divine revelation, which we have defined as: “God’s self-initiated and divinely authenticated disclosure of His ways, works, or will to His Creation for His glory. We believe all of the “extra-biblical” means of revelation discussed in the following chapters meet this definition. By labeling them “extra-biblical” we are referring either to the fact that they operate apart from the method of Scripture or that they provide direction in addition to that found in Scripture, but never non-biblical revelation.

In addition to Scripture, we will claim in the following chapters these additional means of divine revelation of God’s ways and will: 1) God’s faithful deeds, 2) the New Nature, 3) spiritual gifts, and 4) God-ordained authorities. However, in popular Christian literature there are two suggested means of divine revelation that seemingly take precedence over all of these: 1) subjectively interpreting our circumstances, and 2) following mental impulses.

An example of the former is the great amount of discussion regarding the reading of “signs” of God’s intervention such as “open and closed doors.” The other popular perspective on divine revelation is the belief that God is continually guiding our extra-biblical decisions through mental impulses which are the result of the direct “inspiration” of our thoughts. We have referred to this view as mega mysticism. We do not think either concept is a biblically supported source of divine revelation and discuss this further elsewhere. ^[1] One will notice in the biblical examples of divine revelation through divine deeds that God does this kind of thing to reveal His character or to fulfill a promise, not to give extra-biblical revelation that must be correctly interpreted for divine guidance to be obeyed. Accordingly, we have also discussed at length the critical but tricky issue of properly recognizing divine intervention when it occurs. ^[2]

B) Fulfilling Promises through Miracles: The most wonderful things in life

The deeds of God as a source of divine revelation cover a vast array of issues from Creation through Redemption to the Consummation. God has revealed Himself, is currently revealing Himself, and will reveal Himself in the future by His deeds. He is not silent, invisible, or absent, but “speaks” in how He has acted in history, how He presently answers our prayers, and how He will reveal Himself to His people in the future.

Here we are concerned with the category of personal divine revelation directed to God’s people instead of universal revelation to all humanity such as is provided in Creation. Under personal revelation, we can further categorize God’s revelatory deeds as follows: 1) His past deeds recorded in Scripture, 2) His present deeds promised in Scripture, and 3) His future deeds promised in Scripture.

Regarding the first category, it becomes evident that the deeds of God recorded in Scripture are a powerful revelation of His character. God demonstrated His holiness to Noah when the flood waters supernaturally destroyed all other breathing beings (cf. Gen 6:5-7). He showed Abraham His faithfulness by supernaturally giving him a son even in old age as He had promised (cf. Gen 15:4). God demonstrated His wrath when He, “rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah” (cf. Gen 19:24). He revealed His sovereignty over human circumstances through the miraculous manipulation of events in Joseph’s life (cf. Gen chs. 37-50). God’s unconditional grace was demonstrated in the Exodus (cf. Deut 7:6-8). His compassion was evident when He lengthened Hezekiah’s life (cf. Isa 38:1, 5), just as He does whenever He miraculously heals someone today. God’s great love was demonstrated by God the Son dying on the cross. And His immense power was again proven by Christ’s resurrection.

The first thing to notice about all divine deeds, past, present, and future, is that they are miraculous. They most often have and will involve God intervening in the normal and natural processes of His Creation in order to accomplish what He has promised, and therefore reveal Himself through a miracle. His personal revelation in the past involved such miraculous events as the Flood, the Exodus, and the birth, ministry, death, and resurrection of the King. The prayers He answers in the present are virtually all miraculous in nature because we are always essentially asking for a miracle, a direct divine intervention such that our circumstances become different than they naturally or normally would be. And the Rapture, Resurrection, Return, and Re-creation promised in the future will be among some of the most supernatural events imaginable.

