Down an Unfamiliar Road

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER EIGHT (Lesson XXXIII)

Early church Patriarch Cyril imagines our corruptible mortal body as a heavy weight upon the immortal soul. That’s why our earthly body sometimes drags our mind through the valley of despair. But as soon as the Spirit comes to dwell in our scarred and burdened body, it releases the mind to explore the mountaintop of spiritual virtues. But that’s when our sinful tendencies jump up to try and pull us back down into the valley of immoral passions. Even our conscious knowledge of right and wrong fights to prevent our old bodily habits from regaining control because they are prone to silly degenerate desires. This begins a bitter struggle. Bishop Cyril feels that is another reason why we groan waiting for the liberation of our bodies as a benefit of being adopted as children of God.¹

But Paul makes it clear that even though we sail on rough seas, we have a lifesaver called hope. So no matter what happens, hope will keep us afloat until we reach our goal. The problem for many, however, is that this lifesaver is invisible. You have to hold on to it by faith and trust it to work even though you can’t see it. Several early church scholars have insights to share on this message. For instance, Ambrosiaster notes that by hoping and praying for what God has promised to us through Christ, we are freely offered ourselves up for deliverance. Ambrosiaster concludes that since we have been set free, we should look forward in the hope that what is coming in the future will confirm everything we believe in the present.²

Chrysostom also preached that what Paul means here is that we are not to expect everything to be given to us in this life, but we are also to have hope for what awaits us in the future. The only thing we brought to God was our faith in the promises of what was to come, and it is by keeping that faith that we are saved. If we lose this hope, we lose a critical element that contributes to our final salvation.³ Then Pelagius reminds us that none of us have seen all the things promised to those who believe and endure, but we still live by faith in the hope that they are real. After all, what do we have to hope for if we already own what belongs to us? That’s why believers put no hope in what they currently possess. It’s that which has been promised and is yet to come.⁴ Then we have Patriarch Cyril’s exhortation that since we believe that one day our bodies will also overcome corruption and death, we must hold on to that hope for the time being because even though it is not yet present, it is a future certainty.⁵

So along with hope and faith, Paul says that another necessary ingredient is patience. One early church Bishop, who gave his life for the Gospel, found out that waiting patiently is required if we want to end up being all that we can be with God’s help. By doing so, we will one day get what we hoped for and believed was already ours.⁶ Then Ambrosiaster is sure that God approves of exercising our patience. By daily vigilance in hope, our desire grows to see the coming of our Lord and Savior in His kingdom. Such hope does not allow us to doubt and become weary because it is not here yet.⁷ And the great preacher Chrysostom makes the point that hope is feeling confidence in things to come. That’s why patience is the keyword to maintaining that confidence with much endurance. Furthermore, Paul clearly states that God only grants this to the ones who hope in order to comfort their weary soul.⁸

Augustine says that patience strengthens our longing. If God can wait, certainly we can wait. So walk on with confidence that you will one day safely reach your goal. And when you get there, you will find that He has not left the finish line you are destined to reach. He will be there to say: “Well done, you good and faithful servant.⁹”¹⁰ And Pelagius also gives us something to think about. He points out that our reward for having faith and being patience will be worth the wait because we believe it’s ready for us even though we’ve never seen it. And we can be sure that one day we will hold what is waiting for us so we can keep walking as though it’s already in our hands. As the writer of Hebrews says: “You have need of endurance, so that you may do the will of God and receive what is promised.”¹¹

And early church scholar Bede uses an egg to illustrate that no chick is as yet discernible in a freshly laid egg. But the mother hen sits on that egg anticipating that the birth of the chick will come as hoped for. Likewise, it has not yet been shown to us what we are going to be. But we know that when He comes again, we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is.¹² That’s why even though the faithful cannot yet get a glimpse of heaven, they know it’s coming and wait on tiptoes for the day it will appear.¹³

Martin Luther focuses on the fact that an expectation must remain unseen in order for it to be hope. He makes the interesting point that since hope grows out of the burning longing for that which is greatly desired, it makes love ever greater by the very distance that separates it.¹⁴ Luther goes on to say that because of such high tension, hope exists. This creates, so to speak, a unity between the one who hopes and that which they hope for. That certainly should translate into a truism that the longer one waits for something they desire, and hope for, the more they feel less than fulfilled without it. Unfortunately, in some Christian circles today people are having so much fun and are so satisfied with what they have now that preaching on our Lord’s return is more of an annoyance than an exciting expectation.

John Calvin put the emphasis on the fact that since hope looks at the future and not the present, it can never be connected with what we have in our possession. Calvin goes on to say, if it seems too heartbreaking for someone to groan, they may not realize it but they sabotage the method God put into effect whereby He does not send His people out to victory before He trains them in the warfare of patience. Calvin also says that since it pleased the Father to store the gem of our salvation in the heart of His Son Jesus, it is only right that we openly confess our faith and trust in Him as we labor here on earth. That will sometimes cause us to be oppressed, to mourn, to feel dejected. Yes, to push us until we reach the end of our rope, so to speak. Yet there are some who wish for eternal salvation to be given to them early so they no longer have to hope and endure persecution. But what they don’t realize is that the guardian of their eternal salvation is hope.¹⁵ When put that way, he is basically saying that our salvation can only be completed when we are transformed from this earthly sphere into the heavenly realm by our never-failing hope in the resurrection. In that case, while we are called, redeemed, sanctified, empowered, and glorified as children of God, our ultimate salvation still lies ahead. Then our hope will be realized when we are forever removed from the very presence and power of sin to a place where it can neither touch nor tempt us again.

Adam Clarke feels that Paul’s effort here is to show that not just believers are having a hard time coping with sin in this world, but that all of creation is suffering because of the disobedience of one man, Adam. This rebelliousness brought discomfit, disease, and death into the world as a curse. But God, in His mercy, quickly offered a plan of deliverance and thereby infused into every heart a hope that a more promising time would come, and because of the influence of such hope in everyone who possesses it, they will be more prepared and patient in coping with and enduring all the vanities that Adam’s sin spawned. Unfortunately, when that day came and the Messiah appeared, many of the Jews rejected Him, but to as many as did accept Him they received the right to become the children of God. As a result, those whom He has freed from the bondage of their sinful corruption, and brought them into the glorious liberty of the sons of God, they can now look forward with joyous expectation, waiting for the general resurrection, when their bodies also shall be redeemed from corruption, and the whole person, body and soul, are adopted into the family of heaven.¹⁶

On the subject of hope and salvation, Robert Haldane notes that here in verse 23 the Apostle Paul said: “We wait eagerly for our adoption, the redemption of our bodies.” By so doing, Paul gives all of us a reason for waiting. Because up until it is all said and done, we are saved only in hope. When it comes to our redemption, we need not wait because the ransom has already been delivered for our salvation. However, with respect to the power needed to put into our possession the salvation for which the price has been paid, namely, our deliverance from the remnants of sin under which we groan, we await the resurrection of our bodies that ushers us into the joy of our eternal inheritance. That’s why our ultimate salvation is kept alive and in effect, only by hope. That hope is already present within us. But to fully enjoy what that hope will bring, we must wait for the future resurrection day.

Then Haldane comments on Paul’s statement in verse 24 that, “Hope that is seen is no hope at all.” If someone asked Paul what he meant by that, he already provides the answer: “Who hopes for what they already have?” If you are holding something in your hand, or wearing it on your head, or see it sitting on a glass shelf, it is impossible then to hope for it. It is quite simple. Hope and Having are two ideas that are incompatible and inconsistent. However, even though believers are asked to carry on in hope, they are not left with empty hands. Paul said they have received a down payment and foretaste of their coming salvation.¹⁷ And even though they feel weighed down and under great pressure, because they know their bodies are still subject to death they do not get discouraged. It goes without saying that if they were already in the full possession of their salvation, faith would no longer be needed as assurance of things hoped for. This corresponds to what the Apostle says elsewhere when he exhorts believers to let their salvation be worked out.¹⁸ That’s because he will tell the Romans later that our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.¹⁹ So for Haldane, when it is said that we are saved in hope, it means that our complete joy is still dependent on the future. Therefore, any assurance that we enjoy now comes from the hope we have for what is yet to come. As a consequence, if we don’t have hope for it now, we will lose all the encouragement we have based on the prospect of its appearance.²⁰

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER EIGHT (Lesson XXXII)

Verses 23b-25: We have the Spirit as the first part of God’s promise. So we are waiting for God to permanently adopt us His children. I mean, we are ready for our bodies to be made free. We were saved to have this hope. If we can see what we are looking for, that is not really hope. People don’t hope for something they already have. But we are hoping for something we don’t have yet, and we are waiting for it patiently.

