The Restoration of All Things, Romans 8:18-23

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. (NIV)

Romans 8 is an exalted exposition of life in the Spirit. Volumes have been written about this chapter, but we are going to limit ourselves to the idea of the restoration of all things at the end of time. First, Paul affirms that the afflictions we endure in this life cannot be compared with “the glory that will be revealed in us” (v. 18). The prospect of the future glory that awaits the believer illuminates his present and gives him hope and strength to overcome any difficulty. 

In v. 19, non-human creation is personified to emphasize the cosmic significance of the fall of mankind and the consequences of sin. “The revelation of the children of God” is the unveiling of their true nature at the end of time. Creation awaits eagerly for this event because it was itself corrupted and remains in a state of frustration, prevented from fully realizing the purpose for which it was created (vv. 20-21). It was God who condemned creation to that frustration because of sin (Genesis 3:17-19). However, this frustration “was made in hope,” meaning that it would not last forever, perhaps a possible reference to Genesis 3:15. By the redemptive work of Christ, creation will also “be freed from the bondage of corruption into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” So, negatively, this implies that it will no longer be subject to destruction and, positively, that it will share in the glory of the children of God.

Therefore, the ultimate destiny of creation is not annihilation but transformation. And when Peter declares that the heavens and the earth in their present condition are reserved for fire, he probably means that fire will be used by God to purify the natural world as it exists today, and it will emerge as “new heavens and new earth” where believers will dwell with God forever. The idea of the eschatological renewal of creation is expressed in Isaiah 65:17. Jesus spoke of the “regeneration (in Greek, palingenesia) of things” at his second coming (Matthew 19:28). In Acts 3:21, Peter referred to “the times of restoration (Greek apokatastasis) of all things” and Ephesians 1:10 speaks of the “gathering together (reconciliation) of all things in Christ, in the dispensation of the fulfillment of times, both those in heaven and those on earth.”

In verses 22-23, Paul uses the image of a woman in pre-childbirth pains and applies it to the current state of both creation and God's children. In this painful and distressing stage, however, there is hope. Creation and the children of God await their redemption. Christians have already been adopted by God. We have been declared children, and the Holy Spirit witnesses to our spirit of that fact; but there is a dimension of the father-son relationship that is still unknown to us. Our spirit has been redeemed, but not our body. One day our bodies will be transformed and made similar to the body with which Christ was resurrected, so corruption will be changed into glory.

The children of God have the firstfruits (Greek aparké) of the Spirit. The Spirit is the first delivery, it is the guarantee that there will be a full harvest. In 2 Corinthians 1:22, Paul calls the Spirit “the down payment” (Greek arrabón). In other words, the Spirit has the role of anticipating salvation with a view to its complete realization. Our redemption will be full until our bodies are transformed. Meanwhile, “we groan within ourselves... waiting for the redemption of our body.” Paul refers to this internal groaning: “Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling….. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” (2 Corinthians 5:2, 4).