Romans 8:17-25
Introduction
My oldest son and I were sitting in the pediatrician’s office trying to figure out if he was dealing with seasonal allergies or if the mild case of hand, foot, and mouth was still lingering when I received a call from a number that I did not have stored in my contacts. After discovering that my son had seasonal allergies and a case of schooliitis, I checked my voicemail once in the car. Upon listening to the voicemail, I discovered that one of our church’s seniors was hit by a vehicle after placing his mail in his mailbox that morning. He was being transported to the hospital, and some of his family were already there, and others, including his sweet wife of 74 years, were about to head that way. At the time of this writing, he is making minor improvements and is still in critical condition.
Many others in our church are also struggling, some with health issues, others with family or financial strains, or have recently parted with loved ones to the grave. Zooming out from the lives that make up our small fellowship of believers, Hamas surprised Israel with an attack that the IDF calls Israel’s 9-11. We gathered to worship a heart-captivating Savior with heavy hearts. Who but our Heavenly Father would know that this portion of Scripture would be what His people at Cornerstone would need on this particular fall morning? My study and meditation on these verses lifted my spirit and strengthened me, and God used the sermon to do the same for several in our body. I pray that whether you’re reading this post or stopping to listen to the sermon below, that our Good, Good Father will use it to lighten your heavy heart and energize you to live for Him no matter the sacrifice.
Study Notes
Romans 8 begins by declaring that there is no condemnation for those in Jesus and ends with a promise of no separation from Jesus. The security of our future glorification is in the middle of these two bookends of Romans 8. These verses show us just how far-reaching God’s work of restoration is! We didn’t focus on verses seventeen in our last session, but we will start with it here since suffering makes our hearts heavy.
And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.
In Romans 8:1-16, Paul has shown us that the Holy Spirit has a part in saving us, of placing us in a right relationship with the Father through Jesus, and that He reassures us of this right standing before God in many ways. One of those ways is by joining with our spirit and enabling us to call God or “Abba, Father.” Since we have been adopted into God’s children, we are co-heirs with Jesus. Everything that is Jesus’ by right is ours by grace!
“But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.” This verse would be better translated by replacing “but” with “because” or “inasmuch.” Because we are to share in His glory, we must share in His suffering. Suffering is part of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Jesus said that if anyone wanted to be His disciple, they must deny themselves, pick up their cross, and follow Him (Matthew 16:24). At another time, Jesus said,
Matthew 10:24-25
“Students are not greater than their teacher, and slaves are not greater than their master. 25 Students are to be like their teacher, and slaves are to be like their master. And since I, the master of the household, have been called the prince of demons, the members of my household will be called by even worse names!“
Since Jesus Himself, our Lord, our Teacher, suffered, we will too. Our suffering for Christ identifies us as one of Christ’s. Jesus makes this connection for us in Matthew 5:11-12, and Paul makes the connection in 2 Timothy 3:12.
“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.”
“Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”
Suffering, for Christ’s sake, identifies us with Him and is another way that we can be sure that we will share in Christ’s glory. Following this sobering statement on a life of suffering and the believer, Paul gives us a staggering statement concerning any suffering a believer faces in life compared to their future glory.
18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.
Paul has unapologetically stated that Christians will suffer and that there is no comparison between our present suffering and our future glory! Despite this being undeniably true, Paul has earned the authority to make this statement because by this point in his life, he is no stranger to suffering for Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:16-33) nor ignorant of what awaits God’s children (2 Corinthians 12:1-4). Yes, we will suffer, for we are not greater than Jesus, though we will be like Him when we see Him, but until then, suffering is par for the course. The following verses show the reach of God’s plan of redemption for His creation, which will result in suffering’s disappearance. One thing, one people, and One Person groans throughout the remainder of Romans 8. They will help us see the width of God’s grand restoration and the help we have while we wait for its completion.
One Thing – Creation Groans
Romans 8:19-22
For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
All of creation (Genesis 1:1) is standing on its tip toes with expectancy for when God will unveil who His children really are! As we will see, creation suffered because of man’s rebellion, but creation will benefit because of man’s full redemption. Paul explains that all of creation was put under God’s curse in Genesis 3:17-18. After Adam and Eve rebelled against God’s one command and ate the forbidden fruit, God did the only thing that a righteous and just God could do, hand down an appropriate judgment for violating His command. After passing sentencing on the serpent and Eve, the LORD turns to Adam.
