ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Left-wing, National Council of Churches denominations.
Sunday, July 5, 2020
Fourth Sunday after Trinity, 2020
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Norma
A. Boeckler
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The Fourth Sunday after Trinity, 2020
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The melodies are
linked in the hymn name.
The lyrics are linked
in the hymn number.
·
TLH lyrics
come from the the Bethany Lutheran Hymnal Blog.
The Hymn #520:1-6 Commit Whatever Grieves Thee
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Lord is my Light and my
Salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom
shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon
me: they stumbled and fell.
Psalm. Though an host should encamp against me: my heart
shall not fear.
The
Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
Grant, O Lord, we beseech Thee, that
the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by Thy governance that Thy
Church may joyfully serve Thee in all godly quietness; through Jesus Christ.
Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
The
Epistle and Gradual
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Hymn #520:7-12 Commit Whatever Grieves Thee
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Hymn #520:7-12 Commit Whatever Grieves Thee
The Struggle Continues
The Communion Hymn # 307 Draw Nigh
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 436 The Lord's My Shepherd
In
Our Prayers - Announcements
- In treatment - Mary Howell, Rush Limbaugh, Christina
Jackson
- Being tested - Pastor Jim Shrader
- New Lenski pdfs - Ask Pastor Jackson
- Luther's Galatians almost ready for print
KJV Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 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.
KJV Luke 6:36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. 37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: 38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. 39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? 40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. 41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.
Fourth Sunday After Trinity
Lord
God, heavenly Father, who art merciful, and through Christ didst promise us,
that Thou wilt neither judge nor condemn us, but graciously forgive us all our
sins, and abundantly provide for all our wants of body and soul: We pray Thee,
that by Thy Holy Spirit Thou wilt establish in our hearts a confident faith in
Thy mercy, and teach us also to be merciful to our neighbor, that we may not
judge or condemn others, but willingly forgive all men, and, Judging only
ourselves, lead blessed lives in Thy fear, through Thy dear Son, Jesus Christ
our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God,
world without end. Amen.
The Struggle Continues
KJV
Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
The
normal attitude toward suffering is to get rid of it in various ways. School is
tough - drop out. Work is dreary or painful - find another vocation. Physical
pain - find relief. Emotional pain - that is much harder to address. The
Roman Empire added confiscation of property, persecution, torture, and death to
this list.
When
Paul or another writer says "For...", it means that the current
passage explains what went before. We suffer with Christ so that we are
glorified with Him.
Suffering
should not be a shock to the Christian, because Jesus said, "Take up My
cross and follow Me." If someone refuses to do that, he is not a follower,
but more of a renter, someone who can go away at any moment and leave a mess
behind.
3.
The high prerogative of heirship, Paul faithfully enjoins, is dependent on a
sacred duty. Let him who would be Christ’s brother, and joint-heir with him,
remember he must also be a joint-martyr and joint-sufferer with Christ. The
apostle’s meaning is: Many are the Christians, indeed, who would be joint-heirs
with Christ and gladly enjoy the privilege of sharing his inheritance, but who
object to suffering with him; they separate themselves from him because
unwilling to participate in his pain. But Paul says this will not do. The
inheritance follows only as a consequence of the suffering. Since Christ, our
dear Lord and Savior, had to suffer before he could be glorified, we must be
martyrs with him, with him be mocked by the world, despised, spit upon, crowned
with thorns and put to death, before the inheritance will be ours. It cannot be
otherwise.
A consistent sympathy is essential to Christian faith and doctrine. He who would be Christ’s brother and fellow-heir must also suffer with him. He who would live with Christ must first die with him. The members of a family not only enjoy good together but also share in their ills. As the saying is, “He who would be a companion in eating must also be a companion in labor.”
A consistent sympathy is essential to Christian faith and doctrine. He who would be Christ’s brother and fellow-heir must also suffer with him. He who would live with Christ must first die with him. The members of a family not only enjoy good together but also share in their ills. As the saying is, “He who would be a companion in eating must also be a companion in labor.”
In Pilgrim's
Progress, the burden carried is sin, life is a great struggle, and life
continues as a struggle until crossing over. However, to compare struggles is
no good. As one lady said when people told her they had it worse - "Your
pneumonia will not cure my cold."
