What have we learned so far?

  • Our sins have been forgiven, and for us "there is no condemnation."
  • God's amazing gift leads us to dedicate ourselves to lives of righteousness, as directed by God's "spirit".
  • We are no longer slaves to sin and death, because now we have become sons and daughters of God (vv. 12-17).

But this wonderful change described by Paul must be balanced by Paul's stern challenge:

'Here is what God has done for you. Now, this is what you must do for God.'

This will surely feel like a burden, but it is reasonable:

  • Even as our Lord endured sufferings along his way to the glory conferred upon him by the Father,
  • so we who profess to walk in his footsteps must do the same.

Our sufferings will almost certainly not be as hard as his, even if they are of a similar nature. Just as Christ's sufferings led to his glory, so our sufferings, even if slight by comparison, will lead us to our ultimate glory with him in the Father's Kingdom. Paul makes this point in verse 18:

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

In the light of eternity we should view the cost of suffering with Christ now as insignificant in view of the glory that lies ahead for us:

"Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" (2 Cor 4:17).

Suffering is not an elective; it is not optional — it is a required subject. Our exalted position now requires that we faithfully endure present sufferings in preparation for future glory. Our trials enable us to know the fellowship of Christ's sufferings (Phil 3:10), to comfort others who themselves are afflicted (2 Cor 1:3-7), and to trust in God alone rather than ourselves (2 Cor 1:9).

We may be helpless children, but we have a wise, loving and all-powerful Father — One who comforts us, guides us, and at last gathers us to Himself:

"As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust… from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him… with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts" (Psa 103:13,14,17,18).

Our present sufferings will always seem small in comparison with the glory that our Father will reveal in us, when our Lord returns from heaven.

The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed (v. 19).

The Greek word is "ktisis", which describes both the act of creating, and that which is created. It is translated "creature" (KJV), but also "creation" in many modern versions (NIV, RV, ASV, RSV, NET, etc.).

The word "ktisis" can refer to the creation of the world and everything in it (Mark 13:19; Rom 1:20,25), or to mankind alone (Mark 16:15). But most often, in the New Testament, it refers to the new spiritual "creation" of believers in Christ.

What is the "creation" of verses 19-22 which endures present sufferings (vv. 18,22) in eager longing for future glory (vv. 19,21)? The correct answer to this question will help us to understand this section.

It is often assumed that this "creation" is the whole world — human and animal and inanimate — which symbolically "groans" (Rom 8:22) for a better time to come. That is a wonderfully poetic idea, but is it what Paul means? Do the mountains and forests "groan"? Do the animals "groan" with any sense of what they might be groaning for?

No. The "creation" which groans or sighs is the creation which knows what they don't have… yet — while also yearning for what they will have in the future.

By this standard, the only "creation" which truly "groans" and "sighs" is God's "new creation". It does so because it is in process of being reborn in Christ — in process, but not yet having attained the Kingdom.

So we shall look at some of these passages.

2 Corinthians 5:14,17:

"Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died… Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

Ephesians 2:1-10:

In another passage Paul speaks of Christ as the creator:

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works" (v. 10).

The phrase "to do good works" is a useful connection with our study. It defines the purpose for which we have been created: Salvation is not "by good works" (Eph 2:9), but it is "for good works" (v. 10). We do not "earn" salvation, but we show that we have been saved, and we show how thankful we are, by doing the works of God and His Son.

Colossians 1:15-18:

"[Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth… all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead…"

Christ is the "image" and the "firstborn" (cp. Rom 8:29) of all creation (Col 1:15), because all believers are created new through him (v. 16). This has to be us, the "new creation", since Christ is "before all" (v. 17), and we are being "created" by and for him.

These figurative expressions are explained by the more literal ones of verse 18, that (a) Christ is the head of the church and (b) the beginning, or firstborn, from the dead.

These other letters of Paul fit well with Romans 8, and help to explain the "creation" described here.

Finally, the context of Romans 8 helps us here: As we continue into Romans 8:19-22, we realize that these later verses also help to explain the earlier ones (vv. 16-18). There, in those earlier verses, the present sufferings and future glory pertain of course to God's dear children, and not necessarily to the whole of the earth.

