Romans 8 is a very special chapter, mainly because it offers us so much comfort. We see that the Holy Spirit makes a real difference in the life of the believer. He is mentioned 20 times in this chapter.
A true
believer, empowered and indwelt by the Holy Spirit is no longer a slave to their
former nature (the flesh 8:2,4,5). A true believer experiences life and peace (8:6,10).
A true believer has the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead working in
them – both now and in their resurrection from the dead (8:11). True
believers are led by the Spirit of God; they are sons of God (8:14). They have received the Spirit of adoption
(8:15). They have assurance that they
are the children of God (8:16). They are heirs of God (8:17).
Those
are wonderfully strong statements and assurances. They say something of the reality of the Life
of God in our souls. They confirm the ability of a believer to say no to the
powerful impulses of the flesh. If you
call yourself a Christian consider this and test yourself this coming week,
when inevitable challenges come to pull you down. Remember the promise given in
Peter 1:3-11 and remind yourself that you are empowered by the Spirit of
life.
This
brings us to a very real issue and the apostle Paul is not slow to
capitalize on this. Take note how Paul ends in 8:17. After showing us
the wonderful benefits of being a Christian (i.e. sons of God/ children of God,
adopted into God’s family, heirs of God and fellow heirs
with Christ) he says this: “… provided we suffer with him in order
that we may also be glorified with him.” Here is a real issue for a Christian believer
to consider- the doctrine of suffering. The
Christian person is not free from suffering but helped in suffering.
TWO
IMPORTANT WORDS: SUFFERING AND GLORY
These two words/concepts will stay with us and occupy our thinking until the end of the chapter. These two words seem antithetical, but in biblical thinking they belong together. In this life they run side by side. You hear of a death (suffering) and you hear of a birth (glory). In fact, every birth has and experience of suffering followed by glory! Every life has stories of suffering and glory.
The subject of suffering and glory permeates
the Bible.
·
In the law:
Sin enters the world and with sin
enters suffering and death; but God provides atonement for sin and restoration
(glory).
·
The book of Job:
Job is handed over to Satan to be tested (suffering). One of Job’s statements
is this: “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me (suffering)
I shall come forth as gold (glory).” (Job 23:10) The end of
Job’s story is just that (cf. Job 42:10 “And the LORD restored the
fortunes of Job.”(glory)
·
The Psalms
e.g. Ps 23:4 “Even though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death (suffering), I will fear
no evil, for you are with me; your rod and staff, they comfort me (glory)”
·
The gospels. The cross of Christ
(suffering); the resurrection of Christ (glory).
·
Acts of the Apostles.
The church suffers and the church advances (glory).
·
Paul’s writings
e.g. 2 Cor 4:8-10: “we are afflicted in every way, but not
crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair; persecuted but not
forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed, always carrying in the body
the death of Jesus (suffering) so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested
in our bodies (glory).”
Notice
then that in terms of Christian experience, suffering and glory are often found
in close proximity to one another, and so also 8:17 which serves as our
introduction to this subject
The subject of suffering in particular has perplexed Christians in every age. If God is good, why do we have to suffer? Suffering can test our faith severely, particularly if we do not have a firm biblical perspective on the subject, and the KEY ISSUE that we learn here is that suffering and glory for Christians stand in close connection and 8:18 will make it explicit that our present sufferings cannot be compared to the glory that is to be revealed to us. Paul knows that Christians will experience suffering in this fallen world, but that is not the end of our story. and that is what he is addressing here.
Chapter 8 is so rich and so deep that we will
have to take more than one sermon to think through this matter.
PROPOSED
OUTLINE
(i)
8:
18-25 Our
present sufferings cannot be compared with our future glory
(ii)
8:
26-30 The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness
(iii)
8:31-39
All things work together for the good of the
believer
In this sermon we will cover verses 18-25
1.
8:18-25 PRESENT SUFFERINGS CANNOT
BE COMPARED TO FUTURE GLORY
Paul has just asserted in 8:17 that suffering with Christ and for the sake of Christ is an inevitable accompaniment of being a Christian. In fact, it is a mark of being a Christian, and it is a very challenging one.
Are you presently suffering for the sake of Christ? Don’t think now of your brothers and sisters in countries where they are being literally persecuted, forced into the underground, and if found, killed.
Think of your own situation.
- Are you pained by the things that Jesus would be pained with in this world?
- Are you feeling the sense of ridicule imposed upon when you refuse to agree with current views on marriage, family, and sexuality which are at odds with biblical norms?
- Have you been accused of being intolerant because you believe the Bible more than modern social norms?
- Do you feel the growing divide between biblical teachings and societal norms?
- Do you feel pressure to keep your faith hidden to avoid ridicule, career setbacks, or social exclusion?
- How do you as a Christian woman honour Christ, when living with a non-believing husband? Not without some sense of suffering.
- Do you find it hard to make decisions like, saying to your visiting non-church going family – “I have an appointment with my God and Saviour this Sunday morning between 10.30 and11.30 – I will see you afterwards!”? I remind you that choosing to honour God above family is no small thing, and it does induce discomfort and it forces us to deal with texts like, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Lk 9:23). "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me" (Matt.10:37,38).
- Taking your stand with Christ is guaranteed to bring peculiar sufferings, and each Christian has their own story to tell, and sometimes our suffering is due to our own foolishness. 1 Peter 4:16,17 makes a helpful differentiation here. But that is not what our context addresses here. Paul addresses the matter of Christian suffering for the sake of Christ. It is to them that he now has these following words of comfort and perspective in 8:18: “For I consider that the sufferings of the present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us”.
8:19 confirms the anticipation/ waiting for this future glory: For the creation[1]
waits[2] with
eager longing[3]
(literally with outstretched neck) for
the revealing of the sons of God (those that are adopted- see 8:15).How long? The keyword for
suffering Christians is “wait”[4]. The implication is this: a. the answer is
coming b. God knows and is in control.
He remains the sovereign God in all His people’s temporary suffering. C. their
deliverance is coming
8:20-21
A perhaps not so surprising fact: God Himself has subjected His creation to this suffering. The biblical
foundation of this argument is found in Genesis 3: 16ff. God is the one who imposed this state as a
judicial act following the fall, not because of a choice by creation, but
because He decreed it (Gen 2:17).
Adam and Eve were told that they will die if they disobeyed! Every form
of suffering flows from that and dying is the ultimate experience associated
with suffering. And remember this! Our Lord Jesus Christ at His first coming
entered this world and what did He experience? Suffering! And God did not let the cup of suffering pass
from Him. He drank that cup right down to its very dregs. And by this He took upon Himself my sin and
your sin, and if you have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ then you are
justified. You are adopted. You are an heir of God and a fellow heir with
Christ.
In the
meantime we must wait UNTIL Christ comes to restore all things at His second
coming! He is the hope of 8:20,24,25.
He is the glorified Christ, and we are waiting to be glorified with him,
but that can only happen when He returns. Until then we will have to wait. Until then there
will be a sense of frustration, vanity, and there will be suffering under the
sun. It is so important that we understand this. And when you suffer this does not always
indicate that you have disobeyed God in the present. No! Much of our present
suffering is the result of the original fall, as a result of which God has
subjected this world to futility – to its own way of godless thinking and
godless doing. But wait patiently with outstretched neck. Christ is coming. All the spiritual and moral and physical
deficiencies will be something of
the past.
8:22
In the meantime remember that not only you, but the whole universe groans
and longs for redemption. The
whole universe suffers as a result of the fall. The whole universe longs for expresses the hope of future
glory. When man, who is created in the image of God, fell it was indeed a great fall. This fall sends echoes back into this vast universe!
8:22,23
Again we are reminded that alongside this groaning
creation, there is a groaning church - those who have the first- fruits of
the Spirit. The groaning church is
waiting for her adoption as sons. But wait a minute! Haven’t we been adopted
already (8:15)? Yes, but remember that our salvation is an ongoing
process. We are adopted, but this is a
process. The process will be complete when Christ returns, and kills all sin
and death itself in the lake of fire.
8:24,25
In this hope we were saved ! We are heirs, but we have not yet received
the fullness of the inheritance. We have within us the first fruits of the
Spirit, but we have not yet received the redemption of our bodies. We live in
that hope- and hope that is seen is no hope. We wait for it with patience.
And so, every believer needs to live in anticipation of the best which is yet
to be – the return of our Lord Jesus! Don’t waste your
energies on present sufferings. Focus on
the future glory!
Our
celebration of the Lord’s supper now shows this aspect of anticipation. We proclaim
the death of Christ … until when? "Until
He comes!"
[1] Ktiseos (κτίσεως)
"creation," root ktisis:". It is used in the New
Testament to describe the act of creation, the created world/universe (Rom.
8:20-22), or a new creature in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).
Definition: Originates from ktizō
(κτίζω - to create), referring to the formation, act of creating, or the thing
created.
[2] Ἀπεκδέχεται (Apekdechetai - "Waits eagerly"): A
compound verb (apo-ek-dechomai) intensifying the act of waiting, indicating a
confident, patient, and expectant, long-term waiting.
[3]Apokaradokia (ἀποκαραδοκία) is a Greek
noun meaning intense, earnest, or "eager expectation". Derived from
words meaning "head" (kara) and "watching" (dokeo), it
literally describes stretching the head forward in anticipation. It appears twice
in the New Testament (Rom. 8:19, Phil. 1:20)
[4] See also Revelation
6:9-11. Those slain for the Word of God cry out “How long?”. They are told
to wait a little longer.
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