The Sermon: Romans 8.18-30
Conformity to Christ & the Sorrows of this World
Nowhere in the New Testament are we told that life will be a "rose garden experience" for those who are in Christ. The Bible is clear: we will often suffer in life. There are some who teach that the closer you are to God, the more you are pleasing Him, and the further conformed to His will you are, the more "victorious" life will be: you will be abundant, free of sickness, prosperous, and exempt from discouragement, defeat, and suffering. This teaching is psychologically damaging: when we suffer, we're led to ask, "What are we doing wrong that's keeping us from being prosperous and abundant?" We can't disregard a teaching based on the way it makes us feel; we must disregard any teaching that goes against scripture. And scripture is adamant: the faithful, while experiencing God's blessings and care in this life, are in no way exempt from suffering.
In Hebrews 11 we have the "Faith Hall of Fame," where the letter's writer points us to the "Heroes of the Faith" and all the victories they experienced by faith. In verses 35-38, the writer makes it clear that though faith has often resulted in astonishing victories, that isn't always the case.
Other [heroes of faith] were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented--of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. [NRSV]
Suffering, in whatever shape it comes, has always been an experience of God's people; and it leads us to ask WHY? If God is on our side, if we belong to Him, if He is our Father and we are His children, then why doesn't He spare us from these things? This isn't a childish question: it's a whole branch of Christian theology, it's a question all of us face and wrestle with, and it's something the prophets and the writers of the scriptures have also wrestled with. There's Job, a righteous man whose life was torn asunder; when he demanded to know why all this happened, God responded not by giving theological answers but by saying, "I am God, and you are not." It isn't an answer we like. The prophet Habakkuk's little book is all about him looking at the world with honest eyes, seeing how the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer, and asking God, "What're You gonna do about it?" God doesn't explain why His people suffer, but He does promise that justice is coming. Throughout the psalm book, the most frequent psalm we find is that of lament: the psalmist lamenting his suffering and begging God to come and save him. The righteous belong to God, and we suffer; asking how the two things can be true at the same time isn't at all a childish question, and one that has no easy answers (so I won't give any).
What we do see when we go to the New Testament is that we live in what the Apostle Paul calls "the present evil age" in Galatians 1. He says that Christ rescued us from the present evil age, and subsequently our citizenship is in heaven, as he says in Philippians 3. But though we have been rescued from the present evil age, we still live in it; that's why the Apostle Peter can say that we are "exiles and strangers," or "pilgrims and sojourners," in 1 Peter 2. The "present evil age" is the period of time between Christ's victory on the cross--where he secured our atonement and defeated the powers of evil, according to Colossians 2.13-15--and that future moment in time when Christ will appear to resurrect and glorify His people, judge the world (purging it of evil), and remaking the heavens and the earth. When we expect a "rose garden experience" from God's hand, it's like we're thinking we've already reached the new heavens and new earth. We must remember where we stand on the cosmic timetable, so that when sufferings come upon us, we won't see them as strange. In Romans 8, Paul is honest about the suffering we experience as Christians, and keeping in the front of our minds the knowledge that we live in the present evil age while anticipating the future age of God's renewed world, let's see what he has to say:
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. [Romans 8.18-25, NRSV]
Paul doesn't mince words: he acknowledges that suffering will be a part of our lives, and sometimes this suffering is so intense that it produces groaning. He chooses that word wisely: it connects the idea of suffering with that of longing. When we're locked in anguish, when we are weighed down by trials and tribulations, when all we know is distress, and when we experience what Saint John of the Cross called "dark nights of the soul," sometimes all we can do is groan. Paul uses this same language of "groaning" in 2 Corinthians 5, where he makes the same point he's making here: in this life we will have suffering, in this suffering we long for what God has promised us in the future, and that suffering and longing is best captured in the idea of groaning:
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling--if indeed, when we have taken it off we will not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan under our burden, because we wish not to be unclothed but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. [2 Corinthians 5.1-5]
In both Romans 8 and 1 Corinthians 5, Paul acknowledges our groaning and emphatically states that this groaning we experience is an anticipation of our future. We hope for that future, and that future is certain: the Spirit dwelling within us is a guarantee, or a "down-payment," on our future. A down-payment is an initial sum of money given to someone that serves as a promise that the rest will be paid in the future. The Spirit, Paul says, is our future inheritance coming to roost inside us, at least in part. The future that we anticipate, according to Romans 8, involves at least two things: our glorification, and the redemption of the creation.
