Three Types of Groaning (Romans 8:22-27)
The apostle Peter says in one his letters that the apostle Paul wrote some things that are hard to understand. Perhaps one passage that Peter had in mind was this section from Romans 8. For example, what does Paul mean in verse 18 when he refuses to contrast suffering with glory, not because the sufferings are too great, but because the coming glory is too great. That seems a hard statement to understand.
Some might say that a person who could write this did not know much about suffering. Such a suggestion is wrong because Paul had experienced much suffering. What makes him speak that way about suffering is that he has compared it to the glory that will be revealed to us. And in expanding his explanation, the apostle mentions three different kinds of groaning.
The creation groans – in what ways? (vv. 19-22)
Paul personalises the creation and gives to it attributes that are usually found in humans. He probably did this in order to help us appreciate its current and future states. The reference to creation groaning is in verse 22: ‘For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.’ It is worth noting that he begins that sentence with the claim ‘for we know’, which raises the question, ‘How do we know?’ I suppose there are two sources for this knowledge: one is that Jesus told his apostles what was happening to creation and the other is that this description is found in the Old Testament.
In what ways does the creation groan? What did you see when you looked out your windows this morning? How did the creation look to you? What would Paul say you should have seen? Here are five aspects, and each is in this passage. First, the creation groans optimistically – that is the point of saying that it groans in the pains of childbirth. Second, it groans universally – Paul says that the whole creation is groaning, and that it is groaning together. Take what happens in a storm – the sea is disturbed, animals and birds are distressed, trees are uprooted, thunder roars and lightning flashes, and much more. Third, it groans continually – it has been groaning since it was subjected to futility at the beginning until now. Fourth, it groans eagerly for God’s family to be revealed (v. 19). Fifth, it groans submissively – I think that is the significance of the word ‘waits’ in verse 19.
Which parts of the creation does he have in mind? He is not including angels because they are not suffering from the bondage he describes. He is not including the devil and his fallen angels because they are not promised any deliverance. He is not including redeemed humans because he refers to them as the sons of God and separate from the creation. And he is not including humans who will be lost in the end because they will not experience the deliverance described here. So the creation he has in mind is what we call the lower creation.
The apostle is almost saying that the creation understands the story of redemption. It is described as knowing it was subjected to futility by God, not for anything it had done, but for what Adam and Eve had done. Imagine being in the garden of Eden that day when the creation heard the voice of the Creator pronouncing curses because of the sin of Adam and Eve. The curses are going to last until the seed of the woman achieves complete victory over the seed of the serpent. The seed of the woman are Christ and his people. When the numbers of his people are complete, they will be glorified. What will happen to the creation at that moment? Paul says that the creation ‘will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God’ (v. 21).
One obvious application is this: if creation in its current state of bondage is so beautiful, imagine what it will be like when it is liberated and able to fulfil all the potential God has placed within it?
Thomas Boston closes a sermon on this passage with these words: ‘We would be longing for the glorious day of the great change abiding the world, when our Lord’s kingdom shall be finally come – the mystery of God finished – sin and misery swept out of the world – and the saints and the creatures perfectly delivered. Amen.’
And in another sermon on this passage, preached on a fast day called because of the attempt of the Old Pretender to take the throne of Britain in 1716, Boston made this application: ‘Ye that are godly, I would beseech you to long for that blessed day for which the creatures are groaning. You have good reason, as well as they. Long for the day this stage shall be taken down, whereon so much sin and misery are acted, when all that Adam put wrong shall be completely righted by Jesus Christ.’
The groaning of Christians – in what ways?
That quotation from Boston leads to considering the second expression of groaning that the apostle mentions – the groaning of Christians. What does Paul say about this kind of groaning?
First, he connects it to believers having the firstfruits of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit came to indwell them when they believed in Jesus, but when he came he limited his activities to some extent. That is the idea behind the word ‘firstfruits’ – it describes samples of a later fullness, say in a harvest. So this raises the question, when will believers have the Spirit in his fullness?
Second, Paul says that this will take place on the day when the adoption of Christians will be both complete and public. There are two things preventing this happening today: first, the inheritance is not here yet; second, believers will not be capable of living there until the resurrection, which he calls the redemption of our bodies. I suspect Paul means that our bodies still suffer from the effects of sin, including death, but on the resurrection day they will be freed eternally from such effects.
