Groaning for Glory
Roman 8:18-27
Turn to Romans 8. Before we begin this morning, I wish to let you know where we will be going over the next while. As you know, Anne and I usually take a couple of Sundays off in September, and so, I plan to complete near the end of Romans 8 by Sunday, Sept 6 and be away Sept 13, 20. When I get back Sunday, Sept 27, which is our Anniversary Sunday, I plan to begin a series on the Sermon on the Mount entitled, Learning from the Master, which, as many of you know, is part of working toward a Doctor of Ministry degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. This will be an 11-week series that will involve a few unique things. I plan to give you a pre-series survey with questions about the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5—7. That is not required, but it would be helpful for me in knowing where the congregation stands. We will talk about that more, and then there will be a post-series survey to compare with that. And currently, I have completed a good portion of my paper for the doctorate, which has all been approved thus far, and it has been great to study a number of men who wrote on the topic of the Sermon on the Mount, going way back to men like Augustine, and hoping to graduate in the spring. Then, at the beginning of January, we will continue our study in Romans, starting with Romans 9 and finishing sometime next year.
Now, in our passage this morning, which we began with last Sunday, it seems like Paul is trying to describe a heavenly truth with earthly words, and he wanted us to marvel at these great truths. So, I thought it would be good to stay here with this passage to take some time to consider all that Paul has said. So, notice in Romans 8 (vs 22) creation groans (vs 23) believers groan (vs 26) the HS too is groaning. Groaning for Glory, and the Christian faith argues for this glory, as no other religion promises this kind of transformation of both the entire creation and the Christian himself. And understand, as we have been learning, that this is all under the umbrella of grace, for this is completely dependent upon Christ. And not only is it unique to the Christian faith to have this message, but the message is also only helpful to the Christian. In other words, this whole discussion about creation and the believer waiting in hope is only good news for the one who loves Christ. Therefore, if anyone is outside of Christ, there is absolutely no comfort in the passage.
And we see that only the believer has this unique perspective of time, as the unbeliever can only hope that things will get better. In other words, I hope tomorrow is better than today, or I hope next year is better than this year. But the believer has almost a division in time, as there is now and then there is then. Yes, there is suffering for the “present time” now, but there will be glory at another time then. So, for the Christian, he is not thinking in terms of today and then tomorrow, or this year and then next year. No, he is thinking in the “present time” this life, versus eternity in the life to come. And when Paul speaks of the “present time,” he is referring to this present age in comparison to the new age to come where so much will change. And this message has always been the message in the Bible. Right from the get-go, when Adam and Eve sinned and God declared judgment, God promised (Gen 3:15) that He would send a Conqueror, a Saviour. And of course, that was Christ who came and defeated both death and Satan.
And I want you to notice that term (vs 23) of believers having the first fruits of the Spirit, which is just a taste of what is to come. One of the great memories I have growing up at home was roast beef dinner after church on Sundays. I can hardly remember a Sunday when we didn’t have roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, and tomato juice where you put pepper in it. Not sure I have had it since. And Dad always carved the roast beef. And before dinner, while carving Dad would always give you a small sample, which especially tasted so good because you were starving, and it was just a taste of what was to come. And what Paul is referring to here is the work of the Spirit in our lives, as what we receive now is just a taste, the first fruits. And good for us to understand that the entire process of the Spirit in the lives of those whom God has called. For He calls us, saves us, sanctifies us, secures us, and ultimately, He will glorify us and transform us. And though we have been adopted, we have not yet received our full inheritance. So, Paul’s use of the phrase “first fruits” means just the beginning of the full crop to come. In other words, the first fruits are just a pledge of what will someday be the full harvest for the adopted child. Just as Dad gave us the small piece of roast beef, you could never be completely satisfied with that, for you wanted the whole meal that was coming. Now, if after having that small sample, and you went to grab another sample from the big plate before dinner, my Mom would say, “Hey, get your meat maulers off that!”
Well, the anticipation of what is coming. And Paul uses the word “groaning” to emphasize that longing. For notice when he is speaking about creation, he says (vs 22) creation groans, and (vs 23) believers groan. And then notice (vs 26) “the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” So why all this groaning? Because this has been a common theme for those who are God’s children even in Old Testament times, as we all wait and groan for something better. Isaiah wrote:
“For behold, I am creating a new heavens and a new earth;
And the former things will not be remembered or come upon the heart.”
Isaiah 65:17 (LSB)
As all God’s children live with this reality of eternity, yet it is still unfulfilled and unseen, and therefore we still wait and groan for it. The Greek word systenazō, translated “groan,” means a groaning or moaning together as a people, as all creation groans and all believers groan together. In other words, we together are all longing for the same thing. You and I should all be groaning at the same time! So, this morning I wish to look at this Groaning for Glory from the perspective of creation, then the believer, and finally the Holy Spirit.
