Lesson for June 4, 2023
The Doctrine of Undeserved Suffering
Lesson 4
Romans 8:26, “Now in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
The third groan is that of God the Holy Spirit with regard to the undeserved suffering of believers. The groaning of the Holy Spirit is an anthropopathism, a way of expressing or communicating in human terms, so that we can understand. The Greek word for groanings is “stenagmos,” meaning grief, sigh, murmur, or groan. Obviously, God does not grieve, sigh, murmur, or groan. These are sounds of a person who is so distraught that they cannot even speak.
Notice these verses say that the Spirit helps our weaknesses, which is not a reference to divine discipline. Our weaknesses in undeserved suffering are what are in view. Remember, the previous verses were the groanings from spiritually mature believers who were suffering and longing for their glorified bodies and eternal rewards and blessings. The Greek word for helps is “sunantilambanomai” [sun = with; anti – against or instead of; lambanomai = to receive], which means to aid or to assist. Here it means to give a helping hand.
When a spiritually advancing believer is suffering, they often need help in expressing their desires to God with regard to that suffering. Paul experienced this when he asked God three times to remove the “thorn in his flesh.” Paul wanted relief from his suffering, which is a legitimate request for any human being. However, what he was experiencing was undeserved suffering and God made that clear to him when He said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” (II Corinthians 12:9)
The Greek word for weakness is “astheneia,” meaning weakness in suffering, not weakness in prayer. When a believer is living their spiritual life, and suffering comes into their life, they will have the doctrine to handle it. Asking God for help can be difficult, so the Holy Spirit intercedes with “groanings” (help in expressing the proper prayer), which are expressions to God for help.
Not only does the Holy Spirit help with our prayers, but He also helps with recall and application of Bible doctrine. Since God has designed the undeserved suffering for our blessing, the Holy Spirit offers the proper prayer on our behalf. In this way, undeserved suffering is turned into blessing by means of the intercessory ministry of God the Holy Spirit on behalf of maturing believers when they are in suffering undeservedly.
Romans 8:27, “And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
The Greek word for searches is “eraunao,” which means to investigate, to examine, or to analyze. It is used in this verse for God’s attribute of omniscience, knowing what is attempting to be communicated to Him by an advancing believer in undeserved suffering.
While the intercession of the Spirit is described as groaning too great for words, these groanings are clearly understood by God the Father. The words do not have to be uttered for the omniscience of the Father to understand the omniscience of God the Holy Spirit since they are co-equal and co-eternal.
According to the will of God. It is God’s will for the Holy Spirit to make intercession for believers. No intercession is made which is not totally compatible with the divine decrees of eternity past. Since God the Holy Spirit is perfect, His intercession on behalf of maturing believers is also perfect. And His intercession is responsible for turning undeserved suffering into the grace blessings.
Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
After the three groans, a promise to spiritually advancing believers is given in this verse. Only believers who are fulfilling God’s plan for their lives truly love God. Simply saying, “I love God” does not make it so. Actions always speak louder than words. If a believer loves God, they will want to know Him in a very intimate way. And the only way to know God intimately is through the knowledge of His Word.
A believer experiencing undeserved suffering can be assured that God is working “behind the scenes” on their behalf. This means that undeserved suffering is designed to ultimately bring blessing to a believer. There are various reasons why a believer suffers undeservedly. One reason is to develop our faith in God and His Word more fully. It may be to teach us patience or to give attention to our spiritual health. It certainly should give us a hunger for Heaven, where there will no longer be suffering.
To those who are called according to His purpose is a reference to the doctrine of election. Believers are chosen (elected or called) for a service, just like Christ was chosen by God the Father for the service of paying for our sins on the Cross.
Election is the plan of God for believers only, whereby He chooses or selects certain things to be true, which is the meaning of according to His purpose. The Greek word for election is “eklektos” and means picked out, selected, or chosen for privilege. The question that must be answered in order to clearly understand this doctrine is “What are these things that God chooses for the believer?” Please notice that it is not God choosing a person for salvation as some falsely teach; rather it is God choosing certain things to be true of a person one they become a believer. Unbelievers must still use their volition to choose to believe in Christ or to reject Him. (Ephesians 1:4)
This false doctrine, “that God chooses some to be saved and others to be lost,” is called “limited atonement.” What the Bible teaches is “unlimited atonement.” The Bible teaches that any person may believe in Christ for eternal life. God is not willing that anyone should perish but that all should come to know Christ as Savior, according to II Peter 3:9.
Church Age believers have been chosen by God for a service. This service is to be Royal Family of God and to fulfill God’s plan for their individual lives by studying His Word and learning about His plan for this age. Every person who believes in Christ during the Church Age becomes Royal Family of God. As royalty, it is the responsibility of each believer to fulfill their “election” by living the Christian Way of Life. (II Thessalonians 2:13-14)
If we are to make our “calling certain” as the Bible says in II Peter 1:10, we must become knowledgeable of the doctrines of God’s Word and how they apply to our lives. This requires a life of consistent and persistent study of accurate Bible doctrine.
In order to fully understand spiritual information from the Word of God, believers must rely upon the teaching ministry of God the Holy Spirit. Spiritual things are revealed only by the Holy Spirit to those who are consistently in fellowship with God (filled with the Holy Spirit).