Our glorification is what happens when God gives us what Paul calls in 1 Corinthians 15 "resurrection bodies." Our current bodies are animated by natural processes: we are alive because our organs are functioning, we're able to breathe, our hearts pump blood through our bodies, and our immune system keeps us healthy. God will give us bodies that are not animated by these natural processes but animated by God's own Spirit. Our resurrection bodies will be physical, but they will be different. They will be what one Christian writer called hyper-physical: they are physical bodies that will be far more physical and real than our current ones, which are but an earthly shadow of what God has in store for us. These spiritual bodies, animated by God's Spirit and free from death and decay, will be ours as we dwell in a physically recreated universe. The heavens and the earth aren't to be done away with; rather, they are to be purged, the evil wrung out of them, so that they are restored to what God originally intended. When we experience suffering, when we groan in our present earthly tents, we are anticipating that day when we will be freed from these mortal bodies and given an inheritance in a physical universe free from the effects of evil. The Spirit meets us in this anticipation, but according to Paul, He does much more:
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. [Romans 8.26-27]
There will be times that our groaning is so great that we won't be able to articulate our groans in human words. Human language, with all its syntax and syllables, with its immense vocabulary, can't help but fail in the face of genuine distress. Sometimes human language is too narrow a framework to convey our heart's groaning, so that when we try to pray, we can't formulate words, and all we can do is groan and weep, sigh and cry out. The very attempt to articulate our prayers feels like a fumbling in the dark, or a blind stumbling through a slippery cave. Here we find Paul saying that the Spirit doesn't just meet us in our suffering, but that He also shares in that suffering, offering up His own prayers--even His own groans--before God our Father on our behalf. When we don't know how to pray, He helps us. We are filled with weaknesses: we are weak in our understanding, we are weak in our desires, we are weak in our obedience, we are weak in our prayers. In all of these times, in the darkest of times, the Spirit is there, with us, beside us, carrying the load with us, sharing in the burden. We don't know how it works, and we may not be able to diagram the mechanics of what the Spirit does, but when He does it, we know it. Paul continues:
We also know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.
[Romans 8.28-30]
When we come to this passage, it's common to read it as if Paul is saying, "We know that whatever happens in our lives is orchestrated by God, and He is orchestrating all the things we experience--the Good and the Bad--to bless us, to give us what we want most, and to make our dreams come true." This is the teaching of some popular Christian teachers, but such thinking is indicative of an idolatrous heart: it puts us at the center of God's world. We are selfish and egotistical creatures, and so often we live and pray as if God is orbiting around us. The reality is that we orbit around God; God works in our lives to bring about His purposes, not our own. The Bible tells us that we belong to God; He has bought us at a steep price; we are not our own. He is our God, and we are His servants; He is our Master, and we are His slaves.
That may sound like harsh language, but it's not only scriptural language: it's also necessary language. We must take any notion that God revolves around us, that His main aim is to glorify us and give us what we want, and smash it to bits. God doesn't save us so that He can bless all our ambitions and make us flourish in all our pursuits; He has saved us so that we can live for Him and bring Him glory. Our aim in life is to praise His name, proclaim His name, and serve His name. His name is to be the mantle we wear around our necks. Our natural inclination is to praise ourselves, advance our own causes, and serve our own dreams; God demands that we take our self-centered hearts and make them face outwards to Him instead. It isn't that He's selfish; it's that He is God, we are creatures, and He is the one deserving of the glory. It would be awkward if He didn't seek His own glory.
Bearing all this in mind, what is Paul saying when he says that God works everything in our lives, not least of all suffering, for good? What we perceive as our best good may not be (and hardly ever is) our best good. We imagine that our best good is the fulfillment of our dreams, meeting all our goals, and being the kind of people we want to be. Our biggest concern is our happiness; God's biggest concern is that we GROW UP. Our best good isn't happiness but becoming the sort of people He created us to be. We have been predestined, according to Paul, to be conformed to Christ. That--our conformity to Christ--is our greatest good. Everything in life--the Good and the Bad--contributes to our becoming more like Christ.
We should ask, "What kind of people does God want us to be?"
