Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 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,
20. was made subject ] Apparently, at the Fall. Not that there was no animal suffering and death previously. God pronounced His creation “good;” but this “goodness” may mean only goodness in respect to its then work and purpose; and this may have included death and suffering, as in fact it seems to have done. (1Co 15:21 refers to human death, as that alone is in question there.) From Gen 3:17-19 we find that some change for the worse passed over man’s abode when he fell; a change impossible now to define. But it may be that all distress and failure in creation are, in the sight of the Eternal, connected with the entrance of sin, whether or no they have followed the Fall in order of time.
vanity ] Same word as Eph 4:17 ; 2Pe 2:18. The word means evil, whether physical or moral, regarded as (what all evil ultimately proves to be) delusion and failure.
not willingly ] See note just above on “The Creature.” The word here implies merely the absence of personal wrong and demerit in the subject of the change.
by reason of him, &c.] Who was this? It is very difficult to decide whether it is ( a) the Tempter, who procured the Fall; ( b) Man, who fell; or ( c) the Judge who punished the Fall. But we incline to the latter, because the next words point to Hope in a way that suggests the connexion of a Promise with the subjugation. The sin-caused “vanity” was thus inflicted “by reason of” the righteous doom of God.
in hope ] These words form a brief clause by themselves.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For the creature – The renewed creature; the Christian mind. This is given as a reason for its aspiring to the full privileges of adoption, that the present state is not one of choice, or one which is preferred, but one to which it has been subjected for wise reasons by God.
Subject to vanity – The word subject to means placed in such a state; subjected to it by the appointment of another, as a soldier has his rank and place assigned him in an army. The word vanity here mataiotes is descriptive of the present condition of the Christian, as frail and dying; as exposed to trials, temptations, and cares; as in the midst of conflicts, and of a world which may be emphatically pronounced vanity. More or less, the Christian is brought under this influence; his joys are marred; his peace is discomposed; his affections wander; his life is a life of vanity and vexation.
Not willingly – Not voluntarily. It is not a matter of choice. It is not what is congenial to his renewed nature. That would aspire to perfect holiness and peace. But this subjection is one that is contrary to it, and from which he desires to be delivered. This describes substantially the same condition as Rom 7:15-24.
But by reason – By him dia. It is the appointment of God, who has chosen to place his people in this condition; and who for wise purposes retains them in it.
Who hath subjected the same – Who has appointed his people to this condition. It is his wise arrangement. Here we may observe,
(1) That the instinctive feelings of Christians lead them to desire a purer and a happier world, Phi 1:23.
(2) That it is not what they desire, to be subjected to the toils of this life, and to the temptations and vanities of this world. They sigh for deliverance.
(3) Their lot in life; their being subjected to this state of vanity, is the arrangement of God. Why it is, he has not seen fit to inform us fully. He might have taken his people at once to heaven as soon as they are converted. But though we know not all the reasons why they are continued here in this state of vanity, we can see some of them:
- Christians are subjected to this state to do good to their fellow sinners. They remain on earth for this purpose: and this should be their leading aim.
- By their remaining here the power of the gospel is shown in overcoming their sin; in meeting their temptations; in sustaining them in trial; and in thus furnishing living evidence to the world of the power and excellency of that gospel. This could not be attained if they were removed at once to heaven.
- It furnishes occasion for some interesting exhibitions of character – for hope, and faith, and love, and for increasing and progressive excellence.
- It is a proper training for heaven. It brings out the Christian character, and fits it for the skies. There may be inestimable advantages, all of which we may not see, in subjecting the Christian to a process of training in overcoming his sins, and in producing confidence in God, before he is admitted to his state of final rest.
- It is fit and proper that he should engage here in the service of Him who has redeemed him. He has been ransomed by the blood of Christ, and God has the highest claim on him in all the conflicts and toils, in all the labors and services to which he may be subjected in this life.
In hope – See the note at Rom 5:4. Hope has reference to the future; and in this state of the Christian, he sighs for deliverance, and expects it.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 20. For the creature was made subject to vanity] The Gentile world were subject to vanity of mind; but how? not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same. May we not say, it became vain willingly, but was made subject to vanity unwillingly? For, let us recur to the origin of Gentilism, the confusion of languages, by reason of the attempt to build the tower of Babel; and though there are some passages in the gloss of the Targumists upon this matter that are sufficiently ridiculous, yet as to their scope and design they are worthy of notice. “They said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, and let its head reach unto the top of heaven; and let us make a house of worship in the top of it; and let us put a sword in his hand that he may wage war for us against our enemies, before we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” It is an ancient tradition among the Jews, that this tower was built on an idolatrous account. The confusion of tongues, by which true religion was lost in the world, is a proof that the builders of this tower sinned against God in the highest degree. They were inclined to vanity, i.e. idolatry, WILLINGLY; but they were subjected to vanity UNWILLINGLY; for this proceeded from the just indignation and vengeance of God. From this time the world lay under heathenism till the bringing in of the Gospel, upwards of 2000 years after. See Lightfoot.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
If these words be understood of the world, and all the creatures therein contained, then they show the creatures present condition; it is
subject to vanity, and that, either in regard of its insufficiency, it falling short of that for which it was first created and ordained; then a thing is said to be vain, when it doth not answer or reach its proper end: or in respect of its transitoriness and uncertainty, of which see 1Co 7:31; Heb 1:11,12; 1Jo 2:17. The next verse tells us it is subject to the bondage of corruption as well as vanity. Now this must needs be an unwilling subjection, therefore it is here said it is not subject willingly, i.e. of its own accord, or of its proper instinct and inclination. What the will is in those that are rational, the inclination is in those things that are natural; how comes it then into this condition? The next clause tells us, it is
by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope: i.e. God, for the sin of man, hath cursed the creature, and subjected it to vanity and corruption: see Gen 3:17; 4:12; Lev 26:19,20. And though he hath done this, yet there is ground to expect and hope that the creature shall return again to its former estate wherein it was created; that it shall be delivered and restored into a better condition, as in the next verse. Those that by the creature understand the Gentile world, give a different interpretation of these words; they say that the Gentiles are made subject to vanity, i.e. to idolatry, or a vain, superstitious worship, (idols are called vanities, Act 14:15), or to a miserable, wretched estate; that (as Hesychius notes) is the import of the word vanity. And this not so much of their own accord, or by their own free choice, but by the power and malice of Satan, to whom they are justly given up of God; he rules in their hearts, carries them captive at his will, subjects them to all villany and misery. And it is reasonable to suppose of these poor heathens, that they are willing to be rescued (at least some, and a considerable number of them) from under this vanity and slavery, as it is said, Rom 8:22.
