The Christian's Hope of Glory
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
The saying goes: “If God is all-powerful then he cannot be all-good because of all the suffering in the world. If God is all-good then he cannot be all-powerful because there is suffering in the world. God cannot be both all-powerful or all-good, but he cannot be both because of the suffering in the world.” Yet, the Bible says differently. He is both all-powerful and all-good. To think otherwise is to think narrowly about both God and suffering. Usually it is the Bible-believing Christian that gets accused of being narrow or closed-minded. But it is the unbeliever who is narrow-minded when they make those kinds of statements.
The Bible-believing Christian understands that things are not always what they seem. That which seems to be purposeless, has purpose under an all-powerful, all-good God. There is no pointless suffering; what looks to be pointless suffering now, will have a glorious end later. This morning, we look at both the present condition of this world and the destination to which it is driving. We are going to see three revelations that Paul gives that will, I pray, help us deal with the painful days we’re in. Whether it is family drama, political drama, school conflict, personal sin, or any other suffering. The first revelation is simply this: suffering is seasonal, but glory is eternal. That isn’t to make light of suffering, because the second revelation we’ll see is that suffering is intense, but glory more so. Finally, we’ll see that it is true that suffering brings despair, but glory offers hope.
Suffering is seasonal, but glory is eternal
Suffering is intense, but glory more so
Suffering brings despair, but glory offers hope.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope
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.
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
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.
For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?
But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Suffering is Seasonal, but Glory is Eternal
Suffering is Seasonal, but Glory is Eternal
The first revelation that Paul presents us with is that suffering is seasonal, but glory is eternal. This is one of the most famous verses on suffering.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
It sounds as if Paul is simply giving his personal opinion. “For I consider. . .” But in reality, he’s giving us his well-reasoned, thought out, understanding of theology, that leads him to this conclusion. Remember last week, we saw in verse 17 that we will be glorified with Christ if we suffer with him. Glory comes through suffering. We may conclude then, “no thanks, I’m willing to forego glory if it means I don’t have to suffer.” That’s especially the thinking of those who have short-sighted vision. That’s the woman who says, “I don’t want a lifetime of joys because I don’t want a few months of discomfort and one painful day.” That’s the child who says, “I don’t care if I have to scrape by for the next 60 years; I’m not going to school.” That’s the man who says, “I can live out of my parents’ basement; who needs a job when you’ve got video games.” Except it’s exponentially worse! Because we are talking about eternity.
Yes, there is suffering in this present time. Note the temporal factor. In this season of life; there is suffering. But for however long and however intense this season of suffering is; it cannot compare with the glory that is about to be revealed. Whatever has left a hole in your heart; whatever has caused immense pain; whatever you have been through that you would not wish on your worst enemy, cannot compare with the glory that is promised us.
There are widows and widowers who have lived in agony for decades, long long seasons in life. There are parents who have lost children and have faced unimaginable heartache. But there are those who have been through a nasty divorce. Those who have lost a job just before retirement and have had to start over. There are those who are suffering due to sin in their own lives, where their bodies rage against their dedication to follow Jesus. As painful as any of that is, Paul says, it isn’t worth comparing to the glory that is about to be revealed to us. The suffering is limited to this present time; but the glory to be revealed is eternal. He says something similar in
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
To call it light affliction is not to make light of the affliction. It is simply looking beyond the feelings of now and seeing the glory of all eternity. God made people to want happiness. And so we who seek out happiness, who want joy, and desire pleasure, we will one day find the greatest happiness, joy, and pleasure that will make every moment of suffering a distant memory.
Suffering is Intense, but Glory More So
Suffering is Intense, but Glory More So
Which leads us to the second revelation. This may not be as revelatory as the last. The first was that suffering is seasonal, but glory is eternal. This one is probably pretty self-evident, at least half of it anyway: Suffering is intense, but glory is more so.
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope
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.
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
This is strong language that Paul used to describe suffering:
Subject to futility
Bondage to corruption
Groaning in the pains of childbirth
Inwardly groaning.
That’s intense! When you add on that all creation is eagerly longing and is waiting to be set free, we see that suffering may be more intense than just what we knew it to be. This isn’t just our experience. This is everything’s experience. Spurgeon once said, “When we feel ourselves sinking, it is poor comfort to know others are swimming.” Except Paul is writing here that no one is swimming. Everyone is drowning. All of creation is drowning in suffering.
Creation was subjected to futility, emptiness, meaninglessness. Like the Preacher who wrote,
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
If you’ve ever had to do laundry or dishes, you know this feeling! When one load is done, another begins. Every day you have to eat and drink to stay alive. So do the birds and fish and animals. The same thing. But it goes beyond that. Because vanity also means not living up to potential. Trees don’t bear the fruit that they could. We can’t run as fast as we want. And ultimately life, however long it may be, will one day be cut short. As the Preacher in Ecclesiastes said, we are born with eternity in our hearts. Yet, we die. All of creation, everything in this world is bound to corruption. It will die and decay.
