Romans 8 part 2

Assurance of future glory:
(click the arrow to listen)

Present suffering and future glory

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 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. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:18-39)

Paul mentions sufferings in most of his letters. He endured a significant amount of personal suffering, both as ill-treatment by people who hated him, and in his anxieties for all the churches which he had planted. There is evidence that he also suffered from an illness or disease of some kind. So, while he had much to reflect on personally, he also recognised that suffering is part and parcel of living, for all who follow Jesus. This is not to diminish the human cost of suffering, but to put it in context with God’s promises in Jesus.

This is not easy to distil into an attractive gospel message. But in times of persecution, and in hostile countries now, conversion may lead to death. It is very difficult for those of us in safe countries, to compare any suffering we might have with the persecutions and sufferings of other Christians in unsafe countries. I am even reluctant to try and articulate this, because any comparisons would be so imbalanced.

But if we are to be disciples on fire with the passion of Jesus, we are more than likely to have a target painted on us, and have to endure difficulties, if not direct persecution. In safe countries, antagonism often comes from people’s antagonism to God. They will also try to make us lukewarm by suggesting that passion for Jesus is over the top. But for us this is a dangerous path to walk on. As William Booth, the famous Salvation Army leader once said, “It’s easier to cool down a fanatic than warm up a corpse!” Furthermore, if we are unwittingly doing the devil’s bidding and not constituting a threat, he is unlikely to spend much time on us, leaving us to decay in compromise.

decay

Paul now digresses onto God’s creation. It is not clear why, but he often makes this kind of excursion into other related areas of God’s truth. In the same way that the Church suffers, so does the creation suffer because it has inbuilt weakness. Don’t forget that this has a positive aspect too: the faults we see in creation (such as natural disasters) can serve to enhance our expectation of a new earth in which perfection is found. For what we see now, although having remarkable beauty, is not the perfect creation for which God has future plans.

For the creation was subjected to frustration (v20)
The Genesis account of creation reveals this frustration, when it records the suffering which began after the first humans sinned: it is described in Romans 8 as ‘decay’. It may be that the instability of the universe – its slow decay into death – may be part of this ‘curse’ which God placed on the original creation. It was described as ‘good’ on being finished, and mankind as ‘very good’, but after they sinned, death began.

Here we are also presented with a mystery:
For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed ... and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. (v20-21)
The ‘children of God’ refers to children by new birth through the Holy Spirit. It does not refer to all humans. I find this a very humbling verse. Having been involved in church life for over 50 years, I have seen very mixed manifestations of God’s glory amongst his children. So, for the creation to look up to us in some way is quite something!

redemption

The conclusion is that at the end of the age, creation will be made perfect even as humanity will be made perfect; creation will function without weakness, and redeemed humanity will have redeemed bodies. These resurrected bodies could be described as spiritual bodies except that some people think spiritual means not material. They will be bodies with physical characteristics like the resurrected body of Jesus; so, redeemed bodies may be a better description:

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time ... as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. (v22-23)
And so, Paul argues that suffering, whether in the non-human creation or in humanity, encourages us to hope for something much greater to come, and thus to persevere through whatever the world, the flesh or the devil throw at us. This is not ‘pie-in-the-sky’ wishful thinking, but spiritual enervation – sufferings can deepen faith. Hope is believing God will fulfil His promises in His good time. Hope is positive expectation rather than ‘keeping one’s fingers crossed’. This section states how we are adopted children. Receiving our redeemed bodies will be the moment that our adoption is totally complete. It's possible that patience is the most important spiritual emotion for Christians to possess.

groans

Another weakness which Paul highlights is the natural difficulty of prayer:
We do not know what we ought to pray for (v26)
Although many people find within them an impulse to pray, this is often just asking God for help. It can be self-serving. Large parts of the human population do pray, for no other reason than that it comes instinctively. As the bible says:
He (God) has also set eternity in the human heart (Ecclesiastes 3.11)
But prayer is so much more than just part of our instinctive abilities. Prayer is always a battle with the flesh and the mind. Prayer must become a habit we learn [see Rule of Life 2].

So, the Holy Spirit helps us to pray in the will of God in what may seem an unusual way:
but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. (v26)
There is a mystery here. There may be times when prayer is simply being deeply moved within, and we have no words with which to express this burden. It’s a great mystery to run with. Also, it effectively insults the proud mind which is desperate to analyse or understand. Intercession is a particularly deep form of prayer which may indeed be too intense for words. Jesus has the ministry of intercession – putting oneself in the place of others, or asking on behalf of others at great personal cost. In a way, intercession is mediation. Jesus groaned before raising Lazarus (John 11.33).

called

Finally, in this section, there is great personal encouragement for those who hold on to God, in hope and trust through sufferings:
And we know that in all things God works for the good (v28)
This verse has been a source of great comfort to millions over the centuries. There is no weakness in needing this kind of assurance and aid. Whatever our hardships or sufferings, this is how Andrew Murray saw that God is with us:
“Let me say I am here, by God’s appointment, in his keeping, under his training, in his good time.”

