Monthly Archives: June 2026

ROMANS…THE GROANING – 16b

Bible Study, ,

Creation is not the only part of God’s universe that is groaning. So are we!

“And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Despite the fulness of life that Jesus promised us…a life that religion can never give us…and that we have life in Jesus now even if not yet in its fullness…

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”

‭‭John‬ ‭10‬:‭10‬ NLT

Life on earth is transient, a preparation for the real thing. Until we receive our resurrection bodies, we will always be incomplete. We have God’s Spirit in us now as the guarantee that God will finish what He started…His engagement ring…but, until the wedding takes place and we are eternally joined to Jesus, we are still awaiting our resurrected bodies to complete God’s plan. 

“We were given this hope when we were saved. If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭NLT‬

Groaning is also part of the preparation. Like a pregnant woman, who must suffer all the discomforts of her pregnancy…the tiredness…the nausea…the backache…the weight of her growing baby…and then the pain of labour and birth…her groaning is not for the inevitable that must precede the birth but for the anticipation of the child that will change her life forever. 

So, creation is waiting…groaning…for restoration! We are waiting…groaning…for resurrection!

Someone else is also groaning…

To be continued

ROMANS…THE GROANING – 16a

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“Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭18‬-‭22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God’s salvation, however, is not only about humans. It includes all of creation. When Adam fell, he dragged the whole universe into the consequences of his disobedience. God’s plan to rescue humanity included the restoration of His entire creation to its original beauty and purpose. 

So, Paul’s says, creation is groaning…writhing in pain like a woman in labour…waiting for the birth of something new. This truth is all too obvious in the natural disasters that are increasing in frequency and intensity. It seems that the birth of the new order is imminent. The natural world is joining with us in the birth pangs that herald the final part of God’s plan. 

How will creation know when this is happening? They are watching for “the manifestation of the sons of God”. God’s children, at present, are hidden like “wheat”among the “weeds”, as Jesus’ parable explains. 

“Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’ “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. “‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked. “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭13‬:‭24‬-‭30‬ ‭NLT‬‬

John also confirmed…

“See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There is something going on in the world that creation knows but the people in the world don’t recognise…God is preparing His people for the great “reveal”! At present, we are hidden from view. We are being prepared, as a bride, for her wedding day. Creation in all its beauty and perfection, will be the “venue” of the wedding ceremony, celebrating the marriage of Jesus and His church. 

Paul has already explained the preparation process…holy through suffering! For the believer, suffering is not a mystery to be explored and understood but a truth to be embraced. Every child of God must endure the pruning to bear the fruit that will adorn the brides’s wedding gown. 

“Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder: “Praise the Lord! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭19‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Suffering is not pleasant but it is necessary and transient.  

“For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Look what suffering will produce if we suffer as Jesus did…

“Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Put suffering and glory on the scale. Jesus’ glory is so weighty that the scale will immediately drop on His side. Our trials are so light by comparison that they can never outweigh the glory of God which is eternal. 

So, Paul says, creation is groaning and waiting…and the evidence is real…and we are also groaning and waiting… The final chapter of God’s glorious plan is in its way…

““Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.””

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭22‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

To be continued

ROMANS…THE KEYS – 15d

Bible Study, ,

I am inserting this post here to shed light on a very important point Paul made in Romans 8:17 regarding suffering. 

Some months ago, I was searching the Scriptures to find out the real meaning of Jesus’ suffering. I had thought that what Jesus suffered was the terrible things that happened to Him when He was crucified, but then…the Holy Spirit began to show me from the Bible, that His suffering was much more than that. 

My question was connected to something Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans. 

“Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Paul’s words puzzled me. What if I never suffer like some people suffer for their faith in Jesus? Does this mean that all the people, like me, who never suffer in this way, will not share in His inheritance or reign with Jesus?

So, if I must suffer like Jesus suffered, what did He suffer? 

The first thing the Spirit showed me was that Paul didn’t say that we must suffer FOR Jesus. He said that we must suffer WITH Jesus. Our identity and union with Jesus means that we are part of what He suffered and the way He suffered. 

This thought led me to the next discovery. What did Jesus suffer?

Isaiah prophesied…

“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces, he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭53‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Rejection! He was rejected. He was dismissed and treated as though He were worthless…like rubbish to be thrown into the trash. This is the worst that one person can do to another. They cancelled Him! This must have been the nature of His suffering…so I thought. 

So, was it rejection that caused Jesus’ suffering? No, rejection was not the cause but the trigger…but His suffering went deeper than that. 

Injustice! Did the people treat Him with injustice by rejecting Him? Why do they reject Him? Why did they crucify Him?

 Did Jesus suffer injustice? Yes, He did! Injustice of the worst kind because the religious leaders punished Him by crucifixion for being who He said He was…the Son of God… but was His suffering in the injustice He received…or was it something else?