Third, Paul also says that this future experience is our hope. Hope does merely mean something that may happen. Rather it refers to something certain because God has promised it. Paul even says that this wonderful prospect was one of the details which they were told about in order for them to be saved. Perhaps we are surprised by that detail being included in the gospel. Listen to these words from the preaching of Peter recorded in Acts 3:17-21:
‘And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 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.’
We are not merely saved from punishment in a lost eternity, we are saved to an amazing prospect of being glorified in a perfect creation. Imagine what that will be like – the Spirit in his fullness indwelling us, a glorified body full of power and ability, and a perfect environment without the effects of sin.
The apostle mentions several similarities between the groaning of creation and the groaning of believers. Believers look ahead eagerly (v. 23), so does the creation. Believers unite in this expectation (v. 23), so does the creation. Believers wait patiently (v. 25), so does the creation.
The groaning of the Spirit – in what ways?
In the meantime, we are marked by weakness – we are limited in knowledge, strength, and presence. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit helps us. The idea here is not merely that he helps us from a distance, but as Calvin comments, the Spirit ‘lifts us up; as though he went under the burden with us.’ Matthew Henry describes this divine help as the Spirit ‘heaving with us’, no doubt because Christians carry heavy burdens.
Some authors dismiss the notion of the Spirit groaning because to them it implies some degree of imperfection in the Spirit. Yet Paul’s description is very clear – the Spirit groans, although in a different way from the groaning of creation and the groaning of believers. Why does he groan? John Stott gives an answer: ‘the Holy Spirit identifies with our groans, with the pain of the world and the church, and shares in the longing for the final freedom of both.’
Part of this divine help is connected to our prayers. We find ourselves in a situation of groaning because we don’t know what to ask. John Stott gives the example: ‘Perhaps because we are unsure whether to pray for deliverance from our sufferings or for strength to endure them.’ At that same moment, the Holy Spirit prays alongside us. The description of his intercession on our behalf is astonishing – ‘groanings too deep for words.’ This means that we cannot hear these groanings, but they are heard on the throne in heaven.
The outcome is incredible. God the Father is the one who searches hearts. When he searches the hearts of his people, he hears not just their groanings, but also the intercession of the Spirit. The intercession of the Spirit is always correct because he knows what the will of God is.
As we think of the involvement of the Spirit in this context, we can see that it is personal (he is a divine person), powerful (he is almighty), precise (he is omniscient, he knows what to ask), persistent (he does not leave us), and universal (he does this with every Christian).
Jesus said to his disciples in the upper room that it was better for them if he went away and the Comforter came to them. The term Comforter can also be translated Helper. What amazing help he provides for us when he intercedes with us. Marcus Rainsford described his role in this way: the Spirit ‘associates himself with our weaknesses and enters into our struggles; he yearns in our yearnings, and longs in our longings, sympathises in our temptations, enters into our miseries, and helps our infirmities.’
Application
We have to recognise continually that there is something wrong with the world, and that it is our fault. Our sin took the rest of creation into bondage. Do we think of that when we hear of earthquakes and famines, when we see deserts and droughts, when we undergo epidemics and pandemics? Paul’s words about the fallen creation are very encouraging. It somehow anticipates perfection, not annihilation, in the future when Jesus returns.
We should rejoice at the prospect of the glory that is ahead. The sons of God will be heads of a restored creation, under the headship of Jesus. They will be joint-heirs with him in an eternal inheritance, the liberated creation where there never will be the sound of a minor key or discord of any kind.
We should recognise the mystery of prayer. Most of us know that genuine prayer is connected to the intercession of Jesus in heaven. Yet there is more to prayer than that. Paul says that there is a double intercession going on within us. There are our fallible prayers and there is the infallible intercession of the Spirit.
We should marvel at the nearness and faithfulness of the Holy Spirit. At this moment, we can ask ourselves this question: ‘How many times has the Spirit interceded alongside our petitions?’ Or we can ask, ‘How many times have we reminded ourselves of what the Spirit is doing when we pray?’