Romans 8:18-27, “From Present Pain to Future Glory.”

Ever since chapter 6 it has been clear that we should expect the Christian life to be a struggle (Romans 6:18-19). It’s a fight, because although, as Christians, we have peace with God, we will at war with our flesh, the world, and the devil.

Last week we ended with verse 17 of chapter 8, which states, “if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”

Do you see that in the end, suffering results in glory? We will be glorified with Christ, but only after being made like Him. That’s God’s goal of our salvation, to set us apart, sanctify us, for His honor and glory, through whom our own glorification will take place; but not without suffering, for suffering is the path to glory.

Read Romans 8:18-27... Truth be told, if we were able to comprehend the greatness of the eternal glory we will receive as children of God the suffering we experience in this life would seem minuscule in comparison (Romans 8:18).

In a sense, Christians, along with all of creation, are groaning for glory of God to be revealed, when He presents us as His eternal children (Romans 8:19). Everything will be made new, and all that offended God to be put away. Romans 8:20 tells us creation was subjected to frustration [or meaninglessness], i.e., it is unable to fulfill the purpose for which it was originally created, to bring honor and glory to God, for it is broken, having become corrupted by man’s sin.

And if you go back to Genesis 1–3, you discover that the person who subjected creation to futility was God, for He had originally made the creation good, in order that it would reflect His glory. But when Adam and Eve chose to rebel against God, they brought the judgment of God upon themselves and all of creation. God said (Genesis 3:17–19), “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.

It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."

Romans 8:21 says creation is in bondage [slavery] to decay [corruption]. Our world is subject to disease, disaster, destruction, and death, i.e., hurricanes, tornados, tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, droughts, famines, outbreaks of ebola, malaria, cholera, and of course, a variety of cancers that ravage all living things.

Nature is beautiful, but it is also dangerous and deadly, for all of creation has been affected by decay and death, brought on by the resulting curse and corruption in response to man’s sin.

But we have hope, for even though we will experience pain, we will also experience pleasure and purpose, purpose that will magnify our hope in the character, nature, and glory of God.

Romans 8:22 likens the current pain and groaning of creation to that of a pregnant woman going into labor. Giving birth is painful, so painful that some women avoid having children.

But for women who go through childbirth, for the most part, they come to realize that the pain they are experiencing ultimately ends with the joyous birth of their child. And so, there is, at times, an eager expectation in the pain, of something exciting and good that is coming, enabling women to endure the pain of childbirth.

The eager expectation of all creation is like groaning, until we are set free from all corruption and decay, describe as the creation of the new heavens and earth (Isaiah 65:17), “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind,” (Revelation 21:4), “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

The future renewal of creation is inseparably connected to humanity’s glorification. That’s why Romans 8:19 says creation is waiting eagerly for the revealing of the sons [the children] of God.

Creation is waiting for the day when the true children of God, those who have been adopted by God through Christ’s death and resurrection, will be presented and made known; similar to Christ’s baptism, when God declared to all that this was His beloved son (Matthew 3:1), with whom He is well pleased.

One day God will declare and present all His adopted sons and daughters; this is only possible because of Christ, and this seems to be the glorious day that creation is groaning for.

All creation is groaning for God’s glory to be revealed,(Romans 8:23–25), Christians groan as well, longing for that day to come. We have been granted a taste of what is to come, through the presence of God’s Spirit in us, through Whom Christians have been given the first fruits of the harvest yet to come. To use a different metaphor, it is like an engagement ring that is the promise and possession of the marriage yet to come.

The Holy Spirit is God’s pledge (see Ephesians 1:13-14), He is the engagement ring of God, the protective seal of God, based on the full authority and sovereignty of God.

We’ve been exposed to some of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, here in Romans 8: (v. 2) the Holy Spirit has freed us from the law of sin and death; (v. 4) He empowers us to live in obedience to God’s Word; (vv. 10-11) He makes us alive in Christ, and able to serve Him; (vv. 13-14) He frees us from the domination of our flesh, so that we can live as obedient children of God,

This is the present experience of our future hope with God, that we can have freedom from sins bondage, the assuredness of our relationship with God now and forever, and a preview of our heavenly home and family, as we serve in God’s church on earth, encouraging one another toward love and good deeds.

Because Christians are able to experience momentary victories over sin here on earth, we long for the complete victory over sin in heaven, forever. Because Christians can experience sweet fellowship with God through God’s Spirit, we long

for the full, unhindered and unbroken fellowship we will have with God in heaven, forever.

This is an anxious longing or groaning for Christians, as we wait eagerly to receive all the rights, privileges, and benefits of our full adoption as children of God. For when we see Him face to face, we will not only be with Him (v. 23), we will be made like Him, for our bodies will be redeemed and made new restored to the glory of God’s original intention, completely and perfectly conformed to the image of Christ Jesus.

This is what we long for (vv. 24-25), it is called hope, because it is still yet to come. You don’t hope for what you already have. And so, we have seen that not only creation groans for God’s revealed glory, but Christian groan also, and at times, praying, but not really even knowing what to pray for (Romans 8:26-27).

God is so gracious that He gives us His Spirit to pray on our behalf. We are to pray in accordance with the will of God (1John 5:14-15), “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us. And if we know that He hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of Him.”

This is absolutely amazing when you think about it. If we were to ask anything according to God’s will, it would be done, for God is all powerful, sovereign, faithful, and totally trustworthy.

So, why aren’t our prayers answered in accordance with what we ask for? Most likely it is because we don’t ask for those things that fully align with God’s will, and so, our prayers seem to go unanswered; but the truth is they have clearly been answered, it is just that God did not do what we asked, but what He willed! 2Corinthians 12:7-10, “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Even the apostle Paul, evidently, didn’t always pray according to the will of God, i.e., Paul didn’t get everything he prayed for. Clearly, he wanted the “thorn in his flesh” to be gone; but God said no, instead, God used this suffering in the life of Paul to cause Paul to rely on God’s grace, and to learn that power is perfected in weakness. Paul was praying for release from the pain, it would seem the Holy Spirit was interceding so that the pain would make Paul more complete in God’s service.

So, even Paul didn’t know exactly how he was to pray, but the Holy Spirit did, for God’s Spirit knows the mind and will of God. Think about it, God gave us His

Son to save us, and His Spirit to teach us and conform us to His Son, i.e., to sanctify us, that we might live for God while we are on earth.

Paul prayed for release from pain and suffering, God said “no,” so should we just give up praying and let the Holy Spirit handle it? No, of course not, for we are commanded (1Thessalonians 5:16-18) to, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Paul’s teaching here in Romans 8:26-27 should encourage us to pray all the more, knowing that, while the Spirit has no need to pray for Himself, He groans with us, feels our pain, identifies with our struggles, and intercedes on our behalf for God’s present, and our future, glory; and God’s Spirit can do this without words, interceding for us in accordance with God's will.

Yes, the Christian life is full of trials, temptations, hardships, tribulations, pain, and even persecution; but this should not surprise us, depress us, frighten us, or cause us to become silent, quit, or to run and hide. Look, Jesus told us what to expect.
Matthew 5:10-12, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Paul exhorts and encourages us in 2Corinthians 4:16-18,“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

All of creation is groaning, Christians all around the world are being persecuted; and yet, we wait with eager expectation, for the glory that will one day be ours with the Father in heaven.

We will have trouble in this world, even so, we will persevere by feeding upon and applying the Word of God to our lives, praying without ceasing through God the Spirit, while following the example of God the Son, as we serve God the Father, with full confidence that (Romans 8:28-30), “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son... Those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified”; and we are confident that (Romans 8:38-39), “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Pastor Mike