No Pain No Glory
Romans 8:18-27
!Introduction
!In Roman’s 8 we have a new position; we are in Christ (vv.1-8); we have a new guest the Holy Spirit (vv.
9-14); we have a new adoption; we are members of God’s forever family (vv.15-17). We also have a new
hope; the full and final redemption of all things (vv.18-25).
!In Romans Paul argues we are free from judgment; “There is therefore now no condemnation for those
who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom.8:1). We are free from discouragement; “For the law of the Spirit of life in
Christ has made me free from the law of sin and death (Rom.8:2). We are free from defeat; “So, dear
brothers and sisters, you have no obligation whatsoever to do what your sinful nature urges you to
do” (Rom. 8:12 NLT).
!Yet there is the problem of pain and suffering. In verse 17 Paul writes; “and if children, then heirs—heirs
of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”
!You mean there’s a catch? “Oh I get it! Pain and suffering. No thank you.” Paul reminds the reader of
the paradox of knowing and living and loving Jesus. Sometimes suffering precedes glory.
!Athletes sometimes say; ‘no pain no gain’. Some dentists advertise “No Pain Dentistry”. Don’t you
believe it. I say to the Dentist; “no pain” and he says “novacaine”. Why? Because I have a central
nervous system. And so do you. With a central nervous system comes the possibility of pain.
!For the Christian we lose our life to find it (Matt.10:39; Jn 12:25). We are both unknown and well known
(2 Cor.6:9); we are dying yet we possess life; we are sorrowful yet rejoice; we are poor yet we are made
rich; we have nothing yet possess all things. Our Jesus hungered, yet fed multitudes; he experienced
thirst and yet was Himself the living Water; he paid tribute and was the king of kings; he wept and yet
dries our tears. He is sold for 30 pieces of silver and yet purchases the sinner and redeems the world.
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The Holy Spirit’s Presence Even In Pain
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In this chapter Paul reminds the Christian that the Holy Spirit “has made me free” (Rom.8:2).
The Holy Spirit “dwells” in you v.9. The Holy Spirit identifies us; for those who do not have the
Spirit of Christ, “he is none of His” (v.11 KJV). The Holy Spirit ‘quicken’s or makes alive our
mortal bodies’ (v.11); the Holy Spirit guides—we are led by the Spirit of God (v.14); and the
Holy Spirit fills our hearts with joy because the Spirit bears witness (confirms) that we belong to
the Lord. Now Paul confirms that the Holy Spirit has given Himself as a pledge (v.23); an
enablement (v.23); helping us with our infirmities (v.26) and making intercession (v.26); and
providing us with understanding (interpretation)(v.27).
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Pain In This World (vv.18-21)
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Romans 8:18 (NKJV)18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to
be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
!
Paul contrasts present sufferings with future glory. Pause for a moment and consider how Paul
handles pain. Paul does not deny suffering in this present world. He simply denies suffering in
this world as being worthy of consideration compared to the exceeding glory which will be
revealed in us. Paul puts pain in perspective.
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No Pain No Glory
Romans 8:18-27
In 2 Corinthians 4:17 Paul writes; “For our present troubles are quite small and won’t last long.
Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever!” (NLT).
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Peter adds (1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT); “So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it
is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while. (7) These trials are only to test your faith,
to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—and your faith
is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by
fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is
revealed to the whole world.”
!
Why are so many Bible teachers unable or unwilling to teach these passages? Ross W. Marrs
writes; “Take away my capacity for pain and you rob me of the possibility of joy. Take away my
ability to fail and I would not know the meaning of success. Let me be immune to rejection and
heartbreak and I could not know the glory of living” (Leadership, Vol.3, no.1).
!
Sometimes God will mark us. Leith Anderson is the President of the National Association of
Evangelicals and a former Colorado Pastor and Seminary Professor; he writes; “A shepherd
owns the sheep and marks them. In some cases, sheep are branded. Although some sheep are
branded, that’s really not a popular thing because it damages the wool. Even if a brand is placed
through the wool and into the hide of the lamb, the wool can overgrow it so the brand won’t be
seen. Today the ears are pierced with identification tags, but that’s a fairly modern invention.
For thousands of years, shepherds around the world marked the ears of their sheep by notching
their ears with a sharp knife. Each shepherd had his own distinctive notch for the ear of the
sheep. If the sheep gather in a cluster, he can see even from a distance which ones are his. I
think all of this is a lot like being a Christian. For Christians are also those who admit to being
owned and marked by Jesus Christ—sometimes marked painfully through suffering and
difficulty. It must be painful for Jesus Christ to allow those marks to be burned, pierced, and
notched into our lives” (“The Lord is My Shepherd,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 136).
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John 16:33 (NLT); “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you
have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world”.
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19For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
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Paul now points to Creation and draws an analogy. When the consummation of all things takes
place, the creation will be restored to the “pre-fall” conditions. The whole universe “eagerly
waits” for this event. The expression “eagerly waits” is one Greek word; apokaradokia—three
parts apo-from—kara—head—dokeo—watch (in Ionic Greek). The word means ‘to watch with
outstretched head, or to watch anxiously. Imagine as Creation rubbernecks—as it looks at the
wreck called humanity. The idea is an absorbed, persistent expectation, with intense watching.
