The Suffering and Glory of God’s Creation

Introduction

Last week, Paul ended vs 17 with a promise that if we suffer with him, we shall be glorified together with Him. These verses are descriptive of life in the Spirit for the believer. I think sometimes we slip into thinking that the closer to God I get the easier it will be. As an adopted son of God with all the rights and privileges, why do I have to suffer? If I am right with God, then I shouldn’t have to suffer. The presence of pain and suffering in this world has perplexed many through the ages. David wrestled with it in the Psalms, Jeremiah during the destruction of Jerusalem and Habakkuk when evil men were used to judge his people. When tragedy hits, we feel like the wheels are coming off the wagon. We feel that something is wrong and something is wrong. Paul is going to give us a theology of suffering in the next few verses. He has given us a purpose for suffering in the life of a believer in the previous verse. Suffering is the path to glory. Like a refining fire, suffering burns away the dross. These verses serve as an explanation that when suffering hits, it doesn’t mean God has cast us off and abandoned us. We are just as secure in Him when the fires rage around us.

Some have argued that the suffering in vs 17 only refers to persecution. They say that only those who suffer for Christ will receive these benefits. I do not believe that this is what Paul is talking about here. Maybe in other passages, but not Romans 8. These truths are true of every believer. A key phrase in the verse is with Him. It doesn’t say for Him. All suffering that the believer faces is suffering with Christ in that Christ suffered taking on human flesh.

Verse 18 begins with the words For I reckon- reckon means to consider or weigh. When we are faced with pain and suffering in our lives, we might be tempted to let our pain dictate how we think about a situation. It is in moments that we need to weigh, consider, reckon the truth about God’s purposes in suffering. Paul says that when he takes a scale out and puts our present sufferings on one side and our future glory on the other side, it isn’t even a competition. The two things are not even worthy to be compared. It would be like comparing a Porche 911 with a Datsun. The pain I feel now compares little with the glory that shall be revealed in us. This glory is all the glory of heaven, Jesus that we will share in and be changed by. Someday, I won’t wake up with aches and pains; but glory. Someday, the disease that is eating away at the body will be gone and glory left in its place. Someday, the tears that I shed over my children will be replaced with glory. Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:17 “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;” Says our affliction now in comparison with that glory is light.

The Christian can view suffering without diminishing its intense pain, knowing that pain is not the final word. The present pain that we suffer can only truly be understood in light of the hope of glory. We must take our sufferings and the hope of glory and place them in a scale. When done, glory always outweighs the suffering. If we weigh the two and find suffering to outweigh the glory, we do not understand or appreciate the glory.

Paul will use the example of childbirth to shine a light on our suffering. In vs 18, we are caught between the now and not yet. Our present experience now is suffering while our future experience, the not yet is glory. Any mother who has given birth knows this truth personally. There is a lot of pain in childbirth, but many a woman has still decided to have children. The pain intensifies the closer they get to delivery. But when the child is born the memory of that pain is washed away in the joy of the child. The pain lasted a moment, but the joy of having a child lasts in the mothers heart.

In the rest of vs 19-28 Paul is going to show the connection between suffering and glory with two examples: creation and our own experience. This morning, we will look at how creation has suffered because of sin and the hope of glory that awaits the world. Vs 19 is going to set up our three points this morning. This verse declares that the creature waits for the manifestation of the sons of God. The creature in these verses refer to subhuman creation. It cannot refer to the angels as we will see since they were not subjected to vanity; nor does it refer to humans since not all humans await the glory. Nor can it refer to Christians since the creature awaits the manifestation of the sons of God. The creatures are the birds, dogs, the plants, trees, the ground. All of creation below the order of mankind.

Creation is earnestly expecting and waiting for something- That phrase earnest expectation means to eagerly wait for something with a high degree of confidence, but it comes from the word for head and carries the connotation of waiting with the head up high and the eyes fixed on the horizon looking for the expected thing to come. Illustrate- children waiting for daddy to get home

What is it that creation awaits? The Manifestation of the sons of God- we are already the sons of God, but there is coming a day when we will appear in glory and it will be obvious who is who. You see a cocoon and you might ask is that a moth or a butterfly. When it hatches, it is revealed what it was. Creation waits for that day of glory just as much as we do and even for the created world suffering is the path to glory. Paul is going to explain this in three tenses: past, future and finally the present experience of creation.

