Romans
8:18-22 (NASB)
18For I consider that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory
that is to be revealed to us. 19For the anxious longing of the
creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20For
the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who
subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself also will be set
free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the
children of God. 22For we know that the whole creation groans and
suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
Ah!
Suffering!
Paul is dealing with one of the major
issues that believers have to deal with.
What is our relationship to suffering?
Why do we suffer? How should we
view suffering? It is easy to get caught
thinking about suffering in overly simplistic terms. Many of us hide many wrong thoughts about
suffering such as:
·
Legalistic - “All suffering happens because I
did something wrong.”
·
Athiestic/Agnostic – “Suffering is proof that
God doesn’t care, exist, or isn’t able.”
·
Victim – “It is always someone else’s fault.”
More unbiblical attitudes about
suffering could surely be added to this but Paul doesn’t waste time with
that. Rather, the Holy Spirit gives us a
clear understanding of where suffering comes from, what purpose they are
serving and how the believer is to respond to them.
Romans
8:18
For I consider that the sufferings of
this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be
revealed to us.
Reason
it out…
In
the previous verse Paul noted an important point about suffering. We are positioned in Christ, thus He
identifies with US in our suffering.
This is difficult for us to imagine, however, it is the biblical
truth. And just as He shares in our
suffering we are both sharing now in His glory as we are transformed (2
Corinthians 3:18) and will ultimately be conformed to that glory when we behold
Him face to face (either at the time of our death or at the rapture when Christ
will return for His Church). Paul then
continues with the idea of logical argument.
“For I consider” here was the same word translated
“consider” in Romans 6:11: “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but
alive to God in Christ Jesus.” This word
means to put something down as true. It
was used in accounting for placing the correct figures in the book and
including them in all of the sums to follow.
This word also has the sense of a “fully reasoned out conclusion.” So the idea is that Paul considers this a
good and reasonable fact. It only makes sense
to rely on a fact and incorporate it in your understanding and reaction to all
relevant circumstances.
Suffering in the Now
The present world offers no shortage
of suffering. Relationships that don’t
work out the way we had hoped, work troubles, food shortages, disasters and
catastrophes all make us say, “I shouldn’t be this way! This stinks!”
Yet, the word is all inclusive here, all of the sufferings are in view
here. Paul had experienced a great
amount of personal pain and suffering.
When he placed his faith in Christ he left a great deal behind him. Undoubtedly he had a number of friends,
likely he even had admirers and those who would talk about how great he was
around the dinner tahle. All of these
relationships fell away when he became a Christian. Those very people who applauded him before
were now persecuting him with equal vigor.
Not only that, we know that Paul struggled with health problems,
physical persecutions and imprisonments.
We have sufferings of our own and now Paul gives us some superb advice
as to how to consider those difficulties.
Holding
it up to the Light
When you need to get a good look at
something you hold it up to the light and make sure that you are getting a
clear view. The believer is to hold all
of their struggles up to the light of God’s revelation to us in the Bible. When we look at what has been promised to
everyone who enters into a relationship with Christ through faith we get to see
things in perspective. And that makes
all of the difference.
Very often we look at our situations
and get bent out of shape about a detail, or an offhanded comment, or some
minor incident. Looking at it a day
later we find that the thing that had our feathers so very ruffled was really
nothing of any great importance when considered in perspective. This is what happens to EVERY struggle when
we truly understand the magnitude of the glory that the Lord has shared, and
will share, with us in the person of Jesus Christ.
Placing
Prepositions
Glory has been well described as the
“Radiant essence of who God is.” It was
this glory that Moses could not look upon and live. It is this glory that caused Isaiah to say “I
am undone!” The glory of God is a
reality that we cannot fully comprehend.
Yet, this is our present as we rest in Jesus Christ and our position in
Him. Our future is tied up in the glory
of God. This is something that needs
some time to soak in. Essentially the
future that lies before us will be characterized by a perfection and a wonder
that we know very little of from our day to day experience. This is fantastic news.
