AWAITING THE MANIFESTATION.
Romans 8:18-23.
Paul weighs “the sufferings of the present time” over against “the glory which shall be revealed in us” (ROMANS 8:18; cf. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18). Our inheritance is not only what God has to offer, but God Himself (cf. 1 John 3:2).
It is amazing to visualise the whole creation standing on tiptoes, looking to the horizon, straining towards the future in ‘"earnest expectation (or 'eager anticipation’) of the manifestation of the sons of God" (ROMANS 8:19).
Creation has been made subject to "vanity" (ROMANS 8:20a) - or ‘meaninglessness’ (cf. Ecclesiastes 1:2) – as a result of the fall of man. One patriarch suggests the possibility that land might cry out, and complain (cf. Job 31:38), whilst one of the prophets hears the earth mourning (cf. Isaiah 24:4). This personification of the inanimate is familiar throughout the book of Psalms.
The reason why creation is subjected to vanity is “because of the One who subjected the same in hope” (ROMANS 8:20b). It is God who cursed the ground, and it is only in God that there can be any hope for creation.
Because of this hope from God, we can be sure that creation WILL be liberated (ROMANS 8:21). Liberated FROM the bondage of corruption INTO the glorious liberty of the children of God. That is to say, into the freedom of OUR glory.
We read next of a “groaning” – a groaning in which the whole creation participates, and in which we also participate (ROMANS 8:22-23). The groaning of creation is likened to birth pangs (ROMANS 8:22), a figure which Jesus also uses (cf. Mark 13:8).
The Holy Spirit is the first fruits of our inheritance (ROMANS 8:23), the down-payment (cf. Ephesians 1:13-14). We wait “eagerly” for the ‘not yet’ bit of our salvation. We await the full manifestation of our adoption, and we long for the redemption of our body.
