Looking Ahead. Romans 8:18-25 V.18. Glory ahead is another of the blessings that come from the Holy Spirit because of the new covenant of grace. There is a future glory, but there is also a glory going on right in the midst of the suffering and the darkness of this age. Creation groans and dies; Christians groan, longing for the new body we will receive at the resurrection, and the Holy Spirit groans as He prays on behalf of believers who struggle in their weakness. However, all praise belongs to the Lord who gets glory when His people share in His sufferings.
God’s glory is already in believers even as they suffer. Divine glory is not seen visibly because it is in the hearts of God’s people. It will be revealed when our Lord comes for His people who are saved in this age of grace. Suffering for righteousness now leads to glory in the time to come. Even though suffering happens to the people of God now, the new covenant is superior to the old one. In the suffering of the saints, they share in the sufferings of Christ and the glory of Him that will be put on display.
V.19. There is a hope ahead unto which believers have been saved. Being saved is presented to us in Romans in three ways. We were saved in the past, the moment we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. That deliverance was from sin and the punishment of sin for all eternity. That was when our new life began. "The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." We were given eternal life then and it is ours forever because it is the life of God that we have received. At this present time, we are being saved from the power of sin. This is the process of sanctification, which is ongoing day by day. Even though we live in this body of death, the Holy Spirit gives power to carry on the work of our redeemed souls and spirits in bodies that are awaiting "the redemption of the body." All of the full benefits and blessings of salvation will be ours when the Lord comes and we will be saved from the presence of sin.
Those who suffer may seem like losers to unbelievers because of what they endure for our Lord Jesus Christ, but they are not losers in the end by His estimation. Any suffering of saints is for this present time which is like a moment compared to the coming glory that will be revealed. Sufferings do not earn coming glory but will certainly display the value of the riches of grace in Christ. Sufferings in the body are small and short, but glory is great and long because it is eternal.
V.20. Sin has caused even the creation to suffer and decay. When man sinned, the ground was cursed and that affected the whole creation. Occasionally we get a glimpse of what might have been its original beauty. Even the creation is still being abused by humans as it is claimed and used for sinful purposes. No wonder it groans and travails! It will be free to be what God intends when it is no longer subject to human greed. “The “glorious liberty” of the children of God and creation renewed, will be on open display.
V.21. The creation is not evolving into something better as the ages pass but is actually in a constant state of deterioration. When the people of God are revealed with Christ in His glory, there will be changes that will take place by the power of the Lord of creation. Lions will lie down with lambs. The desert will blossom and produce what the Lord intended when He created it at the beginning. All of the original plans of God at the beginning of creation will be submitted to the will of the God of creation. Whatever creation was like at first will be restored in the future. Dying and decay came upon all creation because of the curse Adam’s sin brought on it. From that time until the curse is lifted, the animals and plants have been subject to disease, suffering, and death. In whatever way creation will be delivered, there will be some way it will return to its full potential when final salvation comes.
V.22. The "vanity," or lack of fulfillment that keeps the earth from its potential will come to an end at the liberty of "the glory of the children of God." The bondage or corruption that is everywhere now, will be released along with God's people. At present we already have the liberty of grace; ahead is the liberty of glory. God planned salvation in heaven and it has been carried out in the history of God’s dealing with mankind. It is being applied in the experience of believers today and will be fulfilled in the age to come.
Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ is when, without reserve or any qualifying action, we trust our soul into the hands of the Savior who died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. He placed us into His body with everyone who has been redeemed by His precious blood. We are declared “not guilty” once and for all time. We have been justified by His grace, His blood, His resurrection, and by faith in Him.
V.23. We already have the first fruits of the Spirit that give us a foretaste of the coming kingdom blessings. Our citizenship is in heaven and the Holy Spirit in us is our guarantee of the coming "redemption of our body." Our bodies of humiliation that are so deceptive, may tempt us to be comfortable with this complacent world. Hopefully, believers will still "groan" when we see what is around us compared to what will be when this state of hope we are in becomes a reality.
The saints of God, who are a new creation, are the first fruits of that which is to come. Grace is glory begun. The redemption of the body will take us a step further as we are openly adopted before angels and men. We know all of this is true by faith, but the reality and the reward are still out of sight. So, we wait with patience for this to happen, even though present times may be rough and dark.
V.24. Believers look ahead with hope and trust to the change that is coming when we will be like Christ. "This corruption shall put on incorruption." "This mortal shall put on immortality." We have been blessed abundantly already by having "spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Then every blessing, physical and spiritual, even creation, will share in this liberty of the glory into which we will come.
V.25. That hope, the expectation of something better, even though we have not seen the end result of what is ahead, works in us the grace of patience. Patience in His children seems to be something that is very important to God. This patience is not just an attitude, but is patience with a specific objective - the coming liberty of the glory of God's children when these bodies are made like unto His body of glory.