Scripture
The first verse of the greatest chapter in the Bible—Romans 8:1—says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Everything else that follows in the rest of Romans 8 tells us why there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
The first reason why there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus is because there is no condemnation from the law. That is what the Apostle Paul teaches in Romans 8:1-4.
The second reason why there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus is because we have been delivered from the flesh (or “the sinful nature,” as some versions put it). That is what the Apostle Paul teaches in Romans 8:5-11.
The third reason why there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus is because we are now the children of God. That is what the Apostle Paul teaches in Romans 8:12-17.
Today, we see a fourth reason why there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, and it is because there is the hope of future glory. We see this in Romans 8:18-25:
Let’s read Romans 8:18-25:
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. 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. 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. (Romans 8:18-25)
Introduction
What do you think about suffering?
Are you a stoic? Do you just grit your teeth and endure it? Are you bitter and cynical? Have you been through so much that your heart has become hardened or bitter? Are you angry with God? Have the circumstances in which you have found yourself left you feeling betrayed, deserted, or let down? Or are you just numb, and you don’t know what you think about suffering because it’s been so intense that you don’t have any feelings left?
What do you think about suffering?
For the Apostle Paul it’s very important that Christians think correctly about suffering. He talks a lot about suffering, not just in Romans, but in all of his writings.
Why does Paul talk about suffering? Because he knows that suffering is an attendant reality to our human experience in this fallen world. And he knows that our response to suffering will, in large measure, indicate the quality of our joy in this fallen world. And so he knows that it’s vital for us to have right views on suffering and to respond to it. That’s what Romans 8:18-25 is about.
Lesson
Today, I want to look at Romans 8:18-25 and see four truths that Paul wants us to learn about suffering. It’s not a total theology of suffering. He has more to say about suffering elsewhere. But, he gives us four truths concerning suffering that he wants us to learn:
1. We suffer because we live in a fallen world,
2. Our sufferings pale in comparison to glory,
3. The whole creation suffers too, and
4. Christians persevere in confident anticipation.
I. We Suffer Because We Live in a Fallen World (8:18a)
First, we suffer because we live in a fallen world. Paul talks in verse 18a about “the sufferings of this present time.”
When Paul talks about sufferings (pathemata) we need to understand that “suffering takes many forms: physical pain, frustrated hopes, depression, isolation, loneliness, grief, anxiety, spiritual crisis, and more.”
Furthermore, suffering affects everyone. No-one is exempt from suffering. Non-Christians suffer. And Christians suffer too.
Just because we have been justified by God’s grace, just because we are children of God, just because we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are not thereby guaranteed a painless life of bliss.
Paul wants us to pause and contemplate that life in the Spirit does not mean an absence of suffering. Life in the Spirit is accompanied by suffering as we live in this fallen world.
Even though we have new life in Christ, even though we are new creations in Christ, even though we are sons and daughters of the most High, we suffer in fact precisely because we are children of God. The world, the flesh and the devil hate God. They all conspire against God and against us simply because we are God’s children. That is vital for us to understand in light of the various mistaken views regarding suffering.
On the one hand, there are the health and wealth teachers who say that if you do not have health or wealth, it is clearly a result of a lack of faith because God wants you to have an abundance. He wants you to be successful. He wants you to have health. He wants you to have riches. And if you don’t, it’s because you don’t have enough faith.
But the Apostle Paul says that if your understanding of Jesus’ promise of the abundant life is that it means a lack of suffering, then you have misunderstood Jesus.
On the other hand, there are others who cope with suffering by saying that God just can’t help us. God is not able to control suffering and evil. When bad things happen to “good” people, it’s just another sign that though God wishes he could help us, he cannot because it is out of his control.
But the Apostle Paul says that if your understanding of God is that he is not sovereign, that he is not in control of all the circumstances of life, then you have misunderstood God.
The Apostle Paul is stressing that it is a huge mistake to miss the point that Christians will suffer and that God is sovereign in suffering. God is in control, and suffering is part of his plan for his people. Life in the Spirit is a life of suffering.
That’s the first thing that Paul wants you to know. And that’s so important for you to know, because some of you have been surprised by that suffering.
