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Transcript 414C — Romans 8:21 Explained
HC: Good evening. Welcome to Open Forum.
CALLER: Hello. Would you explain to me Romans 8:21?
HC: Romans 8:21: "Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."
Now the word creature here may also be translated creation. And it really serves the verse better if it were translated creation. Let's go back to verse 19: "For the earnest expectation of the creature [or the creation] waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creation [or the creature] was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who has subjected the same in hope, because the creature [or the creation] itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now."
Now you see, when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, this introduced a very strange situation, because Adam and Eve were the crown of God's creation. They were the highest of the creatures that had been created. They were created in the image of God. And they had been given dominion over the creation.
Now when God created the creation, including mankind, He created it perfect. The Bible says that God saw everything that He had made and it was good. It was perfect. It was loyal to God. There was no rebellion of any kind in the creation.
But now Adam and Eve, the rulers of the creation, had rebelled against God. And they were under the curse of God. So we have that strange situation, where we have the animals and the plants and the birds and the fish and the rocks and the trees, and so on, perfect. But we have the rulers over this perfect creation under the curse of God.
To correct this, God subjected the creation also to the curse of sin. It was not done because of the sin of the creation. It was done because of the sin of mankind who ruled over it. And therefore it says that the creation was made subject to vanity, or to futility, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hope. That is, it was to remain subject to vanity or futility, or to the curse of sin forever. But it was to be subjected until God's salvation plan was completed.
Now you'll notice in verse 19 it says that "the earnest expectation of the creature [or the creation] waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God." Why? What will happen at the manifestation of the sons of God? Well, the manifestation of the sons of God will occur at the end of the world, when the believers will be raptured, and our salvation will have been completed.
But you see, it's at the end of the world that the world itself will be made free from the curse that it had become subjected to. Verse 21: "because the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."
Now let's look at our body. Our body is under the curse of sin. Our body is going to go back into the dust and return to the dust. But out of this dust God is going to recreate us. He's going to resurrect us a glorious spiritual body that will live eternally with the Lord Jesus Christ.
By the same token, this earth, which is cursed by sin, subject to viruses and mosquitoes and tornadoes and floods and earthquakes, and what have you, God is going to destroy. God is going to destroy this universe by fire, and He's going to recreate it New Heavens and a New Earth, where righteousness dwells.
And that is what is anticipated here in Romans 8:21. "The creation itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption." That is, it will be recreated a new universe, where there is no corruption, "and it will be brought into the glorious liberty of the sons of God," or the children of God. That is, we who are believers will live eternally in the New Heaven and the New Earth.
CALLER: And the devil will be put in our hands, for us to bind him and rebuke him?
HC: No. No, Satan has already been rebuked at the cross. Christ is the one who defeated Satan. Satan will be cast into hell, and we no longer will have anything at all to do with Satan.
CALLER: Okay. Thank you.
HC: You're welcome. Good night.