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“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:16-17, ESV)

Pastor Abel’s sermon on this passage is titled, “Pain is Real…But It's Not Final”.

Much of our hope as Christians lies in the fact that there is a future where the curse of sin will be removed, where our bodies will be glorified, where we will not have to endure the suffering so common to our lives here and now.

The true power of this hope lies in two simple words, used by Paul in the above passage, “with Christ.” If you count “with him,” this phrase is used three times in these two verses. Not only that, but Paul also emphasizes the reality that our hope is based on our relationship to God as children and heirs.

In other words, central to our future hope of new life, new bodies, and the end to all our suffering, is that we will be in perfect union with God. Without this union, our hope is vain.

This is why Paul says that, to obtain the glorious future with Christ, we must first suffer here with Christ. To be perfectly united to Christ later, we must be united to Christ now, in this cursed, painful, and sin-soaked life.

When we find our truest joy and peace in the love of Christ, in the middle of our trials, our pain, persecution from the world, temptations from the devil, and the war we wage with the waywardness of our own flesh, that is when our hope will shine brightest. For he is the essence of our hope. Without him, an immortal body would be a curse, and eternal life would be an empty life without meaning, love, or purpose.

 

For Further Study

  • Read Ephesians 3:14-19. Do you know the love of Christ in your life?
  • The short book The New Life by Daniel Hames is an excellent resource for understanding God’s love for us in the message of the gospel.

 

Small Group Questions

  • Is there a time in your life when the hope of eternity with Christ was particularly relevant and poignant to you?
  • Why is the image of childbirth so powerful in describing the state of the world today under the curse of sin? Why is this a hopeful image?
  • According to Paul, why did God curse the world in Genesis 3:16-19? Why is there so much suffering in this world?
  • Read and discuss the following verses: 2 Corinthians 4:16, Philippians 3:20-21, 2 Corinthians 5:1-4