The Pain and Glory of Creation (Romans 8:19-22)
This sermon was preached on 4/2/2010
Perhaps we are surprised by Paul’s words here. After all, we live in a wonderful creation. Each day we see the beauty of the countryside, the splendour of the heavens, the magnificence of the mountains, the amazing intricacy of a flower and the majesty of the sea. Yet we know that, amidst all this grandeur, there are many ugly aspects. We are aware of the cruelty of the animal world, we read daily of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tornadoes and famines, happening in other parts of the world. In the created order there exists a great contradiction between what is good and what is evil. Clearly, this is not the world over which God pronounced, at the beginning, that all was very good (Gen. 1:31). Yet when we recall the disharmony found throughout creation, we are not surprised that Paul describes it as groaning (in fact, he says that there are three expressions of groaning – in addition to the groaning of creation, there is the groaning of the Christians in verse 23 and the groaning of the Holy Spirit in verse 26).
In Romans 8:19-22 Paul gives a brief, sobering but intriguing summary of the present state and future condition of the creation. Its present state is described in verse 20, where Paul says that it is has been subjected to futility. This subjection was done by God in the Garden of Eden when, as a consequence of Adam’s sin, the earth was cursed. In verse 21, Paul expands his description of the current state of creation and says it is in bondage to decay, and in verse 22 he adds that it is in pain, although the pain he mentions is like the pain of childbirth. It is possible that he uses this particular image of pain because it is one of great intensity, but it is more likely that he uses it to indicate that something beautiful is going to result from the pain, similar to how a child follows the pain of childbirth. This prospect of beauty appearing in the future is supported by Paul’s comment that the subjection to futility is not a permanent subjection but one that is accompanied by hope of deliverance.
Of course, we have to ask what Paul means by creation in this passage. Or to put the question another way, what does he include in his understanding of creation? We can rule out the children of God because it is for their glorious appearing that the creation is waiting. We can also rule out the holy angels because they do not experience any sense of frustration or bondage. On the other hand, we can rule out those who will be lost from the human race because there is no forgiveness for those who reject the gospel and die unsaved. Similarly, there is no forgiveness for the fallen angels. So these four groups of rational creatures are not covered by Paul’s use of the term ‘creation’ in these verses. This leaves the lower orders of creation which was cursed by God because of Adam’s sin, and when we turn to Genesis 3 we discover that what was cursed by God was the physical world and the animals. So what Paul means here is that, in the future, when the sons of God are revealed, the earth and the lower species of creation are going to experience deliverance from their current bondage. As Thomas Boston observed in a fast-day sermon based on this set of verses, ‘As they smarted by the first Adam’s sinning, they shall be restored by virtue of the second Adam’s suffering.’
Obviously Paul is personalising the creation here, which is a common method in the Bible. (Several psalms refer to the creation praising God and the prophets, such as Isaiah, speak of the rejoicing of creation.) Paul does not mean that we should imagine that creation has intelligent desires. But he is saying that the creation, according to its capacity, expresses its pain at the current state of things and longs for deliverance. But his personification of the creation includes his interpretation of their groaning: not only does the groaning reveal that creation is enslaved to the curse or that its pain is like that of an expectant mother, but also in how he describes its anticipation of the future – in verse 19 he says that it is stretching out its neck, a picture of someone looking for something that is earnestly desired. J.B. Phillips translated the phrase as the creation standing on tiptoe, looking out into the future. The same word occurs in Philippians 1:20, where Paul describes his outlook at the time of writing from a Roman imprisonment: ‘…it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honoured in my body, whether by life or by death.’
Paul places the verb translated as ‘to await expectantly or eagerly’ at the end of the sentence, so giving it great emphasis. He stresses the eagerness of the creation; it waits eagerly with keen expectation. What is it that the creation is so expectant of? It is the revealing of the sons of God. Why is it so eager for their appearance? Because when that event happens the creation too will experience the freedom of the glory of the children of God. This future deliverance is something that the creation yearns for.
