Groans - Romans 8:18-27
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction
Introduction
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.
Present time/ to be revealed (18)
Sufferings - affliction (state) n. — a state of great suffering and distress due to adversity. (Sense)
“These “sufferings of the present time” are not only those “trials” that are endured directly because of confession of Christ—for instance, persecution—but encompass the whole gamut of suffering, including things such as illness, bereavement, hunger, financial reverses, and death itself.“ (Moo, Douglas J.)
Glory - glory (state) n. — a state of high honor. (Sense)
that is to be - to be destined (state) v. — to be governed by inevitable external circumstances (as fate or a divine plan). (Sense)
revealed - to be revealed (state) v. — to be or become made known to the public; especially information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret. (Sense)
(vs. 19-27) address this in the groaning of creation, believers, and the Holy Spirit.
Paul is looking into the already/not yet.
Groaning (vs. 22, 23, 26)
“to “sighing,” “groaning” as an expression of grief or physical distress...“groan,” “sigh” in contexts of pain as well as grief… stenazō means “groan” or “sigh” in most of its six occurrences.” (EDBW)
“to express oneself involuntarily in the face of an undesirable circumstance, sigh, groan” (BDAG)
Creation groans (19-22)
Creation groans (19-22)
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.
“which is on the longing anticipation of future transformation shared by both the creation and Christians. In these verses, therefore, Paul supports and develops “to be revealed” in v. 18 by showing that both creation and Christians (1) suffer at present from a sense of incompleteness and even frustration; and (2) eagerly yearn for a culminating transformation.” (Moo, Douglas J.)
Creation waits (19)
19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
Creation - “the sum total of everything created, creation, world... though the passage is usually taken to mean the waiting of the whole creation below the human level.” (BDAG)
“With the majority of modern commentators, then, I think that creation here denotes the “subhuman” creation...Paul personifies the subhuman creation in order to convey to his readers a sense of the cosmic significance of both humanity’s fall into sin and believers’ restoration to glory.” (Moo, Douglas J.)
Revealing of the Sons of God.
Future Glory (vs. 18)
When final judgment happens, we will be in a new glory.
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.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Creation Subjected (20-21)
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.
“Paul must be referring to God, who alone had the right and the power to condemn all of creation to frustration because of human sin. But this decree of God was not without its positive side, for it was issued “in hope.”” (Moo, Douglas J.)
17 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; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Futility - futility n. — uselessness as a consequence of being purposeless or incapable of producing results. (Sense)
“ The despoiling of “creation” by the impact of sin, placing it in bondage, is noted in Rom. 8:19ff. Included in this context also is the anticipated renewal of creation in the wake of the work of Christ.” (EDBW)
Creation groaning together (22)
“to groan together with, lament, groan” (BDAG)
“systenazō is another rare variant of stenazō, above. It is found only in Rom. 8:22 and refers to creation “groaning” like a woman in labor.” (EDBW)
“to groan together v. — to groan along with another or others.” (Sense)
Groaning together with Believers waiting for glorification.
We believers groans (23-25)
We believers groans (23-25)
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.
Groan
“to express oneself involuntarily in the face of an undesirable circumstance, sigh, groan: sigh to oneself Ro 8:23” (BDAG)
“stenazō is a verb roughly equivalent in meaning to the Hebrew terms listed above. stenazō means “groan” or “sigh” in most of its six occurrences...In Rom. 8:23; 2 Cor. 5:2, 4 the people of God are said to “groan” under the limitations of their earthly existence while they eagerly await the liberation of life with God and Christ in glory.” (EDBW)
“to groan v. — to vocally indicate pain, discomfort, or displeasure; almost always inarticulate.” (Sense)
Adoption
adoption n. — a legal proceeding that creates a parent-child relation between persons not related by blood; with the adopted child being entitled to all privileges belonging to a natural child (including the right to inherit). (Sense)
“The term ‘adoption’ (used here in older English versions) may have a somewhat artificial sound in our ears; but in the Roman world of the first century AD an adopted son was a son deliberately chosen by his adoptive father to perpetuate his name and inherit his estate; he was no whit inferior in status to a son born in the ordinary course of nature, and might well enjoy the father’s affection more fully and reproduce the father’s character more worthily.” (Tyndale)
Adoption is not only now, but looking to the future.
Resurrection of our bodies
“We are waiting for “the adoption,” which is the redemption of the body when Christ returns (Phil. 3:20–21). This is the thrilling climax to “the adoption” that took place at conversion when “the Spirit of adoption” gave us an adult standing in God’s family. When Christ returns, we shall enter into our full inheritance.” (Wiersbe, Warren W.)