Question. But if he that thus subjects them be the devil, how is he said to do this in hope?
Answer. These words, in hope, belong to the end of the former verse; all the rest of this verse being read or included in a parenthesis: q.d. The creature attends the manifestations of the sons of God in hope: meanwhile it is subject to vanity, &c.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
20. For the creature“thecreation.”
was made subject to vanity,not willinglythat is, through no natural principle of decay.The apostle, personifying creation, represents it as only submittingto the vanity with which it was smitten, on man’s account, inobedience to that superior power which had mysteriously linked itsdestinies with man’s. And so he adds
but by reason of him who hathsubjected the same “who subjectedit.”
in hopeor “inhope that.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For the creature was made subject to vanity,…. This designs the vanity and emptiness of the minds of the Gentiles, who were without God and Christ, and the Holy Spirit, without the law and Gospel, and grace of God; also the vain conceits they had of themselves, of their wisdom, knowledge, learning, and eloquence; likewise their vain philosophy, particularly their gross idolatry, their polytheism, or worshipping of many gods; together with their divers lusts and vices, to which they were addicted, to such a degree, that they might be truly said to be made subject thereunto, being under the government of these things, slaves unto them, and in such subjection, as that they could not deliver themselves from it; though it is said,
not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope. Though they were willingly vain, yet they were not willingly made subject to vanity; they willingly went into idolatrous and other evil practices, but the devil made them subject, or slaves unto them; he led them captive at his will, and powerfully worked in them, by divine permission, so that they became vassals to him, and to their lusts; for he seems to be designed, “by him who hath subjected the same”, and not Adam, by whom sin entered into the world.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Was subjected (). Second aorist passive indicative of (cf. verse 7).
To vanity ( ). Dative case. Rare and late word, common in LXX. From , empty, vain. Eph 4:17; 2Pet 2:18.
Not of its own will ( ). Common adjective, in N.T. only here and 1Co 9:27. It was due to the effect of man’s sin.
But by reason of him ( ). Because of God.
In hope that (‘ ). Note the form rather than the usual and so ‘. H can be causal “because” instead of declarative “that.”
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Vanity [] . Only here, Eph 4:17; 2Pe 2:18. Compare the kindred verb became vain (Rom 1:21 note), and the adjective vain (1Co 3:20; 1Pe 1:18). Vain is also used to render kenov (1Co 14:14, 58; Eph 5:6; Jas 2:20). Kenov signifies empty; mataiov idle, resultless. Kenov, used of persons, implies not merely the absence of good, but the presence of evil. So Jas 2:20. The Greek proverb runs. “The empty think empty things.” Mataiov expresses aimlessness. All which has not God for the true end of its being is mataiov. Pindar describes the vain man as one who hunts bootless things with fruitless hopes. Plato (” Laws, “735) of labor to no purpose. Eze 13:6,” prophesying vain things [] , ” things which God will not bring to pass. Compare Tit 3:9. Here, therefore, the reference is to a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends.
By reason of Him who hath subjected [ ] . God, not Adam nor Satan. Paul does not use the grammatical form which would express the direct agency of God, by Him who hath subjected, but that which makes God ‘s will the occasion rather than the worker – on account of Him. Adam ‘s sin and not God ‘s will was the direct and special cause of the subjection to vanity. The supreme will of God is thus removed “to a wider distance from corruption and vanity” (Alford).
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “For the creature was made subject to vanity,” (te gar mataioteti he ktisis hupetage) “For the creation was subjected to vanity, void, or emptiness;” as a consequence of sin – first of Satan in his fall, and second, in the fall of Adam, Gen 3:17-19; Rom 5:12; Rom 5:14; Rom 5:17; Eze 28:11-19; Luk 10:18; Rev 12:8-9.
2) “Not willingly,” (ouch hekousa) “not out of a will of its own;” the inanimate earth had no volition, will, or power of choice, such as man has. Not of its will, but by divine sentence, the earth was subjected to decay, misery, death, and vanity, Gen 3:17; Isa 24:5-6; 2Pe 3:7.
3) “But by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,” (alla dia ton hupotaksanta eph’ elpida) “But because or through the one subjecting (it) in hope,” the devil himself who sought to gain dominion of it from man, thru sin – the Prince of the power of the air, Eph 2:2; and Prince of this world order, Joh 12:31; 1Jn 5:19; Rev 12:8-9. But the hope of Satan is an insecure hope -there is an hour of defeat for him; there awaits a sure victory for our Lord, his church, his universe, and all his children, 1Co 15:57-58; 1Jn 5:4; Rev 20:10.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
20. For to vanity has the creation, etc. He shows the object of expectation from what is of an opposite character; for as creatures, being now subject to corruption, cannot be restored until the sons of God shall be wholly restore; hence they, longing for their renewal, look forward to the manifestation of the celestial kingdom. He says, that they have been subjected to vanity, and for this reason, because they abide not in a constant and durable state, but being as it were evanescent and unstable, they pass away swiftly; for no doubt he sets vanity in opposition to a perfect state.