We do
not like to struggle. We have a word for struggle, based on the Greek word -
agony.
For
example, many people say they do not publish what they want to write because
they are afraid of rejection. A writer's magazine taught me how to make a game
of it.
- Create an album of
rejection letters.
- Tend it carefully.
- Keep going until it is
plenty large.
- The fear will go away
and checks will come it.
Lenski, Romans, p.
529:
“For” = in order that
you may understand the better what has just been said about our suffering
together with Christ and our also being glorified together with him. All of this
will become clearer when we view ourselves in the midst of the entire suffering
creature world which longs for our glorification at the last day.
Do not occupy your mind
exclusively with the little suffering which you individually endure but see
this vast creature world groaning, and we with it, but having all its hope
centered in us as the sons of God, centered upon us and on our
deliverance.
Fear is so prevalent in us that
people will become afraid even when they have already proven their ability. For
example, I have had many adult students who were articulate, humorous, and
clear in class discussions, while seated in the room. However, when they stood
up to deliver a talk, they looked at the same people and began to feel
terrorized, so much they could barely talk. That could be described as a trust
issue - they were so inflamed by fear they did not trust their classmates
enjoying the talk.
That also paralyzes the frustrated
perfectionist - "If I publish this, people will laugh and be scornful
about its faults, my faults."
There are countless nasty
experiences and horrible people to endure in life, so the Spirit teaches us
through Paul that suffering can be faced and will be reality whether we choose
to name it or not.
19
For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of
the sons of God.
There
are many kinds of afflictions but the worst ones are connected with the Faith,
bearing the cross. For the innocent, it is shocking that supposed good citizens
and good church members would lie in wait to pounce on a minister. However,
that is a universal experience. Whenever the Gospel begins to take hold and
show results, people become suddenly alarmed and angry, always finding
something to attack. As Luther said, those who love the Word will love the
person who brings it to them. Those who hate the Word will also hate the one
who teaches it.
Denominational
leaders will say, "Don't get people upset. You can always read sermons out
of a book." Ministers tell themselves, "If I avoid being so strong on
the Scriptures, I will be more popular and get the benefits popularity.
Likewise,
people gain from being part of the crowd instead of opposing the wrong
direction our society is taking. The Seventh Day Adventists talked about this
over 25 years ago. They pointed out how vast numbers of people could be changed
by introducing new concepts steadily. Although I only have old family
connections with SDA, their observations were exactly what happened to
Lutherans. A liberal from a Left-wing denomination (Donald McGavran, Disciples
of Christ, World Council of Churches) introduced concepts and terms that took
all of Protestantism and some Catholics into another field altogether, so these
terms are now "scripture" and the critics of it should be burned at
the stake:
- "God wants HIS
Church to grow."
- Test the soil before
sowing the seed.
- Form cell groups (aka
koinonia, small, lay-led, affinity)
- Pipe organs are last
century instruments.
- Church Growth eyes see
what the church needs to grow.
- Making people busy keeps
them in church.
16.
Here is the second point of consolation. Paul holds up as an example to us the
condition of the whole creation. He exhorts us to endure patiently, as the
creature does, all the violence and injustice we suffer from the devil and the
world, and to comfort ourselves with the hope of future redemption. Remarkable
doctrine this, unlike anything elsewhere found in the Scriptures, that heaven
and earth, sun, moon and stars, leaf and blade, every living thing, waits with
sighing and groaning for the revelation of our glory.
Creation itself is waiting for the completion of God's plan,
so we naturally participate in the universal experience of groaning in labor
(travail).
20
For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of
him who hath subjected the same in hope,
There
is a vast difference between humans and creatures. We think about our lives,
look back at the past, consider the future. Creatures simple do their assigned
work. Earthworms do not register disgust at eating soil and rotting vegetation.
Bacteria actually digest the food for earthworms and get free rides everywhere.
But worms do not say, "Whee! We went several inches yesterday. This is
getting to be exciting."
The
reason we can eat is this patient adherence to the software embedded in every
living thing. We have that but always in a way that is changed by our
attitudes. Our supervisors would like us to be like soil creatures that are
always improving the soil, never unhappy, never stopping to wonder about their
purpose.
