Future Glory

Paul weighs present sufferings against the glory to be revealed — they do not compare. Creation itself waits eagerly for the revealing of God’s children, subjected to futility not by choice but by the one who subjected it, in hope of its own liberation.

I¹⁸ consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹The creation waits in eager expectation for the revelation of the sons of God. ²⁰For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope ²¹that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

Paul names the shared groan. The whole creation is in birth pains; believers with the firstfruits of the Spirit groan too, waiting for the redemption of the body. Hope that can already be seen is not hope — Christian waiting is patient.

²²We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time. ²³Not only that, 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. ²⁴For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he can already see? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently.

In the believer’s weakness the Spirit intercedes with groans too deep for words, and the one who searches hearts knows the Spirit’s mind, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to God’s will.

²⁶In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. ²⁷And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.