The Glory To Come

Children’s Bible Page 1230.

I remember going to my grandparents’ house when I was a kid and my grandmother having a picture of these two fat babies with angels wings sitting on a cloud in her bathroom.

And I remember the little precious moments figurines of the little children, you know the little porcelain figurines, and some of them would have wings and clouds.

And then of course, I have seen the great renaissance paintings of heaven with clouds and robed Jesus and angels all looking off into the nether as if they are bored to tears.

All this to say: I have never found popular artwork depicting Heaven and eternal life very helpful.

You see, the New Testament makes clear that one of the greatest motivations for pressing on in your faith in the midst of all the trials and challenges of life is the great glory that is going to be revealed once your life here is over.

It is the hope of eternal life in Christ, being absent with the body and being present with the Lord in heaven, then the resurrection of the body with glory, and the new heavens and the new earth, all being in the perfect and unhindered presence of God and seeing Him fully in all his glory that compels us to continue to run this faith race set out for us even when things are hard.

Yet, I have never turned to a picture of a chubby baby on a cloud to keep me motivated on a particularly dark day.

The passage we are walking through today will challenge us to have a much greater spiritual imagination when it comes to our looking forward to eternal life.

It compels us to have hope in the midst of difficult relationships, battles with cancer, problematic emotions, financial difficulties, temptations to sin, marriage conflicts, difficult work situations, battles against bitterness, and difficulties in obeying Christ.

It is the grace and glory of God that will be fully revealed to us in eternity that is to be the greatest motivator to walk in faithfulness with Him today, despite the difficulties.

I wonder how often you meditate on eternity?

I wonder if you have formed a biblical imagination of eternity that compels you forward even in the midst of the greatest difficulties of life?

Through the book of Romans, we have focused on our great sinfulness deserving death and punishment.

We have then seen how while we were still sinners, Christ died in our place for our sin, taking all the punishment we rightly deserved onto himself.

So that all who place their faith in Him alone, God will forgive their sin and declare them right with Him, which we call justification by faith alone.

We have then seen that when ones position is made right with God at salvation, they are born again to new life by the Spirit of God within them.

And while we have the Spirit of God within us, there is a war between the new way of the Spirit and our old dead flesh that we still carry around.

But, the great news that we saw last week is not only has God declared us right with God and filled us with His Spirit, but He has also adopted us as His children to whom we cry out to our Father God and depend on Him throughout this life.

Yet, it is the life to come that is to motivate us to press on, to grow in Christ, to go all in with Him because of the eternity for which we wait.

This transition began last week in verse 17, where we saw that all God’s adopted children are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided that we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.

Let’s read today’s passage:

Romans 8:18–25 ESV

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. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 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. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 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. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

1. The Glory To Come Will Far Surpass The Sufferings Of The Present Time

Lord, would you bind this truth to our hearts?

See, the temptation in sharing the gospel and calling on people to follow Jesus is to oversell what the experience of following Jesus in this life will be like.

If you want a happy marriage, and wonderful kids, and financial success, and all your sicknesses and diseases healed, come to Jesus!

And while I certainly believe that God’s Spirit within you through faith in the gospel leads you to honor God in your marriage or your parenting or your singleness or your job or your health and he can bless you in those things,

The gospel never promises that anything in this life is going to be easy, comfortable, or successful in the way the world defines it.

So, do not ever let the thought creep into your head that because my life is hard, I must not truly be right with God.

No, the gospel never promised an easy life on this side of heaven.

Instead, the promise of verse 18 is that the glory to come will far surpass the sufferings of this present time.

Let’s make sure we understand what Paul is comparing here.

He is comparing the sufferings of this present time, which speaks to the all encompassing range of hardship and difficulty of living life in the midst of this fallen world, where we face trials and temptations of all kinds.

Conflict, cancer, fear, anxiety, depression, relational hurt, a prodigal child, an unmet desire or longing, any range of physical problems, all hardships in school, work, and family life, financial difficulties, temptations to sin, grief and loss,

And also consider this is truth for all the lives of believers in Jesus in all places at all times.

Persecution, wars, famines, imprisonment, diseases, political turmoils.

All the sufferings of this present time are being compared to the glory that is to be revealed to us.

The word for glory gives this idea of a weight and a weightiness.

Anything that you would perceive as glorious is perceived that way because it places a weight on your heart, mind, and soul.

So, Paul is saying: As you consider the weightiness of the sufferings of this present time: loss, cancer, wars, heartaches, broken families, all the way down to your personal sufferings, trials, and temptations

All that weightiness is not even worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

What could that possibly be like?

What could be so wonderfully soul satisfying and awe inspiring that eighty plus years of pain and suffering would seem suddenly so light and so momentary that it is not even worth remembering compared to the great weightiness being revealed to us in eternity?

I’ll promise you this, it’s not like anything you’ve ever seen in the precious moments store.

