Groaning Pains

Romans 8:18-26

10 weeks in Jude’s 25 verses. 1.5 years ago in one night went over Romans 8:19-39

Romans is the first of Paul’s epistles in the bible but it was not the first written, it was the seventh or sixth, as some put Philippians later than Romans. Paul did not plant or start the church in Rome and had not even visited them at the time of writing the letter. He was writing to them not as some of his other letters to the churches as caution, correction, or praise, but as a introductory letter as he was eager to go to Rome to visit and preach to them and then continue onto Spain to further fulfill the mission of spreading the gospel to all.

In Romans 1 Paul tell us that God is wrathful on all unrighteousness and ungodliness and that God’s attributes and plan can clearly be seen in all of creation. Romans 2 goes on to tell us that man then has no excuse and that there will be a day of righteous judgement for all, Jew and Gentile alike. Also that the Jew is not saved by having and hearing the law but are condemned by it as they do not and can not obey it as it shows how holy God is and how sinful we are. Romans 3 puts the hammer further down as shows that there are none that are righteous and all will be held accountable as all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But through grace and faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ we can redeemed, justified and be draped in the righteousness of Christ. Romans 4 goes further and uses Abraham as an example of justification by faith. Romans 5 tells us we can have peace with God through our faith in Jesus and just as we were dead in our sins through Adam, we can live in Christ. Romans 6 heads off those who would twist and treat as cheap the grace that God has shown us through Christ work, so that the true repentant Christian is dead to sin and alive to God in Jesus Christ. That we are no longer slaves to sin who’s wages are sin but are now willful and eager slaves to righteousness. Romans 7 says that we are now no longer under the law because we have died to sin through Jesus, but even though the law shows us what sin is, it itself is not sinful and that as saved saints we with our mind and spirit we long and desire to serve God and be righteous, our flesh which is still fallen and of this world serves the law of sin. Romans 8 is a turning point in Paul’s letter and begins with the wonderful and spiritually changing statement of “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”, if we are in Christ then we are free from the law of sin and death and have the Spirit of God dwelling in us. So now that we have faith in Christ and through him we are alive to God and have the Spirit in us we are also heirs to God and adopted children.

Romans 8:18-26

The Reason for the Groaning

The reason for the groaning - a review

8 times in this passage Paul reminds us of the state we are in

Verse 18 sufferings of this present time

20 subjected to futility

21 bondage to corruption

22 pains of childbirth

26 in our weakness

22, 23, and 26 there is groaning

We are under God’s curse

We all fell in Adam, and continue with our actions and thoughts

God’s creation was “good” and “very good”

God did not create all of creation that was cursed from the start

God declared it good twice on the third day, once on the 4th 5th 6th, and very good on the 6th when creation was fully done, after man and woman were created in "Our” image

Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.””

Genesis 1:31 “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

Sin is the reason for the groaning

God did not create for force sin into the world

Man was made and given creation as its ruler and caretaker

Man willfully disobeyed and ate the fruit

The fall was complete and total

Who is waiting and Groaning

Man and all mankind

Verse 18, suffering in this present time

Verse 23, we ourselves groan inwardly

Verse 25, we wait with patience

From Adam and Eve to when Christ returns all humans long for the release from this curse

Those that are saved can know and understand why we groan and wait

Those that are unsaved know in their hearts that the world is broken even if they refuse to believe that God, or even sin is real

We are not to be idle as we wait

Creation itself is waiting

Not only those who were created in God’s image with an eternal soul were cursed and groan for release, but all of creation as well

Verse 19, creation is waiting, eagerly longing for the revealing of the sons of God

Who are the sons of God, angels?

Man, specifically all of the elect, chosen by God before the beginning of creation

Romans 8:14–16 “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,”

Verse 20 & 21, creation is waiting with hope that it will be set free

The same kind of hope that the saints of God have, a sure, promised, and guaranteed assurance of what has not yet come to be

Creation or anything in creation except man is made in God’s image and does not have a soul

Nature is not sentient and does not dictate events

This state of God’s very good creation is not how is should be and longs to be returned to how God made it

In Genesis not only those who were created in God’s image with an eternal soul were cursed and groan for release, but all of creation was cursed as well

Verse 20, creation was subjected to futility and cursed because of the sin of man

Futility: emptiness, vanity or in vain, uselessness

Creation is not useless but creation in this present fallen form is, like man, going to die

Not referring to naturel death, which is not natural but as the result of sin, but eternal. It will pass away

Revelation 21:1b “, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.”

The animals were cursed not because of what they did but man

Genesis 3:14 “The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.”

All of the animals were cursed and the serpent was cursed more

The ground and all of the plants are cursed as well because of man

Genesis 3:17–18 “And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.”

God Himself waits

Verse 26, the Holy Spirit, God, groans for us and with us in our present state

God has not cursed himself but does long for the return of His creation to its proper state where He will be with us and we will be with him, face to face.

God does not wait or have patience as we know or understand it

God sees all time at once with all perfection and clarity

What we all Groan for

Man

Verse 18, the glory that will be revealed to us.

The glory of God shining bright and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in eternity

Verse 23 the adoption as sons and the redemption of our bodies

Through Christ’s we are adopted children of God and fellow heirs, but we will not fully realize and experience the majesty of this until we are in our redeemed, perfected, and glorified bodies so that we can be with God

Adopted child oversees joys to know they are adopted even if they have not seen their new parents, but much more joy when they meet and it is face to face

Verse 24, in this hope we were saved

We were saved, chosen by God before the foundations of the world so that we will be reunited with God

Creation

Verse 19, waiting with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of man

Why?

The revealing of the sons of man marks the revelation of the elect’s resurrected and perfected bodies

Also the re-creation of the new heavens and the new earth

Verse 21, creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God

The fallen, sin marred creation will pass away and be made new and will be free from sin’s corruption

God

Verse 25, right after Paul says in verse 24 that we are waiting in hope with patience for the redemption of our bodies, in verse 25 he tells us that likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

God does not wait or have patience as we wait or have patience.

God is sovereign over all and the hope and assurance that we have is also His plan and will

Ephesians 1:3–9 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ”

Ephesians 1:10 “as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”

God’s plan, his will is for all things, all things in heaven and all things on earth, all of creation, to be united with him and in him.

Without the Spirit helping us in our weakness we would not be able to finish the race, but none that God has chosen, none that Christ took the punishment for will slip through the Trinity’s fingers, but not of our own will but because of the Spirit of God in us helping us in our weakness with groanings too deep for words, sanctifying us until the fullness of time has come to pass and all things, man, woman, things in heaven and things on earth are reunited together.