{"id":1789,"date":"2010-06-20T21:49:36","date_gmt":"2010-06-21T03:49:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ministryofgrace.org\/blog\/?p=1789"},"modified":"2010-06-20T21:49:36","modified_gmt":"2010-06-21T03:49:36","slug":"romans-823-groaning-in-anticipation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/romans-823-groaning-in-anticipation\/","title":{"rendered":"Romans 8:23 – Groaning in Anticipation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Romans 8:23 – Groaning in Anticipation<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Not only<\/span> that,<\/span><\/em> but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Truth to Learn<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

We also groan, waiting for our redemption and adoption.<\/p>\n

\n

Behind the Words<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Greek word translated \u201cfirstfruits<\/span>\u201d is aparch\u0113<\/span><\/em>, which is made up of apo<\/span><\/em>, meaning \u201cfrom\u201d and a form of archomai<\/span><\/em>, meaning \u201cto begin.\u201d This word refers to the first ripe fruit of the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cRedemption<\/span>\u201d is from the Greek word apolutr\u014dsis<\/span><\/em>, which is made up of apo<\/span><\/em>, meaning \u201cfrom\u201d and lutro\u014d<\/span><\/em>, meaning \u201cto bring forward a ransom.\u201d Thus, apolutr\u014dsis<\/span><\/em> means \u201cto release a captive upon receipt of a ransom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Meaning Explained<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Going back once again to our discussion in verse 19 about the Greek word ktisis<\/span><\/em>, which is translated either as \u201ccreature\u201d or \u201ccreation,\u201d we mentioned that some believe it refers to Christians as a whole, since the Bible in 2Corinthians 5:17<\/span><\/strong> refers to us as \u201ca new creation.\u201d The current verse is one reason why this may not be the intended interpretation. Paul has just said that \u201call of creation<\/span>\u201d or \u201cthe whole creation\u201d<\/span> groans and is in pain. In the current verse, Paul now says \u201cNot only that, but we also <\/span>\u2026 we ourselves groan within ourselves.<\/span>\u201d He even clarifies the \u201cwe<\/span>\u201d by saying that we are the ones \u201cwho have the firstfruits of the Spirit\u2026 waiting for the adoption\u2026<\/span>\u201d This expression clearly refers to saved Christians. But, if ktisis<\/span><\/em> was referring to saved Christians, then Paul would not say that we Christians also<\/strong> groan \u2026 Hence, it appears that ktisis<\/span><\/em> in the previous verse refers to all of the visible creation apart from mankind.<\/p>\n

Next we have to ask ourselves, \u201cWhat does Paul mean by, \u201cwe who have the firstfruits the Spirit<\/span>?\u201d There are those who believe that since Paul is talking to members of the early church, he means that they were the first ones who received the Holy Spirit; they had received \u201cthe firstfruits of the Spirit.\u201d However, if you look at passages in the Old Testament that refer to the \u201cfirstfruits\u201d offerings (Deuteronomy 26:2; Exodus 23:19;<\/span><\/strong> and Numbers 18:13<\/span><\/strong>, for example) you will see that the firstfruits were a pledge of what was to come later. Thus, they were a sacrifice that required faith to offer, believing that the full harvest would come later. That is precisely one of the images we have of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He is a pledge that the fullness of salvation, our adoption into God\u2019s family, the redemption and recreation of our bodies, will come to us at the consummation of the last days.<\/p>\n

\n

Application<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

We born again Christians also groan within ourselves because we are eagerly awaiting the full adoption and the completion of our salvation. In other words, we are eagerly awaiting our redemption, our final release from the bondage of sin which will end all the pain and suffering which we endure in this earthly life. Next time you groan as a result of the physical or mental pain of being a Christian, remember the day of our redemption is coming soon.<\/p>\n

In God\u2019s service, for His glory,<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"signature\"<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –<\/p>\n

<\/span>If this message or this link was forwarded to you by a friend and you wish to receive future verses directly to your inbox, send an e-mail to:\"e-mail<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Romans 8:23 – Groaning in Anticipation Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. Truth to Learn We also groan, waiting for our redemption and adoption. Behind the Words The Greek word translated \u201cfirstfruits\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[928,966,967,968,969,599,970],"class_list":["post-1789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-adoption","tag-aparche","tag-apolutrosis","tag-firstfruits","tag-groan","tag-redemption","tag-waiting"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pd5geA-sR","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1789\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ministryofgrace.org\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}