But
we do that because God gave us minds for reflection and thoughts about the
future. Because this world is in its labor pains,
we
can watch and participate to some extent, being faithful to the Word of God.
It is
not a delusion. Everything is going downhill. There is a final point, but it
may be 100 or a thousand years away, maybe tomorrow too.
21
Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of
corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know
that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
The
difference between man and the creatures is this - we have free will and can
sin. The animals do not sin but carry out their duties as embedded in them from
Creation. But everyone is in this together, so the difference in mankind is not
only faith but willingness to bear the cross.
Some
people think sympathy only means saying, "I feel your pain" while
moving on. But sympathy means literally to "suffer with" someone, not
to be the religious person who takes note and walks on the other side of the
street.
Some
people even delight in the pain of others and rub it in. That is not walking
with the Savior, the way of the cross, but joining with the bystanders in
mocking.
If we
trust in God and find ourselves mired in a painful situation - such as illness,
rejection, lack of income, etc - we should rejoice that God has given us this
particular cross to bear.
Rejoice
may seem too strong but Luther called it the "dear, holy cross" - not
an obstacle but a blessing. When this is connected with the Word itself (not
simply an affliction), then we know it is being awarded great glory by the
unbelieving world. Being a Lutheran, for example, is like bearing all the
crosses but never given any credit for any good thing. Example - academics
should be Left-wing apostates: they are approved. A faithful Lutheran is under
suspicion.
Having
a disorder is not the cross by itself, but hearing the attitudes of others is.
Some blame the patient or the parents or the hometown or the food eaten or not
eaten. It is an automatic, always on, connection with heaven, because it leads
or forces one into thinking about eternal life and the meaning of our time on
earth.
Emotional
disorders can certainly be a cross because our emotions bend and move us in so
many ways. What others see as weakness can be the greatest strength or
paradoxical blessing in someone. Being able to connect with someone on an
emotional level is not automatic and does not come easily. But those who
are most attuned to emotions can quickly communicate with others in pain.
That communication might be with words, but it also includes many other factors
or approaches,such as prayers, hymns, presents, etc.
23
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.
23.
We have plain authority for the interpretation of the groaning of creation in
Paul’s further words, “the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own
will.” He thus makes all creation — sun and moon, fire, air, water, heaven and
earth with all they contain — merely poor, captive servants. And whom do they
serve? Not our Lord God; not for the most part his children, for they are a
minority among those ministered unto. To whom, then, is their service given? To
the wicked — to vanity. The created things are not, as they would be, in
righteous service. The sun, for instance, would choose to shine for Paul, Peter
and other godly ones. It begrudges to wicked characters like Judas, Pilate,
Herod, Annas and Caiaphas the least ray of light; for it is useless service,
yielding no good. To serve Peter and Paul would be productive of pleasure and
profit; well may its benefit be bestowed upon these godly ones. But the sun
must shine as well for the wicked as for the ungodly. Indeed, where it
fittingly serves one godly individual, thousands abuse its service.
The case is similar with gold and other minerals, and with all the articles of food, drink and clothing. To whom do these minister? Wicked desperadoes, who in return blaspheme and dishonor God, condemn his holy Gospel and murder his Christians. This is wasted service.
The case is similar with gold and other minerals, and with all the articles of food, drink and clothing. To whom do these minister? Wicked desperadoes, who in return blaspheme and dishonor God, condemn his holy Gospel and murder his Christians. This is wasted service.
Gold animates the entire world. Right now people are looking
for the fabled Lost Dutchman's Goldmine, outside Phoenix, and spend years
exploring the desert for it. Like all the treasures of earth, gold serves a
great and noble purpose but is mostly abused by the greedy. The People's
Republic of China has been caught using over $1 billion in fake gold to
generate real income.
We should not be surprised at all about the suffering we
experience and see around us. We should be like nurses (a figure used by Paul)
and be eager to listen and to help when others have pain of any kind. No one
likes to see it because we suffer with it. I had the chance to see people after
operations. They got sick from time to time. I held the pan and went wup-wup
with them, almost joining them. But that is part of visiting. Our neighbor is
Christ, even the least of them.
