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Romans 8:18-23
Paul has been enlightening his readers to the role of the Holy Spirit in sanctifying believers. Living the
righteousness that we have been given in Christ is a choice; whether we will live according to the flesh, or
according to the Spirit (by the spirit of life in Christ Jesus). But Paul has made it clear that following the
leading of the Holy Spirit is the distinguishing mark of a true son of God.
Paul used several descriptive terms to qualify the relationship of the believer to His Father, God, to which
the Holy Spirit enlightens us. We are like sons, in that we are growing in the character of our Father, God,
as we walk according to the Spirit, in obedience, in our lives. We are like adopted sons, in the respect that
we have been placed into Gods family with all the privileges of a born son, destined to inherit, and trained
in our responsibilities as His sons.
We are also like children speaking not of immaturity, but of birth and relationship; and the Holy Spirit
provides the means of pursuing our relationship with the Father, while sharing with us the Fathers love for
us, as His dear children.
And finally, Paul describes Christ Ones as heirs; as true children of God, we will receive an inheritance;
and that inheritance will be no less than the inheritance of Christ Himself, which He will share with us
His glory, including a glorified body, in which we shall dwell with the Lord forever, in our heavenly home
the New Jerusalem.
Paul indicates that this future is absolutely certain, for believers; we will inherit with Christ. The
persecutions that we are experiencing now, here on earth, as we bear the reproach of His name, are a token
of assurance of that heavenly inheritance. The assurance is not based on a believers willingness to suffer;
it is based on the fact that only a believer does suffer, for Christ. This verifies that he does genuinely
belong to Christ, and therefore, will share His destiny.
As Paul continues in his letter, he expands on the thought of suffering leading to glory.
[Read Romans 8:18-23]
Paul is looking ahead, down the corridors of time, to all of the glory that is to come; but it comes out of the
suffering of this present time. Paul is showing that this is suffering for a purpose; in fact, it is in order that
Gods purposes might be realized; that His plans will be fulfilled.
Notice how Paul writes of us in verse 18, referring to himself and his readers; this is speaking of
believers. Next, Paul speaks of the creation in verses 19-22; then in verse 23, he returns to we also,
speaking again of believers. Well discuss this momentarily.
Lets return to verse 18.
v. 18 Paul is explaining his thought at the end of the previous sentence: that we will certainly be heirs with
Christ; since we suffer, with Him, we will be glorified, with Him. But now, Pauls thought is expanding
upon the idea of the persecution that believers suffer, to include all that they suffer, in this present time.
In our passage, this present time doesnt just refer to right when Paul was writing, nor even to the church
age. It is referring to the whole time that men have been suffering, on earth. That would take us all the way
back to the garden, wouldnt it? Thats when men began to suffer when sin entered the world, and death
through sin (Rom 5:12).

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And how long will men continue to suffer? Until Jesus returns, to set up His kingdom on earth; a kingdom
of peace and righteousness. So this present time is the present time of suffering, for mankind which
stands in contrast to the future, when men will be delivered from that suffering.
Still, Pauls statement in verse 18 is not directed to all mankind, but to believers. Paul is specifically
encouraging the believers in Rome, here; and through the Holy Spirit, he is encouraging all of the Body of
Christ, down through the ages. We, with Paul, are the us.
The word consider here reckon in the KJV has the meaning here of reaching a settled conclusion by
careful study and reasoning.
Its as if Paul studied all of the things that believers have suffered, and will suffer during this present time;
and then he thought on the glory that lies ahead, for them; and as he looked from one to the other, he
concluded, they cant even be compared; the glory is so much greater than the suffering. Persecution;
illness; pain; loss; separation; sorrow all of it, together, for every believer, in every generation; the glory
is exceedingly, surpassingly greater.
To the Corinthians, Paul wrote, For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (2 Cor 4:17). Like objects being weighed in a balance, the
glory greatly outweighs the afflictions so much so, as to make the afflictions appear light.
And in fact, those afflictions light as they are are working for us, as believers They are working glory
into us the character of God, being worked into His sons, through the things that they suffer. Thats
suffering with a purpose; for good. And the suffering is but for a moment the moment of this life but
the glory, eternal you will have it forever. The glory - so much greater.
Paul says this is glory which shall be revealed in us. The fact that Paul says it will be revealed means
that we believers already possess this glory, but in the future, that glory will be unveiled, in believers.
Christ in us is the hope of that glory (Col 1:27).
