For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now.
the, etc.
Romans 8:20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Colossians 1:23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
groaneth.
Psalm 48:6 Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
Jeremiah 12:11 They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart.
John 16:21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
has been groaning together
The imagery of groaning suggests a deep, pervasive suffering and longing for redemption. This metaphorical language is often used in Scripture to describe the intense anticipation of deliverance (Exodus 2:23-24). The collective groaning implies a shared experience of suffering, resonating with the idea that creation is in a state of travail, awaiting restoration. This aligns with prophetic visions of a renewed creation, as seen in Isaiah 65:17-25.
in the pains of childbirth
This metaphor highlights both the intensity and the purpose of creation's suffering. Childbirth is a process that involves significant pain but ultimately results in new life. This suggests that the current suffering is not meaningless but is leading to a future hope and renewal. The imagery of childbirth is also used in other biblical contexts to describe the coming of God's kingdom (Isaiah 26:17-19, John 16:21-22), indicating that the present suffering will culminate in a new creation.
until the present time
This phrase situates the groaning of creation within the current era, emphasizing that this condition persists. It reflects the "already but not yet" tension of Christian eschatology, where believers experience the firstfruits of redemption but await its full realization (Hebrews 2:8-9). The present time is marked by the ongoing effects of sin, yet it is also a period of hope, as believers anticipate the fulfillment of God's promises (2 Peter 3:13).
Paul begins with a calm confidence: “We know” (Romans 8:22). Believers possess God-given certainty, not speculation. This phrase mirrors other settled truths: “We know that all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28), and “We know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God” (2 Corinthians 5:1). Such assurance rests on the trustworthiness of Scripture, so what follows is not guesswork but revealed fact.
The term embraces every part of the universe—earth, skies, seas, and every living creature. Genesis 1:31 reminds us that God originally declared all He made “very good,” yet Genesis 3:17-19 records how Adam’s sin drew the entire created order under a curse. Psalm 148 summons mountains, animals, and even weather to praise the Lord, underscoring that creation is more than scenery; it is a chorus waiting for full redemption. Nothing is excluded from the statement “the whole creation.”
“Groaning” pictures deep, inarticulate sighs, the kind heard in pain or longing. Isaiah 24:4-6 speaks of the earth languishing because of human rebellion, and Hosea 4:3 notes how land and sea creatures mourn under sin’s burden. Earlier in this chapter, “creation was subjected to futility” (Romans 8:20), and in the next verse “we ourselves groan within ourselves” (Romans 8:23). Even the Spirit “intercedes for us with groans” (Romans 8:26). All these groans harmonize in one chorus of eager expectation.
The metaphor is striking: present agony is actually labor, not death throes. Jesus used the same image: “When a woman is in labor, she has pain… but when she delivers the child, she no longer remembers the anguish” (John 16:21). The labor pains Jesus called “the beginning” in Matthew 24:8 look forward to His return. Likewise, creation’s contractions anticipate “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13) and the final unveiling of “a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1). Pain, therefore, is purposeful and hopeful.
These birth pains have continued nonstop “until now,” spanning Paul’s day and ours. The groaning has not lessened, confirming that the promised redemption is still future. Yet Philippians 3:20-21 assures us we await a Savior who will transform our lowly bodies, and 1 John 3:2 adds that “when He appears, we shall be like Him.” Creation’s waiting period runs parallel to ours; both terminate in the same glorious unveiling.
Romans 8:22 pulls back the curtain on a universe in labor. Since sin entered, every corner of creation has sighed under its weight, yet those sighs are labor pains, not death rattles. The cosmos longs for the day Christ returns, believers are glorified, and all things are made new. Our own groans echo creation’s, but both are filled with hope because God’s sure promises guarantee that the pain will give way to joy.
(22) Groaneth and travaileth.--In view of the physical evil and misery prevalent in the world, the Apostle attributes a human consciousness of pain to the rest of creation. It groans and travails together, i.e., every member of it in common with its kind. The idea of travailing, as in childbirth, has reference to the future prospect of joyful delivery. (Comp. John 16:21.)Until now.--This consciousness of pain and imperfection has been continuous and unbroken (nor will it cease until an end is put to it by the Coming of Christ.)
Verses 22, 23. - For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only so, 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. The present unwilling subjection of the whole visible creation to evil is here still more forcibly expressed, and spoken of as being what is known - a subject of experience to all who observe and think; and it is added that this state of things continues still - it is "until now." The yearned-for deliverance has not yet come; and therefore we should not be surprised if we too, the regenerate, while in the body, are not yet exempt from our share in the universal groaning. For we have but the first fruits of the Spirit as yet, not its full triumph; cf. "the earnest of the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 1:22), and "the earnest of our inheritance " (Ephesians 1:14). Its being said that we still wait for our adoption as sons is not inconsistent with other statements (as in Ephesians 4:5-7, and above, ver. 14, etc.), to the effect that we are already adopted, and are already sons; for υἱοωεσία here denotes the final realization of our present sonship, when the sons of' God shall be revealed (ver. 19). Similarly, our redemption (ἀπολύτρωσις) is here regarded as future. In one sense we are redeemed already; in another we await our redemption, i.e. the full accomplishment thereof. It is the consummation called by our Lord ἡ παλιγγενεσία (Matthew 19:28), and by St. Peter, ἀποκατάστασις πάντων (Acts 3:21). cf. 2 Peter 3:13, and Revelation generally. "Of our body" seems to be added with reference to what has been seen above as to our present "mortal bodies" being both the organs of the lust of the flesh and the hindrances to the proper development of our inward spiritual life.