The hope of glory
Romans 8:18-27
Scripture introduction:
Scripture reading Is 65:17-25, Romans 8:17-27
The Holy Spirit’s preserving power
Romans 8:1-4 “The law of the Spirit of life”
Romans 8:5-12 “the spirit helps us keep God’s law and mortify sin”
Romans 8:13-17 “the spirit assures us of our adoption”
Romans 8:18-27 “The spirit gives us hope”
Romans 8:17–27 (ESV) — 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Prayer for illumination:
Sermon introduction: Listen to this story of perseverance- “As a young man, Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City Star Newspaper because his boss thought he lacked creativity. He went on to form an animation company called Laugh-O-Gram Films in 1921. Using his natural salesmanship abilities, Disney was able to raise $15,000 for the company ($181,000 in 2008 dollars). However, he made a deal with a New York distributor, and when the distributor went out of business, Disney was forced to shut Laugh-O-Gram down. He could barely pay his rent and even resorted to eating dog food. Broke but not defeated, Disney spent his last few dollars on a train ticket to Hollywood. Unfortunately his troubles were not over. In 1926, Disney created a cartoon character named Oswald the Rabbit. When he attempted to negotiate a better deal with Universal Studios -- the cartoon’s distributor -- Disney discovered that Universal had secretly patented the Oswald character. Universal then hired Disney’s artists away from him, and continued the cartoon without Disney’s input (and without paying him).”
Walt Struggled. We all know that Walt Disney went on to wild success. But he experienced significant adversity along the way. What kept him going? What allowed him to persevere? Many things, but I believe hope was one of the main ingredients.
What is hope? Hope involves two things- desire and faith. Walt desired a better future and he whole-heartedly believed that future was possible. So he was willing to persevere. Hope kept him going!
The Christian life can be very difficult. There are times when we are tempted to quit, to throw in the towel, to give up. What keeps one going? Hope! Romans Chapter 8:17-27 is about hope. Hope empowers us to persevere.
We use the word hope in our culture to indicate something we think may be true in the future, something that may happen, and we hope it happens. This is not how Paul uses hope. For Paul hope is a certainty. He is absolutely certain that what he hopes for will happen!
Hope kept Paul going and Hope will keep us going-
The passage talks about hope for three things.
Hope for Christians
Hope for creation
Hope for our bodies
First, hope for Christians
Why do Christians need hope? They suffer! Look with me at verses 17-18. “and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
Paul implies in these verses that part of being a child of God is suffering. Suffering always comes before glory. No cross no crown. We need to be quick to say that we are not saved because of our suffering. We are saved by the sufferings of Christ alone. With that said we must remember the unbreakable Kingdom principle that suffering always comes before glory.
Some Christians suffer unspeakable torments. I recently watched some interviews with Christians from the former USSR. The things that were done to these Christians in the 70s and 80s made me want to vomit. I can’t even mention how they were tortured in mixed company. It was BAD!!!
We should not look for suffering at the same time we can’t avoid suffering. It is part of following a crucified Messiah.
But real growth, genuine growth, lasting growth only comes through suffering. We should not fear suffering.
Why do Christians need hope? They suffer.
What do Christians hope for? Glory! Look with me at verse 18 again. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
Paul says that the pains, the trauma, the sorrow, the disappointment we experience now are nothing compared to the glory we will see in heaven.
We don’t have a whole lot of information about what this glory will be like but in other parts of the Bible we read that it will be so amazing it can’t even be described with human language.
The NIV and the KJV translate the last part of this verse as “the glory… to be revealed in (to) us”. There are differences in translations because the Greek grammatical construction is a little obscure. Both translations describe elements of what will happen. Theologically we can say that in heaven we will be glorified and we will see glory.
Paul’s main point is clear- our present sufferings are inconsequential compared to what awaits us in glory. Yes suffering is real, it’s very real, it is not an illusion, but the glory that comes after the suffering makes it all worthwhile.
Kent hughes- “We can compare a thimble of water with the sea, but we cannot compare our sufferings with the coming glory”
I find these verses absolutely staggering. Why? The apostle Paul wrote these verses. The apostle Paul suffered for the gospel more than most of us can imagine. Here is what he says-
2 Corinthians 11:24–28 (ESV) —24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. (use your imagination -195 times, screaming, blood flowing, scabs, scars) 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. (use your imagination- baseball bats) Once I was stoned. (wow, sounds, rocks, aiming at his head) Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.
2 Corinthians 4:17–18 (ESV) — 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
In the midst of all of Paul’s suffering he could still say that his suffering was inconsequential compared to what awaited him in glory. Amazing!!! I hope you’re excited.
Application: lets make some application
While the immediate context of verse 18 suggests that Paul is talking about suffering for being a Christian the overall context of Romans chapter 8 indicates that all suffering in this life is not worth comparing to the glory to be revealed in us. The word he uses for suffering in the original language refers to all types of suffering.
Bad health
Bereavement
War
Loneliness
Major financial distress
Relational dysfunction
Bad bosses
Difficult marriages
Difficult children
Persecution for the faith
When these things happen we often want to throw in the towel!!!
