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Psalms 71:9-16 Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
Do not forsake me when my strength fails. For my enemies speak against me; And
those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together, Saying, "God has
forsaken him; Pursue and take him, for there
is none to deliver him."
O God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me! Let them be
confounded and consumed Who are
adversaries of my life; Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor Who seek my hurt. But I will hope
continually, And will praise You yet more and more. My mouth shall tell of Your
righteousness And Your
salvation all the day, For I do not know their
limits. I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your
righteousness, of Yours only. Father,
in the name of Jesus I ask that your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Those
of us who have ears, let us hear to understand the groanings in this lesson. We
give you all the glory and praise. Amen!
Romans 8:19-27 NKJV
The
last couple weeks we have studied what suffering can and should do for us as a
Christians to bring us to God and strengthen our faith too. As an adopted child
of God we are co-heirs with Jesus and everything that Jesus has is also for us
as true believer. What about the part in verses 17 & 18 that talks about
glory? Who’s glory? Is it God’s glory or our glory? It is both. When a person
becomes a child of God through that spiritual birth, all of a sudden they have
a revelation of what life is all about and they know what awaits them for
eternity. They seek and do God’s will and not their own in order to please God.
They give thanks to God for the gift of grace that God has bestowed upon them. Romans 2:7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance
in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; It is through our actions, language,
and good works of spreading the Gospel that we glorify God. Just as we have
great glory in our spiritual birth, God also has great glory when we accept him
as our saviour. The Heavens shout for joy!
Today’s verses talk about creation (animate and
inanimate) groanings, the curse placed upon creation, labor pains creation is
enduring, hope, and deliverance from bondage.
Romans 8:19-27
19 For the earnest expectation of the creation
eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
In some bibles the word
creature is used when it should have been translated as creation. In order to
understand what Paul is talking about, we need to define who or what creation
is. We know one thing for sure the sons of God isn’t referring to Satan, his
fallen angels, or God’s created angels, because they will not share in the “glorious
liberty of the children of God”, and they aren’t subject to God’s curse of
bondage. It isn’t talking about unbelievers because they have no “earnest
expectation”. Lastly he isn’t talking about believers because they are
mentioned in verses 19-sons of God, 21-children of God, and 23-we also who have
the firstfruits. With the process of elimination Paul is talking about the rest
of what God created. Animals, trees, plants, rivers, mountains, sky, space,
etc.
With the fall of Adam, not
only did we inherit the sin nature, but all that God created received a curse.
Everything was changed and is not according to God’s prescribed order. Genesis 3:17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have
heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I
commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil
you shall eat of it All the
days of your life. So
it is all of creation that awaits the coming of Jesus and his Saints to purge
the earth of corruption and to rule and reign as our King for a thousand years
(Millennial Reign). Revelation
20:1-6 Then I saw an angel coming
down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his
hand. 2
He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in
chains for a thousand years. 3 The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which
he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until
the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little
while. 4
Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority
to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their
testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not
worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their forehead or
their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a
thousand years. 5
This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life
until the thousand years had ended.) 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first
resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be
priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years. The redemptive work of Jesus (the
second Adam), also pertains to the cosmos which is under the bondage of
corruption. God’s creation longs for the way things were in the Garden of Eden
before the fall.
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not
willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; God’s creation, the cosmos, is subject to the
fall of mankind. Creation cannot sin, but it bears death due to our sinful
nature. Before the fall of man, life was eternal. There was no death for man,
beast, plants, trees, etc. God who subjected the curse, also gives hope. That
hope is in Jesus Christ when He returns to rule and reign at the Millennial
Reign.
21 because the creation itself also will be delivered
from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of
God. This verse is
simply stating that just as God’s children are delivered from the bondage of
corruption, all of creation will be delivered too. We will at some point in time
receive a glorified body and all of creation at some point in time will undergo
a transformation. A new heaven and new earth will come into existence. 2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as
unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise,
and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and
everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. Revelation
21:1-3 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and
the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw
the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a
bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne,
saying, "Look, God's home is now among His people! He will live with them,
and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them.
22 For we know that the whole creation groans and
labors with birth pangs together until now. Since creation groans, sighs, and labors with birth pangs
because of the fall of man, and longs for God’s creation to be as it once was,
is this something we can witness? I don’t know, but I will leave you with this
thought to ponder. Could it be possible that earth quakes are labor pains?
