“Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.) And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory. What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:18-39 NLT
This passage is the good news of God summed up. It is the culmination of the story. It is where Paul posits who Jesus really is. But to do this, he has had to review the basic story of man, in regard to sin. This takes us all the way back to the Garden of Eden and the effects of the fall. It turns out that those effects were not merely human centric. Man became separated from God, others and even himself. He became a disjointed being. But because he was the federal head of all creation, this too became true of creation. Because of this, Paul notes that the gospel is salvation for everything, not just everyone. All creation groans for this moment. It is the moment where order and unity is restored amongst the chaos and anarchy that ensued in sin. It is the moment where we can again choose to follow God. And this choice is sure proof. It takes into account our sin nature, by dispatching it with grace. It takes into account our issues with the law and righteousness by dispatching it with faith. It takes into account our repayment for the debt we’ve incurred by settling it with the blood of Christ. It is fullproof. According to Paul, a preeminent scholar and philosopher, it is worth being convinced over. We should not be afraid of ever returning to our state sorrow and despair and confusion and death ever again. Salvation is present where hope was lost. It is imminent where despair is approaching. It is unbreakable where we are weak. It truly is good news for those who feel they have no choice. That they are beyond saving and that all is lost. We need only accept it.
- Gospel’s Scope: Salvation is for all creation, not just humans, as sin’s effects impacted the entire world.
- Gospel’s Purpose: To restore order, unity, and the choice to follow God amidst the chaos and anarchy caused by sin.
- Gospel’s Effectiveness: A fullproof solution to sin, lawlessness, and debt, offering hope, imminence, and unbreakable strength.
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