46) What Was-What Is-What Is Yet To Come
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Pastoral Reminder: Head Heart Hands
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Turn with me to chapter 8 of the book of Romans. This chapter speaks to the work of the Holy Spirit dwelling in the Children of God. The last couple of weeks we have focused on the reality that all saved men and women have been adopted into the household of God as coheirs with Christ.
14 For all those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!” 16 The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, 17 and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
The Spirit of God is a witness along side those that claim to be Christians. The children of God are led by the Spirit and so they live differently than the world. This new life is evidence that we are God’s sons and daughters. We looked at the fact that as the Spirit does his work in a person they will look more like Jesus being conformed to His image and so there is a natural consequence to that. The world will start to treat the person like it treated Jesus. Persecution is a friend to the one who follows closely to the Lord, suffering is part of that walk and serves to demonstrate that they truly belong to God.
The encouragement he made is that those that suffer with him will be glorified with him. You were outside the home, now you are in the home. You were lost but you now belong to the father. You will now suffer for a little while but this is not the end for us. The end is the glory of God.
Paul will continue in verse 18 by expounding on this idea of what is today but to remember what will be.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope 21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now. 23 Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits—we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 Now in this hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? 25 Now if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience. 26 In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.
The theme of this section is a comparison of the reality of life as we know it today with the promise of the glory to come. The link between the two is the hope of the believer.
Paul Waits for the Glory to Be Revealed
Paul Waits for the Glory to Be Revealed
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.
The fact that life is not a walk in the park as a Christian can be a rude awakening for many. In the early church there were harsh responses to the gospel for those that confessed to be followers of Jesus. Paul himself persecuted the followers of Jesus having them arrested and he even watched as Stephen was stoned to death for telling the truth.
13 For you have heard about my former way of life in Judaism: I intensely persecuted God’s church and tried to destroy it.
We know that there are those that would start to turn back to the law and their previous ways as they were struggling with living for God by faith. We see in the other letters to churches that they needed encouragement to not turn back to the law and the sacrificial system that they were so familiar with.
They may have been people asking the question “Is it worth it?”
It is my assumption that is is highly likely that almost everyone here at one time or another has looked at the challenges of life as a Christian; going against the flow of the culture. Going against grain. Finding that a life lived for God can be a very hard. You are not understood. Others separate themselves from you. You must deny your natural desires, admit sins, serve others, and seeing others, who are as worldly, seem to get all of the blessings. Like the heart of the Israelites.
17 You have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you ask, “How have we wearied him?” When you say, “Everyone who does what is evil is good in the Lord’s sight, and he is delighted with them, or else where is the God of justice?”
When life is hard, it is easy to ask is it all worth it. Paul tells his readers what he has come to understand.
He says “I consider” that what is experienced in the present time isn’t even worth comparing to what is to come. Most of the newer translations that are used here today used the word “consider”. We might think of it this way. when someone has asked if you have considered something.
Consider: to think about something carefully, usually to make a decision, form an opinion, or take something into account
The word Paul used hear actually means to reckon something. This was used in older translations and it is a word we don’t use much anymore. But it means to systematically count something. To take all of the parts and to determine its place or value and worth.
He says, I have taken all of the evidence. I have weighed it measured it and the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing comparing to the glory that is to come.
I need a volunteer. Van can you come up here. Lets compare some things I have here. A bag of change and a 10 dollar bill. From his own perspective he has made a comparison of value based on how he has reckoned the situation. He made his determination.
But Paul is going even a step further in his determination. He says that that suffering and glory are so far apart in worth that they cannot even be compared. Bag of hole punches.
Can the promise of God be worth all of this suffering. It has to matter. Paul is a man who knows what suffering is.
23 Are they servants of Christ? I’m talking like a madman—I’m a better one: with far more labors, many more imprisonments, far worse beatings, many times near death. 24 Five times I received the forty lashes minus one from the Jews. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a night and a day in the open sea. 26 On frequent journeys, I faced dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, and dangers among false brothers; 27 toil and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and without clothing. 28 Not to mention other things, there is the daily pressure on me: my concern for all the churches.
