Romans 8:18

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(18-25) The mention of “suffering” and of “glory” recalls the Apostle to a sense of his own position—what he had to go through, and what was the hope that he had to animate and encourage him. A vivid impression of the stormy life of the Apostle at this period is given by Acts 19:23-41; 2Corinthians 6:4-5; 2Corinthians 11:23-28. But he counted it as nothing (Philippians 3:8) as compared with his triumphant out-look into the future. Here, then, there follows a statement of the nature of the Christian’s hope viewed, not only as it affects the individual, but also in its cosmical aspect.

(18) Revealed in us.—Upon us—i.e., reaching to us, and illumining and transfiguring us. The Coming of Christ is always thus conceived of as a visible manifestation of glory in those who take part in it.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

8:18-25 The sufferings of the saints strike no deeper than the things of time, last no longer than the present time, are light afflictions, and but for a moment. How vastly different are the sentence of the word and the sentiment of the world, concerning the sufferings of this present time! Indeed the whole creation seems to wait with earnest expectation for the period when the children of God shall be manifested in the glory prepared for them. There is an impurity, deformity, and infirmity, which has come upon the creature by the fall of man. There is an enmity of one creature to another. And they are used, or abused rather, by men as instruments of sin. Yet this deplorable state of the creation is in hope. God will deliver it from thus being held in bondage to man's depravity. The miseries of the human race, through their own and each other's wickedness, declare that the world is not always to continue as it is. Our having received the first-fruits of the Spirit, quickens our desires, encourages our hopes, and raises our expectations. Sin has been, and is, the guilty cause of all the suffering that exists in the creation of God. It has brought on the woes of earth; it has kindled the flames of hell. As to man, not a tear has been shed, not a groan has been uttered, not a pang has been felt, in body or mind, that has not come from sin. This is not all; sin is to be looked at as it affects the glory of God. Of this how fearfully regardless are the bulk of mankind! Believers have been brought into a state of safety; but their comfort consists rather in hope than in enjoyment. From this hope they cannot be turned by the vain expectation of finding satisfaction in the things of time and sense. We need patience, our way is rough and long; but He that shall come, will come, though he seems to tarry.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For I reckon - I think; I judge. This verse commences a new division of the subject, which is continued to Romans 8:25. Its design is to show the power of the gospel in sustaining the soul in trials; a very important; and material part of the scheme. This had been partially noticed before Romans 5:3-5, but its full power to support the soul in the prospect of a glorious immortality had not been fully discussed. This topic seems here to have been suggested by what is said of adoption. The mind of the apostle instantly adverted to the effects or benefits of that adoption; and one of the most material of those benefits was the sustaining grace which the gospel imparted in the midst of afflictions. It should be borne in mind that the early Christians were comparatively few and feeble, and exposed to many trials, and that this topic would be often, therefore, introduced into the discussions about their privileges and condition.

The sufferings - The afflictions; the persecutions, sicknesses, etc. The expression evidently includes not only the special trials of Christians at that time, but all that believers are ever called to endure.

Of this present time - Probably the apostle had particular reference to the various calamities then endured. But the expression is equally applicable to afflictions of all times and in all places.

Are not worthy to be compared - Are nothing in comparison; the one is far more than an equivalent. in compensation for the other.

With the glory - The happiness; the honor in heaven.

Which shall be revealed in us - That shall be disclosed to us; or of which we shall be the partakers in heaven. The usual representation of heaven is that of glory, splendor, magnificence, or light; compare Revelation 21:10, Revelation 21:23-24; Revelation 22:5. By this, therefore, Christians maybe sustained. Their sufferings may seem great; but they should remember that they are nothing in comparison with future glory. They are nothing in degree. For these are light compared with that "eternal weight of glory" which they shall "work out." 2 Corinthians 4:17. They are nothing in duration. For these sufferings are but for a moment; but the glory shall be eternal. These will soon pass away; but that glory shall never become dim or diminished; it will increase and expand forever and ever.

In us - Unto us εἰς ἡμᾶς eis hēmas.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

18. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us—that is, "True, we must suffer with Christ, if we would partake of His glory; but what of that? For if such sufferings are set over against the coming glory, they sink into insignificance."

Matthew Poole's Commentary

For I reckon; i.e. I make account, I certainly conclude: see Romans 3:28. The word is borrowed either from arithmeticians, who by casting their accounts do find the true and total sum; or from logicians, who by considering the premises do draw the conclusion.

