Romans 8:23 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.
To better understand these groanings, we need to go back to the garden before the fall. We need to remember that the original creation, which was very good, had a kind of glory. Man, in particular, had a peculiar kind of glory as God’s creatures who had dominion over the rest of creation. We were those created in God’s image. Sinless man was the pinnacle of God’s creation and was called to exercise Lordship over it, to subdue it, and care for it. And then the darkness of sin entered into the world, immediately followed by God’s dreadful curse. — And everything changed.
Man had now fallen short of the glory of God. He was defiled. God’s image defaced. But we were not made to fall short of God’s glory. The fall was a great travesty. Man, after the fall, was no more what God had meant for man to be. And isn’t this reality what undergirds all of mankind’s desperate attempts to seek glory and honor?
In some remote way, isn’t this why people are competitive?
Or why cut-throat businessmen exist?
Or why dictators have risen to power?
Or why ecclesiastical hierarchy, like the pope, survives?
I love this by D. M. Lloyd-Jones, “Man is always seeking glory, always trying to rise superior to his fellows. He wants to be on top, to be praised, to obtain honor. All are seeking for honor. The sinful world craves for position, for elevation, for lordship. In other words, man is seeking for glory. And the explanation of this is that man has the feeling within him that he is meant for it, that he ought to have it, but that he has not got it. This inward urge makes him restless; and that largely accounts for the trials, the troubles, and the tribulations and unhappiness of life.” (Romans: Exposition of Chapter 8, 17-39, Banner of Truth)
What a remarkable and yet ugly paradox sinful man is! He is a living, breathing mass of contradictions. His thoughts are twisted, his emotions entangled, and yet the ability to do something about it, man doesn’t possess. Try, try, try as men do…they utterly fall short of the glory they can only possess in union to Jesus Christ.
So, to make a connection to something I said earlier — salvation then is bringing back what was lost in the fall…and more than that! In redeeming us, Christ doesn’t just give us the status of Adam before he sinned, no, he does something far greater!
In Him the tribes of Adam boast, More blessings than their father lost.
— Hymn: Jesus Shall Reign, Isaac Watts
We know adoption and justification and forgiveness of sins. And we will know glorification that is 100% rooted in sovereign grace.
Well, just as humanity lost this kind of glory in the fall and curse that followed, so too did the rest of creation. This is what Paul teases out for us in the text. There is this very real sense that all of creation is bound to all believers in this eager longing for future glory (verse 19).
And why?
Because in the restoration of the Saints, the future glorification, the redemption of our bodies (verse 23), the creation will also undergo a restoration and redemption. God in the curse subjected all creation to bondage and futility and curse (verses 20-21). But this is not the end of the story! These are merely the pains of childbirth (verse 22). And so creation is personified here as groaning in these agonizing child birthing pains. The personification of creation isn’t unique to Paul…we see it in the prophets and the Psalms as well.
Isaiah 55:12 …the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
But in our text, Right along side creations’ groans, we hear the groans and see the tears of the Saints.
Romans 8:23 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.
And there should be no confusion about the intention of “we” in Paul’s language here. Not only has Paul been pairing the “sons of God” or the “children of God” with creation up to this point, but for further clarity Paul writes, “we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit”. This, of course, can only be referencing true believers. And how marvelous this truth is to us!
If you are in Christ, you have the firstfruits, the down-payment, the non-refundable deposit of the Holy Spirit in you. Talk about assurance! Hallelujah! Surely God will finish all that He begins!
So, these mutual groans, Christians along side creation, they represent both the longing and expectation of future transformation and glorification that is to be enjoyed. To that, Christians worldwide say AMEN!
Amen