Romans 8:18

Context

The verse appears in chapter 8 of Romans, the letter Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome. Many scholars hold that Romans was written from Corinth in the mid-to-late AD 50s. In the immediately preceding verse, 8:17, Paul says that believers are children of God and joint-heirs with Christ, "if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." Verse 18 sums up this relationship between suffering and glory: "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." The verses that follow, 19–25, speak of the whole creation groaning as it awaits restoration and of a hope that looks for what is not seen.

The Greek verb rendered "I reckon" (logizomai) conveys the sense of a judgment reached after careful calculation. For this reason, the verse is generally read not as vague speculation but as a conclusion Paul reached with conviction.

Interpretation

• Eschatological reading: Commentators from many denominations understand "the glory which shall be revealed" as the bodily resurrection and the restoration of all things that will take place at Christ's Second Coming. This reading connects the verse with "the redemption of our body" in 8:23 and interprets it within the framework of eschatology.
• Reformed reading: Presbyterian and other Reformed traditions read this verse together with "glorified" in 8:30. On this view, glory is the final stage of salvation and will surely come to pass, while suffering is part of the path the saints travel on the way. This reading is also closely related to the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints.
• Reading in the Wesleyan tradition: Methodist, Holiness, and related churches tend also to emphasize that the hope of future glory becomes a driving force of sanctification that transforms present life.
• Scope of suffering: Interpreters differ on the scope of "the sufferings of this present time." Some limit it to persecution endured for following Christ, while others, drawing on the flow of verses 19–22, extend it to all the afflictions of this age, including sickness and death.

Questions of Application

The verse is not the subject of any significant doctrinal dispute between denominations. Several questions of application have, however, been raised.

• Risk of minimizing pain: Some caution that offering this verse to a suffering person as a call simply to "endure" may come across as making light of that person's pain. In support, they point out that Paul goes on immediately to speak of the "groaning" of both creation and believers.
• Contrast with prosperity theology: Because the verse presupposes that suffering is a normal part of the believer's life, it is sometimes cited as grounds for criticizing prosperity theology, which holds that faith leads directly to success in this life.
• Differences in translation: The phrase rendered "to us" in some translations can also be read as "in us," as in the KJV. Interpreters therefore differ over whether the glory is revealed to believers or brought about within them.

In the Korean Church

The verse is frequently cited to offer comfort and hope during pastoral visits to church members battling illness, at funeral services, and in sermons during Holy Week.

Related Passages

• Romans 8:17
• Romans 8:19–23
• Romans 8:24–25
• 2 Corinthians 4:17
• 1 Peter 4:13