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Dividing the Word of Truth
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Timothy 2:15)
This is
good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who
desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1Timothy 2:3-4
Romans by the Book Lesson
60
Welcome
back my friends. Per our custom, we’re
going to pick up right where we left off in the previous lesson and then
continue the strategy we commenced with of “digging
deeper” into this awe-inspiring book verse by verse.
If
you’ll recall, we were looking at the curse the LORD God placed on the ground.
In
the book of Romans, chapter 8, Paul referred to this as, “the creation,” meaning everything on the earth including the
creatures and the plant life. We learned
that this was done, “in hope.”
In other words, God did not intend for this curse to be
permanent (Romans 8:19-21) no more than He intended the enmity to be unending
between “your
seed and her
seed (Genesis
3:15).”
Scripture
reveals “her seed” to be the
seed of the woman or the Lord Jesus Christ. “Your
seed” is in reference to Satan whose offspring will be the anti-christ. The enmity between God and the forces of evil
on earth will reach its climax at the battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:16). For now, this hostility continues to be a
reality as does the curse on God’s creation but neither is permanent.
Until
Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross the promise of salvation and eternal life
remained an unfulfilled prophecy (Genesis 3:15; 12:1-3, 15). There was only the blood of bulls, and goats which
could not remove sin; it only “covered it.” These blood sacrifices, once offered, merely
atoned for the Israelite’s sins one year at a time (Leviticus 23:
27-28; Hebrews 10:4; 9:12). Contrastingly,
Jesus died once for all who believe
or exercise faith on Him (1
Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 6:10).
Therefore,
God cursed “creation” – in hope, that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery
to corruption… Now ask a
question. What does the word “also” entail? Us, right!
Paul is talking about Believers and the creation (together) being set free from their corrupted state.
With
this act God intended to improve man's opportunity to re-enter into a personal relationship
with Him through faith. Otherwise, this
life on earth would be sheer “vanity,”
or a meaningless existence; one of endless toil, suffering, and hardship;
without hope.
Jesus
said,
John 6
27: “Do not
work for the food which perishes, but for the food
which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on
Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”
And:
John 6
35: Jesus said to
them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he
who believes in Me will never thirst.
And
this:
Mark 8
36: “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and
forfeit his soul?”
In
other words, you could be the wealthiest person on the planet, capable of
purchasing whatever your heart desired, however, without faith all your wealth,
all your good deeds combined, is incapable of purchasing 1 minute in heaven
with Jesus Christ.
Please
open your Bible to Romans, chapter 8.
Romans 8
20: For the
creation was subjected to futility (vanity), not willingly, but because of Him (the LORD God) who subjected it, in hope
21: that the
creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption
into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
In
verse 21, our apostle Paul explains that the creation was placed in the bondage
of corruption when the man sinned, but it is to be delivered from
this “slavery” into the glorious
freedom (liberty) of the children of God.
Isaiah 11:6-10 describes this change.
For now, our bodies exist in a state of bondage. What does Scripture mean by this?
Believers
come down with the same illnesses as unbelievers. Believers get sick and die.
We’re
not exempt from the catastrophes and tragedies that befall mankind! But God has promised to deliver our
bodies from this slavery of corruption. After
this happens, creation will also be delivered. Meanwhile, the whole creation suffers
the pains of childbirth (travail) eagerly
waiting its deliverance.
I’ve
underlined the word deliverance above to draw your attention to it due to the
fact that Paul in Verse 22 competently compares the curse from which the whole
creation is anticipating its deliverance to that of a woman in the throes
of childbirth.
Romans 8
22: For we know that the whole creation groans
and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
Childbirth
is a progressive process; meaning it’s not over in a matter of minutes but
hours and during this time the mother experiences painful spasms.
Let’s
compare Scripture with Scripture. Please
turn back to the book of Matthew at chapter 24.
Here we have Jesus Christ, on the Mt. of Olives, just prior to His
death, answering the apostle’s question concerning the signs of the end times
before His return. I’m not going to
review the entire discourse just what we came here to see, starting at verse 7.
Matthew 24
7: “For
nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various
places there will be famine and earthquakes.
8: (Read carefully) “But
all these things are merely the
beginning of (what) birth pangs (travail).
The
phrase, “birth pangs” Jesus’ uses here to describe the increasingly destructive
process of this planets environmental and political turmoil until His return is
the same word (same meaning) as Paul uses in Romans 8:22.
Now
you mothers out there know what birth pangs feel like.
When
the LORD God told the woman, “I will
greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth your
children.” This is what He
meant. Birth
pangs (plural) are regular, recurrent spasms of pain. As the moment of childbirth nears, the birth
pangs are sudden, sharp, and extremely painful.
But
no matter how painful this experience may be the parents wait expectantly, in
hope, toward the culmination of the pregnancy!
At
the manifestation
(appearance) of the newborn child, once the infant is placed in its mother’s
arms; nestled there with its mother’s love, the birth pangs and the groaning are
but a brief if not forgotten memory because the mother’s hope has become a reality!
Our
apostle Paul uses this analogy to demonstrate how the creation and the sons (and
daughters) of God are experiencing a
similar occurrence while waiting expectantly to be delivered from the
slavery of corruption into the freedom
of the glory of the children of God.
We
can fact-check this last statement with Scripture by moving on to the next
verse.
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 (and
daughters of God), the redemption of
the body (Philippians 3:20-21; Romans 8:29;
1 Corinthians 15: 20-23).
Once
again, our apostle Paul informs us that not only does creation groan, in hope, but this experience is shared by Believers as well. You see, our future hope has been stored up for us
in heaven. We own the promise of our
eternal portion as Believers right now but we receive “ownership” on the Day of
Redemption.
