190317 Groaning in Hope

Romans 8:22-25 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. ²³ And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

As far back as Isaiah’s prophecies, about 700 years before Christ’s birth, God said there would be new heavens and a new earth and we will live there with God. Heaven is the place where God makes his presence known to bless his people. We know that it is a real place because the Bible says so! It is the place where Jesus ascended into the clouds after his resurrection in his last days with his apostles. It is the place Stephen saw as he was being stoned to death! It is the place Paul saw when he was stopped on the Damascus Road! It is the final resting place for the people of God!

The eager expectation that we have is that God has given us hope. The problem we have is the way we understand the meaning of the word “hope”. The average person today will use the word hope to speak of something that they wish would happen. For instance we might say, “I hope it does not rain tomorrow”, or, we might say, “I hope to be able to pay off all my debts”. In neither case are we able to be sure it will happen. But when God gives us a promise we can rest assured that it will come to pass. Biblical hope is the promises of God. We are often impatient while waiting on God.

The fact is…

The creation is certainly groaning now. Let’s look at what happened in the beginning Genesis 3:17-19. And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; ¹⁸ thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. ¹⁹ By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

When mankind sinned the punishments did not give new roles or responsibility. The punishments introduced pain and suffering which was added to their responsibilities. It was not just a curse placed on man the curse extended to the entire Cosmos. The ground, which previously had given them food now required real effort to extract the food from it. By God’s common grace the earth doesn’t just bring forth thorns and thistles. Along with the thorns and thistles and ground that has to be cultivated the land brings forth sufficient food for man to live.

The curse includes strife and conflict among groups of people. None of which could have been expected by Adam and Eve. In the very beginning there were no other people for them to relate to or to have conflict with. In the very next generation Cain and Abel developed sufficient animosity that resulted in Abel’s death and Cain’s banishment!

Jesus told us these things would happen. Let’s look at the words of Jesus found in Mark 13:6-8. Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. ⁷ And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. ⁸ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.

The antagonism caused by man’s sin reaches to religious conflicts as well as civil wars. In every generation there have been conflicts. Many of those conflicts have no real explanation. Jesus wanted his disciples, and us, to understand that there would be many who claim to speak in his name and even claim they are the Messiah. Many people have been led astray and are being led astray by these false teachers. Along with false teaching there will be wars and rumors of wars. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. The earth itself will continue to groan and produce earthquakes and tsunamis. The weather will become increasingly violent. Not just the creation and people influenced by false teachers — Christian believers will groan. However…

Our groanings represent birth, not death. Let’s look at 2 Corinthians 5:2-3. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, ³ if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked.

Paul observed that the groanings we experience do not represent an entirely negative thing. Our groaning is like the pains of childbirth. I will never experience that pain and I do not wish to observe it. At the same time I know that it is usually very severe. My own birth, so I’m told, was very difficult on my mother. That difficulty caused me to be the first person in my family, on either side, to be delivered by a Doctor.

Our bodies are fragile. I believe that Adam’s body was far and away superior to ours. As it was, he survived nearly a thousand years. We are only promised, by means of special grace, lives of about 80 years. We groan but not in despair! We groan like a woman in childbirth. It can be endured because we know the result will be worth it. Our bodies, while on this earth, are like tents — easily destroyed! Our heavenly dwelling will be far superior to the earthly body we now live in.

Not just the creation, but the new creatures. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Everything that was taken away from mankind as a result of Adam and Eve’s sin will be restored. That is part of our hope. Remember biblical hope is not just a guess as to what might happen it is a promise. The promise contained here is that we who believe in Christ become new creatures. The old creation is fading away and the new creation has come.

Mankind lost everything in Adam and potentially have had all things restored in Jesus Christ.

This is a desperate need! We are born sons and daughters of Adam and Eve and as such are born separated from God. Everyone is in the same condition. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23! And sin pays its wages! The wages of sin is death — spiritual death, Romans 6:23, and that’s bad news! Yet, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son to bear our sins in his own body the cross, 1 Peter 2:24. He demonstrated his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, Romans 5:8. And as a result of God’s work on our behalf if the separated sinner will confess that Jesus is Lord and believe in the heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved, Romans 10:9. Our hope includes the fact that…

We have been adopted — but not yet complete. Let’s look at Ephesians 1:5-6. He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

We live lives of adopted — but not yet! We are heirs not owners! We look forward to a time when we will be fully brought into the household of God. The will has not yet been fully executed. It is safe! The Bible tells us that we have been born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus. We have been brought to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, that is kept in heaven for us. That inheritance is guarded through faith, 1 Peter 1:3-5. If the will that our inheritance is based on were anywhere else it would be insecure. It is reserved for us in heaven and is as secure as God himself. It can’t be lost nor can it be questioned. If it were a human will some judge might overturn it. Our promised inheritance was prepared by our advocate and judge before the world was created. Our hope is secure.

Our new heavenly body will replace this fragile shell we live in when Christ returns…

We will be like our Lord Jesus. Let’s look at 1 John 3:2-3.  Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. ³ And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

We have a building from God waiting us in heaven. This perishable body will put on the imperishable! This mortal body MUST put on immortality, 1 Corinthians 15:53. When Christ returns we will be like him.

When Jesus was raised from the dead he still had his human body. He allowed his disciples to see him and touch him. He gave assurance that he was the same person they knew before. He even ate with them. I do believe that his body was perfect. The women who met him at the tomb did not immediately recognize him. The two disciples that made them on the Emmaus Road did not recognize him immediately. The last time any of them had seen him he was hanging on a cross and his body had been severely beaten.

Though we are groaning now…

We are able to be patient. Let’s look at Romans 2:6-7. He will render to each one according to his works: ⁷ to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.

We are able to be patient because we have confidence in God. He keeps his promises yet we are often faithless. We hope for what we do not see and are able to wait for it with patience. The God who brought us to salvation continues to work in us that our salvation will impact and change the lives of those around us.

In the words of Isaac Watts’ great hymn:

1 Am I a soldier of the cross, a foll'wer of the Lamb,
and shall I fear to own his cause, or blush to speak his name?

2 Must I be carried to the skies on flow'ry beds of ease,
while others fought to win the prize, and sailed thro' bloody seas?

3 Are there no foes for me to face? Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace, to help me on to God?

4 Sure I must fight if I would reign: increase my courage, Lord;
I'll bear the toil, endure the pain, supported by thy Word.

This passage of Scripture is God’s answer to a false teaching going on all over the world. That false teaching is called by many the “prosperity gospel”! Such a gospel is not good news it is false and we must remember that. Here Paul tells us what we have but NOT YET! We are adopted into the family of God but we are not there yet. We get impatient and want to have it all NOW. That is not God’s plan nor his intention. Our Father God teaches us to wait patiently for what we have promised to us. We have the Holy Spirit and are God’s firstfruits. We are saved in a hope that includes redeemed bodies. But we don’t see that yet! Be patient! God loved us enough to allow God the Son to bear our sins on the cross so that we could receive this inheritance.

Him

All scriptures quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton, Ill, Standard Bible Society.