- Creation Groans for Glory (vs 19-22)
“For the anxious longing of the creation eagerly waits 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 also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.”
Romans 8:19-22 (LSB)
Now when we read words like creation groaning, there are a few things that we need to understand. One is that this is not referring to human beings, as Paul deals with them separately (vs 23-25). And when it says creation, it is also not referring to angels. One of the interesting aspects of angels is that they were in some sense unaffected by the fall. True, some angels chose to follow Satan, and we refer to them as demons, but God’s holy angels have never sinned, and in that sense, they do not wait, as we do, for our complete transformation. However, as a side note, we do see angels eagerly anticipating all that God will do with believers. Peter wrote that regarding the salvation of men and women, angels long to look, as there is no such thing as a redeemed angel, as those who followed Satan are eternally condemned, as the death of Christ brings no hope of salvation for them. In other words, they cannot change, and they will not change their rebellion against God. A stern warning to us, that without the grace of God we would not have the ability to change either. For not only could we not change, but there would be no willingness within us to change, without God’s sovereign calling and election. And those angels who since creation have served God have always been perfect. So, they do not know what it would be like to be an enemy of God and then brought into a relationship with God, as we have experienced as Christians. So, this creation, Paul is referring to does not include angels, for angels are already pure and righteous. And in that sense, there is no anticipation for them, as they have not been subjected to futility. So, this is speaking about creation when we think of the earth, the universe, nature, grass, and mountains, and my White Pines and American Beech tree.
But secondly, when we think of creation groaning, we cannot think of creation in the same sense as humans, as this is a form of what theologians call “personification,” such as when the Bible says that rocks cry out and mountains sing. For this does not mean that creation thinks, or that creation has a mind, as we cannot think of creation as alive in this sense of groaning, but that creation struggles because of the present curse of God. So, we could simply say that because of the way in which creation is at odds and is suffering with all kinds of problems such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and tsunamis, as it too is waiting for the “unveiling of the sons of God.” For this is when God will renew it. Some have described it as creation standing on its tiptoes waiting for this great event to happen. And why is creation doing this? Well, creation groans because at this time in God’s calendar it cannot be what it will be. For creation was subjected—in other words, there was a point in time when a perfect creation was changed by God. But not willingly (vs 20), for creation is not at fault, as creation was an involuntary victim. For it was because of the sin of Adam and Eve that things are the way they are, as God cursed all of creation. Therefore, creation itself is in slavery to corruption (vs 21), as the whole world is on its way down from perfection to someday total destruction.
“The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers; the exalted of the people of the earth languish. The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they trespassed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who inhabit it are held guilty.”
Isaiah 24:4-6a (LSB)
But why is creation eagerly waiting? Because (vs 20) it is “in hope,” as it is longing to be what it was originally created to be. It is almost like, if only the rocks could talk?—and they cannot—but if they could, it would seem they could tell those in the world how wrong they are. The Apostle Peter tells us that someday the heavens will pass away with a roar and the earth, and all the elements will be destroyed with intense heat. Sounds like global warming to the max. And we learn from this passage that there is absolutely no hope for creation until the ultimate glorification of the sons of God. In other words, creation’s renewal will have to wait for God to renew mankind first. Martyn Lloyd-Jones gives an interesting perspective of how creation seems to try to renew itself but cannot … he said this …
“I wonder whether the phenomenon of the spring supplies us with an answer to this passage. Nature every year, as it were, makes an effort to renew itself, to produce something permanent. [Life comes] … out of the death and the darkness of all that is so true of the winter. In the spring [nature] 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 vanity, 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 and travailing in pain together. It has been doing so for a very long time. But nature still repeats the effort annually. But one of these days it’s going to dawn in a new era, [so], we look for that.”
I thought what it would be like to take a canoe trip in God’s renewed creation, no mosquitoes and clear drinking water. All creation groans for that day.
- Believers Groan for Glory (vs 23-25)
“And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we eagerly wait for it.”
Romans 8:23-25 (LSB)
You know, the older I get, the more I groan, as I groan more now than I did when I was younger. I really do not have too many aches and pains. I still pretty much jump out of bed in the mornings. But when I cut our lawn and sit on that lawn tractor for two hours, I am so stiff getting off that crazy thing. But more than that, I tend to groan spiritually for the world today more than I would have when I was younger, as my optimism seems to be waning. Yet important for us as Christians to understand that it is not our job to fix the world. John MacArthur said that it is good for us to lower our expectations for the world. He said to quit looking to the world to solve man’s problems. But it is our job to wait in expectation and live before the world in expectation of what God will do someday. Yet all the while, at the same time, we as God’s adopted children still live in a creation that has been cursed by God.