Now Paul points out that this flame of hope that burns within the believer’s heart is not wishful thinking, but that God has already made a down payment on the purchase He made through Christ’s death on the cross. The NIV renders it, “the firstfruits of the Spirit.” The Greek word used here is aparchē which Thayer’s Greek Lexicon explains as coming from, “future blessings.” In other words, just like the first apples on the tree or grapes on the vine are not only an example of what is expected but also a small part of what is coming. The same goes for the hope which has been deposited in our hearts and minds through the Holy Spirit. Paul explains this to the Ephesians: “When you believed in Christ, your being in Him was stamped with a seal, the Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the full redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of His glory.”¹

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul shared this testimony: “For me, Christ is my reason for living, and to die is even better. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I don’t know! I’m torn between the two.”² Later on, he writes: “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.”³ And in his letter to Timothy Paul says: “There is waiting for me a reward for living right which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who long for His appearing.”⁴ And to Titus Paul sends this admonition: “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope – the appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ in all His glory.”⁵

The hope for a coming salvation was already contained in Jacob’s prayer for his sons when he prayed: “I wait for your deliverance, Adonai.”⁶ Paul found the same expectation among the Colossians: “You are looking forward to the joys of heaven, and have been ever since the Gospel first was preached to you.”⁷ Also, he told the Thessalonians that the happy hope of salvation was the helmet part of their armor.⁸ And to Titus Paul wrote: “Turn away from godless living and sinful pleasures and live a good life, a God-fearing life day after day, looking forward to that wonderful time we’ve been expecting, when His glory shall be seen – the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”⁹

When it came to God’s promise of salvation and assurance of everlasting life, the writer of Hebrews said this: “He has given us both His promise and His oath, two things we can completely count on, for it is impossible for God to tell a lie. This certain hope of being saved is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls, connecting us with God Himself behind the sacred curtains of heaven.”¹⁰ Even the Apostle Peter expressed his faith this way: “Now we live in the hope of eternal life because Christ rose again from the dead. Because of this, your trust can be in God who raised Christ from the dead and gave Him great glory. Now your faith and hope can rest in Him alone. ”¹¹

Then Paul said to the Roman believers that they must not wait until they see this happen before they believe it is real. They can accept it in hope, even though they haven’t yet seen it come to pass. This was the same message he passed on to the Corinthians: “We do not look at what we can see right now, the troubles all around us, but we look forward to the joys in heaven which we have not yet seen.”¹² In fact, if we wait until we see things before we believe, then there is no need for hope. As he said to the Corinthians: “We know these things are true by believing, not by seeing.”¹³ This same principle is echoed by the writer of Hebrews: “What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.”¹⁴

Paul now goes on to tell those in Rome that such hope for things we can’t see gives birth to patience. Such hope certainly inspired David to write: “Put your hope in ADONAI, be strong, and let your heart take courage! Yes, put your hope in ADONAI!”¹⁵ And in another Psalm, he wrote: “Be still before ADONAI; wait patiently till He comes. Don’t be upset by those whose way succeeds because of their wicked plans.”¹⁶ And when things got dark and trouble was all around him, David sang: “My soul waits in silence for God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and salvation,
my stronghold; I won’t be greatly moved.”¹⁷

It was with this same scriptural context in mind that Paul was able to tell the frightened Thessalonians: “We never forget your loving deeds as we talk to our God and Father about you, and your strong faith and steady looking forward to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.”¹⁸ And in his second letter, Paul prays for this: “May the Lord bring you into an ever deeper understanding of the love of God and of the patience that comes from Christ.”¹⁹ But the writer of Hebrews expresses it this way: “Knowing what lies ahead for you, you won’t become bored with being a Christian nor become spiritually dull and indifferent, but you will be anxious to follow the example of those who receive all that God has promised them because of their strong faith and patience.”²⁰ The key word here is, “knowing.” That’s why the study of God’s word is so important in establishing faith and developing hope that provides patience.

Along this same line, the author of Hebrews told his readers: “Those whose faith has made them good in God’s sight must live by faith, trusting Him in everything. Otherwise, if they shrink back, God will have no pleasure in them.”²¹ Then later he advises them to strip off anything that slows them down or holds them back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around their feet they trip them up; run with patience the particular race that God has set before them. Keep their eyes on Jesus, the One who initiated, and will bring to completion their hope and faith.²²

But with this said, Paul had another point he wanted to make. He proceeds to explain spiritual patience. In our own minds, we too must affirm the difference between patience and tolerance. One definition of tolerance reads: “The ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particular, the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with.” Such tolerance keeps a person from risking an uninformed decision that may end up proving wrong. But the patience Paul is speaking of is based on having the full and complete knowledge that something is going to happen and a willingness to wait for it to take place.

The Apostle James wrote: “Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don’t try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete.”²³ He goes on to illustrate this: “Dear brothers who are waiting for the Lord’s return, be patient, like a farmer who waits until the autumn for his precious harvest to ripen. Yes, be patient. And take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.”²⁴ And when the Apostle John sent his seven letters to the churches in Asia Minor, he included this provision: “I, your brother John, a fellow sufferer for the Lord’s sake, who am writing this letter to you. I, too, have shared the patience Jesus gives, and we shall share His Kingdom!”²⁵ And later on in John’s Revelation we hear an angel shout: “Let this encourage God’s people to endure patiently every trial and persecution, for they are His saints who remain firm to the end in obedience to His commands and trust in Jesus.”²⁶

Chrysostom weighs in on why Christians continue to groan in spite of the fact that they have the down-payment of the Spirit within them. As he sees it, if the initial blessing of what Christ did to free us from our sins gave us righteousness and sanctification, then just think of how wonderful the whole inheritance must be. With that being said, if all of nature in creation, as devoid as it is of a mind and reason and, therefore, ignorant of these things we know, nevertheless groans for liberation, how much more should we groan as well. Chrysostom also has no comfort for the doubters, heretics, or agnostics. He advises them that believers do not groan down here because their life is so miserable. Rather, its because they have something far better to look forward to up there.²⁷

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER EIGHT (Lesson XXXI)

Verse 22-23a: We know that everything God made has been waiting until now in pain like a woman ready to give birth to a child. Not only nature, but we also have been waiting with pain inside us.

Now Paul addresses the feelings in his own era to report on the status of those who believed and accepted Christ as their Savior and yearned for His return. He joins the Roman faithful in declaring that now, more than ever, God’s people were longing for that final deliverance from life here on earth to spend eternity in His presence. This was also Paul’s word of encouragement to the Colossians: “It was through what His Son did that God cleared a path for everything to come to Him – all things in heaven and on earth – for Christ’s death on the cross has made peace with God for all by His blood.”¹

Paul then goes on to say: “Christ has brought you back to God by His death on the cross. In this way, Christ can bring you to God, holy and pure and without blame.”² But, says Paul, there are conditions they must meet: “The only condition is that you fully believe the Truth, standing in it steadfast and firm, strong in the Lord, convinced of the Good News that Jesus died for you, and never shifting from trusting Him to save you.”³ Jesus foresaw that day and told His disciples: “The world may greatly rejoice over what is going to happen to Me, but you will weep. However, your weeping will suddenly be turned into wonderful joy when you see Me again. It will be the same joy as that of a woman in labor when her child is born – her anguish gives place to rapturous joy, and the pain is quickly forgotten.”⁴

What was in Paul’s heart is the same longing that has caused saints of God to sing songs about the coming day of our Lord’s return over the centuries. Paul told the Corinthians: “These earthly bodies make us groan and sigh, but we wouldn’t like to think of dying and having no bodies at all. We want to slip into our new bodies so that these dying bodies will, as it were, be swallowed up by everlasting life. This is what God has prepared for us, and as a guarantee, He has given us His Holy Spirit.”⁵

Several early church scholars seem strained to explain what Paul is saying here about creation groaning for the day of delivery. Origen suggests that creation’s groaning is similar to Paul’s groaning for the Gospel to be brought to those still in darkness. For Ambrosiaster, to groan in anguish is to grieve. He points to the sun and moon and states that even they fill their spaces in the sky with distress Also, the spirit of the animals demonstrates its bondage with loud groanings. All these are waiting for rest and to be set free from their slavish labor. I think these thoughts were meant more to illustrate how groanings and longings are expressed than any attempt at defining Paul’s reasons for the groaning.

Origen feels that if this labor on the part of nature were of any benefit to God, then creation would be rejoicing, not grieving. But each day they watch everything they’ve done fall apart. The next day it must be done all over again. Therefore, it is only proper to grieve because all their work does not lead to eternity but to decay.⁶ In other words, nature existed and blossomed in a pristine state before the fall of Adam and Eve when there was no such thing as disease. But now everything nature produces is subject to disease that can make it unacceptable. So nature groans to get back to that condition where it no longer feels that its produce may rot and become unusable before it can be used.

