A Brief Review - Past
It is well, sometimes, to look back to where
we have been. So let us review what Paul has brought to us so far:
·
In
chapters 1 through 3, Paul stressed the theme that each and every one of are
sinners, and that no amount of good deeds could change that fact.
·
We
saw that the wrath of God is real, and is revealed by the moral degradation he
permits a society.
·
We
saw that each and everyone of us has a “law” -- the standards we proclaim with
our own mouths (and don’t live up to).
·
We
saw, triumphantly, that though we are all sinners, the just shall live by
faith.
·
In
chapters 4 and 5, he taught us the nature of the Christian “faith walk.”.
·
He
showed us, by example (of Abraham) that faith must be completed with good
works.
·
He
taught us to rejoice in suffering.
·
He
ended this section with a comparison of the old and new Adam.
·
In
chapters 6 and 7, he took us along the steps of Christian living -- of
sanctification.
·
He
first proclaimed the principle of Identification with Christ.
·
He
then described for us the difference between the spiritual and carnal natures.
So we are ready. We started this book as
miserable sinners; we progressed through salvation and the first attempts at
good works. We get deeper in until we reach the goal which God has planned for
us all along: that we should become his children.
Under Obligation - Present
(Rom
8:12-17 NIV) Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the
sinful nature, to live according to it. {13} For if you live according
to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the
misdeeds of the body, you will live, {14} because those who are led by
the Spirit of God are sons of God. {15} For you did not receive a spirit
that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.
And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." {16} The Spirit
himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. {17} Now
if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ,
if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his
glory.
Obligation. The word has a number of
meanings, because we can be obligated in a number of ways:
·
There
is the legal obligation -- a debt under a contract.
·
There
is social obligation -- other people expect certain behavior from you.
·
There
is moral obligation -- not just other people, but we ourselves, set up a moral
requirement to do something.
·
Finally,
there is the obligation of self consistency. This is the Popeye principle: “I
am what I am, and that’s all what I am.” And I am a child of God!
We are the children of God! If you are led
by the Spirit, you are the children of God. This means that
·
we
are protected by our father, just as we protect our small children. As they
grow, we loosen the “apron strings.” God will provide us with just the right
protection.
·
we
share his Spirit; it is a constant companion to us. Our correction, our
encouragement are always with us. (The question is, will we listen?)
Paul says that we are adopted sons. Being a
Jew of Roman citizenship, he could have referred to either model of adoption;
I think he had both in mind.
·
The
Roman model revolved around the legal system. If a person was adopted, he was
literally considered a new person. His debts were canceled. There is actually
an instance of a Roman emperor who adopted his successor (for political
reasons). When the adopted one wanted to marry the daughter of his adopted
father, the Senate was obliged to pass a law permitting it -- otherwise, it
would legally have been incest.
The Roman model also involved that concept of patria potestas -- the
idea that the father had absolute power over the son, even when the son was
fully grown. There are instances of fathers executing their adult sons, and
this was considered perfectly legal. Our father in heaven can be seen to have
such authority over us.
·
The
Jewish model is found in Esther, who was adopted by Mordecai. In a society
where a woman who had no family ties to a man was likely to starve to death (or
be forced into prostitution), Mordecai adopted her. That meant that he assumed
all obligation for her daily needs -- including those for family affection.
From a purely financial point of view, Esther was a 100% burden. Where the
Roman model was in law, the Jewish model is in love.
It is interesting that Paul mentions that
there are two witnesses to this transaction. The Old Testament required two or
more witnesses
for conviction, and custom has it that all legal changes needed that. The
principle is sound; even wedding certificates need such.
What, then, is the result of this adoption?
·
First,
our relationship to God has changed. From the Old Testament times where only
the priest, or only the prophet, could actually present anything before God, we
have come to the point where we are children of God. Indeed, children to the
point that we can call Him “Abba” -- roughly “Daddy.”
·
We
are co-heirs with Christ. That means that in some sense we will receive what
he received.
·
As
he suffered in this world, so shall we.
·
As
He was raised from the dead, so shall we be.
But there is more!
