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Ordinary Time · Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time · Year A

Romans 8:28-30

More Than Conquerors

July 26, 2026

An Elderly Man as Saint Paul, Rembrandt van Rijn
An Elderly Man as Saint Paul, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1659The National Gallery, London
Not a portrait of Paul so much as an old man hired to sit as him, which is how Rembrandt worked. The book and the thinking are real; the costume is studio property.We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose … those whom he called he also justified.Rembrandt van RijnRembrandt (1606-1669) painted scripture as if it had happened in a room he had been in, and returned to the same stories across forty years, changing his mind about them in public.The National Gallery, LondonFounded in 1824 with thirty-eight pictures bought from a banker's estate, and still free to enter, as its founders insisted.The National Gallery, London
Roman Lectionary
GospelMatt. 13:44-52Mt 13:44-52 orMatt. 13:44-46Mt 13:44-46
Second ReadingRom. 8:28-30Rom 8:28-30
First Reading1 Kings 3:5, 7-121 Kgs 3:5, 7-12
Responsorial PsalmPs. 119:57+72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130 (97a)Ps 119:57+72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130 (97a)

Overview & Insights

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)

1. Suffering/glory (8:18) 2. Three groanings (8:19–27) a. Creation groans (hope for the revelation of the children of God) (8:19–22) b. Believers groan (firstfruits of the Spirit / by hope we were saved) (8:23–25) c. The Spirit groans (the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses) (8:26–27) 3. Suffering/glory (8:28–30)1 Each of these points—suffering/glory, the groaning of creation, the groaning of Christians, and the groaning of the Spirit—includes blessings of the age to come and the new covenant that have already dawned for Christians but are not yet complete.

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Take it further: Romans 8:28-30

Commentary

Working Preacher: Commentary on Romans 8:26-39Working Preacher: Commentary on Rom 8:26-39 Working Preacher

A preaching focused reading of God's purpose that covers these verses.

Enduring Word: Romans 8Enduring Word: Rom 8 Enduring Word · David Guzik

Verse by verse evangelical commentary on the whole chapter.

Bible Hub: Romans 8:28 CommentariesBible Hub: Rom 8:28 Commentaries BibleHub

Classic and modern commentaries on the golden chain of salvation.

Barnes' Notes on Romans 8Barnes' Notes on Rom 8 StudyLight

A concise nineteenth century commentary on the chapter.

Brant Pitre on the 17th Sunday Readings (Year A) Catholic Productions · Brant Pitre

A Catholic reading of predestination and calling alongside the day's Gospel.

Background & Word Study

Bible Hub Interlinear: Romans 8Bible Hub Interlinear: Rom 8 BibleHub

The Greek text with parsing and gloss for each word.

BibleProject: Overview of Romans 5-16BibleProject: Overview of Rom 5-16 BibleProject

An animated walk through the second half of the letter.

The Church Fathers

Catena: Romans 8Catena: Rom 8 Catena

Early church comment on God's purpose gathered by verse.

Questions preachers ask

What is the confidence of Romans 8?

God who did not spare his own Son will give us all things; it is God who justifies, and Christ who intercedes, so nothing can separate us from his love.

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