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.
“The best is yet to come! The believer does not get frustrated as he sees and experiences suffering and pain in this world. He knows that the temporary suffering will one day give way to eternal glory.” (Wiersbe, Warren W.)
1 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
Perseverance (24-25)
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.
Hope we have in the future glory cause us to live with patient expectation of the future.
Holy Spirit groans (26-27)
Holy Spirit groans (26-27)
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Interceding of the Holy Spirit (26)
“Likewise”
connection to what was written earlier
Not with “groaning”, but with “the sufferings of this present time”
“Weakness”
incapacity n. — lack of physical, natural, or preternatural qualifications. (Sense)
Help “to come to the aid of, be of assistance to, help τινί someone” (BDAG)
“The word we have translated “come to the aid of” connotes “joining with to help,” “bearing a burden along with.” The Spirit joins with us in bearing the burdens imposed by our “weakness.” This weakness may be specific—inability in prayer or external sufferings (v. 18)—but is probably general: the “totality of the human condition” (Dunn).” (Moo, Douglas J.)
Interceding of the Holy Spirit
Pray - “to petition deity, pray” (BDAG)
“All our praying is conditioned by our continuing “weakness” and means that—except perhaps on rare occasions—our petitions must be qualified by “if it is in accordance with your will.” This does not, of course, mean that we should not strive to understand the will of God for the circumstances we face, or that we are in the wrong to make definite requests to God; but it does mean that we cannot presume to identify our petitions with the will of God.” (Moo, Douglas J.)
Intercedes (26)
“to intercede in behalf of another, plead, intercede” (BDAG)
to intercede (petition) v. — to petition someone in authority (like God) in behalf of someone else. (Sense)
ἐντυγχάνω ὑπὲρ τινός entynchanō hyper tinos appeal; intercede (3x) (Rom 8:27, 34; Heb 7:25)
ὑπερεντυγχάνω hyperentynchanō plead; intercede (1x) (Rom 8:26)
“This verb is a variation of entynchanō, above. hyperentynchanō occurs only in Rom. 8:26, where it refers to the Spirit of God interceding for his people when they find it very difficult to pray in times of suffering.” (EDBW)
34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Groaning
“while there is an obvious literary parallelism between the “groaning” of creation (v. 22), the Christian, and the Spirit, the groaning of the Spirit is very different in its nature and purpose from the other two “groanings.”” (Moo, Douglas J.)
“an involuntary expression of great concern or stress, sigh, groan, groaning” (BDAG)
“stenagmos is a rare noun derived from stenazō (see above), found only twice. Stephen’s speech in Acts 7:34 refers to the “groaning” of the Israelites during their bondage in Egypt. In an unusual use of the term in Rom. 8:26, stenagmos denotes the “groanings” of the Holy Spirit, symbolically alluding to the Spirit’s identification with the believers he indwells, interceding with God the Father on their behalf.” (EDBW)
“groan n. — an utterance expressing pain or disapproval.” (Sense)
“To deep for Words”
alalētos - “unexpressed, wordless στεναγμοὶ ἀ. sighs too deep for words” (BDAG)
“This word, found only here in biblical Greek, means, as its etymology implies, “unspoken,” “wordless.” But does it mean here specifically “ineffable,” incapable of being expressed in human language, in which case the “groans” may well be audible though inarticulate? Or does it mean simply “unspoken,” never rising to the audible level at all?” (Moo, Douglas J.)
Could this be as we are praying with groans that the Holy Spirit intercedes with us, inspires us, or directs us in prayers to the Father.
Or could be that the Holy Spirit who knows our hearts and the Will of God prays for us himself with intercession on our behalf.
27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
“I take it that Paul is saying, then, that our failure to know God’s will and consequent inability to petition God specifically and assuredly is met by God’s Spirit, who himself expresses to God those intercessory petitions that perfectly match the will of God. When we do not know what to pray for—yes, even when we pray for things that are not best for us—we need not despair, for we can depend on the Spirit’s ministry of perfect intercession “on our behalf.”” (Moo, Douglas J.)
Takeaways
Takeaways
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.
We are in a present state of suffering because of the fall of mankind into Sin. It works out into different situations in our lives individually or worldly. We are in a state of groaning.
We also live in a state of hope and patient endurance because of the revelation from God that there will be a time when we will be in glory.
In this time between the 1st and 2nd coming of Christ, we live with the expectation of the glorious future and with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit.