Romans 8:19-22 “Pattern”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹⁹For the eager expectation of the creation is waiting for the revealing of the sons of God, ²⁰for the creation was subjected to futility (not willing[ly] but because of the one subjecting) upon hope ²¹that the creation itself will also be liberated from the bondage of decay into the freedom of the glory of the children of God, ²²for we know that the entire creation is groaning together and in agony together until the present.

A certain writer called this one of the most controversial passages in the Bible. As I read various commentaries, I found that in fact to be the case. For centuries, these poor verses have been stretched out on the theological rack and tortured mercilessly. I personally like what one man said, “If the plain sense makes good sense, why make any other sense?” One of the problems with words in any language is that, in a way, you can make them mean anything you want -- with enough ingenuity and imagination. The question, however, will remain, but what did the speaker mean? We have all had numerous times where someone took what we said wrongly. In fact, as I sit here at the later end of life, I would say it is exasperating how difficult it is to simply speak and have people understand what I’m saying.

While I bemoan that struggle in my own relationships, one can only imagine what it’s like for God! He inspired Paul to write these words expressly desiring to communicate truth to His people. How exasperating it must be to Him when people can’t accept the plain sense of what He said and instead resort to what I call hermeneutical gymnastics in order to make it say what they want it to. Once again, in my personal opinion, I think the NIV actually did a good job translating this passage. Reading it in NIV, one wonders what all the “controversy” is about. Seems plain enough: “For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”

Given what I would call the plain sense, I want to record several observations. First, it begins with “For the creation waits in eager expectation…” then concludes with “the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” Obviously, creation is being personified. The theologians can argue endlessly how creation could be “waiting in eager expectation,” but again, to me, the plain sense is not that somehow animals and rocks are actually “waiting,” but rather that this waiting is simply a personification.

It is interesting though to note that specifically what creation is waiting for is “for the children of God to be revealed.” Wouldn’t you have thought it would say “for the Lord Jesus to be revealed”? I think if we would meditate on those words for a while, we would be amazed how the Lord Himself would honor us like this. It is His Coming that matters! Yet, it is as if, just as the universe would move to honor Him, He steps aside and gestures instead to you and me! If you and I could even catch a glimpse of this honor, we should realize that is what Jesus thinks of us today. Though there may be a “waiting,” yet when it’s time, Jesus can finally show us off like He’s always wanted to.  I would suggest us parents know exactly that feeling. It is great to be honored, but words fail when we can instead step aside and see our children be the ones who are honored. No matter how much we might “deserve” honors, it gives us far greater joy to see that honor go to our children! Guess we’re back to Abba! Father!

It is also absolutely fascinating to me to see this picture of the entire creation “groaning as in the pains of childbirth … waiting for the children of God to be revealed.” For years I have pondered why Eve’s judgment was pain in childbirth. What strikes me here is that she, as “the Mother of All Living,” was made to be the very fractal of all the universe’s existence! What I mean is that every time a woman becomes pregnant and carries a baby to delivery, she is, in a sense, living out the pattern of the entire creation. She suffers for nine months until that pain climaxes in childbirth itself and she is rewarded with the “revealing” of this child she’s delivered! That fractal she experiences this passage would tell us is the pattern not only for the whole universe, but is it not also the pattern for our own individual lives, both in total and in every trial we face?

In a sense, each of us is right now “in the womb.” From the time we were “born again,” the Lord has been molding us. “He who began a good work in you will continue it…” What we see as suffering is actually the Lord’s redeeming work of growing us into the people He created us to be. Our “suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character, hope” (Rom. 5:3,4). Just like all of creation, our very existence is “groaning as in the pains of childbirth,” waiting for that day when suddenly we will appear as the Lord’s completed work, glorified as His beloved children! Every woman’s pregnancy and delivery displays that same pattern. This is probably just one more place where our sin darkened eyes literally can’t see our hand before our face. The Lord places the picture right before us, yet we blunder on, blind to all He is doing.

I almost hate to say this, but, if we’ll have the eyes to see, we probably need to acknowledge He calls it “as in the pains of childbirth.” Childbirth. He didn’t say we’d scrape our knees. Childbirth. Probably the most physically painful experience in human existence. That’s what we’re going through. I suspect we all have this underlying impression that, because we’re Christians, we shouldn’t have to suffer much. Oh, yes, of course, we have to suffer, but … not that bad. Right? No. Childbirth. Back to reality, I guess – we shouldn’t be surprised to find life not just hard but seriously, unbearingly brutal. Childbirth. Just before I despond, I’ll remind myself this whole passage is about hope, the whole book is about grace, and, as the Lord Himself says, “My grace is sufficient for thee, for My strength is made perfect in [your] weakness”!

These very verses before us speak of pain, yet they would encourage us that even pain is only part of the Lord’s grand purpose to truly make us glorious. That doesn’t change the fact that pain hurts, but as all mothers know, there is nothing so wonderful in all the universe as one’s very own child

The Lord knows that. It’s what the whole universe is all about!