He wants us to be holy.
He wants us to to live for His glory rather than our own glory.
He wants us to love our families, our neighbors, and even our enemies.
He wants us to be patient, kind, self-controlled, and good.
He wants us to be whom He originally created us to be.
In Genesis 1-2, we find God creating mankind. Mankind is created in the "image of God." The writer of Genesis, probably Moses, is borrowing contemporary language from the ancient Near East. An "image-bearer" was one who went forth before his king, announcing the king's coming and summoning everyone to submission before him. The Roman Army utilized "standard-bearers," individuals who, in combat, would carry Rome's emblem before the enemy armies, announcing Rome's coming and calling the enemy to submission. In the same way, God created us to be His agents in the world, a special type of creature, endowed with a certain type of spirit, who would advance His rule from the Garden of Eden and out into the wider world. The Fall corrupted our identity so that we served our own image rather than His; in Christ, we are redeemed, and God is working in our sanctification to restore us to who we really are: His image-bearers. And He uses suffering as a tool in our sanctification.
Christ represents for us what mankind was supposed to be all along: he submitted his entire life to God; he lived to glorify God rather than himself; he made pleasing God and doing His will his greatest aim; He loved people with righteousness, justice, mercy, compassion, and not least of all love. Christ is called our "older brother", the first-born of many brethren; we are to aim to imitate him, because he shows us what life looks like when lived for the glory of God rather than for the glory of the self. Paul is adamant that no matter what happens in life--no matter the suffering, the groaning, the setbacks and discouragements--God is working through all of it to further conform us to Christ, to shape us into the people whom He wants us to be.
And I'll be honest: I don't like it. I want to believe that everything in my life is orchestrated by God to bring about my heart's desires. If God were to come to me in person, and if I somehow had the superhuman strength not to simply collapse and cry out for mercy, and if He were to ask me, "What is it that you want from Me?", and if I were to answer honestly, it would become very evident very quickly that idolatry still poisons my heart. My inclination is still to serve myself rather than Him; my natural desire is to glorify my name rather than His. It would be evident that I am selfish, egocentric, and a megalomaniac. I have all sorts of dreams for my life, things that I hope will become a reality in time. But God may not intend on bringing those dreams to pass, because He wants better for me--even if, in my frail understanding and weak desires, I can't imagine anything better than what I want.
Why is God so adamant about conforming us to the image of His Son? It is because, on at least one level, He is preparing us for eternity: a day is coming when we will be glorified, when creation will be restored, and He is forming us in the present to be the sort of people who will thrive in that new world.
As we await that day, we aren't called to just be lazy and wait for God's new age to break in. God has redeemed us, He has called us to our original vocation of being His image-bearers, and He intends on using us as tools to advance His kingdom. Paul says in Ephesians 2 that we are saved by grace through faith and for good works that He has planned for us to walk in. God intends on using all of us who are in Him to bring Him glory and advance His kingdom on earth while we are here. As long as we are still breathing, God has a purpose for us here, and that purpose is to bring Him glory. Peter puts it beautifully:
[You] are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. [1 Peter 2.9]
We've spent some time in Romans 8.18-30. We've seen that suffering will be present until we are with Christ, either in paradise or when our bodies are transformed at Christ's appearing (whichever comes first!). We have seen that the Spirit is with us in our suffering; it only makes sense that we commune with Him through prayer, reading scripture, and worshipping Him in community. Doing so doesn't mean our suffering is eradicated, but it means that we have extra strength to endure the storm as we find refuge in God. We have seen, finally, that by God's grace, suffering is used to conform us to Him: our conformity to Christ, while often a painful experience, is our best good, and preparation for the World to Come, the world that we long for when we groan under the many trials of this world.