Other biblical passages
It is important when considering biblical passages to ask whether or not our deductions about a passage can be supported from other passages. Therefore, are there passages which agree with what I am saying about this passage in Romans 8? So here are some passages which describe a similar prospect for the creation.
In Acts 3:21 Peter comments on how long the ascended Christ will remain in heaven: ‘whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.’ Note two of his details. First, when Jesus leaves heaven at his second coming, it will be the time of restoring all things. Second, this restoration was predicted by the Old Testament prophets.
Peter in 2 Peter 3 also describes the cataclysmic events that will take place on the day that Jesus returns. The universe will be consumed by fire. But concerning this eschatological conflagration, believers, according to verse 13, ‘are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells’. This, too, is according to God’s promise.
Another verse that points to this future deliverance of creation is found in the teaching which Jesus gave to his disciples concerning one of their roles in the Day of Judgement. In Matthew 19:28 (KJV), he says: ‘Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’ The future environment is called ‘the regeneration’, which indicates that it has been re-born. This has caused many to suggest that Jesus there is describing the future regeneration of the cosmos.
A fourth passage to note is Hebrews 1:10-12, which is a quotation from Psalm 102: ‘You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.’ The writer applies these words to Christ and says that he will not only bring the current universe to an end, but also says that he will change them in the way a garment is changed.
Paul in Romans 4:13 – ‘For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith’ – suggests that the seed of Abraham, that is believers, have as their inheritance this world. Since all the heirs are not yet saved, these other heirs do not yet have the inheritance. Further many of the heirs have died, and others will yet die, which points to their inheritance being given by resurrection. Or, to put it in Paul’s words in Romans 8, they will receive it when the sons of God are revealed.
There is a parallel between what happened with Adam at the beginning of earth’s history and what is to happen to believers at the second coming of Jesus. Imagine it is Day 6 of the creation week. The heavenly bodies have been created; the earth and its fruit has been created; the birds, fish and animals have been created. Although created perfect, they are waiting for something, which is the manifestation of Adam, the son of God. Until he appeared, the original, curse-free creation could not realise its potential because it was made for man. Today, the state of the universe is not like Day 6 of creation. Both humans and the world they were made to rule are under the curse. As we have noticed, the curse brings frustration, bondage and pain. Yet the creation is going to be delivered when the sons of God, the brothers of the last Adam, are revealed. The original creation was the stage on which the life of interaction between God and his creatures would occur; the re-created earth will be the stage where the eternal drama, involving God and his children, will be enacted throughout the endless ages, once the Elder Brother appears.
These passages tell us a very important doctrine, which is that the destiny of the creation is linked to the status of human beings. Our sins have brought about the current state of creation, our glorification will bring about its deliverance. Through the work of the last Adam, the human race will finally obtain its inheritance of glory.
Relevance of this passage for us today
This passage speaks concerning environmental issues. I can recall when organisations such as Friends of the Earth were a fringe group. Yet in the last couple of decades they and other similar groups have become influential in government policies around the world. Of course, it is important that we care for the environment. But these secular organisations do not mention either the fundamental cause of the problems in the environment nor do they consider how these problems will ultimately be sorted out. Concerning the cause of pollution, global warming, and other issues, they only mention secondary causes such as human mismanagement; they take no account of the fact that God has cursed the creation because of our sinful rebellion against him. Things are wrong in the environment primarily because there is something wrong with the sons of Adam. The created world is under the curse of God.
While it is important for governments to control harmful influences that adversely affect the environment, the world is not going to be freed from these troubles until the sons of God are revealed. Like virtually every other organisation that attempts to improve the lot of humans and society, these environmental organisations don’t take the Christian revelation into their outlook and therefore they are dishonouring God by forgetting or ignoring or refusing to believe what he has said about the environment.
This passage also teaches us how we view the created world. We have to remind ourselves, for example, when we see a sunrise or a sunset with all their beauty, that we are looking at a groaning creation. Similarly, when we see a lake surrounded by hills or a snow-capped peak, we are looking at a groaning creation. Somewhere the rising sun gives light to a community suffering the effect of an earthquake or a famine; every night it sets on communities in which disaster, disease and death have taken their toll. Every day, I see several things in the creation that tell me that I am a sinner: weeds abound in gardens, several animals run away from me, the remains of dead rabbits being eaten by birds, the wind threatening to blow me over. These things would not have happened in Eden.
Further the passage speaks to us concerning whether or not we appreciate the greatness of the promises of God. It is common for Christians to think of heaven in spiritual rather than in physical terms. The main reason for this is that all the believers we have known, who have passed over to the other side, are only in heaven as far as their spirits are concerned. But that state of blessedness is not the highest state, nor is their current residence their ultimate one. They are waiting for the resurrection of their bodies, and with that resurrection state will come a resurrection environment. Not only will our bodies be renewed, so also will our inheritance. We should fill our spiritual vision with the great things God has promised to us.
The passage also calls us to consider whether or not we rejoice in knowing that God’s mercy is wider than his judgments. Away back in Eden God’s judgement fell on the created order because of the sin of Adam. When the last Adam is revealed, in great mercy he will remove from the cosmos all the effects of the fall and bring into existence a universe of glory far beyond our capabilities to imagine. It will be by mercy, but it will be by great mercy. The earth will be full of the glory of the Lord, and the prototype that Eden was will become a glorious reality.
We can also observe how future-orientated the apostle was regarding the people of God – here he looks ahead to the revealing of the sons of God. Imagine if the children of our royal family had all been kept hidden until they had grown up. What expectation there would be if we were told that on a certain day they would be introduced to the public. We would be intrigued as to the number of them or to how they looked, whether they were like their parents. In a far higher sense, we will see on the day of creation’s liberation the number and the glory of the sons of God. That is how we should regard one another – I am not going to see the real you and you are not going to see the real me until that day comes, and when we see each other on that day we will not recall the flaws of this life.
Lastly, Paul’s description of creation longing for the coming day of perfection is a challenge to us. Most people want to live here for ever, but in having such an attitude they indicate that they are the only part of the creation that does. Christians should know different. Unlike creation, which has an impersonal anticipation of the future glory, Christians have enough information to know that there is glory ahead. The Spirit of adoption, who indwells them as the foretaste of the inheritance, stimulates them to long for the day of perfect glory that is promised in the Word of God.
In Romans 8:19-22 Paul gives a brief, sobering but intriguing summary of the present state and future condition of the creation. Its present state is described in verse 20, where Paul says that it is has been subjected to futility. This subjection was done by God in the Garden of Eden when, as a consequence of Adam’s sin, the earth was cursed. In verse 21, Paul expands his description of the current state of creation and says it is in bondage to decay, and in verse 22 he adds that it is in pain, although the pain he mentions is like the pain of childbirth. It is possible that he uses this particular image of pain because it is one of great intensity, but it is more likely that he uses it to indicate that something beautiful is going to result from the pain, similar to how a child follows the pain of childbirth. This prospect of beauty appearing in the future is supported by Paul’s comment that the subjection to futility is not a permanent subjection but one that is accompanied by hope of deliverance.
Of course, we have to ask what Paul means by creation in this passage. Or to put the question another way, what does he include in his understanding of creation? We can rule out the children of God because it is for their glorious appearing that the creation is waiting. We can also rule out the holy angels because they do not experience any sense of frustration or bondage. On the other hand, we can rule out those who will be lost from the human race because there is no forgiveness for those who reject the gospel and die unsaved. Similarly, there is no forgiveness for the fallen angels. So these four groups of rational creatures are not covered by Paul’s use of the term ‘creation’ in these verses. This leaves the lower orders of creation which was cursed by God because of Adam’s sin, and when we turn to Genesis 3 we discover that what was cursed by God was the physical world and the animals. So what Paul means here is that, in the future, when the sons of God are revealed, the earth and the lower species of creation are going to experience deliverance from their current bondage. As Thomas Boston observed in a fast-day sermon based on this set of verses, ‘As they smarted by the first Adam’s sinning, they shall be restored by virtue of the second Adam’s suffering.’
