The present multicultural family of believers, created by the gospel and sustained by the spirit, is the real and tangible sign in the present time of the ultimate renewal of all creation promised in Romans 8:18–30. The present ‘filling’ with hope (Romans 15:13) is the anticipation of the time promised in Isaiah 11:9 when the whole earth shall be ‘filled’ with the knowledge of YHWH as the waters cover the sea. Paul has not abandoned the very much this-worldly hope of Israel’s Scriptures.