Now, of course, there’s a sense in which all Christians ought to feel a tension about suffering. We know that these things ought not to be. But, at the same time, every Christian must realize that until the Lord returns, there will be suffering.
So, we suffer because we live in a fallen world.
II. Our Sufferings Pale in Comparison to Glory (8:18b)
Second, our sufferings pale in comparison to glory. Paul says in verse 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.”
Paul’s main point is not merely to assert that our sufferings continue in this life. His concern is to assert that our sufferings pale in comparison to glory.
The word glory means “magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, grace.”
Because he was created in the image of God, Adam was made with a glorious nature. Before the Fall, he was without sin, and in a way that Scripture does not reveal, he radiated the glory of God. That is, he radiated the magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, and grace of God. But when Adam sinned by disobeying God’s command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17), he lost not only his sinlessness and innocence but also his glory and its attendant magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, and grace. That is why the Apostle Paul said that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
From the time of Adam all people are born with sin in our lives. All of us fall short of God’s glory, and we all strive to gain glory for ourselves. All of us want magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, and grace, and we seek to achieve it in our strength and power. But we are incapable of restoring it to ourselves. Since it was originally given to Adam by God, it can only be restored to us by God as well.
In his wonderful grace God promises to restore the glory that was lost by Adam to believers. Paul alludes to it here in verse 18, but he explicitly states it later in the chapter. He says in Romans 8:30, “And those whom he [i.e. God] predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”
The future glory that awaits all believers is far more wonderful than words can even express. It is a perfect future beyond description, primarily because it is a future without sin and in the very presence of God himself.
Paul wants us to learn not only that we continue to suffer but also that life in the Spirit gives us a perspective on suffering that no one else can have. Paul wants us to know that our trials are real, and sometimes they seem as though they are beyond endurance, but the glory then is beyond comparison.
Paul wants to contrast the sufferings of the present with the glory of the future in the most dramatic way and on the grandest scale.
Our present sufferings include those inward battles with sin that we continue to have, the frustration which arises from living in a fallen world, the injustices of this life, and dealing with the opposition or persecution that we face no matter when or where we live. These sufferings attend every believer.
But the Apostle Paul wants us to appreciate that the sufferings of this present time are nothing in comparison with the glory that is yet to be revealed to us. As pastor and author John MacArthur says,
"As followers of Christ, our suffering comes from men, whereas our glory comes from God. Our suffering is earthly, whereas our glory is heavenly. Our suffering is short, whereas our glory is forever. Our suffering is trivial, whereas our glory is limitless. Our suffering is in our mortal and corrupted bodies, whereas our glory will be in our perfected and imperishable bodies."
So, the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
III. The Whole Creation Suffers Too (8:19-22)
Third, the whole creation suffers too. Paul says in verses 19-22: “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 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. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.”
We are not alone in our frustration with suffering. We are not the only ones who must patiently await the consummation. Paul says that the whole creation is groaning. The whole universe is caught up in the plight of the Fall and the hope of future glory.
Paul wants us to understand two things in these verses. First, he wants us to know that we are not alone in the frustrations of this life. The universe itself has been subjected to these frustrations. Notice what he says in verse 20, “For the creation was subjected to futility.” And in verse 22 he says, “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” In other words, the creation experiences the same frustrations that result from the Fall as we do. Furthermore, the creation was not subjected to this of its own will. God is the one who subjected the creation to frustration as a consequence of the Fall.
And second, notice that Paul says in verses 20b-21 that “in hope 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.” Even in the frustration of the creation, God has a design for its ultimate deliverance.
Paul makes no mention of when or how God will set the creation free from its bondage to corruption. He does not give a sequence of events of how it will occur. Nevertheless, Paul assures us that God’s master plan of redemption includes the entire creation.
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones gives us a glimpse into the struggle of creation groaning together in the pains of childbirth:
"I wonder whether the phenomenon of the Spring supplies us with a part answer. Nature every year, as it were, makes an effort to renew itself, to produce something permanent; it has come out of the death and the darkness of all that is so true of the Winter. In the Spring it seems to be trying to produce a perfect creation, to be going through some kind of birth-pangs year by year. But unfortunately it does not succeed, for Spring leads only to Summer, whereas Summer leads to Autumn, and Autumn to Winter. Poor old nature tries every year to defeat the ’futility,’ the principle of death and decay and disintegration that is in it. But it cannot do so. It fails every time. It still goes on trying, as if it feels things should be different and better; but it never succeeds. So it goes on ’groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.’ It has been doing so for a very long time. . . but nature still repeats the effort annually."