Not worthy to be compared; the word properly signifieth that part of the balance which goeth down: q.d. If the sufferings of this life be weighed with the glory to come, they will be light in comparison. These words, to be compared, are supplied in our translation to make up the sense.

Revealed in us; it is revealed to us, and it shall be revealed in us. This text is a confutation of the popish doctrine of merit and human satisfaction.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

For I reckon, that the sufferings of this present time,.... By "this present time" may be meant, the then present age, in which the apostle lived; which was an age in which the people of God suffered much, as was foretold by Christ, and which was necessary for the confirmation of the Gospel; for grace and strength answerable to their trials were given them; and the power of God was visibly to be seen in the supporting of them; though this was not the only suffering age: wherefore by the present time may be understood, the present time of life here on earth; which is a time of suffering, and which cannot well be otherwise, considering the world in which we are, and the nature of it, the state and condition of our souls, and the constitution of our bodies, and the many enemies we have about us; but then this present time of life is the only suffering time to the saints, for no sooner are they removed from hence, but they are in heaven, where neither wicked men nor devils can reach them, where their souls are freed from sin and unbelief, from doubts and fears, and everything that is distressing; and after the resurrection there will be no more diseases nor death in their bodies; and this present time is but a short time, a little while, and all sufferings will be at an end; wherefore they

are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. The future happiness of the saints is expressed by glory, of which the glory of this world is but a faint resemblance; a glory which is already given to Christ, and he is entered into the possession of; it is already, but as yet it is unseen, but will be "revealed" hereafter, when Christ himself shall appear in it; and it will not only be revealed to the saints, as the glory of Christ, as Mediator; and it will not only be visible upon them, upon their bodies, which will be made like to the glorious body of Christ; but it will be revealed in them, and greatly lie in the perfection of knowledge and holiness in their souls: now between the sufferings of the saints in the present state of things and their future happiness, is no comparison, either with respect to quality or quantity. Their afflictions are "light" in comparison of the due desert of sin, the sufferings of Christ, and the torments of the damaged in hell, and when under divine supports; but glory is heavy, it is a "weight of glory". The sufferings of the saints are but for a time, but their glory is eternal; nor is there any comparison to be made between them by way of merit, for there is no manner of proportion between the one and the other, nor can the one have any causal influence upon the other. This is the judgment of things the apostle made, "I reckon" or "I think" which is said, not as his bare opinion, or as in the least doubting the truth of what he said; but having deliberately weighed things in his mind, and reasoned upon them, came to this conclusion, that so it must be. The allusion is either to logicians, who having settled the premises draw the conclusion; or to arithmeticians, who, having cast up the account, give the sum total. Though, after all, the "glory" here spoken of may mean the glorious Gospel of Christ, which was more and more to be revealed in the Gentile world, "in" or "by us" the apostles, in comparison of which all their sufferings were as nothing.

Geneva Study Bible

{20} For I {t} reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

(20) Thirdly, that this glory which we look for surpasses a thousand times the misery of our afflictions.

(t) All being well considered, I gather.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

Romans 8:18. Λογίζομαι] I reckon, as in Romans 3:28; 2 Corinthians 11:5; Php 3:13. In the singular we are not to discover a turn given to the argument, as if the apostle found it necessary to justify himself on account of the condition εἴπερ συμπάσχ. (Hofmann). Just as little here as in the case of πέπεισμαι in Romans 8:38. He simply delivers his judgment, which, however, he might have expressed with equal propriety in a form inclusive of others, as subsequently he has written οἴδαμεν (Romans 8:22). Such changing of the person is accidental and without any special design, especially as here he does not say ἐγὼ γὰρ λογίζ., or λογίζομαι γὰρ αὐτὸς ἐγώ, or otherwise give himself prominence. A certain litotes, however, lies (not indeed in the singular, but) in the use of λογίζομαι itself, which really contains an οἶδα and a πέπεισμαι.

οὐκ ἄξια] not of equal importance, not of corresponding weight; they are unimportant. On πρός, in comparison with, in relation to, comp. Plat. Gorg. p. 471 E: οὐδενὸς ἄειός ἐστι πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν, Protag. p. 356 A; Winer, p. 378 [E. T. 505]. On οὐκ ἄξιόν ἐστι itself, however, in the sense: non operae pretium est, see Kühner, ad Xen. Anab. vi. 5. 13. Comp. Dem. 300 ult.; Polyb. iv. 20. 2. On the subject-matter, see especially 2 Corinthians 4:17.