Like, if you’ve been to the grand canyon or whatever the most awe inspiring thing you have ever witnessed is: it was spectacular, it was glorious, maybe it did something to your soul, but here you are, even after that experience, you still feel the weight of sin and suffering in this world.

Yet, when the glory of what God has planned for our eternity is revealed to us, it will no longer be worth considering the sufferings of this life.

1 John 3:2 ESV

2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

Maybe you have been tempted to think of God as boring or angry or stingy, but that is not so.

God is the happiest, most satisfied being who could possibly be imagined.

He is completely satisfied in His own glory.

And when His glory is fully revealed to us, we will be like Him, fully happy and satisfied under the weight of God’s glory.

Psalm 16:11 ESV

11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

So, let me ask you: what is difficult today? What is frustrating? What is heart breaking?

For all who are in Christ, your future holds a day where the revealing of God’s glory in full will vanish all those things in a instant and for eternity.

Consider how that understanding reframes how we view our trials, our sufferings, and our fight against sin and the flesh.

Consider how that hope builds in us resilience and perseverance to press on.

Richard Baxter, a pastor of in the 1600s said one of his greatest spiritual disciplines was to set aside a few moments each day to simply imagine what Heaven in the presence of God’s glory will be like.

May we all do the same.

The glory to come will far surpass the sufferings of the present time.

2. The Glory To Come Will Be Characterized By Freedom And Fullness

Verse 19 - For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

Now, why would the earth and the skies and all of the universe be eager for this revealing of the sons of God?

Now, of course, the earth and sky do not have life in themselves, but Paul is personifying them as though they are eager for that day.

Verse 20 - For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it

You see, God created mankind as the pinnacle of his creation in order to work it and keep it and have dominion over it.

The prophet Isaiah tells us that the futility and corruption of the earth is a direct result of the fall and sinfulness of man.

Isaiah 24:4–6 ESV

4 The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers; the highest people of the earth languish. 5 The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left.

As goes mankind, so goes the earth.

The creation was subjected to futility.

That is the same word used in the book of Ecclesiastes when we read, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!”

Everything built will finally be destroyed or abandoned.

Every worldly accomplishment will finally be forgotten.

Everything new becomes old.

Everything strong ends up weak.

Every great nation finally falls.

There is a futility to this world.

It is a curse due to our sin and selfishness that has separated us from God and his purposes.

But notice, just as the creation followed mankind into curse and corruption,

Verses 20-21 tells us creation will also follow the children of God into freedom and glory in the end.

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.

As goes the children of God, so goes new creation.

When this life is over and we see Jesus face to face, we will be glorified, meaning we are finally free from the old nature of sin and the flesh.

All that will remain is the Spirit of God and the freedom and glory to enjoy God and to know Him in all his perfections.

And in the same way, the new heavens and the new earth will be set free from all bondage to corruption.

Everything will work as it was meant to.

Everything will produce as it was meant to.

Nothing will decay or break down.

The fullness of the glory of God’s creation will be on full display.

You think about it, even when seeing the grand canyon or any awe inspiring part of the creation now is still seeing the corrupt imperfect version of it.

Imagine what wonders will be to experience and explore in the new heavens and the new earth!

Revelation 21:1–4 ESV

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

This new heaven and new earth is where God’s bride, the church, will dwell with her bridegroom.

Revelation goes on to reveal the massiveness of the city, consider a city spanning from New York City to Los Angeles.

But notice, even great than the physical new heaven and new earth is the fact that God will dwell in her midst.

And our relationship will be perfect apart from sin and the flesh.

And, like J.R. Tolkien writes, “Every sad thing will become untrue.”

In a perfect state of intimacy with God, He will wipe away every tear, death shall be no more, no mourning, or crying, or pain.

This is the future of the children of God and the future of the creation when the children of God are revealed in eternity.

We are certainly not told in the Bible what we would like to be told about eternal life with God.

It is as if God has this wonderful surprise waiting for us in how little we are told.

It’s like as a kid, when your dad promises you he is taking you someplace really wonderful, and you beg and plead for him to tell you, but he just promises again how wonderful it is and you will see when you get there.

Notice, Paul now calls us again to consider the state we are in and the creation is in as we await this glorious future.

Verses 22-23: 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.

Now, I have said before in this series, while this life on earth as a follower of Jesus is described by Jesus as an abundant life and is immensely preferable to being lost, we are also a wretched people in once sense now as the new man of the spirit fights against the old man of the flesh.

As we learn to see more clearly the perfect character of God and His purposes, we groan inwardly as we are so very aware of just how imperfect life in this fallen world truly is.

The image of a woman is labor is a great illustration of this because she knows something wonderful is about to come, but in the moment of labor, she is groaning, hurting, and exhausted.

I have found within my personality more and more a tendency toward perfectionism.

I don’t mean that I try to keep everything perfectly clean, tidy, and organized all the time.