But Augustine disagrees, he says that creation is not to be taken as a reference to trees, vegetables, stones, and other natural elements. They neither sigh nor are sorry. Nor should we think that the holy angels are subject to feeling meaningless since they don’t need to be freed from slavery or death, they are immortal. Here creation means the human race.⁷ But in another work, it is Augustine’s view that every creature is represented in mankind, not because they are part angel, or bird, or fish, or animal, but because the human creature is made up of a spirit, a soul, and a body. But it is the soul that sets them apart from all other creatures.⁸

Along with this, we have another scholar’s opinion that Paul is using the term creation to designate all the righteous people who’ve lived from Adam and Eve up to the time of Christ. He contends that they too groan along with Adam and Eve for the day to come when they will also be made new and adopted as children of God.⁹ As Pelagius sees it, the same angels who rejoice over those who repent, also grieve over those who are unwilling to repent.¹⁰ And Bishop Theodore has a novel idea on why all of creation suffers? For him, the invisible creatures, such as angels, grieve just thinking about it while visible creatures, such as humans and animals, suffer because they share in it.¹¹

Ambrosiaster tells us that for many believers, living in this world is like being on a stormy sea. We know our destiny and that we have been promised a safe landing, but it’s the ride that can make us spiritual and emotionally seasick. In his opinion, just as the ocean’s waves are whipped into a frenzy by strong winds and produce storms for sailors, so also this world, moved by the winds of scheming, wicked people, disturbs the minds of believers. These enemies have so many different ways to do this that it is hard to know what to expect first because they have so many resources. In other words, they don’t know in what direction the wind will blow next.¹²

Martin Luther sees a present application of what Paul says here with regard to our bodies being made free. From his perspective, the Apostle Paul declares two things in this passage. First, the new creature in Christ will be liberated from their present routine after they separate from the wicked because their old nature has been destroyed. This deliverance is renewed from day to day in God’s saints. In other words, while sinners and creation continue to struggle with a meaninglessness existence, those who have been born-again need not wait until the resurrection to be freed from sin’s bondage, they have been set free by Christ to live for God as they would in a perfect society of God’s making. While this is a strong argument that believers can overcome sinful tendencies with the help and power of the Holy Spirit, it does not remove the meaninglessness of the body that wants to live disease and pain-free forever. That freedom will only come at the resurrection.¹³

John Calvin sees the groaning that Paul speaks of as signifying that both creatures and creation are not content in their present state, and yet they are not discouraged enough to just wilt away without any hope of change because they have hope that something better awaits them when God is ready to make it happen. Also, Calvin makes the point that by Paul saying that the old creation and the new creation groan together, he implies that they do so in one accord because they are united by mutual anxiety. Paul puts them together as companions enduring the same weariness. Calvin also makes note that the phrase, “until now,” serves to ease the fatigue of a daily grind. For him, since all creatures and creation have spent so many millennia groaning for relief from Adam’s curse, what a shame it would be if they grew soft and reluctant in their resolve to remain true during the fleeting shadow called life.¹⁴

Robert Haldane, in speaking about the groaning of creation and creatures, determines that in the four preceding verses Paul appealed to the state of nature’s groaning by painting a striking and beautiful picture. He has nature groaning under the torture of daily suffering. This suffering was inaugurated by the entrance of sin into the human factor, which then prompted a looking forward with ardent expectation, as with an outstretched neck hoping for the day of deliverance. Paul then proceeds to alert the believers in Rome as to their own feelings and experience. This was another way of saying that if those creatures that live and exist in nature long for the manifestation of the sons of God, how much more fervently must they themselves yearn for that glorious event.

Haldane also states that believers who have been given a foretaste of the coming everlasting joy in God’s presence certainly can sympathize with nature as it groans. Even now they enjoy a blessed freedom. They have been liberated from the dominion of sin, the curse of the law, and all the guilt and torment it brings. In its place, they have been given the joy unspeakable and full of glory that comes with dedicated faith.¹⁵ However, as long as they travel through this world they have much to suffer. Although their souls have been redeemed from the bondage of sin, they still look longingly for the day their bodies will also be redeemed. That will transform them into a full manifestation as the children of God. As Haldane sees it, the believer’s bodies, as well as their spirits were given to Christ. Therefore, they are equally the fruit of His purchase and members of His body – the Church. However, only after His people rise from the grave will they be able to enjoy all the privileges inherent in the redemption He paid for.¹⁶

John Stott encourages believers not to take the current groaning with some of life’s vanities as being meaningless. On the contrary, he says, they can be likened to the pains of childbirth. Although they are momentarily excruciating, they provide the assurance that something is coming into being that has never been seen before. Stott tells us that in Jewish apocalyptic literature, Israel’s current sufferings were frequently called “the woes of the Messiah” or “the birth pangs of the messianic age.”¹⁷ That is, they were seen as the painful prelude to the heralding of the victorious arrival of the Messiah. Jesus also used similar expressions when delivering His apocalyptic discourse. He spoke of false teachers, wars, famines, and earthquakes as “the beginning of birth-pains” (NIV).¹⁸ Or, “the first birth-pangs of the new age” (REB), that is, preliminary signs of His coming. Stott goes on to say that here Paul brings the past, present, and future together. Not only has creation groaned, but it continues to groan. And since such groans are likened to labor pains, they speak of something alive and new coming into existence. This then should make the groaning one of expectation not desperation.¹⁹

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER EIGHT (Lesson XXX)

Early church leader Cyril of Alexandria gives us something to think about by saying that nature is incapable of knowing anything about the promises God made to believers because it has no comprehension of them. Cyril’s reason for seeing it this way is that if nature ever realized that they were included in such promises, it would hardly continue to sprout, blossom, bear fruit, and die year after year. Furthermore, it would not want to be identified with those weeds that produce nothing worthwhile. Still, Paul says, that nature is nevertheless subject to hope, for one day the saints of yesteryear and the elect of today will be saved, and then the yoke which has been imposed on it by God will be removed. In other words, it will be free to be what God created it to be in the first place. Until then, nature groans and in some sense labors and grieves. If nature did have any awareness of the believer’s state of being, it probably would burst out crying in envy.¹ In fact, the NT tells us that in the new Jerusalem the trees will issue a new crop of fruit each month that brings life and healing.²

Martin Luther sees a similarity between what Paul says here and what Jesus said about heaven and earth passing away.³ But here we are given to understand it is not the elimination of heaven and earth’s existence, but the elimination of the bondage of corruption both creatures and creation has groaned under since the fall of Adam. Luther also sees a connection between what Paul says here and what is recorded in the OT as the prayer of a troubled man when he is afraid and pours out his heart to the LORD: “In the beginning, You laid the foundations of the earth and made the heavens with Your hands! They will vanish, but You will remain forever. They will grow old like worn-out clothing; yes, You will change them like old clothing that is thrown away!”⁴ In Luther’s mind, this is what happened to Christ as He changed from the corruptible body given Him while here on earth and emerged from the tomb with an immortal glorious body. Because of this, all those who believe in Him will experience the same thing on their day of resurrection.⁵

John Calvin sees a similar picture in his mind. Creation cannot be freed from the bondage of corruption until the children of God are wholly restored to enter the celestial kingdom of God. Calvin describes life here on earth, both for creatures and creation, as one of meaninglessness because no matter what they work for, accomplish, and accumulate, they leave it all behind and go back to the dust. And even though it is the natural inclination of the whole of nature to preserve and perfect itself, it can never make the leap to everlasting life. It was only Jesus Christ who was able to break through this barrier.⁶

Calvin goes on to say that because of the circumstances that followed Adam’s fall, the whole world system instantly became bewildered. All of its parts would have spun out of control if it had not been for some invisible power that supported and held them together. In light of that factor, it would seem wholly inconsistent then that the sincere work of the Holy Spirit should be less effective in the children of God than the hidden instincts in parts of creation. Because of this, all created things naturally incline away from becoming what they could have been in the confusion. Even though it pleased God to have them exist and operate vainly with nothing in sight to change their lot, yet He has given them hope for a better future. With this hidden knowledge, they sustain themselves, deferring their desire for something better until the incorruption also promised to them will be revealed.⁷

Adam Clarke views this meaningless feeling from another perspective by suggesting that we go back to the origin of the Gentiles. It happened when the languages were confused during Nimrod’s attempt to build a tower that reached into heaven. It was an attempt to get as close to God as possible and put a sword in His hand so He could wage war against their enemies. Then, build a temple at the top to worship and offer sacrifices to Him in order to gain His favor. Their greatest fear was that another civilization would invade them and carry them off into foreign lands.⁸ Later on, because Abraham came from this same place where the tower was built, it became a tradition among the Jews that this tower was built to satisfy the passion of idolatry. They reckon that because God confused the languages of those building the tower, true religion was lost to the world. To them, this was proof that the builders of this tower sinned against God to the highest degree.⁹ So in the end, all their efforts to reach and influence God was a meaningless effort.

Then Albert Barnes looks at the positive aspects of this meaningless feeling in Paul’s day by saying that the instinctive feelings of believers lead them to desire a purer and a happier life. They had no interest in being subjected to the toils of this life, and to the temptations and vanities of this world. So they constantly sighed for deliverance. Perhaps they did not know that their being subjected to this state of meaninglessness as their lot in life was chosen by God. Why is it then, God did not see fit to inform them fully? Maybe because they would have requested to be taken to heaven as soon as they were converted. So for Barnes, even though we may not fully know all the reasons why God allows us to stay here in this state of meaninglessness, He has His reasons, and all we need to do is look for them.

