“A Future Glory”

TEXT: Romans 8:18-27

REVIEW

1. We are debtors: Because of our sin and because of God’s amazing mercy, we have such a debt of gratitude to the Lord, which can never be paid. We surrender to Him as His servants, but His plans for us go beyond our wildest dreams.

2. We are sons of God: Though we are servants of God, we have not received a spirit of bondage. We have received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out to God, our loving heavenly Father. What a gift! We are God’s children and joint-heirs of God with Jesus Christ our Lord.

TODAY’S PASSAGE:

Romans 8:18-27 ¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits 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 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. ²³ Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. ²⁴ For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. ²⁶ Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. ²⁷ Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

How big are the sufferings of this present time?

I preached a sermon yesterday at our Presbytery meeting on the topic of perseverance. It is very important for ministers and elders in New England to have steadfast endurance. The fact is that perseverance is also important for all of you. If you are attempting to be true to the purpose that the Lord has for each of you, then you will need to have patience in the face of suffering. This morning’s text from Romans is about Christian hope. There is a very important connection between perseverance and hope.

At yesterday’s meeting we received a very special visit from some dear friends of the church. This couple has been serving the Lord for many years. They have faced some of the sufferings of this present age that we live in. They have served in a hard ministry. They have been challenged by some very significant trials in their lives as parents. At this point, one of them is suffering from ALS. The disease is very difficult to deal with, and they wanted to thank the Presbytery for our prayers for them. They also wanted to testify to God’s presence and power as they face the ravages of a world where you and I experience decay and profound loss. It was very moving to hear from them.

This morning’s passage says in verse 20 that the creation was subjected to “futility.” The futility that we face comes to us in bodies that fall apart, and in clothes that wear away, and in cars that rust out. Those are some of the obvious signs that the world that we live in is in “the bondage of corruption.” Verse 20 tells us that God has something to do with the futility of this world. We are told clearly that the futility was not our plan. It was not the plan of anything in creation. The creation did not become subjected to futility “willingly.” God subjected the creation to futility.

Adam chose to sin, but he did not choose the consequences of the sin. Adam did not choose the curse. God chose the curse. This is one of the hard issues of what we call the “sovereignty” of God. Sovereignty means that God rules as a King over everything. Does the Bible teach that? Absolutely! In Ephesians 1:11 we learn that God “works all things according to the counsel of His will.” In Amos 3:6 we read this, “If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it?” Over and over again throughout the Scriptures we read very clear passages that tell us that God is sovereign over all suffering.

There is no need for you to try to defend God on this matter. He knows what He is doing, and He is very tender-hearted and compassionate. He does not need us to try to wash His hands of what we see as problems with His plans. Furthermore, we must not take away from ourselves or from others the clear teaching of the Bible. In an effort to explain away what we cannot possibly understand, ministers and counselors inadvertently remove from suffering people a great potential source of comfort – that God is with us in our grief, and He is sovereign.

This is not to suggest that the sufferings of this present age are small. They are very large. We should have true sympathy and compassion for those who face sufferings. But God has a plan for my friend at Presbytery that goes beyond ALS, and that is very good news. The ALS is not the end of the story. God not only has a good plan for her. He has a confident knowledge of the life that He has for her beyond ALS. It is the greatness of that victorious plan that makes the heart-breaking reality of her present sufferings to be “not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

What is the glory that shall be revealed in us?

Paul tells us in Romans 8 that this future glory is all about the revealing of the sons of God. We could easily get the wrong idea about this. This “revealing” is not the mere publishing of a list, but the unveiling of a glorious new creation in perfect beauty. How can we who live in this world of pain and decay even imagine what it will be like when we see a renewed creation not subject to futility?

The apostle uses some interesting language to describe our longing for something beyond decomposition. He personifies all of nature. The creation is yearning for more than mortal life. Clearly the whole point here is about people, and not trees and squirrels. Our hearts are yearning for eternity – for the glorious liberty of the children of God, the complete fulfillment of our adoption and redemption in the glorious resurrection that will come with the return of Christ. This is what we want to see, and not as some observer. This is what we want to be a part of, even today. You and I should be very grateful for what we have today, but God has something more for us than the very best spiritual and physical blessings that we can experience in our current condition.

What do we have now?

That is not at all to minimize the greatness of what He has already given to us. This Paul speaks about here as well. We have the “firstfruits” of the Spirit. The firstfruits are the first produce that comes in a time of harvest. We have the beginning of something that is destined to be much bigger. We have the first bag full of what will be bushels and bushels of God’s glory. The Spirit of God has taken up His residence in these tabernacles of human flesh.

The Spirit is with us not only in name, but in some measure of His great power. He is with us to help us, and the particular help that Paul speaks about is the Spirit’s help in prayer. We might rather see an end to our suffering today, but God has given us something of far greater value. In our suffering we are helped by the Spirit of God to pray. How good a thing it is when we pray!

There is something else that we have. We have hope. Hope is an earnest expectation based on the absolute certainty of the word of a sovereign God. The true measure of biblical hope is impossible to attain, if we will not believe that God is so completely sovereign that His word is perfectly certain. You may have a strong desire, or even an educated guess about many things: oil prices, presidential politics, the cost of a new building, or the future of mortgage interest rates. All of this should not be confused with biblical hope based on God’s promises.

Take another look at verse 20. God subjected the creation to futility “in hope.” God is the One who has perfect biblical hope. That means that He has absolute certainty that His Word is true and that His promises are sure. If we have this hope, it is because God had it first, and He gave it to us. Isn’t that interesting? This hope is very important to us if we want to persevere in right pathways. We can ask God for it, because it comes from Him.

Do you have God’s hope this morning?

Everyone needs hope in order to keep on going. But the Bible tells us that many are without hope (Ephesians 2:12). There are many more who are living their lives with a false sense of hope. They are building their lives on things that are not true or not perfectly secure (Jeremiah 23:16). If you are without hope this morning, or if you have been hoping in your own plans and dreams instead of God’s promises, it is no wonder that you sometimes feel so afraid and so disappointed. It is no wonder that the sufferings of this present time seem so much larger than the future gifts of God. You need to put away false hopes, and put on true hope that come from God’s Word.

If you are a child of God by faith in Jesus Christ, then there is no reason for you to live without a generous portion of true hope. Indeed, if you have not received something that God has promised in His word, and yet you believe that God will do as He has promised, then you do have hope. However small the measure of your hope that you may be aware of this morning, remember that it was God’s hope before it was yours. However small in quantity it may be, it is the genuine article, and it is secure in Jesus Christ who lived and died in hope for you. Let this be the anchor for your soul as you face the sufferings of this present age in the week ahead (Hebrews 6:19).