The second characteristic of divine deeds is that many of them occur in order to fulfill a divine promise. God promised the Exodus (cf. Gen 15:13; Exod 12:40), the Dispersion (cf. Lev 26:33; Neh 1:8; Jer 9:16), and the first coming of the Messiah (cf. Isa 52:13-53:12; Micah 5:2; Acts 3:22-24; Gal 3:8, 16). God has promised the future coming of the King and all that He will do then (cf. Jer 23:5-6; Isa 11:10; Matt 16:27; Rev 21:4-5; 22:7, 12-13). Likewise, many of God’s deeds in our present life occur as a fulfillment of a divine promise as well.

In reality, all of us have experienced our own personal Exodus. We have been rescued from the slavery of sin and provided for in the deserts of our lives. When we look back we not only see God’s salvation, but his provision for all of our needs, and give thanks with the Psalmists for these divine revelations of His character:

Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits—Who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, Who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Ps 103:2-5)    

We would suggest God has done all of these things at some time in the life of all of His covenant people. His “love and compassion” are especially revealed in a number of ways that we can recount. It was this mode of divine revelation, God’s deeds, that seemed to thrill King David the most, inspiring many of his Psalms. Indeed, God revealed Himself to David through a myriad of experiences including blessing, rescuing, and discipline, all of which are ways in which He continues to reveal Himself to His people today.

No doubt, all Christians have experienced God’s miraculous intervention in their life in some additional way beyond salvation. Maybe God healed them of physical illness. Perhaps we pray for something for which we have no biblical promise for, and we don’t know if it is God’s will (cf. 1 John 5:14-15), and it is specific and unlikely enough that when it happens we know God has miraculously intervened on our behalf. These experiences of God are some of the most powerful and impacting revelations of God in our life and nothing is more wonderful.

Elsewhere, we have written the following concerning the importance of God’s deeds as a revelation of Himself:

The Psalmist said, “Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek You” (Ps 9:10). To know the name of God is to know His character and attributes and one of our greatest sources of evidence for these is our experiences. This is precisely how ones like Abraham, Moses, and David came to know God enough to trust Him.

For example, as David remembered the victory God had given him over the lion and the bear, he had the evidence he needed to trust God to defeat Goliath. While current challenges to our faith test the current quality and amount of our faith, victories in those challenges, and experiencing God’s help in them, strengthen our faith for future and greater challenges.

For example, Christ has commanded us to trust the Father for our daily, physical needs (Matt 6:25-33), and any Christian who will ponder their past, will be able to remember many times in which they know God did indeed provide what they needed, and such a reminder will help strengthen their faith for current challenges.

We see then that it is important to remember God’s deeds in the past so that we might have evidence for the faith we need in the present. Accordingly, we read in Psalms: “The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle [because]. . . . They forgot what He [God] had done [in the past], the wonders He had shown them” (Ps 78:9, 11). We too forfeit the evidence that could fortify our Christian faith when we forget God’s past deeds of love and power toward us. This is particularly applicable to our faith in the power of our prayers. As we are diligent to monitor God’s responsiveness to them, we gain a greater conviction of their effectiveness. ^[3]

God’s deeds in our life increase our faith because they are divine revelations of His character and will, and are available to every Christian. We should never ignore the power and place of personal experiences of God for providing particularly doctrinal revelation of God’s ways and attributes.

Pastoral Practices

• Let us not make the same mistake as “the men of Ephraim” who “forgot what He [God] had done, the wonders He had shown them” (Ps 78:9, 11). As Pastors, we especially need to be confident in God’s goodness for the challenges we face in ministry. Therefore, it is vital to record, recite, and rejoice in God’s goodness in past challenges. And we need to encourage our people to do the same so that they may be more equipped to handle their current and future challenges with faith, because they have reminded themselves of God’s faithfulness in the past.

C) The Present Promised Deeds of God: Wonderful but relatively few

Because God’s revelatory deeds are essentially miraculous, they will be discussed much more thoroughly in Books 9 and 10 of Knowing Our God concerning miracles. ^[4] However, here we would like to briefly discuss God’s present deeds in our lives, as opposed to those past deeds recorded in Scripture, and those promised in the future when the King returns. How does God reveal Himself to us now in this life through His deeds?