Barnes then goes on to suggest the following: First, Christians are subjected to this state to do good to sinners in order to open their eyes to salvation. They remain on earth for this purpose: and this should be their leading aim. Another reason is that by their remaining here, the power of the Gospel is shown in giving them control over sin; in coping with their temptations; in sustaining them during times of trial; and thereby furnishing living evidence to the world the power and excellence of the Gospel. This could not be attained if they were removed at once to heaven. In addition, it furnishes occasions for some interesting exhibitions of character – for hope, and faith, and love, and for an increasing and progressive excellence. Furthermore, it is a proper training for heaven. It brings out the Christian character and makes it fit for the skies above.

There may be inestimable advantages, which we cannot see, in subjecting Christians to a process of training in overcoming their sins, and in producing confidence in God, before they are admitted to their place of rest. And finally, it is fit and proper that they should engage here in the service of Him who has redeemed them. They have been ransomed by the blood of Christ, and God will be the first to step in during all the conflicts and toils; in all the labors and services to which they may be subjected in this life. Barnes sees this as the basis of the believer’s hope which sustains them through life. Knowing it is God’s promise that deliverance will come, this blessed assurance supports the Christian in the middle of the trials and tribulations which come their way. They wait for the day when they will be delivered from all the toils and cares, and sins of this life.¹⁰

Charles Hodge mentions three things that every believer should keep in mind. First, until it is revealed who the true children of God really are, everyone and everything is now subject to feeling meaningless. Secondly, this subjection was not an option given for mankind to choose voluntarily, it was imposed by God. And thirdly, this subjection was never designed to be final. Hodge then goes on to show why mankind’s subjection to meaninglessness was not hopelessness because Paul said that they were destined to share in the glorious redemption planned by God.¹¹ We could say it’s the difference between a prisoner imprisoned with the possibility of parole and the one imprisoned for life without parole. Those who are subject to feeling meaningless because of corruption, who believe that Christ came to take their place and suffer the consequences of their sin, can be freed. But those who reject Him will be left to die in their corrupt meaninglessness and face eternity without God.

Frédéric Godet makes the claim that Paul does not say that nature will participate in the glory itself, only in the liberty of the children of God. After all, liberty is something nature already enjoys. Plants and animals can grow, bloom, and blossom so as to express their powers of life and beauty. This, the new creation must wait to be endowed with on the day of resurrection. That’s why Paul does not espouse the view that life will return to bodies that are composed using the elements of nature. In this state of being mankind and nature are merely temporary manifestations of their species. Therefore, we must think of a new nature being entirely different from the old system in its composition.¹²

Karl Barth has a rather intellectual commentary on what Paul is saying here about how the creature and creation were subject to a sense of meaninglessness by God. He says that all things to be manifested in mankind are hidden in God. This includes life and death, light and darkness, good and evil, rise and fall, idealism and materialism, the inner and outer. The contrast between the way they exist in God’s mind and how they exist as part of mankind clearly displays the meaninglessness of the creature. For Barth, our assurance comes from the fact that all the suffering, by which the whole created world of people and things is subject to, belongs to God, His action, His question, and His answer. For this reason, He covers His creature with the umbrella of hope.

Barth then notes that putting pessimism and optimism aside, and going to the point in time where the cosmos existed without the feeling of meaninglessness yet to come, we will already find the apprehension of the Creator to the fall of His creation. It is from there that hope emerges. It is the hope of the restoration of the union that once existed between the Creator and His creation. It was planned to come through the Cross and Resurrection of Christ. But it is only when the creature becomes aware of their complete bondage that the hope of freedom is recognized. And once they perceive the frightfulness of death, there also arises the hope of a resurrection. It is this final stage of understanding that becomes the first step toward a solution in Christ, by the Spirit, and because God is God.

The truth is then advanced, and it moves from death to life. This results in hope for the glorious freedom which awaits the new creation, the child of God. Everything they will be has not yet been realized, but it is something for which they wait with groans. It is a blessing contained in a promise, and in that promise even the body, even man himself, yes, even the universe will share. For Barth, being a child of God is a most blessed experience. As a child of God, they enter a world that has a future because of a promise. If God was willing to free His creatures, then He must also be willing to free the creation into which they were placed. If people are one with another because they are one with God, they must expect that, like God, they too will one day live where there is no growth, decay, nor death.¹³

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER EIGHT (Lesson XXIX)

Charles Hodge also admits there are various interpretations of this great day of revelation. However, he does say that we should accept the term “creation” as referring to each individual created thing. The choices must be determined by the context. He sees the following options: First, creation includes all rational and irrational creatures, including angels and both animate and inanimate objects. Secondly, creation means the whole world, excluding angels, but inclusive of the irrational animals. Thirdly, creation is all of what we call “nature.” Fourthly, creation refers to the human race. Fifthly, creation implies the heathen world, as distinguished from believers. Sixth, creation is the body of believers only.

The choice between these several interpretations must be determined by comparison to the Scriptures. Unless the Bible elsewhere speaks of angels as the subjects of redemption, they cannot be added. Whether or not irrational animals are included is doubtful. Hodge comes to the conclusion that it would be hard to argue against the idea that Paul is painting a contrast between our present and momentary afflictions with the permanent and glorious blessedness of our future state. This is designed to help us expand our concept of its greatness to include the whole of creation, now groaning beneath the consequences of the fall, and anxiously awaiting the long-promised day of the great revelation.¹

Then, preacher Charles Spurgeon concludes that the event all creation is waiting for cannot come until God’s children are manifested, robed in their post-resurrection glory. Everything else in creation is watching and waiting on tip-toe for the day when God will manifest His sons and daughters who are presently camouflaged in their earthly bodies. Not in the sense that people do not know who Christians are, but of their glorious appearance expected on the day of revelation. That is when they will be openly presented to the world by God as His chosen, and all creation will clap their hands.² There are few scholars who would put that day of revelation at the time of the Rapture which will happen in a moment as they are caught away. Spurgeon must be referring to the Millennium when Christ comes back with those He raptured to rule and reign with Him here on earth a thousand years.

Frédéric Godet gives us an interesting grammatical explanation of the Greek term apokaradokia which has been translated by the word English word expectation, as one of those admirable words which the Greek language easily forms. It is composed of three elements: kara, “the head;” dokia, “to wait for,” and apo, “from afar.” So to paraphrase it would be: To wait with the head raised and eyes fixed on that exact spot on the horizon where the object is expected to appear.³ Thayer in his lexicon renders it as: “to watch with head erect or outstretched, to direct attention to anything, to wait for in suspense.” He adds that’s how it is used here. It signifies constantly expecting, or persistent expectation.⁴ Charles Ellicott has this explanation: “It means, literally, a straining forward with outstretched head, just as we might imagine the crowds alongside a race-course straining over the ropes to catch a sight of the runners; an eager, intent expectation.”⁵ Unfortunately, today even some of the most ardent followers of Christ do not have such high hopes or eager expectations to see such glory revealed with the return of our Lord as King. They are too busy looking at the world to take time and look up toward the sky.

John Stott says that for him, both the sufferings and the glory relate only to God’s creation and His children. For him, Paul is writing from a cosmic perspective on how the sufferings and earthly glory of the original creation and the heavenly glory of the new creation are related to each other. Stott sees both creations are groaning in anticipation now since both are going to be set free together. Because nature was blighted with the curse due to Adam’s sin and has suffered the tragedy of disease and decay, it will also share in this glory.⁶

Verses 20-21: Everything God made was allowed to become frustrated because it could not fulfill God’s purpose. That was not its choice, but God made it happen with this hope in view: That the creation would be made free from ruin—that everything God made would have the same freedom and glory that belong to God’s children.

This points to the first verse in the Bible, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” And although Paul does not mention it, we know that this frustration began in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve defied God’s instructions and ate from the tree that was forbidden to them.⁷ It resulted in God sending a global flood to get rid of this travesty and start over with Noah and his family. But this too, went wrong at the tower of Babel when the people decided to climb into heaven so they could be with God and like God. But God’s grace was abundant enough for Him to continue moving mankind toward a scheduled day of salvation.

It was the early believer, Job, who said to those who had become rebellious: “Go ahead and provoke God – it makes no difference! He will supply your every need anyway!”⁸ Was God acquiescing to man’s sinful lifestyle? No! Jesus put it this way: God makes His sun shine on good and bad people alike, and He sends rain to the righteous and the unrighteous alike.⁹ Why? So they would get the idea that it really didn’t matter if they lived right or worshiped Him? Absolutely not! It was so that He could persuade them to believe in Him in order for Him to adopt them as His own children and lead them to the path of righteousness. From that moment until now it is called “God’s grace.”

