19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly 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 also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
23 And, not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?
25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
Romans 18:25
Last week was about answering the question, “What can we look at now—in our suffering on earth—that confirms to us that glorification is coming?” This week is about answering the question, “Why do we even have to ask that question at all?” To put it another way, if we are justified, why do we suffer? Does the suffering of Christians point to a flaw in the trustworthiness of salvation through Christ? Paul’s answer to that is one of the main points of chapter 8 and one the most encouraging truths that you can grasp in your suffering.
When we compare chapter 8 verse 2 with our life on earth, we find a disconcerting discrepancy. Paul said in verse 2 that “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death,” but the two problems that you struggle most with as a Christian in this life are sin and death. Does this mean that justification has malfunctioned and that God is not trustworthy? That is the question Paul is seeking to answer.
Jesus’ Sufferings and Ours—Planned
Paul’s response to those questions through verses 18-25 is simple and powerful: there is a cosmic plan working together for the glorification of the Church and for the glory of God, and suffering is part of it.
We first see this in verse 17. Paul says that we are children of God, “and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” There is a surface connection between the sufferings of Christ and believers’ suffering that fits with the ideas of adoption. We are brothers of Christ and co-heirs with Him. As such, we must suffer, just as He suffered, before we are glorified as He is.
But there is a deeper connection that I think Paul has in mind. Jesus’ sufferings were part of the plan. The agony of his death was a step in this cosmic movement toward the glorification of the Church and the glory of God. His crucifixion was not a breakdown of the plan; it was the central part of the plan. In the same way, Paul wants us to reverse our thinking about our own suffering. It is not a malfunction of salvation and a failure of God’s trustworthiness. It is a part of salvation, working together to produce an “eternal weight of glory.”
“My Carriage is Broken!”
Not only are our sufferings on earth part of the plan, when compared with what is coming, they are miniscule. Verse 18 brings this parenthetical encouragement. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is to be revealed to [in] us.”
The 18th Century pastor John Newton gave a striking illustration of this idea and the response that Christians ought to have in suffering.
“Suppose a man was going to New York to take possession of a large estate, and his [carriage] should break down a mile before he got to the city, which obliged him to walk the rest of the way; what a fool we should think him, if we saw him ringing his hands, and blubbering out all the remaining mile, ‘My [carriage] is broken! My [carriage] is broken!’”
When confronted with the comparatively weak and small pains of this world, it would be foolish for us to be continually wringing our hands and blubbering, “My [carriage] is broken! My [carriage] is broken!,” when only a mile away an immeasurable inheritance awaits us. And, to take Newton’s illustration further, it would be even more foolish considering that the breakdown of your carriage is a part of the plan working together to bring about what you are going toward.
The Planned Futility of Creation
The history of the creation pushes us to the conclusion Paul wants to come to about suffering. The simple fact that the creation groans is presented in verses 19 and 22. Verses 21-22 are the key to why that matters. “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” (21-22).
The creation groans because it was subjected to futility. It suffers. Why does it suffer? Was there a malfunction in the plan of God? Paul’s point is exactly the opposite. The creation was subjected to futility because of Him who subjected it in hope. Put simply: it is part of the plan! Paul is pointing us to the creation to prove that the ways of God are radically different from the thinking of men. Who would think that the pain and corruption the creation could be intended by its Creator? Surely it is a collapse of His plan. But here is the drastically opposite reality: God Himself is behind the futility of the creation, perfectly working it toward the ultimate fulfillment freedom and glory.
The Planned Suffering of Believers
The application goes further. Not only is this true of the creation, it is true of believers. “And, not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.” Why? “For in hope we have been 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 wait eagerly for it.”
The suffering of believers is not a malfunction of the cross; it is a part of the plan. “In hope we have been saved.” We have not been saved with a redemption that is already complete; we have been saved in hope of what we do not see. It is the way salvation works. So do not throw out the trustworthiness of God. He is for us, who can be against us? Nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. That is what Paul is saying. It is all driving toward one point: trust God.
Bryan Elliff © 2008 www.bryanelliff.wordpress.com