Saturday, July 4, 2020
More Better Lenski - From the Lutheran Librarian
Richard C. H. Lenski (186Die Lutherische Kirchenzeitung.
Ask Pastor Jackson about the Lenski books in pdf form.
Luther's Sermon on Suffering
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| Norma Boeckler |
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
TEXT:
ROMANS 8:8-22. 18 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-ward. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to vanity not of its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
CONSOLATION IN SUFFERING, AND PATIENCE.
1. Paul’s language here is peculiar. He speaks in a manner wholly different from the other apostles. There is something particularly strange about the first sentences of the passage. His words must be faithfully studied and their meaning learned by personal experience. The Christian life consists altogether in the practice and experience of what the Word of God tells us.
He who has no experimental knowledge of the Word will have but little conception and appreciation of Paul’s words here. Indeed, they will be wholly unintelligible to him.
2. Up to the point where our text begins, Paul has been assuring us in this epistle that through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ we attain the high privilege of calling God our Father; that the Holy Spirit bears witness in our hearts of our sonship, and makes us bold enough to come, by faith in Christ the Mediator, joyfully before God, trusting him to fill and bless us.
Then Paul draws the conclusion, first, that we are children of God; next, he says: “If children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” The second conclusion is the outcome of the first. For the reason that we have the boldness and assurance to call God our Father in sincerity and nothing doubting, we are become not only children but heirs, heirs of God and brethren to Christ, joint-heirs with him. But all this, as Paul says, is true “if so be that we suffer with him” ( Romans 8:7).
3. The high prerogative of heirship, Paul faithfully enjoins, is dependent on a sacred duty. Let him who would be Christ’s brother, and joint-heir with him, remember he must also be a joint-martyr and joint-sufferer with Christ. The apostle’s meaning is: Many are the Christians, indeed, who would be joint-heirs with Christ and gladly enjoy the privilege of sharing his inheritance, but who object to suffering with him; they separate themselves from him because unwilling to participate in his pain. But Paul says this will not do. The inheritance follows only as a consequence of the suffering. Since Christ, our dear Lord and Savior, had to suffer before he could be glorified, we must be martyrs with him, with him be mocked by the world, despised, spit upon, crowned with thorns and put to death, before the inheritance will be ours. It cannot be otherwise.
A consistent sympathy is essential to Christian faith and doctrine. He who would be Christ’s brother and fellow-heir must also suffer with him. He who would live with Christ must first die with him. The members of a family not only enjoy good together but also share in their ills. As the saying is, “He who would be a companion in eating must also be a companion in labor.”
4. Paul would earnestly admonish us not to become false Christians who look to find in Christ mere pleasure and enjoyment, but to remember that if we are to participate in the “eternal weight of glory” we must first bear the “light affliction, which is for the moment.” 2 Corinthians 4:17.
By the words “if so be that we suffer with him” the writer means that we are to do more than exercise the sympathy that grieves over another’s misfortune, though such sympathy is binding upon Christians and is a superior Christian virtue, a work of mercy: we ourselves must suffer, non solum affectu, sed etiam effectu, that is, we are overwhelmed by like sufferings. As Christ our Lord was persecuted, we also must endure persecution. As the devil harassed him, we also must be harassed unceasingly. And so Satan does torment true Christians. Indeed, were it not for the restraining hand of the Lord our God, the devil would suffer us to have no peace. Paul has reference to a heartfelt sympathy intense enough to enter into actual suffering. He says to the Hebrews ( Hebrews 10:32-23): “Ye endured a great conflict of sufferings; partly, being made a gazing stock both by reproaches and afflictions.”
5. And in the verse preceding our text he tells us that as our blissful inheritance through brotherhood and joint-heirship with Christ is not a mere fancy and false hope of the heart, but a real inheritance, so our sympathy must amount to real suffering, which we take upon ourselves as befitting joint-heirs. Now Paul comforts the Christian in his sufferings with the authority of one who speaks from experience, from thorough acquaintance with his subject. He seems to view this life as through obscurities, while beholding the life to come with clear and unobstructed vision. He says: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shal be revealed to usward [in us].”