Not willingly, etc. Since there is no reason in such creatures, their will is to be taken no doubt for their natural inclination, according to which the whole nature of things tends to its own preservation and perfection: whatever then is detained under corruption suffers violence, nature being unwilling and repugnant. But he introduces all parts of the world, by a sort of personification, as being endued with reason; and he does this in order to shame our stupidity, when the uncertain fluctuation of this world, which we see, does not raise our minds to higher things.
But on account of him, etc. He sets before us an example of obedience in all created things, and adds, that it springs from hope; for hence comes the alacrity of the sun and moon, and of all the stars in their constant courses, hence is the sedulity of the earth’s obedience in bringing forth fruits, hence is the unwearied motion of the air, hence is the prompt tendency to flow in water. God has given to everything its charge; and he has not only by a distinct order commanded what he would to be done, but also implanted inwardly the hope of renovation. For in the sad disorder which followed the fall of Adam, the whole machinery of the world would have instantly become deranged, and all its parts would have failed had not some hidden strength supported them. It would have been then wholly inconsistent that the earnest of the Spirit should be less efficacious in the children of God than hidden instinct in the lifeless parts of creation. How much soever then created things do naturally incline another way; yet as it has pleased God to bring them under vanity, they obey his order; and as he has given them a hope of a better condition, with this they sustain themselves, deferring their desire, until the incorruption promised to them shall be revealed. He now, by a kind of personification, ascribes hope to them, as he did will before.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(20) For the creature.The Apostle gives the reason for this earnest expectation in the present state of nature; pointing out what creation is. If creation were perfect, and were fulfilling the noblest possible purpose, there would be no cause for looking forward hopefully to the future.
Was made subject to vanity.Vanity = emptiness or nothingness. Creation is fulfilling an unworthy instead of a worthy and noble end. (Comp. Gen. 3:17-18.) It was made subject to this not willingly, i.e., by its own act or with its own concurrence, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same, i.e., in pursuance of the sovereign purpose and counsel of God. The one thing which takes out the sting from this impoverished and degraded condition is Hope.
It is needless to say that this is not Darwinism, but it is easily reconcilable with evolution. Indeed, such a theory seems to give it additional force and emphasis. It helps to bring out both the present vanity and hope for the future, and to show both as parts of one increasing purpose widening through the ages. Allowing for irregularities and fluctuations, on the whole, higher and higher forms of life have appeared. There has been unquestionably an enormous advance between the times of the Eozoon Canadense and our own. And, further, we have to notice that a new kind of progress, of far greater intrinsic importance than mere physical improvement, has of late appeared. I mean intellectual and moral progress, as it is seen in man. . . . And this progress, I would say, is most important in our argument as to the character of God, for it is full of promise of far better things than this sad world has ever seen. It points most decidedly to a supremacy of the power for good, and a great hope of final happiness for our race. (Rev. S. T. Gibson, Religion and Science, p. 34.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
20. To vanity To a mortal perishableness in contrast both to Adamic immortality and future glorification.
Not willingly By the primal sentence, against all its own upward aspirations, (Gen 3:17-19.) The word willingly implies that it is not the material or the animal creation that is described, but the human in general, though the Christian is the special subject.
By reason of him Said reverentially of God. Man is subjected to vanity under the laws of material nature on account of God’s primeval sentence upon the race for sin. In hope, through a promised renovator, (Gen 3:15,) of the final renovation.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘For the creation was subjected to frustration (emptiness, vanity), not of its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in hope, that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.’
And the reason why it waits with bated breath is because it had been subjected to frustration and emptiness (‘vanity’). The thought here is of Genesis 3. Creation had been ‘very good’ even in God’s eyes (Gen 1:31). It had flourished and prospered. But it had been transformed as a consequence of man’s sin into something that suffered corruption, death and decay, into something that was greatly marred. What had flowered in such glory had been subjected to frustration, futility and emptiness as it sought to propagate. Instead of positive fruitfulness, left to itself it produced weeds. And the animal world likewise was subject to struggle, death and decay, in total contrast to Isaiah’s vision of the new earth (Isa 11:6-9). It too had entered into the struggle for existence. And that not by its own choice (thus excluding man who did make his choice). It had rather been at the will of the Creator, Who had so subjected it (‘cursed be the ground’) because it belonged to rebellious man who had been given rule over it. This had not, however, left it without hope, for just as it was involved in man’s sin and failure, so would it be involved in his final redemption. Whilst therefore it is now in the bondage of corruption (a prisoner of corruption), it will one day be set free to enjoy the freedom of the glory of the children of God, part of which is incorruption (Rom 2:7).
The idea behind this is, of course, the ideal of the new heavens and the new earth in which dwells righteousness (2Pe 3:13; Rev 21:1; compare Isa 65:17). In that new earth, a spiritual earth, will be literally fulfilled all the promises to Abraham and his heirs, of the land that was to be theirs (see Heb 11:10-14), for this earth is a ‘prototype’ of what is to come. Just as man’s resurrection body will somehow be connected with our present bodies, so will the new earth somehow be connected with the old earth. But in contrast with the present earth, the new earth will be spiritual, everlasting and incorruptible.
The Groaning Of Creation, Of God’s Children, And of God Himself In Carrying Out His Saving Purpose Through The Spirit.