Spurgeon calls mankind an undistinguished part of creation. In other words, he said that creation has been cursed and so have we. But God, within this cursed creation, has given the Christian promises: (vs 22) for we know; (vs 23) but we ourselves eagerly wait; (vs 24) in hope we are saved; (vs 25) with perseverance we eagerly wait; (vs 26) the HS helps us in our weaknesses; and (vs 27) the HS intercedes for us. And only the believer has received the first fruits from the Spirit. Yes, we have received a small portion of what is to come. And we even think in terms that what we have received from God is so gracious. In other words, what God has already given to us is so great and wonderful, but we still understand that the rest of the harvest is yet to come. And because we have received some of the taste as believers, this is why we groan, because we desire more. And we groan because we are still travelling toward an ultimate destination and we are not there yet.
This past February we went to Florida with our son Andy and Mel and their children. I hadn’t been for about thirty years, and on the way, I always enjoy just taking our time. But on the way home, you are sort of anxious to get home. So, Anne and I left on a Friday morning at 4 am and basically drove straight home; other than I had a few twenty-minute naps at the rest centres. I told Anne it was time for a nap when the lines on the road start rising in the air. And I don’t let Anne drive, as she makes me nervous. But you are anxious to get home and lie down in that bed and rejoice. And so, as you drive, you groan to be home. Well, we as believers are not yet home, and so we groan. Well, why do we groan?
- Our body is not yet fully delivered.
Paul wrote to the Thessalonians:
“For this corruptible must put on the incorruptible, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
- Thessalonians 15:53 (LSB)
As this body is still subject to corruption, dishonour, and weakness, whether you are a Christian or not. Spurgeon wrote:
“The soul is like an eagle, to which the body acts as a chain, which prevents it from mounting.”
Charles Spurgeon
Haddon Robinson laments that at age twenty in college he could eat and eat, but he couldn’t afford anything but Kraft dinner. And then when he was in his mid-eighties, he could buy almost any fancy food he wanted, but he really wasn’t that hungry. When I was in my early twenties, I started working in Stratford. And before we bought a house there, I lived for a few months with a friend from work. And we went to Mothers Pizza for a treat once, and we both ordered a ten-slice pizza each. Man, I could never eat that now! Yet, we are in these bodies. Bodies that sin and bodies that grow old. And the groaning occurs because of the contrast of having the Spirit within us, but still living in these human bodies. But the real joy for the Christian is to have the Spirit of God within him, and as well to have a new glorified body, a perfect body that never sins and never grows old. And I believe the groaning occurs because we will never be content until we fully realize the Spirit of God within us in a perfect body. The saint who has already gone to heaven, in other words, the Christian who has already died, is also waiting for the day of Christ’s return when they too will receive a glorified body, a day when Christ returns to the earth and reigns with all the saints. It would seem that in Revelation, when the Spirit says “come,” He is calling out to all the Bride, whether they are on earth or already in heaven. And so, we groan because we are still in these bodies that have not yet been delivered.
- Our adoption is not yet fully accomplished.
Yes, we are children of God today, but our full adoption has not yet been declared to all, as we do not look like children of the King. 1 John 3:2 says, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not been manifested as yet what we will be.” When I was in grade eight, the family next door took me to London to see the Queen, who had come to Canada. And we stood on the side of the street as the parade went by, and I saw the Queen in person for the first time, and only time. And no one had to confirm, there’s the Queen; it was obvious, as everyone knew her. But we do not yet walk down the street, and people look at us and say, there is a child of God. The Queen didn’t look down at me and say, “Hey, you look like an heir of God!” Though someday, it will be obvious, but not yet.
- Our liberty is not yet fully unlimited.
This is part of the lament of Paul in Romans 7, as his sin discouraged him. And this is you and me as well. That in a sense, we are free, but that present freedom is not yet fully unlimited. I suppose we could say that we are spiritually free in Christ, but we still have these bodies, and we still live in a world that is cursed and sinful. True, we are adopted children of God, with a full inheritance coming, but our home with the Father is still being prepared. And so, we still live in earthly homes and still worship in an earthly building. Spurgeon wrote:
“How shall the heir of God be content till he rests on his Father’s bosom, and is filled with all the fullness of God?”
Charles Spurgeon
Think of the Garden of Eden before sin, as Adam and Eve lived without death, without Japanese beetles, without a creation that was groaning. Rarely do we ever tie Ted up. So, in that respect she is free. But she never leaves the backyard unless I might be out the front. And when I see her, I say, “Tedrick, get back there!” In other words, her freedom has its limits. And we understand that we have been set free, but then we are also told that we are not of this world, that Christ is preparing a place for us. There is a word that birders use for birds that somehow get off course while migrating in areas that are outside of the regular migratory route. It’s called “accidentals.” We are like that a little. We are here, but not really where we truly belong, as our liberty is not yet fully unlimited.
