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Romans 8:25
25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
If we are impatient, it probably has something to do with what this verse implies -- godly patience (that is, a gracious and expectant waiting) comes to the one who puts his or her hope in things that cannot be lost, forgotten, faded, or possibly never even received. Much in this world will not last, and there are so many things that we are not even sure that we can ever obtain. Even if we do finally reach our goal or receive our prize, there is no ultimate fulfillment or peace to be had. The promises of God, however, are true and will be fulfilled; if we place our faith in the God of Promise and persistently ask Him for all that we need and desire, we can be assured of an answer. Since it may take long to receive an answer to our prayers, however, we need patience -- and will learn it from our seeking and waiting!
Bookmarked 10 months ago.
Romans 8:24
24For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?
24For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?
What is our guiding hope, the unseen reality that our faith is directed at? It is simply and beautifully this -- eternal life with Christ through the promised resurrection. This shows in Paul's description of his own salvation in Philippians 3, as he talks about how Christ 'had made him his own'. Paul lost all that he had known in coming to this knowledge of Christ, and all of his life's purpose was directed toward the end of knowing Jesus and the fellowship of His suffering, even to the point of imminent execution. What is the ending to this great passage about enduring all of these things? "...that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." Here, too, Paul has been talking about suffering and now he reminds them that there is a greater purpose to their living and dying for Christ which will only be clear in the coming age. For now we are to live faithfully for this unseen hope, which looks like foolishness and a giving-away of everything precious to those living under the light of the various hopes of the world. As John says, 'what we will be has not yet appeared...' (1 John 3:2).
Bookmarked 10 months ago.
Romans 8:23
23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
If the transition between the present age and the age of glory is likened to birth pains, Paul gives us no reason to believe that we who experience the first-fruits of God's Kingdom in our lives will attain to glory without going through the same process. What we await is an eternal weight of glory (see 2 Cor. 4:16-18) that we set our hope on as we groan with anticipation, endure suffering in patience, or persevere in faith through trial and temptation. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in us that makes us aware of our inheritance in Christ; we shouldn't be surprised to find that walking in the Spirit will cause us to yearn and groan increasingly as we become less and less satisfied with fleeting things and more and more satisfied in Christ.
Bookmarked 10 months ago.
Romans 8:20
20For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope
20For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope
The theme of hope in Romans comes to the forefront in this chapter, though Abraham's example of hope is seen in chapter 5 (go read it!). But does Paul want us to have no hope for and in this present world at all? It seems clear that the 'futility' that God brought about within the created realm because of Adam's sin ('cursed is the ground because of you') will *not* be reversed until its complete transformation at the resurrection of believers. It seems that the curse on creation was meant (as with so many of God's judgments) to bring repentance and forcefully remind us that all is not well in the universe; the curse won't be fully reversed until sin and death have ceased their reign. Hope 'does not put us to shame', however, because the power of sin and death has been overcome by Christ! Now our life's aim can be directed at better things -- the eternal weight of glory promised by God to those who wait for Him as citizens of a heavenly Kingdom. Some might say that this is an escapist mentality, but this kind of hope is said (and seen in so many saints) to come only in the midst of steadfast perseverance and faith (Romans 5:1-5). Hope in Christ and in heaven will only grow as we endure suffering and learn to faithfully steward our lives in this present world.
Bookmarked 10 months ago.
John 3:16
16“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,Or his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
16“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,Or his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
We talk about God's love to others all the time, and often with good intentions. But we must be careful that when we assure people of God's love, we have this verse in mind -- that the means through which we have come to know the deep love of God our Father is through the person and work of the Lord Jesus. This is not to say that the first part of the verse is untrue -- that "God so loved the world' -- because Jesus seems to be saying that the Father's unmerited love is the only beacon of hope for the world. However, the next verses make it clear that no true knowledge of this love can be held except by the Spirit working in us the faith that responds to the call of the Gospel. Before we came to faith in Christ, we were outside of God's covenant of love and pardon, and could never have known any real assurance of favor due to God's hatred of sin--we '...were by nature children of wrath' (Eph. 2:3). Our responsibility to the fallen world is clear: the 'Son of Man must be lifted up' (v.14) in order that all may believe in him and know the hope of present freedom and life because of the Lord Jesus.
[for some real meaty stuff, read Calvin's commentary on this verse. ccel.org]
Bookmarked about 1 year ago.
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