But mankind did not go easy. In fact, those whom God did chose, and led into the Promised Land, became rebellious. In Isaiah, we are told: “The land suffers for the sins of its people. The earth languishes, the crops wither, the skies refuse their rain. The land is defiled by crime; the people have twisted the laws of God and broken his everlasting commands.”¹⁰ Even in Jeremiah, we find how desperate things became: “How long must this land of yours put up with all their goings-on? Even the grass of the field groans and weeps over their wicked deeds! The wild animals and birds have moved away, leaving the land deserted. Yet the people say, “God won’t bring judgment on us. We’re perfectly safe!… They have made it desolate; I hear its mournful cry. The whole land is desolate, and no one cares. ”¹¹

The prophet Hosea preached to them that their land was not producing; it was filled with sadness, and all living things were getting sick and dying; the animals, the birds, and even the fish were beginning to disappear. He told them, “Don’t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame on to them!”¹² So Paul is making the point that there are times when people must reach the point of desperation and despair before they will finally turn and ask for a Savior. It isn’t so much that God is punishing them for their sins, sin has a way of doing this itself. Rather, He is trying to open their eyes to see that without Him and His Son there is no salvation. They just can’t make it on their own.

When reading the commentary of early church scholars, it is apparent that they were thinking within the context of the general understanding of the earth and its relationship to the universe at the time. For instance, the controversial theologian Origen asked what is all this futility that creation is supposedly subject to? To him, Paul must have been talking about the material and corruptible substance of the body, in addition to the decay mentioned in the next verse.¹³ Then in another place, Origen shares his conclusions by saying that from now on we must inquire as to the groanings Paul talks about. And what about the pains he mentions? But before that, we must define what is the vanity to which the creature is subject. For Origen, it is nothing else than the body. Even though the resurrected body, which at the moment is earthly, will become celestial. Perhaps that’s why Solomon characterizes the whole of physical nature as a kind of burden which debilitates the vigor of the soul. Solomon put it this way: “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity. I have looked, and seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity.¹⁴”¹⁵

Ambrosiaster has another view in which the subjection of creation to the futility of living is not for its benefit but for ours. So he asks: “What does it mean to be subject to futility?” He answers: “Everything it produces is worthless?” All of creation has spent time producing fruit that corrupts and decays. Corruption, therefore, is in and of itself futility.¹⁶ Then we see where the great early church preacher Chrysostom preached on this subject and explained that for him Paul means this needs to happen because creation became corrupt. That raises the next question, “Why, and for what reason?” Then the finger is pointed directly at Adam, and he is told, “It’s all because of you, O man!” After his disobedience to God, Adam’s own body became mortal, subject to suffering, pain, and death. But even worse, the whole earth was thrown into turmoil with a curse that brought weeds, thorns, thistles, and disease.¹⁷ So, since God’s creation suffered badly because of him, and it became corruptible, thank God, it was not irreparably damaged. One day it will become incorruptible once again for his sake and all those born after him. This is why we call it, “hope.”¹⁸

The Aramaic version of the Bible gives us the view that creation is the innocent victim in all of this. It was ready to be everything God intended it to be. According to one English translation of verses 20-21, it reads like this: “For the creation was subjected to vanity, not by its own choice, but because of him who subjected it, in the hope, that also the creation itself would be emancipated from the bondage of corruption, into the liberty of the glory of the sons of God.”¹⁹ In other words, it was all Adam’s fault so why should innocent creation be subjected to the same pain and suffering that only he deserved? That’s why it groans along with all mankind for the day when it will be restored to its original greatness.

A few weeks ago I read this quote by an unknown writer: “Waiting around for someone else to make you happy is the best way to be sad.” Not only is this true, but it opens the door for us to look at the word “happy.” Some think that being happy and having joy are synonyms, but in fact, they are quite different. Happiness is based on circumstances. If everything is going great, then it is easy to be happy. But when things go wrong, it doesn’t take much to lose that happiness, which is what the word “unhappiness” actually means – you are un-happy; you’ve lost your happiness. So it is clear, happiness and unhappiness cannot exist together at the same time. Either you’re happy or you’re are not.

But joy is based on love that is filled with excitement, not circumstances. Therefore, although circumstances may change, as long as you have love that is excited about something that will not change, you will always have joy. This then, allows joy and sorrow to exist at the same time. For instance, you may have sorrow that someone you loved has died, but at the same time have joy because they are now out of their pain and misery and resting peace with God. So if you are waiting for someone or something to make you happy, you are really waiting for circumstances to change.

I like the thoughts shared by Zach Sokolow in his article, “You Can’t Wait For Happiness To Find You.”¹ He said, that when you wait for time to heal your pain it is just delaying your potential for happiness. One reason is that you let your conscience become attached to your negative feelings. Unhappiness can become addictive since it wants more and more unhappiness to cover the pain of the feeling that comes from disappointment in a variety of ways. When you wait for happiness, it is like a pause in time; you freeze your emotions and live only for the moment. It’s a shame because you can’t relive your past, and while you’re focused on that you’re missing out on what’s available right now. Zach suggests that you quit waiting for life and time to work things out. Make a change, take charge of your conscience so you can control what makes you happy. Stop sitting around waiting for some emotional Santa Claus to hang something exciting on your happiness-tree.

But if you want joy, the Word of God gives us plenty of guidelines. We are told that the joy of the Lord is our strength (Neh. 8:10). That’s because those who put their trust in the Lord will find that although circumstances may change, He never changes. So when you know that He will always love you in spite of how disappointing things may be, that assurance alone is enough to keep joy alive in our heart. Take it from Jesus Himself. He told His disciples that if we followed what He taught them, that the joy it brings and the joy He gives will not only remain, but they will have it to the fullest (Jn. 15:11). – Dr. Robert R Seyda

NEVER DOUBT, THIS IS ONE NATION UNDER GOD

During the War of 1812, the British had command of the Chesapeake Bay on the east coast of the USA. Tangier Island, being a central island of that Bay was captured to become their base of operations. A Methodist pastor on Tangier, Joshua Thomas, took a great risk in preaching the Gospel to these enemy soldiers and sailors. But because he proved to be a true soldier of the Cross, he was allowed to address them before they sailed north to attack Baltimore. Something to keep in mind was that the British had been totally triumphant up to this point. Washington, D.C. had been burned. Now Britain’s finest fleet moved again to attack America’s feeble forces at a key fortress, Fort McHenry. If it fell, then America would fall.

Toward the close of summer in 1814, those living on Tangier Island were made aware by important movements among the British forces encamped there that something significant was about to take place. Signals were exchanged from ships to shore, orders were given, which launched a bustle of activity. Some of the officers told Parson¹ Thomas what was going on. “We’re going to take Baltimore,” they declared. He told them they should leave it alone; they might be mistaken in their calculations. Baltimoreans might resist them and would fight hard for their city and their homes.

The British laughed it off, “Oh! We can easily take it.” He told them it was a dangerous undertaking because he believed God would fight for the good people in that city to help them defeat their enemy. However, before the British fleet left Tangier Island, they asked Parson Thomas to hold a public meeting and exhort the soldiers before they went. He didn’t want to refuse, yet felt very awkward in performing this duty. He thought and prayed about it, and he decided to stand up for Jesus as a good soldier of the cross; to fight the fight of faith. He knew some of these men might be killed in the battle, and never have another opportunity to hear the Gospel. Therefore, it was his duty and privilege to obey their order and hold the meeting. It was on the last Sunday they were in camp. Early that morning, the flags were hoisted, the drums beat, and every preparation was made for a full assembly.

Boats were bringing soldiers in from the ships while bands of music were playing on board. At start time, the soldiers were lined up in solid columns, about twelve thousand men, under the pines in the old campground, which formed the open space in the center of their tents. Parson Thomas stood on a little platform at the end of the camp near the shore, all the men were facing him with their hats off; held in their right hand under the left arm. One officer stood on his right, and another on his left, and sentries were stationed a little distance behind him.

As Parson Thomas looked around at the troops standing at attention, he’d never had such a feeling in his whole life. Yet he felt determined to give them a sincere warning, even if those officers with their sharp, glittering swords, could cut him in pieces for speaking the truth. First came singing and then prayer. Parson Thomas began to feel more confident and more at liberty to say what God had laid on his heart. As they worshiped, all fear and anxiety disappeared. So in a loud voice, he proceeded with his exhortation as freely as he had ever done, any place, before any congregation.

In his own words, Parson Thomas tells us: I told them in the commencement what caused war, and fighting among nations and men; what made this once good, happy world, so full of evil and misery as it now is; and what brings ruin on men, soul, and body. Sin, I said, did all this; but it is a faithful saying and worthy of acceptance, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. I told them what kind of a sinner I was, and how He saved me from sin; also, many of my neighbors, and that He is able to save to the uttermost all those that come to God through Christ. I described some of the seasons of refreshing we had enjoyed in that spot in the presence of the Lord and thanked them and their Admiral for the kindness they manifested to us; but I could not bid them God’s speed, in what I understood they were going to do.