So what glory is Paul referring to? The body of glory, which believers already possess, by faith. That
body is currently hidden with Christ, in God (Col 3:3), from the eternal perspective. It will be revealed
manifested, seen in the future, when our earthly bodies are transformed, and conformed to the glorified
body of our Lord (Phil 3:21).
The sufferings that we endure for just a time in this body of flesh are not worthy of that body of glory, in
which we will live with our Lord in heaven, forever.
Pauls thoughts on suffering leading to glory continues to expand in verses 19-22, to take into view the
whole plan of God, for mankind.
Now, in order to understand what Paul is saying, it is very important to clarify what he means by creation
here, in this passage a term which is the subject of verses 19-22. Notice that the definite article is used
throughout it is the creation suggesting not just creation in general, but a particular creation.
The most widely-held view is that the creation must refer to the animal creation, or even animals and
plants living things, which God created but not including mankind. This is because the creation is
juxtaposed with the term sons of God, in verse 19, and even children of God, in verse 21 terms that
pertain to regenerate men.

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The perceived idea is that Paul is personifying living things, as if they are eagerly awaiting the time when
men will be glorified. The reason for this is believed to be found in verse 21 because that is when all
living things will also be delivered from what? From the bondage of corruption. What would be the
bondage of corruption? Death.
This might seem reasonable; and it may even have been your understanding of the passage. But there is a
fatal flaw with this view, within the context of what Paul is saying here.
Notice what it is that the creation is delivered into, in verse 21. The creation will be delivered from the
bondage of corruption, into what? Into the glorious liberty of the children of God; literally, thats the
freedom of the glory of the children of God. From what Paul has already said in verse 18, we understand
this glory to be the glorified body; thats Gods plan for how to deliver men from death through
glorification.
But is that Gods plan for how to deliver other living things from death? Is there anything in Scripture that
would suggest that animals are given bodies of glory? Or plants, for that matter? Certainly not!
That is Gods plan for men, alone: Let us make man in Our image (Gen 1:26); men will be conformed to
the image of His Son (Rm 8:29). So if Paul was speaking of animals and plants here, he would never have
included the term glorious in verse 21; a glorified body is a destiny that awaits man, alone.
So now we must ask, what can Paul possibly mean by the creation, then? Lets begin by looking at the
whole idea that Paul is presenting in this passage. Remember that Paul has been writing about how
suffering will lead to glory; its suffering with a purpose. This called to Pauls mind the thought of a
woman who is about to give birth; she also endures suffering, but its with a purpose; it leads to the
deliverance of the baby, a glorious end.
We find language that suggests this idea throughout the passage. In verse 19, earnest expectation,
suggesting the anticipation of the creation, like an expectant mother, her child; the creation being
delivered, like a woman giving birth, in verse 21; the same term turns in the direction of the children of
God, in verse 21 they will be delivered into glorious liberty, like a child being born; and most
graphically, in verses 22, the groaning and laboring with birth pangs the creation, suffering to bring forth
its sons of glory, like a woman travailing in labor.
So we can clearly see the picture, and how powerfully it reflects Pauls thoughts concerning suffering
which results in glory. But that brings us back to our question: in this passage, what does Paul mean by
the creation?
What is the creation of God, that will bring forth sons of glory? Humanity. It is the creation of mankind
alone, that will bear Gods sons. That is the creation of which Paul is writing here, and I think you will
recognize that as we consider it carefully together.
Remember that Paul has been expanding his thoughts concerning the suffering of believers, to consider
their sufferings in general, through all this present time the whole age of suffering, of all mankind, since
the Sin entered the world. What Paul is doing here is considering Gods plan for mankind; what His
purposes are, for that creation; purposes which lead through suffering, through death, but finally, into glory.

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Now, its important to understand that Paul is not speaking on an individual basis, here. Not every man
will be glorified; only those who believe into Christ, to be saved. Paul is speaking, not of individuals and
their choices here, but of the plan of God for all mankind; His purpose for the entire creation of humanity;
what He intends, and what will be realized in the end, for His creation.
This is not the first time in this letter that Paul has presented the purposes of God, looking at mankind as a
collective creation. You may remember that Paul did just that in chapter 5, where he showed Gods plan
that was begun in Adam and completed in Christ and the effect on men, as members of one creation, or
the other.