The word ‘revealing’ means manifestation. It is the noun apocalypses. The sons of God are
those who belong to Christ and are in Christ—and Christ in them.
!
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No Pain No Glory
Romans 8:18-27
20For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in
hope;
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The NLT translates this; “Against its will, everything on earth was subjected to God’s curse”.
The universe was subjected to futility or vanity. The idea is that of looking for what one does not
find—hence futility, frustration, disappointment. Paul is making reference to the curse in
Genesis 1:29. Creation is not at fault. We are at fault. We are the descendants of Adam. Paul
uses terms like suffer (v.18); futility (v.20); bondage of corruption (v.21) and pain (v.22).
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21because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the
glorious liberty of the children of God.
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Pain In Our Lives (vv.22-24)
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22For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
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Paul compares Creation to a woman in labor giving birth. There is pain—but when the labor is
complete there is a baby and joy! One day the groaning creation will become the glorious
creation. We are to take a lesson from creation. Today’s bondage will be exchanged for
tomorrow’s liberty. Creation longs for the day of liberation. And as John Phillip’s says; “The
whole creation is on tip-toe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their
own” (quoted from Hughes p. 159).
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In verses 19-22 Paul reveals four principles:
(1)
Our groans are temporary.
(2)
The groaning is a means to an end.
(3)
We groan as a result of sin.
(4)
Groaning is universal.
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Grief, suffering, pain are universal. But grief and suffering are also very personal. Now Paul’s
attention turns to the personal face of grief.
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How should we respond to pain and suffering? Just like the God’s creation. Our sorrow is
temporary. Our sorrow is a means to an end. Our sorrow is a result of sin. Our sorrow—no
matter how intense and how personal—is shared by others.
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23Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within
ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
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We have been given a downpayment for eternity—our first installment in this thing we call
eternal life.
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“we ourselves groan”
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No Pain No Glory
Romans 8:18-27
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We are waiting for our adoption papers to come through. We are waiting for our permanent
residence. Deep within us the taste of eternity has left a lingering and longing for more. Eternity
is in our hearts. We know that we were meant to live forever. God has placed eternity in our
hearts. God has also planned a glorious resurrection and a new, immortal, body. In eternity we
will have no physical limitations—and yet we will exist. No physical deformities, no diseases or
depression or discouragement. Think about it. You will never have to dye your hair. You will
have hair where you want it—and you won’t have hair where you don’t want it. We will be free
from all defects. The reason we groan is because we have tasted the first fruits of the Holy
Spirit. Just like the spies who returned from the land of Promise and tasted the rich, ripe,
succulent, first fruits of Canaan (Numbers 13:23-27).
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24For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope
for what he sees?
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The text literally reads; “for we are saved by that hope”. The NLT; “Now that we are saved, we
eagerly look forward to this freedom. For if you already have something, you don’t need to hope
for it.”
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Hope is a fixed certainty in the Bible. In Ephesians 4:4; “There is one body and one Spirit, just
as you were called in one hope of your calling.”
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What hope is Paul talking about? The blessed hope of the coming of our great God and Savior
Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13). We are hoping and waiting. But all the benefits are now! Salvation is
complete now! We will receive our full inheritance later but we are saved now. “Temporary
suffering will give way to eternal glory” (Wiersbe p. 541).
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Pain In Our Hearts (vv.25-27)
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25But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
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What is it that we do not see? We have not seen the glorious promised land of heaven. We have
not experienced a glorified body (unless you believe six-pac abs are a glorified body). God is
concerned about our sufferings and our trials. He cares about the pain in our hearts. “. . .we
eagerly wait for it with perseverance” The Greek word for ‘perseverance’ is hupomoni. Hope is
expecting something better. This produces patience. Real patience. Patience is waiting for
freedom and glory.
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26Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for
as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered.
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No Pain No Glory
Romans 8:18-27
Paul is no stranger to weakness, to suffering, to pain, to groaning. We are given a peek into
Paul’s trials (2 Corinthians 11:23-25); “Are they ministers of Christ—I speak as a fool—I am
more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prison more frequently, in deaths
often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten
with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the
deep.”
!
Paul will now deal with hope and encouragement. Counselors—people who help people pay
attention. People in pain and people who are suffering need hope and encouragement. They
need to know that God has a plan. Paul will not leave us earthbound. He causes us to cast our
gaze into heaven. The first ray of hope comes when he tells us that the Holy Spirit is praying for
us!
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This is amazing. The Holy Spirit is inside of us. The Holy Spirit is praying for us. The greater
the groan the greater the glory. The weaker our spirit the stronger His support!
!
Kent Hughes writes; “The Holy Spirit says those things we want to say but cannot mouth”.
!
