Romans 8:18,19 - The glory that is to be revealed in us

8:18

Paul has dealt with the internal struggles we have with sin, having earlier addressed the fundamental problem of guilt. Now he turns to suffering. There had been persecution of the Jews in Rome, there being evicted from the city for a time, and Christians (including Jews) endured persecution, and this would actually get worse. Then there is the general suffering of life. Paul declares that they are “not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us”. We do need to realise that there is a future glory for those who are in Christ. The sentence can be taken in two ways. The most obvious is to say that the future glory is far greater than any present sufferings. I have to say I think this is the most likely, especially as Paul has spoken of us sharing in Christ’s sufferings in 8:17, there even being an essential part of the package. Garland seems to favour saying that the present sufferings do not threaten the future glory. I.e there is nothing that the world or the devil can throw at us that can take away our future glory. The difference between the two interpretations actually is not that great, and is really just looking at the same thing from a slightly different angle.

8:19

Back in Rom 1:20 Paul said that many of God’s attributes are clearly demonstrated in creation. I.e. creation shouts out that there is a God. Paul now speaks again of creation, and says that creation is “longing for the revealing of the sons of God”. Creation here refers to all of creation, but speaking specifically of all of creation excluding mankind. God’s plan as revealed in Genesis 1 and 2 was based around man and woman living in loving obedience to the Lord. The fall messed things up, but God’s plan has not changed, and creation will function properly when man functions properly. All of God’s plans are based around the salvation of mankind. So we need not fear that it will not happen (just in case anyone was wondering, I am not referring to universalism).