Yet we keep going! Why? Why did the people in New Orleans rebuild after Katrina? Why is it that life knocks us down and we get back up? Because of that eternity in our hearts. We have but shadows of it in this world. Suffering hits us hard, but glory fights back. We’ll rebuild, but it will be bigger and better than last time. There is this innate knowledge that glory will one day outshine the pain. That’s why I say that suffering is intense, but glory is more so. Creation waits eagerly for our final adoption when at last glory has the last word.
Until then the world is groaning in the pains of childbirth. It is in pain. Tsunamis and hurricanes and tornadoes and blizzards and floods and earthquakes, famine and diseases, that’s this planet suffering in pains of childbirth. Just as we do.
And look! God is the one who put it through this! He’s the one who subjected it back in
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;
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.
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.”
But why? Why did God subject it? In hope of setting it free from its bondage to the freedom of the glory of his children. Adam and Eve caused suffering to enter into the world. As those who were to take dominion over the world, they represented God to creation and the creation to God. When they fell, as the representative of creation, creation fell too. The only way to bring creation out of the fall, out of the suffering, is to first bring humanity out of it.
What’s taking so long? Let me give two answers:
Peter tells us that God is not slow in regards to his promise, but is not willing that any of his children should perish. He has had a plan since before eternity, and he is sticking to that plan. It is good and it is right. He will not deviate for expediency’s sake.
In light of eternity, this thought of long time, is very short. Because of the intensity of the suffering that we go through, it feels like eternity, but we have no concept of what eternity really is like. As we love to sing, “When we’ve been there ten-thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise, than when we first begun.” Ten-thousand years is but a blip on eternity’s radar.
As intense as this suffering is, glory is more so.
Suffering Brings Despair, But Glory Offers Hope.
Suffering Brings Despair, But Glory Offers Hope.
Which leads us to the third of Paul’s revelations. The first is that suffering is seasonal, but glory is eternal. The second is that suffering is intense, but glory is more so. Finally, suffering brings despair, but glory offers hope.
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.
For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?
But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
We, as believers, are part of creation. Though we have the sealing and the promise and guarantee of the Holy Spirit—the firstfruits—we still know there is more to come. We still groan inwardly ourselves—even as Christians! Our great desire is the same as the rest of creation’s, except greater because the Holy Spirit has given us a taste of his firstfruits: the final adoption. We have been adopted. The judge, our Father, has ordered the adoption, even in eternity past. We are now traveling home, sojourners in a strange and suffering place. And one day we will be united face to face with our Father. And we long to be home. We long for the journey to be over. There is nothing more we want.
But the journey takes so long! It’s so hard! And we can begin to despair. Suffering can cause us to think there is no hope so that we stop waiting for the adoption to be finalized.
But Paul wrote that we were saved in this hope. What hope? God’s hope! Look back at
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope
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.
God subjected creation in hope of the coming glory., which Paul equates with our final adoption, or to put it another way—the redemption of our bodies!
Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
God will! This is God’s hope. God, who is all-powerful and all good does not hope willy-nilly. This kind of hope is synonymous with the many times Paul has already written of the eager longing and waiting that is occuring. We were saved in God’s hope; his time-table of the coming glory. This is the same hope that keeps us going. No, we don’t see it. We can’t hardly even fathom it, but that’s what makes hope hope. So long as I smell dinner cooking, I wait with eager expectation. But the moment that the food is set in front of me, my hope, my eager expectation melts into consummation. Until then, we wait patiently, longingly for the dinner bell to ring.
So you who go to work, whether for a company or for your family and suffer from the drudgery of doing the same thing every day; do not forget this season is grilling season. It’s getting you hungry for dinner. You who suffer from pains of children going astray; it’s hard to imagine, and in many ways you don’t want to imagine, but the this sorrow lasts for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
Conclusion
Conclusion
As we finish Romans 8:18-25, in many ways, you already know what suffering is like. You don’t need me to tell you that. But Paul’s point was to get us focused on the suffering and be reminded how truly awful and all-encompassing it truly is, so that we can be shocked by the glory to come. How is it that something so painful can be outshone by something so glorious? Only God!
Suffering is but seasonal; it is intense, and can bring despair. But glory is eternal, so much more intense than the suffering and brings with it hope—an eager expectation of our final redemption.
If you do not know Jesus, you will not know this glorious end. This suffering world is as close to heaven as you’ll ever be. But Jesus, God in the flesh, came and lived on this earth then died absorbing God’s wrath against all who would put their faith in him. He rose so that we may have an unmistakable position of no condemnation before the Father. I’d love to tell you more. If you give me a call or text, 636-212-0699, I’d love to talk to you about eternity.
For you who do know Jesus. It’s easy to say, harder to do: don’t give up. Remind yourself that this is just the dinner cooking on the stove or out on the grill. It makes you hungry and will make glory all the more delicious. Until then remember Paul’s words to the Thessalonians.
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
Therefore encourage one another with these words.
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