Nothing is more moving than this picture of a groaning creation, a groaning church, and a groaning Spirit, as God’s purposes move forwards. It confirms, and is intended to confirm that we are part of a suffering creation, which is why we also must expect to suffer, because God carries out His purpose through suffering.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Rom 8:20. Not willingly That is, “Not by any wilful act of their own.” The word ‘ seems here to have the same signification as , wilfully, Heb 10:26 or as the word , 2Pe 3:5.This they are willfully ignorant of. What we render lie not in wait, Exo 21:13 the LXX render , not wilfully, in opposition to presumptuously in the next verse. Thus the word denotes a criminal choice, and in a high sense too; namely a transgression subjecting to wrath: “The creature was made subject to vanity, not by its own criminal choice,not by sinning after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, ch. Rom 5:14.,but by reason of, or through him who subjected the same in hope.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Rom 8:20-21 . Ground of this longing.
.] Prefixed with emphasis: vanitati , to nothingness . The substantive (Pollux, vi. 134) is no longer found in Greek authors, but frequently in the LXX. (as in Psa 39:6 ). See Schleusner, Thes . III. p. 501. It indicates here the empty ( i.e. as having lost its primitive purport, which it had by creation) quality of being , to which the was changed from its original perfection.
] was subjected, was made subject to , as to a ruling power formerly unknown to it. This historical fact ( aorist ) took place in consequence of the fall, Gen 3:17 . Comp. Beresh. rabb . f. 2, 3 : “Quamvis creatae fuerint res perfectae, cum primus homo peccaret, corruptae tamen sunt, et ultra non redibunt ad congruum statum suum, donec veniat Pherez, h. e. Messias.” See also Zahn, p. 532. The reference to an original , introduced even by the act of creation (Theodoret, Grotius, Krehl, Baumgarten-Crusius, de Wette, and Kster), is historically inappropriate (Gen 1:31 ), and contrary to , . . ., which supposes a previous state not subject to the . Further, since the is subsequently mentioned, the interpretation se subjecit (Fritzsche) is thereby excluded.
, . .] This must occasion their expectation all the more; for their subjection is at variance with their original state and the desire of immunity founded thereon, and it took place “ invita, et repugnante natura ” (Calvin, namely, through the guilt of human sin), on account of the subjector ( with the accusative, comp. on Joh 6:57 ), that is, because the counsel and will of the subjecting God (the contrast to one’s own non-willingness) had to be thus satisfied. The idea of another than God in . (Knatchbull and Capellus: Adam; Chrysostom, Schneckenburger, Bisping, and Zahn: man ; Hammond and others, quoted by Wolf: the devil ) is forbidden by the very absence of a defining statement, so that the subject is assumed as well known . According to Gen 3:17 , it was indeed man through whose guilt the subjection ensued; but God was the subjector ( ).
. . .] on hope (Rom 4:18 ) that , etc., may be joined either with . (Origen, Vulgate, Luther, Castalio, Calvin, Piscator, Estius, and others, including Ch. Schmidt and Olshausen) or with . The latter conjunction brings out more forcibly the ; for this contains a new element by way of motive for the expectation of nature. , spe proposita , indicates the condition which was conceded in the , as it were, the equivalent provisionally given for it, Act 2:24 ; Xen. Mem . ii. 1. 18, and Khner in loc .; Ast, Lex. Plat . I. p. 767; Bernhardy, p. 250.
] that , object of the hope (Phi 1:20 ); not nam , as it is taken by most expositors, who join with .; among others by Schneckenburger, Beitrg . p. 122, who assigns as his reason, that otherwise the could not be repeated. But that repetition is necessitated by the emphasis of the similarity of the relation, which has over-against the children of God, for which reason Paul did not write (in opposition to Hofmann’s objection). Besides, the purport of the had necessarily to be stated, in order to give the ground of the expectation of the as directed precisely to the manifestation of the sons of God . The indefinite would supply a motive for its expectation of deliverance in general, but not for its expectation of the glory of the children of God. This applies also against Hofmann, who refers . . ., as statement of the reason , to the whole preceding sentence , whereby, besides, the awkward idea is suggested, that the subjection took place on account of the deliverance to be accomplished in the future; it had, in fact, an entirely different historical ground, well known from history, and already suggested by the ., namely, the implication of the in the entrance of sin among mankind.
] et ipsa creatura , that is, the creature also on its part, not merely the children of God. There is simply expressed the similarity; not a climax ( even ), of which the context affords no hint.
] Genitive of apposition: from the bondage that consists in corruption . See Rom 8:23 . Incorrectly paraphrased by Kllner: “from the corruptible, miserable bondage.” At variance with this is Rom 8:20 , according to which . . cannot be made an adjective; as is also the sequel, in which . corresponds to , and . . . to the . The (antithesis = , Rom 2:7 ; 1Co 15:42-50 ) is the destruction , that developes itself out of the , the opposed frequently in Plato and others to the ( Phaed . p. 95 E; Phil . p. 55 A; Lucian, A . 19). Comp. on Gal 6:8 . It is not the in the first instance that makes the state of the a state of bondage, as Hofmann apprehends the genitive; but the existing bondage is essentially such, that what is subjected to it is liable to the fate of corruption.
. .] is the state, to which the shall attain by its emancipation. An instance of a genuine Greek pregnant construction. See Fritzsche, ad Marc . p. 322; Winer, p. 577 [E. T. 776].
. . . .] Likewise genitive of apposition: into the freedom which shall consist in the glory of the children of God, i.e. in a glory similar thereto (by participation in it); not, as Hofmann thinks: which the glory of the children of God shall have brought with it . If, with Luther and many others, including Bhme and Kllner, be treated as an adjective: “to the glorious freedom,” we should then have quite as arbitrary a departure from the verbal order, in accordance with which . belongs most naturally to ., as from the analogy of the preceding . . The accumulation of genitives, . . . ., has a certain solemnity; comp. Rom 2:5 ; 2Co 4:4 ; Eph 4:13 , al .