Obviously Paul is personalising the creation here, which is a common method in the Bible. (Several psalms refer to the creation praising God and the prophets, such as Isaiah, speak of the rejoicing of creation.) Paul does not mean that we should imagine that creation has intelligent desires. But he is saying that the creation, according to its capacity, expresses its pain at the current state of things and longs for deliverance. But his personification of the creation includes his interpretation of their groaning: not only does the groaning reveal that creation is enslaved to the curse or that its pain is like that of an expectant mother, but also in how he describes its anticipation of the future – in verse 19 he says that it is stretching out its neck, a picture of someone looking for something that is earnestly desired. J.B. Phillips translated the phrase as the creation standing on tiptoe, looking out into the future. The same word occurs in Philippians 1:20, where Paul describes his outlook at the time of writing from a Roman imprisonment: ‘…it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honoured in my body, whether by life or by death.’
Paul places the verb translated as ‘to await expectantly or eagerly’ at the end of the sentence, so giving it great emphasis. He stresses the eagerness of the creation; it waits eagerly with keen expectation. What is it that the creation is so expectant of? It is the revealing of the sons of God. Why is it so eager for their appearance? Because when that event happens the creation too will experience the freedom of the glory of the children of God. This future deliverance is something that the creation yearns for.
Other biblical passages
It is important when considering biblical passages to ask whether or not our deductions about a passage can be supported from other passages. Therefore, are there passages which agree with what I am saying about this passage in Romans 8? So here are some passages which describe a similar prospect for the creation.
In Acts 3:21 Peter comments on how long the ascended Christ will remain in heaven: ‘whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.’ Note two of his details. First, when Jesus leaves heaven at his second coming, it will be the time of restoring all things. Second, this restoration was predicted by the Old Testament prophets.
Peter in 2 Peter 3 also describes the cataclysmic events that will take place on the day that Jesus returns. The universe will be consumed by fire. But concerning this eschatological conflagration, believers, according to verse 13, ‘are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells’. This, too, is according to God’s promise.
Another verse that points to this future deliverance of creation is found in the teaching which Jesus gave to his disciples concerning one of their roles in the Day of Judgement. In Matthew 19:28 (KJV), he says: ‘Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’ The future environment is called ‘the regeneration’, which indicates that it has been re-born. This has caused many to suggest that Jesus there is describing the future regeneration of the cosmos.
A fourth passage to note is Hebrews 1:10-12, which is a quotation from Psalm 102: ‘You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.’ The writer applies these words to Christ and says that he will not only bring the current universe to an end, but also says that he will change them in the way a garment is changed.
Paul in Romans 4:13 – ‘For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith’ – suggests that the seed of Abraham, that is believers, have as their inheritance this world. Since all the heirs are not yet saved, these other heirs do not yet have the inheritance. Further many of the heirs have died, and others will yet die, which points to their inheritance being given by resurrection. Or, to put it in Paul’s words in Romans 8, they will receive it when the sons of God are revealed.
There is a parallel between what happened with Adam at the beginning of earth’s history and what is to happen to believers at the second coming of Jesus. Imagine it is Day 6 of the creation week. The heavenly bodies have been created; the earth and its fruit has been created; the birds, fish and animals have been created. Although created perfect, they are waiting for something, which is the manifestation of Adam, the son of God. Until he appeared, the original, curse-free creation could not realise its potential because it was made for man. Today, the state of the universe is not like Day 6 of creation. Both humans and the world they were made to rule are under the curse. As we have noticed, the curse brings frustration, bondage and pain. Yet the creation is going to be delivered when the sons of God, the brothers of the last Adam, are revealed. The original creation was the stage on which the life of interaction between God and his creatures would occur; the re-created earth will be the stage where the eternal drama, involving God and his children, will be enacted throughout the endless ages, once the Elder Brother appears.
