Hoping For What We Don't See

December 4th, 2024
by Dr. D. Lance Waldie

Romans 8:23-25 …but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

Having taught that the creation groans awaiting God’s lifting of the curse in 8:21-22, Paul now says the same thing about “we ourselves”—all believers in Christ. Hebrews 9:28 says that Christ will appear a second time “for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.” Believers eagerly await Christ’s coming so that their full adoption as sons may be completed. Currently, they have the deposit of the Spirit guaranteeing their future redemption (2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5; Eph 1:14). They are indwelt by the Spirit giving evidence they are adopted sons of God (Rom. 8:9-16). As a result, all Christians have the “first-fruits” of the Spirit (v. 23).

The “first-fruits of the Spirit” has special meaning in the Bible. In the OT, first-fruits were the initial portion of the harvest given as a sacrifice to God (Exod. 23:19; Lev. 23:9-14), for God provided these fruits as a sample of the harvest He would bring forth from the ground. Similarly, Christians have experienced “the first-fruits of the Spirit” through Christ who is a foretaste of the glory that is to come. This is how God stirs the hope of His children. He did the same for Israel when they tasted the first-fruits of Canaan after the spies returned (Num. 13:23-27). So, the first-fruits of the Spirit is meant to excite God’s children with a small taste of what eternity will entail.

In Romans 7 Paul groaned over his own sinfulness in spite of the fact that his spirit was saved through faith in Christ. He cried out, “Wretched man that I am!” (Rom. 7:24). He called his human body a “tent” of corruption from which he could find no escape (2 Cor. 5:4). Though saved and adopted by God as a son, he still looked forward to its completion. The NT as a whole speaks of Christians as both now and not yet… already the adopted children of God, but whose adoption awaits ultimate perfection; already saved but awaiting full redemption. Although trapped in the flesh, creation and Christians groan over the dreadful curse of sin that continues to manifest itself in them (cf. Psa. 38:4, 9-10). But their future salvation is characterized by hope.

Hope is something that a believer confidently knows without actually seeing what he hopes for. Hope is not like wishful thinking or probability. Hope is the assurance that what God has promised He will indeed deliver. Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37). So, since the believer’s hope is based on God’s promise, the completion of his salvation is more certain than anything he can see. Verse 25 says that he waits for it in hope (cf. 1 Thess. 5:8; Titus 3:7), doing so with patience (2 Cor. 5:2-4) because he knows that what he does not see will certainly come to be. Though his inner man has been made new (2 Cor. 5:17), his mortal body is still under the curse. It is this that causes his groaning within him as he waits. Like the creation (8:19-22), he longs to be free.

Food for Thought

We take comfort in the promises of God: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:3-5). “For I am confident of this very thing that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). “Gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:13).