Today as we continue in Romans 8, we are looking at the subject of groaning. Some of us may think we hardly need teaching on this subject as we are quite good at it already! But the idea of groaning in Romans 8 has little to do with moaning but carries the idea of longing or anticipating something.
Before we look at our passage, we should remind ourselves that Paul wrote this letter to Christians in Rome. This was a city he had never been to before, (when he wrote this letter) but he tells us in chapter 1 that he longed to go there and preach the gospel in this major city. Then he adds, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes (Rom 1:16). What an example to us of courage! This was the leading city in the world at that time.
In this letter Paul presents the gospel. In the first three chapters he begins by discussing the problem of sin. He then moves on to discuss the solution – salvation by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ (chapters 4 and 5). In chapters 6-8 the focus is the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.
My outline is very simple. We are going to look at Three Groanings. First of all, we are going to see that creation groans. Secondly, believers groan and thirdly the Spirit groans.
- Creation groans (v18-22)
The world we live in is not what it should be. The sorrow and despair, the sickness and death so evident today, were not in the original creation. Genesis 1:31 says that God saw all that he had made and it was very good. But then in Genesis 3 sin entered the world and the curse followed. The curse affects Adam and Eve and their descendants and everything in the universe.
Paul begins this section by making a comparison between our present sufferings and the future glory. He says in verse 18:
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing w the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Some of us have never really suffered seriously. There are Christians who live in countries where suffering for your faith is a very real issue. For example, in countries like Sudan, Somalia and North Korea, Christians are very likely to suffer for their faith. Even though we may not suffer immensely for our faith we will all at some point suffer in this sin cursed world.
Paul is not saying that our suffering are small and insignificant. He is not minimising our pain. He is saying that relative to the glory coming to believers, our present sufferings are much smaller.
Paul adds in verse 22:
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
When Paul speaks of creation, he is referring everything animate and inanimate. This includes animals, birds, fish, mountains, rivers seas and everything upon the earth. But he is clearly using personification. This is common in Scripture. A few examples would be:
The mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing
The trees of the fields will clap their hands (Is 55)
The heavens declare the glory of God (Ps 19:1)
The blood of Abel cries out from the ground (Gen 4)
Paul is saying that all of creation is crying out in pain. Things are not as they should be. In creation there is futility (v20). There is bondage and pain. In this fallen world there is great suffering, sickness, pain and injustice. There is disintegration, decay and corrosion. Things are falling apart. Scientists speak about entropy (from order to disorder).
There are natural disasters including hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, famines and war. These contribute to the sounds of nature groaning.
Paul says in verse 19,
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
The term for eager longing literally means to stand on tiptoes and stretch out your neck. This illustrates the eager anticipation of what lies ahead for God’s people. The bondage of our sufferings will come to an end, and the Lord will clothe us in our new resurrection bodies. We Christ comes again believers will be revealed. The true sons will be manifested.
These things teach us that God is perfectly holy. He is too pure to look upon iniquity.
It only took one sin to have Adam banished from the Garden of Eden. Creation was cursed. We are separated from God and we need a Saviour. If you are making scrambled eggs and you add one rotten egg to two hundred eggs, the whole lot must be thrown away as it will contaminate the batch. So too even with one sin in us we are separated from a holy God. And we have far more than one sin!
Unless we have our sins forgiven by accepting Christ as Lord and Saviour, we will have no hope of being in heaven with such a holy God. Have you received Christ to save you?
Believers have the promise of a bright future. The pain in this world is compared with labour pains. In verse 22 Paul says:
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
Labour pains will end when the child comes. They will then turn to laughter & rejoicing. The curse will end. Revelation 22:3 says, No longer will there be any curse. This painful world is not the final chapter.
When a Christian dies the Bible says we are absent from the body, present with the Lord. We are immediately in the presence of the Lord. The Lord also promises He is coming for His Bride, the Church.
Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Then there is the promise of the return of Christ to earth after a seven-year period of tribulation. Revelation 19, Matthew 24 and other passages in Scripture describes this return.
Then in Revelation 20 we read that Christ will reign on earth for one thousand years. This we call the Millennium. During this time Satan is bound. Israel is restored. It is an age of peace. Malachi 4 tells us that swords are turned to ploughshares. People will not train for war. Jerusalem will be a city of peace and people will stream to it. Worship will be characteristic. The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. The Law of God will be written on hearts.
The earth will be a reconstructed or renovated earth. This is not yet the New Heaven and the New Earth. People will live longer. The animal kingdom will be affected, and this will be a very safe place to live.
