For we know that the whole creation groans together and is in pain together until now.
Truth to Learn
All of creation eagerly awaits the end of time when they will be made anew.
Behind the Words
The word translated “groans together” is sustenadzō, which is a compound word made up of “sun” meaning “together” and stenadzō, which means “to groan or to sigh.” Thus we see it means “to groan together” or “to sigh together.”
“Is in pain together” is also from a single Greek word, sunōdinō. This is also a compound word. It is made up of sun, meaning “together” and a form of ōdinō, which means “to be in pain as a woman who is in the process of giving birth.” Therefore, this word means “to be in intense pain together.”
This is the only place in the entire New Testament that these two words appear. Notice that both of these verbs contain sun. Hence, we could translate this verse as, “For we know that all creation groans together and is in labor pains together until now.
Meaning Explained
Back in verse nineteen we talked about whether ktisis referred to a single creature or to creation as a single collection of created things. The current verse gives us evidence that it refers to all of the visible creation. First, the entire flow of these few verses makes sense if the word ktisis is referring to the same thing or collection of things throughout. Secondly, the fact that both of the verbs we talked about above are in the third person singular and yet are done “together” implies that ktisis refers to a collection of created things rather than a single created thing.
With that under our belt, we can see that Paul is probably talking metaphorically about how all of the visible creation is waiting to be delivered from the bondage of corruption as we talked about in the previous verse. And why do I think Paul is being metaphorical? Because, just as I started out this paragraph with a metaphor (none of us really put the first two paragraphs under our belt), I believe that creation doesn’t really feel pain, nor is it about to give birth. However, it is quite possible that all of creation is groaning, or sighing.
Paul is saying that all of creation is eagerly anticipating the revelation of the sons of God because it (creation) has been placed in a condition where it is not fully useful and is decaying due to the sin of man. In verse twenty-one Paul told us that creation will be set free from the bondage of decay and corruption. All creation is now in a state of travail or painful waiting until sin is dealt with and all is recreated in the new heavens and the new earth. The new heavens and new earth will be free from decay and will no longer be groaning or sighing.
Application
The next time you hear a tree creak from the wind blowing through it or hear of an earthquake, a massive storm, or a tidal wave, remember that all of creation is groaning and in pain until the consummation of time, waiting for our salvation to be completed and for all things to be made perfectly new.
In God's service, for His glory,
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