I have to admit I have never met anyone who was imprisoned for their faith more than Paul. I haven’t met anyone who has been beaten nearly to death for the sake of Christ. I don’t know anyone who has recieved the 39 lashes let alone 5 times. I have never met anyone who was taken out of the city and stoned and left for dead for being a Christian. I don’t know anyone who has walked more miles in the desolate places, faced more shipwrecks, or had a larger concern for all of the churches.
If there was anyone that would want to compare the value of their present life with the glory of the next, it was Paul. These sufferings are real and painful and though we will face them ourselves, don’t take your eyes off of the what is yet to be. The glory, the worth, the weightiness of what is to come cannot be compared the the suffering of this world.
8 More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith.
He has looked at his life, considered his life and he says, nothing of this present life will compare to what is to come. He says that I Paul wait eagerly for the glory to come.
4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
He now turns to a picture of creation to reinforce his point.
Creation Waits for the Glory to Be Revealed
Creation Waits for the Glory to Be Revealed
19 For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope 21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now.
It was not uncommon for creation to be personified by the people of God.
12 The wilderness pastures overflow, and the hills are robed with joy. 13 The pastures are clothed with flocks and the valleys covered with grain. They shout in triumph; indeed, they sing.
Paul points them to this image of creation waiting with eager anticipation. The image is of a person waiting with an eagerness, stretching out the neck and up on the toes. Waiting for the the children of God to be revealed. Like an unveiling, there will be a time when all of God’s children are fully revealed.
51 Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. 53 For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality. 54 When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: Death has been swallowed up in victory.
Today we can look and we can evaluate the lives of those that claim to be children of God, but the truth is that we are still making a determination based on what we see. There will be those that by all accounts were great children of God who did all of the right things. Like the Pharisees controlling their words and actions, but without faith they perish outside in the darkness.
There will be others that deeply struggle with their lives in one way or another or they may live a life of sin and come to believe in the last moments of this life. They will be revealed to be God’s children. Like the thief on the cross next to Jesus.
There will be a day that God’s children are revealed as the work that God starts at salvation continues to conclusion with the full perfection of the man.
Creation in a sense is a witness to the sinless man of Adam and Eve before they transgressed against God. In the curse that followed, creation itself was subjected to futility.
17 And he said to the man, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘Do not eat from it’: The ground is cursed because of you. You will eat from it by means of painful labor all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
God himself subjected creation to the curse that will continue until it is set free from the bondage of decay. The world is in bondage as fires rage, storms blow, animals kill, the decay will continue. Creation has its own futile attempt of renewal as seasons change, water cycles to the ocean to return in the clouds. Animals are reborn. But it cannot be free from decay until the time that the son’s of God are revealed.
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 I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. 3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.
Paul paints this picture of creation itself waiting for the glory of this day that will come when all is made new. The glory of this moment is so grand that even creation groans in labor until that day.
Paul is eagerly waiting and creation is also waiting in anticipation and so do believers.
We Wait for the Glory to Be Revealed
We Wait for the Glory to Be Revealed
23 Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits—we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 Now in this hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? 25 Now if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.
Even if we suffer today. We who have the Spirit also groan within. The Spirit is described as the seal, the down payment, like the beginning of the harvest, the firstfruits.
5 Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment.
The work started at the moment that the Spirit dwelt in us. This is a foretaste of the future glory that will be revealed. The Lord has started
6 I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
The Christian life is one of a current reality and a not yet one. God has started a good work but has not completed it. We know we are saved today but we will be saved from God’s wrath in the future. We have been sanctified and made holy before God but yet we are being sanctified and being made Holy as we are conformed to the image of Jesus. We are justified but have not stood before the final judge. We have been washed clean by the blood but still have this body of flesh that we must deal with.
We are children of God completely and securely but we wait eagerly for the fulfillment of the adoption. Which will include the redemption of our bodies. To be fully redeemed. The full ransom will be a reality for us. The inheritance has been given in full as we receive eternal life. This is the hope.
24 Now in this hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? 25 Now if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.
It is this promise that we have put our hope in. For in this hope we were saved. Faith, belief, trust, in the promise of God that eternal life is given to those who believe.