C.1) Unconditional promises for the present

As noted above, the Scriptures give us several promises for this life which require God to act personally in our lives in order to fulfill them. Some of these promises are unconditional, based solely on God’s character, and a clear revelation of His ways and will. Because they are unconditional promises, they are also predetermined, and are rather identical to the predestined will of God we discuss in a subsequent chapter. ^[5] All of the following will happen in our lives because God has unconditionally promised to do so:

• Never again flood the entire Earth (cf. Gen 9:11);
• Saving His elect for eternity by grace, who were chosen by grace, before the creation of the world (cf. John 6:37-39; 10:28-29; Acts 13:48; Rom 9:10-23; 11:5-6; Eph 1:3-14; 2:1-10);
• Indwelling us with His Spirit to give us a New Nature (cf. John 14:17, 20; 15:5; ^[6] Gal 2:20; Eph 4:24; Matt 28:20);
• Continuing the sanctifying work in us that He began (Phil 1:6);
• Not allowing us to be tempted or tested beyond what we are able (cf. 1 Cor 10:13);
• Building His Church (cf. Matt 16:18);
• Giving us a spiritual gift, ability, and desire to serve Him in a unique way (cf. Rom 12:6; 1 Cor 12:7,11).
• The Consummation of His plan for humanity and the Church initiated by the second coming of Christ and fulfilled in the New Earth (1 Cor 15:20-28; Rev 21:1-5).

These promises are so wonderful and beneficial that it is to be wondered why we want and expect more from God. And all of them normally require the miraculous intervention of God to fulfill, therefore revealing His divine will and ways. ^[7]

However, while these promises are wonderful, they are relatively few, much fewer than many believe or would hope. It is, in fact, a vital need for Christians to recognize that the vast majority of God’s promises in Scripture relate to His Second Coming, and not to this life at all. The Beatitudes are a good example of this (cf. Matt 5:3-12). This is why the Apostle told us: “set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Pet 1:13). Nevertheless, we have “very great and precious promises” (2 Pet 1:4) for this life as well, some of which we will comment on here.

The greatest unconditional promise we have for this life is the conversion of all of God’s elect for the salvation of their souls. Contrary to fairist (Arminian) theology, unregenerated humans are not able to receive the Gospel because of both sinful and demonic forces operating in and around them (cf. Rom 8:3-11; 1 Cor 2:12-15; 2 Cor 4:3-6). This is why they must be supernaturally born again and enlightened, and why saving faith is purely a gift of God, not something originating from spiritually dead humans (cf. John 3:3-8; Acts 16:14; 2 Cor 4:4-6; Eph 2:1-9). ^[8]

Likewise, the promise of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which comes with our regeneration and conversion is unconditionally made to all of the elect and requires a miracle to fulfill. In addition, the subsequent New Nature gives us the ability to perform a multitude of spiritual miracles of supernatural virtue in our lives. More will be said in the next chapter when we discuss the New Nature as a divine revelation. This indwelling of the Spirit also results in supernatural spiritual gifts which are also discussed in a subsequent chapter.

In addition, the unconditional promise of building His Church (Matt 16:18) and never letting the forces of Hell stop it, has certainly required a multitude of obvious, miraculous interventions of God. Beyond the supernatural things that accompany any conversion to eternal life, God has miraculously guided and protected missionaries, provided Teachers and Pastors (cf. Eph 4:11-16; Acts 20:28), and performed a myriad of deeds in and around Christians and churches to ensure His Church is built.

Likewise, the promise that God will never “let you be tempted [peirasthēmai: “tested”] beyond what you can bear” (1 Cor 10:13) certainly requires a great deal of divine intervention in our life, especially in the spiritual realm, in order to ensure none of our circumstances require more faith, hope and love than we possess so that we may always overcome and not sin. The Christian lives a divinely filtered life, set up and manipulated in order that the Christian may win every spiritual battle they face. This continuing action reveals the compassion and care of God virtually everyday.

