According To His Purpose

Q. I’ve always wondered, but never asked:  In Romans 8:28, who are those who “are called according to His purpose”?  What does “his purpose” mean?  Do all things work for the good only for those for whom God has a special purpose; a special task?

A. In Ephesians 3:10-11 Paul wrote that through the Church God’s purpose was to make known His manifold wisdom to the principalities and powers in the heavenly realms.

It’s not that He has special tasks for some of us and works to help us accomplish them.  It’s that through what He’s done for all of us He demonstrated to Satan and the angels how He could reconcile His righteousness (that demands we be punished) with His love (that demands we be pardoned).  As verse 11 explains, He did it by sending His Son to die in our place.  His righteousness was satisfied through the expression of His love, and that was His purpose for us.