The Past Experience of Creation

Romans 8:20 “For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,”

Paul starts off with a look back at the past. If we are to understand why there is so much suffering and evil in this world, we have to go back to the beginning. Back in after man had fallen into sin, God cursed the ground. Genesis 3:17 “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;”

Our sins had an effect on not just us; there is a lesson in that if you think about it. When we choose to sin, it affects others who may have been innocent in our choices. The ground had not chosen to sin and yet it became cursed because of Adam.

According to the text it was subjected to vanity. It became empty and futile. It was striped of its ability to fulfill its purpose. The ground was intended to bring forth fruit plentifully, but now it brings forth weeds and thistles. It doesn’t yeild fruit easily. It takes work to make things grow. (Ill. Katy and I working in our garden)

There is a curse when you aren’t able to fulfill the purpose for which God created you. Many don’t even know what that purpose is and others just seem to fail at everything they set their hands to. I imagine they feel cursed as the ground was cursed.

The phrase by reason of him tells us why it is cursed. There are three views about who this him was that was responsible for the curse on creation:

Three Views explaining by reason of him:

Adam

Satan

God.

Those who believe Adam argue the word by is not the word for direct agency which would normally be used of God. Often times in the bible you will see the word through and the word by used. They have very similar meanings, but by speaks of direct agency and through speaks of indirect agency. Let me give you an example so you can understand what I am saying. Let’s say I bought you a present and gave it to you. Later someone asks you who gave it to you and you say “This gift was given by pastor Shirk.” I directly gave it to you. What if I bought you the gift but had Amazon deliver it to you. You could say “This gift was given to me by pastor Shirk through an Amazon delivery driver.” I am the direct agent but I gave it through an indirect agent: someone working on my behalf. The Greek word translated by here is actually the word for through, so some argue that this is not speaking of God, but Adam.

Others say this is God Himself because only he had authority to subject the world and God also offered the hope in the curse. Who was it that actually cursed the earth? God did. But notice those last two words in hope- most likely has in view the promise of the Messiah crushing the serpents head. Even in the curse, God made it known what the creation could hope for. God cursed the earth but he left open hope of restoration.

The Future Hope of Creation

Romans 8:21 “Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” delivered

The next verse turns to the future. There is coming a day when the creation will be delivered along with us from the curse. Revelation 22:3 “And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:” And then in

Matthew 19:28 “And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” The Regeneration refers to the renewal of all things.

Psalm 102:25–26 “Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: And the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:”

the desert will bloom

the predator and the prey will be at peace

there will be a new heaven and a new earth

2 Peter 3:10–13 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”

Not everyone is agreed about whether the new earth will be a completely different planet made from scratch or if the current one will be wiped clean and transformed. Words like regeneration and changed seem to refer to transformation while word’s like new seem to point to a brand new planet. The fact that our bodies while glorified and new will still come from the old seems to imply a transformed earth. So in the end, I would say I am not confident to take a solid position one way or the other though I see the transformation view as being more consistent with the redemption of the creation. A completely new creation would be a scrapping of the

into the glorious liberty of the children of God- Creation partakes in this regeneration because of the work that God is doing in redeeming mankind. Just like creation was cursed in our sin, it will be set free in our liberty.

The Present Longing of Creation

Romans 8:22 “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.”

The section ends with our current struggle. We live somewhere between the curse and our future hope. Creation awaits the day when it will be set free. The text says that it groans and travaileth even today. The picture of travail is labor pains. Jesus used this same imagery in:

John 16:20–22 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.” Conclusion life here on earth now is filled with pain. Since the fall all of creation has had to suffer under that curse. So the Christian who has all the promises of eternal life as a son of God should not despair when life gets hard. We should not be confused wondering why a child of God should ever suffer. We suffer along with creation right now but there is coming a day when we will be swept away into God glorious future for us and this planet that we liv3 on. Focus on the

Why

Hope

So here’s the application this morning. In moments of suffering when we think it isn’t fair or doesn’t make sense, we must remind ourselves that all this world is temporarily groaning under the weight of suffering, but there path of suffering leads to glory. There is a bright future ahead for us. Having this hope gives us something to cling to when all else seems to be failing all around us. Some suffering is the result of living in a sin cursed world, but someday it too will be redeem3d. it is in these moments we need to reckon these truths in our lives as Paul began in vs 18.