But He may ordain certain tests and circumstances for the purpose of fulfilling another promise to continually work on us to help us grow spiritually. Of this we can be sure: “God, Who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again” (Phil 1:6 NLT). ^[9] God promises to work through the indwelling Spirit, and our circumstances, to help us renew our mind and be more consistently transformed into the character of Christ, “until the day of Christ” (Phil 1:6). No doubt, this may include supernatural intervention in the events of our life to expose areas of need, and teach us in specific ways.

C.2) Conditional promises for the present

While the promises of divine deeds above are unconditional and predestined in nature, other biblical promises are conditional and not predetermined by God (although certainly foreknown). Their fulfillment depends first on our actions, upon which God has promised to do something. These conditional promises of God include:

• Granting our prayer requests if we pray according to His will (cf. John 14:13-14; 1 John 3:22; 5:14-15).
• Meeting our needs if we give generously, trust Him, and pursue God’s will first (cf. 2 Cor 9:6-13; Phil 4:14-19; Ps 50:15; 55:22; Matt 6:11, 33; Luke 18:29-30);
• Giving us the desires of our heart if we delight in Him (cf. Ps 37:4);
• Giving us grace, comfort, and peace when we trust, obey, and pray to Him with thanksgiving (cf. 1 Pet 5:5-6; 2 Cor 1:3-4; Phil 4:6-7);
• Protecting us from evil if we pray (cf. 2 Thess 3:3; Eph 6:18; Matt 6:13);
• A divine blessing for children who honor their parents (Eph 6:1-3);
• Conforming us to the character of Christ through our circumstances if we love Him in them (cf. Rom 8:28).

This last promise may require more explanation. The Apostle writes: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. For [gar: “because”] those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son” (Rom 8:28-29). Too many Christians only read the first part of this promise concluding that “the good” that God promises to work in any situation will be in their circumstances, rather than their character. On the contrary, the reason God says He, “works” “all things . . . for the good” of all His elect is not because He might make them financially richer or physically more comfortable. His definition of “good” is being “conformed to the likeness of His Son” which may require a great deal of hardship and pain. But He knows better than we that this really is “good.”

Notice as well that this promise is conditional. It is for “those who love” God even in the midst of difficult, trying, tempting circumstances. This is not automatic even for the Christian as we may choose not to love and obey God in a difficult circumstance, and even get bitter about it, rather than better through it. As a result we forfeit God’s desire to use the situation to “be conformed to the likeness of His Son.” As noted above regarding Phil 1:6, this will eventually happen at Christ’s return and our resurrection because as the Apostle says here it is “predestined.” But the amount of sanctification that occurs in our life before that Day, and the real “good” that comes out of our circumstances in the mean time, is not “predestined,” but conditional on our response. ^[10]

The conditional way in which these promises are communicated suggests that if we do not meet their requirements, our provision may suffer, our spiritual desires may be hindered, our anxiety greater, and demonic opposition stronger. But if we are faithful, God will always reveal His faithfulness in these things, thus becoming another wonderful personal divine revelation of His character. And it would seem the fulfillment of such promises would again require some sort of miraculous intervention by God.

D) The Prayed-for Deeds of God

The first conditional promise listed above opens up all kinds of possibilities for God to personally and miraculously reveal Himself to us. God promises to grant our prayer requests if we pray according to His will. We read in 1 John:

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him. (5:14-15)

There are a multitude of things that can and will happen because we ask God to do them, and they would not occur without us asking. We do not have specific promises for them, but we do have this remarkable promise.

Certainly, “His will” includes those things promised and prescribed in Scripture, but it can also include things we simply ask for and God grants. With such a promise we can significantly influence God’s intervention and direction for our life, and see significantly more miraculous deeds occur in and around our life. We refer to this as the prayed-for will of God which we discuss further elsewhere. ^[11]

Pastoral Practices

• Prayer can be one of the most demanding disciplines of the Christian life. Yet, there may be many things we, “do not have, because [we] do not ask God” (Jas 4:2). There is no doubt that the effect of our ministry will be significantly affected by our prayers. Knowing this should encourage us to commit to this amazing divine invitation to change us, others, and the world by asking Him. Make a plan and commitment to increase your prayer life.

