Why All Creation Groans — Romans 8:18-23 Explained

Hello, and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick. It's good to have everybody still with us, and we're going to go right back to where we left off a program or so ago, back in chapter 8 of Romans once again, and we're going to start in verse 18 today. And again we like to welcome our television audience, we're just thrilled of the response we get. We love your letters and your notes, and one of the station managers called the other day that he was getting little notes in response, and there's nothing that thrills us more than that you take the time to search the Scriptures with us and study these things together. As I've said so often, this is just an informal approach to Bible study. We don't claim to be any theologian or anything like that. I'm not a man of letters, I'm just a common layman. But I love this book, and I think most people realize that by now, and I'm getting a lot of people to join me in that same kind of love for the Word. You just can't exhaust it, it's just unbelievable, and of course that's what it's supposed to be. Well, let's go right back to where we left off in verse 18, and I'm going to take every moment of it. I'm not even going to take time to advertise the books and so forth in this program, because we've got again so much to cover, I'm just hoping I can squeeze it in to 28 minutes. Paul is talking about something now that you and I as believers are looking forward to, we're expecting it any time, and that of course is the rapture of the church, the believers. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us. Now when Paul says the sufferings of this time, he knew what it was to suffer didn't he? He'd been in prison often, he'd been shipwrecked I think twice, he had received 39 lashes three times, and he was hungry, he was naked, he was beaten, all for the sake of the Gospel. He suffered. You and I in America at least, we know very little of suffering. Now we may yet someday, we hope not, but it could happen. Nothing is impossible, but even with all the sufferings and the hardships that this man went through, he said it's nothing. It's nothing compared with what's waiting for us, the glory that's going to be revealed. Now in verse 19, Paul says, "...for the earnest expectation of all creation is waiting for the manifestation of the sons, or the children of God." Now wait a minute, what's he saying? Everything in nature, the mountains, the rocks, the rivers, the birds, the animals, everything is waiting for the day when the children of God will be manifested, which of course means it's going to be ruptured. We all know according to Paul's writings that this is what the believer calls the Blessed Hope, and not because it's a cop-out, but because we are suddenly going to be translated from this life to the eternal with our new bodies to be with the Lord forever in an instant. It may take place today, it may take place tomorrow, it may be a while yet. We don't know, we don't set dates. But as we see the things of the world that are taking place, and the appearance now of globalism in all of its forms and shapes, and global religion, and global economies, and global government, we know that this is a sure sign that we're getting very close to the appearance of the Antichrist who will be the world ruler under that global environment. But before that happens, we're going to be snatched away, we're going to be caught up in 1 Thessalonians, and we're going to suddenly meet the Lord in the air. Now all of creation is looking for that day, because all of creation knows that that will trigger the final days of the curse, because the seven years of that tribulation are going to be God's way of paying off Satan's mortgage, which we studied especially back when we were in our study of Revelation chapter 5, and we'll probably look at Revelation again someday. But anyway, the tribulation will pay off the curse, the world will be delivered from it, and all of nature seemingly according to Scripture. Now again this takes some faith, I know it does, but all of nature is looking forward to it. Now let's read on in verse 20, "...for the creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope." Now what's he talking about? Well you see the moment Adam sinned, what fell? The curse. Who came under the curse? Everything. Inanimate, animate, the birds, the fish, everything came under the awful effect of the curse. It's the curse that causes the great areas of desert, such as the Sahara. Now it wasn't the way God created it, it's the result of the curse, and all the other things that have made the planet what it is today, is the result of Adam's rebellion, the curse. So as soon as the curse fell, God came back with a remedy. Now let's go back to Genesis chapter 3, verse 15. In Genesis 3 is where Eve partook, and then Adam, and this is the event that all of Scripture points back to as the vortex of the human problem, the fall of Adam. But just as soon as it all happened, God came right back and made a promise in chapter 3, verse 15. And He's speaking to Satan, who of course precipitated all of this, and He says to Satan, I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. Now that doesn't mean too much if you don't know the rest of Scripture, but Galatians tells us that the seed of the woman is Christ. And so what we really have here is a promise then of a running battle between Satan and Jesus Christ, and you see it from this moment on. Just as soon as Satan understands God's particular program, he comes in and tries to disrupt it. Just as soon as God made the covenant with Abraham, Satan began a process that has been running now for over 4,000 years, and that was to destroy the nation of Israel. Because God promised that everything would be fulfilled through that little nation. And if Satan could destroy the Jew, then he thwarts God's plan for the ages. And so everything begins right here, this running battle. Now when you skip on over to verse 17, God speaks to Adam, and he says, 17. Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and ye have eaten of the tree of which I command thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed is the ground for thy sake, and sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life, thorns also, and thistles shall it bring forth, and thou shalt eat the herb of the feet of the field, and in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return to the ground. Now what is that? That's the curse. And it didn't just fall on Adam, it didn't just fall on the ground per se, it fell on all of creation. Everything came under the curse. Now just as soon as the curse fell, all of the present day ecology was set up, and that is that one species of an animal, or one species of a bird, feeds and makes its subsistence on some other species. If you've ever watched wildlife and so forth, the public television accounts, how we almost cringe when we see how the leopard stalks the deer, or the zebra, or whatever, and various birds will rob the nests of other birds. Well that isn't the way God created it. That's the result of the curse. Come back with me now to Romans chapter 8. Don't ask me to explain it, but all of creation is aware that they were subjected to the curse, but also that the day is coming when the curse will be lifted. That's what the Book says. I didn't dream this up, Paul writes it by inspiration. Now read on. Romans 8. Verse 20. "...for the creature was made subject to vanity not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, that just as soon as the curse fell God came back and said, but I've got a remedy." And that would be through the Redeemer, through the Son, and through the seed of the woman. Now come on down to verse 21. "...because the creation itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, and it's going to be restored as it was before Adam fell." In other words, wildlife will no longer fear other things of their various species, they'll have no fear of man, they're going to be restored as it was before Adam fell. Now you want to remember back there before Adam sinned, nothing ate meat, nothing killed another species for its livelihood. Everything ate of which grew naturally, of the grass, and the herbs, and the nuts, and the berries, and so forth. And so it will be when the Kingdom is set up. So let's read verse 21 again. "...the creation shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, and who is going to gain control of it? The children of God." And what have we been showing? When you become a believer, you become a child of God. So what is all creation waiting for? The day when Christ will rule as King of Kings, and we'll be ruling and reigning with Him, and we'll be in dominion over this glorious new creation that will be brought out from underneath the curse. Now verse 22, "...for we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain until now." Now when I say that all of creation is aware of His coming, and of His restoring everything as it was at the beginning, people say, wait a minute, you're getting out in left field. You mean to tell me that the rocks and the mountains are aware of God's coming and ruling? Yes they are, and of course the one I always like to refer to is Luke chapter 19. Let's go back there for a moment, because I want you to see it with your own eyes, otherwise you might think that I pulled it out of the woodwork. Luke 19, verse 39-40. Now this is at the triumphal entry, and they've been shouting Hosanna, and they've been laying the palm fronds in His way, and the religious leaders of Israel got all shook up. And then verse 39, "...and so the Pharisees from among the multitudes said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples." Don't let them call out like this. Verse 40, "...and he answered and said unto them, I tell you that if these should hold their peace," that is these people now who are shouting concerning His triumphal entry, "...if these should hold their peace, the stones would cry out." Jesus said it, and He's the Creator, and He knows what they're capable of doing. Let's go all the way back to Psalms chapter 148, and if this doesn't say it plain enough I'm helpless, because this just says it all. That when all of creation sees the rapture of the believers, they know that it's only a little while until the curse will be lifted, and they're going to enter into that glorious dominion under Christ's rule and reign, and with whom of course we will be joint heirs. Let's start at verse 1. Psalm 148, "...praise ye the LORD from the heavens, praise him in the heights, praise ye him all his angels, praise ye him all his hosts, praise ye him sun, and moon, and stars of light." The whole creation. Psalm 148, "...praise ye him ye heavens of the heavens, ye waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded, and they were created. He hath also established them for ever and ever. He hath made a decree which shall not pass." Now watch, "...praise ye the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps, fire, hail, snow, vapors, stormy wind fulfilling his word, mountains, and all hills, fruitful trees, cedars, beasts, and all cattle, creeping things, flying fowl, kings of the earth." Now do you see they're all put into the same basket? Everything is thrown into this same account of responding to the Creator. Unreal isn't it? I couldn't believe it if it was any place but God's Word, but that's what it says, and I believe it. They are all subject to the power of their Creator. Verse 11, "...kings of the earth, and all people, princes, and all judges of the earth, both young men and maidens, old men and children, let them praise the name of the LORD. For his name alone is excellent, his glory is above the earth and heaven." It's going to happen when the curse is lifted, and Christ returns. Now turn with me to Isaiah chapter 11, and while you're turning I'd just like to always think of a little example that I trust sort of drives the point home. That for the animal kingdom and the bird kingdom, under the curse, they have to live in constant fear of being somebody else's lunch. And you've all watched enough of the documentaries and so forth, you're aware of that. And so to bring it down to almost every household, wherever they may live in this United States anywhere, I always like to use the little cottontail rabbit. They're everywhere, almost everyone I think has seen them in a city park, or on a lawn, or whatever. But the point I always like to make is, does that little cottontail ever relax? Never! The neighbor's dog would have him if he would, an owl would grab it, the hawks would grab him, the foxes would get him, the coyotes, all of these other creatures would love to grab that little cottontail for their lunch. But that cottontail knows it, and so he never can relax. But you know what? Someday he will, someday he won't have to worry about that. I saw a documentary a few years ago on the prairie chickens out in the desert in Utah, where they're just a little clump of brown glass here, and a little clump there. But these prairie chickens mortal enemy was the hawk, a pretty good sized hawk. And so the camera was showing that hawk circling, and here was this prairie chicken. The hawk huddled down beside a little clump of brown grass, and he fit just beautifully. You couldn't hardly tell it was there. But the announcer said, Now this prairie chicken, if it so much as blinks