Parson Thomas continued with his story: I warned them of the danger and distress they would bring upon themselves and others by going to Baltimore with the object they had in view. I told them of the great wickedness of war, and that God said, “Thou shalt not kill!” If you do, He will judge you at the last day; or, even before then, He will cause you to perish by the sword. I told them it was given to me by the Almighty that they could not take Baltimore, and would not succeed in their expedition. I exhorted them to prepare for death, for many of them would in all likelihood die soon, and I should see them no more till we met at the sound of the great trumpet before our final Judge.

The service ended, and many soldiers stepped up to the brave Parson and thanked him for his faithful warnings, and said they hoped it would not be as bad for them as he had prophesied. Parson Thomas shook his head in sorrow because he believed many had received their last call to repentance. The proud fleet weighed anchor, and with pennants streaming, and decks bristling with the machinery of war, sailed up the Chesapeake Bay and left the anxious islanders awaiting the outcome. Day after day they could hear the booming of heavy canons bouncing back over the waves day after day, and night after night, gun answering gun, until everything suddenly went silent. It told the people of Tangier that the fight was over. But they all wondered, who won and who lost? For several nights they laid awake wondering what would happen next. Parson Thomas didn’t get anxious, but he did grieve for those who might have been slain in battle.

Then some of the islanders spotted British ships coming back down the Bay. Parson Thomas ran down to the shore to be the first one to greet them when they landed. He stood there trying to fight the fear that many of those he preached to had been killed in battle. He also thought about some of those he knew in Baltimore and wonder if they too met death. It wouldn’t be long before his worst fears would be realized. He asked the first officers who came ashore if they had taken Baltimore? They looked at him, shook their heads, and told him that hundreds of men had been killed, including their top General. They solemnly told him that it turned out exactly as he said it would. One of them said: “All the time we were fighting we thought of you, and what you told us. You seemed to be standing right before us, still warning us against our attempt to take Baltimore.”²

As more and more messages were given to him, they deeply affected him. Especially when one soldier came looking for him and informed him of his buddy who was mortally wounded, and before he breathed his last breath whispered, “God bless Parson Thomas. He showed me the way to Christ, and now, though I die, I hope for mercy and salvation through the name of Jesus, and expect to meet that good man in heaven.” Another infantryman looked for Parson Thomas to tell him: “I never felt my sinfulness before God until that Sunday you preached to us; and while the bullets were flying, and my comrades falling all around me, I threw myself on the mercy of the Lamb of God, and now feel at peace.” Another told him he would take this story back to England and not forget it as long as he lived.

As a result of the British losing this war, the people of Tangier Island were told that they were now free. All during this time they were considered prisoners of war, The news of peace was joyful to them beyond all expression. In fact, they were among the very first on the continent to receive the welcome tidings. Then in January 1815, peace was declared between England and the United States. They were told that in Washington the peace treaty would soon be agreed to and ratified by the President. The news flew, like lightning, over the United States, and everywhere there was great rejoicing.

There are two things that make this story stand out to me and makes my heart rejoice because it tells us that God is always in control. First of all, it was at this battle in Baltimore, on Friday, September 14, 1814, that Francis Scott Key penned the famous words that became our national anthem. Now we know why everyone should stand when it is played to honor those who fought and won the victory to keep America free from foreign domination. The second thing that warms my heart is that Parson Joshua Thomas is my maternal fifth great-grandfather, which makes me throw my shoulders back, even more, when I hear the national anthem played. He was a true soldier of the cross. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER EIGHT (Lesson XXVIII)

Verse 19: Everything that God made is waiting with excitement for the time when He will showoff His children to the world. All creation is waiting breathlessly for that to happen.

Now Paul grows eloquent as he begins to describe what a wonderful day of revelation that will be. It would validate the whole cause and effort for which Christ died. Paul shares this with the Philippians: “I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that will cause me to be ashamed of myself but that I will always be ready to speak out boldly for Christ while I am going through all these trials here, just as I have in the past; and that I will always be an honor to Christ, whether I live or whether I must die. For to me, living means opportunities for Christ, and dying – well, that’s better yet!”¹

The Apostle Peter shared his expectations this way: “Since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives we should be living! You should look forward to that day and hurry it along – the day when God will set the heavens on fire, and the heavenly bodies will melt and disappear in flames. But we are looking forward to God’s promise of new heavens and a new earth afterward, where there will be only goodness.”² And the Apostle John rejoiced when he saw a new heaven and new earth being formed with the New Jerusalem coming down from God. Said John: “It was a glorious sight, beautiful as a bride at her wedding.”³

Even the prophet Malachi got a glimpse of this glorious day. He wrote: “‘They shall be mine,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘in that day when I make up my jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares an obedient and dutiful son. Then you will see the difference between God’s treatment of good men and bad, between those who serve Him and those who don’t.’”⁴ And Jesus added this: “When I, the Messiah, shall come in my glory, and all the angels with me, then I shall sit upon my throne of glory. And all the nations shall be gathered before me. And I will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”⁵ And the Apostle John shares his excitement: “Yes, dear friends, we are already God’s children, right now, and we can’t even imagine what it is going to be like later on. But we do know this, that when He comes we will be like Him, as a result of seeing Him as He really is. And everyone who really believes this will try to stay pure because Christ is pure.”⁶

On the subject of creation being restored, one of the earliest church scholars said that since every believer who is part of creation has toiled and been afflicted from the beginning, and having been proven faithful in every way by suffering, should receive a reward for their suffering. Also, those who are a part of creation and were slain because of their love for God should be revived again. Furthermore, those who are part of creation and have endured servitude should reign. After all, God is rich in all things, and everything is His. Irenaeus leaves no doubt that it is only fitting that creation itself, after having been restored to its original condition, should without restrictions be placed under the care and control of the righteous⁷.⁸

Origen also makes it known that he feels Paul is only preparing the believers in Rome for what he is about to say next concerning how great and wonderful is the glory which will be revealed both in him and in those who have shared in his hardships.⁹ Then Bishop Diodore points out that the Scriptures often suggest that while the visible creation is full of life and action, that the seemingly motionless universe is very much aware of what is going on¹⁰.¹¹ And Chrysostom preached that Paul’s writing becomes more emphatic as he personifies creation in the way that the Psalmist did when speaking of the trees clapping their hands¹².¹³

Then we have another early church scholar named Constantius who agrees by saying that when Paul talks about creation waiting, he is pointing at rational beings and not, as some imagine, irrational or indiscernible creatures which He made to serve mankind and then is excreted and decays. Constantius believes that by using the word “creation,” Paul is referring to Adam and Eve, who also wait to receive adoption by God. And the “eager longing,” of which Paul speaks, is likewise shared by Adam and Eve on the one hand, and one the other hand by the angels and the elements, i.e., the heavens, the earth, the sun, the moon and the stars. So in a sense, Paul says that Adam and Eve and all that surrounds the earth are longing for the day of revelation.¹⁴ Some may disagree with Constantius’ conclusion. Paul makes it clear that the whole world is awaiting the revelation of who God’s true children are, but there is no reason to believe that the angels are unaware of who they are.

Then Pelagius summarizes what he has been hearing Paul say on this subject, and writes that interpreters of Scripture expound on this passage in various ways. Some propose that all creation awaits the resurrection because all will be transformed into something better. Others suggest that this refers only to what the angels are longing to see.¹⁵ Still, others say that “creation” refers specifically to Adam and Eve because they did not sin by themselves. Rather, they were misled by the temptation of the serpent, who made them susceptible to corruption. He did so by deceiving them concerning the hope of becoming gods themselves.¹⁶ Such interpreters believe that Adam and Eve will also be set free from guilt so that they no longer will be tainted with corruption. And these same interpreters say that the term “whole creation,” means all those who lived righteous lives up to the coming of Christ. And since they too have not yet received, they join us in waiting until God provides something better for everyone.¹⁷ So in Pelagius’ mind, not only those of the Old Testament but we of the New Testament are waiting together for that day of revelation. Like them, what we yet do not hold in our grasp we patiently await with unwavering hope. But we are blessed because we have seen things which many righteous people of the OT never got to see¹⁸.¹⁹

This way of thinking does not seem to fit exactly into what Paul was saying at this point. When we go back to verses 15-17, Paul is telling how we serve God not out of fear as slaves, but out of love as His children. It allows us to call Him Abba Father. This also places us in line to be joint heirs with Christ of all the glory He plans to give His Son and those who follow Him. Then in verse 18, Paul says that all the suffering those who have been called may go through here on earth is nothing when compared to what will be revealed in heaven at the resurrection. Then comes the exclamation here in verse 19 that all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will show His children off to the whole world. So both Constantius and Pelagius have gone far afield from what Paul was explaining here as a message of motivation to the believers in Rome to remain steadfast and immovable in their faith.