Extras & Endnotes

A Devotion to Dad

Father we praise You for all the wonderful ways You personally reveal Yourself to us by Your deeds. Surely our salvation and conversion is the greatest divine deed, and we marvel at what these reveal about You. Help us to study and claim the present promises You have given us. And may we take advantage of the amazing promise that if we pray according to Your will, we will have what we ask for.

Gauging Your Grasp

1. What is an unavoidable attribute of a divine deed? What is a common attribute?
2. Since your conversion, what have been some divine deeds in which you have experienced God’s miraculous intervention in your life? How could such experiences help you in future difficult circumstances?
3. List all of the present unconditional promises God has given us and which we claim above. What are a few of your favorites and why? Can you think of others?
4. List all of the present conditional promises God has given us and which we claim above. Can you think of others? Which one could you most be taking better advantage of?
5. What makes prayer exciting?

Recommended Reading

• Chapter 10:3 in Knowing Our God: “The Proper Expectation and Recognition of Miracles.” Any divine intervention in our life is a miracle. Unfortunately, all kinds of people expect such miraculous intervention on a constant basis, especially in order to guide them in decision making. Accordingly, misinterpreting events around us as miraculous intervention could be a damaging mistake. This chapter gives some biblical guidelines on how do we know when God is doing a miracle.
• Book 14: The Myth of Mega Mysticism. As noted above, many believe God is in the habit of miraculously intervening in our lives in order to give us extra-biblical revelation that we are to obey. On the contrary, God’s deeds are usually more for the purpose of revealing His character, rather than His direction. Book 14 offers a biblical critique of the whole mega mystical mindset about how God guides us. See especially chapter 14.7 regarding a biblical view of interpreting our circumstances as divine revelation.

Publications & Particulars

1. For further discussion of mega mysticism see Book 14. ↑

2. For further discussion on the proper recognition of divine intervention see chapter 10.3 ↑

3. Excerpt from section 6.12.C.3. ↑

4. For further discussion of God’s miraculous deeds chapters 10.2-5. ↑

5. For further discussion of the predestined will of God see section 7.15.B.1 ↑

6. John 15:1-19 contains unconditional promises for believers because the context of the passage is a contrast between unbelievers and believers, not disobedient believers and obedient believers. “Remaining” in Christ means to be saved. To fail to remain in Christ is to be damned (cf. v. 6). All Christians will bear supernatural, virtuous fruit (cf. v. 15-16). ↑

7. The fact that these promises require rather frequent divine intervention illustrates the difficulty of defining a miracle. In a subsequent chapter (3.7) we will define a miracle as “extraordinary” including the suggestion that they are relatively rare. However, some may suggest fulfilling such promises as conforming us to Christ, building His Church, saving the elect, indwelling them with the Spirit, and giving them spiritual gifts results in a rather continual stream of miracles. This is to be admitted.

   Nonetheless, there is value in distinguishing between the faithful deeds of God that He will certainly perform to fulfill promises, and the extraordinary deeds that He does otherwise and on a much less frequent basis. ↑

8. For further discussion on the ultimate need for divine intervention for our salvation see chapters 4.14 and 6.3. ↑

9. The Greek in Phil 1:6 is somewhat awkward. The Lexham Greek-English Interlinear NT has it: “the one who began a good work in you will finish it until [one would expect “on”] the day of Christ Jesus.” Several translations such as the NASB suggest to us that this work will continue until the time of Christ’s return and then cease prior to it (cf. NIV, KJV, NKJV). This is what the word “until [archi]” implies in both English and Greek. BADG has it: “A function word used to indicate an interval between two points,” which would not include the end point. This would seem to be the meaning at Luke 1:20; 4:13; Acts 1:2, 22; ;3:21; 13:11; 20:11; Rom 5:13; and Gal 4:2. However, archi is used in contexts where it seems to include the end point (cf. Acts 2:29; 23:1; 26:22; Rom 8:22; Phil 1:5; 1 Cor 4:11; 2 Cor 3:14). In Phil 1:6 this would seem to be the case because surely the divine work of sanctification is not finish until the time of Christ’s return.

