[Romans 8:18-25 NASB]
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, 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.
v.18: This paragraph is a discussion by Paul comparing the current physical suffering of the persecuted Saints with “the glory that is to be revealed in us”. We can surmise from verb tense that the suffering is in the present and the glory is in the future.
v.19: This suffering and glory impacts not only the individual, but all of creation. All of creation wants to see the glory revealed in us.
v.20: The unwilling subjection of creation is clearly from the hand of God and is typically understood to be a reference to the CURSE that God placed on the ground because of Adam.
v.21: This is a promise that the corruption (death) that happens in the world itself will be ended when the glory is revealed in us.
v.22: The whole physical world is suffering along with the Saints to whom Paul is writing, so we are not longing and suffering alone.
v.23: We have received a taste of what is to come, the first fruits of our adoption. However the first fruits are not the harvest, they are only a ’taste’ of what the harvest will be. Since we have had a taste of what is to come, we groan with longing for the actual harvest. We long for the glory to be fully revealed in us.
v.24: We have been saved from death. We have become the bride of Christ. We are united with Christ as His body. Yet we are not yet deathless. We have not yet been glorified. We are not yet in the New Jerusalem worshiping God in his presence forever. Our hope is only partially realized and we await its full realization. If we were already immortal, glorified and in heaven ... we would not be living in hope of what is to come.
- hope = [G1680] ἐλπίς elpís, el-pece'; from a primary ἔλπω élpō (to anticipate, usually with pleasure); expectation (abstractly or concretely) or confidence:—faith, hope
- So our “hope” is more than wishful thinking, it is anticipation with expectation of receiving that for which we hope.
v.25: So expecting what we do not yet see (our glorification), we wait eagerly for it. When it says that “with perseverance we wait” it does not mean that we struggle under our own strength to ‘keep on keeping on’; it means we wait with “cheerful” and “hopeful” endurance.
- perseverance = [G5281] ὑπομονή hypomonḗ, hoop-om-on-ay'; from G5278; cheerful (or hopeful) endurance, constancy:—enduring, patience, patient continuance (waiting).
So the entire paragraph, including verse 24, is about enduring physical hardship because of the confidence we have that the first fruits of our glory will one day see a harvest in our glorification (and all of creation along with us).
It is all about the faithfulness of God.