Some translations have this phrase
brought across that the glory will be revealed “to” us, and others have the
glory being revealed “in” us. The Greek
word properly has the idea of “into”. But here is the reality: God’s glory will be revealed both in and
through us. We will behold His glory and
we will reflect His glory. At that time
we will be perfect instruments of His glory.
This is our future. This is what
our earthly struggles cannot even compare to.
The Point: It is perfectly logical,
and spiritually appropriate when dealing with struggles, to turn your mind to
the glory that will be yours when you are face to face with Christ.
Romans
8:19
For the anxious longing of the creation
waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
You
are not the only one!
Often times suffering brings a sense
of loneliness and isolation. A person
can easily be tempted to feel as if they are the only one suffering or
struggling in the way that they are at any given moment. Yet in these verses we see that it is not
just the believer who is suffering…the very earth itself is not as it was
intended to be! Paul starts a poetic
personification of the physical world (ascribing to the universe, earth, animal
and plant kingdoms human emotions and personality). But here is the point: Suffering was never God’s idea. God did not invent death, neither did He
invent suffering. These verses look at
the objective reality of the hard parts of life in light of our loving,
perfect, savior God.
Leaning
In
You know when someone is really
paying attention to you. When you are
telling an interesting story, or giving someone information they need, they
lean in, they make and maintain eye contact.
They make noises that confirm that they are listening
(“Yes…Uh-huh…right”). This is the word
picture attached to word translated here “anxious longing.” Paul is saying that the world is paying rapt
attention awaiting the moment. Much like
a cat stalking a mouse hole this is the focal point of the creation.
Well,
what are you waiting for?
The whole creation is waiting for the
“revealing of the sons of God.”
Believers in the Church are repeatedly told to look forward to the
coming of Christ for His Church (commonly called “the Rapture”). This is, in fact, the next future event in
unfulfilled prophecy. This is what Paul
was looking forward to and expected that it may well be in his lifetime. While this wonderful promised is mentioned
constantly in the New Testament the most specific teaching about it is found in
1 Corinthians 15:35-50; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 2:19-20, 5:1-11; 2 Thessalonians
2:1-17. This is where believers are
removed from the earth before the period in which the Lord will pour out
judgment and wrath upon those who remain.
Romans
8:20-21
20For the creation was
subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in
hope 21that the creation itself also will be set free from its
slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
Subjection
Here some very important points about
the state of the world are made clear.
The entire creation was affected by the results of Adam and Eve’s
sin. However, we see that the “subjection”
of the creation was passive in nature.
This is something that was done to the earth. Whenever we see an earthquake, a flood, a
tornado, a hurricane, a tsunami or a volcano eruption we often hear people
asking: “Why would God allow this?” It
is important that we understand that these things come about not because God
wanted pain and death and destruction but because it was necessary for the
process of redemption. So when we look
at the principles of death and decay, horrible events in the world and the
difficulties of life on this planet and think that it shouldn’t have to be this
way, we are correct. God never intended
the world to be a place of difficulty and cruelty that it is. It was sin that brought about these
conditions and the earth itself is longing for the end of the futility that it
now experiences as the victim.
Agency
Notice, however, what caused this
state of futility in the physical creation.
It wasn’t directly Adam, and it wasn’t Satan. Neither are mentioned here. This verse says that it is God that subjected
the creation to futility. This is
referring to the curse recorded in Genesis 3 and the results of that time. Notice, however, the situation about which
Paul is talking. God created this beautiful
universe and planet that existed without death or decay. It was gorgeous and glorious and God
regularly pronounces the judgment “It is good” upon His beloved creation. Then He creates mankind in His own
image. He makes man to be, like Him,
relational and spiritual while also having a physical body. Then mankind sins, and is no longer fit for
the perfect creation and garden which He had made.
Logically, the answer would be
simple: Destroy/remove the broken piece (mankind) from the equation of perfection,
joy and beauty. God, however, chose to
do the opposite. God chose to allow the
sin of Adam to effect everything else.