Observe, further, how Paul has conceived the catastrophe, of which he is speaking, not as the destruction of the world and a new creation, but, in harmony with the prophetic announcements, especially those of Isaiah (Isa 35:1-10 ; Isa 65:17 ; Isa 66:22 ; comp. Zahn, p. 537; Schultz, alttest. Theol . II. p. 227), as a transformation into a more perfect state. The passing away of the world is the passing away of its form (1Co 7:31 ), by which this transformation is conditioned, and in which, according to 2Pe 3:10 , fire will be the agent employed. And the hope , the tenor of which is specified by . . ., might, in connection with this living personification, be ascribed to all nature , as if it were conscious thereof, since the latter is destined to become the scene and surrounding of the glorified children of God. But that does not pertain to mankind , whose presentiment of immortality, by means of its darkened original consciousness of God (Frommann), does not correspond to the idea of ; comp., on the contrary, Eph 2:12 ; 1Th 4:13 . If, on the other hand, the Gentile hope, cherished amidst the misery of the times, as to a better state of things (according to poets: the golden age of the Saturnia regna ), were meant as an image of the Christian hope (Kster), then Paul would have conceived the as conditioned by the future conversion of the Gentiles. But thus the would amount to this, that the Gentiles should become themselves children of God , which is inconsistent with Rom 8:19 . There, and likewise in Rom 8:21 , the sons of God are the third element, for whose transfiguration the waits , and from whose glorification it hopes , in Rom 8:21 , that the latter shall benefit it also the through participation therein; and be to it also deliverance and freedom from its hitherto enduring bondage. This is applicable only to the (see on Mat 19:28 ) at the Parousia .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Ver. 20. Subject to vanity ] The creature is defiled by man’s sin, and must therefore be purged by the fire of the last day; as the vessels that held the sin offering were purged by the fire of the sanctuary.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
20 .] Explanation of the REASON WHY all creation waits, &c . For the creation was made subject to vanity (= , Psa 39:6 , where ( Psa 38:5 ) the LXX have . So also Ecc 1:2 and passim. It signifies the instability, liability to change and decay , of all created things) not willingly (‘cum a corruptione natur res omnes abhorreant.’ Bucer in Thol.) but on aocount of ( is so far from losing its proper meaning by the reference of to God, as Jowett affirms, that it gains its strictest and most proper meaning by that reference: see Rom 8:11 . He is the occasion, and His glory the end, of creation’s corruptibility) Him who made it subject (i.e. God.
Chrys., al., interpret it of Adam , who was the occasion of its being subjected; and at first sight the acc. with seems to favour this. But I very much doubt whether this view can be borne out. For (1) does not imply a conscious act of intentional subjugation , and not merely an unconscious occasioning of the subjugation? Thus we have it said of God, ref. 1 Cor., . . ., . And (2) the acc. aft. is in reality no reason against this. He is speaking of the originating cause of this subjection, not of the efficient means of it. He says that creation was not subjected , i.e. , but . At the same time such a way of putting it, removing as it were the supreme will of God to a wider distance from corruption and vanity, and making it not so much the worker as the occasion of it, as well as this indefinite mention of Him, is quite intelligible on the ground of that reverential awe which so entirely characterizes the mind and writings of the Apostle. If the occasion pointed at by be required, I should hardly fix it at the Fall of man, but at his creation , in the eternal counsels, when he was made capable of falling, liable to change .
The explanation of as meaning ‘ the devil ’ (Locke, al.), hardly needs refutation. See Mat 10:28 , and note), in (‘ on condition of,’ ‘in a state of ,’ see ch. Rom 4:18 , and note on , ch. Rom 5:12 ) hope ( must not be joined with , because then the becomes the hope of the , but with , being the hope of the ), because (not ‘ that ,’ after , for then it is not likely that would be so emphatically repeated: the clause now announces a new fact , and thus the emphasis is accounted for. To suppose the whole clause subjective to the , would be to attribute to the yearnings of creation, intelligence and rationality , consciousness of itself and of God) the creation itself also (not only we, the sons of God, but even creation itself) shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption (its subjection to the law of decay, see Heb 2:15 ) into (pregnant: shall be delivered from, &c., and admitted into ) the freedom of the glory (beware of the fatal hendiadys : ‘the freedom of the glory’ is not in any sense = ‘the glorious freedom;’ in the latter, ‘glorious’ is merely an epithet whereby the freedom is characterized, as in ‘His rest shall be glorious:’ in the former the freedom is described as consisting in, belonging to, being one component part of, the glorified state of the children of God: and thus the thought is carried up to the state to which the freedom belongs) of the children ( and not here, perhaps as embracing God’s universal family of creation, admitted, each in their share, to a place in incorruptibility and glory).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rom 8:20 . For creation was subjected to vanity, etc. is not classical, but is often used in the LXX, especially for . The idea is that of looking for what one does not find hence of futility, frustration, disappointment. is the “vanity of vanities” in Eccl, the complaint of the utter resultlessness of life. Sin brought this doom on creation; it made a pessimistic view of the universe inevitable. : the precise time denoted is that of the Fall, when God pronounced the ground cursed for man’s sake. Creation came under this doom : the last words seem best referred to God: it was on account of Him that His righteousness might be shown in the punishment of sin that the sentence fell upon man, carrying consequences which extended to the whole realm intended originally for his dominion. The sentence on man, however, was not hopeless, and creation shared in his hope as in his doom. When the curse is completely removed from man, as it will be when the sons of God are revealed, it will pass from creation also; and for this creation sighs. It was made subject to vanity on the footing of this hope; the hope is latent, so to speak, in the constitution of nature, and comes out, in its sighing, to a sympathetic ear.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
For, &c. This verse is in parenthesis, save the last two words.