Jesus had the same capacity to respond in a sinful way to unjust treatment as we do because He was human. 

Hebrews tells us that…

“In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered…Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭2‬:‭10‬, ‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Now we are slowly getting nearer to the real meaning of Jesus’ suffering. Not only what He suffered but also when he suffered.  When did Jesus suffer? He suffered when He was tempted! His suffering was not about what people did to Him. His suffering was about the way He reacted to what they did to Him. Jesus’ reaction was about revealing what was in Him when He suffered…in His humanity, especially in the way He reacted to injustice. 

Why injustice?

Why injustice? Injustice is the one thing that arouses our urge to retaliate. Everything inside us revolts against unjust treatment. I retaliate because the other person treats me as worthless, has no regard for who I am, that I am a person of worth created in God’s image. 

This truth reaches deep into our souls, and affects us right from the moment someone says or does something unfair, even and especially in our early childhood. A careless, unthinking comment can damage a child for life even if no harm is intended. 

Something like “You can do better…” when a child produces something imperfect, can cause a child to believe that the person was meaning, “You are not good enough,” or even, “You are not wanted.” From that moment on, a child might react to any words or actions that trigger the same belief even if they are not true. Nasty words, rebellious actions, unruly behaviour…tell the story of retaliation against words that make them feel rejected by unfair treatment.  People retaliate against injustice by punishing everyone around them, and especially those nearest to them, by bad attitudes and bad behaviour…or punishing themselves by actions and behaviour that cause harm to themselves. 

Think about it! A careless comment to a young child spoken even without intention to wound, can be a deep hurt that lodges in the soul and colours everything that is said to or about him/her. From that moment on, the child behaves in a way that retaliates to the perceived hurt… and usually overreacts. Everything is viewed through the original perceived wound. 

“You can do better,” is interpreted as, “You are not good enough…” or “You are imperfect,” or ”I reject you because you don’t measure up to my standard.” Whatever the statement, it is filtered through, “You can do better.”

So, we come to the issue of Jesus’ attitude to retaliation. His life was peppered with rejection. How did He react? Did He defend Himself? Did He hit back? Did He take revenge? No! He refused to retaliate to injustice. He practised self-control…self restraint. He said “No!” to the temptation to vindicate Himself by punishing Himself or others…and therein lies the temptation and the suffering. He always spoke the truth, not out of emotion or out of what others thought or said about Him, but out of who He knew He was…the Son of God. 

Consider these words that preceded the greatest act of humility as the Son of God. 

“Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭13‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Only someone who knew who he was could do that!

Imagine how difficult it must have been for Him to stay silent during His trial, when His judges accused Him of blasphemy and many other trumped-up charges. He had every reason to defend Himself, but He did not. Before the Sanhedrin…before Pilate…

“Then the high priest stood up before the others and asked Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?” But Jesus was silent and made no reply….”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭14‬:‭60‬-‭62‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Then the leading priests kept accusing him of many crimes, and Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer them? What about all these charges they are bringing against you?” But Jesus said nothing, much to Pilate’s surprise.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭15‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Then the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” Jesus said, “I Am. And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Mark 14:62-62 NLT

Jesus answered only one question…not in defence but in testimony. I AM! That was the last straw for His accusers. 

“Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, “Why do we need other witnesses? You have all heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?” “Guilty!” they all cried. “He deserves to die!” Then some of them began to spit at him, and they blindfolded him and beat him with their fists. “Prophesy to us,” they jeered. And the guards slapped him as they took him away.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭14‬:‭63‬-‭65‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Peter summed up Jesus’ attitude throughout His trial. He was not looking for a way to wriggle out of His predicament but willingly submitting to the Father’s purpose because He was a son who always submitted to and obeyed the Father… and because He knew the outcome. How He reacted to injustice during His last hours was a testimony to His victory over sin in all its forms, throughout His life. 

Peter holds up Jesus’ example as a pattern for believers to follow…the only and effective way to respond to injustice…

“But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”

This is the way we suffer with Jesus, by adopting His attitude and doing what He did. 

“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭20‬-‭24‬

The key to the victory over the onslaught to one’s identity depends on which way we are looking. Inwardly…we are insulted…we retaliate. Upward…we are untouched. We entrust to the Father the right and power to take revenge because He is just

and He will act for us. 

Paul affirms Peter’s counsel with a 

command…

“Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord…Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭19‬, ‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Only by grace and through the power of His Spirit can we follow Jesus’ example. Retaliating to injustice has set the world on fire…everywhere! Refusing to retaliate stops the downward process in its tracks and puts the fire out. 

So, why do some people speak and behave in cruel and unjust ways towards others? They are inadvertently giving evidence to deep hurt that festers inside and shows on the outside that their lives are poisoned by their own unresolved rejection. 

