Romans 8:22-27

The headline statement for Romans 8:22-27 comes in verse 18 when Paul affirms that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.” In our passage, Paul unpacks some of those present sufferings, as well as the hope that awaits us.

The Groaning of Creation. Our text begins with a striking image: “We know that the whole creation has been groaning . . .” (Rom 8:22). Even as Israel groaned under its bondage in Egypt (Exod 2:23), creation, the church (Rom 8:23), and the Spirit (Rom 8:26) groan amid the sufferings of the present time. Clearly, there’s a whole lot of groaning goin’ on! So, why does creation groan? Because it shares the brokenness and sufferings of the present time. The non-human creation longs to be liberated from its “bondage to decay” that stems from human rebellion and selfishness (Rom 8:21).

Creation has a voice. We hear it praising God throughout the Psalms, but we also hear it groaning under the curse of human disobedience that goes back to the Garden of Eden. Have you ever listened to the cries of God’s creation? The creation God loves and delights in continues to groan, to a large degree because of humanity’s selfish choices. In this passage, creation’s fate is riveted to that of God’s people. In the face of overconsumptive lifestyles, a climate in crisis, accelerating environmental destruction, the loss of countless species, and little concern among God’s people to see this as a problem, creation’s groaning becomes deafening.

But creation is not without hope. The image of creation suffering under the pain of childbirth (Rom 8:22) points to a new birth. God’s purpose for his creation is not destruction but liberation (Rom 8:21). Even as God will give new life to our mortal bodies, he will renew the whole creation to what he intended it to be in the first place. The two are tied together. God’s purpose for the world, God’s mission, is bigger than we often think. God desires to bring wholeness, renewal, and peace to the whole creation. As Revelation puts it, to make everything new (Rev 21:5). Are we, God’s people, willing to align ourselves with God’s massive purpose for the world? To love creation as God does? To be agents of good news for the earth, as well as for people?

 The Hope of Redemption. Along with creation, God’s people also groan (Rom 8:23). We eagerly await the redemption of our weak, sin-scarred bodies, our final resurrection. Just as creation one day will be fully restored, we also will be liberated from all the weaknesses and sufferings of our fragile human existence. In the meantime, we groan, over cancer and congenital disabilities, Alzheimer’s and injustice, pain and poor judgment, depression and death. Part of the reason we groan for that final restoration is that we already possess the first fruits of the Spirit. Like the first fruits of the harvest in Israel, the Holy Spirit becomes the down payment, the first installment of what is to come. The Spirit brings us the real presence and glory of God now, but the fullness of God’s salvation lies ahead of us.

As a result, Paul says, we were saved in hope (Rom 8:24). The word “hope” appears five times in verses 24 and 25. Our salvation is real, but it is incomplete. We have already been adopted as God’s children (Rom 8:14-16), but that adoption won’t be fully realized until we receive our final inheritance of a redeemed body (Rom 8:23). Hope lies at the heart of the gospel. There is a longing at the heart of the Spirit-filled life, one that will not be fully satisfied until God completes the saving work he has begun and makes all things new. We live in hope for a future we do not yet see (Rom 8:24-25).

But that hope does not shield us from present suffering. Therefore, we continue to groan. My friend, Dennis Edwards, speaking as a pastor and a New Testament scholar, reflected on Paul’s language of groaning after former police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of George Floyd’s murder in 2021: “We African Americans understand this inward groaning—the discomfort of waiting for the full redemption of our physical selves. Like all creation, our bodies await renewal because they have borne pain and loss far too long.” He goes on to say, “When I heard the verdict that Chauvin was found guilty, I wept in relief. But my inward groaning hasn’t stopped. . . . Of course, our hope is eschatological, which is to say that justice will reach a climactic fulfillment at the end of time when Jesus returns. However, in the meantime, we strive—in the words of an old hymn—for a ‘foretaste of glory divine.’”[1]

For God’s people, the future shapes the present. As we participate in God’ restoring work in the face of sin, suffering, and injustice, we become a “sneak preview” of the fullness of redemption to come.

The Spirit’s Intercession. Our text concludes by spotlighting the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the midst of present sufferings: “the Spirit helps us in our weakness” (Rom 8:26). “Weakness” here doesn’t refer to sin but rather to the frailties of our human condition in a world that is not yet redeemed. As one of my professors once put it, the Spirit cleanses us from sin; the Spirit helps us with our weakness. The Spirit doesn’t remove our weakness but works through it.

Paul then focuses on a concrete example; we need the Spirit’s help because of our weakness in prayer. Paul’s language in verse 26 could mean that we don’t know how to pray as we ought to or that we don’t know what to pray for. It likely includes both. Should we pray for physical healing, for strength to persevere in sickness, or for ultimate deliverance from pain? Should we pray for God to remove the injustice we cannot control or for the grace to endure it?[2] Should we ask for specific direction or for patience to wait for God’s timing? And how do we pray about seemingly intractable problems like violent conflicts, displaced peoples, or economic systems that harm God’s creation, which drag on over years? In such cases, we need the Spirit’s help. And that help comes in the form of the Spirit’s intercession. Even as Jesus intercedes for us (Rom 8:34), the Spirit intercedes within us.

First, the Spirit intercedes “with sighs too deep for words,” literally, with “speechless groans” (Rom 8:26). This does not refer to a prayer language but to the Spirit’s ministry on our behalf when we do not know how or what to pray for. When we cannot find the words to pray as we ought, when we can only groan, the Spirit graciously takes over.  Paul assures us that the Spirit participates in our suffering and weakness, groaning on our behalf what words cannot express. And when God searches our hearts, he finds the mind of the Spirit (Rom 8:27). Why? Because the Spirit takes our weak and ignorant efforts at prayer and conforms them to the will of God. When we feel weak in prayer, the answer is not to quit praying. The Spirit stands as both our intercessor and our interpreter, helping us to align with the loving purposes of God.

[1] Dennis R. Edwards, “The Derek Chauvin Verdict Is Good. But I’m still Groaning,” Christianity Today, April 21, 2021, https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2021/april-web-only/derek-chauvin-george-floy-good-verdict-still-goraning.html, cited in Michael J. Gorman, Romans: A Theological and Pastoral Commentary, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2022, 213-214.

[2][2] See Gorman, Romans, 214.