Genesis 3:17-19
And to the man he said,
“Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree
whose fruit I commanded you not to eat,
the ground is cursed because of you.
All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.
18 It will grow thorns and thistles for you,
though you will eat of its grains.
19 By the sweat of your brow
will you have food to eat
until you return to the ground
from which you were made.
For you were made from dust,
and to dust you will return.”
Continuing with his personification of creation, Paul says that creation is looking forward to the day that it will, along with God’s children, be free from death and decay. We can look at the world in which we live and see beauty and brokenness. We can enjoy the beauty of our world by admiring cotton candy skies, sunsets over the ocean, fall leaves, and breathtaking mountains or waterfalls. Yet, despite the beauty, an honest person will also admit there are things that are wrong or broken in the world in which we reside. An environment that houses tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, diseases, earthquakes, pollution, drought, famine, and an animal kingdom that devours one another for survival seems like anything that a good God would create or, at the very least, call very good. However, Genesis 1:31 tells us that God saw His creation as this and declared it as very good. The effects of sin are far-reaching (Isaiah 24:4-6), and God’s judgment upon sin affected all creation. We can see how far it has fallen by looking at Genesis 1:29-30 and comparing it to what we see today. After God created Adam and Eve and blessed them, He gave them these instructions.
Genesis 1:29-30
Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. 30 And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened.
Notice that everything was vegetarian. The animal kingdom didn’t devour one another. People didn’t use animals for meat. Before Adam’s sin, the ground didn’t produce thorns or thistles but instead produced healthy crops as Adam tended to it. Eden means paradise. The Garden of Eden was an oasis of paradise. Animals didn’t suffer from diseases, there was no pollution, and there were no natural disasters. Every part of creation was in accord with one another. Adam and Eve enjoyed harmony with one another and with the LORD. What a difference one man’s decision makes; because of Adam’s sin, creation suffers, and as a result of its pains, creation groans.
Creation has been groaning since it plunged into its fallen state, even up to our present time. Groaning or groans refers to the utterances of a person caught in a dreadful situation and has no immediate opportunity for deliverance. Creation yearns to be restored to its Edenic condition but can’t achieve it on its own. But notice Paul says that the creation is groaning like a woman in labor. The Apostle says birth pains and not death pangs. A mother experiences pain as part of the birthing process. But any mother holding her newborn baby would say every ounce of pain experienced was worth it because it meant being able to bring her little one into the world. In the same way, all of the pain creation is experiencing is leading up to the birth of a restored creation and not its death or annihilation. Isaiah has already told us that the earth suffers because of the sins of its people, but the prophet also records the LORD’s words concerning the future.
Isaiah 65:17
“Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth,
and no one will even think about the old ones anymore.
God’s new creation will be so wonderful that we will not want to trade it for the one we know now! This new creative work of God will restore the characteristics of His original creation that rightfully allowed Him to declare it as very good. Some say the following verses from Isaiah 11 describe the millennial kingdom and others the new earth. My thought is that if it applies to the 1,000-year reign of Christ on earth before eternity in a new heavens and on a new world, it should also apply to the eternal state.
Isaiah 11:6-9
In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;
the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.
The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,
and a little child will lead them all.
7 The cow will graze near the bear.
The cub and the calf will lie down together.
The lion will eat hay like a cow.
8 The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra.
Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm.
9 Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,
for as the waters fill the sea,
so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord.
We see the curse being reversed in these verses. Creation is groaning for this day, and it is a day that the Apostle John describes for us in Revelation 21:1 and 22:1-6. Yet, creation will only experience its eternal transformation when God’s children finally experience their total transformation, the receiving of their glorified bodies.
One People – Believers Groan
Romans 8:23-25
And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)
God’s people groan for the day when Jesus makes everything right! Why do we long for this day? We have this yearning because we have the Holy Spirit within us! He causes our mouths to water for the events John describes in Revelation 22:1-6 to be experienced. He changes our hearts, and with new hearts come new desires (Romans 2:29)! My dad likes to offer my kids a taste of his smoked BBQ as he is tearing it off the bone in prep for the meal we are about to share as a family. Without fail, the kids always ask for more, but my dad tells them they have to wait till it is time to eat. He has given them a piece of meaty perfection to awaken their tastebuds and cause a longing for more.