   Accordingly, it would seem best to see this as a promise of continuing sanctifying work in us in this Age, which will be completed on the first day of the next Age. The NLT translates: “And I am sure that God, Who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.” Perhaps even better is TSMG: “There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God Who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.”

   The ESV and RSV seem incorrect to exclude the interval time, the former reading: “And I am sure of this, that He Who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” The NRSV is ambiguous translating that God will bring the “good work” “to completion by the day of Christ Jesus,” implying it is completed before “the day” or during “the day of Christ Jesus”

   That this statement is a divine promise is indicated by Paul’s use of peithō which is a strong word of conviction meaning “be convinced, sure, certain” (BADG). If the Apostle was certain that God would continue His sanctifying work, then we can interpret this as a divine promise that will be fulfilled ↑

10. Admittedly, we can find no clear support among commentators for our view that the promise of Romans 8:28 is conditional on our responding to suffering with a love for God. All that we have read view “those who love God” as all Christians. Accordingly, Douglas Moo is typical when he writes: “Loving God” is therefore a qualification for the enjoyment of the promise of this verse, but it is a qualification met by all who belong to Christ” (The Epistle to the Romans [Eerdmans, 1996], 530).

    However, it simply is not true that all Christians love God all the time, or there would be no need for instructions in Scripture to obey Him. In addition, it is a biblical and experiential fact that both temporary and eternal harm can come to the Christian depending on their response to difficulties. The eternal consequences can be loss of rewards as described in 1 Cor 3:11-15.

    If loving God is recognized as something not all Christians do all the time in every difficulty, then we like the interpretation of James Edwards who writes of Rom 8:28: “It means that for those who love God no evil may befall them which God cannot use for their growth and His glory” (Romans (NIBC) [Hendrickson, 1992], 218).

    Albert Barnes may be close to supporting our view, but it is still unclear if he thinks a Christian can forfeit the promise here:

    This is a characteristic of true piety. To them, afflictions are a blessing. To others, they often prove otherwise. On others they are sent as chastisements; and they produce complaining, instead of peace; rebellion, instead of submission; and anger, impatience, and hatred, instead of calmness, patience, and love. The Christian is made a better man by receiving afflictions as they should be received, and by desiring that they should accomplish the purpose for which they are sent; the sinner is made more hardened by resisting them, and refusing to submit to their obvious intention and design. (Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament; online at http://www.ccel.org, Rom 8:28)

    We are simply suggesting that a Christian can act and respond to difficulties like a sinner and suffer the consequences and not grow to be more like Christ in the difficulty as God would desire.

    Accordingly, we disagree with John Murray who wrote of this verse: “Not one detail works ultimately for evil to the people of God” (The Epistle to the Romans [Eerdmans, 1959, repr. 1997], 314). Nor do we agree with Calvin who writes of Augustine:

    For though what Augustine says is true, that even the sins of the saints are, through the guiding providence of God, so far from doing harm to them, that, on the contrary, they serve to advance their salvation; yet this belongs not to this passage, the subject of which is the cross. (Calvin’s Commentaries, online at http://www.ccel.org, Rom 8:28)

    What all these commentators seem to be implying is that the Christian’s choice to sin has no negative effect on their spiritual growth, eternal reward, personal testimony, or God’s glory. This simply is not the case. ↑

11. For further discussion regarding what we call the prayed-for will of God see section 7.15.B.5. Concerning the effect of prayer on the occurrence of miracles see section 10.3.C.2. ↑