All of this suffering can’t even be compared to the glory we will experience in heaven. The cross always comes before the crown. Short term pain for Christians leads to long term pleasure.
This is the hope we have as Christians. This hope will help you persevere in the midst of the most extreme circumstances. If you’re not a Christian you can’t have this hope!
If there is no God and the universe is a closed system then all the suffering we experience is in vain. How depressing, no redemption, no justice, ho hope, just pain and suffering and death! But if you’re a Christian suffering is not the final word.
First, Hope for Christians
Second, hope for Creation
Why does creation need hope? It is in bondage! Look with me at verses 20-22. “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.”
In these verses Paul personifies creation, which is common throughout the Bible. (Isa 55:12)
In verse 20 Paul says that creation was subject to futility.
In verse 21 Paul says that creation is in bondage to corruption.
Then in verse 22 he says that creation is groaning as in the pains of childbirth.
In Paul’s day there were noepidurals or any other pain medications. So when Paul says that creation is groaning as in the pains of childbirth he means creation is screaming in pain. Writhing in agony, shouting, yelling, crying, and groaning. We have four sons. For three of their births my wife had an epidural put in her spine. When my wife gave birth to Peter she did not use any pain medicine. Watching her made me want pain medication for myself. It was very hard for me to see my wife in such pain. But the agony of labor pain is followed by the ecstasy of holding the newborn in one’s arms.
But why is creation groaning? When Adam sinned in the beginning God was so upset with Adam that he cursed all of creation. This is why Paul says in verse 20 that someone else subjected creation. That someone else was God. Creation is the victim of Man’s sin. This is exactly what we read in Genesis 3.
Genesis 3:17–19 (ESV) — 17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
We live in a broken world that groans!!! Because of sin there are-
Tsunamis
Hurricane
Tornados
Wasps
Floods
Droughts
Avalanches
Endangered species
Diseases
Volcanoes
Etc…
We live in a broken world that is groaning because of sin. But someday this groaning will be replaced with glory.
Illustration: think of the most beautiful places you have ever seen!
Golden gardens (Picnics),
Destin Florida,
Mt. Rainier,
San Diego,
If you think it is beautiful now what is it going to be like in glory?
Why does Creation need hope? It is in bondage
What is creation’s hope? Our liberation! Look with me at verses 19- 22 again. “19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.”
Verse 19 says that creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. The glorification of us means the freedom of creation. Verse 21 implies that same thing.
Our liberation and transformation at the end means the liberation and transformation of creation. Creation will be restored to its original purpose and splendor when and only when the children of God receive their glorified bodies.
The work of Christ is cosmic in scope. He comes to make his blessings flow as far as the curse is found. Every square inch of creation that has been ruined by sin will be restored by grace. When all is said and done king Jesus has the last word.
There is hope for creation!
Application: lets make some application!
There are two levels of application for this point.
At one level we can read these verses and long to see the beauty of the new creation. This is exciting. But I don’t think this is the primary application for us.
To really understand how Paul intends for us to apply these verses we need to step back a little bit and look at the larger context. Paul is arguing in verses 17-27 that suffering is a reality but it is bearable because of the incredible glory we will receive in heaven.
At this point one may ask Paul this question. OK, Paul, so how amazing is our glorification and transformation going to be? Paul says so amazing that even inanimate creation longs to look into it.
This is what verse 19 seems to clearly imply. Lets look at verse 19 again. “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.”
The word for eager longing is the same word group used for straining ones neck or stretching forward. Which is why JB Phillips translates this- “The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their own.”
Schreiner- “We should also note that creation, even though it is the subject of these verses, does not constitute the center stage of Paul’s vision. What creation longs for and waits for is the eschatological unveiling of the children of God. The focus is not finally on the transformation of the created world, although that is included, but the future redemption that awaits God’s children.” (Schreiner, 437)
Illustration: what do you long to see?
I would love to go to NY this August and watch the US Open.
Some of you may long to see a long lost relative.
Some of you long for vacation.
When we are away from family on a long trip, or maybe we are away at school we long to see our friends and family.
I can remember going off to college. After about three months I longed to see my family, I longed to see Spokane.
Then I got married and moved to the east coast. I only saw my family about once a year for three to four years. As time passed each year I longed more and more to see my family.
Maybe you long to see the children you have not been able to have. Maybe you long to see the spouse you have not found yet. Maybe you long to see your first pay check after months and months of unemployment.
Our glorified existence in heaven is going to be so spectacular that Creation waits with eager longing to see it for the first time.
This gives us hope. Our future existence must be pretty darn amazing if Creation longs to see what it will be like.
At some point all our pain will turn into glory. This will help us persevere in the little things that sometimes cause pain- prayer, bible reading, loving, forgiving, putting to death sin, this is where we live and at times we want to quit, to give up, but the hope of glory will carry us through.
First, hope for Christians
Second, hope for Creation
Third, hope for bodies
Why do bodies need hope? They groan! Look with me at verse 23. “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”
We liven in bodies that die. Our bodies groan because we live in a fallen world. Our body’s break down, our body’s sin, our body’s decay.