6. Notice how he turns his back to the world and his face to the future revelation, as if seeing no suffering anywhere, but all joy. “Even if it does go ill with us,” he would argue, “what indeed is our suffering in comparison with the unspeakable joy and glory to be revealed in us? It is too insignificant to be compared and unworthy to be called suffering.” We fail to realize the truth of these words because we do not see with our bodily eyes the supreme glory awaiting us; because we fail to grasp fully the fact that we shall never die but shall have a body that cannot suffer nor be ill. If one could conceive the nature of this reward he would be compelled to say: “Were it possible for me to suffer ten deaths by fire or flood, that would be nothing in comparison to the future life of glory. What is temporal suffering, however protracted, contrasted with eternal life? It is not worthy to be called suffering or to be esteemed meritorious.”
7. In this light does Paul regard suffering, as he says, and he admonishes Christians to look upon it similarly. Then shall they find the infinite beyond all comparison with the finite. What is a single penny measured by a world of dollars? though this is not an appropriate comparison since the things compared are both perishable. The suffering of the world is always to be counted as nothing measured by the glorious and eternal possessions yet to be ours. “I entreat you, therefore, beloved brethren,” Paul would say, “to fear no sufferings, not even should it be your lot to be slain. For if you are actually joint-heirs, it must be your fortune, a part of your inheritance, to suffer with others. But what is your pain measured by the eternal glory prepared for you and obtained by the sacrifice of your Savior Jesus Christ?
It is too insignificant to be contrasted.” So Paul makes all earthly suffering infinitely small — a drop, a tiny spark, so to speak; but of yonder hopedfor glory he makes a boundless ocean, an illimitable flame.
8. Why cannot we take his view of the insignificance of our afflictions and the magnitude of the future glory? The extravagance of our conduct is apparent in the fact that but a harsh word uttered by one to his fellow will make the injured one ready to overturn mountains and uproot trees in his resentment. To them who are so unwilling to suffer, Paul’s word of encouragement here is wholly unintelligible. Christians are not to conduct themselves in this impatient manner. It ill becomes them to make extravagant complaint and outcry about injustice. “But,” you say, “I have truly suffered injustice.” Very well, so be it. But why do you make so much of your sufferings and never give a thought to what awaits you in heaven?
Why not exalt the future glory also? If you desire to be a Christian, truly it will not do to conduct yourself in this impatient manner. If you must air your grievances, surely you may do it quietly and decorously.
9. In this life it must be otherwise than in the life of glory. If you essay to be a joint-heir with the Lord Jesus Christ and do not suffer with him, to be his brother and are not like unto him, Christ certainly will not at the last day acknowledge you as a brother and fellow-heir. Rather he will ask where are your crown of thorns, your cross, the nails and scourge; whether you have been, as he and his followers ever have from the beginning of time, an abomination to the world. If you cannot qualify in this respect, he cannot regard you as his brother. In short, we must all suffer with the Son of God and be made like unto him, as we shall see later, or we shall not be exalted with him in glory.
10. Upon this same topic Paul addresses also the Galatians ( Galatians 6:17): Henceforth let no one confuse me, say nothing to me about the doctrine that friendship is rewarded on earth; for I bear branded on my body the marks of my Lord Jesus Christ. His reference is to the signs in ancient paintings of Christ, where the Savior was represented as bearing his cross upon his shoulders, with the nails, the scourge, the crown of thorns and other emblems in evidence. These marks or signs, Paul instructs, all Christians as well as himself must exhibit, not painted on a wall but branded in their flesh and blood. They are made when inwardly the devil affrights and assails us with all manner of terrors and overwhelming afflictions, and at the same time outwardly the world slanders us as heretics, laying her hand to our throats whenever possible and putting us to death.
THE REWARD.
Such marks, or scars, for Christ the Lord, Paul admonishes all Christians to exhibit. Thus he encourages them not to be terrified though they suffer every conceivable wrong, such as our brethren here and there have suffered now for several years. But brighter days are in store for us when once the hour of our enemies and the power of darkness shall come. Our adversaries annoy us now with malignant words and slanderous writings, and indeed they may take our lives. So be it. We must in any event suffer if we are ever to attain true glory. But what they will secure by putting us to death they certainly shall experience.
