Romans 8:23 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

NIV: 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.

NASB: And not only that, 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, the redemption of our body.

CSB: Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits--we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

NLT: And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.

KJV: And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

NKJV: Not 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.

Christians—God's children through faith in Christ (Romans 3:26)—can experience love, joy, peace, and hope in the power of Holy Spirit. At the same time, we should also expect to experience suffering (John 16:33). This is not just the suffering of persecution (2 Corinthians 5:1–5). It includes the way we all suffer, along with all of creation, thanks to the consequences of sin. We live in a world subjected by God to futility and decay, as a way to bring about His perfect plan (Romans 8:20–22).

Paul has described all of creation as expressing this frustration, sorrow, and longing. He uses the term "groaning," from the root word sustenazo, applied to the sounds made by a woman in labor, about to deliver a baby, as she endures the waves of pain that come and go.

Now Paul refers to Christians as those who have God's Spirit with us: the "firstfruits of the Spirit" or "the Spirit as a first result of being in Christ." Such saved believers also groan inwardly in this waiting. But while the creation is waiting for God's children to be revealed in glory, we are waiting for something more specific. We wait eagerly for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

The picture Paul paints here ties together several things he has written in Romans 8 so far. He has said that God has given us in the Holy Spirit what he called the "Spirit of adoption" (Romans 8:15). We have already been adopted and have become the full children of God through faith in Christ. So what are we waiting for if the adoption is complete?

Paul has written about a disconnect between our spirits and our bodies: "…although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness" (Romans 8:10). It's true that we are fully God's children right now through faith in Christ, but we have yet to meet our Father in person. We have been freed from the eternal penalty for sin, but our bodies continue to experience the temporary consequence of sin: death. We are dying, and these bodies will die.

So what are we adopted children of God waiting for? We're waiting for our bodies to be redeemed after we die physically and are then resurrected as Christ was. Or as someone put it: Our adoption is complete; we're just waiting for our father to come and pick us up so that we can be with Him.

Romans 8:18–30 talks about the participation of Christians in the everyday suffering experienced by all of creation. We all groan together as a woman in labor while we wait for God to reveal His children. As His children, we are waiting for the Father to complete our adoption by redeeming our bodies so that we can be with Him. God's Spirit helps us in the season of waiting by taking our unformed prayers to God. We trust that God uses every circumstance in our lives for His purposes and that He has chosen us long ago to be His children.

Romans 8 begins and ends with declarations of the Christian's absolute security before God. There is no condemnation for those in Christ, and nothing will ever be able to separate us from His love. Having believed the gospel, we now live in the Spirit of God. That allows us to call God Abba Father. We suffer with Christ, and we suffer along with all creation while we wait for God to reveal us as His sons. With the help of the Spirit, we are confident that God is for us and loves us in Christ.

In Romans 7, Paul revealed his frustration of trying to do good only to be thwarted by his sin. He begins Romans 8, though, with the triumphant statement that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. We live in the Spirit, and we relate to God as a child does to a father. The Spirit helps us in this season of suffering along with all of creation while we wait for our adoption to be complete with the redemption of our bodies. We are confident, though, that God is for us and nothing can separate us from His love.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.