ROMANS: RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH FROM START TO FINISH

VI. God’s Righteousness Transferred: Practical Sanctification, Romans 6:1-8:39

F. Living In View Of Our Ultimate Sanctification

(Romans 8:18-27)

I. Introduction

A. The theme of the epistle to the Romans is that God’s righteousness is available to man by faith from start to finish (Romans 1:16-17; Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 441).

B. This belief is often not accepted in Christendom: Some claim that one must have faith plus works to be justified, and others say that though we are justified by faith, we cannot righteously live a godly life by faith.

C. The believer’s body in this earthly life has not yet been redeemed, what will occur at the rapture, leaving the believer to experience suffering as he heads toward the rapture. However, God has a great program in store for us believers even in our mortal bodies, so we view that program in Romans 8:18-27 for our edification:

II. Living In View Of Our Ultimate Sanctification, Romans 8:18-27.

A. Having mentioned in Romans 8:17 that we believers experience suffering in this life in our mortal bodies, some of which is persecution sufferings and other sufferings the effects of the Adamic curse, Paul wrote about how we can effectively handle such sufferings until they end at the redemption of our bodies at the rapture.

B. First, Paul gave us encouragement to face our current sufferings in this life, Romans 8:18-25:

1. Paul encouraged his readers by claiming that their current sufferings were not worth being compared to the glory of God that is to be revealed “toward” (eis, U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 550) them, Romans 8:18.

2. To explain this statement, Paul added that the “created universe” (ktisis, Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the O. T., 1967, p. 456-457) with “strained expectation” (apokaradokia, Ibid., p. 92; Ibid., B. K. C., N. T., p. 471) “keeps on waiting eagerly for” (apekdechetai, present indicative of apekdechomai, “await eagerly,” The Analy. Grk. Lex. (Zon.), 1972, p. 37; Ibid., Arndt & Gingrich, p. 82) the revealing of the sons of God, we believers who have trusted in Christ, Romans 8:19; cf. also John 1:10-12.

3. Since the verb “await eagerly” (apekdechomai) “is used seven times in the New Testament to refer to Christ’s return (Rom. 8:19, 23, 25; 1 Cor. 1:7; Gal. 5:5; Phil. 3:20; Heb. 9:28)” (Ibid., B. K. C., N. T., p. 472), this revelation of the sons of God occurs at Christ’s Second Coming to earth when we believers who gained our glorified bodies at the pretribulation rapture before going to heaven return to earth with Christ after the Tribulation and the Genesis 3:14-19 Adamic curse is removed from the earth! (Romans 8:20-21)

4. Right now, creation currently groans as if it were suffering the pains of labor in childbirth, what we believers also do. However, we have the “firstfruits” of the Holy Spirit in us, what acts as a promise of our glorious future when we experience the “redemption” of our bodies at the rapture, Romans 8:22-25.

C. Second, as we suffer in our current physical weaknesses of our mortal bodies, the Holy Spirit helps us, for we in our current state of weakness and spiritual immaturity do not even know how to pray to God the Father (all prayer should be directed to the Father, cf. Luke 11:1-2a) as we ought for God’s help, so the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us to the Father with groanings too deep for words, Romans 8:26 ESV.

D. God the Father Who searches the hearts of all beings knows what is the mind of the Holy Spirit, for the Holy Spirit intercedes for us believers in alignment with God the Father’s will, making the Spirit’s intercession in our behalf completely effective with the Father, Romans 8:27.

Lesson: (1) We believers are encouraged to face our current sufferings of this mortal life with the hope we have of the glory of God to be revealed “toward” us, for the entire creation along with us currently suffers, longing for the release we will have from the Adamic curse when we get our glorified bodies at the rapture and then return to the earth with Christ as He sets up His Messianic Kingdom. (2) We believers can also be encouraged that when we pray for God’s help with regard to our weaknesses, we do not even know how to pray as we ought, so the Holy Spirit makes intercessory groanings in our behalf that are too great for mere words, groanings that are effective with the Father for our enabling to function in God’s will in this earathly life.

Application: (1) May we live expectant lives, longing for the day when we are released from not only the presence of sin, but also from its effects in the Adamic curse, knowing that all creation is equally longing for our revelation as God’s sons in glory as creation itself will then be released from the curse. (2) May we pray for God’s help with our weaknesses, knowing that though we do not even know how to pray as we ought due to our human weaknesses and spiritual immaturities, God the Holy Spirit works in our behalf to move the Father to provide for our needs.