“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

This power-packed promise is sometimes misquoted, failing to complete the qualifiers that secure the good for which all things work together. Frequently overlooked is the context upon which “all things” are based.

• “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Matthew 21:22).
• “All things which are written may be fulfilled” (Luke 21:22).
• “Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things” (Acts 3:21).
• “Every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:12-13).

The “all things” are promised to those who “love God.” That is defined by obedience to His commandments (1 John 5:3). Further, those who love God are “the called.” That definite article demands all that follows in Romans 8:29-30.

And finally, those who love God and who are “the” called are absolutely and consciously aware that God has “made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself....In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ” (Ephesians 1:9, 11-12). HMM III