Reformer Martin Luther also takes time to point out the debate between understanding what Paul says here as applying to the creature and creation. Luther dismisses the speculation of philosophers who concentrate only on the essence and attributes of created things in their present state, not in any future state. Luther cites what Roman philosopher Seneca said about not knowing what is necessary because we study unnecessary things, and that we don’t know what’s best for us because what we study only causes us harm.²⁰ Luther feels that Paul is speaking here of nature as the one who waits, groans, and travails for things yet to come because of the curse it received when Adam sinned.²¹

John Calvin says that his understanding of what Paul means here is that there is no element and no part of the world which, knowing full well the misery it currently endures, does not hope with great expectation for the resurrection. To prove this, Calvin sees Paul laying down two pieces of evidence. First, that all creatures are in distress, yet they are sustained by future hope. This gives great value to the eternal glory God promised, which excites and attracts all things that desire it. Secondly, the term “expectation,” though somewhat unusual, is suitable in this case. Paul’s intent was to strongly suggest that all creatures on earth have been seized with great anxiousness and held in suspense with great desire, looking for that day on which the glory of the children of God shall openly exhibit. Calvin understands the revelation of God’s children will occur when shall become like Him.²² This desire to be like God should help us understand which part of creation Paul is referring to.

Adam Clarke raises some other issues when this verse is tied to the next four as it relates to the creature and creation. He shares that even in his day there were some who thought that all beasts in creation are meant here. Others applied it to Jewish people, to Gentiles, to good angels, to fallen spirits, etc.²³ Albert Barnes also notes that there is no other passage in the New Testament that has been considered more difficult to interpret than this section of Romans 8:19-23. Even after all the labor and research given to it by critics, still there exists no interpretation precise and satisfactory enough, so that every commentator who examines it can wholeheartedly concur with the findings. The object here, for every Bible scholar, should be to give whatever appears to them to be the true meaning. Do not attempt to refute the opinions of critics. Clarke points out that the main design of this passage is to show the sustaining power of the Gospel in the midst of trials. It comes from the prospect of a future deliverance and the inheritance that will be given to the children of God.²⁴ Clarke goes on to say that the word “creature” refers to the renewed nature of the Christian. But whatever the case, always keep this in mind, no matter how we may see this it will not affect our salvation or the final outcome.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER EIGHT (Lesson XXVII)

Several early church scholars have input on this verse about suffering and reward. For instance, in a Word of Wisdom spoken by a member of a late 2nd century movement in the church: the One who gave us the indwelling Spirit will also carry out the effects. It is for this reason the Spirit is considered as a pledge of the glory which will be revealed to us.¹ In other words, the Spirit was given as security deposit on the glory to be received by those who suffer for the cause. Then Origen observes that there is nothing in this life which is worthy of comparison to the life to come. For him, how can we compare that which is mortal to that which is immortal, that which is visible to that which is invisible, that which is temporal to that which is eternal, or that which is perishable to that which is everlasting?²

Also, one early church bishop, who suffered martyrdom, asked a question before he died: Why would any believer not do all they could to reach the highest level of spirituality as a friend of God in order to rejoice with Christ at the moment they receive the divine rewards after earthly hardships and misunderstandings are over?³ And in another place, this same Bishop was also heard to say: It is fitting for all of us, when meditating on the glory of the coming splendor, to endure all afflictions and persecutions. Although the afflictions of the righteous may be many, yet those who keep their trust in God will be delivered from them all⁴.⁵

Then early church scholar Ambrosiaster felt inspired to write that Paul’s exhortation relates to what he said earlier in which he demonstrated that the things which we might endure at the hands of those who reject our faith and our God are tiny in comparison with the huge reward which awaits us in the next life. Ambrosiaster then encourages everyone to be prepared in the event they come under persecution because the promised rewards are so great that our mind will have peace during any tribulation and increase in hope.⁶

We then turn to early church preacher Chrysostom who noted that whatever sufferings we may go through, are restricted to this life, but the blessings we will receive for being faithful will stretch out into eternity. Paul had no way of giving a detailed description of those blessings or explaining them in full. But he gives them a name which is used of things we especially desire and calls it “glory.”⁷ In another sermon Chrysostom declared that even if each day we were put to death for our faith, something nature could not comprehend even if we are asked to put mind over matter, still that would not compare to the blessings we are destined to receive or the glory due to be revealed in us.⁸

Then we look at what Pelagius meant when he wrote that Paul wants to recommend our hope in future glory so that we are prepared and committed to endure any present afflictions with greater assurance. It is impossible to think that God would ask any believer to suffer through anything that compares to the heavenly glory that awaits them. This is not a matter of bargaining with God. But whatever we might suffer that brings death, it is far less than what Jesus suffered for our sins. Through His passion in the past our sins were forgiven so that in the future we are granted eternal life. And in that eternal abode we will enjoy the company of angels, the splendor of God’s throne, the beauty of heaven, and other things which have been promised those who endure unto the end.⁹ Pelagius cites what Paul said about this to the Colossians: “At the moment, though, this future glory is hidden with Christ in God.”¹⁰ He also notes what the Apostle John had to say: “It does not yet appear what we shall be, but we do know we will be like Him.¹¹”¹²

Martin Luther expresses what we would call today, “No pain, no gain.” Or as I like to say, “Suffering is nothing, if it achieves something.” Fellow reformer John Calvin agrees that to some it would seem odd to require believers to pass through various afflictions to enter celestial glory, unless we agree that when compared to the suffering that will quickly pass away, with the greatness of the glory that will last forever, it makes sense. Calvin goes on to point a finger at the Roman Catholic seminary professors of his day. He does not feel that they have taken the time to really study and understand what Paul is saying here. Instead, they have come up with an alternate reality. They have replaced, “what works for the believer” with “what the believer works for.” The Apostle Paul is not trying to compare our grief with our glory. Instead, he wants to help believers see that one day they will lay down their cross in exchange for a crown. By doing this he hopes to confirm in the minds of the faithful the value of patience.¹³

George Bull (1634-1710), Lord Bishop of St. David’s church in England, confirms what Calvin said by pointing out that this horrid doctrine of good works bringing us glory should not be sanctioned by the church Christ established. The idea that any merit gained by good works can be transformed into heavenly glory is totally unscriptural. Such transformation cannot be found even among angels, let alone the children of fallen and sinful Adam.¹⁴ But it was the Apostle Paul who put this in perspective in verse 28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Robert Haldane has an enlightening way of explaining how our present sufferings pale by comparison to our future glory when he says that the Apostle Paul was reminding those in Rome that all the suffering they endured for Christ’s sake was God’s way of bringing them to even greater glory. That’s why he encourages them to endure affliction with courage and class because there is no comparison with what they will enjoy in glory. Haldane points out that in order to inspire the Israelites to face whatever difficulties they run into with resolve God had spies bring out delicious fruit from the Promised Land while they were still in the desert. By the same token, our blessed Lord permitted some of His disciples to witness His transfiguration, when His face lit up like the sun, and His raiment turned brilliant white. This was intended to inspire them with a burning desire to see the coming heavenly glory with their own eyes, something they only saw at a glance on the mountain with Christ. They were also invited to see our Lord’s transfiguration to instill in them greater patience when going through troubles and trials. Haldane sees a similarity in how God acts towards His people when they suffer in this world. He lets them have a little taste of heaven by allowing them to enjoy a measure of that peace which passes all understanding,¹⁵ This is just a foretaste of the glory that is yet to be revealed.¹⁶

Charles Hodge continues this same theme in his commentary. He writes that since the glory promised us so outweighs our suffering, that the idea of merit, whether earned or given, shouldn’t even be part of the discussion. It is altogether foreign to the context. For it is not the ground on which eternal life is bestowed, but the greatness of the glory that the saints are to inherit which the Apostle desires to illustrate.¹⁷ Preacher Charles Spurgeon says that Paul saw there was no real symmetry between the sufferings of the present with the glory of the future. For him, the sufferings down here seemed to be but like a single raindrop, while the glory up there is a boundless ocean.

Spurgeon then goes on to point out the glory that awaits us has not yet been fully revealed in us, but it has been revealed to us. We can read the revealed glory yet to come in Scripture, but how grand will be the glory when it is revealed in us! We shall be full of glory. Right now we see it only in part, but when it is revealed in His people, it will be to His praise forever and ever! But God has promised that this will also lead to our eternal joy. So if we are suffering now, then let us stand strong as we await something better that is yet to come. Furthermore, don’t become impatient in the meantime? Why not? Because we wait with patience and bear our appointed burden until the time comes for us to lay it all down? It’s because we not only wait patiently but with hope. Just as a woman endures the discomfort of carrying a child in her womb, so we too must realize that once these pain and pangs which precede birth are over, what a glorious day that will be when all of God’s glory is revealed!¹⁸

Frédéric Godet says that Paul does not say that he was persuaded about this by someone else, nor does he say that it just dawned on him one day. Rather, Paul uses the Greek word logizomai, which basically means: logic to explain how it came to him. Throughout the NT this word is variously translated into English as, “impute,” “reckon,” “count,” “reasoned,” etc. In other words, Paul used reason and made a calculation that led to his conclusion that whatever suffering believers must go through, it pales in comparison to the glory God will reveal in them. As Godet see it, the Apostle Paul is trying to get the point across that when he compares the miseries he was going through down here with the glory awaiting him in the future, when they are put on the scale of reasoning, the glory far outweighed the misery.¹⁹ Godet goes on to say that although this glory is yet to be revealed, it already exists not only in the plan of God decreed to us, but also in the glorious person of Christ, whose appearing will be visibly displayed for us to see with our own eyes.