Of Things to Come - Future
(Rom
8:18-25 NIV) I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing
with the glory that will be revealed in us. {19} The creation waits in
eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. {20} For the
creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will
of the one who subjected it, in hope {21} that the creation itself will
be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of
the children of God. {22} We know that the whole creation has been
groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. {23} Not
only so, 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. {24} For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no
hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? {25} But if we hope for
what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
Paul touches here on the Second Coming. His
first emphasis is upon our suffering here on earth. In many other passages he
exhorts us to bear up under our suffering (the stiff upper lip message) but
here he considers it trivial ! How so, Paul? Only because of what is to come
when our Lord returns. In this particular section Paul gives us some of the
details of the Second Coming.
To fully understand this passage, we must
begin by understanding the relationship between Christ and creation.
·
First,
Jesus is the author and sustainer of creation.
(Col
1:16-17 NIV) For by him {Christ} all things were created: things in heaven and
on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or
authorities; all things were created by him and for him. {17} He is
before all things, and in him all things hold together. (italics added)
·
This
creation is a fallen one. The theology gets a little deep here; but remember
that the prince of this world is Satan -- who is the fallen archangel.
·
Christ
himself is described
as the “first born” of creation -- if you will, a model of what we will be
like. This is perfectly fitting for those who are now adopted into the family
of God.
New Heaven and New Earth
·
That
the heavens and earth were to be renewed by God was known well before this
letter:
(Isa
65:17 NIV) "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former
things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.
·
Peter,
in his letters, gives us the order of events:
(2
Pet 3:7-13 NIV) By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved
for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
{8} But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is
like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. {9} The Lord
is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient
with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
{10} But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will
disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth
and everything in it will be laid bare. {11} Since everything will be
destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live
holy and godly lives {12} as you look forward to the day of God and
speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by
fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. {13} But in keeping with
his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of
righteousness.
·
We
know very little about what this new heaven and earth will be like from the
“physical” point of view (if indeed such a point of view would still be
valid). We do know something about it from a spiritual point of view:
(Isa
11:6-9 NIV) The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with
the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child
will lead them. {7} The cow will feed with the bear, their young will
lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. {8} The
infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand
into the viper's nest. {9} They will neither harm nor destroy on all my
holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the
waters cover the sea.
Our Response
All well and good, John, but what difference
does this make to me? I submit there are three main points:
·
First,
we must be watchful. It must be a daily commonplace thought that our Lord may
return today.
(Mark
13:32-37 NIV) "No one knows about that day or
hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
{33} Be on guard! Be alert ! You do not know when
that time will come. {34} It's like a man
going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his
assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. {35} "Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the
owner of the house will come back--whether in the evening, or at midnight, or
when the rooster crows, or at dawn. {36} If
he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. {37} What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!'"
There are some practical tests of this. Do
you put off speaking to someone about Jesus, thinking there will always be time
to do it later? Is there some act of charity about which you are saying, “next
time?”
·
Next,
we must be hopeful. We should not be looking forward to this event with fear,
but with joy. Indeed, we are told to be ready with an explanation of this
hope:
(1
Pet 3:15 NIV) But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared
to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that
you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
·
And
what is this hope, if not the return of Christ? Note that in our text creation
waits for the sons of God to be revealed. We are already children of
God; creation is simply waiting for us to be revealed. This is nothing less
than the resurrection of the righteous to eternal life. One of the questions
most frequently asked is, “what kind of body is that?” (My own preference
would be “good looking, sings tenor and dances like Fred Astaire.”) Paul
answers the question thusly:
(1
Cor 15:35-49 NIV) But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With
what kind of body will they come?" {36} How foolish! What you sow
does not come to life unless it dies. {37} When you sow, you do not
plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something
else. {38} But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each
kind of seed he gives its own body. {39} All flesh is not the same: Men
have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another.
{40} There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the
splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly
bodies is another. {41} The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon
another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. {42} So
will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is
perishable, it is raised imperishable; {43} it is sown in dishonor, it
is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; {44} it
is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural
body, there is also a spiritual body. {45} So it is written: "The
first man Adam became a living being" ; the last Adam, a life-giving
spirit. {46} The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and
after that the spiritual. {47} The first man was of the dust of the
earth, the second man from heaven. {48} As was the earthly man, so are
those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those
who are of heaven. {49} And just as we have borne the likeness of the
earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
And so I say to you: watch -- in hope.