17 Three Groans and One Glory

Romans 8:18-27

The opening verses of Romans 8 introduce the profound liberation which comes from the Holy Spirit. Verses 2-4 reveal how the Holy Spirit liberates us through Christ. Verses 5-17 tell us what the Holy Spirit gives us as he liberates us. As we followed the argument of these verses we saw an exhilarating intensification of hope culminating in the cry, "Abba, Father."

Now in verses 17 and 18 Paul contrasts this rising hope with the inescapable reality of the pain of human existence and declares that our pain is not worthy to be compared with the coming glory. He says in verse 18, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."

This is an astounding statement. It is even more astounding that Paul should apply it to himself. When his ship was not sinking or he was not being stoned or robbed, he was being whipped to within an inch of his life (cf. 2 Cor. 11:23-27). He wasn't speaking poetically when he told the Galatians, "Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus" (Galatians 6:17). Yet he says that the present sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the coming glory. Amazing!

Some believers down through the ages have had it worse than Paul. Some have known years of imprisonment in vermin-filled prisons and medieval tortures — finally expiring as they were drawn and quartered. Yet the future glory is greater! That is the plain meaning of Paul's words.

He begins verse 18 by saying, "I consider," meaning "I have thought it over carefully — I have weighed the evidence and thus reckon it to be so." He says essentially the same thing in 2 Cor. 4:17 — "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." No matter what we have gone through, are presently going through, or will go through, the sum total is not worth comparing with the glory that awaits us. We can compare a thimble of water with the sea, but we cannot compare our sufferings with the coming glory.

What, then, must this glory be like? We know that the universe will be transformed (Rev. 21:1). We also know that we will have bodies like Christ's glorified body (cf. Phil. 3:21). These are thrilling truths, especially when we reflect on how marvelous our own bodies are even now! When C. S. Lewis preached the sermon "The Weight of Glory" in the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford on June 8, 1941, he gave as eloquent an explanation as has ever been given. In his homily he noted that the promises of Scripture may be reduced to five headings: 1) we shall be with Christ, 2) we shall be like him, 3) we shall have "glory," 4) we shall be feasted, and 5) we shall have some official position in the universe. In speculating on what our glorification may involve, Lewis noted that the Scriptures indicate that as part of our glory we will shine like the sun (Matthew 13:43). He concluded:

Some day, God willing, we shall get in. When human souls have become as perfect in voluntary obedience as the inanimate creation is in its lifeless obedience, then they will put on its glory, or rather that greater glory of which Nature is only the first sketch. For you must not think that I am putting forward any heathen fancy of being absorbed into Nature. Nature is mortal; we shall outlive her. When all the suns and nebulae have passed away, each one of you will still be alive. Nature is only the image, the symbol; but it is the symbol Scripture invites me to use. We are summoned to pass in through Nature, beyond her, into that splendour which she fitfully reflects.

This hope was as real to Paul as meat and drink. Lewis was right when he said:

Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.

Belief in what the Scriptures say will change our lives. Some of us need to have our eyes lifted from the dirt toward the heavens. There is simply no comparison of our pleasure or pain with the glory yet to be revealed.

As we continue on with our study of verses 18-27, Paul presents the hope as so substantive that creation groans for it, believers groan for it, and even the Holy Spirit aids believers with his own groans. Christian hope that eventuates in groans is a marvelous asset to living.

CREATION'S GROAN AND HOPE (V. 8:19-22)

The first groan that Paul introduces is that of creation (Romans 8:19-21).

The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, 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.

In a marvelous blend of poetic and prophetic impulse, Paul pictures animate and inanimate creation as an audience eagerly waiting for the sons of God to come into their true glory. In verse 19 the phrase, "waits in eager expectation" comes from a group of words that carry the idea of craning the neck or stretching forward. Here the form of the word is intensive. Phillips translates this,"The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their own." Creation longs for the day of liberation.

Next Paul gives the reason for the creation's longing: "For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it" (Romans 8:20). Paul is referring, of course, to the curse that came upon creation when mankind sinned. In Genesis 1:29 God described creation to Adam and Eve like this:

"I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food."

The earth was immensely productive. It was kind to itself and kind to its masters. It was a paradise. But after the Fall came the curse:

To Adam he said "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." (Genesis 3:17-19)

Creation became a sufferer and was imbued with futility, decay, and death. So now at times the forces of nature seem to work against themselves, as well as against man. M. Reuss says,

Everywhere our eyes meet images of death and decay; the scourge of barrenness, the fury of the elements, the destructive instincts of beasts, the very laws which govern vegetation, everything gives nature a somber hue.

The animal world was invaded by fear and violence. The loveliest scenes in nature, while remaining beautiful, are also witness to bloody horrors. Floods, hurricanes, droughts, tornadoes, blights, avalanches, and earthquakes stalk the earth.