So here in our current passage, Paul is picturing Gods entire creation of humanity like an expectant mother,
waiting to give birth. And what is it that will be born of her, in verse 19? Sons of God. Lets read that
verse again.
v. 19 Now, in that this verse begins with an explanation (for), we understand that it is linked with what
Paul said before it, in verse 18. The repetition of the idea of a revealing also links the two verses. Because
of this, we would naturally assume that the sons of God referred to in this verse specifically pertains to
members of the Body of Christ, who will be revealed in the future in their bodies of glory.
But because Paul is expanding his vision here of the suffering of humanity in general, leading to glory, we
understand that the sons of God here has expanded, as well, to include all the sons of God.
God is bringing many sons to glory (Heb 2:10); before the coming of Christ, there were those who believed
into the Coming One. And after the church is caught up to heaven, there will be those who believe God, to
enter into the Kingdom of Christ on earth. All of these are Gods sons, who will eventually receive bodies
of glory.
Here the use of the word son brings in the idea of status and dignity; when the sons of God are unveiled
in their glorified bodies, it will be evident that they are part of Gods family; for they will bear the family
likeness; the glory of their Lord.
From the temporal perspective this present time no one but Christ has yet received their glorified body.
Humanity is still looking forward to that. The term earnest expectation literally refers to a person who is
craning their neck, with their head thrust forward, looking to see what is coming. Here Paul portrays the
creation of humanity, peering down the corridors of time, eagerly anticipating the revealing of her glorified
sons.
Paul goes on to explain why Humanity is waiting for this.
v. 20-21 This is one sentence in the Greek. Paul begins to explain why Humanity is so eagerly awaiting
the revealing of the sons of God. Its because the creation Humanity was subjected to futility.
Futility refers to something that is worthless or useless; it cannot obtain a goal or purpose. Gods purpose
for humanity is to become His righteous, glorified sons; but that purpose could not be attained through the
old creation, because of the lawlessness in humanity. So the creation of humanity was subjected to futility
its purpose, unattainable, as created.

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A creation that does not serve its Makers purpose is only fit for destruction; so ultimately, the futility of the
creation meant that God subjected it to death; Death reigns, over the human creation. Obviously this was
not the choice of the creation, but of the Creator; yet Death was not designed by Him to be an end for
Humanity, but a means a means of deliverance.
Thats why Paul indicates that God subjected Humanity in hope, which is then qualified in verse 21: the
creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption thats Humanity, subject to Death
they will be delivered into the freedom of the glory of the children of God Humanity, being born again,
into the family of God; and in that way, freed from Death.
Now, we must remember that this is speaking of Humanity, in general; not about the Body of Christ,
specifically; Paul addresses us separately in verse 23 (we also). So the question is, when will
Humanity itself be delivered from its bondage of corruption? When and how will mankind as a whole
be freed from death?
That will be when Jesus returns to the earth to set up His kingdom. Turn to First Corinthians chapter 15.
Paul had been addressing the subject of resurrection.
The Corinthian assembly came out of the Greek culture, which generally did not subscribe to bodily
resurrection. Some of the believers in Corinth continued to think this. Paul developed his argument for
resurrection based on the fact that Christ rose again the third day according to the Scriptures; and He was
seen by over five hundred believers (1 Cor 15:3-6).
Pauls flow of reason was that if theres no resurrection, Christ didnt rise from the dead and that would
means that the believers faith in Him was without purpose; that they were still dead in trespasses and sins.
It would mean that those who had died in Christ had perished; and that our hope of living forever was just a
hope-so hope, that would never be realized. How dismal!
But against that bleak backdrop, Paul blazes the facts of faith.
[First Corinthians 15:20-26]
v. 20 Paul states the fact: Christ is risen from the dead. There is the evidence of the Scriptures and the
witnesses, but it still must be believed, by faith; it is so. In being raised from the dead, Christ became the
firstfruits of all those who have fallen asleep in Him; who have died in Christ, believing into Him. He is
the assurance that they will rise, also.
Paul goes on to show that this was always the plan of God, for mankind.
v. 21-22 Notice Pauls emphasis on the resurrection of the dead. Remember that Paul is making his
argument to the Corinthian assembly concerning the necessity of the resurrection of the body. Here Paul
shows that resurrection is the way out of death, to which everyone in Adam has been consigned; this is
Gods plan, begun in Adam, and realized in Christ, through Christs resurrection.
v. 23 Now, Paul will be addressing the gathering up of the Body of Christ to heaven starting in verse 51:
We shall not all sleep (die), but we shall all be changed. So what is Paul talking about here? What Jesus
called the resurrection of Life (Jn 5:29); the resurrection that will take place on earth, when Jesus returns, to
set up His kingdom.

