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Ambassador Baptist Church
1926 Babcock Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15209
(412)477-3210
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   You Are Here: Bridge / Galley / Pastor's Pen / Pathways Through Paul
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Pathways Through Paul Daily Devotional
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Pathways Through Paul
Daily Devotional

March 15
Click on verses for Full Scripture
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Today's Pathway:


 Romans 8:29
  1. 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.
  2. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

His Majesty's Service

 When looking at these verses it is important to notice the word "for". We saw yesterday that God is at work in everything in our lives, and our circumstances are designed to make us better Christians. He gives the reason for that in verses 29 and 30. He desires for every believer to be conformed to the image of Christ.

 Paul starts off by stating the obvious fact that God knew in advance who would be saved. We will discuss this topic in greater detail later in Romans, but suffice it to say that there is a great difference between saying that God knew who would be saved and that God chose who would be saved. In this verse, Paul says that those who God knew would receive Christ as Savior were predestined by Him, not to salvation, but to being conformed to Christ. The word "conformed" means "to resemble, to be of like form". The Greek word appears only one other time in Scripture, where it is translated "fashioned like unto" (Philippians 3:21). The word "image" carries the idea of seeing yourself in a mirror. You aren't looking at yourself, but you are looking at an image of yourself. God wants us to "mirror" His Son. He is at work on a daily basis to make us more Christlike throughout our lives, and we know that ultimately we will be Christlike, because God has predestined us to that.

 The expression "that he might be the firstborn among many brethren" deals with us being adopted as children of God (verses 14-17). Jesus is the firstborn in rank and preeminence. However, He has many "brethren". These are the people who have accepted Him as Savior. Albert Barnes explained the phrase this way:

"that Christ might be preeminent as the model and exemplar; that He might be clothed with peculiar honours; and yet, that He might still sustain a fraternal relation to believers; that He might be One in the same great family of God, where all are sons."
Hebrews 2:11 tells us,
"For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren".
Christ is the firstborn, and in all things He has the preeminence (Colossians 1:18), but He is not ashamed to call those who have been adopted into God's family His brothers. That is an amazing truth.

 Verse 30 gives the progression by which the believer's conforming to the image of Jesus takes place. It was predestinated, so we know that it is going to happen. Those who were predestined are called to salvation. We know that all men are called to salvation (John 12:32), but the believer has obviously responded to the call (Acts 26:19). When a man receives Christ he is justified (Galatians 2:16). Those who are saved are glorified. The word "glorified" means "to cause to have splendid greatness, to clothe in splendor, to invest with dignity, to give anyone esteem or honor by putting him into an honorable position." Obviously, we have not yet received our glorification. However, though it will happen in the future, it is so certain that here Paul speaks of it using the same verb tense as justification. I John 3:2 tells us,

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."
This is glorification, and I'm very thankful that God has promised it to those who have believed.

Pastor Mark J Montgomery

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His Majesty's Service
Home of Ambassador Baptist Church
1926 Babcock Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15209
(412)477-3210
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