τοῦ νῦν καιροῦ] of the present time-period. The νῦν καιρός marks off from the whole αἰὼν οὗτος (see on Matthew 12:32) the period then current, which was to end with the approaching Parousia (assumed as near in Romans 13:11-12, 1 Thessalonians 4:17, 1 Corinthians 7:29, and in the entire N. T.), and was thus the time of the crisis.

μέλλ. δόξ. ἀποκ.] μέλλουσαν (see on Romans 8:13) is, as in Galatians 3:23, prefixed with emphasis, correlative with the foregoing νῦν. Comp. 1 Corinthians 12:22; Plat. Rep. p. 572 B: καὶ πάνυ δοκοῦσιν ἡμῶν ἐνίοις μετρίοις εἶναι. See Stallbaum in loc.

ἀποκαλ.] Namely, at the Parousia, when the δόξα which is now hidden (in heaven, comp. Colossians 3:3 f.; 1 Peter 1:4) is to be revealed.

εἰς ἡμᾶς] on us, so that we are those, upon whom (reaching unto them) the ἀποκάλυψις takes place. Comp. Acts 28:6. The δόξα comes to us, therefore, from without (with Christ descending from heaven; comp. Colossians 3:4; Php 3:21; Titus 2:13); but is not conceived as having already begun inwardly and then becoming apparent outwardly (in opposition to Lipsius, Rechtfert. p. 206).

Romans 8:18-31. Grounds of encouragement for the συμπάσχειν ἵνα κ. συνδοξ.

Namely, (1) The future glory shall far outweigh the present sufferings, Romans 8:18-25.—(2) The Holy Ghost supports us, Romans 8:26-27.—(3) Generally, all things must serve for good to those who love God, Romans 8:28-31.

Expositor's Greek Testament

Romans 8:18. The passage extending from this verse to Romans 8:27 is described by Lipsius as a “threefold testimony to the future transfiguration which awaits suffering believers”. In Romans 8:19-22 there is the first testimony—the sighing of creation; in Romans 8:23-25 the second, the yearning hope of Christians themselves, related as it is to the possession of the first fruits of the Spirit; and in Romans 8:26 f. the third, the intercession of the Spirit which helps us in our prayers, and lends words to our longing. λογιζόμεθα γὰρ κ.τ.λ. λογίζομαι is a favourite word with Paul: the instance most like this is the one in Romans 3:28. It does not suggest a more or less dubious result of calculation; rather by litotes does it express the strongest assurance. The insignificance of present suffering compared with future glory was a fixed idea with the Apostle, 2 Corinthians 4:17 f. For οὐκ ἄξια … πρὸς see Winer, 505 (d). With τὴν μέλλουσαν δόχαν ἀποκαλυφθῆναι cf. in Galatians 3:23 τὴν μέλλ. πίστιν ἀποκαλ. The unusual order emphasises the futurity, εἰς ἡμᾶς = toward and upon us. The glory comes from without, to transfigure them. It is revealed at the ἀποκάλυψις (1 Corinthians 1:7, 2 Thessalonians 1:7, 1 Peter 1:7; 1 Peter 1:13; 1 Peter 4:13), the glorious second coming, of Christ, and is indeed His glory of which they are made partakers.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

18. For, &c.] St Paul here follows out the last previous thought, and especially the last word; the prospect of glorification with Christ after suffering with Him. He dilates on its immensity and bliss, and never quite leaves the subject through the rest of the chapter.

I reckon] A favourite word with St Paul. There is the finest justness in the use of this word of calculation here, where the subject—so full of rapture—stands in profound contrast to all mere calculation. And this force is intensified to the utmost when we think who it is that speaks thus; what was meant in Paul’s case by “the sufferings of this present time.”

time] The Gr. word is same as Romans 3:26, where see note. The choice of word is most significant: the longest life of trial is but a soon-passing occasion, compared with the eternal Future. See 2 Corinthians 4:17; 1 Peter 1:6.

revealed] “When His glory shall be revealed;” “at the revealing of Jesus Christ;” (1 Peter 1:7; 1 Peter 4:13; 1 Peter 5:1. See too Colossians 3:3.)

in us] Lit., and better, unto us, upon us; q. d., “to be revealed as ours and laid as a crown, or robe, upon us.”—With this verse on his lips Calvin died, in extreme suffering, and unable to finish the quotation.