And so the Apostle Paul is saying two things. First, we are not alone in frustration. The whole created order is frustrated.
But second, we need to understand this as well: God has a good purpose in it. Christians who find themselves really struggling need to remember these truths.
The Christians to whom Paul was writing were struggling. To whom was Paul writing? Paul was writing to the Christians in Rome, who were living in the center of world authority and power, soon to become the center of opposition to the people of God.
And here’s what Paul is saying, “When you are facing opposition and persecution, when you endure estrangement, when you are marginalized, when you are trampled under, when you experience suffering, remember you are not alone, for the totality of the created order has been subjected to the effects of the Fall as part of God’s design not simply to bring glory to himself, but to bring glory to his entire creation.”
And so the whole creation suffers too.
IV. Christians Persevere in Confident Anticipation (8:23-25)
Finally, Christians persevere in confident anticipation. Paul says in verses 23-25: “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. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
Paul says that life in the Spirit, though it entails groaning, also entails an inextinguishable hope. The Christian perseveres in confident anticipation looking to the future glory.
You see in verse 23 that alongside this groaning creation Paul adds that there is a groaning church. Paul makes it clear that there is always a looking forward in the Christian’s life. We are always anticipating the time of our future adoption, our future redemption, our future salvation.
Each of these terms is used both in the present and in the future tense in the New Testament. Isn’t it interesting?
Paul has already said we are adopted; here he says we’re waiting for our adoption.
He’s already said we’ve been redeemed; here he says we’re waiting for our redemption.
That is, though there is a present reality of our adoption, through there is a present reality of our redemption; we are waiting for a full bestowment. We are heirs, but we have not yet received the fullness of the inheritance. We have within us the firstfruits of the Spirit, but we have not yet received the fullness of what we will be in the revealing of the sons of God. And so every Christian always lives with this forward-looking spirit, living toward the sunrise, looking for Christ’s coming.
And so, Christians also persevere in confident anticipation.
Conclusion
Now in all these things Paul means to minister to those who are enduring suffering and frustration and trial and tribulation and difficulty here. And he means to minister encouragement to us.
Many of you have gone to visit a favorite city with a desire of seeing some great architectural sight. Maybe it’s a castle or a cathedral or a great monument. Some of you have had the experience of getting there and finding out that this thing that you wanted to see, that you perhaps had been waiting years to see, is shrouded in scaffolding. But it’s frankly the ugliest thing you’ve ever seen. You want to go back home and fire your travel agent. You want to say, “Why didn’t you tell me that this was shrouded in scaffolding? I’ve waited twenty years to see it with my own eyes, and I couldn’t see a thing.”
In the same way, the Apostle Paul is saying, “You know, it is something like that in our Christian experience. Because we look at our lives, and sometimes they look ugly. They’re shrouded in scaffolding, and we can’t see what God is doing in there. But there’s going to be a day when he comes, when the scaffolding comes down, and it’s not simply that the glory is revealed to us, but the glory that he has worked in us is revealed to the world.”
And the Apostle Paul says, “Christian, you’ve got to live in light of that hope for you, looking forward to his coming.”
Let me conclude with one last thing. This hope doesn’t come to everyone.
This hope is only for those who are trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. We live in a day and age where people think that death itself is a vehicle of moral transformation. Many people believe in justification by death. I heard a number of people say that the people who died in the September 11 attack on America are in heaven. Now, I am sure that some are in heaven. But only those who were trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ are in heaven.
The Christian hope is not pie in the sky, by and by. It’s not some sort of faint, feeble, moral wish that people who die are going to a greater place.
It is a sure hope, based upon trust in Jesus Christ as he is offered in the gospel. And only those who trust in him, as he is offered in the gospel entertain that reality in their own experience. And it’s so important for us to remember that this hope of glory set before us, is one that is grounded squarely on faith in Jesus Christ.
Therefore, we are assured that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because we have the hope of future glory. Amen.
