Romans 8:18-2718For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 24For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. 26Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:18‑27)
It is comforting and instructive to notice the way in which the expected glory utterly outweighed the sufferings in the mind of the Apostle. It is not that he did not suffer — we must suffer, and sufferings are not pleasant, but suffering is soon over! “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:1818For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18)). It is not merely that he knows he will then get rest and glory, but what a sense of the glory he has now — the glory that will be displayed in the manifestation of the sons of God! It is “the glory which shall be revealed in us” — our glory and yet God’s glory. “If so be we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together” (Rom. 8:1717And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Romans 8:17)). If ours is the suffering, it is also in respect of ourselves the glory is to be revealed. While Christ (the Son) reflects the glory of the Father, the woman (the church) reflects the glory of the man. Then there is the sense too, by the power of the Holy Spirit, of its belonging to us — that it is really our own. If a man has the sense of its being his, there will not be the turning his back on what he knows to be his own, but the getting towards it as fast as possible. If his heart is in that state, filled with the Holy Spirit, he will pass on through the world, as an angel would pass through it. Do you think, if Gabriel were sent on a message into this world, he would desire to stop here? No, he could not stay where all is defiled.
But it is a much higher principle we enjoy than can be enjoyed by an angel, and so there never can come out of an angel’s heart the same song of praise that comes from the believer’s heart. Though it has been remarked that the angels are never said in Scripture to sing, they are said “to speak,” “to say” and “to talk.” There could be no harmony in an angel’s song compared with ours, their hearts not being exercised with trials like ours. Never having sinned, they cannot know what the joy of salvation is or what it is to be strengthened when weak, or lifted up when failing, or comforted in suffering. They laud and praise and bless God, but they cannot know the new song that those sing who passed through it all. The four living creatures rest not day and night, saying, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,” but their subject is creation — “for Thou hast created all things; and for Thy pleasure they are, and were created” (Rev. 4:1111Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelation 4:11)). But in Revelation 5 it is redemption: ”They sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy ... Thou hast redeemed us.”
The Glory of the Cross
Paul had suffered much, but it only brought the glory the brighter before him and shows how the glory of the cross filled his soul. The words “this present time” are striking. The glory is so present, that he calls the suffering but momentary — ”our light affliction, which is but for a moment.” If you talk to one about this present evil world and his mind realizes eternity, you find that eternity is too big to allow room for anything else. We never realize eternity till we fill it with the Father’s love and Christ’s glory. If we think of it otherwise, we look into only a mere vacuum. We are confounded on the one hand and filled with glory on the other. Finding ourselves in the glory of God, we hardly know how to grasp it — ”a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” It is not to become proud with the “glory which shall be revealed in us”; it is not a change of time, but the glory is present to his mind, and he realizes the glory. Then he opens it out doctrinally: “I reckon” — not “we teach” — ”that the sufferings of this present time” — the present sufferings had lost their hindering power, because he saw the power of God in them and endured afflictions according to the power of God. The great thing is to get the heart into conscious association with this fair scene. If we have our hearts always occupied with Christ and glory, there will be such a sense of it that we shall be always there.
It is amazing how the soul becomes soft when happy in the Lord! How it removes all roughness! Saints cannot quarrel about being happy in the Lord, though they may quarrel about doctrine or discipline. We ought all to look onward and have the heart filled with the glory. The effect of this is to put us into suffering, though we can say it is not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. It is not the divine, essential glory, of course, but the manifested glory, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. God has children, and He must display His sons in His glory. It is not till then that the creature is introduced into the liberty of the glory of the sons of God.
The Groaning Creation
“The whole creation groaneth.” What an amazing difference! He is speaking of “the weight of glory” which shall be revealed in us, and then at once turns and says, What a groaning creation I am in! It is his realizing the glory that fits him to enter into the sorrow of the groaning creation around. Christ, coming in glory, lifts him above it all. The groaning goes beyond the saints — the whole creation groans. If I have the Holy Spirit, I may be full of joy and full of hope, but this does not hinder my groaning as a creature. The more I joy, the more I feel this wretched body is an earthen vessel that cannot hold the treasure.
There is no groaning in my connection with God; it is all rejoicing, and nothing else, in that respect. “Rejoice in the Lord alway.” The moment I get my mind filled with the thought, “I am to be conformed to Christ as He is in glory,” it associates me with Him now. The thought of His coming makes me happy. There is no hope but that of being conformed to Christ. Death is not a hope. “Our conversation is in heaven,” and there we hope to be. My hope is to be with Him in heaven, bodily. I have all for my soul now in Christ.
His Hopes
It is wonderful how God has artfully introduced Himself into everything, filling us with His hopes, His sorrows and His affections. How thoroughly He is come in to possess man’s soul! It is God’s love outside us, and His love is shed abroad in our hearts. We dwell in God, and God in us. He has given us His thoughts and feelings, so that we are wrapped up in God, “because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts.” God’s love! If it is not His love, it is of no use; if it is not in me, it has no reality. Scripture sometimes speaks as if it was of us, and at other times as of God. Thus it is my heart groans, while it is said, “The Spirit ... maketh intercession.” It is a great comfort to know they are not selfish groans in me. Selfish groans we find in Romans 7, but Romans 8 is full of Christ and of the Spirit.
W. Kelly, adapted