What does Romans 8:28 mean?
Paul writes this to encourage Christians who were suffering. The verse does not claim that everything that happens is good, because many things in this broken world are painful and wrong. It says God works all things together for good, weaving even hardship into his purposes. The promise is for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. The next verse defines that good: being shaped into the likeness of Jesus. So the goal may not be comfort or success, but something deeper. Believers can trust that nothing, not even their worst day, is wasted in God's hands.
Romans 8:28 in the World English Bible
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Context
27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
28 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.
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
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Frequently asked questions
What does Romans 8:28 mean?
Paul writes this to encourage Christians who were suffering. The verse does not claim that everything that happens is good, because many things in this broken world are painful and wrong. It says God works all things together for good, weaving even hardship into his purposes. The promise is for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. The next verse defines that good: being shaped into the likeness of Jesus. So the goal may not be comfort or success, but something deeper. Believers can trust that nothing, not even their worst day, is wasted in God's hands.
What does Romans 8:28 say in the KJV?
Romans 8:28 (KJV) reads: “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.”