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. [Romans 8.18-25, NRSV]
Paul doesn't mince words: he acknowledges that suffering will be a part of our lives, and sometimes this suffering is so intense that it produces groaning. He chooses that word wisely: it connects the idea of suffering with that of longing. When we're locked in anguish, when we are weighed down by trials and tribulations, when all we know is distress, and when we experience what Saint John of the Cross called "dark nights of the soul," sometimes all we can do is groan. Paul uses this same language of "groaning" in 2 Corinthians 5, where he makes the same point he's making here: in this life we will have suffering, in this suffering we long for what God has promised us in the future, and that suffering and longing is best captured in the idea of groaning:
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling--if indeed, when we have taken it off we will not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan under our burden, because we wish not to be unclothed but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. [2 Corinthians 5.1-5]
In both Romans 8 and 1 Corinthians 5, Paul acknowledges our groaning and emphatically states that this groaning we experience is an anticipation of our future. We hope for that future, and that future is certain: the Spirit dwelling within us is a guarantee, or a "down-payment," on our future. A down-payment is an initial sum of money given to someone that serves as a promise that the rest will be paid in the future. The Spirit, Paul says, is our future inheritance coming to roost inside us, at least in part. The future that we anticipate, according to Romans 8, involves at least two things: our glorification, and the redemption of the creation.
Our glorification is what happens when God gives us what Paul calls in 1 Corinthians 15 "resurrection bodies." Our current bodies are animated by natural processes: we are alive because our organs are functioning, we're able to breathe, our hearts pump blood through our bodies, and our immune system keeps us healthy. God will give us bodies that are not animated by these natural processes but animated by God's own Spirit. Our resurrection bodies will be physical, but they will be different. They will be what one Christian writer called hyper-physical: they are physical bodies that will be far more physical and real than our current ones, which are but an earthly shadow of what God has in store for us. These spiritual bodies, animated by God's Spirit and free from death and decay, will be ours as we dwell in a physically recreated universe. The heavens and the earth aren't to be done away with; rather, they are to be purged, the evil wrung out of them, so that they are restored to what God originally intended. When we experience suffering, when we groan in our present earthly tents, we are anticipating that day when we will be freed from these mortal bodies and given an inheritance in a physical universe free from the effects of evil. The Spirit meets us in this anticipation, but according to Paul, He does much more:
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. [Romans 8.26-27]
There will be times that our groaning is so great that we won't be able to articulate our groans in human words. Human language, with all its syntax and syllables, with its immense vocabulary, can't help but fail in the face of genuine distress. Sometimes human language is too narrow a framework to convey our heart's groaning, so that when we try to pray, we can't formulate words, and all we can do is groan and weep, sigh and cry out. The very attempt to articulate our prayers feels like a fumbling in the dark, or a blind stumbling through a slippery cave. Here we find Paul saying that the Spirit doesn't just meet us in our suffering, but that He also shares in that suffering, offering up His own prayers--even His own groans--before God our Father on our behalf. When we don't know how to pray, He helps us. We are filled with weaknesses: we are weak in our understanding, we are weak in our desires, we are weak in our obedience, we are weak in our prayers. In all of these times, in the darkest of times, the Spirit is there, with us, beside us, carrying the load with us, sharing in the burden. We don't know how it works, and we may not be able to diagram the mechanics of what the Spirit does, but when He does it, we know it. Paul continues:
We also know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.
[Romans 8.28-30]
When we come to this passage, it's common to read it as if Paul is saying, "We know that whatever happens in our lives is orchestrated by God, and He is orchestrating all the things we experience--the Good and the Bad--to bless us, to give us what we want most, and to make our dreams come true." This is the teaching of some popular Christian teachers, but such thinking is indicative of an idolatrous heart: it puts us at the center of God's world. We are selfish and egotistical creatures, and so often we live and pray as if God is orbiting around us. The reality is that we orbit around God; God works in our lives to bring about His purposes, not our own. The Bible tells us that we belong to God; He has bought us at a steep price; we are not our own. He is our God, and we are His servants; He is our Master, and we are His slaves.
That may sound like harsh language, but it's not only scriptural language: it's also necessary language. We must take any notion that God revolves around us, that His main aim is to glorify us and give us what we want, and smash it to bits. God doesn't save us so that He can bless all our ambitions and make us flourish in all our pursuits; He has saved us so that we can live for Him and bring Him glory. Our aim in life is to praise His name, proclaim His name, and serve His name. His name is to be the mantle we wear around our necks. Our natural inclination is to praise ourselves, advance our own causes, and serve our own dreams; God demands that we take our self-centered hearts and make them face outwards to Him instead. It isn't that He's selfish; it's that He is God, we are creatures, and He is the one deserving of the glory. It would be awkward if He didn't seek His own glory.