Could floods, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, forest fires caused by lightning
strikes, mud slides, avalanches, etc. be earths way of trying to wash away the
corruptness?
23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we
ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the
redemption of our body.
“Not only that”, should read, “not only they”, meaning creation and
all that it encompasses. Paul is shifting his train of thought now to
believers.
Here is some reasons a believer
groans:
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Because
we have been given the Holy Spirit to guarantee our glory. A saved person
realized soon after their Spiritual birth they don’t belong to this human
world.
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Because
we look forward to our adoption. Even though a person is saved and has the
assurance of going to Heaven, they long for that day to come so they can be
with their Saviour. 2
Corinthians 5:2 For in
this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is
from heaven,
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Because
we anticipate the redemption of the body. In some situations people with
bodies that are wearing out long for the promised glorified body. Philippians 3:20-21 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which
we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will
transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body,
according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to
Himself.
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Because
of presence of sin in the world. A believer will groan reading or listening
to the news and all the immoral things that are happening in our society; Romans 1:29-32 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual
immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder,
strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they
are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud,
boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31
undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who,
knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things
are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who
practice them.
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Because
the power of sin still present within us. A believer will groan because of
the sin in our bodies; Romans
7:24 O wretched man that I am!
Who will deliver me from this body of death?
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Because
of the practice of sin by those around us. A believer groans because of the
effect of others sin, meaning, governmental laws that are passed due to
people not being accountable for their immoral actions.
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Even though a saved person
has an appetizer of God’s grace with the Holy Spirit living within them, they
long for the seven course meal and all its trimmings.
What about unbeliever, do
they groan. Yes they do, but their groanings are of the world. They groan because
of wanting more worldly treasures; not having money to buy fancy clothes, jewelry,
electronics, etc. They groan because they want something better than what they
have.
24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is
seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly
wait for it with perseverance. Paul is telling us in these two verses
that a saved person realizes after their Spiritual Birth there is much more to
come and what a believer is experiencing is only a fraction of what God has
reserved for us in Heaven. Our hope is to be in what we cannot see, touch,
taste, or experience here on earth. If one is still hoping for things of this
world, then they need to question their salvation. If our faith is where it is
suppose to be, in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross, then a true
believe eagerly waits for their rewards with perseverance. 2 Corinthians 4:18 while we do not look at the things which are
seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which
are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
Matthew 25:46 And these
will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal
life."
26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our
weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the
Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered. With the
Holy Spirit living within our body as a believer, the Holy Spirit knows what we
need in life a whole lot more than what our human mind thinks we need. As human
beings we fall way short in our ability to provide what we need or even to ask
for in the spiritual realm of things. Our human flesh constantly rears up and
gets in the way. We may not even be capable of speaking in a fashion that is
understandable to God. This is where the Holy Spirit jumps in and assists us.
The Holy Spirit puts into words what we can’t express to God. Galatians 4:6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the
Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" Ephesians 2:18 For through Him we both have access by
one Spirit to the Father.
27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the
mind of the Spirit is, because
He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
God searches our hearts and the Holy Spirit makes intercession for the believer
that is according to God’s will. The Holy Spirit will not make intercession for
us pertaining to things that are not God’s will. As believers we are to be
living for God and his kingdom, not our wants and desires of worldly things.
The Holy Spirit is there to help keep us on the right path.
For I am not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ,
for it is the power of God
to salvation for everyone who believes,
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a
steadfast spirit within me.
Unless you are Born Again,
you cannot enter into Heaven, the Kingdom of God."
Bill Wiesbrock
Last Week’s Trivia: What does an unsaved person and a
stubborn donkey have in common?
Answer: When a donkey decides he doesn’t want
to go where you are leading him, he just sits down and refuses to move. You can
pull, push, prod, coax, etc., but he won’t budge. I view the Pharisee’s and Sadducee’s the same
as a donkey. They were so full of their beliefs they would sit down, fold their
arms, and refused to believe anything Jesus and the Apostles would say. Today’s
non-believers are the same way, they have their beliefs and refuse to be open
minded and believe in the unseen.
This week’s Trivia: What part did Rahab the harlot of
Jericho play in Jesus life?