vanity. Greek. mataiotes. Only here, Eph 4:17. 2Pe 2:18. Here the meaning is disappointing misery, in which sense the word is frequently used by the Septuagint for the Hebrew hebel, e.g. Ecc 1:14; Ecc 2:11, Ecc 2:17; Ecc 9:9.
willingly. Greek. hekon. Only here and 1Co 9:17.
by reason of. Greek. dia. App-104. Rom 8:2.
in hope. Read, (waiteth, I say) in hope (See Rom 4:18).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
20.] Explanation of the REASON WHY all creation waits, &c. For the creation was made subject to vanity (= , Psa 39:6,-where (Psa 38:5) the LXX have . So also Ecc 1:2 and passim. It signifies the instability, liability to change and decay, of all created things) not willingly (cum a corruptione natur res omnes abhorreant. Bucer in Thol.) but on aocount of ( is so far from losing its proper meaning by the reference of to God, as Jowett affirms, that it gains its strictest and most proper meaning by that reference: see Rom 8:11. He is the occasion, and His glory the end, of creations corruptibility) Him who made it subject (i.e. God.
Chrys., al., interpret it of Adam, who was the occasion of its being subjected; and at first sight the acc. with seems to favour this. But I very much doubt whether this view can be borne out. For (1) does not imply a conscious act of intentional subjugation, and not merely an unconscious occasioning of the subjugation? Thus we have it said of God, ref. 1 Cor., …, . And (2) the acc. aft. is in reality no reason against this. He is speaking of the originating cause of this subjection, not of the efficient means of it. He says that creation was not subjected , i.e. , but . At the same time such a way of putting it, removing as it were the supreme will of God to a wider distance from corruption and vanity, and making it not so much the worker as the occasion of it, as well as this indefinite mention of Him, is quite intelligible on the ground of that reverential awe which so entirely characterizes the mind and writings of the Apostle. If the occasion pointed at by be required, I should hardly fix it at the Fall of man, but at his creation, in the eternal counsels,-when he was made capable of falling, liable to change.
The explanation of as meaning the devil (Locke, al.), hardly needs refutation. See Mat 10:28, and note),-in (on condition of, in a state of, see ch. Rom 4:18, and note on , ch. Rom 5:12) hope ( must not be joined with , because then the becomes the hope of the ,-but with , being the hope of the ), because (not that, after ,-for then it is not likely that would be so emphatically repeated: the clause now announces a new fact, and thus the emphasis is accounted for. To suppose the whole clause subjective to the , would be to attribute to the yearnings of creation, intelligence and rationality,-consciousness of itself and of God) the creation itself also (not only we, the sons of God, but even creation itself) shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption (its subjection to the law of decay, see Heb 2:15) into (pregnant: shall be delivered from, &c., and admitted into) the freedom of the glory (beware of the fatal hendiadys: the freedom of the glory is not in any sense = the glorious freedom; in the latter, glorious is merely an epithet whereby the freedom is characterized, as in His rest shall be glorious: in the former the freedom is described as consisting in, belonging to, being one component part of, the glorified state of the children of God: and thus the thought is carried up to the state to which the freedom belongs) of the children ( and not here, perhaps as embracing Gods universal family of creation, admitted, each in their share, to a place in incorruptibility and glory).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Rom 8:20. , to vanity) whence the first of believers, whom the Scriptures commend, was called , Abel [vanity]. Glory is opposed both to vanity and corruption; and the greatest vanity is idolatry, ch. Rom 1:21; Rom 1:23. Vanity is abuse and waste; even the malignant spirits themselves have dominion over the creature.-, was made subject) In the passive voice, with a middle signification, though it has however in it somewhat of the figure, personification.- , not willingly) For in the beginning it was otherwise: thence it is that the creature would rather be made subject to Christ [Thou hast put all things in subjection under His feet], Heb 2:7-8.- , on account of [propter: owing to] Him who hath subjected) that is on account of [by reason of] God, Gen 3:17; Gen 5:29. Adam rendered the creature obnoxious [liable] to vanity, but he did not subject it.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Rom 8:20
Rom 8:20
For the creation was subjected to vanity,-As a result of Adams sin, the whole creation was cursed and fell away from its original design and became subject to the reign of death. [The word is, therefore, appropriately used of the disappointing character of present existence, which nowhere reaches the perfection of which it is capable.]
not of its own will,-Not of its own fault or action, but through the sin of man, which brought mortality and death upon the creation.
but by reason of him who subjected it, in hope-[This, in accordance with the history, can be no other than God. He who first placed the creation under mans dominion also subjected it to the effects of mans sin (Gen 3:17-19; Gen 5:29), and will make it partaker of the blessing of his restoration.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
the creature: Rom 8:22, Gen 3:17-19, Gen 5:29, Gen 6:13, Job 12:6-10, Isa 24:5, Isa 24:6, Jer 12:4, Jer 12:11, Jer 14:5, Jer 14:6, Hos 4:3, Joe 1:18
Reciprocal: Gen 4:12 – it Gen 6:17 – shall die Gen 7:21 – General Gen 8:1 – the cattle 1Sa 15:3 – ox and sheep 1Ki 18:5 – grass Job 14:12 – till the heavens Psa 102:26 – They shall Psa 104:29 – hidest Ecc 1:2 – General Jon 3:7 – herd Rom 3:5 – But if Rom 5:14 – even 2Pe 3:10 – in the which
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE VANITY OF CREATION
For the creature was made subject to vanity.
Rom 8:20
It is hardly necessary to say that the creature is creation, as indeed the Revised Version puts itthis world in which man lives out his little life; and when St. Paul says the creation was made subject to vanity, he implies that to the reverent mind or heart there is in creation a certain element of failure, there is a streak of evil in the face of the good.