In the same way, the Holy Spirit awakens our desires to be with our Triune God, to be free from the presence of sin, and to be free from the painful effects of sin. We long for the day to hold the hand of a spouse who has already gone to be with the Lord, to have conversations with family and friends who have already beheld our Savior’s face! We ache to live in a world where graveyards, hospitals, nursing homes, rehab facilities, and adoption or foster care agencies cease to exist. The Spirit arouses a desire within us to see Jesus rule the nations and receive the glory that He is due. As He rules supreme, wars will cease to occur, and war crimes be a thing of the fallen past. The Spirit fosters a longing to live in harmony with our God and brothers and sisters in Christ in a universe untainted by sin and its effects!
Every holy thing that the Spirit causes our mouths to water for will be experienced once God reveals to the world who His children really are, and this will happen when His children receive their full inheritance, including the new bodies that He has promised us! Paul describes what this future day will be like, the day in which all of God’s children will inherit their glorified bodies.
1 Corinthians 15:50-55
What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.
51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
There is coming a day when the dead in Jesus will have their bodies raised from their place or rest, transformed and reunited with their soul, which is currently with Jesus in heaven. Those who are alive at this blessed time in history who are in Christ will be caught up and transformed in the blink of an eye. From then on, children will not have to hold the hand of a dying parent. Parents will not have to watch their children suffer from famine, war, or sickness. Our bodies will be free from all sickness, whether physical or mental. There will be no more hardships or suffering of any kind. We will be able to do all the good things we desire to do and do them in a way that pleases the LORD 100% of the time! I was mulling over the truths of Romans 8 concerning our future as believers while pulling weeds and found myself singing the song, What A Day That Will Be. I invite you to listen to the words of the song below and either sing along in an act of worship or sit quietly and allow the words to minister to your soul.
Words fall short when describing what the day will be like when our Jesus we shall see, when we look upon His face, the One who saved us by His grace. The song does well and should cause our appetites to increase to experience the day in which it describes. But, before we move on to the rest of Romans 8, we must ask, how is all this possible? Why will God’s plan of redemption reach from the smallest of cells to the most distant galaxy? How is it possible for us to receive glorified bodies that will never again experience suffering on any level? How can fallen sinners live with a holy God for all eternity as holy people? Paul tells us how all this and more is possible and sure in Romans 7:25, 8:1; 1 Corinthians 15:56-57, and in his letter to the Galatians.
Application
Galatians 3:13
But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
Remember Genesis 3:18? Part of the curse God placed on the earth was that it would produce thorns and thistles. It was not a coincidence that the crown forced upon Jesus was a crown of thorns. The crown of thorns was a reminder of why Jesus had to die. His sacrifice would provide the way for rebels to become friends of God and remove the curse of sin from every square inch of all creation some glorious day!
Everything that Paul has described in the verses above applies only to those who are in Jesus. It is only they that have the right to share in the inheritance. Have you turned from your sin to Jesus? If not, or if you are unsure, the video below explains how you can know the glorious day described in this post will be your future reality!
Now, a couple of takeaways for us as believers. First, Peter describes the process for which God will perform His new work of creation and instructs us in light of this fact: we ought to pursue holiness or, as Romans puts it, grow in Christlikness. Second, with these promises surrounding our future glory and our current suffering of being no comparison to it, we need to live like the best is yet to come because it is. Lottie Moon was a missionary to the Chinese people, and when it was decided for her to go home to the States, she weighed a mere 50 pounds. She had almost starved herself to death because she would forgo eating herself so that she could feed others. When she boarded the ship to return home, her only possession was an empty trunk. Why was it empty? She had sold everything she had to buy food for those in need. Lottie never made it back to the States alive. While nearing the coast of California, Lottie breathed her last; it was Christmas Eve of 1912. Lottie suffered greatly during the decades she served Jesus as a missionary in a foreign land, but many came to Christ through her sacrifices.
What would cause Lottie to live like this? I believe it was because she knew that the best was yet to come and that her current sufferings did not compare to her future glory. Might we follow her example and the command of our Savior and not focus on storing up treasures in this life that won’t last but store up treasures in heaven that last for all eternity.
Additional Resources
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