In this series of messages on hope we started asking ourselves last week: “What is the content of our hope? As Christians, what do we expect?
We answered, first, that we look forward to “the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).
This week we respond by saying, “Our hope is the redemption of our bodies.” Romans 8:23 says, “We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly for the adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”
Let’s look at the context of this. verse.
Present Suffering Versus Future Glory
The first thing Paul says in this paragraph (8:18–25) is that whatever suffering or pain or frustration or disappointment a child of God endures now in this present age will seem nothing compared to the glory that the child of God will experience in the age to come. “The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
If we didn’t know about Paul’s sufferings, we might think it was cheap comfort, a kind of ivory tower effort to comfort the saints. But we do know Paul’s sufferings:
Five times I have received from the hands of the Jews forty stripes minus one. Three times I have been beaten with rods; once I was stoned. Three times I have been shipwrecked; One night and one day I have been adrift at sea; in frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the desert, danger in the sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and weather. (2 Corinthians 11:24–28)
It doesn’t take much imagination to know the tremendous toll that kind of life would take on Pablo’s body. We hear an echo of his misery when he says, “Our outer nature is wearing thin.” He means that his body is wasting away. The word for “wasting away” is used for rust that corrodes iron, moths that corrode fabric, hunger that weakens the body. “Our outer nature wears away.”
But in this very context (2 Corinthians 4:16–18) he makes the same point as here in our text (Romans 8:18): “This light, momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. ”. A weight of glory beyond compare is what Paul means in Romans 8:18 when he says that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us.”
Why Paul is so sure that such glory is coming
After this opening point that the hope of glory makes suffering tolerable, he moves back to explain why he is so sure that such glory is really on the way. Verse 19 says, “For the creation eagerly awaits the revealing of the sons of God.” Notice two things in this verse.
The sons of God have not yet been revealed
One is that the sons of God have not yet been revealed. Creation awaits the manifestation of the sons of God. I think this means that what we will be when we share the glory of God is now hidden. We see ourselves as weak and imperfect like the rest of humanity. We suffer like the others. The day of glory has not yet come.
Creation eagerly awaits the day
The other thing to notice in verse 19 is that the creation, the trees and the grass and the clouds and the lakes and the sheep and the cows and the horses and the lions and the monkeys and the moon and the stars: all of creation he is anxiously awaiting the day when the sons of God will appear for what they really are in glory. Creation is like a little boy sitting in the audience before the play starts and asking over and over, “When is it going to start, Mommy? Is it starting now?
Why does Paul have the right to speak of creation as if he could feel a longing or eager expectation in that way? He gives the answer in verse 20: “For the creation was subjected to futility, not by his own will, but by the will of him who subjected it in hope.”
The vanity and hope of creation
Two things have been incorporated into the creation.
One is vanity. “All creation was subjected to futility.” There is frustration, pain and imperfection in all of creation.
The other thing is hope. Vanity is there “by the will of him who held it in hope.” Frustration, pain and imperfection were not meant to be the last word. They are temporary.
God subjected the creation to futility, but he did it “in hope”! That is, God placed creation under the curse of futility for a hopeful purpose. So Paul can speak of creation as having a burning longing, in the sense that its futility contains God’s purpose that is full of hope.
It’s as if a few weeks ago I looked out my kitchen window at the bare branches of the catalpa tree and said, “That poor, bare catalpa tree is looking forward to the warmth and brightness of spring.” God subjected him to the futility of gnarled, bare leaves, but he did it with hope, the hope of spring. And I think spring is an annual reminder not to get discouraged, because one day there will be an eternal spring.
What creation awaits
So verse 21 tells us what the hope of creation is: “The creation itself will be set free from its slavery to corruption and will obtain the glorious freedom of the sons of God.” In other words, the hope that God has in store for creation is to let creation participate or share in the freedom of the glory of God’s children. When the children inherit his glory, all creation will inherit his glory.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). And God wants the inheritance of his children to be a glorious inheritance, not a vain one. Therefore, the whole earth will be glorified when the day comes when the children of God receive their inheritance.
Tracing the thought of these verses
Now let’s summarize verses 18–21 by tracing the thought backwards. Verse 21: All creation will share in the glory of God’s children one day. Therefore, verse 20: The futility we see in creation is not a dead end; it is full of hope. Therefore, verse 19: Creation is like a little boy standing on tiptoe by the side of the street leaning on the rope anxiously waiting for the parade to begin. Therefore, verse 18: We can trust that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory to come.
The sober truth about the current age
Now, with this knowledge, we are ready to hear the sober truth about the present age in which we live. In verses 22–23, Paul says:
We know that all creation groans with birth pains as one until now; and not only creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly awaiting the adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
The sober truth of this age is that while it lasts, all creation, including Christians, will groan under the weight of unredeemed bodies. Let’s say it again: the redemption of our bodies (v. 23) is not yet a present reality. We must WAIT for it. Until then we groan. We get tired, we get sick and we get discouraged.
All the futility of creation attacks not only the unbelieving world, but also us, who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. “We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit, groan inwardly awaiting the adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” This means that the Holy Spirit in this age does not completely remove the groaning of unredeemed bodies. He is the firstfruits, the seal, and the down payment of redemption. But he does not remove all pain, suffering and frustration at this time.
On the contrary, he is the Spirit of hope. Verse 24: “For in this hope we have been saved. The hope you can see is not hope. Who expects what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with patience we wait for it.”
We know that patience is the fruit of the Spirit. And we know that patience is the fruit of hope. Therefore, we know that the work of the Spirit is to inspire us with hope again and again IN our groaning. He gives us the patience to persevere to the end by reminding us and making us feel that the suffering of this present time is not comparable to the glory that will be revealed to the children of God.
The hope of redeemed bodies
So today I want us to think about this aspect of our hope, namely, that there is a day coming when our bodies will be redeemed and there will be no more groaning.
an immediate danger
As I began to ponder this aspect of our hope as Christians, I soon saw that danger lurked in the bushes. If we put our hope in our own redeemed bodies that will be free from pain and suffering and disability and groaning, do we not risk becoming the center of our hope? Are we not in danger of exalting physical comfort as the center of our hope when God himself should be our hope?
The danger is very real. Because there are many people who embrace the Christian religion (at least on the outside) because they fear the physical pain of hell and want the physical comforts of heaven, but they don’t have a heart for God. If God wasn’t there in heaven, he would be fine, as long as they were physically fit and could have fun. God is not the center of his hope. And they delude themselves that they will ever see the kingdom.
Should we then put our hope in a redeemed body, or is it too physical? Can you expect a redeemed body and still be God-centered in your hope?
Why do we have bodies?
As I pondered this question, a more basic one occurred to me, to…