God has a plan and we are part of it if we fulfil two conditions:
those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (v28)
Loving God is the first great commandment; it is part of the life of worship for the believer in Jesus. But we cannot create this love or whip up worship: we must first be called by the choice and purpose of God. We have faith because God called us to be His:
“My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” (John 10.29)

This leads to an understanding of the foreknowledge of God:
For those God foreknew he also predestined (v29)
This verse has been the source of great arguments over the centuries: are some people destined to never believe because God did not choose them? There is no easy answer to this dilemma: our brains are not programmed to understand time, in any other way than knowing what is past and guessing the future. God’s mind operates outside of time, so that as well as knowing the past, He can see the outcomes of the future – God is omniscient. God may know everything, but we understand that God respects human choice. This is so, even if human behaviour is destructive. This is seen in the first chapter of Romans where we read – “Therefore God gave them over” (Romans 1.24). He did not intervene even though their choices were so bad.

grace

All of this is not just theology but also has a practical outworking:
to be conformed to the image of his Son (v29)
This reinforces the message of the previous chapters – we are being changed by the Holy Spirit’s work to become more like Jesus, renouncing sin and self, and living in holiness. This is part of what we could call the four-step work of God. We must never lose this hope – being like Jesus in the world is more important than what we say. As the old saying has it: “Preach the gospel; and, if necessary, use words.”

The time scale of this four-step process is flexible, especially the step from ‘called’ to ‘justified’:
Predestined – called – justified – glorified. (from v30)
We were predestined before the universe was created through the eternal work of Jesus. In fact we read that Jesus was crucified before the world was made (see Revelation 13.8). We were called by the grace of God at some point in our lives. By faith we were justified and believed in Jesus who paid the penalty for our sin. At the end of all things, we shall be glorified in a redeemed body along with all those who also experienced these four expressions of the grace of God.

More than conquerors

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31-39)

Paul structures this final section of praise and thanksgiving with rhetorical questions. Here is the first:
who can be against us? (v31)
The answer clearly is all sorts of people and spiritual powers. But he expresses it this way in order to show the magnificence of what it means to be a genuine Christian – nothing and no one of real significance can be against us, if we compare them with how magnificent the One is who is for us! We should not over-reflect on the impact of any opposing powers, for that will reinforce a negative spirit. Rather we should deeply reflect on Jesus in worship and prayer, for He has authority over everything (Matthew 28:18). Jesus assumes this authority because He is at ‘the right hand of God’ which is the place of total power. As Paul goes on to point out, even when facing death, which could be the worst consequence, God is for us; Jesus reigns supreme!

Lordship

The gospel teaches us that God did not spare His own Son but gave Him up to the cross to die for us all. As He has lavished such love upon us it means He freely gives us all things: but most precious of all – He gives us the Holy Spirit to live in us. The Spirit is a free gift – we can do nothing to earn the Spirit’s indwelling – we receive Him by faith. The Spirit is given to pray through us, to inspire worship in our hearts and minds; and to fill us with that expectation of eternity – life in a redeemed body with all those who also were called. We shall be eternally human!

Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? (v33)
We can no longer be accused because Christ has justified us before God. We can no longer be condemned in judgment, for we know Christ died in our place and even now is praying for us before God.

Who then is the one who condemns? No one. (v34)
No eternal condemnation can convict us because of the High Priestly intercession of Jesus (see also Hebrews 7:25). This is a wonderful and very humbling revelation: Jesus pays this much attention to us! Remember too, He intercedes for the whole Body of Christ and not just you as an individual.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? (v35)
We cannot be separated from Christ’s love towards us, because how could He ever give up on those in whom He has invested so much? This is the astounding message of the gospel – God has invested His own life in His people. Remember too that ‘separate’ refers to a spiritual truth. It is not an emotional experience. It remains true however we may be feeling, because it is grounded in faith.

victory

It is such a humbling reflection to know how much Christ has done for us all, and how much He invests in us all each day. This is so important when we face direct opposition. In the light of this possibility, Paul returns briefly to the theme of suffering as he lists many of the direct attacks upon those who believe:
Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? (v35)
Do we honestly experience any of these? There may come a time when that is so. But in the meantime, we can reflect on the enormous generosity of Christ’s love to us, and purposefully pray for our brothers and sisters throughout the world who are experiencing any of these things.

Even in the 21^st century, what he wrote is happening:
As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ (v36)
Every year thousands of Christians are killed for their faith. Open Doors estimates over 200 million Christians experience high levels of persecution for their choice to follow Christ. These are shocking numbers. However, even in the face of this, Christ still has the victory.

He summarises our victory through him in these famous words:
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (v37)
I’m sure we would probably be happy just being conquerors; but in Christ we are more than conquerors! ‘More than’ is a reflection of the truth that, more than just winning in matters of life and death, we also belong. We have been redeemed from sin, adopted as children of God, delivered from the condemnation of judgment, and filled with the love of God which was poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us!

inseparable

Finally, he produces a list of things which oppose us and to which we can relate. These are conflicts; but yet they are still no comparison to knowing God’s everlasting love:
neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God. (v38-39)
Nothing can separate us from the astounding love of God demonstrated in Christ’s redemption, and realised in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. And best of all, this is a continuous revelation to us over a lifetime of living for Jesus!