Groaning for Glory
Notes
Transcript
Paul has spoken to us deeply on the doctrine of salvation. It has taken 8 chapters, and he has finally arrived at the final part of our salvation-glorification. In this section Paul reminds us of a future glory that awaits all of God’s creation.
v. 19 “for the creation” Paul isn’t speaking of humans. He is speaking of:
The animal kingdom
The inanimate parts of creation: mountains, rivers, plants, etc.
“waits with longing” the picture is of a person leaning forward to see, standing on one’s tiptoe and stretching out the neck. There is an eager longing creation is experiencing.
“for the revealing of the sons of God” This refers to the final glorification of believers. It is on that day that creation will be transformed as well.
Note: One day all the true children of God will be revealed. We can speculate but not honestly know who is and isn’t saved. When Christ returns it will be made evident to all who the children of God are.
We are not to think that the trees and rivers are aware of who we are. This is poetical language. It’s used to show the great need that not man but nature has to be transformed.
We should also interject that nature needs man. We have this idea put forth by some extreme naturalists/conservationists that man is the problem when it comes to nature. The truth is nature needs man. If you don’t believe me ignore your garden area for a little while. The useful plants will be choked out by weeds and thorns. God created man to be a steward over the earth. The earth therefore is dependent upon man if it is to be fruitful.
v. 20 “for the creation was subjected to futility”
The creation is frustrated. It cannot accomplish its intended task. Why? It was subjected to this. It didn’t subject itself. Who subjected it?
God cursed creation when Adam sinned. In Genesis 3:17-18 we see that the earth itself was cursed. It would bring forth thorns instead of fruit. Adam would have to work hard to combat this.
“in hope” the good news is Genesis 3 contains a promise. God said a child would come who would crush the serpents head. This is where the eager expectation comes from. Creation knows there is hope.
If you want to know the trouble nature experiences, there are some things you can do:
You can watch the weather channel- floods, hurricanes, droughts, etc.
You can document the earthquakes.
You can go to the woods. Plants will poison you. Animals live in constant fear of one another.
Nature is not perfect. There is no Garden of Eden. Sin has affected all of creation.
v. 21 “that the creation itself will be set free” creation has a bondage to corruption. It is tied to death.
If you go to the woods, you will see that trees:
Die
Fall
That rot
You will see that animals:
Die
Rot
Go to the waters and you will see that fish:
Die
Rot
But creation will one day “obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. When we are glorified, there will be a new heaven and a new earth. This world will be transformed. Revelation 21 gives us a beautiful picture of what the transformed world will look like. Our information is limited but it is enough to show that it will be greater than even the Garden of Eden was.
For all of eternity there will be:
Mountains
Trees
Rivers
Flowers
God was pleased with creation in Genesis and He will be pleased with it again.
v. 22 “the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth”
It’s evident that creation is not what it should be. The groaning could be a reference to:
Restless oceans
Destruction of wind and rain
Earthquakes, tornadoes
The cry of animals who are killed by other animals in the wild
We see hope again in verse 22. The pains of childbirth symbolize a joy that is coming. The groaning of a mother turns to laughter and joy when the child is delivered. The creation groans but does so like a mother in labor. It has the hope of new life and blessing.
v. 23 Paul moves from nature to humans.
“we ourselves …groan inwardly”
He tells us why we groan. He says it is because we have the first fruits of the Spirit.
He ‘s not talking about unsaved people. The lost do groan in this world. They experience the same things we do.
They groan because they are suffering
They groan because of the sorrow they experience
They groan out of fear
We groan because the Spirit of God lives in us.
“Firstfruits” refers to the offering given by Jewish people from their crops. The first portion harvested was given to the Lord. This showed:
They knew that what they had belonged foremost to God
They believed God would provide more.
Paul uses “firstfruits” to show that God has given us the Spirit to ensure us that we belong to Him. This is God’s pledge to us.
We know that we belong to god and because of this we “groan inwardly”.
“as we eagerly await for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Paul uses “adoption” in a different way than he did in verse 15. There he spoke of our salvation. Here he speaks of our glorification. The only thing that has not been redeemed yet is our body. Our bodies will not be redeemed until we are glorified. This will happen when Jesus returns. Our salvation will be fully realized then.
Because the Spirit lives in us we have a foretaste of glory. We know there is a heaven. We know God is going to transform this earth. Because we know these things there is an eagerness to experience them. This is why we groan differently than the world. We are anxious to receive our glorified bodies. I believe that eagerness is experienced even by those who are already in heaven.
There is a line in Blessed Assurance that says:
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine;
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Once you have a taste of something it’s difficult to wait until the meal is done.
v. 24 “For in this hope we are saved” With our salvation is hope. Not “hope so”. This is a certain hope.
“Now hope that is seen is not hope”
Paul’s point is we hope for it because we have not yet received it. That doesn’t mean it is any less real. It is real but we have yet to experience it. Our assurance that final salvation waits for us is what gives us hope. Clearly God is not done, that’s Paul’s point. Through the Spirit, God has confirmed that while He is not done we can be sure He will complete the salvation He began in us.
v. 25 We wait for our final salvation with patience. The older we get the more patience we need. The worse this world gets the more patience we need. Friend, don’t allow yourself to become frustrated. God finished everything He starts. He is no quitter.
v. 26 Not only does the Spirit give us hope. He helps us in our weakness. What is our weakness? Paul says it is our prayer life.
Nothing is more difficult than ongoing consistent prayer. The devil fights our prayer life with fervor.
There are times we don’t want to pray.
There are times we forget to pray.
Paul isn’t talking about that. He says we don’t know what to pray. Context suggests a person is overcome with impatience as they wait for final salvation. But the principle relates to other difficulties with prayer as well.
Paul promises us that in our weakness the Spirit of God prays for us.
“groanings too deep for words” means these are things we have trouble expressing or even comprehending.
v. 27 God searches our hearts. He knows the mind of the Spirit. Let me make it simple:
The Spirit lives within us
The Spirit knows our heart
God knows the mind of the Spirit
The Spirit communicates our needs to God
Our heart speaks to the Spirit
The Spirit speaks to God about our heart
The Spirt can pray for us better than we can pray for ourselves. This reminds us that we never need to worry about God not knowing our needs.
Even when we cannot express our needs the Spirit does.
Even when we don’t know what to pray the Spirit prays the right thing.
God has no problem knowing what you want to say even when you cannot put it into words. He reads your heart as easily as your lips.
One of the beautiful things about glorification will be the perfect mind we will have. There is no ignorance in heaven.
1 Cor. 13:12
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
In our glorified state we will know everything we should know. There will be no:
Fumbling with words
Forgetting of names or events
Until that day we groan. Creatioin groans. Our groans should not discourage us. They are a reminder that god has given us a hope that will be realized fully on the day of Christ Jesus.