ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Romans 8.22

Book: Romans · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Verse

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ASV:

"22. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now." (Romans 8:22, ASV)

WEB:

"22. For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now." (Romans 8:22, WEB)

KJV:

"22. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now." (Romans 8:22, KJV)

YLT:

"22. for we have known that all the creation doth groan together, and doth travail in pain together till now." (Romans 8:22, YLT)

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"20. For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in hope 21. that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God."

"22. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now."

"23. And not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for our adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 24. For in hope were we saved: but hope that is seen is not hope: for who hopeth for that which he seeth?" (Romans 8:20-24, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"20. For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21. that the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of decay into the liberty of the glory of the children of God."

"22. For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now."

"23. Not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for adoption, the redemption of our body. 24. For we were saved in hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for that which he sees?" (Romans 8:20-24, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"20. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21. Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."

"22. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now."

"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. 24. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?" (Romans 8:20-24, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"20. for to vanity was the creation made subject, not of its will, but because of Him who did subject [it], in hope, 21. that also the creation itself shall be set free from the servitude of the corruption to the liberty of the glory of the children of God;"

"22. for we have known that all the creation doth groan together, and doth travail in pain together till now."

"23. And not only [so], but also we ourselves, having the first-fruit of the Spirit, we also ourselves in ourselves do groan, adoption expecting, the redemption of our body; 24. for in hope we were saved, and hope beheld is not hope; for what any one doth behold, why also doth he hope for [it]?" (Romans 8:20-24, YLT)

Setting

  • Speaker: Paul the Apostle
  • Audience: Roman Christians (Jewish + Gentile)
  • Location: composed in Corinth; addressed to Rome
  • Time period: composed c. AD 57
  • Narrative context: the creation-and-believer's-groaning unit within Romans 8 (vv. 18-25). Paul has just established that present sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (v. 18). The cosmic-eschatological perspective frames the believer's experience: creation is in bondage of corruption (v. 21), subjected to vanity by God's own judgment-act (v. 20, alluding to Gen 3) but in hope. Verse 22 is the summary observation: the whole creation groans and travails in birth-pains together (Greek systenazei kai synōdinei, both compound verbs with syn- = "together-with"). The pre-eschatological cosmos is the labor-room awaiting the birth of the new creation.

Theological reading

Romans 8:22 is the principal Pauline statement of cosmic fallenness and eschatological renewal. The verse compresses three theologically loaded claims: (a) creation itself (not just humanity) is currently in a damaged / corrupted state; (b) creation's groaning is recognizable and shared with the believer's groaning; (c) the groaning is birth-pang, not death-pang, pointing forward to renewal, not annihilation. The verse is foundational for Christian theodicy, Christian eschatology, and Christian creation-care.

The cosmic-fall reading

The verses (with vv. 20-21) ground a cosmic-fall reading of Genesis 3. The fall of humanity is not merely an anthropological event affecting only humans; it has cosmic consequences. Creation has been subjected to vanity (hē ktisis hypetagē tē mataiotēti) by God's own judgment-act in response to human sin. The corruption that touches everything from carnivorous predation to natural disaster to disease to mortality is part of the post-Fall cosmic-disorder.

This reading is significant for:

  1. Theodicy of natural evil, natural evil (earthquakes, disease, predation) is not part of God's original creation-design but a consequence of the cosmic-fall. God's responsibility for natural evil is mediated through His just judgment on cosmic disorder consequent on human sin, not direct authorship of evil. See Problem of Evil and Problem of Evil.

  2. Original-creation goodness, Genesis 1's "and God saw that it was good" is preserved; the current corrupted state is not original but consequent. The biblical reading sees creation as good-in-origin, corrupted-in-time, renewed-at-the-end.

  3. Hope of cosmic redemption, the renewal at Christ's return is cosmic, not merely individual. The believer's resurrection is paired with the creation's renewal (cf. Rev 21:1-5; Isa 65:17; 66:22).

Apparent tension with old-earth / evolutionary-creationism

The cosmic-fall reading has been classically associated with young-earth creationism (death, disease, predation post-date Adam's fall, not pre-date it). Old-earth creationism and evolutionary-creationism face an exegetical challenge: if death predates Adam's fall (as the fossil record on standard chronology suggests), then how does Romans 8:22 cohere?

