In This Hope (2)

Romans 8:18–25 (ESV) — 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 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.

I. NO COMPARISON

A. Romans 8:18 (ESV) — 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

C. 2 Corinthians 4:17 (CSB) — 17 For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.

II. CREATION RELEASED

A. Romans 8:19-22 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

C. Genesis 3:17–18 (ESV) — 17 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.

E. “What Paul has in mind here, as we can deduce by careful analysis of the verses that follow, is the created realm, apart from men and angels. It is that part of creation, both animate and inanimate, personal and impersonal, which is under the dominion of man—the rocks, the trees, the hills, the valleys, the seas, the plants, the animal kingdom. These aspects of the created order participate in the anticipation of the future manifestation of glory. And it is not a mild expectation, but an earnest expectation.”[1]

III. ENDURING BY HOPE

A. 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.

C. 2 Corinthians 4:18 (ESV) — 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

E. Job 19:25–27 (CSB) — 25 But I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the end he will stand on the dust. 26 Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet I will see God in my flesh. 27 I will see him myself; my eyes will look at him, and not as a stranger. My heart longs within me.

F. “This is Job’s hope: first, that the Lord would not take note of his sin, and then, because of that, that the Lord would deliver on the promise of hope, that he would actually know God personally forever. “Lord, I don’t know what you’re doing, and I don’t know the ins and outs of your providentially orchestrating this smoking crater that is my life, but I do know this: when it’s all said and done, I will look you in the face and see into your eyes and, whether I understand or not, I will see you, and you will see me, and all will be well.”” The Gospel According to Satan: Eight Lies about God that Sound Like the Truth by Jared C. Wilson

K. 1 Thessalonians 1:3 (ESV) — 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

[1]Sproul, R. C. (1994). The Gospel of God: An Exposition of Romans (p. 139). Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications.

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