What is the solution? Cut off the root by honest confession to God and the choice to trust Him for vindication… and the flow of poison will cease. 

Do not retaliate! Retaliation in all its forms…anger, bitterness inside or revenge outside, will effectively disqualify you from inheriting the nature of Jesus when you see Him face to face. Confirm His nature being formed in you in this life by entrusting yourself to Him who judges justly. Then you will receive your inheritance in the life to come…the glory of Jesus!

To be continued

ROMANS…THE KEYS – 15c

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We have now been introduced to  a major role player in this new life in the Spirit…our minds…our thoughts and ultimately…what we believe. 

We always respond to and act out of what we believe. The thoughts that we think that are based on  either truth or delusion, form our beliefs. So, the key to lining up our conduct with the truth about our new lives is to connect our thoughts with what is true. The Holy Spirit takes what we believe to be true and makes it real in us. 

“So, you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children…”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭15‬ NLT‬‬

Do you get it?

When we come to the realisation and conviction that the Holy Spirit is in us and that He is confirming in us the truth that we are God’s children…we start thinking about ourselves the way God thinks about us…not slaves to sin any longer but God’s beloved sons and daughters. We begin to view ourselves and our lives differently. We belong to Jesus. We stand right beside Him in God’s estimation. We are heirs with Him because we are also sons and daughters in His family…and the Holy Spirit confirms this truth in us, witnessing in us that we are God’s children. 

“And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory…”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭16 NLT‬‬

What will we inherit with Jesus? 

John helps us to understand what we will inherit in our new life in God’s eternal presence…

“See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! …Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭2‬b ‭NLT

We will inherit the nature of Jesus, the weight and substance of who He is in His nature, although not in His divine attributes. We are not God. We are His offspring, created in His image, bearing His likeness character. 

Before He went to the cross, Jesus asked the Father to restore to Him the glory He had with Him before He came to earth. 

“Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.”

‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

How would the Father do that?

Jesus had laid aside His glory…the full weight of His deity with the Father…and become fully human, participating in the limitations of His and our humanity. 

“Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being…”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus needed to go through the cross as a human to be glorified with the Father. This does not mean that the Father had to add something to Jesus to restore His full nature as God. What does He mean, then?  I can only guess. 

I think that, through the cross experience, Jesus confirmed in His human life those attributes in His human nature that were in the Father…His love, mercy, and compassion. Everything that the Father is, is also in Jesus in His human nature…which He demonstrated by the way He lived on earth and related to humanity. 

Now, Paul adds a condition to our position as heirs of God’s glory. If we are to inherit the very “weight” or substance of God’s nature, His “glory”, we need to fulfil one condition…we are to learn to suffer as Jesus suffered during His life on earth. His suffering in a specific way qualified Him to be the perfect sacrifice and Saviour of sinners.  

“He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭22‬ ‭NLT‬

In between this statement and the following is the most profound key to the nature of our suffering which qualifies us to share in His glory…

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.” Romans 8:17 NLT

What does this mean? 

Watch this space for our next post…

To be continued

ROMANS…THE KEYS -15b

Bible Study, ,

How does the living by the Spirit work in us? If we have died to the law so that the law no longer holds us in bondage, and come alive to the power of the Spirit in us…how do we live this new life in practice?

“Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭5‬-‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Those who have traded “road rules” outside for the Holy Spirit inside through faith in Jesus, have a new way of navigating life. Instead of trusting self with its perpetual drag towards sin, we look and listen to the Holy Spirit Inside us to give us the power to stay safe on the road and walk in the right direction. 

We must learn to think what is now true. Which way are we thinking? If we keep thinking about ourselves…listening to what our sinful desires demand…we will be pulled in that direction. Paul said that this will take us downhill into death…slowly cutting us off from the life of Jesus in us.  

“But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT

Here’s the thing! Despite our bodies being subject to death now, our spirits are alive because of Jesus…and the Holy Spirit, who now inhabits our bodies, will bring our bodies back to life.  We have spiritual life now.  When Jesus comes, we will also have physical, resurrection life. Guaranteed!

“And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

So, instead of looking inside and finding sinful desires, we must look inside and find the Holy Spirit at the steering wheel. The old self has been replaced by another “driver”. He waits for us to acknowledge Him and let Him be in control. 

The obligation to sin because of the hold sin had on our flesh, has gone. There is another who has power in us…the Holy Spirit. We can and must choose to give Him the power to neutralise the pull of our flesh. 

“Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭12‬-‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It’s all about perspective and choice. We have a new perspective…the Holy Spirit in us, not our sinful desires, is in control. Our minds…the way we think…and what we believe to be true…play the major role. We are now free to choose who or what will influence the way we will go…downwards into sin or upwards into obedience and holiness. 

“And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This thought leads us into another big subject…

To be continued