11. In Paul’s reference to the glory that shall be revealed in us there is a hint as to the cause of man’s unwillingness to suffer: faith is yet weak and fails to descry the hidden glory; that glory is yet to be revealed in us. Could we but behold it with mortal vision, what noble, patient martyrs we should be! Suppose one stood on yonder side of the Elbe with a chest full of gold, offering it to him who should venture to swim across for it. What an effort would be made for the sake of that tangible wealth!
12. Take the case of the adventurous officer. For a few dollars per month he defies spears and guns, exposing himself to almost certain death. The merchant hurries to and fro in the world in a frenzied effort to amass riches, hazarding life and limb, apparently careless of physical cost so long as God’s mercy preserves to him but the shattered hulk of a body. And what must not one endure at court before he realizes, if he ever does, the fulfillment of his ambition?
In temporal things man can do and suffer everything for the sake of honor, wealth and power, because these are manifest to earthly vision. But in the spiritual conflict, because the reward is not discernible to the senses it is very difficult for the old man in us to believe that God will finally grant us glorious bodies, pure souls and hearts of gladness, and make us superior to any earthly king. Indeed, the very reverse of this condition obtains now.
Here is one condemned as a heretic; there one is burned or in some other way put to death. Glory, wealth and honor are not in evidence now. So it seems hard for us to resign ourselves to suffering and wait for the redemption and glory yet unrevealed.
Again, no hardship is too great for the world to undergo for the sake of sordid gain; it willingly suffers whatever comes for that which moth and rust consume and thieves steal.
13. Paul means to say: “I am certain there is reserved for us exceeding glory, in comparison wherewith all earthly suffering is actually of no consideration; only it is not yet manifest.” If we have to face the slightest gale of adversity, or if a trifling misfortune befalls us, we begin to make outcry, filling the heavens with our false complaint of a terrible calamity.
Were our faith triumphant, we would regard it but as a small inconvenience to suffer, even for thirty or forty years or longer; indeed, we should think our sufferings too trifling to be taken into account. May the Lord our God only forbear to reckon with us for the sins we have committed! Why will we have so much to say about great sufferings and their merits? How utterly unworthy we are of the free grace and ineffable glory which are ours in the fact that through Christ we become children and heirs of God, brethren and joint-heirs with Christ!
Well may we resolve: “I will maintain a cheerful silence about my sufferings, boasting not of them nor complaining about them. I will patiently endure all my merciful God sends upon me, meanwhile rendering him my heartfelt gratitude for calling me to such surpassing grace and blessing.” But, as I said, the vision of glory will not enter our hearts because of our weak and miserable flesh, which allows itself to be more influenced by the present than by the future. So the Holy Spirit must be our schoolmaster to bring the matter home to our hearts.
14. Note particularly how Paul expressly states that the glory is to be revealed in us. He would remind us that not only such as Peter or Paul are to participate in the blessing, as we are prone to believe, but that we and all Christians are included in the word “us.” Indeed, even the merest babe obtains at death, wherein it is a joint-sufferer with mankind, this unspeakable glory, which the Lord Jesus into whose death it was baptized has purchased and bestowed upon it. Though in the life beyond one saint may have more glory than another, yet all will have the same eternal life.
Here on earth men differ in point of strength, comeliness, intellect, yet all enjoy the same animal life. So in the other life there will be degrees of radiance or glory, as Paul teaches ( 1 Corinthians 15:41), yet all will share the same eternal happiness and joy; there will be one glory for all, for we shall all be the children of God.
15. Now the first point of consolation is that we turn our backs upon all suffering, saying: “What is all my pain, though it were tenfold greater, compared to the eternal life unto which I am baptized, to which I am called? My sufferings are not worthy to be so termed in connection with the exceeding glory to be revealed in me.” Paul magnifies the future glory to make the temporal sufferings the more insignificant. Then follows: “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the revealing [manifestation] of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in hope: [For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope;]”
16. Here is the second point of consolation. Paul holds up as an example to us the condition of the whole creation. He exhorts us to endure patiently, as the creature does, all the violence and injustice we suffer from the devil and the world, and to comfort ourselves with the hope of future redemption. Remarkable doctrine this, unlike anything elsewhere found in the Scriptures, that heaven and earth, sun, moon and stars, leaf and blade, every living thing, waits with sighing and groaning for the revelation of our glory.