These passages tell us a very important doctrine, which is that the destiny of the creation is linked to the status of human beings. Our sins have brought about the current state of creation, our glorification will bring about its deliverance. Through the work of the last Adam, the human race will finally obtain its inheritance of glory.
Relevance of this passage for us today
This passage speaks concerning environmental issues. I can recall when organisations such as Friends of the Earth were a fringe group. Yet in the last couple of decades they and other similar groups have become influential in government policies around the world. Of course, it is important that we care for the environment. But these secular organisations do not mention either the fundamental cause of the problems in the environment nor do they consider how these problems will ultimately be sorted out. Concerning the cause of pollution, global warming, and other issues, they only mention secondary causes such as human mismanagement; they take no account of the fact that God has cursed the creation because of our sinful rebellion against him. Things are wrong in the environment primarily because there is something wrong with the sons of Adam. The created world is under the curse of God.
While it is important for governments to control harmful influences that adversely affect the environment, the world is not going to be freed from these troubles until the sons of God are revealed. Like virtually every other organisation that attempts to improve the lot of humans and society, these environmental organisations don’t take the Christian revelation into their outlook and therefore they are dishonouring God by forgetting or ignoring or refusing to believe what he has said about the environment.
This passage also teaches us how we view the created world. We have to remind ourselves, for example, when we see a sunrise or a sunset with all their beauty, that we are looking at a groaning creation. Similarly, when we see a lake surrounded by hills or a snow-capped peak, we are looking at a groaning creation. Somewhere the rising sun gives light to a community suffering the effect of an earthquake or a famine; every night it sets on communities in which disaster, disease and death have taken their toll. Every day, I see several things in the creation that tell me that I am a sinner: weeds abound in gardens, several animals run away from me, the remains of dead rabbits being eaten by birds, the wind threatening to blow me over. These things would not have happened in Eden.
Further the passage speaks to us concerning whether or not we appreciate the greatness of the promises of God. It is common for Christians to think of heaven in spiritual rather than in physical terms. The main reason for this is that all the believers we have known, who have passed over to the other side, are only in heaven as far as their spirits are concerned. But that state of blessedness is not the highest state, nor is their current residence their ultimate one. They are waiting for the resurrection of their bodies, and with that resurrection state will come a resurrection environment. Not only will our bodies be renewed, so also will our inheritance. We should fill our spiritual vision with the great things God has promised to us.
The passage also calls us to consider whether or not we rejoice in knowing that God’s mercy is wider than his judgments. Away back in Eden God’s judgement fell on the created order because of the sin of Adam. When the last Adam is revealed, in great mercy he will remove from the cosmos all the effects of the fall and bring into existence a universe of glory far beyond our capabilities to imagine. It will be by mercy, but it will be by great mercy. The earth will be full of the glory of the Lord, and the prototype that Eden was will become a glorious reality.
We can also observe how future-orientated the apostle was regarding the people of God – here he looks ahead to the revealing of the sons of God. Imagine if the children of our royal family had all been kept hidden until they had grown up. What expectation there would be if we were told that on a certain day they would be introduced to the public. We would be intrigued as to the number of them or to how they looked, whether they were like their parents. In a far higher sense, we will see on the day of creation’s liberation the number and the glory of the sons of God. That is how we should regard one another – I am not going to see the real you and you are not going to see the real me until that day comes, and when we see each other on that day we will not recall the flaws of this life.
Lastly, Paul’s description of creation longing for the coming day of perfection is a challenge to us. Most people want to live here for ever, but in having such an attitude they indicate that they are the only part of the creation that does. Christians should know different. Unlike creation, which has an impersonal anticipation of the future glory, Christians have enough information to know that there is glory ahead. The Spirit of adoption, who indwells them as the foretaste of the inheritance, stimulates them to long for the day of perfect glory that is promised in the Word of God.
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