This "new creation" is waiting in "eager expectation" (Rom 8:19). The Greek word here suggests:

  • a watching with the head lifted up in suspense,
  • with an eager anticipation which can scarcely contain itself.

What is the "creation" eagerly anticipating? "the revealing (apokalypsis) of the sons of God". Such a "revelation" will be the removal of our mortal, sin-prone natures, which will be replaced by the eternal, glorious image of the Lord Jesus Christ, living in every faithful believer.

In my opinion, the great "Revelation" at the end of our Bibles (please note: the word is singular!) is not really about beasts and wars and destruction and punishment. And we spend way too much time (myself included!) in trying to decipher the imagery and predict the future.

All those strange creatures in John's visions are nothing more than passing shadows in the night, "opening acts" for the "feature attraction" — that is, what happens on stage before Christ appears.

The "Revelation" is not really about them; it is — much, much more — about the "main event", that is, the unveiling of the "sons and daughters of God".

They — We, brothers and sisters! — are the great treasure of God's glory, to be held in new heavenly bodies, bodies which will show forth His Glory to the rest of the world. We are the "jewels" in His crown! No other "revelation" — no ugly beasts or brutal wars — can compare in interest or importance with that glorious "unveiling", which is prophesied several times in the pages of the Revelation.

For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope… (v. 20).

The NIV uses the word "frustration" here. The Greek signifies 'empty as to results', that is, fruitless. Other possible translations are "frailty", "vanity" (KJV), and "futility" (RSV), all of which are reasonable.

Because of sin from the very beginning, God Himself has subjected His creation to vanity or frailty — but with the expectation that, in the fullness of time, a new and much better "creation" will emerge, born like a beautiful butterfly out of the chrysalis of the old world!

God subjected us to vanity and frustration…

…[in hope] that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God (v. 21).

By faith, this "new creation" has been liberated — past tense — from the principle of sin and death (v. 2), and will be liberated — future tense — from the slavery of decay and death. This is the "glorious freedom" which Paul writes about — seen now in prospect, but to be "revealed" in fullness in the future!

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time (v. 22).

The "creation" has been groaning and sighing, either with grief for its own weaknesses, or compassion for the weaknesses of others. And in this "suffering", those who are God's "new creation" are sharing with their Saviour, who first showed them the way to the cross and then the glory that would follow.

All together, almost as a woman in labor to bring forth a child, the "new creation" has been laboring to give birth to "Christ… who is formed in you" (cp. Gal 4:19,27). Our struggles with sin and temptation will — with God's help — succeed in bringing a new man, or a new woman, into the world: a new person who more clearly shows forth the Lord Jesus Christ to the world.

Next, Paul seems to speak for himself and the other apostles:

Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies (v. 23).

God's Holy Spirit gifts, given to some at the very beginning of the ecclesia (Acts 2) — and to Paul also — were a guarantee that God would complete the process of salvation begun in His Son. Even though Jesus has redeemed us and made us the sons of God, there will be a final aspect of redemption, which Paul calls "the redemption of our bodies" (here), and "the day of redemption" (Eph 1:13,14; 4:30). When that time comes, faithful believers will "be like him [Christ], for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2), and share in his immortality (Phil 3:20,21; 1 Cor 15:44; 2 Cor 5:10).

And so, to paraphrase Romans 8:23, let us think of Paul writing to the Romans:

'Even we [Paul and the other apostles] who have experienced the firstfruits of the Spirit-power, in Holy Spirit gifts, realize how much more wonderful will be the greatest gift of all — the receiving of immortal, glorious bodies at the return of Christ. Even we [Paul and apostles again] are not now freed from the same longing which you feel, for the full experience of Divine glory.'

This explains the "groaning inwardly" of the saints, and even of a man like Paul the Apostle. All true saints realize something of what the future holds for the faithful in Christ, but they know also that, in this life, such peace and joy cannot yet be found.

So we sing, in one of our hymns:

Thou hidden love of God, whose height, Whose depth unfathomed no one knows, I see from far thy beauteous light, And inly sigh for thy repose; My heart is pained, nor can it be At rest, till it finds rest in thee.

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? (v. 24).