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There is an order to that resurrection; a sequence. Christ is the firstfruits; as noted in verse 20-23, His
resurrection ensures that all who have fallen asleep in Him that is, who died, having believed into Him
will be resurrected.
The word resurrection is derived from a verb which means to stand up. After Christ returns to the earth,
His Second Coming, in glory, these believers will be resurrected in glorified bodies to stand upon the earth
with Him, to enter into His Kingdom there. They will stand in their lot, their inheritance, at the end (Dan
12:13, KJV).
Who are these resurrected believers? Some are the OT saints, who believed into the Coming One; their
dead bodies will be raised, to enter into the earthly kingdom. Here are a couple of examples.
Job, declared, I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is
destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall
behold, and not another. How my hearts yearns within me (Job 19:25-27).
And David said, As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your
likeness (Ps 17:15) as a glorified son of God.
The resurrection of Life will also include the Tribulation martyrs; those who were put to death for their
witness to Jesus and for the word of God, during the seven-year Tribulation.
Of these slain saints, John the apostle wrote, And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years
(Rev 20:4). Where will Christ reign for a thousand years? On earth. They will live they will be raised in
the resurrection of Life, in bodies of glory and then they will reign together with Christ over His earthly
kingdom.
The return of Jesus to the earth, and the resurrection of the saints to live and reign with Him will coincide
with His setting up of His kingdom.
v. 24-25 The end is the end of Gentile dominion; Christ sets up His kingdom, which breaks in pieces and
consumes all other kingdoms of the earth; and it shall stand forever (Dan 2:44).
When Jesus rose from the dead, and ascended back into heaven, He was seated at the right hand of God
the place of power and authority and honor while the LORD made His enemies His footstool (Ps 110:1).
By His Second Coming, that purpose of the LORD will have been accomplished through Christ Himself,
and He delivers the earthly kingdom to His Father.
v. 26 In this verse, death is personified, as we find so often in Romans; its the Death. Here the Death is
portrayed as an enemy. Of whom is the Death an enemy? Of men. When men expire their last breath,
Death exerts his claim upon their mortal bodies, and then corrupts them back to dust. Remember, Humanity
is subject to Death; Death reigns.
But now Christ has returned, to reign on the earth. He destroys that enemy of Humanity; and it is the last
enemy. How will it be destroyed? Through the resurrection of Life. As Paul says at the end of this chapter,
Death is swallowed up in victory (1 Cor 15:54).
Through His resurrection from the dead, Jesus conquered Death with Life everlasting. And once the
resurrection of Life is complete, and Jesus establishes His kingdom on the regenerated earth, the bodies of
those living will no longer be subject to Death. Christ reigns; Death no longer has dominion.

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There will be no natural death, so-called, in the Kingdom age. Death will be the penalty only for
rebellion against Christs rule (Ps 2:12, Is 65:20). Isaiah prophesied, For as the new heavens and the new
earth which I will make shall remain before Me, says the LORD, so shall your descendants and your name
remain (Is 66:22). This is when Humanity will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the
glorious liberty of the children of God; in the resurrection of Life.
[Return to Romans 8]
As Paul continues, he shows that the deliverance of the creation of humanity involves intense suffering.
v. 22 the word for whole is simply all, in the Greek; all of humanity. Paul vividly describes Humanity
like a woman suffering the travails of labor, in the present time the suffering that has afflicted humanity,
since sin and death entered the world.
The groans are connected with the birth pangs; theyre the utterances of a woman in the throes of
childbirth, without any immediate prospect of deliverance. She can know that her suffering has a purpose
and an end, but the end is still future; the purpose is not yet realized; she is in the midst of her pain.
We can see a foreshadowing of this suffering of Humanity in the account in the garden. Turn to Genesis
chapter 3.
[Genesis 3:16]
Now, we know that the woman God made for Adam is a type of the church, formed out of the death of
Christ (Eph 5:30-32). But that type is contained within Genesis chapter 2, and ends with the woman being
joined to the man (Gen 2:18-24).
It is after this in the Genesis account that the woman is beguiled by the serpent. The man and the woman
transgress the command of God not to eat of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and death sets
into their bodies. They died just as God said (Gen 2:17).
That was an eye-opener (Gen 3:7). Death caused the first couple to understand their need of forever-living
bodies, which the LORD would provide for them, through the Coming Christ. And they understood that
would be the need of all of humanity, who would be born of their corrupted flesh.