Following the Millenium, John says in Revelation 21:1,
Then I saw a New Heaven & a New Earth
The New Heaven and New Earth is the Eternal State. The present earth will be dissolved. Heaven & will pass away. It will be consumed by fire (2 Peter). God says, I am making everything new (Rev 21:5). In the New Heaven & earth there is no more sin, pain, or death. The curse is gone! God also says that the former things won’t be remembered. There will be perfect righteousness. The New Jerusalem is absolutely beautiful!
Perhaps the most precious thing about the New Heaven and the New Earth is that God will dwell among His people!
Creation longs for this precious time.
- We groan (v23-25)
Not only does creation groan but we ourselves also groan. Christians are not exempt from the sufferings of this world.
Paul groaned:
Rom 7:24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
He groaned because of his sin which he longed to be freed from.
Christians groan:
For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life (2 Cor 5:4).
We all have a share of sufferings. We suffer with health. We suffer in the workplace, in our finances, in relationships. Women have pain in childbirth. We all struggle with temptations.
Not only do we groan because of sufferings. Paul adds that we suffer because we have tasted the first fruits of the Spirit and we look forward to the rest. If you enjoy coffee and have always drunk the cheaper stuff, if someone introduces you to the really good stuff. You may just tolerate the cheaper coffee but long for the better stuff. So too, Christians have witnessed the blessings of the Holy Spirit in their lives, for example the fruit of the Spirit. Now we long for the remaining blessings we have been promised!
As believers we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit. Paul says:
Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession – to the praise of his glory (Eph 1:13, 14).
The Holy Spirit is like an engagement ring from God, a promise to keep us!
Paul adds that we groan inwardly for the adoption as sons. Some may say, but are we not Gods children already? Yes. That is true, but the graduation ceremony has not taken place yet.
Paul also adds that we long for the redemption of our bodies. We are waiting for our new glorified bodies! We long for freedom from the presence of sin and the internal struggle which we currently have.
Paul goes on to say that our groaning involves hope. This is not the hope of uncertainty, like; I hope I pass my exams. Or I hope I get the job. Christian hope is certain. It is to anticipate what God has promised. We see this certainty when Paul says, while we wait for the blessed hope-- the glorious appearing of our great God & Savior, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13). There can be nothing more certain than the Second Coming of Christ! It is described as the blessed hope.
Because we as Christians groan, we can conclude:
- This is not our home
Our citizenship is in heaven. Abraham looked for a heavenly city. Even w all the earthly promises! We anticipate our heavenly home. We look forward to the New Heaven and the New Earth, where there is no sin, sorrow nor death and where God dwells!
Paul said, I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far (Phil 1:23).
- Have courage, the battle is short, our reward is big
Paul says,
For our light & momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all (2 Cor 4:17).
If you are going through a big trial, be patient. It will end. The Lord has a reason for it. He has something better in store for us!
- We will be like Christ
One day we will be like Christ. Not in essence, but in character
John says,
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is 1Jn 3:2.
That is a day we should long for!
- The Holy Spirit Groans (v26-27)
The last groaning is surprising. We do not expect to hear this:
v26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us w groanings too deep for words.
In chapter 8 we have already seen that the Spirit helps us as He indwells us, He gives life and He bears witness that we are God’s children. Now we are told that He helps us in our weakness.
It is hard to admit weakness, but the stronger we grow in the Lord the more we realise our weakness and our need of Him. The Lord even says My power is made perfect in weakness (I Cor 12)
Sometimes we are so weak we don’t even know what to pray. In times like this the Spirit intercedes for us and prays for us exactly in accordance with Gods will. He helps us to carry the heavy load we must bear.
Some people say this is about speaking in tongues. But it is the Spirit who groans, not us. It is also silent, not audible. Therefore, it cannot refer to tongues.
How often do we pray for the wrong things? When the Spirit prays it is in accordance with Gods will. What a great blessing we have!
We have a God who loves us. He groans for our well being! Because the Spirit of God lives in us we can be sure that we will never perish. Noone can pluck us from His hands. There is now no condemnation for those in Christ!
Conclusion
Our problems may loom big. You may have sorrow, sickness, fear, loneliness or some other big issue. Remember these will pass. Compared with the eternal glory ahead God says they are small.
One day we will have our glorified bodies. We will see Christ. We will be like Him. Then all the groanings of creation, all our groanings and the groanings of the Spirit will be exchanged with eternal glory and blessing.
We praise God for these precious promises!