Paul does not speak of hope in general, as if it were some vague longing for something better in a shadowy future. Instead, he speaks of "the hope" — a definite, specific hope, and a saving hope, which is nothing less than the gospel message of the whole Bible. We see this from other usages of the word in the New Testament. Among other things, "hope" is coupled with every one of the following:

  • the resurrection (Acts 23:6),
  • the promise to the fathers (Acts 26:6,7),
  • Israel (Acts 28:20),
  • the gospel (Col 1:23),
  • the glory of God (Rom 5:2),
  • the appearing of Christ (Titus 2:13),
  • salvation (1Thes 5:8), and
  • eternal life (Titus 1:2; 3:7).

If we ask, 'What does each particular "hope" mean in Bible terms?' and then combine the answers into a single statement, we will have constructed a very reasonable (and practically complete) definition of the gospel. How important it is to compare Scripture with Scripture!

It was a recognition of what Paul meant when he wrote: "saved by the hope" which led John Thomas to a better appreciation of Bible Truth. As he considered this verse 24, he came to realize that salvation is the result of a full and correct hope, based on the fundamental promises of God. This discovery led him to sever his connections with other groups, and to lay the foundations of what became the Christadelphians.

So we are saved by the hope (Rom 8:24)! But is hope the only thing which saves us? No, we are also saved by other things: Comparing scripture with scripture once again, we learn that we are also saved by:

  • grace (Eph 2:8,9);
  • belief (Mark 16:15);
  • baptism (1 Pet 3:21);
  • the gospel, and its memory (1 Cor 15:1,2);
  • the blood of Christ (1 John 1:7);
  • faith (Rom 5:1);
  • works (James 2:24);
  • ourselves (Acts 2:40); and
  • endurance (Matt 10:22)

Returning to our beginning for today:

We may choose to belong to Christ. But suffering with Christ is not something which we choose on our own. Yet, having become part of the Christ's body of believers, we find that this "suffering" is part of the package.

Suffering is not a voluntary matter, and certainly not an enjoyable one, but it is something bound up in our spiritual relationship with Christ. We cannot belong to him if we never suffer with him!

This sharing with Christ puts the power into Paul's arguments and exhortations throughout Romans 8.

It is not enough that believers suffer; they must suffer with Christ: there must be a conscious, intelligent understanding and imitation of him.

It is not enough that the saints will one day be glorified; they must be glorified with Christ, otherwise there is no meaning.

So this explains how "the Spirit himself" (Christ) testifies along with our "spirit", bearing witness that we are all (all together, Christ and us!) God's dear children (Rom 8:16).

When we choose a relationship with Christ, then that relationship makes us subject to both the difficult as well as the more pleasant parts of Christ's experience — "our present sufferings and the glory that will be revealed in us" (Rom 8:18). We cannot say, 'No, thank you' to the first part, and still expect to receive the second.

I think the only way this makes sense, and the only way this helps, is something like this:

Every one of us will suffer. Things will come in our lives which we do not want, which we will want to avoid as much as possible, and as quickly as possible. Things which will cause us to thrash around, seeking for the solution, when there seems to be none. We may devise schemes to be rid of our particular suffering, schemes which we know — at some level of our minds — are wrong; but we think about them anyway.

Things will come into our lives which we blame on others, things which we blame on ourselves. We will cry. We will lose sleep. We will walk the floor at night, or stare out into the darkness. We will ask, "Why?" until we can think of nothing else but our suffering.

'It isn't fair!'

'Why me, or us — and not him, or her, or them?'

We may pray without ceasing. Then we may blame God, and cry out to Him: "Tell me why!" But He doesn't answer, and He doesn't seem to care.

And maybe, after many twists and turns and detours, we reach a place where we fall on the ground, or the floor, and say something like this:

'Okay. Now I get it… it's not what I want. But You, Lord, must know why. Lord, if this is Your will, then may it be done. Please help me to accept it in faith, even if I don't know why, even if I never understand why until I reach the Kingdom!"

Maybe then, after trudging down a very long and tortured road, we can finally say:

'Now I am suffering with Christ, even if not to the same degree. Now I am trusting in God, not so well as my Lord, and not so quickly, but I do trust in Him. And now I know that what He said is true: "If we suffer with Christ, we will reign with him." This suffering, whatever form it takes, can last no longer than one lifetime, and after that comes Your Kingdom. Thank you, our Father, even for this understanding — even if it hurts more than I think I can bear. May Your will be done, in Christ's Name. Amen.'