Hope of All the Earth Thou Art

Good morning, welcome, please open your Bibles to Romans 8.

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus by Charles Wesley, written in 1745.

“Come, Thou long-expected Jesus, born to set Thy people free; From our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in Thee. Israel’s Strength and Consolation, Hope of all the earth Thou art; Dear Desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart.”

The perfect song for advent. Considering the incarnation in v. 1, considering the return of Christ in v. 2.

This is where we find ourselves.

Think of the timeline of salvation history- Man created in right relationship with God, the relationship is broken (spiritual death) and must be fixed. Many lived before the coming of a Messiah.

Their groaning took place because they needed a Savior.

We find ourselves at a peculiar point in salvation history. Jesus has come. And Jesus will return.

Adventus- Latin for coming. For us, Advent looks both back and forward. We remember and celebrate the incarnation of God in the flesh, the birth of Jesus. But we also look forward, awaiting the return of Jesus, setting all things right.

This is where Wesley puts us in this incredible Advent hymn.

Highlighting the plight of all human existence.

Hope of all the earth Thou art, Dear desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart.

Assumes much, does it not?

Jesus is the hope of the earth, He is the desire of every nation, he is the joy of every heart that longs.

Is it true?

Read Romans 8:18-25- For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Pray.

1. Present suffering is contrasted with future glory.

Romans 8:18- For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Perhaps the meaning of the text is self-explanatory...

Look at the argument just made by Paul in v. 17- we are heirs of God with Christ, if we suffer. Through the suffering of this life comes the glory of the next.

And Paul in v. 18 makes the claim that this suffering is worth what is to come.

A truth evident throughout all of human experience.

Nothing worth having comes easily.

Teach this to our kids. We naturally want to be professionals at anything to which we set our minds.

Paul reminds us that the promised glory outweighs the current suffering of this world.

Consider such a promise- have you ever thought of all of the suffering that one could experience?

We experience but a taste. Is it possible that what is to come could make all of this suffering seem insignificant?

It is outweighed by what will be.

2 Corinthians 4:17- For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison...

Now, does the promise hold merit?

Interesting the wording… I consider. KJV- I reckon.

To calculate something.

Greater than and less than.

Both sides of the equation must be known.

Can Paul make this calculation with authority, or is it an empty platitude? Has it been made known to Paul, or has it been shown to him?

First, suffering.

2 Corinthians 11:23-29- Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

And glory?

2 Corinthians 12:2-4- I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.

So few details given of whatever glory Paul experienced, but this much is clear- he experienced both, and in his calculation, the glory far outweighs even an entire lifetime of suffering.

All of this leads to an important question: Why are we so forgetful of Paul’s words?

He goes further to remind us of the goodness of what is to come.

2. All of nature groans as an example.

Romans 8:19-22- For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

The point being made here is that even inanimate creation awaits this glory that will be revealed and given to the sons of God.

Consider what Paul writes about the state of creation.

Creation is personified, given humanlike qualities, as waiting and longing. Not only does creation wait and long, it also groans because it was subjected to futility.

How was creation subjected to futility? In two ways.

First, by the sin of man.

Since the fall of man, creation has been used in futile ways.

Consider the example of the fruit eaten by Adam and Eve- it was good but it was misused.

Ralph Wardlaw- “What was created for God’s glory has been extensively, and in an endless variety of ways, abused to His dishonor- fallen man, left to follow the dictates of his alienated heart and rebel will, prostituting every created thing within the reach of his power to the ends of his own ungodliness; and converting into weapons of war against his Maker whatever had been before employed by him in discharging His commissions and advancing His honor.”

Second, by God.

The ground was cursed. But why?

This is where suffering began, and we have been living it ever since.

Have you ever wondered why there was a curse? Why was living made difficult.

To express to us the reality of our spiritual death.

The subjection of nature and the consequences of said subjection is meant to push our mind elsewhere- to the groaning of man, specifically to the groaning of those with the Spirit.

3. The Church awaits her future redemption.

Romans 8:23-25- And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

We move from inanimate to animate. From lifeless to life. From worse to better. From personification to person.

If inanimate creation groans, how much more should we?

Ralph Wardlaw- “There is a transferring of what ought to be the feelings of the intelligent and moral creatures of God to the brute and inanimate parts of creation, to put the former to shame, as guilty of holding the others against their will, under the thraldom of the spirit of ungodliness.”

Thaldrom- under the control of another.

Man ought to feel the groaning but we often do not. Paul puts man to shame by stating that even inanimate creation groans.

Noticing more groans lately. Do I contemplate these groans?

The groaning of all creation reminds us of something better yet to come, not only for creation, but for us as well.

It is because this is true that we possess hope.

We have been adopted into the family of God, and yet we hope for the fullness of such an adoption to be realized and experienced.

Do we wait eagerly? Has this hope transformed the way in which we live every aspect of our lives?

Because we know what has been promised to us, we live this life with patience.

The promise has been made. No need to doubt, instead only to trust and hope and live according to such hope.

Even creation groans for what is to come.

How does hope change our approach when it comes to celebrating the incarnation of Jesus?

Pause to consider the groaning.

We so often try to get past them without ever asking why I’m experiencing them in the first place.

The manger had to be a place of groaning.

Where does your groaning nudge you?

Groaning is a glimpse of grace.

Raise your gaze.

We focus so much at Christmas time on what is going on around us, on the horizontal plane.

Ephesians 5- Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead.

“Born Thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a King, Born to reign in us forever, now Thy gracious kingdom bring. By Thine own eternal Spirit, Rule in all our hearts alone; By Thine all-sufficient merit, raise us to Thy glorious throne.”