Bearing all this in mind, what is Paul saying when he says that God works everything in our lives, not least of all suffering, for good? What we perceive as our best good may not be (and hardly ever is) our best good. We imagine that our best good is the fulfillment of our dreams, meeting all our goals, and being the kind of people we want to be. Our biggest concern is our happiness; God's biggest concern is that we GROW UP. Our best good isn't happiness but becoming the sort of people He created us to be. We have been predestined, according to Paul, to be conformed to Christ. That--our conformity to Christ--is our greatest good. Everything in life--the Good and the Bad--contributes to our becoming more like Christ.
We should ask, "What kind of people does God want us to be?"
He wants us to be holy.
He wants us to to live for His glory rather than our own glory.
He wants us to love our families, our neighbors, and even our enemies.
He wants us to be patient, kind, self-controlled, and good.
He wants us to be whom He originally created us to be.
In Genesis 1-2, we find God creating mankind. Mankind is created in the "image of God." The writer of Genesis, probably Moses, is borrowing contemporary language from the ancient Near East. An "image-bearer" was one who went forth before his king, announcing the king's coming and summoning everyone to submission before him. The Roman Army utilized "standard-bearers," individuals who, in combat, would carry Rome's emblem before the enemy armies, announcing Rome's coming and calling the enemy to submission. In the same way, God created us to be His agents in the world, a special type of creature, endowed with a certain type of spirit, who would advance His rule from the Garden of Eden and out into the wider world. The Fall corrupted our identity so that we served our own image rather than His; in Christ, we are redeemed, and God is working in our sanctification to restore us to who we really are: His image-bearers. And He uses suffering as a tool in our sanctification.
Christ represents for us what mankind was supposed to be all along: he submitted his entire life to God; he lived to glorify God rather than himself; he made pleasing God and doing His will his greatest aim; He loved people with righteousness, justice, mercy, compassion, and not least of all love. Christ is called our "older brother", the first-born of many brethren; we are to aim to imitate him, because he shows us what life looks like when lived for the glory of God rather than for the glory of the self. Paul is adamant that no matter what happens in life--no matter the suffering, the groaning, the setbacks and discouragements--God is working through all of it to further conform us to Christ, to shape us into the people whom He wants us to be.
And I'll be honest: I don't like it. I want to believe that everything in my life is orchestrated by God to bring about my heart's desires. If God were to come to me in person, and if I somehow had the superhuman strength not to simply collapse and cry out for mercy, and if He were to ask me, "What is it that you want from Me?", and if I were to answer honestly, it would become very evident very quickly that idolatry still poisons my heart. My inclination is still to serve myself rather than Him; my natural desire is to glorify my name rather than His. It would be evident that I am selfish, egocentric, and a megalomaniac. I have all sorts of dreams for my life, things that I hope will become a reality in time. But God may not intend on bringing those dreams to pass, because He wants better for me--even if, in my frail understanding and weak desires, I can't imagine anything better than what I want.
Why is God so adamant about conforming us to the image of His Son? It is because, on at least one level, He is preparing us for eternity: a day is coming when we will be glorified, when creation will be restored, and He is forming us in the present to be the sort of people who will thrive in that new world.
As we await that day, we aren't called to just be lazy and wait for God's new age to break in. God has redeemed us, He has called us to our original vocation of being His image-bearers, and He intends on using us as tools to advance His kingdom. Paul says in Ephesians 2 that we are saved by grace through faith and for good works that He has planned for us to walk in. God intends on using all of us who are in Him to bring Him glory and advance His kingdom on earth while we are here. As long as we are still breathing, God has a purpose for us here, and that purpose is to bring Him glory. Peter puts it beautifully:
[You] are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. [1 Peter 2.9]
We've spent some time in Romans 8.18-30. We've seen that suffering will be present until we are with Christ, either in paradise or when our bodies are transformed at Christ's appearing (whichever comes first!). We have seen that the Spirit is with us in our suffering; it only makes sense that we commune with Him through prayer, reading scripture, and worshipping Him in community. Doing so doesn't mean our suffering is eradicated, but it means that we have extra strength to endure the storm as we find refuge in God. We have seen, finally, that by God's grace, suffering is used to conform us to Him: our conformity to Christ, while often a painful experience, is our best good, and preparation for the World to Come, the world that we long for when we groan under the many trials of this world.
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