The Already and Not Yet

If you belong to Christ, why is life still so hard?

In this study of Romans 8, Dr. Toby Holt opens the tension in which every believer lives: the kingdom of God has already come in Christ, yet it is not yet consummated. Our salvation is real and secure, but its full glory is still future. In the meantime, all creation "groans" under the curse, and Christians groan along with it, eagerly awaiting the redemption of the body.

Dr. Holt draws out the comfort of this "already, but not yet." Our present sufferings are genuine, yet they are "not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Between Christ's first and second comings we live by hope, sustained by the Holy Spirit, who is the firstfruits of the glory to come and who Himself intercedes for us. The "not yet" does not cancel the "already" — it guarantees it.

Questions this study answers:

1. What does it mean to live in the "already and not yet"? Christ's death and resurrection have already inaugurated the kingdom, but it will not be fully realized until He returns. Believers live in the overlap of the two ages.

2. Why does all of creation groan? Because it was subjected to futility through the fall, and it now awaits liberation from corruption when the children of God are revealed and glorified.

3. How do we find strength to endure to the end? By the Holy Spirit, who indwells us, intercedes for us, and stands as God's pledge that the glory yet to come is certain.

"For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body." — Romans 8:22-23 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio. Listen and go deeper: This study is part of New Geneva Theological Seminary's teaching on systematic theology and the great doctrines of the Christian faith. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.