Subjecting everything to the principles of death, decay and catastrophe
all because He loves you and I. God has
allowed the death and dishonor to His name to continue while rebellious man has
continued to defy and reject Him for six thousand years because He knew every
person whom He had set up to be created in Adam and Eve (that includes us!) and
He loves us. He would rather destroy His
beautiful creation, and sacrifice His own Son than be separated from humanity
and be glorified by us for His wonderful grace, mercy and love.
In
Hope
However, the destruction and futility
of the earth is by no means the end of the story. Just as God sent Jesus Christ to earth to
provide the opportunity to all who receive Him to be redeemed, so He will also
redeem and restore His creation. This is
a legitimate hope for us as well! Hope,
in the Biblical sense, does not convey the idea of contingency (as in, “This
may happen…and I hope that it does!)
it has the idea of certainty. We can go
through and face all of the difficulties knowing that we will get to see the
earth in its restored form, and that is very exciting!
Freedom!
We can see and perceive that the
world is not as it’s meant to be.
Dramatic language is used: It was
made futile, subjected, enslaved. We see
in earth still much of the beauty and glory of its Creator. However, we also see the reality that it is a
harsh, cruel and dangerous world in which countless beings perish in a
seemingly cold and uncaring atmosphere.
Yet, one day (as soon as seven years from today) the earth will be set
free from its bondage and corruption. We
will see the earth as it was meant to be. The freedom that it was designed for
and that it “longs for” is the freedom of serving and meeting the needs of
those who long to love and glorify God.
God created the original Garden of Eden to be a place of comfort, pleasure
and productivity for humanity and anyone who has placed faith in Christ will
see the earth restored to its original function.
Romans
8:22
For we know that the whole creation
groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
What
do we know now?
Knowledge is very important. What we know, and apply, affects the way we
live our lives at every turn. Paul is
appealing both to their theological understanding (in the case of the Jews and
God-fearers there) as well as to their senses.
This word for “knowledge” focuses on “knowledge by perception”. They know this because they have seen
it. They have seen the explanation of it
in the Bible, they see the effects of it every day. Whenever a natural disaster occurs, or a
pestilence sweeps across the land we are shown the reality of Paul’s
statements.
Having
a Baby
Pregnancy is an amazing process. Because of the fall, it is a process that
involves a great deal of discomfort and pain.
The mother finds herself often sick and unable to keep food down, then
she finds her body changing in very uncomfortable ways to accommodate this
little life within her. As the baby gets
bigger she gets bigger, and less and less comfortable. As the time for the birth approaches she very
often begins to feel different pains and contractions leading up to the “active
labor period.” The birth process itself
is very dramatic and incredibly uncomfortable.
But at the end of that process (if all goes well) she holds her
beautiful child and will often say, “It was worth every moment of pain and
discomfort.”
This is the picture to which Paul is
appealing. The one “in labor” is the
whole physical creation. Pain,
turbulence, decay and difficulty are all common on earth. After the Lord comes for His Church (John 14)
then the seven year “active-labor” process will begin. This is the final seven week period predicted
by Daniel in Daniel 9:20-27. That same
seven year period is described in great detail in Revelation 4-19. This period (The Tribulation, The Great
Tribulation, The Day of the Lord, The Day of Jacob’s Trouble) will be darkest
hour of the cosmos, and all of creation will be affected. However, just as in the illustration of a
human birth, this time of greatest pain will “give birth” to a new and glorious
day: The Millennial Reign of Christ.
The details of the Millennial reign
of Christ are given throughout the Prophetic word. While the details of life in the Kingdom of
God are truly exciting to study and well worthy of the believers time as they
are exactly the encouragement the Lord means for the believer to have in
difficulty we will focus of the centerpiece of the Millennial Kingdom: The
King. In this Kingdom Jesus Christ will
rule from Zion in perfect wisdom, justice, understanding and love. The creation itself will cease to be
subjected to the principles of decay and will be redeemed and life on earth
will be more like it was supposed to be than it has been since Adam fell. After this thousand years Satan will be
allowed to lead one final rebellion which will be quelled, the Great White Throne
Judgment of unbelievers will take place and the New Heavens and the New Earth
will begin.
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