My family can tell you that is certainly not true.

But, I do tend toward being a perfectionist when it comes to relationships and work.

It seems that I always want to double and triple check that my relationship with my wife and my children is going well.

Have a spent enough time with them? Have I said the right things?

I’m hard on myself if I believe I have made a mistake in relationship with someone.

When it comes to work, if I feel that I can’t do something perfectly, I find myself just not wanting to do it at all.

I get frustrated with all the tensions of imperfections in these ways.

And this passage is reminder to all of us that this world is not our home.

We will never reach perfection here.

We must press on in the midst of all the imperfect.

We have to abandon the hope of having a perfect marriage, perfect kids, a perfect church, a perfection friendship, a perfect emotional life, a perfect body, and perfect circumstances.

Our hearts groan as believers when we know that things are not the way they are supposed to be.

Relationships aren’t as great as they should be.

The church isn’t as great as it should be.

My parenting, my job performance, my circumstances, it can go on and on.

But Paul is reminding us here: today is not the end of the story.

Where you are at today is not where you are going to stay.

You can embrace God’s grace to be at peace in the midst of all the tensions and imperfections because today is not the end.

Notice, we groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Now, last week, we read that we are adopted as God’s children at the moment of salvation, so how can Paul now say we are waiting for our adoption as sons?

Here’s why: what we understand by faith in this life, we will experience in full in eternity.

Theologians call this the already/not yet aspect of our reality.

We are already fully adopted children of God, but we are not yet fully experiencing all the blessedness of this reality until we are present with Christ in eternity.

And we are also awaiting the redemption of our bodies.

Throughout the book of Romans, our bodies are what need to constantly be brought under control, we must put to death the deeds of the body, we must present our bodies as living sacrifices.

Our bodies are not yet redeemed.

We all know that church.

Jesus told his disciples that though the spirit is willing the body is weak.

It’s good to go to the gym and eat right and be healthy, but we will all experience the deterioration of our bodies.

Our bodies will all fail and give way.

So, we groan inwardly for the redemption of our bodies.

Philippians 3:20–21 ESV

20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

We will finally be free from even the presence of sin, and we will experience the fullness of God.

3. The Glory To Come Is A Source Of Daily Hope For Us

Verse 24 and 25: 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.

Hope is a powerful characteristic in the life of a Christian.

Paul says that from the very beginning of our salvation, was are saved into the hope of eternal lives, adoption as God’s children, and the redemption of our bodies.

For the gospel is that though we were created by God to have all of our needs met and desires satisfied in the glory of God alone, we have all turned from God and gone our own way into sin and selfishness.

Our sin has separated us from God and led us toward a hopeless future of death and hell apart from the presence of God.

Yet, while we were barreling toward death and hell, God in His great love for us, sent His son Jesus.

And Jesus lived in the satisfaction of obedience to His Father God throughout his earthly life.

Then Jesus took the death and hell we deserved for us on the cross.

Three days later, Jesus rose by the power of God to new life and rose to sit at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus taught that we must also be born again to new life by rejecting a life of sin and self and trusting in Jesus’ death and resurrection for salvation.

In this is hope of new life, eternal life, life in heaven with God, life apart from the very presence of sin.

All of our hope is so bound up in Jesus’ work in the cross and resurrection for us that Peter writes:

1 Peter 1:3 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

The fact that Jesus has died in our place yet is now alive forevermore is the essence of our hope!

That no matter who you are or what you have done, if you are in Christ, there is nothing you can do to make God love you more, and there is nothing that you have done that could make him love you less.

God loves you and has filled you with hope that no matter what you are facing today, you have every reason to hope!

You may say to me, but Pastor Jason, my problems are so complex, or my struggles have lasted for so long, or I’ve already lost and I’m so beyond hope!

Can I remind you that your ultimate hope is not in seeing your circumstances change?

Your ultimate hope is not even in overcoming whatever it is that is standing against you.

That’s why Paul says hope that is seen is not hope.

If you could see your own way forward and your own way out, that wouldn’t really be hope.

Hope is finding the courage to believe even when we cannot see.

Our hope is bound up in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Our hope is alive in Jesus who is alive forevermore.

In the midst of one of the most hopeless moments in the history of God’s people, when they had lost everything, and we taken by cruel enemies to a foreign and strange land and the city of Jerusalem was destroyed, Jeremiah wrote these words:

Lamentations 3:21–23 ESV

21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

His hope had nothing to do with his circumstances and what he could see.

They had everything to do with the never changing character of God.

And when you hope in what you cannot see,

So beyond your circumstances,

Untouched by the trials, temptations, and sufferings of this life,

You can wait patiently with eager expectation for the surprise of the glory to come which will be wieghty enough to thrill and satisfy your soul for eternity.

It is no wonder that Peter commanded us:

1 Peter 1:13 ESV

13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Bow your heads.

(Elder at couches)

Pray.