THE TRAVAIL OF CREATION.
17. Such sighing and agony of the creature is not audible to me, nor is it to you. But Paul tells us he sees and hears it, not expressed by one creature alone, but by all God has made. What does he mean? What is the sighing and longing of creation? It is not that annually the leaves wither and the fruits fall and decay: God purposes that every year new fruits shall grow; he decrees the shattering of the fallen tree. But Paul refers to the creature’s unwilling subjection to the ungodly; “subject to vanity,” he phrases it.
For instance, the blessed sun, most glorious of created things, serves the small minority of the godly, but where it shines on one godly man it must shine on thousands and thousands of knaves, such as enemies of God, blasphemers, persecutors, with whom the world is filled; also murderers, robbers, thieves, adulterers. To these it must minister in all their ungodliness and wickedness, permitting its pure and glorious influence to benefit the unworthy, most shameful and abandoned profligates. According to the apostle, this subjection is truly painful, and were the sun a rational creature obeying its own volition rather than the decree of the Lord God who has subjected it to vanity against its will, it might deny every one of these wicked wretches even the least ray of light; that it is compelled to minister to them is its cross and pain, by reason of which it sighs and groans.
Just as we Christians endure many kinds of injustice and consequently sigh for and implore help and deliverance in the Lord’s prayer, so do the creatures sigh. Although they have not human utterance, yet they have speech intelligible to God and the Holy Spirit, who mark the creatures’ sighs over their unjust abuse by the ungodly.
18. Nowhere else in the Holy Scriptures do we find anything like Paul’s declaration here concerning the earnest expectation and waiting of the creatures for the revelation of the children of God; which waiting the apostle characterizes as a sighing in eager desire for man’s redemption. A little later he compares the state of the creature to a woman in travail, saying it cries out in its anguish. The sun, moon and stars, the heavens and earth, the bread we eat, the water or wine we drink, the cattle and sheep, in short, all things that minister to our comfort, cry out in accusation against the world because they are subjected to vanity and must suffer with Christ and his brethren. This accusing cry is beyond human power to express, for God’s created things are innumerable. Rightly was it said from the pulpit in former times that on the last day all creatures will utter an accusing cry against the ungodly who have shown them abuse here on earth, and will call them tyrants to whom they were unjustly subjected.
19. Paul presents this example of the creatures for the comfort of Christians. His meaning is: Be not sorrowful because of your sufferings; they are small indeed when the ensuing transcendent glory is considered.
You are not alone in your tribulation and your complaint at injustice; the whole creation suffers with you and cries out against its subjection to the wicked world. Every bleat of the flock, every low of the herd, is an outcry against the ungodly as enemies of God and not worthy to enjoy the creatures’ ministrations; not even to receive a morsel of bread or a drink of water. Along this line St. Augustine is eloquent. “A miserly wretch,” he says, “is unworthy the bread he eats, for he is an enemy of God.”
Paul tells us the whole creation groans and travails with us, as if desiring relief from anguish; that it suffers like a woman in travail. For instance: the heavenly planets would gladly be freed from serving, yes, in the extent of their anguish would willingly suffer eclipse; the earth would readily become unfruitful; all waters would voluntarily sink from sight and deny the wicked world a draught; the sheep would prefer to produce thorns for the ungodly instead of wool; the cow would willingly yield them poison rather than milk. But they must perform their appointed work, Paul says, because of him who has subjected them in hope. God will finally answer the cry of creation; he has already determined that after the six thousand years of its existence now passed, the world shall have its evening and end.
20. Had not our parents sinned in paradise, the world would never be dissolved. But since man has fallen in sin, we all — the whole creation — must suffer the consequence; because of our sins, creation must be subjected to vanity and dissolution. During the six thousand years, which are as nothing compared to eternal life, all created things must be under the power of a condemned world, and compelled to serve with all their energies until God shall overthrow the entire world and for the elect’s sake purify again and renew the creature, as Peter teaches. 2 Peter 3:13.