 

Romans 8:19-22 “Reality”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹⁹For the eager expectation of the creation is waiting for the revealing of the sons of God, ²⁰for the creation was subjected to futility (not willing[ly] but because of the one subjecting) upon hope ²¹that the creation itself will also be liberated from the bondage of decay into the freedom of the glory of the children of God, ²²for we know that the entire creation is groaning together and in agony together until the present.

One of the things that has amazed me as I’ve studied through the book of Romans is how much it is true that the Gospel is actually our reality. What I mean is this – I think I have always seen our Gospel (the message of Jesus and salvation) as, in a way what people might call our own version of “how to get to heaven.” In a sense all religions have some kind of gospel like that – their own version of how to get to heaven or Nirvana or whatever. In my mind, ours was the true gospel, but that’s primarily what it was – the message of how to be saved.

Instead, as I have studied this book, I have more and more realized that our Gospel is far, far, far more than that. It is our reality. Perhaps in other faiths, their “gospel” is only their “how to get to heaven,” but ours goes far beyond that. What do I mean? Here in the book of Romans, as Paul elaborates on and explains the message of salvation, he is actually answering the very questions of our reality: Who are we? Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? What’s wrong with us? What’s right with us? Why are things the way they are? Who is God? What does He think of us? How should He be part of our lives? Does anyone else see that our Gospel encompasses all of that? And do you see that, to answer those questions, is actually to address not just “how to get to heaven,” but rather the very explanation of the reality we live in!

The passage before us is case in point. What is addressed in these few simple verses is one of the most important and foundational truths of science. It’s called Entropy. Entropy is basically the disorder of our universe. In what is called the “Second Law of Thermodynamics,” it is observed that everything tends to disorder. In other words, without some input of intelligent energy, everything in our universe is falling apart and degrading.

That is science. Pure science. Interesting, no one ever asks why? Why is that true? Why does it have to be true? My whole career has been spent in the field of wastewater treatment. I have been involved in designing entirely new wastewater treatment plants, I’ve designed repairs and upgrades, I’ve even operated plants myself. One of the facts I have long observed is that, in the end, the best wastewater operator is actually a maintenance man, someone who can fix things. Why is that? Because most of his time will be spent fixing all the things that break down and fall apart. He’ll spend very little time “operating” or just thinking about ways to make his plant run better. And that isn’t just wastewater treatment. That is every job, everywhere.

Everything falls apart. Everything eventually corrodes, breaks down, collapses. That is reality, yes? We all know it if we slow down long enough to observe it. Science has even enshrined it, given it a name – Entropy, and established it as an inevitable fact addressed by the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Yet still the question ought to linger, why?

Right here in verse 21, the NIV calls it creation’s “bondage to decay.” Verse 22 observes, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” What is going on? This takes us all the way back to the book of Genesis. This world wasn’t created to fall apart. “And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (1:31).  And over this entire material creation, the Lord placed Adam: “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground ,,, Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (2:26,28).

That was “the Garden of Eden” – Paradise.  But what happened? Adam and Eve sinned and then God said to Adam, “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 … By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food … ” (3:17-19). Notice “cursed is the ground.” Because of Adam’s sin, a curse fell on creation itself. The death Adam was warned against became not only his reality but the very reality of this entire material universe. Science knows there is Entropy. Our gospel tells us why.

Thankfully, our Gospel is literally “good news” and also tells us the answer to it all. Our passage says that creation is waiting for “the sons of God to be revealed,” at which time it will be brought into “the glorious freedom of the children of God.” In short, we know the Bible teaches us there will be a new heaven and new earth (II Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1). A time will come when “‘The wolf and the lamb will feed together, … They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain,’ says the Lord” (Isa. 65:25).

However, in the meantime, I am just amazed at how our Gospel is, in fact, our reality. To deny and ignore the Gospel is to live in delusion. How true were Jesus’ words, “And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free!”

 

Romans 8:18 “Growing Up”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹⁸For I am considering that the sufferings of the present time [are] not worthy toward the about to be glory to be revealed into us.

This is another verse where I think one could write for hours and never exhaust the subject. Suffering. I remember early in my Christian life realizing how much I treasured every sermon I heard about how to handle trials and suffering and hardships. I remember feeling like I could never get enough of such teaching and encouragement. “All things work together for good to them that love God…” “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee…” “I know the plans I have for you, plans to do you good and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope.” “No trial for the present seems joyous but grievous, but afterwards yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them that are exercised by it…” “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials…”

I believe I could sit here typing for hours just quoting verses that address this subject of suffering. Interesting that Paul says right off the bat, “I consider.” That could also be translated something like “I reckon” or “I account.” Also interesting it is in the present tense, so really means “I am considering/reckoning/accounting…” What is he saying? He’s saying this is a mind game, an on-going, continuous mind game. When it comes to suffering, the battle is constantly won or lost in our minds. That is precisely why the Bible is so full, from cover to cover, of verses addressing this subject, why I found I could seemingly never get enough, and why to this day my soul nurses on those truths.