I like how Puritan preacher Charles Simeon expresses it. He challenges us that when people complain that trials are heavy and they are ready to faint, just show them what they have to gain or lose. First, explain the good they not only lose down here by giving up but the good they lose in the future. Then compare the troubles they have down here with the troubles they will not have over there. How can the joy they expect to have in this world even compare with the joy in the world-to-come? What good is it to live for a short time without God down here and forfeit living with God forever up there? None of it makes any sense. Why trade any short misery here on earth for the endless rejoicing heaven? The one idea is man-made, the other is God-made. So let’s put an end to murmuring, and be willing to bear our present afflictions in expectation of the benefit that will result in the end.²⁰ At the same time, it is foolish for anyone to believe they can make themselves suffer in order to gain greater glory with God.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Dr. Robert R. Seyda

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

CHAPTER EIGHT (Lesson XXVI)

Speaking of being joint-heirs with Christ, Charles Spurgeon follows this same theme by noting that all members of God’s family are not just co-heirs, but equal-heirs. As such, Abraham and all the patriarchs are not heirs of more than those who will be born into God’s kingdom the day before our Lord returns. Then Spurgeon asks: “Heirs of what?” He goes on to say that we are heirs of what God chooses to give and He has promised to give of Himself. If this is true, then nothing more need be said. Spurgeon then makes reference to the troubles and trials that the prophet Jeremiah suffered because of preaching the word God gave him. Yet, in the midst of his sorrows he stated: “I said to myself, the LORD is my inheritance, therefore, I will put my hope in Him.”¹ For Spurgeon, this is a blessed co-partnership – this fellowship: joint-heirs with Christ. What a joy to take part in the whole heritage of grace, as well the heritage of suffering that allows us to be part of God’s glory.²

Frédéric Godet has a lengthy commentary on this verse, but it is worth looking at some of what he says. For Godet, Paul is using an expression chosen specifically to impress us with the grandeur of what has been promised: being co-heirs with Christ. Such loftiness of holding the title as heirs of God could have easily been overlooked had not Paul taken what some would consider an abstract idea and made it tangible by adding concrete facts. Godet explains that being an heir with Christ does not mean that it is first given to Him and then He gives it to us. Rather we will be given possession of the inheritance at the same time as He receives it from the Father so that we receive the divine possession with Him.

Godet goes on to say that in order to get a better view of what it means to be called joint-heirs with Christ, we should consider what the relationship between Christ and the Father really entails. By doing so, we should have a better understanding of what we are hoping for as children of God.³ In order to come into possession of the inheritance, one precondition must be met: only if we suffer with Him. Paul no doubt knew that as ambitious and excited some are to stand in Christ’s glory with Him, they are equally as likely to recoil from any thought of having to go through suffering to get there. But it is precisely in suffering that the cohesive bond between Christ and His followers is strengthened. That’s why, when qualifying as His joint-heirs, we are drawn closer and closer to Him. As Godet sees it, we can only take possession of the glorious heritage by accepting and doing our part in the common inheritance of suffering as He did.⁴

Douglas Moo believes that to better understand what Paul has said here we should combine Romans 8:14-17 with Galatians 4:3b-7. He points out that in both passages, Paul talks convincingly about how believers are transformed from being slaves of sin to sons of God through the sacrificial death of Christ. That was the reason He was sent to be one of us. This elevated status was acquired through the process of adoption. And being adopted is tied to the indwelling of the Spirit of God. It is the Spirit who makes us aware that we now belong to God as His dearly loved children. Not what someone else says or claims, but the personal testimony inside our heart and mind as the Spirit agrees with our spirit that this transformation has happened. Being God’s children then leads to our being His joint-heirs.⁵

Jewish scholar David Stern agrees with Dr. Moo on examining this in the context of verses 14-17. He asks the question, “How do we know that the Spirit will empower us to obey the Torah, as promised in verses 1–13?” We get the answer from Paul’s guarantee as a God-appointed Apostle to the Gentiles that the Good News he brought contained an inspired message of hope. That message is clear: We who trust Yeshua will one day share in His glory. So what Paul is saying here is that God put His Spirit inside all believers to give them the assurance and confidence that it is all true. Also, that we will be victorious no matter what sufferings, discouragements, and doubts we meet along the way.

Says Stern, the first part of this blessed assurance is that the Spirit within us is God’s Spirit. This is the identical Spirit that moved over the face of the waters on the first day of creation.⁶ The same Spirit who inspired the prophets.⁷ It is by the same Spirit who is co-equal with God the Father and Yeshua the Son,⁸ that we are being led. The second part of the assurance is certified by our being bonafide adopted children of God. We do not follow Yeshua as slaves which would imply alienation because we would not be serving Him willingly. Also, our relationship with God is one of deep intimacy, the kind that allows children to lovingly call their father “Papa.”⁹ Furthermore, the family relationship we have with the Father is not only personal but legal. This is what makes us heirs of God as joint-heirs with the Messiah, our divine brother.”¹⁰

Stern then goes on to say that this adoption by God to become His children is only for those who are led and follow the leading of God’s Spirit. Another way of saying it is only those who have put their full trust for salvation in Yeshua. He alone is the one who sends the Spirit.¹¹ Also, those who do not have Yeshua in their hearts are not in the Father’s heart either.¹² And for everyone who believes in God the Father and Yeshua the Son, the Spirit of God Himself bears witness with our own spirit that we are children of God. But we must keep believing, hoping, and waiting because the adoption process will not reach its ultimate climax until our whole bodies are redeemed and set free,¹³ so we can become like Him.¹⁴ Adoption is so important because it follows reconciliation; on our being restored to God’s favor from our former condition as His enemies and becoming His family and friends.¹⁵

Stern concludes with by making note that in many Western societies individuals who have been adopted are stigmatized as not being real or genuine members of the family. But in God’s eyes, adoption is a very positive state of being. Those who have been adopted are first-class children of God. Furthermore, they become legitimate joint-heirs with the Messiah. That’s why as babes in Christ we can grow up gratified at having been chosen by God and adopted into the elect family of the redeemed. And the big difference between normal human adoption and God’s divine plan of adoption is that all who are chosen are then born-again into the family of God. Does it get any more real! As such we have been transferred from death to eternal life by God the Father at His own bidding¹⁶.¹⁷

Verse 18: We have pain and sorrow now, but these are nothing compared to the great glory that will be given to us.

Paul also wants the Roman believers to know that this is not what we would call today, “bait and switch.” That means, a person is promised one thing for their compliance, but when they finish they are given something totally different. One serious problem found in current preaching and teaching in the church is that all emphasis is placed on the glory and blessings of the Christian life, while the hardships and persecution are left untouched. Jesus made it clear when He said: “When you are reviled and persecuted and lied about because you are my followers – that’s wonderful! Be happy about it! Be very glad! for a tremendous reward awaits you up in heaven.”¹⁸

As Paul neared the end of his missionary journeys, he told those who came out to hear him preach: “Life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus – the work of telling others the Good News about God’s mighty kindness and love.”¹⁹ We must keep in mind that part of that ministry involved persecution, beatings, being jailed, fleeing or his life, and eventually being tried and martyred for the sake of the Gospel. Because of this, he was able to tell the Corinthians: “These troubles and sufferings of ours are, after all, quite small and won’t last very long. Yet this short time of distress will result in God’s richest blessing upon us forever and ever! So we do not look at what we can see right now, the troubles all around us, but we look forward to the joys in heaven which we have not yet seen. The troubles will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.”²⁰

The writer of Hebrews uses Moses as an example of such dedication: “It was by faith that Moses when he grew up, refused to be treated as the grandson of Pharaoh, but chose to share ill-treatment with God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought that it was better to suffer for the promised Christ than to own all the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking forward to the great reward that God would give him.”²¹

Even the Apostle Peter, who knew what it was to suffer for the cause of Christ, had this to say: “So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though the going is rough for a while down here. These trials are only to test your faith, to see whether or not it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests gold and purifies it—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold; so if your faith remains strong after being tried in the test tube of fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day of His return.”²²

So Paul tells the Colossians: “When Christ who is our real life comes back again, you will shine with Him and share in all His glories.”²³ And when he wrote the anxious saints in Thessalonica he encouraged them by saying: “I would say to you who are suffering, God will give you rest along with us when the Lord Jesus appears suddenly from heaven in flaming fire with His mighty angels… When He comes to receive praise and admiration because of all He has done for His people, His saints, you will be among those praising Him because you have believed what we told you about Him… Then everyone will be praising the name of the Lord Jesus Christ because of the results they see in you, and your greatest glory will be that you belong to Him. The tender mercy of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ has made all this possible for you.”²⁴