Romans: Groaning and Glory
Our relationship with creation through an honor-shame culture lens
A few months ago, had you asked me what the book of Romans has to say about our relationship with creation, I would have talked about creation groaning and waiting for that distant, hoped-for future in which all creation is redeemed. Those observations still hold; creation groaning! oppressed! it’s such vivid imagery of the damage we’ve done to the earth with which we’ve been entrusted. Then Matthias1 (hi, friend!) came and sat at our dinner table, sharing grilled pork chops and fresh peach cobbler. Our conversation wandered from shared memories to art to theology. He asked me about this newsletter and my interest in ecotheology and, during that discussion, mentioned the depth lent to Romans by an Eastern honor-shame culture lens. “Creation longs for glory - that’s basically another word for honor,” he said. I felt my mind stop, pause, consider. We moved on in our discussion, but I knew I needed to look into the topic. I procrastinated for a while, but I finally dug into the book Reading Romans through Eastern Eyes by Jackson W2.
The premise of W’s book is that ancient biblical cultures were honor-shame cultures similar to many Eastern cultures (he recognizes the generalization), and so reading the Bible through an Eastern lens can uncover different truths that a Western culture reading sometimes misses. Honor-shame culture, he explains, emphasizes social standing: “Tradition, relationships, and social hierarchy are key criteria determining social status in both East Asian and ancient biblical cultures.”
In this understanding, sin means you’ve dishonored God and exalted yourself. Glory, by contrast, means you’ve been wrapped in God’s honor. Drawing from Haley Goranson Jacob’s book, Conformed to the Image of His Son3, W. writes:
The word “glory”, and specifically God’s glory, does not primarily indicate “splendor” or the “visible, manifest presence of God.” Instead, she says, “God’s glory is commonly associated with his status or his identity as king.”4
This status is important because we have access to God’s glory through Christ’s actions: “In salvation, people regain the glory and immortality of God.” When Christ was resurrected, He was glorified. His resurrection also justified God’s people, redeeming us and covering us in His glory. But we still hope for a future of all-encompassing glory, enduring the trials, suffering, and shame of this world while clinging to a greater promise. This hope in a greater future glory should lead us to continually honor God.5 And this honor is by no means inactive: “The hope that believers have should inspire action, not passivity.”
Let’s look at some passages in Romans from this perspective. First, in the first chapter:
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and crawling creatures. 24 Therefore God gave them up to vile impurity in the lusts of their hearts, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
-- Romans 1:20-25, NASB
In this passage, we can see how our relationship with Creation has been broken. Instead of “filling the earth with [God’s] glory through image bearers who reflect his character kingship in their exercise of God-like authority and responsibility over the new creation,” as W. quotes Berry6, we forsake our purpose. We choose to glorify ourselves and the fallible Creation around us.
Later in Romans, we see the effects of this:
19 For the eagerly awaiting creation waits for the revealing of the sons and daughters of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only that, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons and daughters, the redemption of our body.
-- Romans 8:19-22, 15, NASB
If you look back through that passage and pull out the keywords, many have to do with shame and honor.
Shame: futility, subjection, slavery, corruption, groaning, pain
Honor: hope, freedom, glory, adoption, redemption
Creation is groaning because our dishonorable actions have subjected it to shame. But that groaning isn’t the end of the story. As John Duncan puts it, the future “revelation of divine glory” will come through believers, and “the rest of creation waits in breathless anticipation.”7 “Freedom,” W. says, “will come to the whole cosmos when God’s children are glorified.” If our vocation as humans was to care for creation, how much more does that calling hold for those of us who have been glorified and redeemed? As Jacob puts it, we are to “represent God to his creation and intercede on behalf of creation to God.”8 W. continues:
The goal of salvation is believers conformity to the Son of God--their participation in his rule over creation as God's eschatological family and as renewed humanity-but only and always with the purpose of extending God's hand of mercy, love, and care to his wider creation. This was humanity’s job in the beginning; it will be believers' responsibility and honor in the future, it is God's purpose in calling his people in the present."
Matthias’s beautiful photography and poetry is worth a look:
https://www.mathiasmaurin.com/
W., J. (2019). Reading Romans with Eastern eyes: Honor and shame in Paul's message and mission. InterVarsity Press.
Jacob, H. G. (2018). Conformed to the Image of His Son: Reconsidering Paul's Theology of Glory in Romans. InterVarsity Press.
W. continues to draw on Jacob’s analysis of Old Testament texts, discussing glory, honor, and dominion in Genesis 1 and Psalm 8:
[Jacob] demonstrates the importance of Genesis 1:26-28 and Psalm 8 for interpreting Romans. In Psalm 8, humanity is given dominion over creation, being “crowned him with glory and honor” (Psalm 8:5). This fact is linked closely with Genesis, where humans are “image bearers and thus caretakers of creation in Genesis 1:26-28, a fact that also leads to the noncoincidental overlap of glory and image through Paul’s letters.”
In W.’s words:
In the resurrection, God glorifies Christ. Likewise, Christ’s resurrection “justifies” God’s people. All who are “in Christ” are redeemed from the shame of slavery to sin. However, they still wait for the “redemption of our bodies,” the promised hope of glory (Romans 8:23-25)…Paul exhorts readers to pursue praise from God. By honoring God, we become honorable. Our identity and sense of worth largely depend on what (or whom) we most glorify. By linking glory to the resurrection, Paul urges us to consider the long-term implications of seeking glory in one thing versus another. Do we seek the face of the immortal God? What is our hope of glory?
Berry, D. L. (2014). Glory in Romans and the unified purpose of God in redemptive history. Amridge University.
Duncan, J. (2015). The Hope of Creation: The Significance of ἐφ’ἑλπίδι (Rom 8.20 c) in Context. New Testament Studies, 61(3), 411-427.
Jacob, H. G. (2018). Conformed to the Image of His Son: Reconsidering Paul's Theology of Glory in Romans. InterVarsity Press.
I've read it three times already. I pick up something new each time. I'll keep it open for a time as a reminder. Thank you!