- Our glory is not yet fully revealed.
The full revelation for the child of God, when we celebrate with the Father and celebrate Christ as King, is still in the future for us. There is a scene in The Lord of the Rings. Now you need to know that my boys know much more about The Lord of the Rings than I do, and Anne knows a lot more than I do. So, anytime there is talk about watching one of the movies, my boys usually say, no, we are not watching The Lord of the Rings with Dad, for he asks far too many questions; it’s annoying! But one of the best scenes is when the four hobbits are being honoured, and there is the full celebration during the king’s coronation. When newly crowned King Aragorn approaches Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin, and says the iconic line, “My friends, you bow to no one,” and kneels before them, causing all of Middle-earth to bow in respect. Now maybe not complete theology, but you know, the victory parade for the champions, when you are finally home with complete freedom and no limitations. But that freedom is always connected with the Father; it must be. As I mentioned a few weeks ago about being in the Father’s house, because this is where we are home. And we will rejoice in it. Why? Because we are children of the Father.
Interesting that Paul uses the example of labour when he is describing the groaning. For the groaning is not groaning that ends in sadness, but groaning that ends in joy. I suppose another example would be a husband who does not want to go home, for he has a terrible relationship with his wife, and his children are poorly behaved, and the thoughts of going home make him groan. Yet the opposite groaning would be another husband who is working hard and groans. And someone says to him, what is the matter? And he says, oh, I am just anxious and looking forward to getting home to my dear wife and children.
And so, we groan within ourselves, which also insinuates that we have thought much about this. I am sure if you have ever planned a holiday or a purchase that you are excited about, it is something that you tend to think about for a long time, and it is something that is always on your mind. And so, for a lifetime after being adopted into God’s family, we groan to be with the Lord, and we groan within ourselves. And it appears from the text that this groaning is done by all the saints. And so, we are all commanded to groan and that we should groan. But we are not to be impatient, for it is all in God’s timing, as we are not to be like Jonah who said, I wish to die. Because it is God who determines our time and our assignments. For in the Bible the term “waiting” implies always being ready, not in the sense of impatience, but readiness. And yes, we are to groan to be perfected, but we are to wait patiently for that perfection. But at the same time, we do not become content spiritually, but always long for the Lord to renew us, renew our sinful bodies, to fully sanctify us, and call us to be with Him in His presence. Finally, there is a unique part of this passage.
- The Spirit Groans for Our Glory (vs 26-27)
“And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
Romans 8:26-27 (LSB)
These two verses are such a comfort to the adopted son and daughter, as we learn that even the Holy Spirit desires us to grow in Christ. And the Holy Spirit also anticipates the day when we realize our full sonship. Paul wrote:
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
1 Corinthians 3:17-18 (LSB)
Here we have the love and the joy of the parent applauding and cheering on the child. And we do that, don’t we, as parents, as we have such a special interest in the success of our own children. Both my Mom and Dad enjoyed coming to my hockey games while I was growing up right up until college. And my Mom was worse than my Dad, as Mom would always grab a broken hockey stick that she would find at the arena in the garbage and smack it against the boards. Yelling out things like, hey, don’t hurt my little boy! My good friend Mike Stevens, who we played together on the college team, but before that, when we were against each other, always said that he was far more afraid of my Mom than me. And we have talked about the child wanting to be with the Mom and Dad, but it is also the parent applauding and wanting to be with the child. The Bible speaks of this as well about God. Revelation 21:3, where John speaks of God Himself being among His people. Isaiah 30:18 says that “Yahweh waits with longing to be gracious to you.”
“My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”
Ezekiel 37:27 (LSB)
The parent’s desire to be with the child. Admittedly, I do miss being a Dad with kids at home. It was likely one of the greatest joys of my life. But one of the greatest things about being a granddad, of all the stuff I might do with our grandkids when I can, is to go into their room at bedtime. And I even enjoy this with the older crew, now that they are teens, to talk about what we did and to pray for them. As we long to be with our children and our grandchildren. So too, in such a great way, the Holy Spirit longs to be with us and desires us to do well.
“Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers; and those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified; and those whom He justified, He also glorified.”
Romans 8:29-30 (LSB)
The question from the text is really this: are we groaning for this kind of glory? Our perfection? Being with Christ forever? Worshipping Him forever? Enjoying the roast beef dinner in God’s house and not just being able to taste the small sample? For that is what the text is teaching us; this is what it is commanding us. Let’s pray. Lord, might we groan for the right things as children. That we might groan to be like Christ, groan to be with You forever, in Your house as Your children. So, might the things of earth become strangely dim to us. And may Your glory and our full adoption be ever on our minds and in our hearts. And all God’s children said, amen.