I. It is just that sense of failure, of something which might have been, and yet is not, that creates for man his peculiar relation to the world in which he is situated. For indeed it might have happened that man would not be conscious of anything which binds him to the world at large. He might not have found outside in the world any reflection of the character which he discerns in himself, and yet the very expressions which we use of nature and of life are witnesses to the essential sympathy which is itself, we may reverently suppose, the evidence of the one Divine authorship. There is in life the brightness and the shadow, the calm and the storm, as there is in nature. The life of man, as the life of natural objects, passes from birth to maturity, to decay and death. The seasons of the natural worldspring, summer, autumn, winterfind their correspondence in the experiences of human life, but all these would not of themselves, as I think, create that peculiar sympathy of which the highest minds and the best are conscious in their relations to nature. There is in nature something which St. Paul calls vanity, something of failure, something of falling below the ideal which seems set before it.
II. So good and so bad.What is strange in human nature is not that it is so good or so bad, but that it is so good and so bad, capable of an elevation so sublime and a degradation so abject. Nature seems to speak, however silently, of something which has defeated her natural God-given object. The reason why the discords of creation touch us so powerfully is, that we feel them to be images of our moral condition. A great theologian of our own time has said that when he looks upon human nature in its height and in its depth he feels just as if he saw a boy of noble ancestry being brought up in surroundings which lowered him far below his natural level. Something has gone wrong with that boy. There is a flaw which has occurred in his lifes story, and the flaw and that defect are the inherent sympathy between man and his environment. So St. Paul uses the very same language about human nature and the natural world. But it all is waiting for the restitution of all things, for the redemption which shall unite it to the sons of God.
III. Is it not a fact that the meanest of mankind exercises wellnigh unlimited sovereignty over the noblest of the animals, and yet the wisest of men have seemed to come hardly nearer to them in understanding of their nature than the veriest child. What do we know of their language, their means of communication, so much stronger than is ordinarily recognised; what of their conscience, for the germ of conscience beyond doubt lies within them; what of their future, whether they, like ourselves, shall be inheritors of the immortality which God reserves for His creatures? There is no doubt we owe them a vast responsibility. There is hardly any higher test of the dignity, the elevation of a people, than its attitude towards the animal creation.
IV. It is the safe and sacred rule of life, as far as may be, Never to blend our pleasure or our pride with sorrow of the meanest thing that feels. I think it is strange that the men who have realised, as was never realised before, the nearness of mans relation to the animal world, have not always been distinguished by the most loving and penetrating sympathy with those animals themselves. After all, the view of nature which sanctifies the relation of man to his own environment is that it is all the work of God. For some reason, mysterious indeed, it is subject now to vanity, but it is reserved to a glorious future. The teaching of St. Paul (and St. Paul saw further into life and destiny than most of his interpreters) looks forward to the time when the whole creation, animate and inanimate, shall be redeemed by the efficacious sacrifice of the Son of God. In this faith we shall go our way. We shall not be guilty of any of that want of thought which does more harm than deliberate evil purpose if we realise that all nature is the expression of the Divine Almighty Mind.
Bishop Welldon.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
:20
Rom 8:20. Vanity is from MATAIOTES which Thayer defines in this place, “Frailty, want of vigor.” It means the human creature was made subject to decay of the body, and that took place when he was driven from the tree of life. Not willingly. No, he had to be driven out (Gen 3:24). Him means God, who subjected man to an existence that would end in death of the body, but at the same time gave him hope of a deathless body in another world. (See verse 23.)
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rom 8:20. For the creation was made subject, i.e., by God, in consequence of the fall of man (see close of the verse).
To vanity. It became empty, lost its original significance. This does not necessarily imply a change in matter corresponding to the fall of man, but that as a result of the fall the whole creation fell away from its original design; it is probable that thus its development was checked, and it became a prey to corruption (Rom 8:21).
Not willingly. The subjection to vanity was, therefore, not a self-subjection, but by reason of him who subjected it. The reference is to God, not to Adam: (1.) the verb is passive, implying that the subjection was intentional, which could not be true of Adam; (2.) The will of God was the moving cause, but the expression: by reason of him (rather than through him) reverently removes this supreme will of God to a wider distance from corruption and vanity (comp. Alford). Hence we object to the interpretation: the creature submitted itself to vanity, etc.