As I studied the verse before us, I realized why all of this is true. Here we have the subject of suffering “in the present time” compared to “the glory which shall be revealed…” As Paul says, our present sufferings aren’t even worth comparing with the glory ahead of us. You’d think the hope of heaven could send us all skipping down the street no matter what we were facing. However, here’s the rub: Our present sufferings are in our face. The glory ahead is a matter of faith. Our present sufferings are something we feel keenly. Now. Pain hurts…sometimes A LOT. What is the glory ahead? It is something I must believe in. I can’t feel it, can’t see it, can’t touch it. I can only believe in it. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). Faith. Faith is a mind game. As Paul says elsewhere, “If there be any virtue, if there be any praise, … think on these things, and the God of peace shall be with you” (Phil. 4:8,9).

This is precisely why the Bible is so full of verses on the subject. Pain is where we all live. It’s also interesting to me how, in this verse, Paul’s encouragement is for us to compare those present sufferings with the glory to be revealed, yet that is not the thrust of the rest of the Bible. What I mean is that actually there is comparatively little said in the Bible about that “glory to be revealed.” It is there. We have entire passages like Revelation 21 and 22 about heaven – glimpses of that future for our encouragement. Yet, think about it, when the Lord addresses hardships, what is His usual encouragement? It is much more present. “When you pass through the flames, I will be with you…” “Fear not, for I am with you.” “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me…” Almost without exception, His encouragement has to do with the right now, how I deal with the “right now” of pain and trouble.

He “knows our frames that we are but dust.” He knows how much we struggle to bear up under pain and what a battle we face trying to win that mind game of faith. Elsewhere He does say, “For our light and momentary afflictions are working for us a far more exceeding weight of glory… (II Cor. 4:16-18), yet He Himself gave us the Bible filled with “here and now” encouragement.

I like how Paul here calls our attention to our glorious future. I wish I could fill my mind more with those truths. In a sense, it makes me feel bad that I don’t draw more encouragement from it. However, what I find studying even this verse, is that we don’t need to beat ourselves up over the fact that the “coming glory” doesn’t seem to give me the encouragement I think it should. Though stated here and stated clearly, yet this is one of the few places where that’s the encouragement God offers us. I personally find it encouraging. The Lord is okay that I need “here and now” truth to help me with my “here and now” pain!

On the other hand, and as this passage would remind us, we do have a glorious future. There is a glory to be revealed, as the chapter will go on to describe, and, as it said in I Cor. 4, it is so glorious it makes our present sufferings “light and momentary,” while it itself is “a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” – and so much so, the very next thought is “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen.” Like Moses, we can “persevere, because we see Him who is invisible” (Heb. 11:27).  Unquestionably one of the marks of adulthood is the ability to live for deferred goals, to accept hardships today for the sake of something we value in the future.

Really it is a considerable immaturity to be constantly unable to do that. People (us) make a lot of very bad decisions in life because we want it now.  What that is, in reality, is the worst form of childishness. “Wanting it now” reduces a human being to nothing better than a racoon or a worm, simply reacting to its environment, with no ability to think things through, to look ahead, and to make choices based on the long-term consequences they’ll bring. The ability to live for deferred goals is part of the dignity of the human race, part of the image of God in us, part of that which was given us uniquely in all this material creation.

Isn’t it interesting that’s what faith does for us? The very “mind game” we’re struggling with is actually lifting us to the dignity we were created for! In a sense, it’s helping us to “grow up!” And that’s a good thing. As I sit here at age 65, I’m still looking forward to what life will be like when I “grow up!” Seriously, the very activity Paul describes in this one little verse, the fact that he is “considering his present sufferings and comparing them with a glory to be revealed” is the very exercise of human dignity!

I am constantly amazed how God’s glory is always our greatest benefit. What I mean is that uninformed people may object to the idea that we should live for God’s glory. They would suggest that somehow God is being selfish to think we should all live for His glory. What they don’t realize is this simple truth, that His glory is always, always, always our greatest good – just like here. The very “considering” of faith is making you and me the respectable, mature people we ought to be. (And that’s a good thing!)

Last of all, I want to note a little grammatical oddity in the passage, and that is, as I translated above, this glory is to be revealed literally “into” us. That word choice doesn’t work very well in English, but it is there in the Greek. If you look up various translations, you’ll see that some render it “to” and some “in.” I think we have to step back and realize, once again, they’re not just stating facts, but rather painting a picture. I would suggest this glory is so great, we will be so much a part of it, that it isn’t enough to say it will be revealed “to” us. In fact, it will also be revealed “in” us. It will be literally like a walk along the bottom of the Pacific Ocean! Heaven will not only be the place we live. It will be the very air we breathe!

So, what to do? We need to nurse on this hope all we can, let it help us grow up and act like adults, but then not get too beat up when we find ourselves struggling with the mind game of faith right here in this “now” time, too often attended with seemingly endless miseries and pain.

Lord, lift us, help us, make us the very royal children You created us to be!