Three-in-One: The Relational GodNäide

God's Fellowship (3)

From Curse to Hope

When sin first entered the world through humanity’s disobedience, it impacted everything. It wasn’t just people who missed out on God’s original plan for the world. All of creation was affected. It might be more accurate to say that all of creation was infected, even though it had done nothing wrong. The consequences of sin always ripple out beyond where and when it first took root. That’s true not just for creation but also for people.

The good news is that God is more powerful than sin. Someday, all of the brokenness and destruction will be made right. Until then, God enters our world and our lives to begin his good, healing, and redeeming work.

You might recognize these words from the verses in this lesson:

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

It’s a beautiful and encouraging verse. But it doesn’t stand on its own. It has important context (the words before and after it). Our lives have context, too; things that happened before and things that are still to come. Jesus is part of that context. He’s not just with us here and now. He also remakes our past and directs our future.

(If you want a glimpse of what new creation will be like, read Revelation 21:1–7 and 22:1–5.)

Read & Reflect

• Paul writes that everything works together for our good (v. 28). But he also says we will share in Christ’s suffering (v. 17). How can these both be true? (By the way, “good” in the Bible usually means that something is functioning and flourishing within its intended purpose and design.)
• What do you learn about God in these verses? (When Paul writes "God" he almost always means the Father.)
• What do you learn about Jesus in these verses? (When Paul writes "Lord" he almost always means Jesus).
• What do you learn about the Holy Spirit in these verses?
• What do you learn about humanity and yourself in these verses?