Bengel's Gnomen

Romans 8:18. Γὰρ, for) The reason assigned,[94] why he just now made mention of suffering, and of glorification.—ΤΟῦ ΝῦΝ ΚΑΙΡΟῦ, of the present time) The cross [laid on the children of God], in the New Testament is greater than it formerly was, but it is of short continuance. καιρὸς, a short time; the present and future are opposed to each other.—πρὸς, to be compared with) that is, if they be compared together.—εἰς ἡμᾶς, with respect to [towards] us; comp. 2 Corinthians 5:2.

[94] Aetiologia. See Appendix.

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 18, 19. - For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us-ward. (So, as in the Revised Version, or upon us, as Tyndale and Cranmer, rather than in us, as in the Authorized Version. The expression is εἰς ἡμᾶς, and the idea is of Christ appearing in glory, and shedding his glory on us, cf. 1 John 3:2.) For the earnest expectation of the creature (or, creation) waiteth for the revelation of the sons of God. "Revelatur gloria: et tum revelantur etiam filii Dei" (Bengel). God's sons will be revealed as being such, and glorified (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:5; also 1 John 3:2). Ἠ κτίσις, in this verse and afterwards, has been variously understood. The word properly means actus creationis, and is so used in ch. 1:20; but usually in the New Testament denotes what has been created, as, in English, creation. Sometimes, where the context limits its application, it denotes mankind, as Mark 16:15 and Colossians 1:23; or it may be used for an individual creature (cf. Romans 8:39; Hebrews 4:13). Where there is nothing to limit its meaning, it must be understood of the whole visible creation, at any rate in the world of man. Thus in Mark 10:6; Mark 13:19; 2 Peter 3:4. And so here, except so far as the context limits it; for see especially πᾶση ἡ κτίσις in ver. 22. It is, indeed, apparently so limited to the part of creation of which we have cognizance at present; for see οἴδαμεν in ver. 22, which denotes a known fact. But is there any further limitation, as many commentators contend? Putting aside as untenable, in view of the whole context (see especially ver. 23), the view of those who understand the new spiritual creation of the regenerate to be meant, we may remark as follows:

(1) That ἡ κτίσις includes certainly all mankind, not excepting the regenerate. Καὶ ἡμεῖς αὐτοὶ in ver. 23 means that "we who have the firstfruits of the Spirit" are included, not that we are a class apart.

(2) The whole animal creation is included too. So general a term as πᾶσα ἡ κτίσις could not surely have been used if man only had been meant. And it is obviously true that the whole sentient creation, as well as man, has a share now in the general suffering. To the objection that the irrational creatures cannot be conceived as sharing in the "hope" and "earnest expectation" spoken of, it may be replied that, so far as it seems to be implied that they do, it may only be that the apostle, by a fine prosopopeia, conceives them as feeling even as the human mind feels concerning them. But, further, conscious hope and expectation does not seem, if the language of the passage be examined, to be distinctly attributed to them. All that is of necessity implied is that they share in the groaning from which we crave deliverance.

(3) Inanimate nature too may be included in the idea, it also seeming to share in the present mystery of evil, and falling short of our ideal of a terrestrial paradise. Tholuck appositely quotes Philo as saying that all nature ἀσθένειαν ἐνδέχεται καὶ κάμνει. It may be that St. Paul had in his mind what is said in Genesis of the cursing of the ground for man's sake, and of the thorns and thistles; and also the pictures found in the prophets of a renovated earth, in which the desert should rejoice and blossom as the rose. Calvin comments on the whole passage thus: "Omissa expesitionum varietate, hunc locum accipio, nullum esse elementum, nullamque mundi pattern, quae non, veluti praesontis miseriae agnitione tacta, in spem resurrectionis intenta sit." Again, "Spem creaturis quae sensu carent ideo tribuit, ut fideles oculos aperiant ad conspectum invisibilis vitae, quamvis adhuc sub deformi habitu lateat." Romans 8:18

Vincent's Word Studies

I reckon (λογίζομαι)

See on 1 Peter 5:12. It implies reasoning. "I judge after calculation made" (Godet). Compare Romans 3:28; 2 Corinthians 11:5; Philippians 3:13.