an eye, that hawk will see it. So the camera was on that prairie chicken, and sure enough he knew that hawk was up there. And he tried to look up, and he blinked that eye, and just that quick that hawk had him. Well you see this is nature today. This is the ecology that everything is laboring under. It's the curse. Oh but now look when the curse is lifted in Isaiah chapter 11, and the Scripture defines it so clearly. When Christ of course the branch of verse 1 is going to rule and reign, then you come all the way down for sake of time to verse 5. "...righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, faithfulness the girdle of his reins." Now we come into the animal kingdom, as it's going to be after the curse has been lifted, and what they're looking forward to in Romans chapter 8. "...where the wolf shall dwell with the lamb." The lamb is not going to have to worry, the wolf isn't going to kill it, because the wolf is going to eat grass and berries and everything else just like other creatures. "...the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling." They're all going to pasture together. "...and a little child shall lead them." Mamas won't have to worry about their kids out there in the midst of a group of leopards and lions and what have you. There's nothing to worry about. Read on. "...the cow and the bear shall feed together in the same place. Their young ones shall lie down together." Well now again go back to your documentaries. What do these leopards and these cheetahs really like to pick on? The baby of a species. Maybe the baby deer, or the baby zebra, or something that can't keep up, and when I watch that boy it just tears my heart up. I don't even like to watch them anymore. But see this is what it's like under the curse. This is what it's going to be like when it's lifted. They're all going to lie down, they're going to feed together, and the lion will eat straw or grass or forage just like the cow does today. Then verse 8. "...even a child as small as a nursing child, a baby, will be able to play right on the hole of the old poisonous snake, the asp." No fear. Verse 9. "...a weaned child shall put his hand on a cockatrice's den." Another venomous thing to be feared. No fear. Now look at the next verse. Romans 8. Verse 9. "...they shall not hurt, nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." I'll flip back real quickly to Romans chapter 8, and so this is what everything in creation, the rocks, the rivers, the trees, the birds, the fish, the animals, as well as we believers, we're looking forward to this day when the curse will be lifted. Now let's go on into verse 22. Romans 8. "...for we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain." Most of all of creation, like I explained in the little cottontail, they're under constant duress. They're in constant search of food, they're in constant trying to protect themselves from being food, and it's just what we call ecology. But that's not the way God intended it, and so they travail in pain together until now. Now look at verse 23. "...and not only they," not the things of nature, "...but ourselves also," and again look how He's looking at only believers, "...and ourselves also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit." Who's He talking about? Believers. We're the only ones who can anxiously look forward for the Lord's coming. The unbeliever shrinks from it. He's not ready for it. He'd like to think it all away, but he's not going to succeed, because He's coming, and oh I wish people could wake up and realize how evident it is that He's coming. The whole world is moving faster and faster to that final moment when Christ is going to intervene once again in human history, and He's going to set things straight. The curse is going to be lifted, and He's going to rule, King of kings and Lord of lords. Now let's move on, we've got time probably for a couple more verses. Ephesians 2, verse 23, "...even we ourselves, grown within ourselves, waiting for the adoption that is to say, the redemption of our soul, no, the body." Now all we hear about, at least that's all I heard in my years growing up, was the salvation or the redemption of the soul. Never heard much about the body, but listen, as I've said on this program before, God has never used the human being as just a soul and spirit. It has to be the complete entity of body, soul and spirit. In other words, our loved ones as they've gone on to be in glory, they're not walking the streets of gold, they're not up there singing hallelujahs, they can't because they're not in a body. Now as I've said before, there's a reason I can say that, and I haven't got time to explain it here, and that is when we go from time to eternity, it's a whole different set of circumstances. I honestly believe that since eternity is out of time, and time is not relevant, even though Adam has been dead 6,000 years, when all this takes place, Adam will think it was just that much time had elapsed. He won't realize that 6,000 years has gone by. So when I say that they're up there and they're not walking the streets of gold, don't ask me what they've been doing all these years. There haven't been that many years so far as they're concerned. That's another whole half hour. Come on back to Romans chapter 8. The redemption of our body. Now see the body hasn't experienced redemption, it's still under the curse. We all get sick, we get wounded, and if the Lord doesn't come, we're all going to die. That's because of the curse. But the day is coming when we will have a new body, and it's part of the complete redemption Ephesians chapter 1. Those verses we read a program or two ago, but I'm going to bring you all the way down to verse 14 this time. Ephesians 1, verse 14. The sealing of the Holy Spirit is the earnest, the down payment, it's the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession. Now we know He's already redeemed our soul, our spirit, but what's waiting? The redemption of the body. And that's exactly what's waiting. Now flip back quickly to Romans chapter 8, and so Paul says, everything is moving to the day when we will have that final redemption of the body. And then we will be a complete entity, ready to go into all eternity. Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a weekly Bible study. If you would like more information about the Les Feldick Ministries, a Bible study in your area, or about this program, write to Les Feldick Ministries, Route 1, Box 760, Kenta, Oklahoma, 74552. That's Route 1, Box 760, Kenta, Oklahoma, 74552. Through the Bible with Les Feldick is viewer supported, and your gift is appreciated. Thank you, and be sure to tune in next time for Through the Bible with Les Feldick.