Several responses:

  • Spiritual-death-only reading (Hugh Ross, Reasons to Believe): the fall introduced spiritual death (separation from God) and human death, but not necessarily animal death or cosmic corruption. Romans 8:22's groaning refers to the cosmos's longing for eschatological renewal, not necessarily its post-fall corruption.
  • Anticipatory-fall reading (William Dembski, The End of Christ Against Death): God knew the fall would happen and pre-arranged the cosmos in its currently-corrupted state in anticipation of Adam's free fall.
  • Cosmic-fall traditional reading (young-earth + some old-earth interpreters): natural evil really is post-fall consequent.

The interpretation is contested; see Origins and Cosmology for the multi-position synthesis.

The believer's groaning (vv. 23-25)

Paul immediately pairs the creation's groaning with the believer's groaning (v. 23, "ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves"). The believer is part of the groaning creation, not separate from it. The Spirit's indwelling is the first-fruit (aparchē), the down-payment guaranteeing the full harvest of cosmic renewal at the resurrection of the body.

The threefold groaning, creation (v. 22), believer (v. 23), Spirit interceding (vv. 26-27), is one of Paul's most pastorally rich images. The believer's experience of suffering and longing is not isolation; the believer groans with creation, and the Spirit groans with the believer, and the Father hears both groanings as His own purpose-unfolding.

Patristic and Reformed reading

Irenaeus (Against Heresies 5.32-36, c. AD 180): the verse is foundational for Irenaeus's eschatology of recapitulation, the cosmos itself is redeemed in Christ's renewal of all things. The Christian eschatology is not escape-from-creation but transformation-of-creation.

Augustine (City of God 22): the creation-groaning is the cosmic anticipation of the new heavens and new earth. The eschatological renewal is the response to creation's longing.

John Calvin (Commentary on Romans ad loc.): the creation's groaning is a prosopopoeia (personification), Paul personifies creation as a means of communicating the cosmic-scope of the eschatological renewal.

Contemporary deployment

N. T. Wright (Surprised by Hope, 2008) has been a major contemporary voice rehabilitating the cosmic-renewal reading of Romans 8 in Anglican / Reformed circles. Wright emphasizes that the Christian hope is not "going to heaven when you die" (a Platonic notion) but the resurrection of the body in a renewed cosmos (the genuinely biblical-eschatological hope).

Apologetic deployment

The verse defeats three readings:

  1. The "nature is what nature is; suffering is meaningless" naturalistic-secular reading. Counter: Romans 8 frames creation's suffering as meaningful, as birth-pang, not death-pang. The cosmos itself is in the process of being remade.

  2. The "Christianity teaches escape from creation" Gnostic / popular-religion reading. Counter: the Christian hope is renewal of the cosmos, not escape from it. Cf. Rev 21:1-5, "new heaven and new earth" (renewed, not annihilated).

  3. The "natural evil disproves God" New Atheist argument. Counter: natural evil is consequent on the cosmic-fall; God's response is not its denial but its renewal. The cross-and-resurrection enters into the corruption to defeat it. See Problem of Evil for the fuller framing.

Pastoral deployment

The verse is pastorally rich for those experiencing suffering, illness, bereavement, or environmental grief. The pastoral message: your groaning is not isolated; you groan with all creation, and the Spirit groans with you, and all groaning is birth-pang directed toward cosmic renewal. The eschatological hope is not denial of suffering but its meaningful frame.

Trinitarian / Oneness reading

Both Trinitarian and Oneness readers affirm Romans 8:22. The cosmic redemption is the work of the one God, Father-source (the one who subjected creation in hope, v. 20), Son-mediator (the firstborn-among-many-brethren whose resurrection is the firstfruits, v. 29), Spirit-presence (the first-fruits / down-payment, v. 23). See Trinity vs Oneness vs Modalism vs Arianism.

Canonical-theological connections

  • Genesis 3:17-19, the cosmic-fall: ground cursed for Adam's sake
  • Romans 5:12-21, sin entering through Adam + reigning death
  • 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, Christ's resurrection as firstfruits + cosmic eschatology
  • 2 Corinthians 5:17, "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature"
  • Ephesians 1:9-10, God's plan to "gather together in one all things in Christ"
  • Colossians 1:15-20, Christ as creator + reconciler of all things
  • Hebrews 12:26-29, eschatological shaking of heaven and earth
  • Revelation 21:1-5, new heavens and new earth
  • Isaiah 11:6-9, peaceable-kingdom prophecy
  • Isaiah 65:17-25, new heavens and new earth (OT background)

Key words

See also

Quoted in