Let’s
go to the book. Please turn to
Colossians, chapter 1.
Colossians 1
4: since we heard
of your faith (plus
nothing else) in Christ Jesus and the
love which you have for all the saints;
5: because of the (what’s the next
word) hope laid up for you (where
exactly) in heaven, of
which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel…
Clarification
is required concerning this word groaning which our apostle Paul speaks
of in these verses. This isn’t a painful
sound, emitted from deep within a person; from one who is unable to find
comfort or rest. Paul intends the reader
of Scripture to understand this groaning, coming from both the creation and the Believers, is an inward expression of “deep longing” and not of
pain.
I
believe an explanation by illustration is required before we proceed.
I
liken this to a child who on the night before Christmas is commanded to go to
bed early by they’re parents. After
hearing these words, and not being sleepy (at all), but instead being filled
with child-like excitement at the hope of Christmas morning and the wonderful
aromas, sights, and sounds this brings to their mind, lies fully awake in bed, uttering
an occasional groan while waiting
expectantly for the light of dawn, and the joy that Christmas brings.
I
also tend to think of a man on death row who is scheduled to die at midnight.
The
preacher waits with him in his cell. Now
only the governor can spare his life.
The
man has accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as His Savior this very day. He is free at last. But a realization has struck him hard; his family
needs to know about God’s love. Who will
tell them? He isn’t ready to die! He too waits
expectantly, in hope, for the phone call; a silent groan escapes his lips.
I
consider too a weary traveler in uniform who has seen too much suffering and
death. He longs to be home; so much in fact that he can already smell the home
cooking, recall the glow of the log fire in the hearth, and the warmth of his
wife’s embrace. But just two days into
his journey a strong storm rose up forcing him to take shelter. The gale shows no sign of giving way so he
sits inside waiting expectantly, in hope, that the morning will bring an end to the tempest raging
outdoors. He is thankful to be safe and warm, but he
must continue his journey for he’s been too long gone. He groans and utters a silent prayer for fair
weather and safe passage back to his loved ones.
So,
Paul wants us to know that this groan
originates from a sensation of “deep longing” to be with our
heavenly Father, to receive the redemption of our bodies, our adoption as sons
(and daughters) of God, and our inheritance.
I
didn’t intend to do this, but I want you to see that this is what the book says
and not my interpretation of Scripture.
Please flip back to Isaiah, chapter 26.
Isaiah 26
9a: At night my
soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me
seeks you diligently;
I
don’t think you need my help in deciphering this passage for you. It’s right in line with the apostle Paul’s
message.
Please
turn to the book of Proverbs at chapter 13.
Proverbs 13
12: Hope deferred
makes the heart sick, But desired fulfilled is a tree of life.
Our
“hope” has been deferred. Per Scripture,
our hope has been laid up for us in heaven. We’ve covered this aspect of Paul’s teaching
already but we’re going to look at this in greater detail in the next lesson.
The
unbelievers of this world consider hope to be “wishful thinking,” as in
“I hope she calls me,” “I hope I get the job,” or “I hope I don’t have to have
a root canal.” When Scripture uses the
word hope, the meaning is different. The
Biblical definition of hope is “confident expectation.” (2
Corinthians 1:7)
One
of the songs we sang often in the children’s ministry I participated in some
years back was, “I’ll Fly Away.” This
song represents the Biblical hope of
every true Believer, in Christ Jesus. It
is the perfect example of confident expectation.
I’ll fly away, oh
glory, I’ll fly away
When I die, hallelujah by and by, I’ll fly away
When I die, hallelujah by and by, I’ll fly away
Some bright morning
when this life is over, I’ll fly away
To a land on God’s celestial shore, I’ll fly away
To a land on God’s celestial shore, I’ll fly away
When the shadows of
this life have gone, I’ll fly away
Like a bird from these prison walls I’ll fly, I’ll fly away
Like a bird from these prison walls I’ll fly, I’ll fly away
I’ll fly away, oh
glory, I’ll fly away
When I die, hallelujah by and by, I’ll fly away
When I die, hallelujah by and by, I’ll fly away
Oh how glad and
happy when we meet, I’ll fly away
No more cold iron shackles on my feet, I’ll fly away
No more cold iron shackles on my feet, I’ll fly away
I’ll fly away, oh
glory, I’ll fly away
When I die,
hallelujah by and by, I’ll fly away
Just a few more
weary days and then, I’ll fly away
To a land where joy will never end, I’ll fly away
To a land where joy will never end, I’ll fly away
I’ll fly away, oh
glory, I’ll fly away
When I die, hallellujah by and by, I’ll fly away
When I die, hallellujah by and by, I’ll fly away
Hope is firm
assurance regarding things that are unclear or unknown (Romans 8:24-25;
Hebrews 11:1, 7). Hope is a basic
component of the life of the Believer in Christ Jesus (Proverbs 23:18). Without hope, life loses its meaning (Lamentations
3:18; Job 7:6). The Believer’s hope is rooted
in faith in the divine salvation in Christ Jesus (Galatians 5:5).
It’s
this “waiting,” in hope, while in our corrupted state, knowing the Day
of Redemption is nearer than it was before, but desiring that it should be this
very day. I’ve
uttered the words, “Come Lord Jesus, come,” and so have many other Believers. A true Believer longs for the return of His
Savior, freedom from their corrupted state, the redemption of their bodies, the
realization of their adoption, and their eternal home; this is normal. But we
understand that each new day is a gift from God and we’ve been given another
opportunity to share the good news with those who need to hear it. Always remember to keep the Main thing the
Main thing.
The
next time we meet we’ll pick it up from here and I’ll leave you with this
thought: we Believers have only received “the first fruits of the Spirit…”
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
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Rights Reserved
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