In hope. Resting on hope. This is to be joined with was made subject, rather than with subjected it. Another view makes the previous part of Rom 8:20 parenthetical, joining in hope with Rom 8:19; this has much to recommend it, but can scarcely be insisted upon.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Rom 8:20-21. For the creature was made subject to vanity Mankind in general, and the whole visible creation, lost their original beauty, glory, and felicity; a sad change passed on man, and his place of abode; the whole face of nature was obscured, and all creatures were subjected to vanity and wretchedness in a variety of forms. Every thing seems perverted from its intended use: the inanimate creatures are pressed into mans rebellion; the luminaries of the heaven give him light by which to work wickedness; the fruits of the earth are sacrificed to his luxury, intemperance, and ostentation; its bowels are ransacked for metals, from which arms are forged, for public and private murder and revenge; or to gratify his avarice, and excite him to fraud, oppression, and war. The animal tribes are subject to pain and death through mans sin, and their sufferings are exceedingly increased by his cruelty, who, instead of a kind master, is become their inhuman butcher and tyrant. So that every thing is in an unnatural state: the good creatures of God appear evil, through mans abuse of them; and even the enjoyment originally to be found in them is turned into vexation, bitterness, and disappointment, by his idolatrous love of them, and expectation from them. Scott. Vanity, says Macknight, denotes mortality or corruption, Rom 8:21, and all the miseries of the present life. These the apostle expresses by vanity, in allusion to Psa 89:47, where the psalmist, speaking of the same subject, says, Why hast thou made all men in vain? The truth is, if we consider the noble faculties with which man is endowed, and compare them with the occupations of the present life, many of which are frivolous in themselves, and in their effects of short duration, we shall be sensible that the character which Solomon has given of them is just: Vanity of vanities! all is vanity. And if so excellent a creature as man was designed for nothing but to employ the few years of this life in these low occupations, and after that to lose his existence, he would really be made in vain. Not willingly Mankind are not made mortal and miserable on account of their own offence, or the personal misconduct of those who are most deeply affected with it; but by him who subjected them Namely, God; who, for the offence of the first man, adjudged them to this state of suffering and vanity, Gen 3:17-19; Rom 8:29. In hope, &c. Nevertheless, they were not by that sentence doomed always to remain subject to that vanity and misery; but a ground of hope is afforded; because, , that, the creature itself Namely, mankind especially; shall be delivered , shall be set free; from the bondage of corruption From the state of vanity and misery by which they now abuse themselves, and the inferior creatures, and from the mortality, the dread of which made them subject to bondage all their lives. Into the glorious liberty of the children of God The glorious freedom which the children of God partly enjoy, and shall enjoy more fully, when all the former things are passed away. It is certain the whole creation would be made inconceivably more happy than it is, if that blessed dispensation by which we are introduced into Gods family, and taught to do our utmost to diffuse good to all around us, were universally to prevail. But the bondage of corruption, being here opposed to the freedom of the glory (as the words literally signify) of the children of God, must especially signify the destruction of the body by death, and the continuation of it in the grave, and of course the freedom of the glory must signify its resurrection and immortality. When this is effected, Satan, sin, death, misery, and all wicked creatures, will be consigned to hell; and the rest of Gods creation will appear glorious, pure, beautiful, orderly, and happy; in every respect answering the end for which it was formed, and in nothing abused to contrary purposes. See Rev 20:11-15; Rev 21:1-4. The sufferings of animals, though very many and grievous, yet being unfeared and transient, are doubtless overbalanced by their enjoyments; and to infer an individual resurrection of all or any of them from this passage, is surely one of the wildest reveries which ever entered into the mind of a thinking man. The happy effects produced by the gospel, when extensively successful, even in this present world, may be considered as earnests of the glorious scene of which the apostle speaks: but the general resurrection, and the state which follows, were especially, and indeed exclusively meant, for then only will the children of God be manifested as such, and be separated from all others. Scott.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Vv. 20-22. For the creation was made subject to vanity, not voluntarily, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth together and as it were travaileth until now.
The vanity to which nature is now subject, is the state of frailty to which all earthly beings are subjected. Everywhere, says M. Reuss, our eyes meet images of death and decay; the scourge of barrenness, the fury of the elements, the destructive instincts of beasts, the very laws which govern vegetation, everything gives nature a sombre hue…This reign of death which prevails over all that is born cannot be the normal state of a world created by God. Nature suffers from a curse which it cannot have brought upon itself, as it is not morally free. It is not with its goodwill, says the apostle, that it appears in this condition, but because of him who hath subjected it to such a state.
Whom does he mean? According to most modern commentators: God. Was it not He who pronounced the sentence of doom: Cursed is the ground for thy sake (Gen 3:17)? Yet if this were the apostle’s meaning, it would be strange that he should use the expression: by reason of ( with the accusative); for God is not the moral cause, but the efficient author of the curse on nature. Then if the expression: not with its goodwill, signifies: not by its own fault, it is natural to seek in the contrasted term a designation of the person on whom the moral responsibility for this catastrophe rests; and we cannot be surprised at the explanation given by Chrysostom, Schneckenburger, Tholuck, who apply the term . he who subjected, to the first man; comp. the expression, Gen 3:17 : Cursed is the ground for thy sake. It cannot be denied, however, that there is something strangely mysterious in the apostle’s language, which he might easily have avoided by saying: by reason of the man, or by reason of us; then does the term: he who subjected, apply well to man, who in this event, so far as nature is concerned, played a purely passive part? This consideration has led one critic, Hammond, to apply the term to Satan, the prince of this world (as Jesus calls him), who, either by his own fall or by that of man, dragged the creation into the miserable state here described. The only room for hesitation, as it appears to me, is between the two latter meanings.
The regimen: in hope, can only refer to the term: who hath subjected, if we apply it to God, which, as we have seen, is unnatural. It depends therefore on the principal verb: was made subject to vanity, and signifies that from the first, when this chastisement was inflicted, it was so only with a future restoration in view. This hope, precisely like the expectation, Rom 8:19, is attributed to nature herself; she possesses in the feeling of her unmerited suffering a sort of presentiment of her future deliverance.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in hope
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
20. For the creature was made subject to mortality, not willingly, but through him that subordinated it Nothing loves to die. Hence the body is unwillingly tied up in mortality. We must bear it patiently for the One who put us here will soon make it all right.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 20
To vanity; to sin and its consequences.–In hope; in hope of deliverance to come, as described in the Romans 8:21.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
8:20 For the creature was made subject to {x} vanity, not {y} willingly, but by reason {z} of him who hath subjected [the same] in {a} hope,
(x) Is subject to a vanishing and disappearing state.
(y) Not by their natural inclination.
(z) That they should obey the Creator’s commandment, whom it pleased to show by their sickly state, how greatly he was displeased with man.
(a) God would not make the world subject to be cursed forever because of the sin of man, but gave it hope that it would be restored.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Because of the Fall God subjected the whole creation to "futility" or "frustration." Consequently it never reaches the perfection that He originally intended it to achieve. Probably God is in view as the one who subjected it, though Satan and Adam were instrumental in that action.