Review:
Paul has been explaining the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the one who has been declared righteous because of faith. So far we’ve learned:
The Holy Spirit delivers us from the law of sin and death, giving us victory over sin.
The Holy Spirit assures us that we are God’s children.
In Romans 8:16–17 Paul told us that we can only share in Christ’s glory of we share in .
Certainly, Paul knew what suffering with Christ was. Every born-again believer knows at least some of these sufferings. Being rejected by family, friends, and co-workers, being ridiculed or made fun of, being avoided socially, being mocked for our beliefs, being cursed at or told off, and so on. Some believers suffer much more severely, as Paul did.
Now Paul is going to put this suffering in perspective. He’s going to weigh it on a scale with something else that believers will experience: glory. Then he’s going to tell us that we are not alone in suffering and not alone in having something to look forward to. He’ll close by reminding us of what must keep us going between the now of suffering and the then of glory.
Throughout this passage Paul compares now with then. He begins in verse 18:
Believers’ coming far exceeds their present , 18
What is this coming glory?
It is everything we will experience and share in when we see God face to face. That experience and everyone after it will make our present suffering seem like nothing in comparison.
Paul in another place spoke of it as an eternal of glory far beyond all comparison (2 Corinthians 4:17)
Yet now experiencing glory but suffering, suffering with Christ and for Christ,
This is because we are living , the times between Christ’s first coming and his final appearing. We see this in other things. For example:
We’ve experienced deliverance from the penalty of sin, and the power of sin, but not yet the p of sin.
We’ve been given the Holy Spirit to dwell within us, but we do not yet dwell .
We’ve experienced the comfort of God but God has not yet .
Our bodies are subject to decay, but one day we will have transformed, spiritual bodies that will .
What Paul wants us to know is that whatever our suffering may be for Christ, when weighed in a scale against the coming glory we will experience, . This perspective should help us put the proper weight on our suffering for Him.
Creation’s coming freedom will restore its , 19-22
The creation is experiencing futility and corruption now, but will experience freedom from bondage then.
Why is this happening to creation?
(MULTILINE)
Paul anthropomorphizes creation, saying that creation groans like a woman in the pain of childbirth.
Yet, creation will one day be set free from decay, and its original purpose restored.
It, too, looks forward eagerly to the time when God’s sons are revealed when it will be set free from corruption and decay and it can fulfill God’s original purpose for it.
“The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their own” (Phillips)
Believers’ current groaning will end with and , 23
Adoption. We have been adopted, but we are not yet living i. We can call him, Abba and Father, but we do not yet . Our full adoption awaits us.
Redemption. We have been redeemed from our sins, but here Paul is referring to our bodies. Our decaying, mortal bodies will also one day be redeemed.
Paul said it this way:
1 Corinthians 15:50–54 (ESV)
Paul remarks that believers have the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit. As the firstfruits, the Holy Spirit is the promise of .
Until the glory comes, believers live , 24-25
Biblical hope is not . It is of receiving about something we have not yet received but God has promised to us. It is knowing without seeing or having evidence that something will be ours simply because God said so.
Paul reminds us that we are saved in hope. That is, when we were saved we didn’t at that point see all God promised that we one day would have. We have to trust his promise and this gives us certainty about what would one day be ours.
Paul goes on to contrast hope with seeing, or with the actual possession of what is hoped for.
Hope that already sees what is promised hope. You see it so you don’t have to hope for it.
Hope comes in when we what is promised. That’s where we are now. We are eagerly, yet patiently waiting for all that God promised for us, including the glory that is so immense that words can’t fully describe it and that will make our present suffering for Christ seem like in comparison.
CONCLUSION
Believers know how to put their suffering into perspective. We will one day experience glory that will so far outweigh our troubles that they will seem as nothing in comparison. We live in hope, in the certainty that one day this will happen.
This isn’t so for those who are not yet saved. Their suffering will not be over one day, it will only get worse. When they hear the words “Depart from me, I never knew you” their agony will have just begun. We have to help them have something better than more suffering to look forward to. That’s the gospel. It can save them and give them true hope just as it has saved us.