Mankind's abuse exacerbates the disharmony. I have lived where the air is too polluted to comfortably breathe and a walk on the beach coats one's feet with tar. It is probably true that if mankind goes its way unhindered, the last man will stand at the edge of a petroleum-clogged sea while behind him rise the twisted skeletons of his great cities. Paul says in verse 22, "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time." The earth groans like a woman in labor. It wants desperately to be delivered.

Sometimes there appears to be no hope. But there is! Romans 8:20 and 8:21 indicate that God subjected nature "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." Many of us have pictures of our wives after they have delivered a child, and typically the baby is in their arms and mother is radiant. None of us have a picture of our wives in labor. We do not reach into our wallets saying, "Let me show you a picture of Margaret groaning in labor. Isn't the agony terrific?" Creation will one day be delivered — and the difference between then and now is the difference between agony and ecstasy! Someday our groaning creation will come into "the glorious freedom of the children of God." Think what will happen when nature is free to produce as it was designed to produce, free from pestilence and danger. We are going to see that day!

We see the principle of the groan for glory all about us. Now Paul moves to personal application. Creation groans, and Christians groan too.

THE CHURCH'S GROAN AND HOPE (V. 8:23-25)

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. (Romans 8:23)

The thing we groan for is our adoption as sons, which will be completed by the redemption of the body. We are already God's sons and daughters, but we will not be complete for eternity until we get our new bodies. Second Corinthians 5:2 is a parallel passage: "Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling." We cry, "Who will rescue me from this body of death?" (Romans 7:24).

We also groan because of the misery of living in our fallen bodies in this fallen world. Ray Stedman writes:

Our lives consist of groans. We groan because of the ravages that sin makes in our lives, and in the lives of those we love. Also we groan because we see possibilities that are not being captured and employed. And then we groan because we see gifted people who are wasting their lives, and we would love to see something else happening. It is recorded that, as he drew near the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus groaned in his spirit because he was so burdened by the ravages that sin had made in a believing family. He groaned, even though he knew he would soon raise Lazarus from the dead. So we groan in our spirits—we groan in disappointment, in bereavement, in sorrow. We groan physically in our pain and our limitation. Life consists of a great deal of groaning.

We also groan for a positive reason — we have "the firstfruits of the Spirit" (Romans 8:23). We have the first installment (or down payment) of the inconceivably fabulous heritage God has prepared for us. When Abraham's servant was sent to find a bride for Isaac and met Rebekah, he gave silver and gold garments and presents to Laban as indications of what was to come. That is what God has done for us by his Holy Spirit. That indescribable peace we knew when we first experienced the forgiveness of our sins, the power of God that calms our heart despite circumstances, the joy that floods our souls — these are mere foretastes of what is yet to come!

We are described as waiting "eagerly" (Romans 8:23). This same strong word is used of creation's waiting (Romans 8:19). We are on tiptoe waiting for our deliverance. Paul underlines this hope in verses 24, 25:

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Here we again find the same strong word — "wait for it patiently." We are on tiptoe, and we wait with perseverance. Life right now is very good for me. But in the future there will be joys supreme. I look forward to that time of deliverance from this body of sin, glory ineffable, seeing the face of Christ, experiencing without restriction the perpetual adventure of getting to know him. And so do you! We groan . . . we have an inconsolable longing which our greatest joys dimly foreshadow. Someday we will know the fullness of our salvation.

THE HOLY SPIRIT'S GROAN AND HOPE (V. 8:26, 27)

Creation groans, we groan, and even the Holy Spirit groans. Verses 26, 27 tell us:

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

If we are honest with ourselves, we must all admit there are times when we cannot pray. There have been times when my children were so desperately ill and the urgency so great that I could scarcely converse with God. At best I may have said a few words, "but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."

There have been times when something has been said to us that is so devastating and we are so hurt we cannot pray, "but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."

One day some of us will lie in hospitals with catheters and IVs, and we will not have the will to pray or even put two thoughts together, "but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." The Holy Spirit expresses those things we feel but cannot articulate.

The Holy Spirit says those things we want to say but cannot mouth. How beautiful! May we appreciate our wealth.

The word indicating the Holy Spirit "helps" our weakness gives us further insight into how he intercedes for us. A. T. Robertson says:

The Holy Spirit lays hold of our weaknesses along with (syn) us and carries His part of the burden facing us (anti) as if two men were carrying a log, one at each end.

The Holy Spirit does not give armchair advice. He rolls up his sleeves and helps us bear our weakness. That is real help.

How marvelous this all is! We have two intercessors: one in Heaven — our Lord Jesus who intercedes for our sins (Romans 8:34), and one in our hearts — the Holy Spirit himself. How greatly we are loved!

A glory awaits us that exceeds the wildest imaginations of our most gifted science fiction writers. You and I are going to be creatures so glorious that if we saw such ones today we would be tempted to fall down and worship them.

Because of the greatness of the coming glory and because of our weakness, we groan. But we are not alone, for we are surrounded by the sympathetic groanings of creation and even of the Holy Spirit. And one day our groanings will be replaced by glory!

Charles H. Gabriel, 1900

—Preaching the Word