20251109 From Groaning to Glory Romans 8:18-23

Welcome to Vertical Church

Good morning.

Let Us Continue to Worship God

Psalm 67:1–7 LSB

1 God be gracious to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us— Selah. 2 That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. 4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; For You will judge the peoples with uprightness And lead the nations on the earth. Selah. 5 Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. 6 The earth has yielded its produce; God, our God, blesses us. 7 God blesses us, That all the ends of the earth may fear Him.

Romans 8:18–23 LSB

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the anxious longing of the creation eagerly waits 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 also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.

Introduction: From Suffering to Glory Romans 8:18-23

Romans - Chapter 29: Subjected in Hope (Romans 8:18–27)

We have just considered the extraordinary grace and state of blessing that comes with our having been adopted by the Father into the family of God as heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. All the Father gives to the Son is shared with all those united to the Son by faith

For I consider

Romans 8:17 LSB

17 and if children, also heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

Christians today struggle with the concept of suffering in the Christian life

And so does the world

Romans (Present Suffering, Future Glory)

A philosopher, John Stuart Mill, considered the manifest presence in the world of pain, suffering, violence, and wickedness, and he concluded that what we encounter on a daily basis belies any hope of a good and loving God. In skepticism he said that if God is a God of love yet he allows such pain and suffering, then he is powerless to prevent it and is nothing more than a divine weakling incapable of administering peace and justice. If, on the other hand, he has the power to prevent evil but chooses not to, standing by and allowing it, then he may be powerful but he is not good or loving. The complaint Mill raised against historical Christianity is that either God is good but not all powerful, or he is all powerful but not good.

What is missing from Mill’s oversimplified equation concerning the economy of grief and pain in the world is the reality of sin.

It is not that God lacks in goodness; it is that we lack in goodness. The entrance of human sin into the world plunged the whole creation into ruin, a ruin that includes not just people but animals and the land itself; the earth mourns because of us. When the transgression came in paradise, the curse of God extended beyond Adam and Eve and even beyond the serpent; the land itself was cursed

In His sovereignty the Lord ordains struggle and suffering but He is always in control. In the Lord’s perfect plan, struggles and suffering are used to test us, to refine us, to strengthen us, and perhaps most importantly, to draw us closer and to teach us to trust God in all circumstances

And now in this section of Romans 8 Paul wants us to trust the process by understanding the process - a sinful world will always have evil and suffering. A sinful world will always reject God’s offer of salvation through a Savior. A sinful world will never be the true home of the true believer and all true believers will never be at home in this world

And the result is what Paul calls the “groaning of creation” as we wait for the “how much more”

Romans Present Suffering, Future Glory

The comparative here is in terms of how much more. The usually articulate Paul cannot seem to find words, even under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to describe the radical difference between the now and the then:

(1) The present sufferings and the future glory

Romans 8:18 LSB

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

A comparison

Suffering is real - it is not an illusion or a perspective, there is suffering and evil in the world because of sin

Marx said that religion was the opiate of the masses, a drug to trick and take advantage of people

But God’s promises are real, heaven is real, salvation is real

Both Christ and Paul experienced unfair and unjust suffering, and especially the sinless Son of God

Christ said something similar in Matthew 16:26

Matthew 16:26 LSB

26 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

I’d rather have Jesus - Rhea Taylor in 1922

1 I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold; I'd rather be His than have riches untold; I'd rather have Jesus than houses or lands. I'd rather be led by His nail-pierced hand

Refrain: Than to be the king of a vast domain or be held in sin's dread sway. I'd rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today.

(2) The current anxiety and the future freedom

Romans 8:19–22 LSB

19 For the anxious longing of the creation eagerly waits 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 also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.

literary personification

a world of anxiety, a world of natural disasters and Acts of God

v20 - forced into futility by Him because of Adam - futility, worthless existence

In contrast to futility and meaningless existence are the words of 1 Cor 15:58

1 Corinthians 15:58 LSB

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

We do not live in vain because we will return to Eden

Isaiah: the lion will lie down with the lamb - all creation delivered

pains of childbirth - right before the beautiful birth is the greatest pain - but then there is joy as we hold the child

(3) The current work of the Spirt and the future redemption

Romans 8:23 LSB

23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.

The Spirit has given us new life, a new birth, a new family - but more is coming

The redemption of the body - that sinful body

You like being saved now - wait until you can love God with body, soul, and spirit

Matthew 25:34 LSB

34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom, which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Now the God of Peace who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep in the blood of an eternal covenant, even our Lord Jesus. May He equip you with everything good in order to do His will, doing in us what pleases Him. Glory is His into the ages and the ages. Amen.