GRACE UNVEILED: “The Groan Before the Glory” #36 | Jim Hammond
Recap
Pastor Jim taught the 36th installment of his ongoing series on the book of Romans, entitled “Grace Unveiled.” Due to the rich treasures that are contained in Romans chapter 8, Pastor Jim is determined to reveal every one of its gems, leaving no truth uncovered! Did you know, there are three “groans” in this chapter? In this message, we looked at the groan that all creation gives right before the end of the dispensation of grace.
Dive Deeper
In this 36th installment of the series on the book of Romans, our scriptural reference is Romans 8:23: “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.”
There are three “groans” in Romans chapter 8. In the previous message, we saw all of creation groaning—the plants, the animals, everything. And then Romans 8:23 says that “we ourselves groan within ourselves.” We’re groaning because we are at the end of the dispensation of grace.
At that time, we, the sons and daughters of God, will receive resurrection bodies at the Second Coming of Jesus. Until then, we’re waiting on full redemption. Right now, we have partial payment.
The phrase “the first fruits of the spirit” is referring to the Holy Spirit coming into our spirit man when it is recreated when we believe Jesus died and rose again.
Explaining verse 23: If you believe Jesus Christ died for you on the cross and was raised from the dead, you have received a spirit of sonship; but all along, we are going through difficult things… we’re groaning because we all have a genetic sin nature that comes from Adam.
The Bible, in essence, calls it your flesh that you have to deal with. That’s because sanctification is a process. It doesn’t happen at the snap of the fingers.
Consider the Prodigal Son. He asked his father for his inheritance. In that culture, it was an insult to say, “Hey, Dad, even though you’re not dead, I want my inheritance anyway.” The father gave him his inheritance, and the son went out and blew the whole thing. What is interesting is that through all of that, the Prodigal Son never lost his sonship.
Pastor Jim said, “I think Jesus was trying to make a point in the Prodigal Son. Because in that parable, the father represents the Father in heaven. The son blew every dime doing things he shouldn’t be doing, yet he never lost his sonship.”
When the son came back to his father, one of the first things his father did was give him the ring of the family household. Back then, it would be like a credit card. It’s a stamp. He could stamp it into a tablet of clay for proof of purchase. He could purchase anything on credit with the ring.
When the Prodigal Son came back, he was given all the rights of a household that he had before he left. He lost his inheritance, but he never lost his sonship. There’s a difference between sonship and inheritance.
Let’s look at Romans 8:23 again. “Not only they,” speaking of creation, “but ourselves, which have the first fruits of the spirit. Even we ourselves grown within ourselves, waiting for the adoption to wit the redemption of our body.”
In the Greek language, the word redemption that is referring to our bodies means “release.” It’s a release that is achieved by a ransom payment. We have been redeemed through a ransom payment. Or we have been “released” through a payment.
All the sons and daughters of God are waiting for their redemption to be completed. Pastor Jim said, “The complete day of redemption for you and I is something in the Greek language called harpazō. It’s the Greek word that refers to the rapture. This is when our bodies will be transformed into completely different bodies that are able to stand and thrive in the actual manifested presence of God Himself.” In our state right now, we are not able to do that.
Moses said to God, “I want to see you.” God explained to Moses that if he were to look upon Him, that he would die because his body wouldn’t be able to handle it. So God put Moses in the cleft of the mountain and passed by him, allowing Moses to see His backside. Not His face.
When the rapture takes place, our bodies will become glorified, making us able to see God Himself.
Read About It
Romans 8:23, “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.”
Discussion Questions
In Romans chapter 8, there are three “groans.” Verse 23 says, “we ourselves groan within ourselves.” What is the reason we are groaning within ourselves?
What does the phrase “the first fruits of the spirit” mean?
What point was Jesus making in the parable of the Prodigal Son?
The above sermon notes were made from the first eleven minutes of the message entitled, GRACE UNVEILED: “The Groan Before the Glory.” If you would like to hear the rest of the message, click on the link above.