21. The sun is by no means as gloriously brilliant as when created. Because of man’s ungodliness its brightness is to an extent dimmed. But on the day of visitation God will cleanse and purify it by fire ( 2 Peter 3:10), giving it a greater glory than it had in the beginning. Because it must suffer in our sins, and is obliged to shine as well for the worst knave as the godly man, even for more knaves than godly men, it longs intensely for the day when it shall be cleansed and shall serve the righteous alone with its light.
Neither would the earth produce thistles nor thorns were it not cursed for our sins. So it, with all creatures, longs for the day when it shall be changed and renewed.
22. This is the explanation of Paul’s remarkable declaration concerning the “earnest expectation of the creation.” The creature continually regards the end of service, and freedom from slavery to the ungodly. This event will not take place before the revealing of the sons of God; therefore the earnestly expectant creation desires that revelation to come without delay, at any moment. Until such manifestation the world will not consider godly souls as children of the Father, but as children of the devil. So it boldly abuses and slanders, persecutes and puts to death, God’s beloved children, thinking it thereby does God service. In consequence the whole creation cries: “Oh, for a speedy end of this calamity, and the dawning of glory for the children of God!”
23. We have plain authority for the interpretation of the groaning of creation in Paul’s further words, “the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will.” He thus makes all creation — sun and moon, fire, air, water, heaven and earth with all they contain — merely poor, captive servants. And whom do they serve? Not our Lord God; not for the most part his children, for they are a minority among those ministered unto. To whom, then, is their service given? To the wicked — to vanity. The created things are not, as they would be, in righteous service. The sun, for instance, would choose to shine for Paul, Peter and other godly ones. It begrudges to wicked characters like Judas, Pilate, Herod, Annas and Caiaphas the least ray of light; for it is useless service, yielding no good. To serve Peter and Paul would be productive of pleasure and profit; well may its benefit be bestowed upon these godly ones. But the sun must shine as well for the wicked as for the ungodly. Indeed, where it fittingly serves one godly individual, thousands abuse its service.
The case is similar with gold and other minerals, and with all the articles of food, drink and clothing. To whom do these minister? Wicked desperadoes, who in return blaspheme and dishonor God, condemn his holy Gospel and murder his Christians. This is wasted service.
24. So Paul says, “The creature was made subject to vanity;” it must render service against its consent, having no pleasure therein. The sun does not shine for the purpose of lighting a highway robber to murder. It would light him in godly deeds and errands of mercy; but since he follows not these things the service of the blessed sun is abused and that creature ministers with sincere unwillingness. But how is it to avoid service?
A wicked tyrant, a shameful harlot, may wear gold ornaments. Is the gold responsible for its use? It is the good creature of the Lord our God and fitted to serve righteous people. But the precious product must submit to accommodating the wicked world against it will. Yet it endures in hope of an end of such service — such slavery. Therein it obeys God. God has imposed the obligation, that man may know him as a merciful God and Father, who, as Christ teaches ( Matthew 5:45), makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good. For the Father’s sake the blessed sun serves wickedness, performing its service and bestowing its favors in vain. But God in his own good time will reckon with those who abuse the glorious sunlight and other creatures, and will richly recompense the created things for their service.
25. Beloved, Paul thus traces the holy cross among all creatures; heaven and earth and all they contain suffer with us. So we must not complain and excessively grieve when we fare ill. We must patiently wait for the redemption of our bodies and for the glory which is to be revealed in us; especially when we know that all creatures groan in anguish, like a woman in travail, longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For then shall begin their redemption, when they shall not be slaves to wickedness but shall willingly and with delight serve God’s children only. In the meantime they bear the cross for the sake of God, who has subjected them in hope. Thus we are assured that captivity will not endure forever, but a time must come when the creatures will be delivered. “Do ye likewise, beloved Christians,” Paul would advise, “and reflect that as the creature will rejoice with you on the last day, so does it now mourn with you; that not you alone must suffer, but the whole creation suffers with you and awaits your redemption, a redemption so great and glorious As to make your sufferings unworthy to be considered.”
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