“. . .the Spirit helps our weaknesses” In what sense? A.T. Robertson says, “The Holy Spirit lays
hold of our weakness along with (syn) us and carries His part of the burden facing us (anti) as if
two men were carrying a log, one at each end”. The Holy Spirit does not simply shout or
whisper encouragement, he rolls up his sleeves and picks up and bears our burdens; bears our
weakness. We have two intercessors—one in heaven (JESUS) and one on earth (THE HOLY
SPIRIT). I heard a road side illustration; a wealthy Englishman who bought a Rolls Royce—
went on vacation in France. When he had car trouble Rolls Royce flew the mechanic to France
and he came to the hotel to make the repairs. When the man asked for a bill—and the bill never
came—Rolls Royce wrote back; “Dear Sir, We have no record of anything ever having gone
wrong with your car.” This is the exact meaning of justified. It means that God has no record of
anything ever having gone wrong in our lives!
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Have you ever wondered what can be done about the pain of those groanings? It is the
knowledge of God. That’s right, remembering God is in control. Even when our life is spinning
out of control, even when tears and fears come like a flood. There is a word for God’s complete
control; it is sovereignty. There is also another word associated with God—Providence. The
Bible makes it clear—we under God’s care, under God’s control we are in His Hands (Psalm
33:6-11).
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What are the groanings that cannot be uttered? They express the depth of our needs! It also
speaks of our ignorance or inability. “I can’t change this! I don’t know what’s happening! My
life is falling apart. My marriage is falling apart. My world is falling apart. I feel like I am
being broken into tiny little pieces!”
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No Pain No Glory
Romans 8:18-27
The Holy Spirit cares. The Holy Spirit can address your concerns. How can God feel my pain?
Jesus groaned when he saw what sin does to people. In Mark’s gospel Jesus ran into a man who
was deaf and had a speech impediment. The man’s friends begged Jesus to put His hand on him
(v.32). The Bible says Jesus took the man aside from the crowd and put His fingers in his ears
and then Jesus “spat and touched his tongue”. I know what you are thinking; “gross”! Mark
7:34; “Then looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be
opened.” The very next verse says (v.35); “Immediately his ears were opened, and the
impediment of his tongue was loosed and he spoke plainly.” Then Jesus did something even
more remarkable. He told the man—“Don’t tell anybody”. What? I can hear for the first time,
speak for the first time and you don’t want me to tell anyone? The Bible says the people were
astonished above measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear
and the mute to speak.”
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27Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes
intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
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What could be more remarkable? God the Holy Spirit prays to God the Father who searches the
hearts of human beings and is able to pray for the saints in perfect agreement for your ultimate
good. In the plan of salvation, God the Father is the Source, God the Son the channel, and God
the Holy Spirit the agent.
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Conclusion
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Paul reveals the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will not leave you. Circumstances,
pain and suffering will not cause the Holy Spirit to abandon the believer. The presence of pain in
your world, the presence of pain in your life, the presence of pain in your heart.
!
You might think, “No one understands my pain. No one understands my problems.” You are
wrong. Jesus understands. God the Father knows your heart. And if you are a Christian, the
Holy Spirit is inside of you—praying for you—at this moment. Are you groaning inside? Praise
God! You have tasted the first fruits of the Holy Spirit. And more! You are waiting for your
adoption papers! A redeemed body! Heaven is being brought close—by the Holy Spirit.
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Are you in pain? Are you depressed? Are you discouraged or frustrated?
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Paul says; you are a guaranteed a place in heaven. Not because of pain or sorrow or suffering
but because you are in Christ and Christ in in you. Are you wearing a garment of suffering? You
will be robbed in glory and righteousness.
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You may not be responsible for the illness or the economic downturn. But you are responsible
for your response to suffering.
(1) Our groans are temporary.
(2) Our groaning is a means to an end.
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No Pain No Glory
Romans 8:18-27
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(3) Our groaning is a result of sin.
(4) Our groaning is shared by others.
Brokenness in our lives will produce fruit. Brokenness in our lives brings a fresh appreciation
for the grace of God. Psalm 51:1; “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your
lovingkindness; according to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.”
!
E. M. Bounds wrote; “Preachers are not sermon-makers, but men-makers or saint-makers apart
from a consciousness of how gracious God has been to us, and then allowing that grace to flow
to others. Brokenness keeps us close to grace.”
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Remember the Holy Spirit gives us assurance that we belong to God. How does He do that?
He confirms the truthfulness of God’s Word “bearing witness”
He convinces us that our inheritance comes from faith
“and if children then heirs”
He comforts us in our trials and suffering—knowing that one day it will be worth all
“If so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be glorified together”
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The Holy Spirit points to the return of Jesus
“the glory which shall be revealed” (v.18)
The Holy Spirits points to the revealing of the Sons of God “the earnest expectation” (v.19)
The Holy Spirit points to the release of all creation from bondage (vv.22-23)
The Holy Spirit points to the reality of our present hope (v.24-25)
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The Holy Spirit liberates (v.2)
The Holy Spirit indwells (v.9)
The Holy Spirit empowers (v.11)
The Holy Spirit guides (v.14)
The Holy Spirit cheers (v.16)
The Holy Spirit helps (v.26)
The Holy Spirit prays (v.26)
The Holy Spirit interprets (v.27)
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made me free
dwells in you
makes alive your mortal bodies
led by the Spirit of God
bears witness
helps our weakness
makes intercession
makes known by the mind of the Spirit
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