8 On the contrary, what does it say? The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is the message of faith that we proclaim: 9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame, 12 since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him. 13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
The hope of adoption is faith of one who has been made alive by the Spirit.
1 Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. 2 For by this our ancestors were approved.
The author of Hebrews points out that faith is the reality of what is hoped for. It is when we look forward to a promise and we believe and trust in that promise so much that we live differently today. Waiting for the day of the coming one.
37 For yet in a very little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. 38 But my righteous one will live by faith; and if he draws back, I have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and are saved.
Faith is the reality of this hope, that after this life we will see the promises of heaven and we will not only see them but receive them. Take pleasure in them. We wait in anticipation.
24 Now in this hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees?
A child hopes for a certain present on his birthday. He has set his heart on it. He believes he will receive it. So much so, he changes his behavior and actions. He gets prepared to receive it. He cleans out a spot in his room. He waits with great anticipation for the gift to be revealed. He looks at the box, it is the right size, the right shape, so he believes.
But the moment he opens the box. There is no more hope. For hope that is seen is not hope. The gift has been recieved in the fullest.
25 Now if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.
We eagerly wait for all of God’s promises to be fully revealed as we live by faith. For God’s righteous will live by faith.
7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
Their should be a growing eagerness and anticipation as we wait for the full glory of God to be recieved. As we cannot receive it now look forward to that day.
As a pastor, I have come to see that the longer Christians live in this world. The longer they feel the decay of the body and the loss of others. They really long for the next life to be with Jesus. I have heard the groans of those that wonder why they are still here when all they want is to receive the promises of scripture and to be with the Lord. The natural course of life will bring suffering in old age but we may also experience persecution that also draws our minds to the next life.
Our lives are to be lives that grow in anticipation. Like a bride and her husband as they look toward the day that they get to receive the blessings of the Lord and be united in as one. We too are supposed to look toward the marriage banquet of the Lamb.
7 Let us be glad, rejoice, and give him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has prepared herself. 8 She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure. For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write: Blessed are those invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb!” He also said to me, “These words of God are true.”
Conclusion
Conclusion
The unsaved man, the man of the world looks around and says “This is life. What must I do to get everything I want. I must make each of my days be as filled with pleasure, meeting as many wants as possible before my life ebbs away. I must make as much as possible, take as much as possible, win as much as possible, conquer as much as possible. For time is short.
Living with a mob mentality, looking to the left they see the same, looking to the right seeing the same, afraid to ever look back and see the destruction and damage to others on the way. If there is nothing else then why not live by the proverb Paul refers to to the church of Corinth
32 ..., Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.
Perspective is everything. Someone once told me that perception is reality and I believe that to be so true. How a person perceives the world defines the world. Based on how information is interpreted conclusions are made that may not be true. But they are true to the person who believes them. The fallen man’s mind and heart are filled with lies that he believes are true.
But for the saved man. Who has the Spirit of God dwelling in him, the Spirit of life quickening him, the Spirit of adoption bringing him in, the Spirit of freedom releasing him, the Spirit of truth as a witness for him. This man will have his perception of the world around him wrecked, torn down, and removed from his mind.
As the Holy Spirit removes the blinders of sin, as the mind is renewed with the truth. When the lies all around are shown in the light of God’s Word and his person, we look at the world from a different perspective that shows us reality.
We turn to the scriptures and the reality of what was created “In the beginning.” The heavens and earth, the sun and moon, the light and darkness, the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, the animals of the land. The creator speaks creation into existence and it was good.
With tenderness God breathes life into the man if the dust and from him creates woman. The two live in this great perfect world. We cannot comprehend this reality, we can only imagine it. Ponder it. Extrapolate from our own life and see it in our minds eye.
We see what sin has done to the world. We know the consequences, feel the burden, but we also see the the truth that God works in his children. We see this progression of the imperfect moving towards the image of the perfect. And so we look forward to the day that what God has started he will finish. We wait for the full Glory of God to be revealed.
This perspective will change how we live today, how we spend out time, how we worship. No longer living for today but living for tomorrow.
For nothing compares to the day that God’s children are fully revealed.
Let us pray.
Let us pray.
Prayer
Blessing/Benediction
23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
