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.

This is a dense passage and it’s worth working our way through it verse by verse:

We read in vv. 16-17 that those who are in Christ will share in the inheritance He has received from the Father provided that we suffer with him and walk in the way of the cross.

16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him [Romans 8:16–17].

Suffering is not what anyone would prefer, but Paul then reminds us that it will be worth it:

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 [Romans 8:18].

A key idea here is “the glory that is to be revealed to us.” That is, we are waiting to see how God will one day show us our place in the New Creation.

Right now, the (old) creation itself is eagerly waiting for the new humanity that God is remaking in Christ’s image to take their place:

19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God [Romans 8:19].

Remember how the curse works in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast? The old witch curses the master of the castle, and he becomes a beast. But the curse does more than just affect him—it also affects everything else that belongs to him or is related to him. So, the servants become talking clocks or teapots or candlesticks, the castle grounds become dingy and decayed, and a pall is cast over the entire property.

With this analogy in mind, let’s recap what the Bible says in general about creation and what Paul says specifically in Romans chapter 8 about humanity’s role:

· God created humanity with the express purpose of representing Him and ruling over the non-human creation (Genesis 1:26–28);
· Humans rebelled against God, and the terrible consequence of the human rebellion was that a curse fell upon creation. The reason there are hurricanes and diseases and death and decay in creation—the reason creation is the way it is—is because human rebellion caused it.
· But God never gave up on His plan to have humanity rule over creation and now the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit have made it possible for everyone who trusts in Jesus to take their God-designed place in the ruling of creation.

This is what Paul means in vv. 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 [Romans 8:20–21].

The creation is waiting to be renewed, but for that to happen, the people must be renewed first, because the creation can’t work without renewed humanity to rule over it in God’s image. Redeemed humanity has a “glory” that comes from being created in that image, and when the redeemed humanity arrives, creation will be set free from the consequences that rebellious humanity caused.

Salvation Isn’t About Going to Heaven When You Die

In Romans, Paul is explaining that God’s ultimate plan is to fix everything that’s wrong with the world. Yes, the sacrificial death of Jesus means people can be forgiven of their sins and escape the consequence of their sins, but forgiveness is the means to the end God has in mind, not the end in itself. In fact, the end God is working towards is to restore humanity to its original, God-given position: to rule over creation in God’s name.

What’s the problem with creation? The Bible says that people are the reason why death and decay reign—human rebellion caused creation to be like this. So, for God to fix creation He has first to fix people.

The entire purpose of the salvation project is a redeemed and perfected New Creation.

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 [Romans 8:22–23].

The world is in a mess, and it knows it. When is God going to fix everything?

Paul uses the image of a mother in labor, painfully laboring for the new baby to be born.

Then Paul says that we are also in this state of painful waiting, even though the Holy Spirit has been given to us as a down payment, a guarantee—“the firstfruits”—has been given to us to assure us that things are going to be okay. The firstfruits are the early part of the crop the farmer sees before the rest is ripe and ready.

What are we waiting for? We are waiting for the time when we are fully in the New Creation and death and decay have no more place in our lives.

At every funeral, this is why we cry—we are eagerly waiting for death to be finally removed.

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 8:24–25].

Paul says that all along, this is what we’ve been hoping for—that everything sad will become untrue. And yes, things are still a mess, but that’s where hope comes in—we are hoping for what we cannot yet completely see. And in hope, we are patiently waiting.

These are dense, deep verses that are worth reading through over several times.

The overarching point: in the end, everything will be okay.

How can you be patiently hopeful today?