Waiting with Eagerness
Last week we looked at how many of the tragedies that are happening in the world are part of the creation of God groaning as it waits for the return to glory. Not only is it waiting for its return to glory, but for ours as well. Imagine what it must have been like when the earth had just been created. Try to see in your imagination how clear the air was. Have you ever been up in the mountains where it seemed that the air was so fresh and clean? Have you ever noticed in the spring or fall how absolutely blue the sky is? Try imagining what it must have looked like to the eyes of the first man and woman. We are so very limited by our senses and our knowledge. That’s why I believe God gave us an imagination.
Today, I want to look at the next three verses from Romans 8.
“23 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.
24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?
25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”
Paul just got done talking about creation’s turmoil as it waits eagerly for a realization of what it was truly meant to be. Now he speaks to our own groaning.
And not only this, but also we ourselves…
The first phrase of this verse refers back to the previous verses. Paul is saying, not only is the creation struggling and groaning like a woman giving birth, but also we ourselves. Why, if we have accepted Jesus as our Savior would we not be exempt from this tension? Let’s move on.
Having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves…
What does it mean that we have the first fruits of the Spirit? The Day of Pentecost was the day that the first believers received the Holy Spirit. From that point on, each of us who believe in Jesus as our Savior receive His spirit. The first fruit according to Matthew Henry’s Bible commentary is grace.
“Grace is the first-fruits of glory, it is glory begun. ”
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
The first fruits of an arbor are a cluster of grapes. The grapes themselves are sweet and good to eat, but it is not until they are made into wine, that a person can fully drink. God’s grace is only the beginning. That grace gives us what we need to live, but we will not know it fully realized until we come into glory. It is this desire for what is to come, this reuniting with our Lord, our Savior, that causes us to groan inwardly.
“Present receivings and comforts are consistent with a great many groans; not as the pangs of one dying, but as the throes of a woman in travail—groans that are symptoms of life, not of death. ”
I really love that idea. These feelings we have of not being complete; of not fitting in to this world; of desiring something greater and more; these are not bad feelings, but those which motivate us to continue to live and to live an abundant life in the power of Jesus Christ. It is those feelings that draw us closer to our Lord.
…waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body…
We will not know the fully complete adoption until we pass out of these mortal confines. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:12 -
“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known”
The idea of no more tears, illness, pain or death is beyond our imagination because we are limited by our flesh, but in the Spirit we can know that this will be the case. We wait with eagerness for this flesh to be left behind so that our spirits can fully connect with His.
For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes in what he already sees?
The hope that is mentioned in this verse has to do with the future; the future and the redemption of our bodies. When we come to Christ, our spirit is redeemed by what Christ has done on the cross and the grace, His grace, that is extended to us. When we die, or when Christ comes again this hope that we cannot see will be fully realized. We will be with Him and we will have new bodies.
Hope by definition cannot be in something that already has taken place. Hope is set on something, some outcome that is yet to happen. I have this plaque hanging in my kitchen and think it summarizes the idea of hope well.
But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
Once again we see the word eagerly describing the word wait. This is how we are to wait for our adoption. This is how the earth waits for its return to glory. This is how we are to wait for the redemption of our bodies. The word eager, according to Webster’s Online Dictionary means, “Marked by enthusiastic, impatient desire or interest.” Are you waiting for your Lord with eagerness?
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;”
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;”