After both the woman and the man confessed their transgression to Him, the LORD indicated the
consequences that would result. These consequences extend to all mankind; they are the consequences of
lawlessness.
This is what the LORD said specifically to the woman.
v. 16 Sorrow is a word used to describe the painful toil of childbirth, and conception speaks of child
bearing. The word pain is used to describe the birth pangs of labor, and bringing forth is commonly
used of a woman giving birth to a child.
Here is the woman, from whom will come every member of the human race. And to her, the LORD speaks of
the suffering of bringing forth those children; not unlike the description of Humanity given by Paul in
Romans, groaning and laboring with birth pangs in the present time.

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Notice what the LORD says next. Your desire shall be for your husband; literally, toward your husband.
This desire is a yearning, a longing after. The longing after here is for the husband of the woman, who
will rule over her, speaking of reigning; dominion.
The birth pangs of Humanity are getting closer and closer together, as we approach the Tribulation (Mt
24:8). Humanity is longing to be delivered; and the Great Tribulation will create in her a desire toward the
One who will establish righteousness and peace on the earth (Is 25:8-9) the Desired, or Longed-for One
(the decan Coma, gospel in the stars; corresponds to the Egyptian Shes-nu, the Desired Son); the Desire of
All Nations (Haggai 2:7).
When Christ returns at His Second Coming, He will judge the nations (Mt 25:31-46), put to death the
rebels, and invite the rest of humanity into His Kingdom. A king is said to marry the people and the land
so we see the idea of a husband, there. Then Christ will rule and reign over the earth, for an everlasting
kingdom.
As the LORD proceeds to tell Adam the consequences for his sin, he confirms that the bodies of men will
return to the dust of the ground; the bodies are consigned to Death.
It is directly after this that Adam gives His wife her name: Eve, because she became the mother of all
living. Now, the LORD has just said that men would die; and yet, Adam names his wife Life, or Living
why? It voices Adams recognition that Eve will bring forth all those who choose to become alive to
God, as they did, through faith in the Coming Christ. Here we see the idea of Humanity bringing forth sons
of glory.
Just a parallel thought or two, to our passage in Romans. Lets go back there.
[Romans 8]
As Paul continues, he now considers those who have already been delivered from the old creation. But
they still have something in common with the rest of Humanity.
v. 23 The we also here picks up Pauls thread of thought from verse 18, regarding the members of the
Body of Christ, who are suffering in the present time, but have a guaranteed, glorious future. The Body of
Christ is being distinguished here by Paul from the rest of the creation of humanity, because they are a new
creation, in Christ Jesus.
The Body of Christ has the firstfruits of the Spirit. The firstfruits is the first of the grain to ripen in an entire
harvest; therefore, the firstfruits is the promise of the future, completed harvest.
Pauls topic has been deliverance from death. Believers already have the Life of Christ within them Life
Everlasting which they received, the moment they believed; they have been born again, of the
incorruptible Seed, the Word of God (1 Pet 1:23).
The presence of the Holy Spirit within the believer demonstrates that Gods redemptive work has begun,
and that it will surely be brought to its completion (Phil 1:6). Believers are being delivered from sins
power, through their sanctification; and their bodies will be delivered from death, through their
glorification.

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But from the temporal perspective, that deliverance of the body has not yet taken place; as Paul said, who
will deliver me from this body of death? (Rm 7:24) Like humanity, we groan, but within ourselves
within the Body of Christ. We suffer, through this present time, in anticipation of our deliverance from
Death, in glory.
Paul calls the redemption, or deliverance of the body from death the adoption. When a person believes,
he receives the Spirit of adoption the Holy Spirit who enlightens him to the ways of the Father, training
him up in his responsibilities as a son. The redemption of the body is the completion of the believer, as a
full son of God.
In Roman society, when a father determined that a son was ready to assume his familial responsibilities,
there was a public ceremony held to mark the event. It was known as toga virilis, and was a recognition
that the child was now a full-grown son; he was being given his position in the family.
To reflect this, the father put a particular toga, or robe on his son. The robe was an outward sign of the
change that had taken place within the son, for all to see, and a token of the fact that he had come into his
inheritance.
In the believer, that outward sign is the body of glory, which the Father has already given to us our
inheritance. That glory has not yet been revealed in us; it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. But
we know that when Christ is revealed when He comes for His bride, the true church we shall be like
Him; for we shall see Him as He is (1 Jn 3:2).
Next week: Romans 8, Jn 16:13-14; 1 Jn 2:20-3:3; 1 Cor 2.