Romans 8:19-27: "The Groaning Earth"

Previously Paul encouraged us in our current struggles by reminding us of the future glory of God that we get to partake in. With that in mind we should be longing for that day. In the same way, God's very own creation is longing for that day when it will be loosed from its subjection to death and decay. Paul writes, "For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God". Gen. 3:17-19 tells us, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, "You shall not eat from it"; cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field; by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, because form it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return". We can see that after Adam and Eve's fall, God subjected the earth to the curse as well. The earth would now undergo death and decay, not as it was originally intended. Paul tells us that the earth has an "anxious longing" and it "waits eagerly" to be returned to what it once was. MacArthur writes, "Apokaradokia (anxious longing) is an especially vivid word that literally refers to watching with outstretched head, and suggests standing on tiptoes with the eyes looking ahead with intent expectancy". The earth is eagerly waiting for "the revealing of the sons of God". Revealing carries with it the idea of uncovering or unveiling that which was once covered. Col. 3:4 reads, "when Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then [believers] also will be revealed with Him in glory". The earth is anxiously and eagerly awaiting the day that Christ returns so that the curse will be lifted. For we learned in the earlier reading of Gen. that God subjected the earth to the curse which it currently is under. Paul writes, "the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it". MacArthur writes, "Because of man's sin, no part of nature now exists as God intended it to be and as it originally was. The verb 'was subjected' indicates by its form that nature did not curse itself but was cursed by something or someone else. Paul goes on to reveal that the curse on nature was executed by its Creator". It was God's will that not only man but the earth that he occupied be subject to the curse. It only takes us a walk around to see the decay, disease, death, and pollution of the earth, and yet God in His perfect plan, has allowed glimpses into what they beauty of the uncursed earth looked like with the beautiful sky, mountains, flowers, etc. Nature and man are inextricably linked together while here on earth. Just as man is longing to rid himself of his sinful human nature and be given his glorified body, so also "the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God". MacArthur writes, "Just as man's sin brought corruption to the universe, so man's restoration to righteousness will be accompanied by the restoration of the earth and its universe to their divinely-intended perfection and glory". These verses can all be seen in the light of Paul's previous statement, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (v.18). Despite the curse on man and nature we are in hopeful expectancy when we will be given our new bodies. John wrote in Rev. 21:1, 4-5, "[I] saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. And He who sits on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making things new'. And He said, 'Write, for these words are faithful and true'". We should all be in expectant waiting for the time that God will set us free from this wretched body, and free the earth to what is was created to be as it, "groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now". I Cor. 15:51-54, "Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory".

Just as the earth is groaning for the coming of the Lord, so too the believer is waiting for the day. Paul transitions our focus to the groaning of the believer in V. 23-25, "And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it". Because as believers, we have "the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons". This verse should be evident in our hearts. Is our deep desire to be given our heavenly bodies, and experience the completion of our salvation, or do we cling to the pleasures of this world? Do we hope that we can stay here on earth 'at least until I can do _____?' Our most deep desire and longing should be to desire God's presence, and rid ourselves of our sinful flesh. MacArthur writes, "Because the Holy Spirit now indwells us, His work in us and through us is a type of spiritual first fruits. They are a foretaste of the glory that awaits us in heaven, when our corrupted and mortal bodies are exchanged for ones that are incorruptible and immortal". Although we have been adopted into the family of God through grace by faith in Jesus Christ, we have yet to achieve our final adoption in which we are given our new and sinless glorified bodies. However, we are secure and comforted in the fact that "in hope we have been saved", and will soon receive our glorified bodies based on the promises of God. MacArthur explains, "It is true, on the other hand, that the completion of our salvation is presently a hope and not yet a reality. Explaining the obvious, Paul states the axiomatic truth that hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees? In other words, in this life we cannot expect to experience the reality of our glorification but only the hope of it". However, the believer can be comforted and confident in his adoption being seen all the way through. Phil. 1:6 says, "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus". Of the believer, Paul concludes, "if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it". Christians will lean on and rely on the Word of God for its truth. Through the help of the Holy Spirit, we will persevere in the hope that we know is true. That is, that we eagerly await what we cannot see, but what we will know will happen, because all the God promises us will come true.

Paul has spoken of the earth groaning, awaiting the removal of its cursed nature. He has spoken of the believer eagerly awaiting the consummation of his adoption with the receiving of his heavenly body. And lastly, Paul speaks of the groanings of the Holy Spirit in v. 26-27, "And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God". Here we see Paul giving us a glimpse into the work of the Holy Spirit. He is referring to the help the Holy Spirit gives to us as believers and nature as we groan for our redemption. As our advocate the Holy Spirit comes alongside us in our weakness and "intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words". MacArthur writes, "Because of our remaining humanness and susceptibility to sin and doubt, the Holy Spirit also helps us in our weakness. In this context, weakness doubtless refers to our human condition in general, not to specific weaknesses. The point is that, even after salvation, we are characterized by spiritual weakness. Acting morally, speaking the truth, witnessing for the Lord, or doing any other good thing happens only by the power of the Spirit working in and through us despite our human limitations". We must not look at "groanings too deep for words" as some mystical experience. Instead, we can understand this as a way in which the spirit acts on our behalf, in which we could never express ourselves. Paul wrote in I Cor. 2:11, "For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God". Just as Christ is constantly interceding on our behalf, so is the Holy Spirit within us. MacArthur calls them, "intertrintitarian communication, divine articulations by the Holy Spirit to the Father". Thankfully, it is not dependent on our depraved humanity to do all the work, but we can rely on the intercession of God the Son and God the Holy Spirit on our behalf. It is a fact that without the intercession of the Son and the Spirit we could easily lose our salvation for it would be up to us to maintain a right relationship with God. However, we have learned all through scripture that Christ's continual mediation for us as High Priest (Heb. 7:25-26), sustains us and sees our salvation through to its completion.

Paul continues, "And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is". The 'He' refers to God the Father who is constantly looking to the heart (I Sam. 16:7, I Kings 8:39, I Chron. 28:9, Ps. 139: 1-2), and also, "knows what the mind of the Spirit is". MacArthur writes, "If the Father knows the hearts of men, how much more does He know the mind of the Spirit. The Father understands exactly what the Spirit is thinking because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Because the Spirit's will and the Father's will are identical, and because God is one, Paul's statement seems unnecessary. But he is pointing up the truth in order to give encouragement to one believers. Because the three persons of the Godhead have always been one in essence and will, the very idea of communication among them seems superfluous to us. It is a great mystery to our finite minds, but it is a divine reality that God expects His children to acknowledge by faith".

May our hearts continually be longing for our Lord. May we eagerly await our redemption as the earth groans to be returned to its original state. So we, as Christians, should long to depart from our sin and be able to worship God in the way in which we were originally created: from a pure heart.